SOiL

Scars

J-Records

SOiL’s major label debut, Scars, explodes from the Windy City with a hard-rock radio blend of melodic hooks and crunching riffs. This nu-metal outfit manages to temper the simplicity of drop-d tuned chunk metal with alt-rock and cock-rock attitude. The band keeps it simple. They don’t blend hip-hop, they don’t dose tracks with techno-loops, but stick to simple meat and potatoes rock-metal power, with an occasional decrease in distortion for a few seconds of sensitivity. Catapulted by their debut single, “Halo,” the band is threatening to leave behind their Ozzfest second-stage brethren and move into the mainstream.

Beginning with, “Breaking me Down,” SOiL asserts its style immediately. This up-tempo opening track opens with a feverish drum line whose pace is so furious that it seems on the verge of falling out of step with the halting and heavy riff layered upon it. McComb shows off his ability to dynamically shift vocal tone, without stretching his overall range. His thick-throated melody is reminiscent of Creed’s Scott Stapp with a lot less Jesus and a lot more animosity, while his more aggressive growls and screams are akin to Pantera’s Phil Anselmo.

“Inside” showcases the band’s juxtaposition of pulsing and brooding heaviness with haunting and hummable melody. Initially the guitars thud as McCombs sings in a low eerie tone, then a flickering and sweetly sad bridge ushers in a memorable chorus. Crooning “Everything is right here/ Color me unsold/ Everything is right here inside,” McCombs forges his own sound, though some listeners might find his softer timbre akin to Alice in Chains’s Layne Staley.

With punishing but radio-friendly guitar riffs and aggressive but tuneful vocals, SOiL’s Scars toes the line between hard rock and metal, and manages to entertain from start to finish. For those who are interested in nu-metal without the “I’m sixteen and I hate my Dad” kiddie-angst, SOiL’s Scars may well be an album to heal the ear.

—Michael T. C. Packard