Most of the reviews here berate Candirias use of more ear-friendly musical forumulas on What Doesn't Kill You..., but I'll come out praising them from both a listener and musicians standpoint from the get-go.

First, Carley Comas voice is smoother on this release. While he does retain his signature screech on some songs, he seems to have quieted down his vocal cords a little bit making the lyrics a bit more decipherable (And they're good lyrics too) and just overall his performance is more attractive this time around, and he's defintely improved on the singing part.

Second, as for the "nu metal emo mtv garbage" that populates this album, all I have to say is that anyone who thinks even the simplest songs on this album are anything but phenomenally put together simply doesn't know how to play an instrument, and is one of your typical Yahoo Chat armchair rockstars. Candiria has taken odd time signatures, jazz inspired and complex guitar lines, and put them out in a format that is easy to digest. Sonically, this is indeed Candirias most accessible album by far, but technically it ranks among their most astounding, I'd say the chops it takes to play this album rank no lower than any of their others.

So if your definition of "mtv crap" is anything that doesn't constantly grate on the ears (for better or worse) just skip this album. You're too deep in your own musical snobbery to appreciate good music when you hear it, and would rather use it as a way to bitch along with your fellow faceless sad little metalheads who could never cut it in their own band, and have resorted to insulting others who don't follow your preconcieved notions.

Now that that's over, let's continue.

This album flip-flops, quite literally, from older-styled Candiria to this newer styled one. The opening track, Dead Bury The Dead, is one of their coolest songs and has some great drumwork, and sounds a lot like the band on 300% Density, but the rough edges that always graced their albums seem to be smoothed. The next track (where pretentious music snobs generally stop the CD) shows a more cohesive Candiria than ever before with Nameless King. It's still good, damn good.

Short and simple: This is not 300% Density part II. If you've been a fan of the band for a long time then you'd recognize this as simply the next step for them, their blending of so many musical styles and playing patterns is finally reaching a homogenous mixture, as opposed to a scattered, mishmash of the past. Everything Candiria has ever done here is still present, but the way it's put together shows maturity, and the way it's all incorporated with pop elements is fantastic.

Still a deep album, not quite as good as 300% Density (Their best album, by the way), but it's damned good and better than most of these one-stars you're seeing. When you pop this album in and hear it a few times, you'll realize Candiria has and still will define their own sound. It's rare we get bands with this much talent, ability, and far-reaching influences, and it's a shame so many people dismiss them simply because of the fact it's not as heavy as they want it to be.

Beyond Reasonable Doubt and The Process of Self Developement were life changing albums for me. Their unique sound was a pinnacle of a new genre forming. When 300 Percent Density was realeased, things were still going great. Then BOOM!!! Candiria almost dies in a car accident. The band claims(hence the title) "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". In my opinion, for these guys, what doesn't kill you makes you softer. Candiria have always been known for pushing the boundaries in music, combining metal, jazz and hip-hop in a non-conventional form. With influences of everything from Bitches Brew to Contradictions Collapse and Tical to Certain Kind of Blue, these guys were pioneers forming a new genre. But what happened? This accident seemed to have really f*cked these guys up. It's almost like they realized "life is short, we better start making some money because this pioneering new, original genre [...] ain't payin at all! We better start sounding like everything else out there to make more money, because you know how closed minded the majority of society is nowadays!!" Candiria sold they're originality, period. Carley CAN'T sing, he sounds like Max from 40 Below Summer when he does. Oh well, I guess this is the story of society.

Before I write this, let me say that my first exposure to Candiria was 300 Percent Density. It didn't really shock me the way that it seems to shock everyone else on first listen; I had been listening to a lot of Bungle and Dillinger beforehand, and Candiria combines some elements of those on their older material. I enjoyed the album a good deal; I've always valued eclecticism, and this particular brand of eclecticism (hardcore, hip-hop, and jazz) sounded quite unique at the time (and still does).

That being said, the album seemed to lack a sense of focus, or direction. The same could be said about The Coma Imprint. At times it seemed like the members of the band liked to play and listen to a lot of different music, but felt like they needed to throw those elements into every song. Like I said, I'm all about being eclectic, but it has to be done in a way that makes sense. There are moments on 300 percent and Coma Imprint that sound, for lack of a better term, messy. The band's desire to experiment, combined with the different influences brought in from the band members, led to a sense of chaos in song structure that did not seem to flow well at all, at least in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing their old material at all, I still love it. But I've rarely listened to any of it since I picked up What Doesnt Kill You.

What Doesn't Kill You...absolutely blew me away even from the first listen. It still contains all the things you'd expect from Candiria, and more; Carley's melodic singing was truly a surprise, and a good one at that. There are songs with sensible structures in them as well, along with melodic hooks and solos. The old tricks are still here, with odd-metered passages, shifty rhythmic patterns, and hardcore screaming combined with rap vocals. The jazz is still here too; check out "the rutherford experiment".

So if the same bag of tricks is still here (albeit there are some new ones), what makes it so much better? I'll tell you: PURE focus, self-restraint, and a sense of direction in the songwriting. As much as I love the chaotic "jazzy" passages on their older material (I'm a jazz piano major in college myself), the sheer SONGWRITING mastery on this album puts the others to shame. Its amazing to me that the same band can play a brutal mathcore-esque song like "Blood" (which has a KILLER chorus by the way), then play one of the more catchy songs I've heard yet ("Remove yourself", and "Down"), then get to insane progmetal/jazz fusion of The Rutherford Experiment, and, most importantly, MAKE IT ALL MAKE SENSE. Even though the album is a little on the short side, I've listened to it dozens of times and it shows little signs of getting old. Kudos to Candiria for not only recovering from a near-fatal/career-ending accident, but then having the guts to suck it up and shave the excess off of their songwriting to release a truly memorable and great record. If you haven't been exposed to Candiria yet, PLEASE do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Let me first qualify this review by saying I am not a nu-metal fan, really. I do admire a select few of those types of bands, but on the whole I think it is a tired genre that needs reform or buried altogether. I am also a past Candiria fan, following their career ever since the monumental "300 Percent Density".

That being said, I think they are exploring new territory that they haven't tread before, and giving other practictioners in their scene a run for their money. I don't think this is nu-metal (do you really think a band like Staind could pull of a track like The Rutherford Experiment?), but people will easily confuse it as such, because Carly doesn't barrage you with screamed vocals nonstop, as was the case with their past material.

I'm glad they ditched somwhat their penchant for a loose song structure. It works for jazz or progressive bands, but stringing a bunch of riffs together doesn't always equal coherent musical statement. That's the bane of the current glut of metalcore bands, not musicians with talent.

Don't be fooled by the childish "They sold out!" naysayers. Most of us abandoned that kind of simplistic thinking freshman year of high school, when we found out there was something better than punk rock. This is Candiria doing what they've always done.

This album blows. When someone asks me "what's the album you regret spending your money on?" I always say "Candiria - What Doesn't Kill You." I gave it ONE star but it really deserves ZERO, unfortunately that's not an option.