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REVIEW – The BUTCHER BABIES follow up to Goliath is upon us and if you liked Goliath chances are you will dig this record, but if you were not a fan this record will probably not convert you. People seem to be fascinated with the lead vocalists Carla and Heidi and base their opinions on that since they have this “image” that they cannot be “true” to the genre. A few months ago, The Babies released this video to a song called Monster’s Ball that had a crunch and groove to it, that made you think the Babies while not exactly evolving their core sound that they started to see what worked for other bands in the past and tried to incorporate it in the sound. No denying that the feel of the song as it plays on does resemble Vulgar Display of Power era Pantera. As much as I liked Goliath, this record does not show the growth I was expecting, but I will admit the record has some very catchy songs that grew on me. Igniter sounds like the song Goliath so much that I feel it was a continuation. Take It Like A Man, while it brings nothing really new to the table, does showcase that this band’s mix of groove and hard rock really is catchy and works for them. The biggest positive to this record is the dual singers that really compliment the musicianship of the other members.
TheBUTCHER BABIES have an upward struggle for acceptance and I feel no matter what they put out that some fans are so dead-set on what they perceive them as being, and that closed minded view would never give them a fair shot, but yet if they caught them live would be the first to run up and ask for something to get autographed. The problem with this record is that they are painting themselves in this corner where the music really has no room for growth, while the sound and songs are decent to good, they have no way to introduce new elements without truly alienating the fans they have right now. Now, people will expect each record to be bouncy, loud and catchy, that if they ever tried to do something different it may not work for them. There is no lacking passion in this band, this band on this record seem concert stage ready. The record is not bad, at times it does feel a little generic but the heart and fire is all over this record. I just wish at this point in their young career that they would have felt the need to change up the formula a little. I was expecting the Logan Mader production to be a little more challenging and raw. The true test was not the sophomore curse which they failed, but if this record does not go over huge, how do they follow this up? Stay tuned…