First track Purge doesn't waste any time, opening with a blast of sirens and poundingly fast drums before adding in guitars and singer U-tarou's combative vocals to create a wall of noise that gets your adrenalin pumping faster than chugging a can of Red Bull. The assault continues as, one after the other, Baal's songs attack you with strident programming, crushing beats and intense guitar riffs, trying to pummel you into submission.

And sadly this is a problem. By the midway point the tracks have started to blend into each other a bit and the whole thing loses its grasp as your attention inevitably wanes. Luckily Awake starts to shake things up just enough to re-engage you, taking some time before it kicks off and veering between slower moments made truly sinister by a disturbing rasping growl before the beats come smashing in again. Then Iron Age opens with more of a techno influence and the vocals change up for a quieter, more understated performance to provide contrast with the aggressive chorus. Inhuman Dimension is a bit more metal with less of the programming on show while the final track, the excellent Genocide, is back to the full-on heavy template but the variety is just enough to save things from getting boring. A little more of that variety overall would have really pushed the album from good to great though.