For
Hurt's sixth effort, the Los Angeles-based Virginians circle back to their beginnings on an album that attempts to hark back to the heavyweight grunge established on Vol. I and
Vol. II. Where 2009's
Goodbye to the Machine was tailored to active rock radio play with a balance of arena rock lighter ballads à la
Train and big, soaring
Foo Fighters hooks,
The Crux brings back powerful distortion riffs and midtempo sludge. As always, J. Loren's booming vocals show enormous range, and the lyrics are intensely introspective. Of course, what else would you expect with a name like
Hurt? ~ Jason Lymangrover