Band:	Phase Reverse
Album:	Phase Reverse
Style:	Sludge metal
Release date:	December 16, 2011
A review by:	Doc G.

01. Cross To Bear
02. I Got Your Back
03. Eye To Eye
04. Tear Down The Walls
05. Crash 'N burn
06. Death Ride
07. Road Fever
08. Wide Awake
09. Changes
10. Who Gives A Damn
11. High Hopes
12. Long Gone

Awwww shit. It's happening all over again. Despite not being poppy metalcore, Phase Reverse have managed to fall into the exact same traps you can find with bands like As I Lay Dying or Bullet For My Valentine. What is it you ask? It's the tendency to crash soaring riffs straight into the ground by mellowing them out. With modern, mainstream metalcore, you can almost predict it around each bend, Phase Reverse however have some crushing hard rock riffs which they rarely hold on to. It's the same feeling as finding a box of kittens on the side of the road, which your family promptly refused to let in the house.

Now, there's nothing wrong with having to pussy out of a few hard licks here and there, hell, it can even add an element of unpredictability to the music. Here, it happens so frequently to such great riffs it's downright excruciating. Top put it simply; they sound like Pearl Jam. They sound like Pearl Jam & Black Label Society playing hot potato with a stick of dynamite. Top things off with a touch of southern rock and you've got Phase Reverse at their best. Their best just doesn't last long. There's almost a pattern to it; every time the vocals come in, everything else becomes flat background calmness. The constant return of these doldrums basically ruins the two ballads found on here. Maybe they're decent ballads, it's hard to say because by that point you've been ready to rock for half an album but have been let down repeatedly.

There's perhaps two, maybe three songs on this album where they put the hammer down, and keep it down. When Phase Reverse stay in their groove, man is it ever sweet. If the song structure wasn't so unbelievably predictable, this album would be a knockout. Unfortunately, this debut is an album of many strong moments, but few strong tracks.