This is album number three for these retro sounding heavy groovers from Pottsville Pennsylvania. Fronted by the powerhouse vocals of Brandon Yeagley, these guys tick all the boxes for me. A lot of modern rock sounds as though it was created on the same computer using the same plug in, but not these guys.
Burn and Keep Med Down are standard Crobot groovers but Drown and Low Life sees the band adding to their pallets. Drown has a killer eerie vibe added to the grooviness and Low Life is my favourite tune on the album. It’s got freakin’ awesome heavy riffs and grooves with a monster hook and chorus. Alpha Dawg starts with a really heavy evil vibe and it reminds me a tad of RATM when they groove hard. The pace slows down for Side 1 closer Stoning The Devil, but there is no let up in the intensity. I’ve never thought of them as a stoner band, but this track definitely has those vibes.
Gasoline opens up Side 2 and what a killer track it is. It has a deep and dirty groove with Yeagley screaming out those vocals. Destroyer just rips from the get go. Again, it has that deep heavy riff that slays and the slow down for the main verse is so cool. Blackout starts with a slow moody intro before the riff-heavy guitar lays it down, and the instrumental section just rips. Afterlife is a close second in the favourite track stakes as that riff and groove swings just perfectly, and if I was going to release a single this would have been it. The album closes out with The Hive and we end as we came in, with a patented Crobot groover.
A great album by a great modern rock band and no, they DO NOT sound like Nickelback.
9.5/10 from The Grooveman.
