Bird Eater
Utah EP
Exigent Records
Street: 05.18
Bird Eater = Gaza + early Norma Jean + Sergio Leone
Although the Utah metal scene has rarely been known for anything of much significance, there have been a few fresh cuts recently that have caught some attention. Bird Eater is a collaborative side project with members from Gaza and Day of Less that shows some large potential. This isn’t quite the run of the mill spastic metalcore band, nor is the country western theme a campy gimmick to attract listeners. No, it all actually ties together quite effectively to present seven bleak tracks of something you might play to a muted spaghetti western film. The highlight for me would be the fifth track which has an awesome bridge, only to come back and pummel the finale into your dried out, sun bleached skull. While it’s minimal in presentation, it offers a quick and rewarding listen that doesn’t end up being yet another Botch worship album. Intriguing and fun. Saddle up, partner.
Bootload of Boogie
Dig It
Scratch It Back Records
Street: 03.14
Bootload of Boogie = 311 + Wesley Willis + a Training Table jingle
One thing about living in Utah is that you are among a culture that identifies with goofy, family-friendly humor. Whether it’s in a locally owned company’s television commercial, or in a Halestorm Entertainment film, you will notice it everywhere. Playing from their practice room in Provo, Bootload of Boogie is a product of this as well. Most of the songs follow the traditional formula and feature overly loud, flat vocals, crooning lyrics that are repeated ad nauseam about girls, partying and dancing. Musically, it’s exactly like something you’d expect to hear at a house party in Provo, complete with the milk shakes. Each song sounds like the next, with a copy and paste formula that turns a one minute song in to four minutes. While it’s nice that they’re probably having fun playing music together, I can’t help but think their talents could be put to better use.
Daemos
Surface
Self-produced
Street: 06.05
Daemos = Pantera worship + nu metal hopefulness
Daemos deserves credit for being a hard working band, I just can’t give the thumbs up on this release. Vocally, there might be tinges of Mike Patton circa Faith No More, but it only seems to be there for the sake of eccentricity rather than to actually compliment the music. The backing vocals on “Don’t Touch” sound as if they’re doing a David Lee Roth or a Mudvayne impersonation. Musically, the material is definitely solid in places, but most of the time it feels extremely exhausted, with a “been there, done that” experience. If you’re just interested in rocking, this could suffice, but why bother when there’s much better stuff out there? Fraternity boys who throw horns at Metal Gods may enjoy it, but there’s not much deviation from the obvious influences to recommend this otherwise.
