Soul-Sick - Performing an Exact Revenge
Born Wrong Records - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
Performing an Exact Revenge is the debut full-length from New York 'Def-Core' quartet Soul-Sick, which follows on from their demo Still Sick and Suffering. Now, I couldn't find much information on this band that didn't come from the band (and, particularly, singer/songwriter Kevin M. Caputo) themselves, but I can tell you that Candiria's Carley Coma and Kenneth Schalk contribute guest appearances to the album. Surely a mark of quality?
Well, personally, I find the Candiria guest appearances the high points of the album. Don't get me wrong, Soul-Sick's blend of Caputo's rapping/screaming vocals, hip-hop grooves, hardcore aggression and metal riffage is competently written and well-played throughout - in fact, drummer Dan Komis' contributions stand out as particularly well thought-out and interesting percussive accompaniment, rather than standard hammering of a 4/4 beat, and James Barbella's guitar manages to touch on elements as diverse as raging hardcore (such as on 'Paris In May'), laid-back jazzy clean guitar (as in during the mid-section of 'Blast Furnace', which contains Carley Coma's vocals) and metallic crunch ('Alcohol').
Maybe it's Caputo letting the side down. Rap and metal have never seemed to go together that well for me (with the exception of... well, Candiria), but it's not just his rapping (although Coma's inclusion on the album does highlight a yearning gap in rapping ability, and the 'Biddity-biddity-bang, biddity-bang-bang-boom' on You're No Friend is near-unforgiveable), but also his sub-standard clean singing (the singing in the chorus of 'Red, White, Black and Blue' makes me cringe) also harpoons proceedings somewhat. Of course, it must be noted that, according to the promo sheet I got with the disc, Caputo writes all the songs himself solo (although they are 'arranged' by the band as a whole).
Whatever the reason is, the simple fact is that, for all this album's strengths, there's something about it that makes me certain that after this review is written, it's not going to be played again. There's just something missing. Perhaps it's soul.
4/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Soul-Sick's Official Website
Born Wrong Records - 2006
By Philip Whitehouse
Performing an Exact Revenge is the debut full-length from New York 'Def-Core' quartet Soul-Sick, which follows on from their demo Still Sick and Suffering. Now, I couldn't find much information on this band that didn't come from the band (and, particularly, singer/songwriter Kevin M. Caputo) themselves, but I can tell you that Candiria's Carley Coma and Kenneth Schalk contribute guest appearances to the album. Surely a mark of quality?
Well, personally, I find the Candiria guest appearances the high points of the album. Don't get me wrong, Soul-Sick's blend of Caputo's rapping/screaming vocals, hip-hop grooves, hardcore aggression and metal riffage is competently written and well-played throughout - in fact, drummer Dan Komis' contributions stand out as particularly well thought-out and interesting percussive accompaniment, rather than standard hammering of a 4/4 beat, and James Barbella's guitar manages to touch on elements as diverse as raging hardcore (such as on 'Paris In May'), laid-back jazzy clean guitar (as in during the mid-section of 'Blast Furnace', which contains Carley Coma's vocals) and metallic crunch ('Alcohol').
Maybe it's Caputo letting the side down. Rap and metal have never seemed to go together that well for me (with the exception of... well, Candiria), but it's not just his rapping (although Coma's inclusion on the album does highlight a yearning gap in rapping ability, and the 'Biddity-biddity-bang, biddity-bang-bang-boom' on You're No Friend is near-unforgiveable), but also his sub-standard clean singing (the singing in the chorus of 'Red, White, Black and Blue' makes me cringe) also harpoons proceedings somewhat. Of course, it must be noted that, according to the promo sheet I got with the disc, Caputo writes all the songs himself solo (although they are 'arranged' by the band as a whole).
Whatever the reason is, the simple fact is that, for all this album's strengths, there's something about it that makes me certain that after this review is written, it's not going to be played again. There's just something missing. Perhaps it's soul.
4/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Soul-Sick's Official Website
