Lets play spot the influence
Apparently there's a hardcore scene in Italy at the moment. Seeing as Keenants is my first exposure to it, it either suggests it's not widely recognised or I've been living under a rock for the past few years. The only Italian band I am aware that has any recognition is Lacuna Coil. Perhaps this hardcore scene has emerged in the years it's taken for the 'Coil' to write a new album. Keenants, although possessing my vote for most non-metal sounding name of the year, play an unoriginal mix of everything that has passed across our metal airways in the past five years, however, this doesn't mean it isn't any good.
It's extremely difficult for bands to be original, the vicious predators of the rock press (such as myself) like to pigeon hole bands, put them into nice neat piles even if a band are trying to be original, either way the artists don't win. Keenants are far from original, however they're difficult to pigeonhole because over the course of their debut album, Lets start from the beginning, they sound like many bands currently filling the magazines and TV rock channels. Opening track, 'This song is not in a playlist' is a pretty good cut with vocalist Luca de Stefano in fine voice, however it reminds me too much of Ill Nino, which is never a good thing. 'Waiting for God' is a cracker of a tune, very nu-metal in feel and delivery, it has a spacey clean guitar and brutal chorus and wouldn't sound out of place on the next Dry Kill Logic album. 'Ride on the Street' is a poor mans System of a Down but is still a competent cut, but I a baffled why Keenants have written such a song, especially with System of a Down being the centre of attention at the moment.
One of my mottos is 'if you can't be original, be good' and Keenants manage to achieve this. Unlike the Bullet for my Valentines, Drowning Pools and Ill Ninos of this world, Keenants have taken the effort to create a collection of songs that don't sound like one idea regurgitated ten times. The way they've accomplished this is by cramming lots of little ideas into the three-minute mix. 'Feedback' is a great example of this, starting with clean guitar and phased distortion. You think the song is going to be a slow brooder but the drums kick a funky beat, which is followed by an oddly timed bridge, finished off with a jump jump style chorus. It's an excellent song kept interesting by the sum of its parts. This is the key to Keenants appeal, instead of getting a mediocre idea and running with it, (ala Soil) they throw other fairly decent ideas into the musical cooking pot and produce a highly likeable album. The failing of nu-metal and metal-core in my eyes is a lack of creativity and it's nice to see a band refusing to stick to the creative trappings of such sub-genres.
'Ever Winter Sky' is perhaps the best song on the album, its quiet beginning and chordy riff opens out into a building Lost Prophets verse, followed by a heavy groove that even got my head nodding. The title track lets the whole fair down however, 'Lets start from the beginning' is the worst System of a Down rip off I've ever heard. It's one thing to sound similar to other styles and bands but when it's an obvious copy it does nothing but create animosity in the listener. The thing that aggravates me the most is that Keenants don't have to do this, there are enough elements on this album to suggest they could eventually carve a style of their own. The band will probably suggest they want to appeal to the masses and don't want to be held down to one style, which is a honourable attitude, and I applaud their efforts, but I think it would be better for them to concentrate on developing their own creativity rather than borrowing someone else's.