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Tommy’s Track-By-Track III

Posted on February 12, 2008

Two more new songs detailed by Spineshank’s Tommy Decker… Self-Destructive Pattern is OUT NOW. 5. Begining Of The End This song has the best chorus that we’ve ever written in my opinion. It’s really catchy with a dark vibe. Jonny came up with some awesome harmonies. The guitars in the chorus were tough to record because Mike is playing 3rds and the tuning has to be really precise but it definitely adds a darker vibe to it. Lyrically Jonny is talking about some really personal issues to him and I think it really comes across. 6. Forgotten Now this song was really different for us. This was on the 1st demo we did for this record. We weren’t sure if this song was going to make it on the record but it really compliments some of the heavier songs by introducing some really dark melodies. I think it also adds some depth to the record, we didn’t want to just bash our way through. We could’ve taken the easy way out and written H.O.C. part 2 but that wouldn’t have been a challenge! The album is indeed great. But don’t take his word for it, or even ours. Check out this awesome Album Of The Month review by Mark Hoaksey, editor of Powerplay magazine: “Remember the first time you heard Linkin Park’s “Hybrid Theory” in its entirety? Remember that barely controllable sense of excitement as stunning tracks followed on after another? Remember how after only a couple of spins, the melodies were permanently imprinted on your mind? And with such huge crossover appeal, it was little wonder that even Powerplay’s readers and writers – not known for their love of nu-metal – succumbed to its charms. Then along came “Meteora” which, although hailed as a triumphant return by LP’s fans, suffered badly in the crossover stakes due to an over reliance on rapping and scratching, and too few quality songs. Enter Spineshank and “Self Destructive Pattern” – a nu-metal album for all metal fansí¢ä‰åŒ_ I wasn’t actually paying much attention as I took the promo disc out of its sleeve and slotted it into the office hi-fi. One of a large stack of promos that I was ploughing through as I worked at my PC that day, I’d heard both of the band’s previous albums, “Strictly Diesel” and “The Height Of Callousness”, and while both were competent, neither had made any kind of lasting impression on me, so I wasn’t expecting anything startling from album number three. Sixty seconds into opener “Violent Mood Swings”, I switched off my PC, turned the answer phone on, cranked the volume up, and did nothing but listen to the album until it finished 40 minutes later. And as my ex wife will tell you (it being one of the reasons for her status as an ex) there are very few things that can distract me when I’m working. Produced again by GGGarth Richardson, the music positively spits, growls and tears its way from the speakers the guitars rip, the drums crack, and the vocals are beautifully prominent. And what vocals they are! One minute hurled abusively at the listener, the next they coax and cajole, positively demanding that you delve further. Elephantine sing-along choruses are backed by chants and death metal growls, such as on the first single, the dazzling “Smothered”, and the oh so perfect “Beginning Of The End”, which has enough kick to leave a lasting boot print on your arse. Then there’s “Consumed (Obsessive Compulsive)”, on which nu-metal aggression is taken to its limits and then tempered with stunning vocal melodies, seemingly delivered out of nowhere. But the best track of all, the album’s defining glory, the mid-paced masterpiece that is “Forgotten”, is buried deep in the middle of the album. A true hidden gem and a future classic for certain, it leaves you breathless and wide-eyed on every listen. Sticking with nu-metal comparisons: like Linkin Park’s “In The End” or Papa Roach’s “Last Resort”, this is one of those songs that has now become so ingrained in my psyche that I simply can’t imagine life without it. It’s that good. And I guarantee that album closer “Dead To Me” will have you chanting along and spinning the disc back for another play as soon as it has finished. I urge those of you who, like myself, turn cold at the mere mention of nu-metal to investigate this album because with its pained and disturbingly well-observed lyrics, ridiculously infectious melodies, and delivery with more crunch than Kellogg’s, it is the best all-round metal album so far this year by a mile. And from a writer and a publication with little tolerance for nu-metal, that’s one hell of an endoresement!”

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