Flaw - THROUGH THE EYES

Remember nu-metal?  I sure do.  Bands such as Korn, Sevendust and Nothingface acted as my metal training wheels.  At 15 years of age, I wasn't ready for extreme brutality, but nu-metal was just heavy enough to make me feel like a badass.  I can vividly recall dawdling the halls of high school while listening to Around the Fur via headphones.  I assured myself that my constitutional sense of poise was unmistakably macroscopic to those around me.  They knew I was cool.  Oh, yes.  They knew.  Some bands were more respected than others by the underground elite.  Actually, Deftones are an effulgent example of a DJ-equipped group who escaped the late 90's/early 00's with their credibility in tact.  Now that I think about it, Sevendust were also able to weather fitful trends.

Flaw had no such luck.  Timing is everything in the music industry, and this Kentucky quartet arrived late on the scene.  Their major label debut, Through the Eyes, didn't disembark until 2001.  I believe that they enjoyed minor success.  It's hard to say.  I can confirm that by the time Flaw issued a follow-up three years later, metalcore had domiciliated itself as the latest craze amongst eyeliner-caked youngsters.  Well, now it's 2013.  The underground elite loathes metalcore.  Personally, I can't stomach the shit that kids call metal these days, and I find that I'm getting nostalgic for nu-metal.  I was sick of it when the 21st century came calling, but compared to modern metal trends?  I must say, even a band as generic as Flaw doesn't offend my ears.

Of course, "generic" isn't necessarily a jaundiced adjective.  This record doesn't bring anything fresh to the table, but it does what it does remarkably well.  Vocalist Chris Volz is the main attraction.  The guy can sing.  As a matter of fact, he chooses to sing over the bulk of the music.  There isn't a great deal of solicitous screaming on Through the Eyes, but the few instances of angsty yelping are well-placed.  Volz's warm, clean tone is immediately euphonic.  You'll catch him repeating melodies here and there, but he redeems himself soon after with a catchy chorus or a killer harmony.  The guitars are typically detuned.  Shocking, I know.  The riffs won't jerk you off, but they're pleasantly chunky.

One of the aspects of nu-metal that I miss is the full-bodied production style.  Modern metal production fucking sucks, plain and simple.  Through the Eyes has dynamics.  The mix is organic, and the bass bleeds into its fellow instruments.  The vocals never compete with the drums or vice-versa.  It didn't surprise me to learn that this album was produced by David Bottrill.  He worked on Tool's Aenima and Silverchair's Diorama, two of my favorite long players of all ever.  He probably encouraged the dudes in Flaw to campaign for the loose, asymmetrical arrangements that pop up from time to time.

I dig Through the Eyes.  It may appeal to folks who never cared for nu-metal to begin with.  I would advise sampling "Only the Strong," "Get Up Again" and "Reliance."  My enthusiastic rating may trouble readers who only ingest death metal, but that's their problem.  Variety is the spice of life, no?