Sunday, July 22, 2007

Review: The Sammus Theory - See (It) Through


Label: OCI Records

Released: May 1, 2007

Sometimes, it's good to hear a really tight band, but not always. The Sammus Theory is certainly a tight band, they even play with passion, but they fail to excite. That's not to say that See (It) Through is without promise though. The Phoenix-based band's previous effort, Man Without Eyes, was primarily a solo effort from frontman Sam Hughes who wrote and played everything but drums. Less than two years later, they have become more of a group with all members playing and contributing. While Hughes suggested to the Idaho Falls Post Register (a city where the Sammus Theory seems to have quite a local following) that the writing process was inspired by the Beatles, it's pretty clear that this is a gross overstatement. The Beatles created the future, but the Sammus Theory rehashes the past. Their alt-metal sound peaked several years ago and has been done a thousand times, sometimes better and sometimes worse. They list Tool as an influence and that is clearly their direction, but unfortunately, their voice is also Tool's rather than their own.

Considering that the Sammus Theory has taken this new direction of joint creativity within the last year or so, they work remarkably well together. Playing in a tired genre doesn't help them though, but the very fact that they are still listenable when so many alt metal bands simply aren't is a tribute to their potential. Hopefully, their new collaborative approach will help them grow in originality that will put their considerable abilities to better use the next time around.


Rating: 5/10

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5 Comments:

Blogger taotechuck said...

I listened to a few tracks from their Myspace page. I was expecting that you were being overly generous with your review, but it's actually pretty dead-on. It's a good album for people who love the genre; for the rest of us, it's completely listenable and/or completely generic.

The lyrics are a bit trite at times. "Fuck with me, I'll fuck with you?" Whoa... that's like, totally, poetic and shit.

11:00 AM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

Probably only luck stands between them and the next level, but to really make it, they need get something into their sound that forces us to use words other than "generic."

11:10 PM  
Blogger sammustheory said...

Thanks for the review!

I did want to say one thing in response to the "that's like, totally poetic and shit" comment...

Not everything lyrically needs to be metaphors or hidden. In this song, it's a very direct spoken piece and is meant to come off that way. If you're angry with someone and you want to say it to them personally, you'll never be "poetic and shit". I just don't see someone reading a poem in that situation.

Thanks again for the review/comments!

8:25 PM  
Blogger taotechuck said...

Your point is valid, Sammus.

One of the most difficult things about translating life into art is finding ways to make our simplest moments appear insightful rather than clichéd.

A good filmmaker can film a guy walking down the street, and tell an entire story using nothing but body language, setting, gait, etc. A bad filmmaker, on the other hand, films a guy walking down the street, and we use it as an opportunity to get up and take a leak.

Believe me, I wasn't suggesting that every lyric should be poetic (and shit). But I do think that nearly every great song has a moment where the message is greater than the words that created it.

There's a song by the Dresden Dolls that ends with the refrain, "You motherfuckers, you'll sing someday." At first it struck me as cheesy, but then I realized how much the vocalist was really saying with those five words. I think she did a good job of conveying her anger, but I don't think you guys did this time. With your lyric, I envision two guys trapped in an endless bout of "Yeah? I'll kick your ass." "Oh yeah? You and what army?" "Me and this army, bitch." "Bring it." "No, you bring it." They talk and talk, but they're both too cowardly to ever throw a punch.

But that's just my opinion, and we all know what they say about opinions and assholes.

10:16 PM  
Blogger sammustheory said...

:D

7:35 PM  

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