The Evil Operating System

I first heard of TEOS a few years ago when one of the local rock stations did their "Loud and Local" segment on Sunday nights. I was surprised to hear a band like TEOS coming out of the Philly scene, where hip-hop and college rock reigns supreme. I managed to track down the CD. It was good for a spin or two until I became incredibly bored.

The Evil Operating System opens with "Immolation", a song marred by dull groove antics and monotonous riffs. TEOS take a page from Godsmack, basing the the song around a single-note riff. The drums show little variety and sound like they too could have been pulled off a Godsmack album. The vocals leave a lot to be desired, the melody is about as interesting as the riffs.

Next off is "I Will Rise". Fuck yea! Some speed, this is the stuff! Wait, it's groove again. This isn't even Pantera groove, this is Disturbed-style groove. Vocals get kind of whiny in the middle and the song slows down. I just noticed the bass, it's barely there, but it's there. Bass bass bass. This song's so fucking dull It's like Disturbed with slightly whiny vocals. This guy really isn't good enough to try the whole higher vocals thing. This song just drags on. Okay, over.

Oh gods no, "Control" starts with nothing but bass and high hat. Guitars come in. This song reminds me of something my friend's band did. That's not a good thing. Ill-concieved guitar melodies. This, too reminds me of Godsmack. The vocal melody during the verse tries to keep it varied, but misses the mark. How long has this riff been going on? Shred-like solo. Not loud enough, so I can't really comment on it. This song reminds me of the layered vocals in "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" by Pantera. I hate that song.

TOOL RIPOFF! "Bring Me to Life" sounds exactly like Tool, but even worse. Modern rock (un)inspired tripe. I think the lyrics are trying to be deep, but they fall flat of their lofty aspirations.

Okay, time to wrap this up, enough with the song by song. What we have here is a band that can't decide which Clear Channel rock band they want to rip off. Are we Chevelle today? Or are we Godsmack? The guitar tones lack edge and sound over-compressed. They aren't given enough room to breathe.

The notable exception to the agrro-rock rule is the final track, "Tortured", where the singer goes on about pain and not being able to turn back. A good part of the song is thrashy, though. But it sounds like if Linkin Park ditched the DJ and tried to play thrash. The clean guitar intro hints at Metallica influence ("To Live is To Die" maybe). More guitar noodling melodies. Groove ensues. Roll credits.