Amazing Device
The Quiet Room
4.4
Tribunal and myself have been spending a lot of time together recently. After the stunning Animosity, decent Rifles at Recess and the guilty pleasure of the rather mellow School For Heroes, I gave another one of their middle area bands a chance. Not really hardcore, not really rock, but the grey area that’s filled with sub genre “core” outbursts mired in a generally commercial rock/metal guise. Not heavy enough for most metal heads, but probably acceptable to anyone who thinks that Taking Back Sunday or This Day Forward are to heavy for mainstream radio play. Similar in delivery to School For Heroes, Amazing Device just didn’t grab me with their song writing to warrant more than listening purely for review purposes, something School For Heroes somehow accomplished. The culprit for my indifference is the vocals; the mainly soaring clean singing and Nu metal–ish distorted whispering is just too “MTV” for me. Throw in and handful of hardcore screams that end each chorus line, are so predictable and cliched, they kind of draw your attention away from the competent but generic song writing. When Amazing Device do pull a few memorable moments off, they unfortunately all sound like someone else. I’ll be the first to admit the riff that leads in the title track is deadly catchy, and the breakdown of sorts that surfaces is pretty stout, but otherwise its simply dressed up in MTV 2 friendly, alternative, metal fused rock. As shown by driveling tracks like “Calamine” and “Discreet”, Amazing Device just don’t simply belong on Tribunal in my opinion, but one of the whorish labels that pump out cliched, unimaginative rock/punk/metal-lite for the depthless masses to satisfy the latest musical trend. The decent production is wasted on songs that seem to just be a hastily thrown together mix of nu-metal’s forced angst, rock’s verse/chorus area-isms and a touch of hardcore to justify them being on Tribunal as well as cash in on the genres sudden popularity. “Speak Up”, delivers the albums “best” song, as if anything, it highlights the production, and Amazing Device somehow deliver something that resembles “metal” within its power chord tinged punk. Think if Good Charlotte or Blink 182, actually did play ‘metal’ and you get the feel of this song at least. But still, the harsh guitar tone seems wasted on such non-offensive music. “Loss and Recovery” will be the first single you no-doubt hear or see in some saturated media outlet, and more power to them. If commercial success if the aim of Amazing Device, then they will probably do fine, as their soulless brand of rock dressed in metal’s throwaway aesthetic will no doubt garner some interest from Revolver and Rolling Stone. Shame on you Tribunal, you lull me into a false sense of security, a label with your storied roster, then three excellent albums, only to then force this trip onto the metal community that will no doubt shun it as I have. Amazing Device is a shameful addition to Tribunal’s legacy that will only appeal to those yet to discover independent thought, and are happy to listen to force fed, processed music that exists only to take up room on the band wagon. At least you re-issued Prayer for Cleanings “The Rain in Endless Fall”, so I’ll forgive you. Don’t let it happen again.
