SiXforNinE
SiXforNinE
No Regrets Records
2015
SiXforNinE – I kid you not, about the stylized mixed case of the letters in their name, are a groovy dirty rock band, which has both some metal as well as alternative leanings in a bizarre amalgam of sounds, where a gazillion of bands could be identified as influences. I’d dare say Metallica, during their “load/reload” period, Monster Magnet in general, Alice in chains and early, non-commercial Soundgarden and in some occasions a few more modern bands, in the vein of Papa Roach etc., more in terms of attitude than actual sound while in other cases, a few more classic Sabbathic-al influences can be traced, mostly in the sort of riffs used, but regurgitated and presented in a completely sick and twisted way and form.
Even though I’m not a big fan of the more “modern” styles, I must say, that because of all the people involved in this project/band, the level of musicianship is quite fine and thus they manage to deliver a sound that’s more interesting than that of more than half of those “modernists” out there.
Also the engineering, is pretty fine giving the band a solid and strong sound that's modern and edgy without sounding too “plastic”. Fotis Benardo (ex-SepticFlesh), who served them as a drummer, here assumes the role of vocalist and is doing a commendable job, as his vocals are a pretty good fit for this type of music. He’s not exactly characteristic or utterly charismatic, but he’s way above average. The riffs of George K, are nice and to the point while the rhythm section of Herc Booze (really?) and Pete Outfox on bass and drums respectively, does a damn fine job of grooving the $@#% out of these tunes.
The album was mixed and mastered by Forrester Savell (Sum 41, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, The Butterly Effect, Animals As Leaders, Shihad, I Am Giant) who’s done a pretty fine job here...
“Sound of Perfection” is a fierce opener, while the groovy, “All My Heroes Dead” that follows it is equally impressive.
The “Hourglass” starts up in a smoother almost poppy but somewhat prog way only to go apeshit midway, while follow-up “Save Me” is genuinely smoother and even more poppy and could have possibly worked on the radio with a different instrumentation.
“Out of Line” starts in almost a thrashing way, only to go through some pshych/prog sections before it goes all “aggro” again and maintains that motif throughout. Initially I thought that “649” (for real?) was instrumental, as the vocals don’t arrive until a bit into the song and are rather sporadic, compared to other songs, but this cornucopia of all things rock-ing, is actually a pretty damn fine track, maybe because of that very “antithesis”/contrast with most of the rest of the material on the album.
“Drifted” take a few of “papers” from the Sabbath school of riffs, but mixes them with a lot of modern influences and delivers and interesting, “bastard”...
“When Roses Turn Black” is a grungy AiC, sounding sort of ballad/acoustic number that feels a bit unnatural in the flow of things… you know this “Stone Sour-ish” sort of miserock, is a bit too much and unless very well done, can feel a bit pretentious.
“Take Down the Leader” picks up the tempo and doesn’t let go until some point midway, distinctly more modern rock, in feel, but with a nice lead thrown in there to just keep things interesting.
Even if “Wasted” isn’t apt to describe my state from last night and it's all about wasting time and not getting plastered, I imagine, it’s groove makes it quite welcome.
Last but not least, “God Among Silence” doesn’t slow things down to a close, but attacks with renewed fervor in an almost funky and pretty twisted way.
Overall a very interesting proposition, by a band that’s totally professional and manages to even make a sound that I’m not particularly a big fan of, sound intriguing. Well done.
Even though I’m not a big fan of the more “modern” styles, I must say, that because of all the people involved in this project/band, the level of musicianship is quite fine and thus they manage to deliver a sound that’s more interesting than that of more than half of those “modernists” out there.
Also the engineering, is pretty fine giving the band a solid and strong sound that's modern and edgy without sounding too “plastic”. Fotis Benardo (ex-SepticFlesh), who served them as a drummer, here assumes the role of vocalist and is doing a commendable job, as his vocals are a pretty good fit for this type of music. He’s not exactly characteristic or utterly charismatic, but he’s way above average. The riffs of George K, are nice and to the point while the rhythm section of Herc Booze (really?) and Pete Outfox on bass and drums respectively, does a damn fine job of grooving the $@#% out of these tunes.
The album was mixed and mastered by Forrester Savell (Sum 41, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, The Butterly Effect, Animals As Leaders, Shihad, I Am Giant) who’s done a pretty fine job here...
“Sound of Perfection” is a fierce opener, while the groovy, “All My Heroes Dead” that follows it is equally impressive.
The “Hourglass” starts up in a smoother almost poppy but somewhat prog way only to go apeshit midway, while follow-up “Save Me” is genuinely smoother and even more poppy and could have possibly worked on the radio with a different instrumentation.
“Out of Line” starts in almost a thrashing way, only to go through some pshych/prog sections before it goes all “aggro” again and maintains that motif throughout. Initially I thought that “649” (for real?) was instrumental, as the vocals don’t arrive until a bit into the song and are rather sporadic, compared to other songs, but this cornucopia of all things rock-ing, is actually a pretty damn fine track, maybe because of that very “antithesis”/contrast with most of the rest of the material on the album.
“Drifted” take a few of “papers” from the Sabbath school of riffs, but mixes them with a lot of modern influences and delivers and interesting, “bastard”...
“When Roses Turn Black” is a grungy AiC, sounding sort of ballad/acoustic number that feels a bit unnatural in the flow of things… you know this “Stone Sour-ish” sort of miserock, is a bit too much and unless very well done, can feel a bit pretentious.
“Take Down the Leader” picks up the tempo and doesn’t let go until some point midway, distinctly more modern rock, in feel, but with a nice lead thrown in there to just keep things interesting.
Even if “Wasted” isn’t apt to describe my state from last night and it's all about wasting time and not getting plastered, I imagine, it’s groove makes it quite welcome.
Last but not least, “God Among Silence” doesn’t slow things down to a close, but attacks with renewed fervor in an almost funky and pretty twisted way.
Overall a very interesting proposition, by a band that’s totally professional and manages to even make a sound that I’m not particularly a big fan of, sound intriguing. Well done.