I will be the first person to proclaim my hate for modern rock, and it's absurd pig-headedness to stick to being Creed, etc, clones. Right now it's one of the driest genres, creativity wise. The only musical genre which could possibly rival it for lacking in creativity is the hardcore/punk scene. This creativity lapse seems to leak into whatever thinking they try to put into a band name.

GS Megaphone's first cd, Out Of My Mind, had that typical modern rock artwork (a black and white photo of a guy yelling into, surprise, a megaphone), and from what few songs I heard, generic sound. Fast forward two years. Here I find much improved cover artwork (a rich black and white photo of a black child with a classy font) and a surprise in music. While this still gets categorized as modern rock, these songs are well written, fusing different influences.

Track one, "Reformation", is definately the highlight of the cd. It may even be one of the best songs of the year. It has a strong middle-eastern sound with wild, pounding drums and crazy guitar solos. It clocks in over five minutes and is nothing but a roller coaster ride the entire way through. Occationally the vocals feel out of place, but they get better as the song progresses.

After that ride, only a few other songs offer that middle-eastern joy. Which is a shame. However, the rest of the songs have strong song writing to propell the album forward. Don't be deceived. This is modern rock. Don't expect anything else or it will be dissapointing. Beautiful World is just written and executed better than 99% of the other modern rock albums I've had the displeasure of hearing. The first track alone is almost worth the $11.98 cover price.

Most of the tracks have something cool to discover about them. Either an insane solo, catchy as hell chorus, weird twist, or whatever. However, this is modern rock! If you hate modern rock, you may be doing best to advoid this cd. But if you buy just one modern rock album this year, choose this one.

peace.