Press
| Debut Album Review by Heavy Frequency Magazine - 2007-04-26 |
| http://www.heavyfrequency.com/archives/reviews/cdreviews.php?id=234 |
| by Joe Lonergan Journalist Red Line Chemistry’s latest album, Chemical High and a Hand Grenade, is a rock force to be reckoned with. They plow through their songs with intensity and dynamics, all the while respecting the integrity of rock music’s originality. To fully appreciate Red Line Chemistry’s album, you must understand that the state of alternative music is in full swing, with many colorful bands delivering a wide range of music. The state of alt rock, however, has been reduced to a sad, repetitive pop imitation. Chemical High and a Hand Grenade has picked up on the natural evolution of rock by gathering up the pieces of the alt rock movement, which nu-metal’s rap/rock severed in the late ‘90s, and injected it with some fierce attitude. The album kicks down the door with the guitar crunch of “Bullets and Armor,” which sets the tone for the rest of the 11 songs. The title track feels like a choppy sea ditty that is impossible not to tap a foot, a hand, or nod a head to. Songs like “Penny Drama,” “Apology” and “The Soldier” demonstrate the band’s softer side, swaying into depression and heavy thoughts without sounding like generic ballads. Song subjects address angst, addiction, and the stresses and frustrations from everyday life, but do not burden the listener with an overwhelming sound of complaint. Lately, nearly every modern rock band’s singer sounds like a deformed hybrid of Eddie Vedder, and with new bands popping up all the time, the signs of incestual copy-catting are starting to show. Vocalist Brett Ditgen delivers a style and range that has real emotion, not some faux regurgitation. Ditgen has crafted a sound that is influenced by past rock throats, but is still uniquely its own. On Chemical High, bass player Tom Brown and percussionist Mike Mazzarese lay down a solid foundation of stomp and drive, while guitarist Dave Fyten and lead guitarist/keyboardist Andrew Breit twist and weave around each other, echoing chords and riffs back and forth, thus creating Red Line’s dynamic crunch. The band as a whole is a tight unit with a well-crafted sound. Red Line Chemistry has mastered the art of alternative rock, all the while remaining true to classic and modern rock roots. The songs on Chemical High and a Hand Grenade are well written and performed with a feeling and a force that is all but forgotten. It is refreshing to hear a current band put forth the effort to write music that is solid, with emotion and attitude, rather than writing something easy - an unwritten, often-broken law in the rules of rock. |