Flaw – Through the Eyes
Flaw’s Through the Eyes delivers a nu-metal sound that anyone who owns a radio should be familiar with by now. But it’s not the main course that catches you here, it’s the side dishes; a little Tool influence here, a little Deftones sound there.
“Only the Strong” kicks off the album with a riff reminiscent of Deftones’ “Bored”, one of the best of the disc. That riff along with the one on “Get Up Again” will both have your woofers rumbling. Like other bands of the genre, the bass guitar is loud and up front in the mix. The production thickens up the middle nicely and the album easily stands up alongside the big boys. The vocals involve more singing than screaming, both of which fit the part.
On a few tracks (“Scheme” and “Whole”) the band (and particularly the guitar) edges dangerously close to merely mimicing Korn. Fortunately, most of the time Flaw manages to maintain their own identity by mixing up the heaviness with some moments of melodic goodness.
Those who like a little sing in their scream and aren’t burnt out on the whole nu-metal sound yet should check out Flaw’s debut disc. The band has a new album coming out next month, so it will be interesting to see if the guys have enough to pull away from the pack, or if they’ll end up spinning their wheels in last year’s ruts.