Spineshank

After launching their career with a debut album inspired largely by Fear Factory's patented brand electro-death metal, and then transitioning towards the era's prevalent nu-metal trends with their second, Los Angeles' Spineshank succumbed even further to commercial pressures with their third opus, 2003's Self-Destructive Pattern. Essentially a hard rock album accentuated with sporadic metallic attitude, spiked with pseudo-techno inflections, and sprinkled with rap-metal distractions, Self-Destructive Pattern didn't do much justice to the band's aggro roots, but it did contain a handful of singles boasting serious crossover potential, in an Alien Ant Farm or Papa Roach kind of way. "Violent Mood Swings," "Smothered," "Tear Me Down." and the almost Linkin Park-esque "Forgotten," in particular, seemed ideally suited for both rock radio airplay, and allowing them to barely squeak onto Ozzfest's second stage, if they were so inclined. But despite showcasing a budding versatility from vocalist Johnny Santos, neither these nor cosmetically correct (if terribly derivative) nu-metal candidates like "Slavery," the title track, and "Stillborn" (containing a final few nods to Fear Factory) seemed likely to distinguish Spineshank from the growing mass of self-parodying (yet, for the most part, less conflicted) bands of their ilk. And a verdict would never be reached, in any case, since the internal strife that had contributed to Self-Destructive Pattern's convoluted creation wound up culminating in Santos' departure mere months after its release -- thus somewhat fulfilling the prophecy of its title, if nothing else. [A clean version of the album was also released.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide