This band were described to me as a rockier version of Halestorm with Lizzy Hale. Now I’m sure Miss Hale is a wonderful person, but that cold-manufactured -in-a-studio Rock does absolutely nothing for me. I thought this band were new on the scene, but this is their fourth album and I have to say I am very impressed. Big fat huge riffs wrapped around the three octave vocals of Margarita Monet. It’s very commercial sounding as tracks like Digital Paradise and My Method Your Madness would have made great tracks to release to the rock charts. I actually thought they were European as they have that sound, but nope, they are from California.
The track, False Idols, has a Metallica vibe to the riff and intro, and you have to wonder if their biggest asset is also their biggest drawback. Margarita has an unreal voice, but when she goes really high it can be quite off-putting. Dave Bates is a really good guitar player, his riffs and leads sound killer, but they seem to have a revolving door of drummers and bass players. They are on their sixth of both and you wonder if this is a band or a project. The best track by quite by a mile is My Method Your Madness. This is when it all comes together. The song and the melody are so strong, and Margarita’s vocals seem to be tailor made for tracks like this.
I hope they do find the niche they are looking for, as when it works, it’s really good.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
