Bullz-Eye.com - CD Reviews - Tapping the Vein: The Damage

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CD Reviews: Tapping the Vein: The Damage

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I have been pleasantly surprised by the last three bands that have opened for King's X. It seems each time I see them (and I see them every time they come to Chicago) they have a cool band open up for them. I have seen Podunk, Moke and now Tapping the Vein. The latter is a bit difficult to describe, but they are a bit Goth, a bit metal and a bit pop. They feature the alarmingly sweet and equally intense (and semi-angry) vocals of Heather Thompson, who opens the record singing, "I am tired, I am drained, I don't sleep for days," and she doesn't really get any happier than that. These are lyrics that messed up, failed relationships are made of, and chances are she has been hurt and pissed off quite a bit. There is a touch of Goth in all this with allusions to rain and darkness all offset by some pretty cool crunching guitars and interesting drum loops. Eric Fisher (the drummer who also provides keyboards and programming), Mark Burket (guitar) and Joe Rolland (bass) are a tight unit that compliments and contrasts Thompson's vocals.

"Butterfly," my favorite track on the record, is a great example of the core of the band's sound. It starts with a cool background riff with Thompson's sweet crooning on top. At about 40 seconds the song kicks into a bit of a dance groove, with a seductive baseline and drum groove. At 1;39, the guitar starts to crunch and Thompson switches gears into some deeper (and uglier) lyrics. It is a really cool sound that needs to be heard.

The overall approach is pretty cool because it is a bit different than most of the stuff that's out there, so this record gets tons of credit for innovation. The combination of the genres really works well for this band.

The only criticism of the album is that after a while it can blend together. However, given that The Damage is the first release by this band, I can't wait for their next one. This is a solid effort worth looking into.

~R. David Smola

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