Artist: Waterdown
Album: All Riot
Label: Victory Records
Tracks: 11
Length: 36:45
Reviewed by: Jeff

So I'm flipping through my stack of cds to review, and I came across Waterdown's newest outing, "All Riot".  Honestly, after hearing some of what has come out of Victory headquarters lately, my first reaction was, "Great, another sub-par release".  While I wasn't completely blown away by what I heard, I did find that "All Riot" exceeded my expectations.

Formed in 2000 across the pond in Germany, this 6 piece outfit has melted together elements of hardcore, metal, punk, and even a little bit of emo by way of some melodically sung vocals.  Apparently, shortly after forming and beginning to play shows in Europe, Tony Brummel took immediate notice, and signed them, in spite of their lack of touring stateside for the most part.  A bold move that definitely could have bit him on the backside.

The cd starts out like a punch to the gut with "Sleep Well", coming out of the gate aggressively with hardcore-like vocals, and pounding guitars.  It's easy to envision this song as a set-opener, and they come out swinging.  They really couldn't have started out with a better song. 

The album continues to weave in and out of the aforementioned styles throughout its 11 songs, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.  There are times when the songs seem better suited for a more aggressive vocal line, but instead succumb to their more melodic side.  Other times, the vocals just flat out don't fit, most notably, some of the harmonies that fall short, and seem just a bit out of key.

The problem with "All Riot" is that it finishes much weaker than it starts.  From listening to the first few tracks, you think that this is going to be a pretty solid release.  But as the cd progresses, it just fails to keep you locked into that groove that makes you want to start it up again as soon as it ends.