There’s a sense of real-life experience behind the manic intensity of To Speak of Wolves, lifting this Greensboro, N.C.–based combo beyond the usual confines of Christian metalcore. The band’s sophomore album serves up plenty of mouth-frothing vocals (courtesy of new frontman Gage Speas), pummeling rhythms, and incendiary guitar work. What separates TSOW from the rest of the pack is the desperate edge of its songwriting, which avoids gothic clichés in favor of something more visceral and relevant. Tracks like “Hivemind,” “Stand Alone Complex," and “Voidwaker” are utterly ferocious as they reveal chasms of spiritual confusion and despair. “A Simple Thought That Changed Everything” cries out to God for salvation, while “Je Suis Fini” struggles to find a righteous path in a sinful world. The churning, industrial-tinged torment of “Oregon” offers some relief from the album's breakneck pace. The most emotionally moving track is “Rearview Memories,” a cathartic expression of grief built around the spoken prayers of Bree Macallister and Levi the Poet.