New Jersey's offering to the world of Garage band Hard Rock is To The Bone, with their latest effort, Against The Dead Hand (Rosemount Recordings). This 11 track CD is a dirty foray into Indie Hard Rock with some Metal ties that fall in between Clutch/Queens Of The Stone Age and at times vintage doom & gloom Ozzy era Sabbath, with more of a lend towards the Indie Rock than the Metal.
To The Bone are full of both quirky guitars and vocals delivered in very much an Indie/Alternative quivering style. The riffing is not quite generic but is somewhat catchy in a very dirty, grungy way. Tuned down guitars are their weapon of choice and this gives them that Sabbath IV type of quality. Soloing is very basic and kind of a non issue, but they do have a very solid groove happening throughout Against The Dead Hand. "Left To Rot" shows off the Tony Iommi fueled Metal sheen, while title track "Against The Dead Hand" has that aloof Alternative plod to it, featuring a Kurt Cobain type of solo.
All and all Against The Dead Hand is an ok effort. I found some of the lyrics and melodies really annoying (ie."Shut Down The Heart" & "Supernova Casanova) and down right sophomoric. Kudos to when they do lock into some dirty grooving, but I found this to be much less than it should be. They do a fairly good job but they leave something to be desired with their overall songwriting appeal. They are a bit too much Garage band-ish for me in a very NON intentional way. A bit too bland for my liking.
Track Listing
- Gemini
- Insectual
- Shut Down The Heart
- Supernova Casanova
- Year Of The Swine
- On The Backs Of Rats
- Give It The Gas
- Your Day Is Coming To An End
- Left To Rot
- Against The Dead Hand
- When My Day Begins
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