Submersed

Submersed's debut album instantly gets some credibility with former Creed and current Alter Bridge member Mark Tremonti producing some of the tracks. The dark, ominous tone of "Hollow"'s intro brings to mind a cross between Big Wreck and Crazy Town, but the former wins out with a beefy, radio-friendly chorus and an almost overly produced sound at the same time. Lead singer Donald Carpenter has all the prowess of a frontman, but the guitars of Eric Friedman and TJ Davis are the key here, especially in the better than expected bridge. Thick globs of guitar fuel many of these tracks, although the lighter, melodic "To Peace" is a welcome yet temporary change of pace. Think of a fusion between Nickelback's brawn and Creed's sporadic beauty and you would get the gist of the tune. The first track that seems somewhat over the top is "In Due Time," which tries to pack in too much for a thick slab of rather ordinary rock. "Flicker" has its moments, but the acoustic Zeppelin-like intro leads into an arena rock track that Chris Cornell or Audioslave would pass on. It will grow on the listener, but not the first time around. The crisp ear candy that is "Parallelism" is one of the album's highlights, but the aura of Creed's "Higher" hangs over it slightly. Fortunately, "Deny Me" is a rock-by-numbers tune that manages to hit all the right places, perfect for a forthcoming soundtrack. "Divide the Hate" is another sleeper pick, with its subtle Eastern or Asian touches before the track goes into full-bore, crunchy, fist-pumping mode. "Unconcerned," the finale, is more melodic than several songs here, and seems to run out of gas halfway through. But overall, Submersed have immersed themselves in a body of radio-friendly hard rock. ~ Jason MacNeil, Rovi