The press release can call it “neo-gothic” or whatever they want, but Magnolia Park‘s Vamp (Epitaph Records) is Nu Metal, landing somewhere between Linkin Park, and Oh! The Horror.  What that means in this context is that I really dig it. 

This thoroughly enjoyable album packs quite the punch, and the songs rock, but I cannot seem to get a grip on anything original to say, because the album, as good as it is, doesn’t scream original. Magnolia Park brings tight production (which they did themselves) and high-quality instrumental chops to a familiar genre with millions of fans, all just looking for more. And they deliver.

The style sheet for this magazine asks us not to spend the review comparing every track to other bands, but that’s frankly really hard to do. The opening two tracks “Pain,” and “Shadow Talk,” totally echo Linkin Park’s first couple albums, while “Shallow” and other tracks remind me of Oh! The Horror’s 1692. To avoid the parallels is to deny the obvious.

They call it a concept album, but without the usual interstitials, it feels a bit more like a thematic concept rather than a story. The “gothic” I suppose avoids using “emo” or “screamo” or any of the other terms that attempt to make a band more distinct when the music doesn’t. I know it sounds a lot like I’m dumping here, but I’m not. This album hits a nice sweet spot, bringing new energy to an old sound.

When I was in high school . . . And Justice For All by Metallica came out. I listened to that thing to the point it had no surprises and I knew every lyric and guitar solo by heart. Then, when I went back to Record Theater for another album, I didn’t go to the Jazz section or the Pop section. I went back to thrash and banged my head off to Anthrax, and Slayer, and TT Quick, and Laaz Rockit, and on and on.

It is not a bad thing to sound like something millions of people love. Elton John doesn’t prevent Billy Joel from making money, and just because I can’t immediately tell the difference between Loverboy or REO Speedwagon doesn’t mean they don’t both make great music.

So, just because Magnolia Park plays in the same sandbox as Linkin Park and half-dozen other Nineties Nu Metal acts doesn’t mean they’re not terrific. What it means is that if those guys won’t make new albums like they used to, the audience is still there for it.

Magnolia Park delivers for them.

Buy the album here:
https://magnoliaparkmerch.com/

8 / 10
LARRY ROGERS
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