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(Oct 6, 2004)
(Unsigned)
The Wither page
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Wither appears to be in the no-man's land between signed and unsigned. On the
one hand, their press release features a quote from Metal Observer
marveling that Wither "do(sic) not have a contract yet". On the other hand, the
CD itself shows copyrights with Dark Reflections Music. The distinction matters
only to members of Wither and to Big Lou, because if they have a contract then
they would fall under our rating system and get two stars. However, we'll give them
the benefit of the doubt, treat them as unsigned, and skip the rating system altogether.
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Breakthrough is a very nicely packaged CD. It includes a beautifully
crafted jewel box insert, a 8 1/2" by 11" glossy of the band, which now
adorns my computer room at home (they look menacingly at me as if to
say "You Judas!"), and a professionally written press release, that is
refreshingly easy on the hype. In fact, the last sentence says "Wither is
not trying to be anything it is not." That about sums up the music. It's
solid, carefully composed, gloomy, slow-moving rock that reminds me of
Alice in Chains more than anything else. Brothers Keith and Jeff Edelman
trade off lead vocals, and whoever is the growlier of the two should take the
lead for good. At the beginning of track 4 he sounds like Iggy Pop
for a brief moment before reality sets in. The music is all right,
but it doesn't do much for me. They try hard, and the end product is
respectable but not remarkable. Die-hard fans of heavy metal will
perhaps enjoy giving Breakthrough a listen.
You can hear and buy the CD here.
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