✦✦✧✧ (See yesterday’s firstie on the companion album “War.”)

If you really liked “War” but wished it was less metal and more hard rock, this album is for you. Otherwise, this album is most certainly not for you.

✦✦✧✧ Demon Hunter seem to be cribbing a page from Opeth’s playbook, releasing two albums this year which are thematically linked but sonically different. (We’ll have our first-listen feedback on the companion album, “Peace,” tomorrow.) Beyond that, this is fairly uninspiring, unless you’re a huge Stone Sour fan.

✦✧✧✧ Take equal parts Machine Head, King’s X, Soilwork, and Killswitch Engage, and purée them in a blender until all flavor is lost.

★☆☆☆ When Demon Hunter put their minds to it, they can really throw down some mean metalcore. The problem with this album is that the band seem much more inclined to devote themselves to schmaltzy power metal.