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THE ART OF BREATHING
The old saying 'don't judge a book by it's cover' sure came to mind when I
recieved this CD the other day. Slick packaging, great artwork, and good
contact information made me wonder how good these guys could be. Then I
pop in this 5 song ep into my deck and realize that these guys probably spent
more on the artwork than the recording itself. This thing sounds thin and weak and
the bass is simply non existant. Drums sound flat and guitars are really
fuzzy and thin sounding as well. But that really doesn't mean anything if the songs
are any good, and that's where my fury comes into play.
TOOL ALREADY EXISTS GUYS!!!!!!!! OK?!?! Please stop trying to copy that
sound and try to come up with something semi original (I know it's tough
because it's all been done before, but it can be done...trust me). "Shades
of Grey" could literally have been lifted off the last Tool disc and
reworked with some new vocals. In the course of listening to this 5 song ep, not one
song stuck with me. Nothing. No hooks, no melodies and no dynamics. Every song
seemed to plod along in that Tool-ish manner (but witout the TOOL execution), and at times, some of the songs had a LIFE OF AGONY feel
feel to them as well, particularly the opening track "Avarice". I hate to say it, but
this CD simply has nothing to offer musically, lyrically, or emotionally.
Lead vocalist Chris Ricci is marginal at best and rarely strays from his monotone
delivery except for a few moments when he gets 'angry' (oooo...watch out folks).
My advice guys is go back to the rehearsal space and work on your
songwriting skills. Listen to some old R&B, some old school rock (Deep
Purple, Cream) and think about dynamics. Stop listening to Tool, because as much as I
love them, they have spawned enough copy bands to make me sick. Your
musicianship is decent and with a some serious focus on your songwriting, you could
pull something good together. Try writing some songs on an acoustic guitar,
because if the song is a great song with just voice and guitar, believe
me, it will be terrific in full band arrangement. I will say you guys have a
good handle on the packaging/marketing end of things, but without decent songs
and good production, you simply won't get further than the local circuit.
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