Manifesto

These gents have been around for a while, mucking about the local metal scene. I randomly recieved this album from a friend, who said they have been gaining more of a following. I do not know why. This album has single handedly stolen every sound from every "popular" band playing on your local hard rock radio station.

With due diligence, I listened to every track on this album. I wish I hadn't. I could not find one original riff in the entire thing. The vocals are a cross between Slipknot and Lamb of God. This wouldn't be a bad thing, if it were still 2001. Vocal styles have made leaps and bounds since then. I wanted to cut the vocals right out.

But alas, if I had, I would come across the next startling fact:

The actual MUSIC itself sounds like it was composed by a 5 year old. Nothing about it is original. The artists don't even try to mask the fact. It feels like they listened to Black Label Society, Pantera, and Lamb of God, took all of the worst guitar riffs, and mashed together into a bastardized version of metal. None of it sounds coherent. The drumming consists of every generic thrash and death metal fill. And if there was bass somewhere mixed in, I'm sure I could say the same.

The title track, Manifesto, sounds like something that was written in the year 2000. It's outdated and unoriginal. The track Essence Of Misery is a hobnob of deathcore and thrash; it just flat out does not work. The same could really be said about the rest of the album. I could not find one section of any track that made my fist pumping or my head banging. When it was over, I just let out a sigh of relief.

The actual production isn't to bad. The bass is kind of lost in there. Other than that everything seems to be mixed properly, nothing special. I feel whoever mixed it was the only one who cared. It's the only reason I gave this album the score that I did.

I think in an effort to appease a large fan base, they lost all direction. One can only hope they either make a desicion over what sound they are aiming for, or just stop. Like I've mentioned several times, it seems this bands goal is to reproduce the sound of bands from a decade ago. There is a general lack of innovation. It's like they refuse to catch up with the times and are content to wallow in a vision of music that has since moved on and grown up in the last 10 years. It's a shame.