The first thing that came to my mind when I first heard Wet Animal was Alice in Chains. Their sounds have some amazing similarities. Please don't construe that as an endorsement. This band is not bad, but they are nowhere near the league of Alice in Chains.
Wet Animal made it's first appearance 10 years ago, in 1995, when they were founded by Trouble guitarist Rick Wartell. But, it wasn't until 2005 that their debut album would be released. I saw that, and it made me wonder why it took so long, better late than never, I guess.
The album starts of with it's best work, but slides down the ranks pretty quickly. The entire album is filled with straight forward rock, but it rarely climbs out of the ranks of the mediocre. If you are in need of something to put in and turn up, this will fit the bill, but if you thirst for more originality you would do best to look elsewhere.
The first three tracks are what you need to listen too. The first song is "Soul Alone", it opens with a heavy gloom rock guitar riff, over which Shane Pasqualla's Layne Staley-esque vocals come in. It is sure to get your head knocking, and probably bring thoughts of "Man in the Box" to mind. That is followed by the bluesy "Lost in My Head". It has a slightly more upbeat Black Sabbathy feel, while feeling straight out of the mid 90's. Rounding out the opening trifecta is "Outside a Hole" which brings more Alice in Chains to mind.
I cannot really say that I like the album. Overall, it just sounds too generic. It seems to bridge the gap between the grunge rockers and the bluesy rockers, only showing up 10 years too late. There is no denying that there are some good riffs going on here, but it does not go far enough. I had been hoping for something a bit edgier. This, while rocking in the traditional sense falls to the average line and below in terms of originality and forward thinking.
Not Recommended.
4 comments:
Bought it, Love it.
Totally diferant than most of the stuff comming out now, A throw back to old school style rock.
Killer Rock C.D., I highly recomend this band to anyone who REALLY loves Rock/
Big hooks everywhere.
This is truely a great C.D.!
I havent heard a band this good in YEARS...
I can see this being very big soon.
I disagree with this reviewer. The album is filled with great tracks after the first three tracks including "Land Minds," "Don't Put Me Down" and a kick-ass cover of Pentagram's Relentless. This cd is for people who like Alice in Chains but also appreciate the huge riffs of Trouble.
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