How can such an immense-sounding triple guitar onslaught with a killer flare for time trippin’ signatures from the help of a bombastic rhythm team blow it in such a Major Onus Titanacus of proportions, you ask? By adding vocals, naturally. When they don’t sound like a typical suburban screamo, the voices try their lame attempt at BASTRO/SLINT dated early 90’s poetry/yelling. Every so often this bullshit excuse for a vocalist (or vocalists) tries to put the death metal mask on and fails in spades (Dave Vincent you are not, pal). You should be ashamed of yourself. Your band mates should be ashamed. You have taken a piss on one of the tastiest key-lime pies ever made in my recent memory. You put the mustache on a Michael Angelo. If you are so tortured why don’t you just take out daddy’s Smith and Wesson and do it up already you little shit? If I want real tortured vocals I just pop in THE LAUGHING HYENAS. John Brannon was the real deal. Your pseudo-intellectual babbling is not. Now that was real bottomed-out soul searching even if it was rather simple-minded (which is why it worked). Your so-called angst is utterly embarrassing. Please stop!!

If this band were instrumental they could easily pummel PELICAN, devour DON CABALLERO, or manhandle MAHAVISHNU (ok that might be stretching it a tad). With the exception of that stupid David Grubbs piano crap, these musicians can move mountains with their sound. If vocals need to be added they need to complement the music not clutter it. The vocalist has to have some talent and range (ie: THE MARS VOLTA). The liner notes even make mention of the vocals being recorded at a different studio. Anybody want to send me the instrumental tracks, please? The album title is rather clever. The cover art of this CD is very well done and for what? They are not the only band of this ilk ruining something really good by alienating us older folk who know better (and have had far more life experiences) with this teen and/or early twenty something crybaby crap. I’m sorry I cannot relate to this. I wake up just as angry as the next. well “angry guy”, but I don’t resort to this bullshit public therapy (maybe with my writing to a degree but that’s different – way less irritating for the recipient). Only a truly warped mind can pull it off. Not me and not these twerps. Can so many young men be so bad off? What are they so angry about? Why do they sound so stupid and why should we care? Why should we listen to them like therapists do? The singer of this band should pay me for being his psychologist. You can get off the couch now. Screamo me no liko.

- Herring

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/quell

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