The Demo Review:
Runt There are currently 1 Reviews of this Demo.
Average Rating: 4
Band Name: Runt
Demo Title: Devil Child
Band Members: Rob (vocals), Dizmo (guitars), Gravy (guitars), Elm Burgess (bass), Emery Ceo (drums)
Location: Cleveland, OH
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    • Redwolff's Review:
    First, the stuff I have to get off my chest. The liner notes are minimal, containing no information about the band, no website to consult, no pictures. At times, the lyrics printed inside read like someone was trying to transcribe the songs without knowing the real lyrics-- for example, this sentence, exactly as it's printed: "Here it comes back to it's another way to so fucking brake some you pass on another drink." If you read my summary judgment stuff, you may have noticed I like to check out a band's website before writing my review so I know what they are about. The closest I got to Runt were the various websites of Mushroomhead, who produced this album. Cleveland's online magazines don't list Runt as one of the local bands. I thought I had finally found them, but alas it was another band called Runt from upstate NY. The drummer sped up the beat a little in a couple places, which should have been noticed by the engineers. The mix is a little too bright, pulling the vocals, guitar solos and cymbals into high relief while the drums and bass sound a little muddy in the background.

    Are these really important issues? So the liner notes could have been more polished and informative. The mix could have been smoother. Despite these problems, I liked this demo. The band's sound reminds me a lot of Pantera and the Pantera/COC project Down-- Rob's got the Phil Anselmo tortured screaming down and there's a lot of great repetitious bass chording creating a trancelike feel to the slower songs (like "Bury me in Smoke" off of NOLA). The first song, "Killing Time," is the most catchy and would probably be the single if this were a professional album. I think "Devil Child" and "Strung Out" are my favorite songs although they all work-- except for "Sit the Fuck Down," which is a rap-metal, new Machine Head-style song that falls flat. These guys are definitely worthy of being signed.
    4 out of 5

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