Bury Your Dead prove themselves to be one of the more creative and imaginative acts on the entire nu-metal scene.

For starters, Beauty and the Breakdown is a concept album, created along the lines of a fairy tale which is written in the liner notes.

That said, none of the ferocity of Bury Your Dead's hard-and-metalcore attack is blunted.

In fact, its focus is tightened to the point of breaking entirely new ground.

It's so unusual for a band like this to reveal something deeply emotional intentionally.

There is no shock value here, just a complex morality fable played out over skin-flaying guitars and flailing out-of-control drums.

A sticker on the shrink wrap says: "for fans of Slipknot, Hatebreed, Lamb of God, Korn and Shadows Fall." What the hell is that supposed to mean? None of these bands sound like one another! Bury Your Dead rocks.

Period.

This is straight-ahead, knotty, scorched earth nu-metal.

The lyrics work in the context of the tale the band unfolds, and the precision and sheer abandon BYD plays with is invigorating, refreshing -- and at übervolume -- is brain pummeling to the point of submission.

Isn't that the way it's supposed to be? These five guys are it, in a category of their own, playing a brand of metal that belongs only to them.

Beauty and the Breakdown is as close to brilliant as this music gets.