Lucerin Blue

Item: Tales of the Knife
Author: Luke Harlow

Tales of the Knife

(2003)

Reviewed by Luke Harlow

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Label Tooth & Nail RecordsDecapolisAugust 2003

alternative metal hard rock nu metal

Lucerin Blue are a four-piece hard rock band out of Canada. "Tales of the Knife" is their first record for Tooth and Nail.

Lucerin Blue combines melodic vocals with aggressive, riffing guitars; the occasional screaming and sporadic softer, melodious instrumentation elicits comparisons to bands like P.O.D. and Linkin Park. Like those bands, Lucerin Blue offers a sound that is both accessible and radio friendly. Something, however, seems amiss with "Tales of the Knife." It might be the way the cd begins: A single piano plays an alluring tune. The piano stops and a single guitar is added to the mix. Shortly thereafter the band jumps in: riffing guitars appear, large drums come pounding in, and half-screamed, sort-of-but-not-really-rapped vocals dripping with machismo all combine to start Lucerin Blue on the wrong foot. For the most part, this mixture serves as the formula for all of "Tales of the Knife." It seems the amount of "toughness" in the vocals diminishes as the album goes on; indeed song two, "A Monday in Vegas," probably the strongest track on the record, prominently displays a balance between half-screaming and melodious singing and seems far more representative of the typical Lucerin Blue effort.

"TOTK" is probably not a record that will impress too many folks. It sounds incredible, but the jaded listener will no doubt chalk that up to modern recording technology. Lucerin Blue stumbles trying to offer profound lyrics, but do not fall so far as to be labeled trite.

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