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Waterdown - All Riot

Music journalists are often accused of writing reviews without even bothering to listen to the CD in question, usually by offended fans who take exception to any vicious bitch slaps administered to their favourite band's newest release. The thing is, some groups almost seem to go out of their way to make things easy for the lazy journo who wants to save wear and tear on his or her CD player, and Waterdown are a case in point - I don't reckon it would have been too hard to compose this review without having to trouble my ears with their new release, "All Riot". The band name, the short hair, hooded tops and little beards on display in the band photo, the song titles ('Chewing On Lies', 'My Hopelessness and Me'), the booklet adorned with photographs of police officers enthusiastically laying the smack down on some hapless rioters - you know exactly what's in store before you press the 'play' button. The fact that it's a Victory Records release (and the accompanying bio pegs them as the 'forefathers of screamo') only compounds matters.

Give "All Riot" a spin and you soon realise that your preconceptions are well-founded - this is definitely one book that you can judge by its cover. Chuggy, mid-paced, metalcore/hardcore-lite with dual 'clean'/shouted vocals is the order of the day, but within that remit the band deliver pretty much what you want of them. Memorable riffs are thin on the ground, but the choruses are catchy enough - see 'Moshpit Etiquette' with its infectious gang vocals, for example. Lyrically, the band explore the usual, slightly naive themes of being pissed-off at stuff, being true to yourself and not taking any shit from anybody. The production is generic but clear and powerful enough to get the point across.

When Waterdown do attempt to think outside of the box, the results are mixed. The shouted vocals sound like those of every other group currently operating in the scene, but the 'clean' singing is more reminiscent of the multi-tracked, harmonised style favoured by pop-punkers (their accents are as American as they come, by the way, despite the band hailing from Germany). 'Repeater' features a bit of piano, but this is fairly redundant in the context of the track and doesn't really add anything to the mix. The band are most successful when they bring their more traditional metal influences to the fore, such as on the positively rocking 'Cut The Cord' and the cool riff and old-school guitar solo which open 'My Hopelessness and Me'. Or maybe I'm just an old git.

The path that Waterdown take is not so much well-trodden as tarmaced over and used as a main thoroughfare, but if you like this kind of thing then you'll find much to appreciate here. You'll be able to tell if this is for you by looking at the CD packaging, just like I would have been able to write this review.