Track Listing
1. The closest 2. Dermo 3. Can't smile 4. Untitled 5. Itch 6. Bully me 7. Cause and solution 8. Start with a strong and persistent desire 9. Clone Jesus 10. Sleep does nothing for you 11. Vert Year: 2002 Label: Virgin - Official Site |
Vex Red -'Start with a strong and persistent desire' - By C. Impey
This is the debut album from the majorly hyped guys from Aldershot. It's good to see that the British rock/metal scene is finally beginning to pick up again. Vex Red take their influences from Metallica, NIN, Aphex Twin and Smashing Pumpkins and have created a hybrid blend of dark rock, containing strong dance/electronic elements. "Start With a Strong and Persistent Desire" is a brilliant debut album, the music is amazing, the drumming is excellent and the vocals are almost perfect. As for the guitar work, Ant Forbes manages to create amazing sounds which fit the individual songs brilliantly, he must've (literally) bent over backwards to create some of the sounds, for example in some songs the guitar sounds like it's screaming with emotion and pain. The music is always passionate, and full of fury at times, then at other times calm and mellow. If you want a happy, chirp, bouncey record don't buy this, you'll be really really disappointed. The album gets off to a brilliant start with "The Closest", one of my favourite tracks. It's actually probably the best song, even though the riff's do sound a little 'nu-metally'. Terry Abbot showcases his vocals brilliantly here, the lyrics are sung with immense passion and emotion. "Dermo" is a slightly weaker track, but the album soon picks up again with "Can't Smile", the brilliant 2nd single (also featured on a demo). The influence of dance music acts shows here and Ben Calvert's drumming is so good. This album progresses through very well, it will keep you listening the whole way through. It also features the stunning "Itch", which is definately my favourite Vex Red song. Track 7, "Cause and Solution" is a basically a dance song, I don't usually like dance music at all but this track is brilliant. "Sleep Does Nothing For You" features on one of the Vex Red demos. If you've heard it don't be fooled, it isn't the same song. It's been totally re-written and personally I think the demo version is a lot better and could've been included on this album. "Start With a Strong and Persistent Desire" finishes off very well with a mellow song, "Vert" to gently ease you away. ...Amazing. Metal Obsessive Grade: 97% |