You know, it really is hard to categorize these guys, I mean they are signed by Inside Out Records, but yet they don't really fit the profile of many of the Progressive Rock or Metal bands out there (hell, they don't fit the profile of all those commercial rock bands either), and I will admit it took me a while to get into their first album, 2001's "Human Condition," but I will tell you that my enjoyment for "Scratching at the Surface" hit me immediately like a ton of bricks the first time I heard it.
Here we have a Boston quartet, coming directly out of the Berklee School of Music (you know, the prestigious school where members of
Fates Warning and
Dream Theater once attended, among many other notable musicians of all types), so it should be no surprise that these guys have their musical chops together as well as their technical recording skills down.
For openers,
Event seems to mix lots of electronic blunder (in a good way, of course) along with pop/rock song structure. It's defiantly studio noteworthy and you can tell lots of time went into programming the pro-tools rig by the bands brainchild, guitarist/producer Shaun Michaud.
Events' sound tends to parallel groups like Therapy?, late-period Prong or a cool version of Tool, and a little bit of a Chroma Key influence, making this record sound a little like the
OSI record (production wise), but not quite as dark. While the music has a technical progressive feel to it, there is a lack of keyboards, replaced by noise ventures that borderline on somewhat industrial technicalities that enhance the album musically rather than placing electronic flatulence all over the record to make it noisy and spooky to satisfy a bunch of Goth kids.
The album opens up with a groove centered
"Make your Way," which begins with distortion dancing with the vocals, keeping the whole key with the song. Like many cuts on the record there is a big sense of groove throughout, the bass and drums pound out a tight and discreet rhythm section that follow their own lead with the guitars and vocals. The vocal chops are provided by Dave DeLuco, who by no means has a Metal voice, his range though is broad, tending to be in more relation to many modern rock bands, but he uses it in the right way, he sings clearly, without all those baritone wails and attempted falsettos like guys from bands like
Creed and
Nickelback do, and I will mention that these guys sound nothing like those horrible poser bands. DeLuco's vocals tend to mix well with the effects and layering used to enhance his ability.
Songs like
"Siren," "All too real," and
"Under My Skin" are the records prominent groove centered tracks while
"Pleasure in the Pain," "Live Life Love Breed," as well as the acoustic
"Someone" tend to be the more experimental tracks on the record.
This is another band that seems to have gotten better over time, this record is more rocking than "Human Condition," and tends to be less of an aesthetic that goes overboard on production. Its defiantly for those who are looking for more or less a rock album that goes beyond all of the modern rock MTV bullshit, defiantly for fans who enjoyed some of the hard rock bands of the early-to-mid-nineties, as well for newcomers looking for something different.
Written by
Hashman Monday, September 1, 2003
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