Production on this cd is very clean and clear. In general the band is really tight and have clearly spent a good deal of time practicing/preparing/arranging the songs on this album. On the flipside of that well buffed coin is the fact that I was waited for a surprise on this album that really never came. Some sort of gem or nugget that would make these guys stand out against other heavier guitar bands. I grew up listening to Ratt, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, and Warrant being the best example that I would compare this band to, so I am familiar with all those bands and their sounds. Not that these guys are a Warrant wannabe band, but in terms of overall presentation, I would say TMO is fairly homogenous.

Lyrically, TMO is pretty superficial, with nothing that goes beyond your normal everyday situations. Lies "Today I woke up, only to find you gone…..all my clothes were outside scattered on the lawn" So Gone "She puts the same music on every night, and then she dances in the corner by herself." There are many ways to turn a phrase and I think with a little effort any band can turn your average lyric into something a little less obvious and a little more thought provoking. I will give TMO credit for some pretty hooky chorus melodies throughout. Knock Me Down "Why, knock me down when I start feeling high, try so hard to keep me together." Reaching Out "Pull yourself together been waiting here forever, I’m reaching out, reaching out, Hold on for something I hope its not for nothing, I’m reaching out, reaching out."

The arrangement on each song is pretty basic, guitar intros, verse/chorus then a solo, and so on. There is also your typical ballad placed somewhere in the middle. I would have taken more time and reworked some of the songs to either highlight certain sections, be it the chorus or a melody and not adhered so closely to the typical song formula. That is a personal preference of mine when arranging songs. Now there are exceptions. Certain songs are very suited for a basic structure. But if every song on an album follows, in some way, a basic structure without challenging it, you end up with a very formulaic record. As an example, lets look at the lead off track Knock Me Down. It starts with an intro that is exactly the same as the verses that repeats twice in the intro and twice in between the first 2 verses. The intro section should differ from the verse progression or be an alternate of it in some way. Maybe have 2 different arrangements of the verses and the intro to give it a nice variance. Its all important to keep in mind that the instrumentation on each song is almost always the same. I tend to lean toward altering tones and using different guitars to set each song apart. I go into more detail in the next section.

Looking at the actual sounds, I would have reworked the kick drum sound a bit….it’s a bit clicky. But if that’s the sound you are going for, then its fine. I try to use different snare drums throughout recording an album. Sometimes using more than one drum set, and different cymbal arrangements. This can really add a lot to an album in terms of giving the listener a break. After 6 songs with the exact same set up, it can fatigue the ears, especially if the snare drum sound is fairly processed. Guitar sounds are fairly typical Marshall stack sounds but they’re well placed and are not mixed super hot. The guitars really don’t change from the initial sound on the first song. The bass guitar is a little weak in spots, my guess is the player used a pick for some of the songs. Not sure if bass cabinet was miced or was run direct. I usually run a miced version of the bass and a direct version, then, when we mix it we run the direct signal back through a West Filmore and get a nice big raunchy sound. We do that on songs where its needed of course. I prefer to give each song as much uniqueness in terms of sounds and textures. Sometimes that has nothing to do with which guitar or drum set is used, but many times those changes can really allow each song to get its own space sonically and emotionally.

Stand out songs
Reaching Out
Clear My Mind
In the light
Break me

- Miles, contact at jrummerboy@yahoo.com