I'm Back! No need to worry yourself about the brief intermission, your daily dose of album content is back up and running!
And today, I'll be trying out the new album by supergroup Adrenaline Mob. Of course I was excited to hear about this band as it unites one of the greatest singers and THE greatest drummer in prog metal today: Russel Allen of Symphony X and so I'm expecting something mind-blowing. But something seems wrong, as only one song exceeds 6 minutes, a paltry running time for one of Portnoy's compositions. Oh well, that must mean we've got some tight, succinct pieces that don't go on long rambling instrumentals. I play Symphony X's Serpent's Kiss to get me in the mood, and press play!
Undaunted: Eh? This guitar tone sounds like it's stepped out of a Disturbed song! Oh well, must be the influence of their guitarist, Mike Orlando. Well, we're 20 seconds in and this riff doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and it certainly doesn't sound like prog. Wait, is that dreary, shouty David Draiman rasp really Russel? Holy crap, it seems these guys have come into the wrong rehearsal room! This can't have come from the mind of the 12-step suite! The riffs are so mind-numbingly dumb, the vocals are so "tough guy", fight metal tedium. The lyrics, oh god! They basically consist of Allen talking angry into the mic! Oh thank god, a solo that isn't fucking stupid! It's kinda outstaying its welcome but it nicely dances across the fingerboard and has some nice tapping that hides the horrible guitar tone. Also, apart from some moments when he does a little snare fill I'm not hearing anything from Portnoy that AC/DC's drummer couldn't do! Eh, next song.
Psychosane: Is that the song title you're going with? really? Well, this riff doesn't sound so much like recycled Disturbed, more like sub-par Alter Bridge when they start rocking out, which I guess is a plus. Allen's vocals on this album don't bode well at all I feel. I have the worrying sense that he really is trying to channel that fucktarded, FFDP style attitude into these songs, and guess what? IT DOESN'T WORK! This riff, again, just chugging with an occasional squeal over a 4-to-the-floor beat with no imagination. I really can't get over the vocals. Every time they appear I can only think of his recent performances on his recent albums with his proper band, with his soaring melodic lines. Now all I hear is something that was written for metal karaoke bars. Oh, some syncopation? Actual musical interest? Good heavens, are you actually trying now? And now another solo? Well, it's the same length as the last one, in the same place and uses similar licks. I know it's only the second song, but this could fall into a formula very quickly. Thankfully, it's finished now so I can have a brief moment of respite before I press play again.
Indifferent: Oh wait, we're back to Disturbed. I'm just waiting for a monkey noise now, at least I'll get some unintentional hilarity out of that. Actually, this verse seems to work fairly well as I just caught my toe tapping. Also for the first time we get a slightly less dense sound from the stodgy mess of the last two's producation. Although to the album's credit it does seem to be well produced; all the instruments are definately there and the lyrics are pretty clea- HOLY CRAP! Did Micheal Romeo just step in to do an epic lick, or did this album just get momentarily awesome? Oh, only for a moment. It was a solo transition, with some standard huge bends and shredding passages. Actually, I will have to admit that for his poor tone, this Orlando fella's got some serious Lead chops. Although the solo is in the exact same place, like the last two so I guess it doesn't count. Boo.
All on the Line: Oh, we've got a "heartfelt" acoustic song here. iPhones with lighter pictures in the air, everyone. You know what these songs need to carry it? Good lyrics. None to be found here. It seems that they've laid out cards with cliches on them, and pieced them together randomly. At least we've got the closest we'll see on this album to Allen actually giving a crap about his vocal performance. AH! SOLOS! Why can't you just put one outside of the middle eight? Are you trying to get all of these songs on rock radio? I just want some answers, dammit! Why did you take the life force of 2 great bands and force them to play 3-4 minute, dreary chords with shredding about 2 minutes in. This is feeling more and more like a chore with every song, and it's only the 4th!
Hit the Wall: Hold on, we've got the 6-minute song. Hopefully this will go somewhere! Well, we've finally got Portnoy putting some effort into the drumming, and the guitars feel vibrant and lively! Good god, I think I'm actually enjoying this! I have to admit, while I've been ragging on about Disturbed in this, I do actually enjoy ten thousand fists and Indestructible, and this song sounds like the cream of those albums. This song just feels like they've put some effort into the songwriting, as it has subtlety, the Solo isn't just forced in 2/3rds of the way through, they grow out the song texture and sound interesting, rather than mindless shredding. That said, I would like to hear a little solo out of Portnoy. Oh, finally! Allen provides a proper shriek that I love from his evasive, all-conquering lungs! Of course, with a longer song you need a tempo change, and this slower section is certainly a massive step down. It seems to consist of Russel singing "fade to black" over and over again while Orlando sprints across his 6-string. Shame about the cop-out fade ending, but I'm satisfied for now. I guess I'm feeling fired up enough to keep going.
