SOIL - True Self Review
by Erin Fox
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Rarely can a group change vocalists and keep the same band name without it seeming as if you're listening to a entirely different band altogether. Fortunately for Soil, new singer A. J. Cavalier does a fair job of making the grade, his fashion fitting in neatly with the Chicago-based hard rock act's beefy rock sound. Although this is the most understandable difference in comparison to the band's past, "True Self" is also a bit more streamlined than Soil's previous works. It's obvious that the band is shooting for commercial acceptance with this record, but songs like "Pick Me Up" and "Forever Dead" still possess enough toughness to be greatly appealing to fans of artists like Drowning Pool. Studio vet Ulrich Wild mans the console here and though the mix is very smooth, it's not the type of in-your-face production that these songs actually deserve. Long-time followers may be on the fence as to whether tracks like "Hear Me" and "Pick Me Up" are solid rock accomplishments or phoned-in attempts at appealing to as wide an audience as possible, but either way, it's hard to deny that Soil can perform modern rock in a competent fashion. Middle-of-the-road, only slightly aggressive and for the most part, quite predictable, "True Self" is not going to blow your doors off, but it's a good enough album to attract a decent amount of attention nonetheless.
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SOIL - True Self Rating:7.0
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