Division

"We could have met our deadlines and gone into the studio in January," clarifies singer Jesse Hasek. "But we decided early on that we weren't going to allow ourselves to run through the motions. We felt like we really needed to challenge ourselves and do something fresh and different. And that took a little longer than we expected."

As it turned out, Division was well worth the wait. Musically eclectic, technically adept and emotionally poignant, the songs shatter preconceptions, revealing a tapestry of previously unexplored influences and a larger array of stunning melodies. Like The Autumn Effect, the new album is filled with enveloping textures and heart-stopping dynamics, but the arrangements are more developed and the songwriting more mature, revealing a cavalcade of styles including metal, hard rock, punk, alternative pop and even classical.