(Razor & Tie)

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Mall rock hits an all-time low with by-the-numbers nu-metal junk that makes the in-store play-list at Wal-Mart seem positively edgy.

Churning out a rehash of the once-hot “sound of the moment,” The Mourning After plays like a demo from a Korn cover band trying to land a summer gig on the Jersey Shore. Come to think of it, if Jonathan Davis is so obsessed with serial killers, he should love this band because they’re single-handedly trying to kill his mediocre legacy. This whole sound was just barely interesting 4 or 5 years ago, but the fascination for this kind of music should end when you get ‘pubes’. [And it’s getting very late: tick, tock, girls: the food court is closed.]

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“Self-Medicate,” while tolerable, ought to be more of a prerequisite for listening to this record… which is a damn shame, because 40 Below Summer puts on an excellent live show. They just don’t have any material to back up the energy they generate on stage. At least it isn’t on this record. Forays into Alice In Chains territory are unsuccessful when the vocal harmonies lurch treacherously close to Creed, only to be ruined with incessant whining and growling and gargling in the end. Nothing really stands out: “F.E.” features a duet with Christian Machado from Ill Nino and there is a “secret track” 12 minutes into the last song, should anyone care.

This record is mind-numbingly dull: I simply could not bring myself to review it for as long as I’ve had it (and it has been months since it came out). But I’m doing some much-needed spring cleaning since they’re still out on tour with (coincidentally) Ill Nino.

Terrible.

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