Awesome Color's third album,
Massa Hypnos, finds them changing up their approach of delivering nonstop thick and overloaded guitar rock by taking their foot off the pedal a bit and mixing in a few quieter, less ferocious tracks. The bulk of the album, though, is made up of songs that fall into the category of reliably loud and exciting, with the restrained tracks being a mild diversion. Most of the songs retain the overdriven fury and hypnotic drive of their previous albums' songs; "Transparent" kicks the album off in blazing fashion with Derek Stanton tearing off riffs and solos in typical fashion, while Allison Busch pounds away as impressively as ever. Songs like "IOU" and the mesmerizing "Oaxaca" would have been highlights on either of the first two albums, while "Slaughterhouse" reclaims the hard-rockin’ blues from generations of bad bar bands and kicks it firmly in the ass. When sticking to familiar ground like this, the trio is as impressive as any hard rock band around. ~ Tim Sendra