Everyone wants to be in a band; it’s just the cool thing to do. For one thing, there are few more effective aphrodisiacs for weedy pubescent boys (and girls) than to be seen brandishing a guitar on a stage but in metal especially where the emphasis is so largely placed on the music (as opposed to fashion or hedonism) it seems almost unthinkable for one to not contribute to the scene in some way. I mean, if one doesn’t eat rusty metal cornflakes for breakfast and shit them back out before retiring to the metal mattress so to speak then you’re just a poseur. A part-timer, and what better way to prove your true metal status than to play in a band?
Once in a while a group of fresh-faced unknowns will appear out of nowhere and blow me away; every band has to start somewhere, right, and to watch or hear bands like Evile or The Prophecy in their pre-signed days had me excited that I was witnessing the future of music right on my front doorstep. It’s easy then to get caught up in the theory that unsigned bands are the future and to forget entirely that for every Evile there are a hundred other bands that really aren’t that good. They have what I would deem the local band syndrome; bunch of semi-competent musicians get together and think they are going to be the saviours of music. Influenced by a handful of mainstream bands, for arguments sake, Iron Maiden, Metallica, maybe Killswitch Engage and AC/DC they manage to throw together a few songs made up of bland, unimaginative riffs, nondescript basslines and drumming that simply “does the job;” no more, no less. Scatter one or two purloined Maiden riffs in the mix and the occasional guitar solo to throw us of the scent and make the uninitiated go “Oh, they sound like Iron Maiden” and put some vocals over the top and voila! You’re on your way to rock superstardom. They build up a following of people who will go and watch because they’re local and maybe they’re mates with the bassist and because there’s nothing much else to do on a Saturday night short of travelling to the nearest big city where the real bands are playing, and naturally, this will be a big ego boost for those involved. Soon, one of the bigger touring bands such as Bullet For My Valentine will hit their town and they will get the support gig because they can guarantee a crowd. They will come on, do their thang and the susceptible teenage girls down the front will think they’re the best thing since sliced bread, while the rest of the crowd will get on with downing beers, checking out the merch, talking to their mates perhaps throwing a disapproving “Not impressed with this lot” into the conversation, and generally being unmoved…
And unmoved is exactly how I feel listening to Into The Volcano. It doesn’t get off to a terrible start; ‘Mechanical Sunrise’ rocks pretty hard with some competent steamrolling riffage and at times a thrashy rhythm and ‘Blood On The Snow’ follows this along well. By third track ‘Pain Of A Thousand’ I have just about had enough of the piercingly high vocals which certainly cause me pain in the regions of my ears and head. ‘Voices’ demonstrates Adam Harris’ vocals at their best as he tones down the high pitched shriekiness and lowers his voice giving off a much richer, smoother sound, although this doesn’t last very long which is a shame as this shows there is some potential. The problem is simply that he doesn’t have the power to pull off the high pitched vocals and in many areas they sound thin and lacklustre.
There are some moments where I genuinely find myself wanting to bang my head throughout this album and that has to be a good sign if nothing else. There is a power metal feel to their sound no matter how well concealed it may be, and on title track ‘Into The Volcano’ you see that come across in the heavy guitar sound, and again on the Maidenesque gallops on ‘Remnance.’ The trouble is these moments are few and far between and padded out with insipid melodies and riffs that make this sound as though its all been hashed together with little thought. While ‘Voices’ starts well with a warm, inviting bassline, it goes downhill when it all speeds up and all falls apart at the seams, plus the drums sound way too loud in the mix. It’s not just that this is underdeveloped, but sometimes you can just tell when a band has nothing more to offer and in this case I can’t help but feel these boys should not, under any circumstances, give up their day jobs. Last Stop China Town? Well if that’s where they’re heading, I think I’ll get off here!
http://www.myspace.com/laststopchinatown
