By Mike L

Before I had even popped the Slave to the System cd in my player and gave it a listen, I let three things from the bio start to cloud my mind.

*First, anytime there's a "side project" of two major bands, (this band features members of Queensryche and Brother Cane, two bands I've always liked), I expect a cd worth of songs that are too artsy for me.

*Second, in their bio it goes on to explain that they recorded the entire disc in three weeks. That got me more nervous than anything.

*Thirdly, the name I guess threw me for a loop. Slave to the System sounds like a bunch of guys from bands from the 80s and 90s said, "Let's come up with a contemporary band name that sounds like other ones out now".

So maybe you can see where my doubt began to creep into my head before I even heard it. Then I popped the cd in. The cd is self titled and the first thing I was struck with was the musicianship. These guys can play. There's no doubt about it. You can actually smell the professionalism emitting from the disc. Great production and great overall sound quality. It walks the tight rope of sounding like Velvet Revolver, Audioslave and that whole new revival. The art of playing heavy music, but with vocals that have a more early 90s late 80s style. I like it. The two before mentioned bands do it slightly better, but Slave to the System hold their own and impress on tracks like "Stigmata", "Cruz Out of Control" and "Disinfected". They tend to lose me with the songs "Live this Life" and " Abyss", because they soften to where I can't get the image of the guys from Extreme holding lighters in the air out of my head.

Overall though, you gotta pull for guys that got to take some down time and make a cd of stuff that they wanted to hear. Where as the title seems contrived, the music definitely sounds like stuff they jammed on, worked over a bit and put on track because they liked it. That seems like it's rarer and rarer these days, where everything seems pre-planned and over thought out. So if you like the whole Velvet Revolver sound, and you're into rock without screaming then you'll probably enjoy this cd. It's a cd I've listened to a few times, not one that would make my rotation, but its got merit and they definitely made a quality disc. Like I said, if you dig Audioslave and Velvet Revolver, check this disc out. There will be a bundle of tracks that you will enjoy. LATE.

SLAVE TO THE SYSTEM