Static Impulse

When someone says progressive metal, one of the first bands that would come to mind is Dream Theater. The American group has been around since 1986 and have been one of the most consistently good progressive metal bands in the world today, with a massive following across the globe. The lead singer of Dream Theater, Canadian born Mr. James LaBrie, much like band-mates John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess and ex-band mate Derek Sherinian, has enjoyed a solo career outside out the main band. LaBrie started his solo gig back in 1998 as Mulmuzzer, releasing 3 CDs before changing the name of the band to just James LaBrie in 2005. Another CD was released in the same year entitled ‘Elements Of Persuasion’ and in 2010 LaBrie released his anticipated follow-up, called ‘Static Impulse’.

Those expecting LaBrie’s band to continue the typical Dream Theater sound found in ‘Elements Of Persuasion’ can think again as what you hear on ‘Static Impulse’ is fairly different to that of traditional Dream Theater. The change should be welcomed by most as why would we want to hear the Dream Theater frontman going solo just so that he can sound like Dream Theater? What’s the point? You may as well just listen to the main band. Nevertheless, LaBrie has surrounded himself with talented musicians, including keyboardist Matt Guillory, bassist Ray Riendeau, drummer/vocalist Peter Wildoer (Darkane, ex-Time Requiem) and guitarist Marco Sfogli. All musicians are enjoying fruitful careers and have come together well on this release, all from different metal backgrounds, including prog, melodic death metal, and thrash.

The music on LaBrie’s latest CD is much more aggressive-natured than anything on Dream Theater, although the music on Dream Theater’s releases have been getting heavier in recent years. The scorching backing screamo vocals of Peter Wildoer (who also impresses greatly behind the kit) adds an element in which I normally wouldn’t associate with anything James LaBrie is involved in. If you could imagine a cross between recent Dream Theater (with shortened songs), modern melodic metal, and a band to the likeness of say In Flames or Soilwork, then you’d be on the right track to know what ‘Static Impulse’ is all about. Confused? Don’t be, as ‘Static Impulse’ is a very good CD that contains supreme chunky and crunchy guitar riffling, saturated and precise synths and keys, and a combination of harsh vocals wrapped around LaBrie’s talented, emotional and unique voice. It’s a refreshing change to hear LaBrie in a different environment that doesn’t involve Dream Theater and would impress many metal fans of numerous genres.

The quality of the tracks is the biggest surprise on here; all are quite consistent with varying levels of aggression, melody and heaviness. James LaBrie is sensational on the CD, as he is given more freedom to truly express himself and his soothing vocals. One such example of his exceptional voice is on the somewhat radio-friendly track, the melodic semi-ballad “Euphoric”. While most of the tracks on the release feature Peter Wildoer’s harsh vocals on some level, “Euphoric” is all LaBrie and what one hell of a performance he puts on. The track itself is brilliant, not to mention very catchy, with a memorable and emotional chorus, giving it an atmospheric gothic rock feel thanks to the keyboards.

Another kick-ass track which hangs to the melodic metal side of the field is the rockin’ “Over The Edge”. Not overly speedy, this track is guitar driven with chunky riffs and a soulful solo in the middle. However the highlight once again is the mesmerizing vocals of LaBrie. “Mislead” contains rolling drums and double bass, stacks of synths and short low end guitar riffs ala Fear Factory, with Wildoer joining LaBrie during the chorus to add further depth and aggression. It’s another great track that sticks out long after it has finished. Similar to “Mislead” is “I Need You”, with another cracking emotional chorus and neck braking guitar riffs and wails. The solo is also a killer and suddenly it has become undoubtedly clear that we’ve got a really catchy and entertaining CD on our hands; and I’ve I’m not careful I could find myself describing each and every track on this CD. Bottom line is – ‘Static Impulse’ contains no fillers at all and each track has its own factors, whether it be the melody, the riffs, the keys, the drums or the vocals that makes it so good. Other highlights not already mentioned include “Jekyll Or Hyde”, “Just Watch Me”, “Superstar” and the speedy and aggressive power/progressive opener “One More Time”.

