Odd mix
A blast of electro rock from October Sky that is strangely minimal and seems unsure of who it's aimed at. The first issue on "Hell Isn't My Home" is the production which pushes forward the vocals and in the process drowns out everything else, if the vocals were stronger this wouldn't be too much of an issue but unfortunately here they often fall flat especially on quieter tracks like 'The Message'.
The album is very hard to pin down; sometimes seeming to favour Lostprophets-ish rock anthems, at other times they do classic rock numbers complete with guitar solos and at the other extreme some tracks are full on synth heavy pop ballads with boy band style vocals ('The Message' and 'Black To Blue' which has an embarrassing 80s style whispered vocal section). The tracks all feel very minimal too; just guitar and synth much of the time and as these are pushed right back in the mix, it often feels like there's nothing going on in the background.
The mix of styles is so extreme throughout the record that it's hard to imagine who would like all aspects of the band and the album feels like a mishmash of ideas with no focus. With some decent production to cut out the distortion on those over the top and sometimes cringe inducing vocals as they move to close to the mic and to bring those other instruments in to focus, the album may be a touch more palatable. But only just.