I first heard about this band on a commercial on headbanger's ball. I heard about 10-15 seconds of Cold Victim. As soon as I heard that few seconds I went to our local cd store and ordered the cd. It was that catchy and that good. I figured if that few seconds messed with me that much imagine the whole album. I had unfairly high expectations for this and it did well for itself but it was by no means what it could have been.
Cold Victim-
Feedback leads into song with a catchy triple-picking riff, definitely a thrash feel. After two verses it goes into the chorus. This is what makes the song. This chorus is what got me to buy the cd and it is a great piece by the band. After the first chorus it goes into somewhat of a bridge. Later in the song it goes into a solo with the main riff going on in the background. The solo is nothing amazing but it certainly doesn't hurt the song and then the song comes to an end with the end of a verse.
Without Warning-
This song starts out with another simple but effective little riff. The the chorus is somewhat of a breakdown and a pretty good one. At the end of the chorus is it gets a bit more catchy and gets back into the verse. There is also a bridge in this song with another riff followed by a harmonic.
And Since Forgotten-
An apparent them is definitely starting to come out by this song as everyone has started out with a simple but catchy riff. This riff gets a little too repetitive throughout the song for me but still a good riff. The chorus has some good drums going with a very short riff at the end. Again after a couple verses and chorus it goes into a bridge with blistering double pumpers. Then again back into the so repetitive riff that started this one up. It finally comes to an end with a nice little guitar part in the back that is a refreshing end to a very repetitive song.
Live to Die-
Palm-muted guitars followed by a very simple riff which becomes the verse. The chorus is there best work after Cold Victim's for this album. A little better new riff and different timing with a lot better hook. Then it goes back into their verse. It agains go to a bridge like the others, only in the middle of this bridge they have singing for the first time on the album. The singing is backed up by a simple solo that is easy but appropriate and this ends the song.
Corpse You Up-
By this point I can tell this will be a very long review because it is hard to actually describe the songs differently. Starts again with palm-muted guitars followed by a simplistic riff. They have a pre-chorus that goes into a yet again believe it or not, catchy and easy to play chorus. This is the point where the album does start to get very repetitive. Actually this happens by the third song but this is where it might actually start bugging you. It again goes into a bridge that is their normal bridge and then the song ends.
Innocent Mind-
I'm starting to think a track by track was a bad idea but hopefully you will bare with me. Palm-muted guitars and simple riffs. The chorus' are starting to get less catchy and this album is starting to go downhill. One good thing about this song is the solo. The best solo thus far on the album. Nothing special but it does sound very well with the song. Don't forget out about the bridge, they always seem to have their bridge.
Sliver-
This song has palm-muted guitars that are building up for their double pumpers and simple riffs. These riffs are a little more interesting and this song is refreshing to hear because it kind of eases up on the repetitiveness of the prior songs. This song still follows this amazingly consistent formula they've developed. They also seem to often stop completely after the chorus and go into the verse like they started the song. This song fades out after their bridge or whatever you want to call it, and fades out.
Consequence Unknown-
This song is by far better than the previous 6 songs. It has a pretty good riff and it brings some flavor to it with harmonics and such. A triple picking pre-chorus. The chorus is good. This song may has an eerie feel more than any other song with the selection of cymbals and beats the drummer uses. This song again has a bridge/solo thingy. This is probably the best solo, not a difficult solo but it shows that the guitarists are capable of more. The solo is very harmonic infested. This song ends with a nice little breakdown but not amazing.
Regret Your Fear-
This song starts with a far better riff than most of the songs in the middle. The guitar part for the verse is actually very good. I'm impressed. The difficulty isn't amazing but its remarkably catchy and doesn't get too repetitive. This song brings great energy and has great transactions from verse to chorus. The chorus is catchy and for the first time since cold victim, the song actually seems to take over you and makes you want to get up and do something. The bridge again has a solo in it. The solo again is not difficult but very appropriate and goes along with the song very well and the song is actually made alot stronger by this bridge. For the first time after the bridge, music seems to be stronger and more intense after. This song actually has another solo after it goes back to the normal song. This solo is not near as good as the first but is to end the song and it does an effective job.
I probably should not have done a track-by-track on this because you can only describe a song with words to a certain extent. I have never heard a more consistent formula for writing songs. The bad part about this is that after it starts out strong with Cold Victim and does a decent job with Without Warning, the songs go into a repetitive spiral and everything sounds the same. This album is very very predictable by the third track. Not that the songs are bad after Cold Victim and Without Warning but it gets very hard to not get bored listening to tracks 3-7. The album does pick up again with the final two songs and really does save the album. I think that more could have been done to this recording to give more energy to it because while you can hear the metal and that it is intense it doesn't grab you like it should. The recording seems really laid-back to me. The drummer is skilled with his double pumpers but it seems their is more he could do with them to shape the songs. The drums too often became just a constant background that were just there and didn't bring anything to the song. The guitars where tremendously catchy and made what was the songs. The riffs were amazingly simplistic to the extreme. This is much of a contrast to the guitars of Unearth with amazingly fast paced riffs blazing you going all over the place and never getting repetitive. These guitar parts on this album where very simple and repetitive and at times very boring and uninteresting. The vocals are good but I think the recording process could have done more to capture his energy. What is done so well in Cold Victim is not in the other tracks. He could have done much more to bring you into the music in my opinion. I have been extremely harsh on this and should probably be a little nicer. I came in with expectations of a superb album and brought out most of the flaws with it. If you look into this with average expectations you will have a pleasent surprise. The cd is worth having and worth listening to but it will not be at the front of your collection. I recommend Cold Victim, Consequence Unknown, and Regret Your Fear.
