Reviews
2007-01-06
Man, I can smell success from a mile away and Stemm have that familiar whiff all about them; it doesn't mean they're wimps, or sold outs, they just know how to write a memorable and catchy tune, and this 4 track promo CD has 4 immediate winners.
Musically these guys can be described as melodic metalcore, with some rock elements evident in there as well. The promo CD is well produced, a warm and clear sound that doesn’t come off as overproduced.
The songs have a good dose of melody injected into the band's aggression, and the opener –"Monster", is a fine example, a memorable and catchy track that doesn’t drop the heaviness in favor of melody. As I said, this has a strong commercial appeal, but still will not come off as sold-out to metal fans. Vocalist TJ Frost does some impressive hardcore screams while the track also features a catchy melodic chorus.
"Between Now And Forever", the last track, is the heaviest here, strong metalcore that sounds a bit like
Hatebreed, with added melodic vocals, this is strong, well written, and just feels right.
Some will probably have a problem with the catchy melodic choruses, but I think the band has the right combination of elements that makes this stick, they may sell a lot of albums, but they don’t feel like that's their aim, they just create good metalcore that has that kind of commercial appeal.
Alon Miasnikov
