CANDLELIGHT RED

The Wreckage

Imagen

6.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Intro
02. The Dirt
03. Closer
04. Gone Forever
05. The Wreckage
06. Bend and Break
07. Scream
08. Medicated
09. In Your Hands
10. She's Got The Look

What happens when a Williamsport, Pennsylvania rock band beats out 10,000 other bands to win the 2010 Guitar Center "Onstage" contest and gets to open for KISS in Pittsburgh? They get a heck of a lot of exposure, making the landing of a record deal much easier. That's exactly what happened when Imagen Records signed CANDLELIGHT RED and released their debut album "The Wreckage". As most know all too well, hype can only carry a group so far; record deal or no record deal. "The Wreckage" is proof that the Williamsport boys at least have something more than a fair amount of modern rock substance to go with the name recognition, a few generic splotches notwithstanding.

Certainly the harder end of modern rock, "The Wreckage" is packaged with meaty riffs, a sound that is crisp and tight, and sizeable batch of memorable songs. The best of the bunch arrives just after the exotic "Intro", the electric version of that same lick powering "The Dirt", showing the group is at its best when raising the intensity level. It is also one of a few tracks on which vocalist Ryan Hoke creeps into Maynard Keenan (TOOL) territory in pattern and tone. In several cases though, "The Wreckage" sees the band straddling the line between typical – though sturdy – modern rock melody (ala LINKIN PARK in a general sense) and GODSMACK beefiness, if not really style. "Closer" and "Gone Forever" (the latter features a standout riff/groove break) are two of the better examples, while "Scream" is one that falls flat due to its bland poppy chorus. Faster paced, riff-forward rockers, such as "Medicated", are well done and pack a surprisingly strong punch. The cover of ROXETTE's "She's Got The Look" initially comes off as a less than pleasant surprise until you revisit it later and find yourself nodding right along before realizing you're even doing it; cheers for the balls it took to tackle that one.

In the final analysis, "The Wreckage" is an enjoyable album of modern, hard-edged rock that ends up sounding better than much of the mediocre fare being shoved into the ear holes of mainstream listeners far and wide. Maybe not deserving of high praise, "The Wreckage" nonetheless rocks steady and leaves a few choruses bouncing off the walls of the skull.

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