Review Summary: Take the guitar riffs from P.O.D. Throw in a mix of Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington for aggressive vocals, then take a dash of Michael Tait and a 90s boy band for clean vocals. Take the experimental elements of Korn and Linkin Park, and a similar lyri
Take the guitar riffs from P.O.D. Throw in a mix of Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington for aggressive vocals, then take a dash of Michael Tait and a 90s boy band for clean vocals. Take the experimental elements of Korn and Linkin Park, and a similar lyrical approach to Pillar. That is what you get in nu-metal band 38th Parallel. In fairness to the band, this record came out in 2002, which was during the nu-metal era. Give a little more credit to the band because they were probably a great alternate for Christian teenagers whose parents wouldn’t let them listen to something like Limp Bizkit. Unfortunately, that’s really all Parallel has going for them.
Take Hear My Cry. It opens with an experimental tone sounding just like something Korn would use, and a guitar riff that sounds exactly like P.O.D.’s Alive. Vocals are just like Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit, and the faux-screams that are meant to be aggressive sound cheesy and contrived. The whole track sounds ripped off from another nu-metal artist, and it’s super-generic and boring. Enter the rest of the album. The rap in Turn the Tides sounds exactly like Mike Shinoda or Zach de la Rocha, and though it’s not a horrid rap, it’s been done before. The instruments aren’t better, and this track sounds like a Korn/Rage Against the machine-hybrid ripoff. Higher Ground tries to break the tides with more ballad-like territory, with some acoustic guitars and cleanly-played electric guitars. This comes off like a Spoken ripoff, there’s no originality whatsoever, and the sound gets boring quickly. I could go on, but what’s the point? Every song sounds ripped off and contrived on the album.
As a Christian, if you ask if I’m a Christian, I’ll unashamedly tell you “yes.” But if I were to write lyrics, I would keep this opaque and make you work to figure it out, much like Killswitch Engage, August Burns Red, and Project 86. Parallel lacks this subtlety, acknowledging their Christian beliefs in pretty much every song. It gets to where it feels shoved down your throat, even as a Christian, and you begin to wish for lyrical diversity. Well, Parallel did provide a good alternative for worried parents with this, but they didn’t do much else. If you are looking for something to show your kid that has a harder edge but clean lyrics, and don’t have money for Pillar or Spoken, get this. If not, skip this at all costs, you aren’t missing anything.
