12v Negative Earth "Heroes Defeated" CD
[self-released]
Damn, okay, get ready for some shit because this one's hard to review, and I've got a lot of strong feelings about this EP, which means I'm gonna ramble like an idiot, but bear with me. Where to begin? Okay, first off, something in the envelope that this thing came in called the band "hardcore metal", which to me said, "Yep, this is gonna be a nu-metal band, because no one good actually calls anything 'hardcore metal'." And, sure enough, there are definitely some nu-metal smatterings floating around in this thing, the overall aesthetic of this material is on the commercial side to a degree. But, despite some significant and unfortunate flaws, it's also pretty god damn good - hence my uncontrollable urge to rant and ramble about what I'd love to hear these guys to do to maximize their immense potential. So, their style is basically really heavy modern metal with a good mix of melody and dissonance, so there's a contemporary metalcore vibe happening as well, and some groovy stuff, and the vocals are a mix of killer shouts/screams under light distortion and a monotone sort of singing delivery. Think Pantera meets Demon Hunter mixed with a fairly tolerable nu-metal act or something like that. And that brings us to problem #1: The singing just ain't cutting it. The dude's not bad, but his singing voice doesn't have enough range, so he comes off sounding like a bunch of far goofier (and far more popular) bands that I can't stomach. The singing does play an important role in the songwriting though, so maybe just take lessons or something... make the vocal harmonies more prominent... really go all out on it, you know? The songwriting is generally pretty damn good if ignore the bits and pieces of singing that get irritating. Despite some of the aforementioned issues with singing vocals, opener "Nobody Move" is a fucking great song... blending some Machine Head chunkiness with a fucking amazing core riff that's a great mix of energetic melody and crisp heaviness... I love that shit. Seriously, if these guys could nail down more riffs like that they'd be set. "RX" is the catchiest and most melodic track, with a lot of melodic textures layered over the rhythms and a slightly peppier tempo that definitely makes a difference. "Sweetless Temptation" is a shitty song through and through, though: There are some goofy lyrics and vocalizations, the singing is strained, the riffs tend to be too groovy, the backup vocal shouts are cheesy as hell, etc. That track really fucks up the continuity and shouldn't even be on here. "Bother Me" falls on the groovy side and isn't all that hot, plus it has a spoken vocal style that's totally lifted from Phil Anselmo, but it's still a decent song, so... The recording is another problem area for me. It sounds good, but it's still quite problematic. I know budget plays a huge role in these things, and they've done a decent job getting close to the sound they're going for, but at the end of the day this kind of stuff still needs an ultra polished sound, and this thing comes off a little quiet and restrained. The guitar tone sounds good but has a slight sheen, and the drums are near the mark but lack resonance, so... they just need to smooth it over and round it out. Get some extra brightness in there, try to isolate the low-end to really emphasize the rhythm section and the crunch of the guitars, etc. And make sure to mix things evenly so that the drums don't start to cloud up the guitar parts. The end result here is just a tad thin and lacks punch. Visually it's a little boring, with a few photos of amps and posed shots of the band, but the text is very clean and everything does look professional and consistent, so I'll give 'em credit for that. There's definitely a level of quality to it. The lyrics aren't hitting me at all though, covering typical issues of relationships and personal turmoil in a blunt manner that's not genuinely bitter enough to click in my world. I can ignore my issues with the lyrics, though it would be nice were they a little more... I don't know, powerful? There's some awesome music here, though. It does get a little too mediocre too often, and I think they'd serve themselves well to toss some of the oversimplified groove junk in favor of more fast-paced riffing and tactful melody (not the slower, more boring melodic tendencies of tracks like "In Circles" - which has a strong chorus but rests quite uneventfully elsewhere), but I really, really like some of this material. And I think these guys could actually do damn well for themselves in today's musical climate if they could work out the kinks. I'm going a little easy on the number rating because I honestly believe they've got a shitload of potential even though this release is a little too flawed, but... man, portions of that first song are so fuckin' good. Keep workin' guys, I want to hear something more in the future. (7/10)
Running time - 22:03, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Nobody Move, RX]
12v Negative Earth - http://www.12vne.com

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