What’s the 4-1-1?
First take a brash concoction of melodic hard rock, industrial thrash metal, electronica, rap, and power pop. Meld that together into singable, memorable songs, and you have…$upermer¢ado! This is their debut album.
Genre
Hard rock / melodic / progressive / industrial / power pop
The Good
“Scary Baby” hits you with an onslaught of frantic drum pounding, meaty riffs, and thumping bass lines. Vocalist Matt Mercado has a brooding, yet melodic vocal delivery that reminds me of a pop-ier version of Zakk Wylde. “Ditch Kitty” invokes a little influence from Monster Magnet with its mix of acoustic and electric changes. It’s another strong delivery for Matt as he switched between singing and a speaking. “Tried to Save” you starts off dark and subdued, but quick switches to an upbeat, riff driven rocker. Mercado has a great soulful sound here.
“Bitch Ass” is more of rap/rock track that I believe is making fun of the genre and lifestyle, but I could be wrong. Percussion and bass run rampant over “Leather Messiah”. The chorus is quite catchy with its falsetto highs. A hard rock driving riff dominates “What I Say” early on, but a twangy funk riff soon takes over. “Canon Ball Dream” is slower and more laid back than previous tracks and would play of well on rock radio.
The Bad
Not a damn thing!
The Verdict
To describe what $upermer¢ado sounds like is impossible. They combine so many genre styles, that they may have created a new one. Scary Baby is predominantly a hard rock album that incorporates lots of bass leads and frantic drum changes with its heavy guitar riffs and solos. It could even be classified as a hard rock dance album (if there’s such a thing), with its upbeat tempos and driving percussive elements. The lyrics are catchy and delivered with just enough grit to keep it rock, while at the same time using melody and falsetto to make it pop. Instead of trying to confuse you more, why don’t a just say this; Scary Baby kicks ass!
Did You Know?
Matt Mercado lead the early nineties with the Chicago band Mindbomb, with whom he scored a seven-figure deal with Mercury Records and toured the U.S. and Europe with such rock legends as KISS and Rob Halford.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Originally posted by author at Rock-Is-Life.com
Published:CMP
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