Sunday, July 29, 2007

Review: Spider Rockets - Ever After


Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords

Released: July 17, 2007

The opening track of Spider Rockets' Ever After kicks right in with that churning metalcore sound that is a dime a dozen these days. It doesn't raise any hopes for the album even if the song itself is listenable enough. Don't stop listening there though unless metal or hardcore just isn't your thing, because it does get a little better.

As it turns out, the album's best offerings are its simplest ones. The hardcore leaning "Simple" and the more straightforward metal of "Hate" both stay fairly basic and capitalize on the band's biggest strength, Helena Cos' perfectly imperfect vocals. Her voice isn't crisp and clean, but it's raw, pleading passion is always a step above the less vivid music that backs it up.

When Spider Rockets get away from this simplicity in either songwriting or production, they go from being a little above average to a little below. The dull and over-processed "Facing Fear" relies more on effects than it does on songwriting. The pace changes in "Names" are clumsy and should have been worked out better before recording. The cover of "Helter Skelter" is the album's big disaster. Their attempt to use vocal harmonies for tension falls flat on its face and their seeming indecision as to whether they wanted to mix it up or play it straight robs the song of it's punch. Throughout the album their are some hints that they're fond of Prong's Tommy Victor, but they don't have the chops to pull it off and knowing their limitations would turn into a strength for them, because the album's basic energy is good.

They do stretch themselves a few times and pull it off though. The vocals in "What I Want" alters the cadence of the album for a nice change-up. The closer, "Whispers," gets a little off-track, but they nail enough of what they try to make it an interesting end, leaving some curiosity for the next album.

Spider Rockets have been around awhile, so they should have a better sense of themselves than they do on Ever After. However, they have some definite points that that keep their footing on solid ground and the final track leaves a lot of hope out there for the future.

Rating: 5/10

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3 Comments:

Blogger Metal Mark said...

I like the band name.

7:39 AM  
Blogger Ray Van Horn, Jr. said...

I pulled this out of my rejects box when you first brought their name up again. I still don't like it much.

2:17 AM  
Blogger bob_vinyl said...

Mark - I like it too.

Ray - I think the album falls somewhere in the gray area between keeper and reject. However, you get a lot more of this kinda stuff, so I'm sure your tolerance is lower.

2:15 PM  

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