Search - Upo :: No Pleasantries

Jennifer J. (AthenaCrosby) from PITTSTON, ME
Reviewed on 9/7/2006...

I can't remember how or why I received (or purchased) this CD, but once I finally decided to listen to it, I was pretty glad I had. There are a lot of good songs, the music flows well with the lyrics, and the lyrics/songs were pieced together nicely for this...well, almost storyline sort of mode.

All the typical dropped-d grunge rock tricks.....

Randy | Delaware | 07/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I heard "Godless" while I was working out in the gym up at school this spring and figured these guys were worth looking into. They were suppossed to come up to Penn State this spring with Caroline's Spine but cancelled on us. I was a slight bit disappointed because I wanted to buy the new CD. So here I am back at home in the local record store and bam! There's that CD I've looked so hard for so I immediately bought it. I have to agree with other reviews in that it is a rather strong album that showcases some good hard dropped-d talent. Unfortunately I was dissapointed to find that these guys lacked a definite style of their own. I don't think that I can find one part of this CD during which I'm not saying "Gee, that sounds a lot like _____" Some of the vocals and composition are remniscent of older Badmotorfinger Soundgarden, they use the clean-dirty transitions and the fuzzy telephone voice heard primarily in Creed tunes, they use some Wah pedal guitar style from Jerry Cantrell and the Alice in Chains scene, and yeah I even sense a bit of the Deftones slightly in some sections. What they do here though is well executed and it can be said that these guys did study their genre and influences quite well using the same techniques and even the same writing style. The lead vocalist has an impressive range which is showcased quite well in it's higher half in the song "Catch the Sun" (of course I might have picked the wrong song there, I do believe it was that one). The guitar is heavy driving although I feel it tends to fall by the wayside as the guitarist tends to hide some of the soloing talent you know he has which he seems to reveal on the final track. Perhaps I rate this low because I've been listening to a lot of Joe Satriani as of late. The basslines are rather tight and tend to seperate this bassist from the rest of the pack even though he sounds an awful lot like that pack at times. "Feel Alive" is a good example of a spinning and good bassline which unfortunately sounds a little like some of the recent sounds on the scene as far as basslines are concerned. The writing overall, like I mentioned isn't the most original but is done well nonetheless. Lyrics are hot and cold in innovation. Some of the shining moments in lyrical writing include the song "Dust". However, I think some other songs have weaker lyrics. I think personally that rhyming "rain" and "pain" in songs should be outlawed as in that it has been overused entirely too much. Notable moments on the CD include the Soundgarden-esque opening track "Circle of Life" which is thankfully not a grunge cover of the Disney "Lion King" theme like I thought it would have been upon reading the back of the CD. It features a winding chorus and some pretty hip metallic-distortion-racked-string-bending-guitar chunking (thats a mouthful) as an opener. "Feel Alive" has the kicking bassline and shows how long the lead singer can hold a note. Impressive! "Dust" has some impressive lyrics and some good use of the Wah pedal and when put under the microscope could be seen as an Alice in Chains knock-off. Probably the best track however, is "The Hurt" with its slick and lingering tremolo effect over some good guitar arpeggios. The higher key on the chorus with the driving chords really gets an urgent emotion there and while it tends to poke slightly at Metallica's "Until it Sleeps" I don't think it is really worth criticizing too much. If I had a pick a fave track, I would have to say it was that one. And well as for "Shut Up"..... some pretty distrurbing lyrics about a pretty shady domestic situation... It gets my full points on the shock factor and the emotion. So in conclusion, this is far from a bad production. It has a great deal of appeal to people who like this kind of genre (My friend Mike think's it's a pretty tough CD) so if you like Creed, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, you might want to definately pick this up but be forwarned that when you do listen to it, thats exactly what you will hear Creed, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. Kudos to a good grunge rock production that doesn't neccessarily break much new ground but showcases some guys that are pretty good at their genre."

This album is a CLASSIC!

gregoronius | 11/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this band live, and was spellbounded!! I bought this CD immediately, and loved every song! I actually think they're better live though. The producer of this album is from Seattle, and did Pearl Jam's 1st album, and other huge Seattle bands, so I think this may have really given the album that Seattle sound, but their sound live will really blow you away. You really can't appreciate the drums on the album. The drums are so powerful and hypnotizing live. My favorite songs are "Freaks & Pigs", "Feel Alive","Shame", & "Autumn Grey". But its hard to choose, I love them all. Every one of them are radio-ready."