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Demo Reviews Volume VIII By Jason Savage, Pure Rock Patroller Thursday, January 22, 2004 @ 1:42 PM
bEYOND Therapy
bEYOND Therapy was formed in the frozen bowel tract known as Wausau, Wisconsin. They were created as a vehicle of anger distribution in response to the death of jIMMY’s brother, who died on 08/20/00, who is remembered on the hidden track “Christopher James.” Most of the lyrics deal with death and in essence are a therapeutical release.
BT serves up a heaping plateful of self-proclaimed “bipolar cartoon core metal served with a side dish of insanity, sprinkled with a dollop of hell.” To this veteran metal head however, with all metaphors aside, this is simply ass-kicking, fist pounding, head banging, hair wind milling, pit fueling hardcore metal!
jIMMY’s vocal foray moves effortlessly between Anselmo-like barks, Cobain inspired cleans and primal hardcore screams that are sure to bloody the ears of the meek.
Musically, BT delivers sonic fury through their onslaught of pain. The dual axe attack embraces low-end crunch and noisy punk plucking, while the rhythm section rumbles along like a freight train with no brakes. I stood in front of my speakers to take in the full affect of this wall of sound and embraced the vibrations of power until it almost knocked me over!
Overall, BT assaulted this reviewer with a quality product that would bode well in any metal head’s stereo. This art is fast and furious and ready to explode. Hopefully a label will discover them soon so they can be enjoyed in heavy doses of mass consumption.
Driver 13
Driver 13 was welded together in Madison, WI, in March 2000. Five of mad town’s best musicians set about the creation of their art, combining several different influences. They have shared the stage with several nationals including: Black Label Society, Clutch, Mudvayne, Primer 55, Slaves on Dope, Memento, Grade 8, RA, Taproot and Depswa just to name a few. On a side note, I was very impressed with their bio sheet. It was on transparent wax paper with black print and a black and white band photo. I have never seen one like this before and it certainly got my attention!
The opening track entitled “Karma” sets the tone for this melodic metal opus. Littered with electronic beeps, borderline stoner rock guitars, and Shawn’s smooth vocal stylings, this song has ‘hit’ written all over it. Next up is “Alignment,” which ventures more into the modern metal formula with its Korn-inspired bass slap and alternating clean vocals splattered with well-placed screams and yells. It is very catchy to say the least.
The CD is very formulaic, but in a good way. The songs are well written and Shawn does a great job vocally throughout. He sounds like a mixture between Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), Rob Traynor (Dust to Dust) with highs that remind me remotely of Perry Ferrell (Jane’s Addiction).
Twytch
Twytch is a metal/hardcore unit formed in Lowell, MA in 1998. They have created a huge buzz amongst the New England metal scene and have opened for a long list of nationals, including: Hatebreed, Powerman 5000, Sworn Enemy, Disturbed, Biohazard, Candiria, Diecast, Flotsam & Jetsam, Nile, Nonpoint, Shadows Fall, Skinlab, S.O.D., Testament, Lacuna Coil… the list goes on and on.
This six-song disc opens with “Hatred,” which kicks you in the ass from note one! Matt’s vocals switch with ease between heartfelt cleans and gravel gargled screams as the music pummels the eardrums into submission. I can’t help but look to start a pit with this one! I was pleasantly surprised to hear a guitar solo, something ol’ Kirk Hammett forgot how to do on St. Anger!
Other standout tracks in the heavier realm include: “Echoes,” “Know Remorse” with a vocal passage that reminded me of Megadeth’s “Dawn Patrol,” “Enemy” and “Swallow the Stitches.”
The guitars throughout this demo invoked pure evil and left me wanting more as they crept closely along the borders of the old school! The drumming shredded me like a firing squad, while the bass lines made my ears bleed!
By the end, I was left wondering how Matt’s voice makes it through a whole set. His screams sounded immensely painful at times, yet very effective. Twytch serves up the blueprint for this style and should not be taken lightly. If you aren’t ready to stay in the pit for their whole set, you might want to think about catching the quickest ride to the nearest venue where the latest popular boy band is lip synching!
Unsound
Unsound was formed in Greenville, N.C., by guitarist Todd Paddock and bassist Charles "Cheech" Massey in 1991. After adding Todd Houck and Trey Willits, they relocated to Raleigh in 1998. Since then, they have battled in the trenches of the local scene, opening for nationals such as Anthrax, Sevendust, Filter, Earshot, Mushroomhead, Audiovent, Nonpoint, DragPipe, Gravity Kills, Reveille, Dry Cell, Dasmad and Dog Fashion Disco.
I thought I’d do something a little different than my normal protocol and break this CD down track by track.
“From All Sides”:
This song rocks! Vocal harmonies remind me of Alice in Chains and Todd sounds a little like Rob Traynor from Dust to Dust on his cleans.
“Shed Away”:
I like the guitars on the intro. They have a worldly sound, sort of Middle Eastern, which I really dig. In fact, they do a great job mixing in these with the heavier guitars that kick in. Killer headbanging groove and cool tribalistic drumming. Very thick bass... they came off distorted in parts when I jammed this in the car. They aren't as overbearing on the computer player. Not a bad thing though. It gave it a concert feel.
“Sunshine”:
I like how the mellow vocals set the mood and build up to the chorus. Kinda Saigon Kick-ish if you know what I mean. If you're a SK fan, you can catch the subtle feel of it I'm getting here. I really liked the guitar solo. It has an old school feel but I can't put my finger on it. This is definitely a radio hit!
“The Ugly Thing I Am”:
Cool tune. I found myself wind milling my head, now only if my damn hair would grow back quicker! I'm still feeling that Saigon Kick thing in his cleans.
“Rise”:
The barked vocals here remind me of MachineHead. I like how the drums speed up. The song seems to change pace a few times, which definitely sounded good.
“Press”:
It opens with a cool intro that builds up into a heavier vocal foray. This shit flows well and is very addicting! I can definitely see the pit-starting possibilities. I'm really digging the Spanish style guitar solo that lead into some truly haunting vocals before getting my ass kicked again with heaviness. This song is fucking brilliant! It combines so many different styles but they pull it off beautifully! The new wave meets industrial outro is cool, too.
“Passe”:
The intro is a little long here and has the potential to lose the listener, but awesome nonetheless. It has almost a jazzy feel to it as it melds into guitar virtuosity territory. Then it kicks into the Metallica riff and back down again. I really like the vocals on this tune, too!
Overall, these guys kicked my ass! They have a lot of interesting time changes and successfully blend several styles but still manage to sound fresh and original. The clean vocals were very haunting at times and although I am reminded of someone else, Todd’s style is still all his own.
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