more metal sounding. I think 'Stabbing Angels' was the name of one". Athom said that Kensrue's lyrics featured "literary references and religious allusions" as he "struggles with faith, dogma, and friendships". The opening track to The Illusion of Safety is "Kill Me Quickly", which starts with metal guitar chords, switches to emo during the verse section, before returning to metal. Discussing the track, Kensrue said him and his fiancé had been through a rough patch where they were frequently arguing, and "it came to a point where we wanted it to end [... and be] able to work through it". "A Subtle Dagger" explores similar territory, with its guitar parts evoking Megadeth, which is followed by "See You in the Shallows", which recalled the material on Identity Crisis. "Betrayal Is a Symptom" deals with being disappointed in one's self as Kensrue explains: "If you're screwing something up, there's probably a reason why; the thing you're doing wrong is a symptom of something deeper". "Deadbolt" evokes 1990s hardcore and screamo, and shuns the verse–chorus–verse form of songwriting. Throughout it, Teppei's guitar parts counter Kensrue's vocals in a call-and-response manner, shifting between post-hardcore and pop-punk. "In Years to Come" opens with a speed metal guitar part, while "The Red Death" recalled the sound of Incubus. The latter is influenced by "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842) by Edgar Allan Poe, with Kensrue stating that it discusses a "point where the red death, which is a plague, has manifests itself physically, as a person". "Trust" is a power ballad; Dkelsen of OC Weekly said "To Awake and Avenge the Dead" showcased the band at their "most breakneck and raw", as its first two and a half minutes are an "all out assault". The Illusion of Safety concludes with two emocore songs, "So Strange I Remember You" and "The Beltsville Crucible", echoing the work of No Motiv. The former starts with a guitar riff in the vein of Jimi Hendrix, before switching to something similar to the work of Metallica. Release Following recording, the band performed on the Plea for Peace and Take Action Tour alongside Alkaline Trio, Hot Water Music, and Cave In across August and September. On November 6, 2001, "Betrayal is a Symptom" was posted as a free download through the band's website. In November and December, the band supported Converge and American Nightmare on their co-headlining tour of the