SLAVE TO THE SYSTEM: Slave To The System (Spitfire)
By Fizz
Rating: 7.0
Hey kids, it’s time for a supergroup! Slave to the System is a band we’ve been seeing in the rock-news footnotes for probably four years, but their first recorded output is only just seeing the light of day. So while we’re waiting, here’s the starting lineup:
Damon Johnson: vocals, guitars—-Johnson was the mellifluous frontman for ’90’s southern hard-rockers Brother Cane.
Roman Glick: bass-—Johnson’s cohort in Brother Cane. After that band dissolved in the late ’90’s, Glick made the jump to Jackyl, replacing the born-again Tom Bettini.
Scott Rockenfield: drums—-The aptly-named Rockenfield is the drummer of Queensryche. ’Nuff said.
Kelly Gray: Guitars-—Mr. Gray is often used as a punching bag in the metal community. As a guitarist and songwriter, he’s usually blamed for Queensryche’s descent into Sucksville, as he attempted to replace the irreplaceable Chris DeGarmo. As a producer, metal fans everywhere screamed for his head when he butchered Nevermore’s Enemies of Reality album, giving it a weird, pop treatment, a mess that Andy Sneap was called in to clean up on a subsequent reissue.
Scotty Heard: guitar--All I know about this guy is that he was in a band with the titillating name Sweaty Nipples.
And that’s the roster, brought to you by D-Day’s Revenge!
So what might a band made up of these worthy gentlemen sound like? To be honest, on the first couple spins, I was a little bored. Damon Johnson said recently, “If I’m a rock fan in 2006, this is the kind of record I want to hear.” Well, I AM a rock fan in 2006, and this isn’t exactly what I want to hear. The sound here is contemporary rock-radio fare on the surface, like Audioslave or Nickelback or somebody like that. But the more you listen, the more it starts to sound like it could have been the fourth Brother Cane album. Brief history lesson: Brother Cane’s 1993 debut was an excellent southern-fried, soulful hard-rock affair (see Fizzy’s Closet #7 for a full review), but with the following two albums, the band’s style grew darker, moodier, almost grungy. Incidentally, Kelly Gray produced the band’s 1998 swan song, Wishpool. So it’s not surprising that Slave to the System favors almost the identical production sound. Ironically, it also doesn’t sound too far off that Nevermore album Gray gets so much shit for, particularly with Rockenfield’s drum sound. Maybe this is the only way he knows HOW to produce.
Anyway, stylistically, this continues where Wishpool left off. It’s a mix of modern mainstream rock, some grunge overtones, and some muted southern flavorings. The record is pretty much an even mix of rockers and ballads. First single and opening track “Stigmata” sports a rousing beat and a blatantly metallic riff to get things started, but falls short for some reason. While the band jams out, Johnson sings it almost like it’s a ballad, and his slow enunciation drags the tune down a bit. “Ruby Wednesday” and “Slave to the System” are more grooving, modern-sounding songs, but manage to retain some appeal, with strong melodies, and a heavy riff on the latter song. Disinfected” is easily the hardest-rocking song here, and the fastest, and Johnson even pulls his voice out of its usual midrange for some forceful hollering. An energized surprise! “Gone Today” is a laid-back number mixing crunching power-chords and some acoustic strumming in the verses, and is the most Brother Cane-like of the rockers. The problem with the harder songs is that the rocking-out seems a little forced, like they were made heavier than they needed to be. Songs like “Cruising Out of Control” and even “Disinfected” just lack something, either more aggression in the vocals, or less in the music. Something, somewhere, is missing. None of the rockers are bad songs, per se, but many don’t do much to distinguish themselves. Consequently, “Gone Today” winds up being the standout of that half of the album.
The band fares better on the ballads, and Johnson really shines. His honeyed voice hasn’t lost its touch, although it’s noticeably deeper than it was back in ’93. His lyrics are honest and his delivery heartfelt. While the other half of the album reminds more of current radio staples, the ballads reach a little further into the past. “Walk the Line” has that introsepctive Candlebox thing going on, while “Will You Be There” is a splendid, earnest love song, whose admittedly maudlin lyrics don’t detract much from the power of the track. In that way, it and a few other tunes remind me of Tesla’s later material. Others, like “Abyss” and “Walk the Line” (again) put me in mind of prime Brother Cane mellow material like “Make Your Play” or “Voice of Eujena.” “Leaves” boasts the album’s most inspired guitar-playing by far, jamming and twangy and easygoing, and definitely makes the song stand out.
I don’t know how much exposure or airplay this is going to get. They’ve generated some pretty good buzz so far, given the ages and pedigrees of the band members. I don’t like to put it that way, but let’s face it. A Queensryche/Brother Cane combo isn’t going to generate too much excitement in this day and age, despite both bands having enjoyed considerable success in their day. And that’s a shame, because while Slave to the System has its issues, there’s a lot to like.
If you’re a hardcore metal fan who considers anything lighter than Maiden “gay-ass pussy shit,” you won’t like this. If you think everything released after 1992 is garbage, you won’t like this. If you’re in the mood to jump around the room and break a sweat, this is not the album for you, even as much as the band might like it to be. It just doesn’t work that way. But if you just want to relax or unwind, this is a pleasant listen. The breakthrough for me came when I put it on after listening to Slayer’s Reign In Blood. Maybe I got the metal out of my system momentarily, I don’t know. What I do know is, where before I had been fairly unimpressed, I found myself suddenly enjoying the album. The songwriting is often superb, the playing expert, and damn, but it’s good to hear Damon Johnson’s voice again.
Best songs: “Gone Today,” “Leaves,” “Walk the Line”
Worst songs: “Cruising Out of Control,” “Rag Doll”
