Nonpoint – Vengeance

artist website

publisher

impulse buy

Bieler Bros. Records
Produced by Matt LaPlant & Nonpoint

Leaving behind the young misplaced aggression of Recoil and the nu-metal leanings of To The Pain Florida’s Nonpoint have changed their sound greatly for the better, moving in a much more heavy southern metal direction which has earned them a support slot with Hellyeah.

Now sounding like the gritty southern vocals of someone like Brand New Sin over SOiL‘s riffs and Godsmack‘s rhythm section Vengeance opens with two monster tracks amongst the best the band have ever written. Both are big riff, groove-laden slabs of catchy, heavy rock with the immense What I Do Best standing out as an early highlight.

The title track is a much more straight forward at a muscular, fast rock sound, but the groove comes back on Bring Me Down, which also includes a few snippets of the Recoil sound amongst the big riffing. March of War (the first radio single in America) starts like Head-On‘s Break The Walls Down but backs off immediately to a largely bass-driven voice before exploding into the chorus with a mighty raw from Elias Soriano.

Much like their previous touring partners Disturbed, Stone Sour, Sevendust etc. the tracks here are somewhat light on lead guitar work, and there are some clear points where solos are needed. During the build-up finale of March of War, for example, where things are getting more and more frenetic with repeated choruses and a solo would have kept that pace while breaking up the repetition.

Atmospheric Korn territory with a melodic chorus is touched upon with Breathe then Kenneth Charman’s bass ushers in the massive groove of Hands Off which shares the feel of What I Do Best and equally never shies away from it’s self-induced aggression; comfortably the album’s second highlight.

The tail end of the album offers little in new ideas, but does a good job of maintaining the momentum and sound set out earlier. Closers Everybody Down and When It’s Over are direct returns to previous tracks, while A Way Out and Change Your Mind contain more hints at the sound of previous albums. In between Witness stands out as another catchy piece of grooving aggression with a big Drowning Pool riff.

Despite the lack of lead guitar Vengeance is still Nonpoint’s finest album to date and What I Do Best, Hands Off, Wake Up World and March of War are some of the bands best songs and destined to be live favourites.

“ big riffing ”

Tracklist: Wake Up World / What I Do Best / Vengeance / Bring Me Down / March of War / Breathe / Hands Off / A Way Out / Change Your Mind / Witness / Everybody Down / When It’s Over

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2008, Albums, Alternative, Southern, Nonpoint