Musical Ramblings: Nonpoint latest is non-impressive

I know, I know…my infamous (well, in my mind) best of list hasn't been completed yet. I may not have the list totally nailed down for another week or two. To tide everyone over, here's a review of a CD that came out late last year that I had trouble finding for a while (thank goodness for Ebay).

Nonpoint
Vengeance

Nonpoint have been around since about 1997, but their debut in the metal/hard rock world came with the amazing 2000 release, Development. To this day, I still regularly let this one spin LOUD.

Every song hits hard, is catchy and makes you bob your head without realizing you're doing it. Throughout the last seven years, the band has gone from being on a major label (releasing the disappointing Statement) and then hopping to a couple different labels (producing the riff heavy Recoil, and the hard hitting, but somewhat hit and miss, To the Pain).

I couldn't wait for this release because most of the time, I'm impressed with the majority of the tunes the band puts out on each disc. But, just like all my other top bands that I had high hopes for this year (Foo Fighters and Korn to name a couple), this one left me thinking, “What the hell happened?”

To the newbie being introduced to Nonpoint with this disc, I suppose that they would find a groove heavy metal album that has distinguishable lyrics and a straightforward songwriting approach. To me, I hear an album that doesn't push the band's ingenuity or creativity at all, and gives me about 50 minutes of simple riffing and song structures, unimaginative melodies and songs that sound almost the same at almost the exact same tempo.

Their last album, To the Pain, was aggressive and in your face even if all the songs weren't killer, but this one makes me question if the band has lost their edge or if they rushed a new disc to be able to tour behind.

The production of the album is pretty good and the tones of the guitars can be heard pretty well over the thickness of the bass. The drums are a little weak in the mix for me (although sometimes I found the crash cymbals to cut right through).

The best tunes on the disc to check out are “Hands Off,” “A Way Out,” and “Wake Up World.”

I don't mean to sound like I'm really trashing the band because I do like them a lot. I just think that they could have delivered a more diverse album given their track record. Maybe the band decided to go this route to get a little more hard rock radio play, which I can see with many of the tracks on here. It's Nonpoint, but it's just a little on the safe side for me. Hard rock/metal fans should check them out, but I'd suggest grabbing Development first.