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Skinlab sure got around a lot for a band I knew precious little about as a whole let alone for the sum of their parts engaging in several little-known side projects. All I ever recalled about them was that they were big at one point in the mid-90’s, their music was seemingly a mix of part death metal and part industrial metal and their lead singer subbed for Steve Souza when he quit Exodus twice during their world tour some 3 years back. Beyond that, nothing.

That is, save for this new band called Re:Ignition. Formed by former Skinlab members Steev Esquivel and Snake, Re:Ignition have been on the touring circuit for a few years now and their first full-length album Empty Heart, Loaded Gun with its nods in particular to Soundgarden, Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age and the Deftones prevalent all over the place, with the Chris Cornell-like vocals notably on “Unbearable” and “Head On”. Elsewhere, the band channel other diverse bands such as Brother Cane on “Like A Beating” and “Lies And Money”, U2 on “Take What You Want” and the intro to “Bright Red” before it morphs into 6 minutes of every Sevendust song ever written and even Supagroup on the midtempo rocker “Spinning In Circles”. Their bio even mentions some heavy Radiohead influences but as I stayed awake during the whole CD I couldn’t tell. The closest there was probably the title track and closing number and even then Dave Moore’s vocals carried the song further from its initial influence and added something more to the mix.

So the end result from this whole album may not be anything musically groundbreaking with some cynics deciding that this CD will make an even less impact in the music industry than Skinlab ever did but at a time in music where fashion and image seem to predate substance and quality Re:Ignition are content with being honest to themselves through their musical stylings right now.

Change, after all, does come from within.

http://www.reignitionmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/reignition

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