When I first heard that ATB had a new release on the way I was happy as a clam! Unfortunately it’s only a re-issue of their sole label release but that’s not to say it’s good or bad.

My first impression was “soft”. The heaviness was brought back a bit in the new mixing which I felt made this album lose its punch that the original release had. The band as a whole sounds much tighter and their new vocalist has a very impressive range that doesn’t sound as layered which is nice. Essentially it’s the same album, nothing new. No new fills or solos which could be good or bad but I think it was a wise decision. At times throughout the album it seems that there were additions – a little drum part here, guitar widdley-woo there. But when I was flipping from original to re-released versions of the songs it’s all already there, just brought forward in the new mixing. This re-issue gives the listener a different perspective on the songs altogether. As for the accompanying DVD with live footage from the Crush ‘Em All tour at Station 4 in St. Paul, Minnesota, it shows this band is just as tight live as they are on the album. Most times I personally find bands of this calibre to lack in the live performance but such is not the case with ATB.

There’s nothing really special about this release. To be honest, if you already have Rareform I wouldn’t recommend buying this re-issue, even with the impressive new vocalist and production, it just lacks the punch that Rareform originally had. I feel the band’s time could have been better spent writing a new record.

Overall rating: 5/10