Band: WRENCHINTHEWORKS
Title: Prodigal Transmission
Label: Redscroll Records
Review By: Josh IndieVision
Tracklisting:
1. Pale Fire
2. Tonight Is War
3. Caterpillar
4. Bitten By Flies
5. Psalm 151
6. Wires Of Resentment
7. Woven
8. Streets Paved Of Gold
Members/Duties:
Mehl: Guitar & Vocals
Darrell: Bass & Vocals
Andy: Drums
WRENCHINTHEWORKS is a 3 piece metalcore outfit hailing from Connecticut. After a few years together they completed “Prodigal Transmission”. I ran across this band on myspace and wanted to check out the full album to get a good vibe. The track I heard led me to hope they’d continue their early metalcore throwback sound.
“We came to wreck everything and ruin your life… God sent us” is the intro line from an early 90’s film. At the repeated end “God sent us” you are introduced the extremely heavy sound of WITW. “Pale Fire” continually pummels you throughout. They offer a more power hardcore sound than your typical metalcore releases of recent years. This album could have fit well in the “Spirit-filled” days of Tooth&Nail.
“Tonight Is War” picks up the feverish pace and blisters through another track with some extremely brutal parts throughout. “Caterpillar” brings forth a similar sound, but this time adds a bit more melodic sound.
Unfortunately the album tends to be repetitive from here on out. For most people this will rule out the replay value on this album and often will turn fans off. I think this band has talent and potential but I fear without a bit of change they will most likely stay in the underground and not move up to a bigger label. Check the band out for yourself at the links below to make your own call.
Standout Tracks:
“Streets Paved Of Gold”, “Pale Fire”
Overall Rating: I did enjoy this record, although not as much as I had hoped. Many of the songs seem to follow the same sounds and they band would greatly benefit from a bit more variety. I think they have a great sound if they could fine tune it. Perhaps, with a new guitarist, if they choose to replace the one that left will add another dimension to this band. Still a solid debut which offers a different approach to metal than is popular and prevalent right now.
Individual Ratings:
Album Art/Design: Actual cd art logo is pretty sweet! Album booklet is fairly simplistic. [Lyrics included]
Lyrics: Lyrics reminiscent of Living Sacrifice and bands of that nature. Very enjoyable and encouraging to see.
Marketability: “Prodigal Transmission” is a decent offering from a lesser known group. If they vary up their sound a bit more, I think they could reach a bigger audience.
Production: Not the best but not the worst I’ve heard. The heaviness of this band was certainly captured but some of the vocal approaches and recordings tend to not be as good.
Vocals: The vocals at times can be overpowered by the music and at times are hard to listen to. The higher screeches in “Catepillar” are an example. The vocal range is quite limited and something to be worked on so that the album doesn’t all blend together.
Similar To: Converge, Majority Rule, Training For Utopia
Myspace
Label
Buy:
Interpunk
