Published on Aug 9, 2005
I asked my kids for
Lost And Found because of the energetic single “Happy?” that
I had been hearing on the radio daily. Each time I heard it, I
found myself more and more interested in finding out more about the
band, and once I got it I realized this band is more than just that
song.
For their fourth album, the band ditches the nicknames and
bizarre makeup and focuses on the music. Vocalist Chad Gray has the
ability to sing in both a clean and guttural vocal style, and his
ability to toggle between the two is refreshing. Also, drummer Matt
McDonough is amazing, with a warm tone and the full-sounding toms
sound full. He frequently throws in fills that throw off the
standard meter of the song, giving some of the songs, giving them a
more chaotic feel, such as in the opener “Determined” and
“Just.”
There is also real strength in the riffs of guitarist Greg
Tribbett and the manic bass lines of Ryan Martine, and both
musicians play enough wild parts to satisfy the listener. The best
example of all these styles coming together is the epic closer
“Choices,” an eight-minute tour de force that is only marred by the
stupid “eeny-meeny-miney-mo” lyrics.
Other songs have a strong introspective personal message, such
as “Forget To Remember,” which deals with rejection and confronting
the past. “Happy?” is about acknowledging that someone else’s
happiness is based upon the speaker’s misery (“Do you pull me up /
Just to push me down again?”). Also, “Determined” is an excellent
start to the release and would be my hope for an opening concert
number, with lyrics such as “I’m flushing the trust of everyone /
Stabbing in the back and thinkin’ they can break me / Set my sight
can’t die till I’m done.”
There are a few missteps, such as the screaming vocals of “TV
Radio” and the ordinary “Rain. Sun. Gone.” But overall the band
shows a lot of potential, blending thrash and nu-metal and focusing
on the songs, not the posturing.