hiː nˈoʊɾᵻd ðˈæt, wɪð lˈiːv skˈɑːɹz, dˈɑːɹk ˈeɪndʒəl "kəntˈɪnjuːd tə pɚfˈɛkt ðɛɹ ɔːlɹˌɛdi kwˈaɪt ɪmpɹˈɛsɪv mjˈuːzɪkəl tʃˈɑːps, wˌaɪl sˌaɪməltˈeɪniəsli ɹᵻfˈaɪnɪŋ ðɛɹ bɹˈuːɾəl θɹˈæʃɪŋ" ænd kˈɔːld ɪt "ðɪ ˈælbəm wˌɪtʃ ɪnˈɔːɡjʊɹˌeɪts ðɛɹ pɹəɡɹˈɛsɪv θɹˈæʃ fˈeɪz, æz ɪŋkɹˈiːsɪŋli kˈɑːmplɛks stɹˈʌktʃɚz ænd fɹˈiːkwənt, ˌʌnɛkspˈɛktᵻd tˈaɪm tʃˈeɪndʒᵻz ɹɪzˈʌlt ɪn nˈʌmbɚz ʌv ˈɛpɪk pɹəpˈoːɹʃənz."
He noted that, with Leave Scars, Dark Angel "continued to perfect their already quite impressive musical chops, while simultaneously refining their brutal thrashing" and called it "the album which inaugurates their progressive thrash phase, as increasingly complex structures and frequent, unexpected time changes result in numbers of epic proportions."