The sophomore release from Look What I Did seeks to redefine modern metal and hardcore, as along with Combat/Koch label-mates Horse the Band and At All Cost, these guys fuse bone-crunching heavy metal with hardcore attitude, jazz fusion complexity, and pop hooks. Out of the three, Look What I Did probably are the most accessible, yet their music contains just as much intricate guitar work and gymnastic rhythms as their peers. The lethal weapon here is lead singer Barry Donegan, whose ability to bridge melodic clean passages that would appeal to fans of Incubus, Staind, or Sevendust, with raging homicidal bursts along the lines of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Strapping Young Lad, or Mister Bungle, with high pitched black metal shrieks like Cradle of Filth. On top of that, the guitar duo of Colby Shea and Skeet Childress more than concoct their fair share of molten mayhem. Check out "The Fox Eats TV Ishmael", with its sludge-ridden, almost Sabbath-ian guitar riffs, or the insane complex shredding on the title track, for some perfect examples of their abilities.
Hardcore fans should dig the more manic pieces here, like the schizophrenic "Raining Pleasantries" or the pop-meets-brutal hardcore of "Benevolesaurus Lex". Personally, I dig when these guys flex their metal muscles and throw in some killer hooks, like on "Lightning Bugs" or the layered sounds of "Cupid Full of Eros". Even "Is, Was, and Will Be" sees the band digging into some neat Red Hot Chili Peppers-meets-Black Label Society grooves, and goes for some funky yet malicious gargantuan sounds on "Zanzibar II: Sasha And Sebastian". Check out the end of this tune which ultimately becomes an industrial death metal number that reminded me of Strapping Young Lad.
It might not be an album for everyone, but I can totally see there being an audience for fans who dig the aggressiveness of hardcore, the technicality of metal, and the sing along quality of pop. If that is your thing, then this CD should be on your shopping list.
Track Listing
1. Minuteman for the Moment
2. Ultimate Complete Home Fitness Machine
3. The Soiree
4. The Fox Eats TV Ishmeal
5. Raining Pleasantries
6. Appomattox Whore House
7. Benevolesaurus Lex
8. Chest Is A Ribcage
9. Lightning Bugs
10. Cupid Full Of Eros
11. If, Was, And Will Be
12. Zanzibar II: Sasha And Sebastian
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
