1. Breaking Me Down
2. halo
3. Need To Feel
4. Wide Open
5. Understanding Me
6. My Own
7. Unreal
8. Inside
9. Two Skins
10. The One
11. New Faith
12. Why
13. Black 7
Hailing from the Chicago, IL area, SOiL made a fair name for themselves
on the backs of their previous releases and demos, eventually landing a contract
with fledging label, J Records. So, with a new label behind them and a professional
budget at their disposal, the band have managed to deliver a gritty serving of energetic
modern metal with a grunge-ish, southern edge and rock radio sensibility, that could
possibly best be summed up as a combination of Disturbed, Alice In Chains,
Flybanger, Pantera and Static-X.
With coarse southern styled tones that sound like a direct combination of Pantera's
Phil Anselmo, Static-X's Wayne Static and Layne Staley
of Alice In Chains , SOiL frontman Ryan McCombs' performance
takes shape through an interesting blend of traditional metal meets grunge reminiscent
harmony, channeled through the jagged delivery of some of today's modern metal based
acts. Heavy and cathartic, his words are crooned out with a throaty aggressiveness
that sets a dark tone for the music as a whole, though his ability to string it altogether
in a catchy fashion ultimately creates an intriguing contrast. The guitar work is
ruthlessly heavy and definitely takes a big nod from the modern metal field in terms
of tone and distortion, however its composition and general choice of notes are a
bit more varied and accomplished, allowing it to hit with big brutish riffs and also
impress with creative grunge styled chord progressions. Meanwhile, the bass playing
is edgy and works tightly with the guitar parts to lay down a concrete thick low
end, which hangs heavy over the pugnacious percussion as it fights its way out from
underneath the dense stringed assault with an energetic performance, littered with
hard hitting kick drum work and a wealth of confidently struck snare hits that add
a weathered, mature grace. There also seems to be a light inclusion of electronics
here and there which generally widen the bands range, as their subtle inclusion tends
to fit quite well within the sharply focused instrumental attacks.
From start to finish, SOiL pack all the necessary aggression to make it in
today's metal world and their incorporation of heady grunge-ish breakdowns and bridges
really help to distance them a bit from the current competition. The sound is jarringly
heavy, yet it also feels as though it would be right at home on rock radio, cleverly
balancing the traits of thick contemporary heaviness with commercial sensibility.
Unfortunately though, because of this, some of the songs can also sound a bit too
smoothly written, though in the bands favor there are still a few stand out tracks
here that belt out some intensely cathartic grooves. However, even though the band
possess a sizable advantage in terms of heaviness over their hard rock peers, there's
really not a lot of variation present in terms of dynamics and tones, rather only
in song writing, making it hard to really get a good grasp on what SOiL are
capable of as a whole. This, combined with the fact that the songs are perhaps a
bit more traditionally based may not fair well with some, but for the listener who
likes metal of both old and new flavors, this could quite possibly be the best bridge
between the two to date.
(3 / 5)
Copyright 2001 ThePRP.com
SOiL web site - www.soilmusic.com
J Records 2001