Escape Grace

This record is a mix of Black Sabbath, drawn out Southern riffs and really terrible rock revival. The first song’s heavy melodies are reminiscent of Change of Heart, something Ian Blurton also translated into C’mon. They embody an accessible sound capable of capturing a wider rock audience. This continues through the album, driven by a hardcore mentality, returning occasionally to a Sabbath or Blurton rock riff. The singer has a bargain basement Denis Lyxzén voice, often bringing the last syllable or word up a note or two for that annoying James Hetfield "yow” ending. It sounds like a lot of busy work with no real substance, especially when they drift into slews of melodramatic chords. Whether it is an emotional apex or a droning fury, it’s boring. They definitely have fleeting moments of curiosity, like during "Phoenix,” when an emotional build goes into an anti-climactic chorus, finishing off with a teched-out Every Time I Die riff. It’s up-tempo rock, designed to bridge the gap between Southern rock and shitty dancing hardcore. Escape Grace combines heavy metal, punk attitude and grooved out rock riffs drawing from a number of influences in a coherent presentation. The problem with this continuity is that the riffs and the songs lack any sort of rebellion, and most importantly originality, relying on a distinctly derivative identity as the vehicle for this album.