From the blaring siren and repetitive piano & drum based instrumental of "Todesmarsch" you can virtually smell the disaster in the air and it stinks of a burning world. Since 2017's 'Lord of the Flies' (which I really liked) this Finnish industrial band has gotten meaner and noisier, but definitely not better. All of the synth sequencing previously employed is gone for the most part, except on one track. Instead, what we get is alotta noise. Sometimes it just drones on, and on, and on, and on. When you finally get to something musical, it's like Nine Inch Nails having a really bad day; "Fuck Your Sacrifice" being a perfect example of wasting time with noise over musical content. With some artfulness and thought instead of just pure rage, that song could have been pretty good. Instead, it is just a mess.

What happened, guys? I know these are pretty shitty times but I don't think throwing it all away on mediocre noise rock is going to help any. The shoulda woulda coulda been a decent song ("Postum," named after a caffeine-free powdered roasted coffee substitute grain beverage ??) has pretty decent verses but dies with no hook, chorus, or anything close to memorable. The most vocally abundant track has the unfortunate title of "Shit That Floats," if that's any clue to where these guys are at now. It’s the best song on the album, and the only one with any synth sequencing, but in the larger scheme of things, not all that great. It ends with the fittingly titled "Stairway to Disappointment," and I can't think of anything to dispute that.

Although this is a brief album at about 31 minutes, it seems twice as long as 'Lord of the Flies' which was longer by a minute at 32. It plods and lurches like a critically wounded animal in the wilderness, where the survival instinct may be strong, but the lifeforce is bleeding out. And Then You Die around since 1990 and are described as "one of Finland's best-kept secrets." If this album is any indication, they're going to stay that way.