01. Pale Horse
02. Rabbit Hole (Cowards, Pt. 1)
03. Jim Jones (Cowards, Pt. 2)
04. Hallucinations
05. Wolves (Love & Light)
06. Karma Goddess
07. Blood Out In The Fields
08. Al Phobias
09. Shocked At The End Of The World

Bright? Well, the warning signs are flashing.

American alt-rockers Chevelle are back after a four-year gap since they last pushed their boundaries and aimed for the moon and beyond with NIRATIAS, an album that saw the band match ambition with quality to positive results. It seems that Chevelle have struggled to conjure up a suitable follow-up, with the four-year gap not only being significant in terms of length, but due to the drop in quality that Bright As Blasphemy represents. Signalling a retreat in scope, ambition and entertainment value, Bright As Blasphemy is lesser blessed, and rather the sound of a band under duress.

While there is a direction towards a goal the band have in mind on this record, the journey to get there is a muddled mess that, at times, is devoid of ideas in making to this endpoint. Though, it must be said that when the band hit their stride, they do it well, at least ensuring there are tracks worth your time, even if the whole album in totality may not be.

"Hallucinations" typifies this state of mind, a song that seems to geared up to pay off with a crescendo, but alas, it never comes; the track builds to a climax that doesn't exist, leaving listeners twiddling their thumbs in a waiting room, but their name is never called (ah, just what I want from a record, to remind me of a trip to the dentist). The issue is that the band repeat this, several times in fact, not learning their lesson and leaving listeners with the conundrum of how quick they should press the skip button during tracks like "Blood Out In The Fields". Chevelle are more than capable of making these kinds of brooding, slow-burning, sound collage-type songs work; it's just that on Bright As Blasphemy, they miss the mark badly and consistently.

This is not aided by the pedestrian performances the Loeffler brothers put in at times, with the likes of "Karma Goddess" almost a test of just how little effort they can get away with putting into a song before it affects the quality of it (well, success, you found the limit and exceeded it). Still, it must be said that when inspiration strikes on songs like "AI Phobias", both put in a shift and then some.

As alluded to, there are some tracks here worth seeking out, with the aforementioned "AI Phobias" joined by "Jim Jones (Cowards, Pt. 2)" and "Wolves (Love & Light)" comprising a trio that highlight that Chevelle haven't totally lost their way, but are scrambling to remain on the path consistently.

Bright As Blasphemy is a drop-off from NIRATIAS, one that scales back in nearly every area that had made NIRATIAS enjoyable. Where there are moments worth seeking out, it is an exercise in digging in the dirt to get to these gems.

Performance:	6
Songwriting:	5
Originality:	5
Production:	7