The General Electric

As boring as that album cover might be, this is a slight return to form for Shihad. Not in that industrial / evil kind of way, but more of a pissed-off, back to basics type of approach. Gone is the utter mellowness of the self-titled album and enter more of a keyboard based anthem album for growing audience, I found. The guitars are wavier, the bass even groovier, and the drums much less tribal and more assertive. Toogood himself continues to improve his wailing skills, with his clear voice showing much more proficiency behind the livid tunes. His voice can be as soulful (“The Metal Song”), rich (“Sports And Religion”), or even more down on the punk spectrum (“My Mind’s Sedate”) – all of them work wonders.

You got variety here again, further enriching the replay value: you’ve got the punk tracks, retrospective tracks, romantic tracks, and even spacey ones that utilize the most of sampling and keys (particularly the last one). These traits, plus the knack for writing catchy / vibrant songs themselves, makes for one of my favorite albums by the band. The scope that was so powerful on the previous releases starts to dwindle down here, but on some like “Wait And See” we’re still given the proper lift and sensation.

With the never-changing production values we still get the same hard-hitting guitar tone, with riffs this time more flashy but paced. Bass backs these up with tremendous oomph and a sense of fashion, I dare say. The band doesn’t tire themselves out in monotony like on the early albums, therefore making these ones more memorable to ears. You’re bound to find a desired track if this type of music is in your department. Eventful, executed well and vicious, Shihad no doubt finished off the decade with a bang.