Cedar Boulevard - Turn to Stone

Really I’m curious about bands like Cedar Boulevard. Firstly why pickup that name when it could be very easily made fun of? But I digress. The brain child of Aussie guitarist Luke Sharp, who ain’t half as bad, Cedar Blvd, doesn’t seem to be entirely sure of what style to follow. They do sound a bit like A Day To Remember, but claim Protest The Hero and Avenged Sevenfold similarities.
 
Sure, they have a rock/metal guitar driven side, when they are not hammering away on piano balladry, but Isac-Henry Gabriel, their singer, has a totally non-descript and not that great in range voice that drags them down quite a bit. His attempts at “growling” are downright comical (ie in “Ghosts of Tomorrow”) and while he fits the style, he’s clearly not that charismatic. Given a decent song like “Turn to Stone”, he proves adequate, but the questionable decisions of going from a piano intro to a Green Day like punk style within the same song (ie “Tear”) really don’t work. Layered vocals on songs like “Take This Sin” should have been harmonies, but they aren’t…
 
The whole album is just lacking focus so badly that it sinks under the weight of its own ambition. The guitar playing is decent, but the mix isn’t so; maybe if this project was to be taken back to the drawing board and several things changed, it could work as it is… it’s more like Cheddar Blvd. Sorry guys…