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From what I originally heard of Germany’s Waterdown, I wasn’t impressed. The shouting was horrendous and the melodies were watered down. So when I heard they were releasing All Riot, I didn’t pay any interest. However, after I read a review of the CD and noted some interesting references (Atreyu, Scorpions) I decided to take a look.

The first thing that strikes me is the new vocalist, Michael Janczak. Janczak’s shouted vocals sound like a mix of Atreyu’s Alex Varkatzas and Brandon Saller. It’s only fitting since "My Hopelessness and Me" starts off with a carbon copy drum line and dueling guitars of Atreyu’s "Right Side of the Bed," until the ending, which features a shallow breakdown more reminiscent of a band like Shattered Realm. As for the singing, it would sound easily at place if you heard it around the choruses of any ‘modern rock’ song on your local radio station.

Waterdown at times does start to shine with some intriguing vocals that switch back and forth around some of the songs, and musically it isn’t exactly bad, but it’s been done before. But what stops Waterdown from being a reasonable band is the fact they still haven’t completely ditched their hardcore roots. In almost every song the listener is forced to listen through the same breakdown you’ve heard hundreds of times by every other band that pronounces theirselves as hardcore.

So while All Riot isn’t a complete letdown, and is a huge improvement over their early work, it still doesn’t have enough going for it. It shows off a little creativity and originality at select moments, but it feels too similar to many other bands and needs some re-working. With another improvement like this, I could see this band going places.






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    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 7:23 PM (EST)

    will/chinatown why do you post under 2 different names if you are the same person?

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 25, 2006 at 5:17 PM (EST)

    the kids are all riot

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 25, 2006 at 3:28 AM (EST)

    where is the devil dogs review from 30 sizzling slabs?????????????????????????????

    Posted by danielxedge on 2006-03-24 22:58:30
    My Score:

    good record. good guys.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 10:25 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    In other news, London Calling does nothing for me.

    -Chinatown

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 10:21 PM (EST)

    "However, after I read a review of the CD and noted some interesting references (Atreyu, Scorpions) I decided to take a look. "

    Please... Please stop writing reviews.

    -Will

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 3:02 PM (EST)

    i loathe seeing the word hardcore nowadays, btw.

    anyway, this band has like 2 amazing ass kicking songs in their discography, and the rest is pure bile.

    Posted by crazytoledo on 2006-03-24 14:05:03

    Posted by Anonymous on 2006-03-24 13:11:48

    ... So you wrote a review about other reviews?

    Could you actually describe the music with SOME details?

    For a short review, I thought it did a good enough job. I described the music and reference bands that Waterdown obviously takes interest from.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 2:00 PM (EST)

    what? their early stuff was crappy, and this is even worse.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 1:11 PM (EST)

    ... So you wrote a review about other reviews?

    Could you actually describe the music with SOME details?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 11:38 AM (EST)

    score is for watership down and its epic rabbit battles

    Posted by crazytoledo on 2006-03-24 11:14:18

    My source (i.e. dictionary) had theirselves as a word. I probably shoudl have used them selves, but either way it works.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 10:56 AM (EST)

    Theirselves? Speak English much?

    Posted by ghostmonkey on 2006-03-24 10:51:43

    "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date" is a good fucking lp. The follow up was lame, so i aint got much hope for this one. shame.....das is not gud ja?

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2006-03-24 10:43:42

    Props to these guys for having a name that describes their sound!

    Posted by givemeamuseumandillfillit on 2006-03-24 06:15:14

    "which features a shallow breakdown more reminiscent of a band like Shattered Realm"

    Fooooorrttyyyy, where aaarreee yoou?

    Posted by TheOneTrueBill on 2006-03-24 03:49:20

    Does this in any way deserved to be compared to the Scorps and the mighty Klaus Mein?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 24, 2006 at 1:39 AM (EST)

    Water down is fake ass crap core. I threw my copy away!

    Posted by Dante3000 on 2006-03-24 01:09:55

    God I just remember reviewing one of their records and being amazed how crappy it became. Just not impressed.
    -Dante

    Posted by kindofalongwaydown on 2006-03-24 00:31:19

    Waterdown sucks.

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