At first glance, Pandemic is a surefire example that the fashionable image that carried Rock music for so many years is long since dead.

And yet when you throw a bunch of ordinary looking guys that aren't character actors together in a band, you usually get a good working class ethic that comes across in the music.

Stemming from an apparently vast array of Rock music influences both yesterday and today, their sound is definitely today with a more guitar-based approach that incorporates good use of melody, hooks and groove.

"This Is The Life" is amongst the top two or three standouts here while "Glitter" sounds a
bit too much like a work in progress that could stand a beefier production; "Angry Sky" sounds the early stage alarm, building into a dreamscape of vocal melodies overlaying a chugging riff before cutting into a choppy verse and clean chorus-nearly Prog-like in its cascading character and unexpected jumps in structure.

In a way, this is very much like an eighties' style band with nineties' angst playing to a bit
of a mundane production.

The talent's there, the ideas-to ride Kings-X style subtleties with sharp guitars and slammin' beats is intriguing if somewhat clumsily pulled off in places.

"Angry Sky's" still a little rough around the edges but respectable enough for a chance-taking debut that manages to steer clear from cliché and hopelessness.

Released by dbAggressive Records

Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu]
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METAL STORM PRODUCTIONS
Vinnie Apicella

P.O. Box 20252
New York, NY 10025
212-865-2848 / c:845-729-9977