Hailing from the north eastern US, A Life Once Lost surely have something of an inheritance from neighbor names like Converge, Isis and The Dillinger Escape Plan, but after the much anticipated 2005 Roadrunner release “Hunter”, the band did a significant move towards even more technical metalcore, thus separating themselves from the trendy pack of all Testament and Metallica wannabes. “Iron Gag”, the new album, represents the current mindset of a band that is eager to evolve with every step taken. This is not your average frozen in time American act. The excellent implementation of hardcore and prog-death metal grooves with numerous time changes sets “Iron Gag” among the albums worth buying in September 2007 along with the new The Black Dahlia Murder and The Dillinger Escape Plan CDs. Minor in implied expectations, this release is potentially able to surprisingly get over the rivalry if you give it a chance. It needs listening over and over again. It needs your full concentration and focus, as if it is a new Mastodon album or something. A typical grower, “Iron Gag” differs from “Hunter” like an English professor from his students. Strangely, A Life Once Lost succeed in keeping the momentum and carry it through the whole record, leaving an impression that it works like a concept album. There are bluesy grooves (“The Wanderer”), atmospheric guitar parts that remind of late Carcass (“Masks”), and typical hardcore breakdowns with furious vocal lines (“Silence”), but despite the variation of expressions, “Iron Gag” remains a very monolithic effort. In fact there are only certain parts of songs where the band seems to lose the direction and cohesion that makes the remaining timing of the release such a pleasurable listen. It’s a proof that A Life Once Lost have a bright musical future beyond the confines of metalcore. We’ll be waiting impatiently for them to escape that genre completely.