Civil Unrest, Misc. Ailments, and Sir Splendid

Artist: Civil Unrest
Song: “Delusion of Truth” (from the CD Ravaging the Purity)
Heard by: Mike Adams, South Bay
It’s pretty good; I’d like to hear more of them. It’s close to generic metal, but it’s better than that. It’s something I’d listen to more often than not. Believe it or not, they reminded me of Dethklok. They’re a metal band that have a cartoon on Adult Swim. The drummer was really good. It sounded like he was using a double [bass] pedal. The guitarist was amazing. I couldn’t hear the bass too well, but that’s to be expected. The vocals kept a confident tone, and he didn’t lose what he was trying to do. I’d say this band has about a 60 to 70 percent chance of being successful. I’d probably be working on my car listening to this music.

Artist: Misc. Ailments
Song: “Brand New Day” (from the CD Neural Vandalism)
Heard by: Mike Pond, Normal Heights
I don’t feel any way about it, really. I wouldn’t pay for it. It reminded me a little bit of Boilermaker, a band I saw in high school in the mid- to late ’90s. It sounded like them and Linkin Park. They were trying to be tough and sensitive at the same time. I didn’t like the sound on the vocals. They seemed like they’ve played together for a long time. It was clean. I’m not into that style of music, though; I like a more dirty sound. A song has to get you right away, and it just didn’t do anything for me. It was only one song, but if that’s their sound, I’ve moved on from that. I’d give them a generous three out of ten.

Artist: Sir Splendid
Song: “Hardcore Carnivore” (from the CD Diamond Dreams)
Heard by: Hypnos, North Park
It reminded me of the heyday of Gothic. It kind of reminded me of Fields of Nephilim. I wished I had discovered them first. It was excellent. I like the harmonics with the bass guitar. The vocals were spooky. There were male vocals and female vocals. I would watch them live. I’d describe the mood of the song as mellow. I’d be leaning back in my La-Z-Boy rocker smoking a cigarette or maybe a blunt to that song. I was grooving on that song. I’d give it a ten out of ten.