While this new modern sound is fairly experimental, it shouldn’t deter any Dream Theater fans from picking this one up and include it as another CD to feature their impressive vocalist. It is definitely a case of re-invention, and all the power and kudos goes to James LaBrie for wanting to break out of the box. Let’s just hope that he continues in this fashion the next time he has some down time from Dream Theater duties. The quality of ‘Static Impulse’ was somewhat unexpected and after the CD has stopped spinning for the umpteenth time, I can say that this has been yet another pleasant surprise.

Originally written for www.metalcdratings.com (2011)

Among the metal community there exists a burning, important question that has eluded answer for many years: what would happen if James LaBrie joined In Flames? Okay so it’s a question that nobody could care about, but James LaBrie and Matt Guillory have decided to provide an aural answer in the form of Static Impulse, a musical tour through the city of Gothenberg, Sweden as heard by ears of a Yankee and a Canuck. Snarkiness aside, this album owes much to the modern interpretation of the Gothenberg sound forged by In Flames. This means crunchy, chugging guitars, moody synths that help flesh out riffs, a combination of hard rock song structure with metal guitar technique, and a good cop/bad cop tradeoff of vocals. All that aside, this is just about the last thing I expected to hear when I pressed play on Rhapsody when the album released.

Being that I’ve not followed Dream Theater news much since BC&SL dropped (I’m such a good fan), I had no clue that this album was going to come out until a couple weeks before its actual release date and that’s mostly because LaBrie himself posted about it during the shit-storm that was Portnoy’s exit. So when I began the first track, I was perplexed when I heard a melodic death metal assault replete with death screams and LaBrie nowhere to be found. I nearly stopped the song thinking I had the wrong thing queued up, but by the chorus LaBrie’s distinctive vocals appeared confirming this was the correct album. Still confused I went I headed over to Metal Archives and checked out LaBrie’s band page where I learned that the screams belonged to Peter Wildoer of Darkane. It’s not often that I turn on an album and get a surprise like that.

Compared to LaBrie’s past solo output, this album is more one-dimensional and straight forward. Its defining characteristic is the contrast of the heaviness of the instrumentation and Wildoer’s harsh vocals against James LaBrie’s trained, melodic singing style. He adopts an aggressive snarl on several tracks but it’s still the LaBrie we know and love. What this album has going for it are clean vocals that are extremely well done and polished, which is not common among most metalcore or melodic death metal outfits. Usually the clean singing quality ranges somewhere from terrible to mediocre, but here it’s top notch. Wildoer is no slouch in his department either. As we would expect from a vocalist’s solo effort, the main attraction is the sound of LaBrie’s voice and how it meshes with its surroundings, and in this area the album succeeds.

However it is in the instrumentation that this album is weak despite the exciting and fresh initial impression my first listen provided. It was on subsequent spins that led me to the realization that many of the songs lack an identity. The sound is consistent throughout and a lot of fun, but I can only listen to riffing and song structures inspired by Clayman and Reroute to Remain-era In Flames before it gets repetitive. The choruses are infectious enough, but the decision to build the verses around simple riffs which is stretched out over the course of twelve songs removes depth. The previous album Elements of Persuasion had different tempos, moods and some progressive elements which kept things interesting and distinguishable, and I wanted some more of that here.

So what we’re left with is a good but not great album. It serves its function as a vocal showcase, so if you’re a LaBrie fan and also enjoy harsh vocals (which I admit won’t be everyone that would seek out this record) then this is worth checking out. It’s also fun, powerful and accessible so I can imagine that this can serve as a gateway album for people not as familiar with the Gothenberg sound or extreme metal in general. However my ears have heard plenty of this before, and thus the replayability is limited. It pains me a bit to say this as I greatly appreciate James LaBrie’s singing abilities, but unless you’re already a fan of his or are a melodic death metal junkie, this record can be safely passed over.

Originally posted at http://thesonicspectrum.wordpress.com