CD: The Black Swan Artist: Story Of The Year Label: Epitaph Records Rating: 3.5/5 Best Song: Message To The World Reviewer: Bobby Gorman

When a band has been around for a few years with a couple albums under their belts you can more often than not take a guess as to what their new album will sound like. Unless they're a band that recently underwent some sort of reinvention period or a band that is constantly evolving with each record, it's pretty safe to take a bird's eye view look at the band's new album and guess what it would sound like. Story of The Year are no different. With two albums under their belts and a live CD/DVD, Story Of The Year have pretty much solidified their general sound and despite leaving their major label for greener pastures at Epitaph, The Black Swan still follows that general sound. But that doesn't stop it from being the band's strongest effort yet.

In the same way that Story of The Year blasted through the speakers on In The Wake Of Determination, The Black Swan starts off very heavily with Choose Your Fate. By far the heaviest track on the record, Choose Your Fate can be slightly off putting with its guttural screams and breakdowns but it still grabs the listener's attention right away, making them think that maybe The Black Swan won't be exactly as they expected. In a way it's not, but the rest of the songs sound a lot closer to what you'd expect. The next song, Wake Up, shows that. A much slower track than its predecessor, Wake Up sounds like a cut from Page Avenue (particularly And The Hero Will Drown) but with an explosive chorus that leaves the more polished vocals behind.

For the most part, The Black Swan is a progression from The Wake Of Determination in that it is heavier than what you'd normally hear but still built with enough melodic bits to capture the listener's ear. This contradiction between heavy aggression and a more melodic output will most likely be annoying to some, but The Black Swan is able to straddle that line relatively well. With some songs that feature the rock oriented sound of Thrice (the title track being the example) and others the screamo style of The Used's Lies for The Liars era (Cannonball), the album is diverse while staying in the same general direction. The oddest track in the mix is Tell Me (P.A.C.) which seems to borrow the final verse from Linkin Park's recent Minutes To Midnight album. Somehow that sticks out more than the piano-led ballad Terrified.

It is, however, when the band stays with their truly signature style that The Black Swan stands out. The band sounds best when they allow their melodic side to take control akin to Page Avenue. Message To The World and We're Not Gonna Make It, a song that tells the story of an interracial couple trying to find acceptance, both stick out with a chorus that grab the listener's ear and makes them sing along.

Another note that must be pointed out is how strong Dan Marsala's vocals are throughout the record. Whether he's screaming it out on Welcome To Our New War or crooning softly over Terrified, Marsala's vocals sound much better than before, more controlled and confident and it comes through on the recording.

So other than the occasional moment here or there that sounds a lot heavier than you initially imagined, The Black Swan is what we've come to expect from Story Of The Year. It seems to be much stronger as a whole than the band's earlier work even though it rarely deviates from the general SOTY sound but if you're a fan, then that's not necessarily a bad thing.