Review Summary: It's actually sad to think about how much better this could have been, considering the star-power involved.
D.R.U.G.S. comes in the form of:
Craig Owens (ex-Chiodos)
Matt Good (From First to Last)
Aaron Stern (ex-Matchbook Romance),
Nick Martin (Underminded),
and Adam Russell (Story of the Year).
The amount of hype leading up to this album was unsurpassed, and paved the way for what was sure to be an interesting release from this super-group. One by one, the group leaked the tracks through "Song Reveal Videos," which placed the track over an irrelevant video. These tracks were released daily, two weeks before the release day of the album. The hype grew even more. The lone question remains, did D.R.U.G.S. live up to their own self-induced hype? Allow me to delve deeper.
One of the tracks that fans expected on this album is based off of the infamous "Thermacare" demo that was leaked shortly after Owens was booted from Chiodos. A quick settlement left Chiodos with the music and Owens with his lyrics. As promised, "Thermacare" appeared in D.R.U.G.S. form with track two "The Only Thing You Talk About." As much as the music was not changed up all that much, it's clear that Owens carried over a number of inquisitive Chiodos fans back over to his band with this song. The song features the main melody, and goes into a heavy-ish breakdown, as it appeared in the demo. This stands as one of the better songs on the album.
Aaron Stern absolutely kills the skins on this album. The drum parts may not be as incredible as you were expecting, but tight execution and solid production help him out a little bit. Songs like "Stop Reading, Start Doing Push-Ups," and "If You Think This Song Is About You..." feature the best of Stern on this debut.
For the most part, the musicianship is solid, and basically at the level you would expect any Decaydance band to perform at. The bass isn't anything special, but it stands as audible (which is always a plus). The guitar-parts are ever-so-slightly better at some points than others, but they are not outstanding. Good and Martin share a couple guitar harmonies at certain points. The gem on this album, musically, would have to be "Graveyard Dancing," which features an eerie guitar riff, and even a slight solo by Good near the end of the song. This track features Owens in his comfortable range, and a superb chorus.
Most of the songs on this album have a redeeming quality or two, that make you want to listen again and again. The diversity of this album really caught me off guard, and is definitely not what the fans expected. And for the most part, I'd say that they pulled it off. However, the inclusion of the ballad "I'm Here to Take the Sky," (which sounds like a complete rip off of Owens' project Cinematic Sunrise) was definitely not for the better.
As I alluded to before, most songs have their quirks that make them different from the other, but in doing that they also leave a lot to be desired. "My Swagger Has a First Name," features Nick Martin on vocals, famous for his strong gruff that enhanced Underminded. The song has more a metalcore influence than the others, sounding more like a Chiodos song with the inclusion of the strings near the end. "Mr. Owl Ate My Metal Worm," features a poppier/post-hardcore approach in the vein of The Used. The lyrics here are a downer, as well as the fact that the track is just so damn repetitive. "Laminated E.T. Animal," features what might be the most addicting chorus on the whole album, and it does it in a subtle way. Being a poppier song with a slower intro, it might get overlooked by fans.
All in all, what can I say? Did they live up to their own hype? Not really. But when we think about it, what were we expecting from this band? We weren't expecting heavy, but we weren't expecting poppy. When you think about it, we never knew what we were getting. Everybody has their own interpretation of how a band that features members like Craig Owens, Matt Good, and Nick Martin should sound. It is up to you how you thought this album was going to be.
This album is not a failure by any means, it just has too many holes to be considered above average. For sure, the one big hole comes with their star-power. Craig Owens improved tons, and I think he deserves his recognition for that. But what about the other members here? Matt Good provides decent backup vocals throughout the album, but he and Nick Martin both have their own styles that could have definitely been shown through the music a little more. For everything good about this album, there's something that could have made it better, and for that "D.R.U.G.S." remains average.
