On the musical side, opener "Pretorius" reconciles the impetuosity and abrasiveness of Punk/Hardcore with the burliness of Metal, revealing itself to be an indestructible machine. Drawing guidance from Mr. Bungle, it can be scraping sometimes and catchy in other moments, it recurs to occasional spatial sounds in the background until melodic bass guitar lines deviate from the main theme along with dilated vocals and screeching guitars.
Released earlier than the other tracks as a single, "Sci-fi Western" has a corresponding hallucinated video derived from a true story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23SFRLvpypM); the harmony appears to be No Means No-influenced, includes a Faith No More-like refrain, and possesses vocals ranging from circus-styled to the most wicked ones (think of screams halfway between some kind of Black Metal and Hardcore). Worth being noted are also a stubborn axe solo and pungent licks accompanying us until the conclusion.
Death, Punk, Prog and Funk Metal coexist in "Caterpillar" prior to a guitar solo in the vein of Rage Against The Machine and a finalè sounding like Confessor (USA) with additional empyrean keyboards lines!
"Thanks, We'll Call You" is a brief interlude with spoken vocals and slapped bass lines as main attractions. It is followed by "Standard of Excellence", which begins with a stealthy step and later explodes with FNMoresque vocals and riffs owing a tad to 24-7 Spyz', to then turn atmospherical for a while a couple of times utilizing vocals not distant from mid-career Depeche Mode. Jazz Rock drumming leads us almost to the end before unrestrainable hysterical screaming manifests in the last seconds just when you thought it was over. There can be no doubts: this is the Flux Amuck composition comprising all of its facades.
Belonging more in the Technical Metal sector, "Reptilian Sun" advances between echoes of Watchtower and Anacrusis, still it doesn't sound like something from the 90s or it has less appeal than the tunes in fashion nowadays; it's just diverse, as all of their official videos, and also the disquieting one matching this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwYzIwJAybg), which some relate to Tool's visual opera. Going back to the sonic aspects, it has to be said that piece contains a rhythmic break in which heartfelt and onirical vocals travel together with a mildly distorted guitar just before a tight Metal structure displays more and more penetrating drumwork. The closure is entrusted with the vocalist speaking and a tapping guitar which later goes solo on the trail of the early Dave Mustaine.
Based upon a lugubrious inception, the seventh track "Emperor" enjoys sporadical decadent sonic embellishments by keyboards within a Prog/Art Metal frame; aftwerwards dashing song portions and other slapped bass lines intervene, more such as Infectious Grooves' cadences on steroids, while next a slow tempo with pretty theatrical vocal parts, guitar licks and reverberated guitars occupy the conclusive moments of the melody.
Shorter than one minute and a half, "Intercepted Transmission" represents the second intermezzo, reminding some Primus's and Sausage's tunes during its entirely instrumental path ending into an electronic noises vortex.
The arrangement of "Panko" kicks off with a nervous pattern prompting slamdancing, then everything abruptly changes to a Malmsteenian solo; the refrain and the vocals crush all they meet in their way, sounding like a slow-motion version of some of Pantera's "Cowboys from Hell" riffage. The final jumps back to thumping mid-paced beats that show Omaha's act does have its own style and show it completely when it comes the time.
Surprisingly romantic, "Debris", owns extra female vocals whispering and possesses magnetism similar to a most gentle Mike Patton's; a weird musical fragment and an Alternative Metal one ensue, with female vocals of different nature that were mixed lower.
The title track is opened by a riff close to Slipknot even though the vocals are dissimilar; there's then a time variation sending back to the nineties, the bass slaps, assorted noises show up with a slightly distorted guitar; a guitar lick leads to e heavier section and the Slipknot riff heard in the beginning, whereas the finishing instants are adorned with a very technical guitar solo (probably the best of the 12 tracks here included) and effected vocals fading out. There's a crazy video dropped at the start of April 2020 to promote the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W__M7ZmHAk), which is a must-see thanks to its blend of shocking, horrorific and funny elements.
The twelfth song mysteriously bears no name. It commences in a sleepy tone with a normal guitar and an out of tune instrument plus menacious noises from one speaker made with a deformed theramin; the guitarist goes solo for a long time till sounds from the otherworld pop in, emphasized by the total absence of vocals all along.

If the digipack contained a booklet with lyrics, photos, etc., it would be perfect; notwithstanding this small fault, technical skills, great composing capacities and the use of unusual musical instruments for Metal and Punk make "The Alternate" a worthy album still too unnoticed a year after its issue. I have decided to publish this review today not because it's Easter in Catholic countries like mine or because I'm bored home waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to be over with, but since today it's April 12, 2020: exactly 61 years ago Jurij Gagarin was launched on Vostok 1 as first man come back alive from a space mission. One of his most famous quotes sums up feelings you can perceive during the listening of Flux Amuck's debut record, which is all founded on galaxial subjects:

" What beauty. I saw clouds and their light shadows on the distant dear earth…. The water looked like darkish, slightly gleaming spots…. When I watched the horizon, I saw the abrupt, contrasting transition from the earth’s light-colored surface to the absolutely black sky. I enjoyed the rich color spectrum of the earth. It is surrounded by a light blue aureole that gradually darkens, becoming turquiose, dark blue, violet, and finally coal black."