3RD Root - A Sign of Things to Come (2000)
You might wanna fix yourself a big ol' pot of Kraft "cheese" and macaroni because that seems to be the most appropriate meal to enjoy while listening to these guys. Well, it may seem kind of harsh, but just about everything on this disc is simply mediocre. Let me just say it now; this one will look nice right next to your new Embodyment disc (The Narrow Scope of Things). Granted, 3rd Root is not a carbon copy of the aforementioned band, but the similarities are there nonetheless. The music maintains a heavy groove most of the time, with a few softer moments, and the vocals alternate between melodic singing, which usually dominates, and distorted screaming. I think the vocalist here has the same problem as the guy from Embodyment in that the screaming just seems forced and out of place, but at least they tried to fix it by hiding it behind some serious vocal distortion. Only problem is that it really didn't make the vocals any more tolerable. They also try to pull off some sort of rap/spoken word thing every once in a while, but that pretty much adds to the cheese factor. There is nothing really special about the music, but these guys can lay down some decent grooves occasionally. I can definitely hear the influences from Deftones and Helmet, and the riffs are fairly simple most of the time. I'm torn as to how I feel about the lyrics. I totally appreciate the boldness and unashamed approach that they usually employ, but, at the same time, they often come off cheesy. Maybe it's just me, and you can e-mail me if you have the answer, but I don't exactly get the song "Rise" when they repeat lines like, "The Son of Love shall rise." Obviously Christ is risen, and the song seems to be from the personal perspective of a Christian, but I still don't get it. Anyway, on a more positive note, the inside artwork is great with the whole tribal theme and pictures of tribal masks. This album definitely not metal or hardcore by any means, so I would probably classify it as heavier alternative, though even that doesn't seem quite right. Overall, this is a disc that I probably could have done without, so use discretion when considering this one. -- Review by Jason