Once Nothing – First Came The Law

On first listen, this was some pretty awesome shit – self-described “blue collar metal” that’s full of momentum, yet doesn’t sacrifice intricacies in favor of that ferocity. And this from a guy who’s metal tastes never really extended past THE ACCUSED in 10th grade. On repeated listens, a few cracks in the armor begin to appear. For one, they’re Christians. Now, I’ll be the first to say that apart from a very few veiled references to “the carpenter’s hands” and needing the “Lord’s mercy”, JC does not make an appearance on this record. So I’ve got to give credit to ONCE NOTHING for putting out a Christian metal album that’s not terribly cloying, preachy, lame, dogmatic or simplistic – which is more than I can say for many non-Christian punk bands. Yet all five of the members expressly thank God in the liner notes, while three of them make specific mention that they as individuals suck and are undeserving of His love. I personally don’t give that much of a shit – like I said, they did a pretty good job of keeping all the references veiled – still, one can’t help but think that that sort of constant self-debasement and sense of self-worth contingent on outside forces must really blow at times.

Still, this ain’t Religion 101. Had I not perused the lyric booklet like the top-notch rock journalist I am, I’d be none the wiser. So, religious issues nonwithstanding, it’s a complex but linear metal album; they don’t go straight for the crazy-meter and haphazardly slap a bunch of riffs together. It’s definitely some decent, well-executed material. But there’s a few bits of rust on the chrome: sometimes they stray from the swaggering, lava-throated metal that they do pretty well and veer off into lame-ass territory. For example, by about the fourth tune, the singer often begins a line with a lilting Southern accent, only to finish it with the requisite howl he uses the rest of the time. After, oh, the tenth time he does it, it becomes pretty jarring and annoying, never more so than in “Whiskey Breath”, where he does it to the point where I feel like I’m hearing a metalized version of “Sweet Home Alabama” or some shit, or in “Columbus Wasn’t Looking For America”, where the chorus is so Southern-fried is sounds like Reverend Horton Heat backed by Whitesnake or something. There’s also a few acoustic tracks, “My Sweet Medusa” and “And Then Came Grace”, that totally disrupt the flow of the record, aren’t very good and should have been left on the editing room floor or the Protools file of whatever.

As it stands, it’s a decent metal album with some occasional duds and rough spots scattered throughout. Between the religious issues – I find it impossible not to try to place the lyrics in a “conventional” spiritual context now that I’m aware of their religious leanings – and the weird Southern accents and acoustic tracks, I don’t think this’ll get much play around the house. Yet it’s firmly rooted; they’re good at what they do, it’s just that what they do isn’t necessarily for me.

And the booklet, no shit, smells eye-wateringly of patchouli, even though the album came shrink-wrapped. Figure that one out.