After the release of Six-t-Six, Shannon Larkin left the band after 12 years to join Ugly Kid Joe. Well, his presence is missed, but the replacement, Jamie Miller, adds a whole new dimension to the overall sound of the band. Playing with a looser feel, the songs are allowed to expand their focus. I really liked the directness of Souls at Zero, but I also really get into the beat displacement and rhythmatic challenges that are thrown around here, and the guitar sound is also much, much heavier on this album. The stop/start Helmet songs are present (Strip, Undecided), as well as a good ballad (Inside a Scream). Each release finds the band improving, both in musical and songwriting ability, but even with all these "improvements", I prefer the first album to this one for some reason. The first two songs are just killer, and those riffs will probably be in my head for years, but after a few songs I begin to lose interest, which was not the case on the first release. Still, a good album from a great band, which puts it ahead of most of the stuff floating around out there.