CD Review: Sakara - "Forgetting What Was" (Pavement Entertainment)
Harkening back to the turn-of-the-century nu-metal
movement, Sakara’s Forgetting What Was
features very raw production levels, tenacious, sneering vocals and blueprint
structures. “Standing My Ground” is one of the best offerings off Forgetting What Was, especially at
around the two minute mark when vocalist Dan O’Brien does his very best Aaron
Lewis impersonation (think “Raw,” “Spleen,” “Crawl”). O’Brien repeats the
corrosive bark on “Return To Pangea,” a track that shows off his commendable
range. Lead single “From Ashes” is uncharacteristically buried near the backend
of Forgetting What Was, a gritty hard
rock tune that just might be the best all-around track on the album. The
penultimate “Heaven Below” is another strong offering that featuring excellent
swirling guitars and stomping rhythms, and when it comes time for the band to
look for a second single to release, they don’t have to look any further than
this cut. The afore mentioned production is provided courtesy of Staind bassist
Johnny April, who doesn’t do the band too many favors in terms of accentuating
the bands strong suits. His fingerprints can be heard on the deep, rugged bass
lines of “Flesh And Blood,” but for the most part, the production sounds a bit
lacking - at times the vocals (and drums for that matter) come across as too
bare bones (O’Brien’s falsetto during the hook of “The Hunger” is downright
brutal). There’s something here however, something palpable, on Forgetting What Was, that’s a non-issue.
Sakara has some chops, and while this album wouldn’t have benefitted from
over-production, it would have certainly benefitted from better production. To
sum it up, Forgetting What Was lacks
something.
Grade: C
Go Download: “Return To Pangea”
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