With influences ranging from Metallica to U2 to Rage Against the Machine to Nirvana to Bruce Springsteen, it shouldn't comes as a surprise to find a cover of Depeche Mode's "It's No Good" on Addiction, a crunching modern-metal debut by Staten Island, N.Y.'s Arthurkill. If I didn't pay attention to liner notes or press releases, I never would have even guessed that "It's No Good" was originally recorded by Depeche Mode. But I also never would have guessed that a band who puts on its album cover an image of what appears to be a young woman on her way to death by strangulation would make music this powerful, melodic and, um, addictive.
While songs like "Open Your Mind," "Down," "Like A Drug" and the uncredited hidden track rock with a vengeance, others are more moody and reflect the reality of failed dreams (the acoustic-charged "Closer to Free") and the tragedy of 9/11 (the funk rocker "Never Forget"). Both sound like they were written after a marathon session listening to late-Eighties arena rock. And that's not a bad thing. You get the feeling that vocalist and lyricist Ken Munson and his three bandmates take the role of being in a rock band quite seriously. Addiction reeks of professionalism -- from the songwriting (which often eschews the standard verse/chorus/verse/bridge format) to the audio quality (which is stellar for an independent release). Now if only the band had chosen a different name …
Oh, well. The least it can do is find a more appropriate cover for its next album, titled Frozen in Time and slated for release by the end of 2005.
Track Listing:
1) Open Your Mind
2) It's No Good
3) Down
4) Hold On
5) Closer to Free
6) Never Forget
7) Yellow Brick Road
8) Oblivion
9) Like A Drug
10) Honestly
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