I’ve been giving Down and Superjoint Ritual a chance, and it’s weird to be listening to Phil Anselmo’s vocals against a sound that’s not quite Pantera. In the song Beautifully Depressed, he actually sings with vibrato. It’s a resonating vibrato, but very gradual and deep, sort of like Mandy Patinkin with a shot of valium and an injection of testosterone. The fact that he does a decent job of it completely throws me off. The fact that quite a few SJR songs have punkish roots causes further confusion, just like Ministry’s punkish contribution to the Rock Against Bush album. It’s like listening to the latest No Motiv album and then realizing that the bassist is now the drummer. On top of that, he’s Asian and better than the old drummer.

Speaking of which, going through No Motiv’s earlier albums has been a fairly enjoyable task. They’re comprised of songs which aren’t as complex as Daylight Breaking, but they’re catchy nonetheless. Unfortunately, It hasn’t been the same with Thrice, especially with their first album Identity Crisis. I can tell that they had some great technical ideas, but when actually putting pen to paper and recording it in the studio, the sound is rough, almost experimental.

It’s hard going backwards for bands. I’m glad I discovered Dreamtheater as soon as Scenes From A Memory came out. I don’t like much of what they did before that (aside from Space Dye Vest, which is one of my favourite songs of theirs), so it’s scary to think of what more I wouldn’t like if I discovered them even later. I thought that Scenes From A Memory was going to be their best work, but somehow they managed to improve in every single progressive (no pun intended) album. Thrice doesn’t fare so well, of course, as I’ve been spoiled by their latest, excellently produced album, The Artist In The Ambulance. It’s makes their earlier stuff sound untested and lazy.