Peat

Allright let's address the elephant on the Album Cover. Seldom has any attempt at a career been botched than by the dipshit who greenlit that ahem, artwork. If it was an attempt by Tad (shout out to those dudes) to parody the Nevermind cover to troll the oversaturated "Grunge" marketing, that would be one thing, but this attempt to appeal to the 90's mindset of authentic even if it is ugly, is beyond daft, and belongs on each and every worst covers of all time list. More importantly it conceals, what is an interesting (if still flawed) Alt/Prog Metal record, that at least offers good (if simplified) playing, and some authentic Alice in Chains/King's X harmonies.

In certain aspects these dudes deserve champaign and cigars. Not only are they a Shrapnel band doing big things on Roadrunner, but they totally nail the harmonies of the aforementioned bands. You could easily fool anybody that this is Staley and Cantrell. As unoriginal as that shit is, I dig the sound, so it's perfect for me. Ultimately the issue is that the harmonies aren't particularly composed as well as they band's can play. Nor are they too memorable. For a Shraprnel crew, you can tell these dudes are trying to simplify the songs a tad, and the otherwise potent Iommi style riffing, while certainly towering many more pea brained Groove outfits, are not as creative as even some of the more commercial AIC and Soundgarden jamming. At it's worse it has the vibe of a dreaded Post-Grunge cash in, who pumped up several watts of Metal to give the tracks an edge. More interesting than legitimately great, it's absolutely worth a listen as an oddity within the Prog/Alt realms of Heavy Fuckin' Metal.

Totally incredible drumming and playing tempo changes rock the opener. "Concepts" is an instant highlight, with great crushing riffage, nice amounts of switch ups and heaviness that spice this up sufficiently to not seem like another tired Alice imitation. What it lacks in originality and incredible songwriting, it drops in an impressive rhythmic rattling especially during the middle of the track. These little bombastic details make the band stand out. Nice Cacophony-lite quasi shredding open "Evolution", this sounds like a duller King's X, almost saved by ridiculously good drumming, and fun muted (both literally and figuratively) shred work.The drowsy verses and choruses totally sink this track. On the rebound "Creations" brings in some dope Iommi sludge to the fold, the harmonies are again impressive as fuck, but again the riffs and composition aren't as mesmerizing as they try to be. Still sludge is sludge and the track is totally listenable, just again more monotonous then it should be. The solos aren't Shrapnel caliber flashy, and you can tell this dude is holding back. Nice rocking groove propels "Mostly", def some decent filler, nice chugging in the breakdown, and fantastic drumming as per usual. While lacking a proper dynamic sound, it is certainly more technically adept than many a generic Groove Metal track. Catchy riffing and pissed Hetfield delivery "Trust" rocks like with a Galactic Cowboy's vibe, for once since the opener the freshly lifted Alice harmonies are decently written. The breakdown does sound a tad too much like Rage Against the Machine for me, but better, and the quick shredding noodling the band stuffs in, keep the track from becoming boring. Totally Doom riffage begin "Why Am I Telling You", but the weight quickly fades in a totally dull track, weak Alice balladry, chorus totally stomps over the verse, although the bridge is a more serviceable imitation. Despite being obviously heavier than most Alice tracks, this record in general just lacks the dynamics and cathartic delivery that need to make the tracks stand tall. But hey at least it ain't Post-Grunge.

Goofy techno parody intro not withstand, "Simplicity" is ironically killed by it's title. The ensuing groove riff is a parody in itself, it is so silly, it's almost technical. Vacillating from that to King's X gone weak riffage, this shit sounds like a blast to play, but listening to it is hardly as fun. Once again props to the ill drumming for making the rythym so intricate, as well the guitarist for somehow restraining himself this long. Some solid groove sections help this out as well, but again the more sedate section's stop the song. Groovy sludge riffage propel "Captive" to again good but not great filler. Anthemic and catchy, this sounds like a lot of better songs you've previously heard, but the drumming and tight riffage are again impressive despite the overall blandness. Showstopping shred run in the solo by the way, although this dude sounds like a slightly less interesting Larry Lalonde. Primus and especially Possessed this ain't. Solid Sabbath sludge got me nodding to "Invisible Companion", the total vibe is there and the "Hand of Doom" riff is on point. Fortunately the Staley worship is decently written here. Unfortunately the riffs become a tad more monotonous and simpler as the track plays on, not helped by the yawn inducing solo. Half and half on this one. Driving riffs kick in the title track, and the ensuing vocal sections are more stilted than crushing, and the repetitive Alice vibes are even less exciting than usual. The crew rebounds a touch with a rocking midsection with the spectacular drumming picking up where the intro left off. Nice atmospheric outro as well. "Make Me Hate" doesn't make me hate that usual dirge arpeggio that I tend to dig, but it sounds just ok and plodding here, switching back and forth with a heavier but less powerful Alice in X vibe. Not too wild about the melodic and angsty chorus either. Before Post-Grunge none of this shit existed, and it's too bad that this band despite it's heaviness succumbed to that trap. Decent scattered riffs throughout though. Closer "In My Distress" vacillates to clean and acoustic verses to decent 90's Metalli/Deth catchiness despite the vocals reaching Anselmo type rasp. Good stuff and all but hardly revolutionary, and ofcourse makes me want to go back to the Lightning and Peace Sells records.

Stacked up against Alice, Soundgarden, Melvin's, Skinyard, Tad, Gruntruck, Unearth, as well other Prog/Alt Metal giants like Rollin's Band and Non Fiction, this ain't nearly as cathartic, freewheeling, intense, heavy, or mind bending as it should have been. Inventive and outstanding moments and impressive playing are abundant, and it's a cool curiosity despite what that wretched album cover indicates. Plus it'll be hilarious when you put this on to clown your homies that you are playing the new Alice in Chains record. Almost a 3.5 for the adept playing.

Fave Blasts: Concepts, Creation, Mostly, Trust, Invisible Companion