SOUND BITES

This post concludes my rapid fire run of half-assed reviews, and pretty much brings us up to date. ARKELLS Rally Cry October 19, 2018 • Universal Highlights  Hand Me Downs •  Relentless •  Company Man The fifth album from Hamilton rockers Arkells seeks to build on the momentum from smash stopgap single Knocking At the Door by piling on big hooks, slick production and blatant mainstream aspirations. They've been going in this direction for some time while maintaining the essence of their sound; it's sort of made them the scrappy underdogs who you can't help but root for. Now that they've made it, it's just a little disappointing to learn just how eager they are to scrub away virtually all trace of what they used to be in an effort to grasp that brass ring. DISTURBED Evolution October 19, 2018 • Reprise Highlights  Are You Ready •  A Reason to Fight •  Already Gone Somehow, someway, Disturbed have survived the nu-metal backlash and carved out ...

Reminds Me Of: The last album, except way more melodic and way less psychotic. High On: * Singer David Draiman's much-improved vocal style, utilizing actual singing much more than screaming * Lead single "Prayer" and (hopefully) future single "Remember" good examples of the perfect mix of heaviness and melody Low On: * Improved melody seems to come at the expense of musicianship, which often sound thin and soulless, thanks partly to the obvious usage of ProTools-type programming * Subject matter singular in nature; nearly all tracks deal with believing in yourself, living your own life, yadda yadda yadda. * Cheese factor cranked on closing track "Darkness"; the cello and piano driven ballad does not jive well with the rest of the album, ending on a sour note Bottom Line: 'Believe' has enough good tracks on it to please fans, but overall sorely lacks the violent, ballsy energy of 'The Sickness'. 5 MEDIOCRE September 17, ...