Dissapointingly bland offering from 'spiritual' prog rockers
The theory goes thus: combine all the best bits of all your favourite bands, and you will come up with something not only unique, but universally popular. This theory has never been proven. Nor, at this rate, shall it. Blurb in hand, Deep Rising describe themselves as "spiritual... with a progressive edge", and go on to list their many influences. I agree with one part of their blub; it's "easily accessible". Not a bad thing in itself, as the appeal for songs such as 'Autopilot' and 'Idols' stretches across genres.
Opener 'Save Yourself' boasts some impressive riffing. However, after a while you start to notice a pattern - it's not particularly, well, progressive. For the most part these 4-minutes-plus songs follow a fairly standard pattern, deviating mostly for the odd quirky guitar run or 'quiet moment'. As competent and enjoyable as tracks like the (hopefully) tongue-in-cheek 'Led Balloon', with it's nod to Pagey's broken guitar riffs, there's nothing that immediately grabs you and says Listen To Me Again. You can remember nodding your head along with the drums and humming the vocal melodies, but for some reason the hand doesn't quite reach the repeat button.
Which is a shame, as there's nothing wrong with it per se. It has everything you could possibly want: dark Stone Temple Pilots moments, lighter Genesis/Rush inspired breaks, and not too heavy-handed with the synths. Perhaps that's the problem; we can list things it sounds like but still feel like we need to go and listen to the originals. Nick Kertzner's vocals struggle with the heavier moment and get somewhat lost in the overall effect, but have that REM-like charm for the choruses. 'Arrives' is a stand-out track as it encapsulates everything Deep Rising do best, with its more acoustic sensibilities and intriguing lyrics. But for the most part, you can let most of the album drift as background music and enjoy more than concentrating on every syllable.
It is with a heavy heart that the overall conclusion is that this album is bland. The whole affair has an amateur touch, relying on a couple of overly-smooth hooks and half-inched techniques. To be fair, they set the bar high with "spiritual" and "progressive" - words that are only ever used to describe one's first listen to 'The Dark Side of the Moon'. Far from unique.