After a very successful 2003 self-titled debut, Lo-Pro are back with their sophomore album, The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge. If you aren’t familiar with the band, Lo-Pro was formed from the ashes of the highly underrated (my opinion) industrial/modern metal band Ultraspank. Their debut spawned the commercial mega-hit “Sunday”, but after seven long years and lots of delays, will Lo-Pro’s fans still be waiting or have they moved on to the latest, greatest thing?

The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge‘s opener “Blame Me” gets the album off to a fast start. Instantly, I was taken back to the late 90s/early 2000s when both of Ultraspank’s albums (self-titled and Progress) were in constant rotation in my walkman. The giant wall of guitars, pounding drums, earfuls of low-end bass and Pete Murray’s trademark soaring vocals are all here and in full effect. What a great way to come storming out of the gates. Great song!

One thing that really separates Lo-Pro from Ultraspank are the ballads, and The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge is completely full of them. After a very energetic start, Lo-Pro hit us with much slower radio-ready tracks like “A Life That’s Just Begun”, “Wasting Away”, “Alive” and “Clean the Slate”, among others. “A Life That’s Just Begun” fills your skull with guitarists Pete Ricci and Neil Godfrey’s lullaby-esque strings, Tommy Stewart’s (ex-Godsmack) tribal overtones and Murray’s soft, yet gritty crooning. “Wasting Away” is bursting with a rich acoustic/electric mix and Murray channeling a tough guy version of Thom Yorke (Radiohead). The song does gain slight momentum through the choruses with the addition of some rather underwhelming guitar static.

Originally released on their 2009 Letting Go EP, “Alive” shows up once again on this album. Ricci and Godfrey lay the radio rock on thick with layer upon layer of melody and cool subtle nuances. Murray’s vocals sound fantastic as his voice soars, really allowing the listener feel the emotions he’s trying to portray. “Clean the Slate” is just like the other songs mentioned – chock full of radio friendly riffs, mild electronics and huge singable choruses. This is, by far, one of my favorites out of all the lighter tracks on the album. There’s just something extremely catchy about the song from beginning to end.

Lo-Pro segue the album with the beautifully rich and all electronic “Say.” The track may only be two short minutes, but it’s two minutes of absolute must listen music. In my mind, Pete Murray has always been an unbelievably talented vocalist that never really got the recognition he deserved. With Lo-Pro, he may not have the same full tilt aggression that he had with Ultraspank, but his vocals are a cut above and stellar nonetheless. Murray begins the song with lyrics that are overflowing with emotion and anguish, while being accompanied by sweeping electronics that fill the audio spectrum with ambient sounds of both beauty and ruin.

With all the radio ready songs, Lo-Pro sophomore effort does feature a few tracks with some serious muscle as well. “Ingenious” features blasting tribal percussion, infectious spoken word and totally ferocious riffing. Murray lends some screams into the mix, which makes for very nice touch and adding some much needed flavor. “Early Morning Anger” stokes the “metal fire” with its roaring six string action, slapping bass and hammering drums.

The Beautiful Sounds Of Revenge is one of those albums that really tore me in two different directions. A part of me was very disappointed that the band made an album full of commercialized songs that didn’t rip my face off like I know this band is capable of. But the other part of me realizes that Lo-Pro isn’t that kind of band; and for what they are, they are incredible. Casual fans who scratch their “heavy” itch with bands like Staind, Seether or Finger Eleven will embrace this release with open arms as they should. But those who expect anything other than thirteen tracks of music featured on your local rock station will want to look elsewhere.

3.5/5