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40 BELOW SUMMER
INVITATION TO THE DANCE |
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| | Reviews: 47 |
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| Average Rating: 8.38 |
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At Times, Very Interesting
by Troy Polidori "guyinasuit" Tujunga, CA United States
Reviewed on December 18th, 2001
First hearing 40 Below Summer the day they were signed by the imprint label of one of my least favorite bands, Slipknot, I couldn't say I was salivating for 40 Below Summer's debut, Invitation to the Dance. However hearing 40 Below's indie release, Step into the Sideshow, did show hints of creativity and talent, even if the originality factor was missed. Invitation to the Dance begins with a nice drum fill on "We the People". The song itself displays nothing worth repeating except for a nicely placed acoustic strings session that no one could expect. "Rope", at first, seems like nothing new to one who has been listening to metal since a child, but a seasoned professional easily recognizes mind-boggling drumming from Carlos Aguirre, and Max Illedge's beautiful harmony with the rest of his bandmates. Aguirre's drumming is vital to the bands overall sound. The main component that separates 40 Below Summer from the rest of the cliched nu-metal pack is their ability for song-writing which is solely dependant on the progressive drumming of one such a drummer. Max's range is beautifully displayed on tracks such as "Wither Away" and later, "Power Tool". He transists from fronting acoustic melody to hardcore screaming effortlessly on "Wither Away"; and whines, screams and sings within a span of ten seconds on "Power Tool". "Step into the Sideshow", the title track of their indie release, displays the harmony of guitar and bass rhythms. Although they may not have an abundant supply of talent, they work together well enough to escape overbearing complaint. "Falling Down" includes some of the best moments of the disc. The song writing, especially the drumming, is hilarious (I don't know how else to explain it other than hilarious). It seems as though Max took 30 seconds from nine different songs and slapped them together at the last second. "Smile Electric" shows the more Sevendust-like industrial-metal side of 40 Below Summer. As we near the conclusion of the disc the song writing improves, but which unfortunately means less drum-lead songs (A very good example of this is "Power Tool"). "Jonesin" shows the first and only sign of creative guitar work, which is unfortunately not played well. One complaint I have is a few songs that are missing from Invitation to the Dance (namely "Sunburn" and "2 Fisted"). Many of the highlights from 40 Below's indie release are not included here, and that highly disappoints. Although there are many problems regarding the bands originality, there are enough creative moments on the disc to keep the pros outweighing the cons.
More "Invitation to the Dance" reviews:
[2004-12-28] Awesome CD; and Reviewers need to check facts (8)
[2004-12-09] Intense (10)
[2004-11-22] one of the best modern heavy music has to offer (10)
[2004-03-25] surprise... (10)
[2004-03-05] GREAT CD (10)
[2003-12-31] Invite me to the Dance (8)
[2003-12-09] Amazing debut. (10)
[2003-11-20] Best Album (10)
[2003-09-11] definitely not bad (8)
[2003-08-26] give it more than one listen (8)
[2003-07-12] Simply Amazing! (10)
[2003-06-06] 5 above this summer (10)
[2003-04-25] 3 and a half, actually...Good Stuff (6)
[2003-02-27] totally awesome (10)
[2003-01-14] Great debut from a great band!! (10)
[2003-01-13] don't say anything (10)
[2002-09-06] Step into the sideshow, youll be glad you did (8)
[2002-08-20] I can't believe how good this CD is, am I dreaming? (10)
[2002-07-29] Great Energy (10)
[2002-07-25] Must Have (10)
[2002-06-24] 3,5 actually (8)
[2002-06-13] Very Good (6)
[2002-06-10] Good stuff. (8)
[2002-05-21] it's no good (2)
[2002-04-10] Originality is the best (10)
[2002-04-06] Awesome! (10)
[2002-04-06] awesome cd (10)
[2002-04-05] Throw you notions of the typical heavy band out the window (10)
[2002-03-27] step into the side show (10)
[2002-02-19] This CD Has it going on (8)
[2002-02-06] Whoa, slow down here people... (4)
[2002-01-11] best cd i've heard in along time (10)
[2001-12-18] At Times, Very Interesting (6)
[2001-12-13] Has more ups than downs (6)
[2001-12-10] Yawn (2)
[2001-12-10] Dead Solid.....Right On Man! (6)
[2001-12-08] give me a break (4)
[2001-12-07] Nothing but a Great Nu-Metal CD (10)
[2001-11-05] Invitation to the Dance (10)
[2001-11-03] Amiable nu-metal (10)
[2001-11-01] Loud, original. (6)
[2001-10-27] Awesome, Awesome, Awesome (8)
[2001-10-24] A great CD, check these guys out. (8)
[2001-10-22] A must have album (6)
[2001-10-20] Ye another great find from the (sic)ness... (10)
[2001-10-18] A Gold Mine waiting to be Discoverd (10)
[2001-10-16] A far cry above the genre (10)
Displaying reviews from 1 to 47
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