40 Below Summer
The Mourning After
Razor and Tie / Roadrunner
A former Crash Test Dummies producer and a little-known nu-metal band may not sound like compatible bedfellows, but the combination works wonders on 40 Below Summer’s The Mourning After.
The band was lost in the corporate shuffle after seeing their label, Sire, swallowed up by the Universal behemoth. Enter NY indie Razor and Tie and acclaimed producer David Bendeth, and the stage was set for one of the most interesting nu-metal albums of the last 12 months.
Bendeth has added a melodic subtlety to 40 Below Summer’s powerful heavy rock, and as a result, opener “Self Medicate” (featuring Ill Nino) and “Rain” achieve a balance between crunching riffs and more restrained, lighter touches. “Breathless” reaffirms that balance, and while the lyrical themes are typically dark and gloomy, overall The Mourning After manages to bring a fresh perspective to a rather tired genre.
40 Below Summer: http://www.40belowsummer.com/
