Roadkill

OK. I know I said I didn't like this album very much, but I think it's time to listen to it again and explain my problems (and what I do like about it). I have mellowed out on Meanstreak's only full-length album, so this won't be too much of a ranting review, but I still have some issues with it, and I need some time to explain them.

Because I have a lot to say about this album. It is clearly not a forgettable little record made without any effort. In fact, on a technical level, it's quite good. The production is very clean, though not too much for a metal record. But it's really the guitars and the vocals that stand out. Bettina has this clear and powerful heavy metal type of voice that I really like, and on every song, she's giving all she's got, to makes us believe every emotion expressed by the lyrics. As for the guitars, well, that's something ! Well played, heavy, energetic, some wild solos and some nice riffs, like the thrash metal of "Roadkill" and the metal snake charmer type riff of "Snakepit".

So I'll try to explain what I don't like… Some time ago, I thought I didn't like the rest of the album because it was not like the title track. The somewhat less angry heavy/power metal seemed dull compared to the thrash metal song about accidentally running over someone (if that's what it's about. We'll get to the lyrics later). Now, I'd say that this isn't the main problem anymore, but it does play a part. "Roadkill" isn't just the heaviest song, it's also the most coherently written with the most memorable riff. The rest of the album often sounds like the band isn't sure where they are going. They start with a somewhat promising (or at least, not so dull I immediately want to stop the song) intro, and then do nothing with it, and just mess around with some barely memorable music and overwrought singing.

Speaking of that, it will seems odd to call this a bad thing for a metal album, but I think the songs are too.. loud and obnoxious ? Bad metal can be dull, but it can also be too loud without a purpose or a particularly good melody and coherently written songs. On the album's worst moment (though as I said previously, there are some good moments), there is no memorable music, and you're just left with a song that goes nowhere, lyrics you don't care about and the singer constantly yelling in your ear.

Let's just clarify what I mean by over singing: I usually love heavy metal singers with a big belting voice, I don't consider it over-singing as long as it doesn't bother met. But Bettina's delivery is often so over the top that it becomes a little annoying, not to mention kind of unnatural. The repetitiveness of some choruses (especially on "It Seems to Me") doesn't help.

The songs often have an air of "trying too hard to be edgy". The title track is heavier than the rest, starts with something about finding roadkill, them goes into something incomprehensible about war flashbacks and "mankind's distorted view frying on the grill". "Lost Stranger" is the softest song on the album, and it still includes lines like "I wrap you up in barbed wire" and "I wanna put you in your place, you slapped me in the face". "Snakepit" and "It Seems to Me" also have some forced anger that you don't really understand because there is no context to it. Overall, it tries so hard to be brutal, that it feels a little forced and inauthentic.

And the lyrics sure didn't impress me. Again, the title track isn't a good introduction. It starts with someone who ran over some other person or found some dead animal on the road, it's not clear, and then it becomes the incoherent mess I talked about earlier. The roadkill is supposed to symbolize… I don't even know. I'm not sure if the song is about murder, war, humanity's fascination with violence in general, but I guess it's not a very successful attempt at social commentary. All I understood was these really silly, inexplicable lines like "It's not your mother's chicken dinner lying on your plate" and "It's mankind's distorted view frying on the grill", which I don't even need to comment.

That's not even the only track with questionable lyrics. "Snakepit" and "It Seems to Me" are both about telling someone to get a hold of themselves and stop ruining everything for themselves and others, but you're never told what that person has done, so it just feels like forced anger. It almost feels like the narrator is kicking someone when they're down, and forcing them to listen to that damn "Lost inside, lost inside your mind" chorus. Meanwhile, I couldn't even tell what "The Warning" is about. "Searching Forever" is about being lost and stuck in some place you don't know, where nothing really happens, and it sounds just as boring as this type of situation.

However, not all songs are as incompetently written. "The Congregation" has a good thrash rhythm, and some rather interesting observations about how organized religion manipulates us. It's a good song, that's a shame it comes at the end of the album after so many mediocre tracks. "Lost Stranger" has a good melody and isn't trying too hard to be heavy. I also like the lyrics about a dysfunctional relationship that the narrator sort of accepts, then decides to end. In a way, it almost sounds like an update of an old bluesy song about a messed up relationship.

And even though I've complained about their lyrics, I still think "Roadkill" and "Snakepit" are among the best songs of the album. The title track is definitely the best written (musically), and "Snakepit" isn't too bad or incoherent either, in addition to having some interesting musical ideas. There are some pretty good songs on this album, but for the rest, I have to admit that I just don't really "get" Meanstreak.

So yeah, I'm probably one of the few people (and there are already not many who have heard of this band) who don't really like Meanstreak. I admit that the band has some talent and there are many good things on this album. It isn't really THAT bad. But there are some problems I can't ignore. Not all the songs are equally good, the band rarely puts the same effort into their songwriting, the lyrics are often too clumsy for their own good and include some outright bad lines. So, listen to the good songs if you're interested, but stay away from the rest.