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Band:The Clay People Album:Waking the Dead Record Company:Overit Records Writer: Mark Carras Media: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

In the late 90's I discovered this band on a very short lived cable service called DMX. No, this was way before the lame rap widget started using the name. This was way before XM satellite launched. This was also several years before this site would even launch. It was kind of a primitive version of these types of services and the only way I knew of at the time to get commercial free radio that played something better then the always extremely weak Seattle radio stations I had available on the traditional radio dial. I discovered a lot of great band's that went no where fast. The Clay People was sadly one of them. I assumed that they had fallen off the face of the planet never to be seen or heard from again. Then this package comes in the mail a few months ago (yes, I am way behind) and I insist that I was going to do the review. This was for two reasons. First off I wanted to make sure it was done justice with respect to the band's history. Also I was really curious what the band was up to and if they sucked now I wanted to be the one to rip them a new asshole! I am happy to say that they are still good. No asshole ripping today...dammit!

So what is good about the cd? I like his voice for the most part. It has this "I have smoked a ton of Marlboro's" kind of gruffness that is rare in this modern metal world where every band thinks they have to do growl vocals. The lyrics are just dark enough to be interesting without sounding like some lame goth kid wrote them while sitting outside the local Hot Topic store. I also like tha the band isn't so dependent on the electronic element. That being said, I would have liked to hear it return on at least a few songs. It could have added a little variety and kick to the cd overall. I'm not sure why, but I really like the song "Obstacle". This song grabs me more then any of the others. "Valentine" is however proof the band can still kick ass without the industrial element.

Did this Rock My Monkey? Yes and no. To be honest it was a bit disappointing. Go to the band's MySpace page and take a listen to the song "Awake". That is a good representation of how the band sounded before. That is the version of The Clay People I fell in love with. I also miss the textures they had with their Neil Kernon produced cd. Now they seem to be in the middle of changing their sound (something I hear they do too often). They haven't ironed out all the wrinkles in this new sound. They lack the hook they had before. The music now is still good, but it doesn't grab me like the older material. Could this mean the next cd will be mind blowing? Could be. I will hold out hope for that because there is a lot of talent and potential with this band.

Band:The Clay People Album:Waking the Dead Record Company:Overit Records Writer: Mark Carras Media: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

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