Far's second album, Water & Solutions, finds the Sacramento-based alternative metal band coming into their own, creating a distinctive fusion of the sober, grinding guitars of Helmet and Tool.

Occasionally, vocalist Jonah Sonz Matranga oversings, and the band often concentrates on sonics at the expense of songs, but the best moments of Water & Solutions show that Far have carved out their own alterna-metal niche.

It may not be as distinctive as the Deftones, but it has its own appeal.