Thorn.Eleven

There is a very distinctive sound to German metal. I'm not sure if it is something in the guitar, bass and drum relationship or if it is in the vocals and song structure, but I always know it when I hear it. Thorn.Eleven has that distinctive sound and it works pretty well for them. Vocalist David Becker has a nasal quality to his voice that isn't currently heard on this side of the world, while the roadwork with King's X shows its subtle influences on tracks like "Push Me." The leadoff single, "Simple Things," is one of the stronger tracks on the self-titled debut disc, where the long-lost guitar solo is revisited in, thank goodness, a short tip of the hat. Unfortunately the drum rolls that Mathias Wienand incorporates on "Fine Alone" sound a little too much like a practice jam and there are a few other elements that stand out as unfinished on the Andy Sneap-produced (Machine Head) disc. A disc that would have benefited from some extra layers, such as backing vocal work.