Once Nothing "First Came the Law"

There are two things about First Came the Law that irk me to no end. First, front man Todd Lowry has a tendency to scream and growl every lyric with a similar cadence and a trailing-off, high-to-low pitch change. After a few songs, you'll likely start to notice just how often the dude starts a word or lyric with a raspy, sneering scream and ends it by steadily lowering his voice to a deep growl. Second, the band goes the way of too many current metalcore bands and, for some reason, slaps a bunch of Southern-sounding riffs on their songs. Whether that's a problem in itself boils down to personal preference. But, most of the time, there's not even a transition between styles; a brief silence is all it takes to get the obligatory cowbell a'dinging and the big pseudo-Southern riffs a'churning. Once Nothing just don't pull it off that well. Hell, the band is from Pennsylvania so the gimmick alarm is sounding in my head.

But!

Yes, there is a but. Once Nothing carries a huge, bulky sound and, if nothing else, First Came the Law is an entertaining, car stereo-rocking full length. Despite the vocal repetition and forced forays into Southern-ish metalcore (and the wretched mid-album acoustic song), the band has a sturdy, weighty sound, braced by massive breakdowns, forceful, whining-free vocals, bold drumming and chunky riffs. It's far from original -- perhaps a heavier take on Maylene and the Sons of Disaster's sound -- but satisfying in some respects while it lasts. As with most every Solid State release, the production is top notch. Taken with a grain of salt, you might have some fun with this one.

Find out: Once Nothing - Avoid Me Like the Plague

You can snag the full length here.