First impressions sometimes stick and the cry of “Sounds like Evanescence” went up as soon as opener ‘Monster’ reared its head; but let’s face it that alone would be a glib and unworthy review, even though the truth is that these guys do sound like Evanescence at their best.
Dig deeper though and it gets interesting as you discover a ‘super group’ beneath the surface with contributions from Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big/Winery Dogs), Ray Luzier (Korn), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses), Russ Parrish (Steel Panther) and Corey Lowery (Saint Asonia) throughout.
The sound changes too it’s not all Modern Alt Goth-tinged Rock: ‘Perfect Nightmare’ is a little similar in style to the opener but ‘Something Better’ has more spite and attack and as a result raises the Metal horns a little prouder.
Elsewhere things mix up nicely ‘Left For Dead’ is more of a ballad and probably the best vocal here; ‘Witchcraft’ is quirky and Metallic and quite cool; ‘More Than Misery’ a trip to the 80’s; and ‘better Days’ the first real “Whoa?” moment – it’s almost moody Country Pop!
We get back “modern rocking” with the jumping ‘After 2 A.M.’; while ‘Under the Microscope’ adds some symphonic touches and ‘Sacrifice’ gets back to old school hard rock. If you like variety it’s here.
To confuse things further the album ends with a rather faithful rendition of the 60’s Bacharach and David pop staple ‘Anyone who had a Heart’ made famous by Dionne Warwick (or Cilla Black in the UK and NZ)…
Interestingly it’s the variety I like here and while the modern Paramore meets Evanescence stylings sound far less interesting they make up the meat of the album.
