Even back in the nu-metal heyday, No One were always ?just another? band of the genre. They weren't even third tier, and that shows on this album. What we have here is basically the work of a (competent) fourth-tier nu-metal band. The sound is derivative, albeit at times engaging, the anger is processed, and even the titles are fairly typical.
To do this band justice, their album starts off pretty strong. Down on Me, Chemical and It's Real are all strong nu-metal tracks, and I actually get a kick out of listening to them. But the problem here is the same that affects most hip-hop albums - there are just too many tracks, which contributes greatly to a reduction of the listener's interest. Plus, the closer we get to the end, the less interesting the tracks become, and none of them are ever a patch on the first five.
Another interesting factor in the band's sound is that every other song sounds the same. All the odd-number songs sound like Slipknot/Downthesun and all the even-numbered ones sound like System of A Down/Korn/Dope.
All in all, then, this is the definition of an average album. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, just derivative and a tad boring. If you're curious, try downloading Down on Me, Chemical and My Release, and just consign the rest of the album to eternal oblivion. |
