There's not much on this disc that will surprise anyone, unless that person is making his or her purchase based on Sumerian Records' prior track record of discovering impressive young technical death metal bands (
Born of Osiris,
the Faceless,
Abacabb).
Broadcast the Nightmare are heavy, but they're not in any way tech-death; they're pure metalcore, with just a little more instrumental skill than peers in bands like
Emmure and
Hatebreed. There are some surprising touches here and there on
Twenty Twelve; clean vocals appear on a few songs, most notably "Clone Ocean," where they're supported by almost proggy guitar-and-bass interactions. The 105-second instrumental "Grave Danger" features more impressive fretwork by Kyle Mazlik and studio-only guitarist Ricky Free, and Jason Pope's drumming is impressive throughout. Vocalist Justin Mazlik, despite his ability to switch between clean and brutal tones, is relatively faceless and ordinary; it's a good thing that he's got Jonathan Vigil of
the Ghost Inside to help him out on "Hades Rising" and "Unsung Hero." On the album's final track, "The Last Exit," the band briefly departs from its breakdowns-and-solos pattern, starting and ending the song with an almost anthemic riff. ~ Phil Freeman