Review Summary: A flatline for a genre that already wained in popularity by 2003.
(I previously covered Grade 8's self-titled album (because I guess I was the only one interested in doing a full review.) It sucked, but my review on it wasn't that good either. So, let's try again.)
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After the commercial failure of their debut album, Grade 8 were left without any major label support, but they didn't feel like throwing in the towel just yet. They went to a low-profile independent label to release their next album... in 2004. They came out the year nu metal began to fade, and they didn't get the idea that they wouldn't be able to do better commercially on this release.
Typically, most bands like Grade 8 would experiment with new genres in the hopes of preserving consumer interest. Grade 8 believed that they still had a shot at the big time by, more or less, repeating traditions set on their debut album.
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Track one, Intro: First foray into the album and I get an earful of technological squealing. What is that supposed to represent? That the band is made up of robots who perform what they perceive to be hard rock or metal? For an album that's called Resurrection, a connection to the name from the opening track is vague. Hell, the sound of beeps from an oscilloscope would be more a more welcoming (and fitting) introduction.
Track two, Resurrection: Finally, we get a taste of this album's sound... and I'm immediately reminded of the start of their previous album. Seriously, the opening riff is almost identical to the start of their only notable song Brick By Brick, just played a bit differently and at a slightly slower tempo. They do try something new on the vocals though. Vocalist Dustin Tooker does some whiny screams near the middle of the first vocal portion, giving the "I'm a tough guy, I swear." mentality.
Track 3, Fighting Me: This song gives me a lot of mixed signals. The opening riff gave me a Spineshank vibe (sounding like the opening riff to New Disease if it were a mediocre guitar cover.) The vocals are worse, Tooker tries to add harmony to his vocals, but comes off as a bit tone-deaf in some areas. Referring back to my New Disease comparison, when one part of the verse ends it gives off a similar rhythm.
Fighting Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebByYtped2g&list=PL8D25373513C2656F&am p;index=3
New Disease: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgYO1k9Iyvk
Could just be me, either way this song hardly stands out.
Track 4, Everybody: The intro track comes back in an attempt to break up the monotony of the album. The first few seconds gave me the impression that they were actually going to cover the song of the same name by the Backstreet Boys. Let me tell you, that would've been preferable to what really occurred on the track. Tooker's channeling his inner Eddie Vedder (albeit, Eddie if he put his vocals toward something outside of his main genre and actually tried to emulate said new genre.) Could've sworn that toward the one minute mark, I could hear Tooker trying to mimic the opening verse to Even Flow.
Track 5, Oxyrotten: Not gonna lie, the opening riff didn't sound too bad. It was a bit better than what the previous tracks offered me. The instrumentation itself is actually not too bad, and I'd consider it to be an objective high-point to the album.. then Tooker comes in with his signature warbling tough guy voice. The last six letters in the title should say numbers for how a potentially decent song was ruined by poor vocals (but then again, thanks to the mildly decent instrumentation alone, I'd consider this a breath of fresh air from what I've heard so far.)
Track 6, Fallen Angel: I'm getting a Stabbing Westward vibe from this, maybe its the piercing synth when the vocals begin. Speaking of, Tooker sounds more like a hybrid between Jonathan Davis and Trent Reznor, albeit hammed up. As usual, it doesn't entice me to listen all the way through.
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Unfortunately, that's as far as I could go. Those are the only tracks I could find for free. Then again, after listening to the tracks I've told you about, I have no intent of looking for the rest.
The album sucks, but don't take my word for it. While critics hated the first album, they didn't even acknowledge this one. You can't find this album on iTunes or Spotify and no good info on this album is out there. So in essence, Grade 8 solidified their status as a band that nobody ever asked for.
Resurrection serves as the flatline to nu metal as a commercially viable genre. Or in Grade 8's case, they just applied a defibrillator to an already flatlined corpse.
If you're curious, this is a playlist containing all of the tracks I've mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuwuO-9OZV8&index=0&list=PL8D25373513C2656F
