No Return has garnered critical acclaim throughout Europe for their decidedly brutal thrash metal sound, yet Machinery, their sixth studio album, is the first to see a North American release.

While some may feel left out, Machinery is a solid beginning for the group to spread their contagious blend of death metal precision with thrash carnage.

The album is a conceptual piece that tells a science fiction story surrounding an android that becomes aware of its environment and proceeds to infiltrate a military lab in an effort to create its own entire race of living machines.

This is a familiar tale other metal groups have tackled before, most notably Fear Factory's Obsolete narrative, yet there is plenty offered musically to engage the listener in the complicated ordeal that unfolds.

With such a heavy focus on man vs.

machine, No Return has fully incorporated the industrial edge to this album, allowing their destructive crunch to escalate to greater heights than ever before.

Concept albums are, in general, hit or miss, as they tend to be the type of record one has to listen to from beginning to end to fully grasp how the band intended their music to affect the fans.

Despite this dangerous tightrope, No Return has accomplished an intriguing story that can be listened to in part without ruining the overall feel of their music.

Machinery is an album that should please die-hard thrash metal fans, and they will wish to return again and again.