An unstoppable marketing machine may have passed Fuel [ tickets ] by when "American Idol" finalist Chris Daughtry declined an invitation to join the band, but new release "Angels and Devils" suffers none musically at the hands of Toryn Green. In fact, in terms of sheer vocal ability, Fuel might be better served by the previously-unheard-of frontman.

Emerging at the helm of the late-'90s rock movement that also spawned the like-minded 3 Doors Down, Puddle of Mudd and Nickelback (as well as Daughtry), Fuel stays true to form for the genre with "Angels and Devils," delivering middle-of-the-road arena rock that, for better or for worse, isn't as lyrically cute and catchy as Puddle of Mudd, or as topically watered-down and accessible as Nickelback. Instead, the 12 tracks surge forward with the clamor, crush and crinkle of guitar-driven aesthetics as their backbone, Green's vocal tones more reminiscent of Mudd's Wes Scantlin than former Fuel vocalist Brett Scallions on "Gone" and "Hangin' Round," and "Forever" and "Not This Time" showing Daughtry just who did it first, and might still do it best.

Lead single "Wasted Time" has the mid-tempo hooks and teeth to co-exist alongside the band's calling-card hits "Shimmer" and "Hemorrage (In My Hands)," but "Leave the Memories Alone" might prove the album's biggest score, a radio-ready goliath that could have guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell giving Chad Kroeger and his "Photograph" a run for their Top 40 money. Bold solos emblaze "Again" and "Angels Take a Soul," and "Halos of the Sun" explores adventurous sonic depths, but as has been the case throughout their decade-long career, it's not the highs and lows that mark Fuel, but rather their steady middle ground.

Despite the fact that Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie are the only original members (former Godsmack and Lo-Pro drummer Tommy Stewart rounds out the quartet), "Angels and Devils" succeeds because it doesn't try to be anything more than Fuel has ever been. Judging from the album's lushly-layered guitars, sing-along vocals and rhythmic ebb-and-flow, it is an approach that continues to serve them well.