Not a lot is new in the Today Is The Day camp. Well, the line-up is, of course, but it always is. Relapse went on for approximately half an hour going on about how insanely brutal and evil this is, "with the subtlety of the world’s end," "funeral march for the masses," etc etc etc. So I was expecting this record would make the band’s earlier work seem like church choirs over polka beats. It doesn’t. Here and now I could mention a dozen or so bands more brutal than Today Is The Day of 1999, and I don’t even consider myself to be "underground." But it’s good, it’s really good. Steve Austin hasn’t mellowed a bit, and seems to be as maniacally pissed off as he always did. At times the band totally fucking grinds off (i.e. the entirety of "Spotting A Unicorn"), whilst other times I sit and wait impatiently for the brutality to set in. But it’s not boring, Austin knows what he’s doing and does it better than most. To sum up the brutality debate; when In The Eyes Of God is brutal, it is fucking brutal. When it’s not brutal it’s still great, but it’s not as brutal. Should you appreciate somewhat to very odd music that’s pretty assbrutal at times, you probably know Today Is The Day already, and have a decent idea of what this’ll sound like. If you’re not familiar with the band I suggest you buy Temple Of The Morning Star, which is so fucking brilliant it makes just about every other band on the planet seem like Bruce Springsteen’s backup band in ‘87. And when you find some cash in someone’s couch, go buy In The Eyes Of God. Extra bonus for the song titles "The Russian Child Porn Ballet" and "The Cold Harshness Of Being Wrong Your Entire Life", though. Written By: Angry Norse