Feelin' Me: Oh dear. I haven't even started the song and I can tell it will suck. First of all, the title sounds like a Steel Panther song, which cannot bode well for working into the groove metal sound they've got here. Second, it's in the graveyard zone of an album, the dreaded area between tracks 5-9, where it's typically concentrated filler. But, I must soldier on nonetheless. Well, it sounds just like the 2nd track, you know, one that I didn't like at all? Oh boy, the chorus has gratuitous swearing. Isn't that ever a sign of a finely crafted masterpiece, when you need to emphasise the song title with "muthafuckin'" every single time? Oh hold on, just before solo du jour, I actually heard a bit of a proper Portnoy fill coming through, with a fairly standard but always-welcome bass drum/tom fill. At least I know that the band hasn't suffered some shady undercover lobotomy, leaving them in a state between vegetative and Limp Bizkit fan.
Come Undone: Duran Duran wrote this song. What the fuck does it think it's doing here at all, let alone right in the middle of the album? When Amon Amarth covered System of a Down, they had the common courtesy to throw it in as an optional bonus, not in the main tracklisting! Even still, they manage to make it sound like Disturbed's covering the song (read: not a promising sign!) Oh yeah, we've also got a vocal cameo from Lzzy Hale from Halestorm. She's adding nothing to this song, as I've heard Allen hitting those high notes before. Thankfully though we're treated to some lyrics that are above the level of angry drunk guy at the bar, but they're delivered with such insincerity it's not really worth it. with nothing interesting happening in the song, I might as well mention how the Bass is doing. I haven't been talking about the bass because quite simply, it pretty much doesn't need to be there. When I can hear it, it's only filling out the root notes that Portnoy could easily manage on his toms if he actually tried and other times it's just buried under the riffs and cymbal crashes. Interestingly, they've actually hired Disturbed's bassist to tour with them now, so I guess everything's just come full circle. Let's just finish getting through this, eh?
Believe Me: Gah! Disturbed are back! Now after what I mentioned just now, it seems that all the band members are trying to channel a band that were barely relevant when they started in 2000, and now are so outdated they've had to go on hiatus! This is Nu-metal song played by prog musicians, and I can't stand that. I'm perfectly aware these guys are more able than this trite. So for the rest of this song I'm just going to jam my fingers in my ears deep enough so I can scrape the eardums away. See you in about 2 minutes...
*scrape, scrape, scrape...*
Is it over? Oh crap, I guess I'll have to keep going now. Hold on loyal companions, we're not far from the end!
Down to the Floor: Funnily enough, the first thing I notice about this song is the bass! You know, the same bass that I said was nearly inaudible? Well now it's actually providing a little bit of harmony! The lyrics are coming out clearer than ever, and my god they suck! I said, they seem to exist for the sole purpose of giving pissheads something to sing along to while standing by the beer. Russel Allen is a fantastic singer, and he's being wasted in front of this band! Also, the solos. I think they may just be the most irritating part of the album. The greatest guitar solos are triumphant moments, soaring above the mix to give an invigorating kick to the song before launching into the next section. Here, i's just part and parcel of the album. Save for Hit the Wall, every song goes like this:
Intro riff-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-SOLO!-ending section. The predictability of this album is what brings it down the most.
Angel Sky: Oh, and as soon as I say it's predictable, you throw in a power ballad. I'm trying to be scathing here, Adrenaline Mob! Stay consistent to my ramblings! Well, at least there's the jangly acoustic guitar carrying the whole song that I can hate on. Boo, and indeed hiss, to the jangly guitar! As is the case here, I've got to bring up Allen's performance. No more than here do I see how trying to up keep a tough-guy vox while keeping up a soft, heartfelt tone doesn't make any sense! Make a decision, man! Oh, well it seems you do after a minute you drop any pretense of singing a ballad. Ugh, the solo is back again, but it least it's properly melodic and not just dumbed-down guitar wankery.
Freight Train: Last song! Hallelujah! Yes! Portnoy has a moment of his own! It's not much more interesting than his other beat on the album (notice singular) but at least he gets to shine through for once! I guess the chorus is meant to give the impression that there is a freight train, as Allen frequently reminds you, but it comes of more a limp donkey thanks to that freaking guitar tone. Wait... I just heard a really cool guitar solo! In fact, guitar harmonies! If only it didn't get ruined at the end by obnoxious bends and the goddamned riff coming coming back in. Nearing the end, and we get all the musicians hammering away for a strong finish, but is sadly much too late to save the day as I thankfully take the CD out of the player and hide it away, never to be seen again.
2 things about this album: Formulaic song structure and Disturbed. These two aspects of the album are what brings it down the most, leaving us with an unremarkable, dreary slice of fight metal. While I would allow most bands to get away this, not Adrenaline Mob. This band has musician pedigree that far surpasses this pile of doody.
