Speaking of Motorhead, they are one of the reasons I checked out this act for review. The label described Crash and Burn as a cross between (get this) "Mastodon, Black Flag, Nirvana, and Motorhead." This proves to be a glaring lie. Mastodon could run circles around this band, and there is no Nirvana influence to be found. Black Flag and Motorhead aren't stretching it too much, but still...

The first two tracks "Insommnia" and "Tension" aren't anything special. Punk verses, repeat choruses, screaming vocals, and the mandatory rock guitar solo. Guitarist Phil Valentine is actually quite talented, but even his leads seem to lack the stop and listen quality that any good solo has on these two tracks. "Out of Reach" has a mid-tempo pacing with the first truly memorable chorus of the album.

"Fallen" has a sludgey punk vibe that is slow, murky, and muddied. "Savior" is a highlight indeed; the watery guitarwork is well-placed and sounds organic and natural, as opposed to earlier where some guitars were thrown in seemingly just because.

"All for Nothing" is the whole harder pop-punk that will win people over at the Warped Tour, and predictably, nothing but pure catchiness. "Dead Quiet" is a pointless filler track, so short and insignificant, (1:51) that it shouldn't be on this album. "No One" is slow, rocking, hardcore punk, not too mention entertaining music.

"Red Menace" is purist freestyle guitaring, leading into "Across Your Throat" which is more, yes MORE, hardcore punk rock. The odd "Burn This City Down" has a sound that manages to capture that rare something that sets it apart...hard to explain, but worth a listen. "Steel Cold Gray" is a long-drawn punk ballad, and a decent close to a decent album.

All in all, The Value of Trust doesn't raise the bar for punk, but rather meets it. As I said earlier, this style was already perfected by Avenged Sevenfold. Also, I should note that the vocals rarely change and occasionally run the gamut of annoyance. If you like your punk with a bit of a rock spirit though, and solos to match, try this album on for size.