Album Review: I See Stars - Digital Renegade

Notorious for their synth- and techno-infused brand of post-hardcore, Michigan boys I See Stars deliver their third full-length, injected with a whole lot of metallic power.

Album opener Gnars Attacks boasts an epic and explosive kick into the record, not waiting long to introduce listeners to a breakdown and a techno/trance interlude. It's amazing to note the gravity of Skrillex's influence, as much of the record seems to have sprouted from a strand of the dubstep pioneer's DNA. Nzt48 and Digital Renegade showcase the vocal abilities of the two singers – clean vocalist Devin Oliver and throat vocalist Zach Johnson; both have honed their craft since their debut release in 2009.

This record is more dynamic, more wholesome and livelier, making it very evident that a wide array of genres has influenced the boys in its inception. Amidst bouts of Nintendo-core, gang vocals and breakdowns (see: title track Digital Renegade), spacey keyboard fills and a David Guetta-meets-Enter Shikari attitude, the band still fulfils its quota of post-hardcore that its older fans would've been comfortable with. Underneath Every Smile and Mystery Wall are two such songs, quite standard in their structure and lacking any pizzazz.

Electric Forest is practically Robin Hood-meets-Blade Runner, by name at least. With a mainstream dance beat backgrounding Oliver's killer Bieber-esque falsetto, it's also got Hey Monday's Cassadee Pope lending her saccharine sweet vocals to the song's Auto-Tuned woodlands. The last song, Filth Friends Unite, kicks off as a flawless cheat sheet of the album's influences – synth-laden Nintendo-core, hardcore, dubstep and a generous helping of techno. All in all, the album is a progressive, heavy and catchy package of instrumental aggression and techno dance beats; the difference is, they've done it well.