By the looks of the front of the CD, I was expecting some form of metal—be it black, heavy, death, or whatever. It’s the way the band name (no idea what Inderivium means, by the way) is written and the colors used. I guess I was right, and I see from a search on the web that they’re considered “new metal.” I wouldn’t say there’s actually anything terribly new about it, but it wasn’t a bad CD. The vocals surprised me: there’s quite a bit of actual singing going on. There aren’t any lyrics included, but the singer is pretty easy to understand. Every once in awhile, when he sang some higher parts, it recalled for me The Mars Volta (although aside from that tiny comparison, nothing else did). In the second song the vocals got a little screamier, but it still seemed to me pretty “nice.” Nothing too dangerous happening. I can see it getting played on the radio. There’s a lot of double bass and some guitar solos—in one of the songs the solo had vocals over it, which would appeal to those of us not into such displays of showmanship. The fourth song had some talking in it that reminded me of “One” by Metallica. They seem to be a pretty solid band but it wasn’t very compelling for me. I prefer my metal thrashier, dirtier, and generally more crossover. However, for those who like the sound of metal but don’t care to get too crazy, this may be the match for you.
–Jennifer Federico (10 Foot Reach)