Wind
Up Records has done a nice job collecting a stable of hard
rock acts that are solid, if mediocre. From 12 Stones to Seether
to Finger 11 (and, of course, Creed), Wind Up's bands know
how to rock and Atomship is no exception.
Lead
singer Joey Culver sounds a lot like Dave Draiman from Disturbed
minus the wa-ca-ca-cas. Nathan Slade keeps things simple on
guitar, primarily using the typical distorted thick chords
prevalent in rock today. He does occasionally dip into the
quick chugs of death metal or flips the script to pick up
an acoustic guitar to accentuate Culver's vocals. The star
of this trio (yes, it is a trio, no bassist), is drummer Chad
Kent. The skinsman uses his full kit (unlike many drummers
in bands of this ilk) and mixes time signatures regularly
- managing to segue cleanly between them. While his play is
mighty impressive, the eight minute drum solo included on
this release may be a bit much. Its one thing for a drummer
to just go off at a show while the band takes a break, but
it's another to record it - nine out of 10 rock fans hit the
power switch.
Outside
of the inane solo, there are a few songs on Crash of '47 worth
spinning. "Withered" is a laid back rock ballad, while "Mothra"
could easily been taken off of a Disturbed release. Several
of the other songs are listenable, but a minute or two too
long with slow build-ups and not enough of a climax ("Agent
Orange" and "Aliens"). There just aren't enough quality hooks
in the songs to make them stand out from the rock rank and
file.
Atomship
fits firmly within the genre that is modern hard rock but
unless the newest track by Nickleback or Default aren't doing
it for you, this is one Crash you should avoid.
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