Hotwire is one of those bands that you hear on the radio and instantly categorize under nu-metal. The band thrashes, screams and plays power-chords as often as the average human blinks his or her eyes.

But their newest album, "The Routine," is far from that. It's a mix of metal, rock and a dash of alternative rock blended with ballads that sound like something the Deftones would produce.

But the most rewarding aspect of the Ozzfest-bound, Cali-based band is the structure of its album.

What starts out as hard and grinding, eventually mellows out into an acoustic finish from a band that you wouldn't even think knew what an acoustic guitar sounded like.

"The Routine" opens with the rock-out single, "Not Today," which sounds like what would be produced if Stone Temple Pilots and Linkin Park were able to mate. The soft guitar intro is soon followed by ear-piercing, inaudible screams by lead singer Rus Martin.

And the next song, "Invisible," doesn't sound much different.

Filled with powerhouse rhythm, you catch yourself tapping your feet to the testosterone-filled riffs and wondering, 'Is this the same song I was just listening to?'

"Say What You Want" is the point in the record where the music shifts from Bud Light mosh-rock into something more comfortable and whiny.

With aggressive, dynamic shifts in the beginning of the song, the ballad that starts 3:46 into the track is sure to catch most listeners off guard.

With an acoustic coda that sounds somewhat like the plucking out of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," it's a change for the better as the band starts to sound more emo and sappy.

Hotwire then starts sounding something more like Thursday and less like Mudvayne.

The next few songs to come, "Hands on You," "Neuro Girl," "Color Blind" and the CD-closing "In The Unknown" drop the in-your-face rock stance and adopt the "feel-sorry-for-me-anger" type of slow, strung-out guitar and bass strums.

But the most shocking part of the CD is the closing song, "In the Unknown," which is all acoustic guitar and soft lyrics. Lead singer Rus Martin lets himself actually use his voice and provide his audience with more than glass-shattering screams.

Even though "The Routine" might sprawl across the map of music genres, it's good to see a band that doesn't have to stick to one type of music.

"The Routine" will make you want to jam, dance, thrash - maybe even cry - but it'll certainly keep you guessing why on earth it named its CD after something that it's not.