Guys in “Tapout” shirts, who are not in the UFC, are douche bags. That has always been my feelings on those lame-o’s I see at metal concerts. (5 Finger Death Punch has nothing BUT lame ass UFC wanna-be morons as fans) So when I opened my package and saw the STEMM CD, Blood Scent, and flipped it to the back… I was worried about what I might hear seeing how the lead singer, Joe Cafarella, was wearing a Tapout shirt!
Lesson learned? I should NEVER judge a CD by its cover!
After some research, I found out that this Groove/Hardcore metal band who hails from Niagara Falls, New York, has this major musical following from the UFC community. So much so that their songs “Face the Pain”, Holding On” and “Fallen” are on in the background or intros for almost all UFC events and shows on Spike TV and pay-per-view events. Their brand of metal is melodic and heavy; brutal and heart wrenching. It now makes sense to me how these UFC fans can be into this brand of metal… really… what’s more metal than kicking some dudes ass? Not much!
As the album begins with the track, “Blood Soaked”, you are blown away by the pounding drums and powerful guitar riffs. This song had this intense breakdown and the vocals fucking brutal! If this song doesn’t make you beg for more… well then you don’t know metal and you suck! *sticks out tongue*
As the CD continues on, “Awake” is a more calm song but still hooks you with its intensity and catchy lyrics and chorus. The song “Beneath my Skin” is fucking awesome. It’s slow and heartfelt... beautiful in its lyrics… “Today is the last time you crawl beneath my skin; sever the life-line that I used to let you in…” This is one of those songs that I would want to hear at a concert most and one that the band will never do live because you want to keep the crowd pumped and this is not the song for that. (There’s a bonus hidden track with this song acoustic… will melt your heart.)
The NIN cover song, “Wish” is great. They took an industrial song and made it metal. Both versions of this song kick ass! The blender at the end is a bit creepy… but makes the song that much more metal!
The best song on this album is “As real as it gets”. It has awesome lyrics, Dan Nelligan’s drums are insane and the harmonizing guitars by lead singer Cafarella’s guitar and Alex Scouten’s lead guitar, is completely amazing. Not over done and annoying… just enough to make you put this song on repeat over and over again.
All in all this album is a good choice for people who enjoy bands such as Hatebreed, Chimaira, Machine Head, Trivium and other melodic metal bands. Its gritty and intense while being dynamic and controlled.
I give this CD 4 stars out of 5 because I think they could’ve been a bit more brutal with some of the songs.
You can look into this band here:
www.stemm.net
www.myspace.com/stemm
Their Label is Catch 22 (which I think belongs to STEMM)
STEMM is:
Joe Cafarella - vocals, guitar
Alex Scouten - guitar, beat box (don’t ask!)
Steve Crowl - bass
Dan Nelligan - drums
Review by Brandy
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