Hotwire’s album is good but nothing new

You know how all bands sound the same these days? Well, Hotwire seems to be following that trend. But they’re not so bad either.

Hotwire is a band of five from the suburbs of L.A., the same place that bred Linkin Park and Incubus. They have just signed on to perform in Ozzfest 2003, playing with Korn, Cradle of Filth, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, and of course, Ozzy himself. Their RCA Records debut CD, “The Routine,” is scheduled to release on May 6.

One critic described it as the, “…debut of a young band with old souls and a fresh sound.” Well, to me it sounded like fresh souls with an old sound.

Hotwire’s sound is definitely hard and heavy. Plus it has a solid melody that keeps each track from sounding the same. Maggie Wang from RCA Records describes their sound as, “at once cohesive and intense, melodic and metallic, punk and provocative, hardcore and heavy…” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I don’t see the punk influence, but I’m sure it’s in there somewhere. The CD definitely has musical appeal; I found my feet tapping and head nodding.

So what are the minuses? Well, although the sound is pretty good, I didn’t hear too much creativity. They don’t really have a style that sets them apart from other bands. They just blend in with the rest. And that’s a big minus.

At any rate, these guys are a talented bunch. The vocalist, Rus Martin, has a nice voice and it can be really soothing at times. It can be pretty scary at times too, but scary in a good way. His screaming is pretty powerful, but the best part is that you can understand what he’s saying. In fact, he’ll make you want to scream along with him.

The drums, played by Brian Borg, are pretty nice. I was impressed because the songs had some creative beats. Unfortunately, the bass is barely heard in this CD, but it’s not that bad. The guitar, my favorite part, is awesome as well. Good guitar is essential to rock, and this band is not lacking here.

Overall, they are a pretty good band. I think they have a lot of potential, and they could get pretty big. I could see them appealing to the masses. They don’t stand out too much from other bands, but they’re still OK in my book.

I heard a lot of Deftones influence in the CD. This can be good and bad: good because the Deftones rock, and bad because they need to have their own style. Hotwire is heavy music with melody. I would love to see them in concert: the energy I felt in their CD would hopefully be magnified in person, and that would be one hell of a show.