{"id":19967,"date":"2012-05-09T04:28:59","date_gmt":"2012-05-09T09:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=19967"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:04:51","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:04:51","slug":"memory-of-a-melody-things-that-make-you-scream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/memory-of-a-melody-things-that-make-you-scream\/","title":{"rendered":"Memory of a Melody | Things That Make You Scream<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Mark Allen<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"They say everything is bigger in Texas. That bodes well for Memory of a Melody because they\u2019ve got what it takes to be the next big thing on the modern hard rock\/metal scene. But that\u2019s not just because they call Texas home. No, MOAM earn the right to be given a shot at the big time based solely on the merits of their music, a slab of sonic muscularity that straddles the gossamer-thin line separating hard rock from metal.<\/p>\n

The band has one foot firmly set in each genre. One minute they are dishing out a crunchy, melodic modern hard rock track like \u201cBreak Away,\u201d the next they are smashing your face with a vicious metal assault like \u201cUltraviolence.\u201d And just to prove they are not all aggression all the time, they slow things down for a brooding ballad (\u201cSkin Deep\u201d). The phrase \u201cone trick pony\u201d does not apply here.<\/p>\n

The guitar work here sizzles and smokes and single-handedly elevates MOAM to the next plateau. The production smartly plays to this strength, everything engineered with crisp, sharp precision that allows the amazing axe-work to shine. The twin guitar attack creates a heavy wall of sound that cascades over your ears like a six-string tsunami.<\/p>\n

As a versatile vocalist capable of uvula-shredding screams as well as clean singing, Mario Galdos focuses more frequently on the latter and reserves the former mostly for emphasis and attitude. MOAM may borrow some metal-core techniques, but they are not a true metal-core band. They are banging around on the same half-rock, half-metal turf on which bands like Bullet For My Valentine and Black Veil Brides found success: heavy-hitting modern hard rock punctuated with aggro-vocals for metal credibility. While both those bands are better than MOAM when it comes to writing slick, commercial hooks, MOAM destroys them both in the technical skills department. <\/p>\n

MOAM are a ripe piece of succulent metal fruit hanging on an independent vine, ready to be plucked by a record label that knows a good thing when they hear it. While their metal-core-tinged modern heavy rock formula may not be the most original approach, plenty of bands have ridden this style to the top and many of those bands lack the sheer talent that MOAM bring to the game. Hell, some of them don\u2019t even deserve to play scratch-n-sniff with the bottom of MOAM\u2019s collective jockstrap.<\/p>\n

The song quality does seesaw somewhat, with ass-kicking tunes mixed with less impressive tracks. For example, \u201cTill Death Do Us Part\u201d gets the head whipping with a catchy stop-start rhythm and pays off with a slow, emphatic chorus. \u201cPieces,\u201d on the other hand, brings plenty of slam to the party but lacks a hook to sell the song. Then \u201cMy Darkest Hour\u201d kicks your coccyx seven ways from Sunday, only to be followed by \u201cReach\u201d which is neither good nor bad, but just sort of\u2026there. The band proves multiple times that they are capable of blowing you away\u2026hopefully next time they will do so from start to finish. <\/p>\n

These Texas mavericks have got what it takes to carve out a name for themselves in a crowded metal market. Sure, this being a debut album, there is some room for improvement, but that scarcely detracts from just how good these guys are at times. If heavy-edged modern hard rock with mounds of melody and a little bit o\u2019 metal-core is the sort of thing that appeals to you, then MOAM may very well make you scream for joy.<\/p>\n

Genre: Modern Hard Rock, Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMario Galdos (vocals)
\nWade Sigue (guitar)
\nRoel Castillo (guitar)
\nJoel Martinez (bass)
\nRobin Lopez (drums)<\/p>\n

Track Listing
\n1. Mask
\n2. Till Death Do Us Part
\n3. Things That Make You Scream
\n4. Pieces
\n5. Intersection
\n6. Break Away
\n7. Skin Deep
\n8. My Darkest Hour
\n9. Reach
\n10. Ultraviolence
\n11. The Core
\n12. Truth in Lies<\/p>\n

Label: Independent<\/p>\n

Webpage: www.thingsthatmakeyouscream.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.3\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Mark Allen Staff Writer — They say everything is bigger in Texas. That bodes well for Memory of a Melody because they\u2019ve got what it takes to be the next big thing on the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[2267,2939],"class_list":{"0":"post-19967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-metal","8":"tag-modern-hard-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}