Demo Title: Happiness is Suicide
Band Members: Phil Harris - Vocal, Jason Deschambeau - Guitar, Jon Satterfield - Bass, and Chris Deschambeau - Drums
Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Rating: 3 Skulls
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Band Name: TrueZeroHook
Demo Title: Happiness is Suicide Band Members: Phil Harris - Vocal, Jason Deschambeau - Guitar, Jon Satterfield - Bass, and Chris Deschambeau - Drums Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania Rating: 3 Skulls
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Slither's Review:
"After 7 years together, TrueZeroHook has decided to call it quits. Different ideas musically and different factors in our lives have brought us to this decision. We want to thank all the people that have been there for us and supported us since the beginning. We would also like to thank some of the great local bands that we have had the privilege to share the stage with . . . Lifelong (much respect), Malicious Intent, From Nothing, Forfeit (many thanks to Ben and Greg), Stait of Mynd, Last Day Dying, Lowdown and many others. Any questions or inquiries can be directed to TrueZeroHook@hotmail.com. If anyone is still interested in getting a c.d., let us know."Normally this is where I would introduce a new and exciting act for your listening pleasure, but I stumbled across the above quote on the band's old website after already spending a few days with their demo. And I must say I am relieved but also a bit disappointed. Relieved in that this three song demo (six songs reduced to three because of a poor CD-R burn) sports a puzzling amalgam of solid riffing interspersed with nu-ish squeaks and bounces a la middle-era Machine Head. The disappointment comes from the demise of what appears to be a popular local act that had a strong run with some releases that did well enough to appear in national distribution chains.
This is a bit of a tangent, but I have decided that any band who ends up sounding like Machine Head's Burning Red is suffering the consequence of the youthful idolization of latter day Sepultura and Pantera. TrueZeroHook doesn't fall wholly into that category, but I imagine at least one of their members can be saddled with that analysis.
The album itself may bear a ridiculous title, and come packaged in a format that makes the nature of its independent release obvious, but the production value and skill of the musicians reflects the six years they poured into this project. For all my reactionary bashing and references to fallen idols, TrueZeroHook was not nearly so askew in their approach as the aforementioned acts. Nay, the vocals of Phil Harris are filled with spite and have no trace of the angst soaked crybaby crap that Machine Head's Flynn decided to adopt, and the bounces and squeals that pop up now and then seem more like filler or lack of a better idea than any real attempt to ride the coattails of Nu Metal.
In Summary: The mediocrity house may be pretty cramped these days due to a massive influx of new pledges. But in the vast Greek system that is modern heavy metal, TrueZeroHook are upper classmen and certainly one of the more entertaining drunken idiots wearing Hawaiian shirts.
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