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Defy Tolerance Stop the Bleeding Review by Gary Hill I’m not the biggest fan of modern nu-metal. I tend to think there is often a real lack of originality or unique sound. To some degree, this act suffers from that. Still, the music here is strong enough to make up for it. While the vocals don’t really stand out from the pack of similar artists in terms of sound, they really surpass most of them in quality. If you like nu-metal you will probably love this. If you, like me, are a bit more iffy about the genre, give this one a try. It’s one of the better sets in that style to come out in a while. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Ball and Chain Powering out with a thunderous sound, this is just on fire. The vocals have a more modern metal element to them. The guitar that drives this is pretty intense and yet things like piano and the vocals bring more of a melodic epic metal vibe to the piece.

Suffocate The guitar riff on this feels a bit like Godsmack. The vocals are more melodic than that, though. This is more straightforward than the opener was. It’s no less effective, though. It’s a real screamer.

Live for Today A mellower track, this definitely lands into the nu-metal category.

Get You Nowhere The bass line on this is pretty cool. The cut seems to land somewhere between the last two tracks. It’s definitely in the vein of modern melodic heavy metal. It’s a rocker, though. It’s also quite a cool tune. In fact, this is one of my favorites here.

Empty Bottle Quite aggressive, this is one of the hardest rocking tunes here. The overall scope and concept isn’t changed, but the intensity is increased. This is another highlight of the set.

Zombified I really dig the main riff driving this. Beyond that it’s more of the same. That’s not a bad thing, though. When it’s this hot, you only need so much change.

Time and Money Somehow the vocal line on this one is even more intense than on any other cut here. Otherwise the blend of riff driven modern metal stays the same. This is another highlight of the set.

Epic Failure The riff behind this feels more like old school metal to me. That said, the modern sounds are heard on the rest of the arrangement and the vocals. This is another with a superior vocal delivery. I love the guitar solo on this, too.

Until I'm Done The riff that opens this is extremely aggressive, leading the listener thinking that they are about to launch into one of the hardest rockers here. They drop it back to a mellower movement instead for the verses, landing it around the ballad territory. It powers back out for the choruses, though. This is another killer tune. It lends some variety to the works, too.

No Complaints This rocks out a bit more than the previous cut did. Still, it’s a more melodic cut than some of the harder rocking stuff earlier in the album. It’s one of the most diverse and dynamic pieces here, but still showcases a lot of the types of sounds heard on the rest of the disc.

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