Published on May 1, 1998
Anytime I invite unsigned bands to send me their material for
review here on “The Daily Vault,” I recognize that I could be
opening up a Pandora’s box. Obviously, the band wants me to be
honest about what I think of their work, and I find it very hard to
be critical of a band that is up and coming.
In the case of RainLord, a hard-rock outfit from Florida, I
sincerely hope they take what I’m about to say with a grain of
salt, and realize that I’m saying what I am to help them improve,
not to be a Grade-A jerk. ‘Cause after listening to their debut
release
Medicine For The Soul, one can hear that this band needs a
lot of work.
Embodying a lot of what went wrong with the hard rock/heavy
metal scene in the early ’90s, RainLord sounds like a cross between
Bon Jovi and Motley Crue. Led by singer John Nickoloff, RainLord
changes styles far too often, going from cock-rock (“One Night
Stand”) to bombastic, half-ass blues (“Mustang Sally”) to
harmonized hard rock that works well for them (“Stronghold”). Five
words: Pick a card, any card.
The two-guitar attack of Reg Monsanto and Jeff Deeter (who is no
longer with the band as of the last mailing I got) is much more
powerful when they don’t diddle with their effects pedals. Their
acoustic-sounding work is the best, especially on “Call Down The
Rain Lord,” but when they turn their guitars up to full shred on
songs like these, they blow the whole mood. And while the
full-shred sound works on songs like “Black Widow,” they fail to
really develop a catchy riff in the body of the song.
Tuning is also a problem on occasion. On at least one occasion,
the guitar solo I heard sounded like the axe was tuned too high; it
didn’t blend with the song. If only it were the guitar that
occasionally went out of pitch; Nickoloff’s vocals also cross the
border on occasion. (One of the harmony lines in “Mustang Sally”
also didn’t fit the chord progression – and it’s quite
obvious.)
The production work also leaves a lot to be desired – for one
thing, kill the reverb, and make Ralph Abraham’s drums sound a lot
crisper. (While we’re at it, stop burying Matt Minick’s bass in the
mix as well.) Had the production quality of
Medicine For The Soul been better, I think I would have
enjoyed the album a little more.
And it’s not that
Medicine For The Soul is a complete washout. “I Haven’t Lost
My Faith” is a beautiful song, and the more gentle moments of “Call
Down The Rain Lord” show that this band has the ability to be good.
When they harmonize, like they did on “Stronghold,” RainLord rises
above their own mediocrity and creates something good. If only they
had done this more often.
RainLord is presently working on their follow-up album. My
suggestions: Hire a real producer to bring out your sound, don’t be
afraid to turn down (or even off) the distortion pedals, don’t try
to sound like Joe Satriani in your guitar solos when the song
doesn’t call for it, and try to concentrate on one particular
style.
Yes, RainLord is a rather big draw down in Florida, and have
built up a solid fanbase there. But if they want to cross over from
local favorites to nationwide recognition, they need to tighten up
the band a bit and work on their songwriting.
Medicine For The Soul offers very little evidence of this –
were they an older metal band from the ’80s, I would have said they
were on life support.
For more information on RainLord, visit their
Web
site.