Review Summary: A solid first release from a promising band.
I will say that about 95% of people who know of Breaking Wheel have heard of them through their ties with Harmonix (the guys that made Guitar Hero and Rock Band). In almost every game made by them there has been a Breaking Wheel song. While basically a hard rock/metal band, Breaking Wheel do touch down slightly into more forms of traditional rock and heavier metal on their self-titled debut. This first effort is by no means perfect; however, it is definately solid, and a promising first release from a promising band.
There a few problems with this album however. First of all is the length. Now, I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a demo or not. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But if it's supposed to a first release, then this it is woefully short- song-wise, not in length. There are a mere seven songs here, and, while long (including a twelve-minute closer), I think that there should have been some more songs here. Most of the material here is great, but some more would have been nice.
All of the members of this band are skilled at their instruments. I really like the vocalist's voice. It's rough and scratchy, yet melodic at the same time, and fits the music perfectly. In my opinion, he is one of the best and most underrated singers in metal today. The drummer has a unique style; it feels very loose (for lack of a better word) and frequently utilizes odd roll timing, cymbal hits and fills. The guitarist(s) are very good. They play in a distorted tone which stays relatively the same throughout the whole album. The lead guitarist, Pete, also has some good solos ('
One For The Road' and '
Shoulder To The Plow' are some examples). The bassist is in the background most of the time, but has some solos here and there (see '
Troy' and '
Shoulder To The Plow').
It's also good to know that album opener '
One For The Road' is not the same version as the one in 'Guitar Hero II'. While I like the version on this album, the production feels a bit muddier, and the added guitar solo at the end feels sort of unecessary, and in my opinion should have been put somewhere else in the song. The scream at 2:58 is also not needed; however, the high riff that appears frequently sounds better. Overall, I prefer the Guitar Hero II version, but this version is also solid. There is also an alternate version of
Shoulder To The Plow floating around on YouTube. I think the vocals sound way better in that version, but the production is definately better on the album version. I enjoy both versions and recommend them both.
One last thing to note is that album closer '
Beasts Of The Earth' is not what it seems. It starts out with a cool ambient intro that quickly turns into a fast-paced metal song. It has a good breakdown and guitar solo. The ending is very big and works very well. Around the seven-minute mark, however, there is just silence. "Okay, a hidden ending," I think. While not the biggest fan of hidden endings, I can live with them. However, nothing ever comes up. Absolutely nothing. It was simply five minutes of silence. Listen- if you're going to end an album, then end it properly. Inserting five minutes of pointless silence at the end of an otherwise very good album is just plain annoying. It is an unfitting end to an otherwise great album.
Other tracks of note include '
Tyrants of the Frozen Spider', which has an excellent slow section in the middle (the acoustic guitar, piano, and drums there are perfect), and also '
Sinner', which features a very fast alternate sturmmed riff and a great breakdown and build-up (with a cool off-beat guitar riff). '
Shoulder To The Plow', as seen in Rock Band 2, is a very good track. The verse-chorus transitions are awesome and the guitar solo is great. Penultimate track '
Cast Unto The Flame' also features an excellent guitar solo, and some good blast beating at the beginning of the song. The choruses of this song have a cool riff, high-up on the guitar neck, with some low-pitched vocals overtop. It also has some good screaming and great guitar riff about halfway through.
This album is, overall, very good, and is recommended to metal/hard rock fans. Besides the five minutes of pointless silence at the end, this is an awesome album.
