Crushed

"Tune into any modern rock radio station or watch an episode of ‘Headbanger's Ball' circa the early 21st century, and the amount of hard rock/metal bands that mix aggression with melodic detours is staggering. But then along comes a band like Crushed, who does indeed mine the aforementioned territory, but introduces true song craft into the mix on their 2007 release, ‘My Machine.' And voila, there's a band that stands out from all the foolers. Case in point, if you judge the album opening "What Kind of Life" just by its opening, it's understandable to lump Crushed with the rest of aforementioned gang — but stick with it, and several pleasant surprises are in store (namely, the chorus and how the song ends). Also included is "Dwell," which starts off with some Tool-esque bass strumming, before turning into alt-pop, and "Ether," which includes some fine vocalizing by frontman Mark Lauer, while a track like "Leaving" could easily crossover to the mainstream masses. The group has also hooked up with a producer that needs no introduction - Mr. Mike Clink (yep, the Appetite for Destruction Mike Clink) — who has no problem navigating through the varied sonic waters of ‘My Machine.' The end result is a strong album that is not copycat, yet also is not far removed from the mainstream." Greg Prato