Set It Off’s self-titled record marks the band’s first fully independent release and it’s a milestone they clearly want us to recognise. Unfortunately, what’s meant to sound like liberation mostly comes across as a collection of old tricks, rebranded with heavier guitars and a slightly louder snarl.

From the opening moments of “Pathological,” it’s clear the band are reaching for the glory days of nu-metal and early 2000s angst. There’s rap-rock swagger, chugging riffs, and enough bravado to fill a Limp Bizkit tribute night but very little of it feels authentic or inspired.

Tracks “Punching Bag” and “Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing [REBORN],” have found some traction on rock radio, but that success seems more down to algorithmic nostalgia than genuine innovation. “Rotten” tries its hardest to channel fury and menace, tossing in a clumsy Slipknot nod and a big singalong chorus, but it ends up sounding like something written to soundtrack a wrestling promo rather than an artistic statement.

Cody Carson’s claim that this album is about reconnecting with his teenage self  “writing for nobody else but himself” would hold more weight if the music didn’t sound so calculated. There’s a difference between being carefree and being careless, and Set It Off leans worryingly toward the latter. Every scream, every breakdown, every “heavy” moment feels smoothed over by an overly clean production job from long-time collaborator Jon Lundin. For an album that’s supposedly about freedom, it’s astonishingly safe.

There are flashes of personality: “Fake Ass Friends” has a catchy hook buried beneath the clichés, and “Creating Monsters” at least tries something odd with its carnival-esque breakdowns. But even those moments can’t disguise the sense that the band are playacting at being heavy.

Set It Off have always worn their theatrical streak on their sleeves, but here it curdles into something more forced than fun. It’s loud, clean, and technically competent, but there’s very little underneath.