Following the departure of lead singer Scott Wade in 2006, it would have been understandable for Comeback Kid to disband.

Instead, the Canadian hardcore outfit stuck together and plugged guitarist Andrew Neufeld into the lead singer role, producing an album that upstages 2005’s “Wake the Dead” in every way imaginable.

The band’s latest release “Broadcasting” is a seething, brutal set of buzzsaw guitars and lung-shattering screams. Neufeld’s screaming vocals, which will sound like white noise to some, are actually an improvement over Wade’s ear drum-puncturing vocal blasts.

Songs like “Defeated” and “Hailing on Me” would’ve been less feasible for Comeback Kid to perform with Wade at the helm, but Neufeld’s voice navigates rage-driven chord changes with ease.

That’s as refined as “Broadcasting” gets, though.

Hardcore bands are not known for subtlety, and Comeback Kid is no exception. The slamming drums on “In Case of Fire” are almost primitive, while Neufeld sounds like his larynx will explode at any moment on “Give’r (reprise).”

While the album’s angst-ridden guitars and blood-curdling screams will impress hardcore fans, there is a glaring lack of quality songs. The guitar riffs on “Defeated” and “The Blackstone” are agile enough, but they fail – or perhaps refuse – to develop into anything more. The album’s dynamics, or lack thereof, are also a problem. Aside from the brooding introduction to “Defeated,” the tempos and volume stay on one setting: loud and fast.

Of course, fans of hardcore music wouldn’t have it any other way.