By Kate Foote
It has been four years since Tool released their last album, yet there has been no shortage of new bands attempting to fill the void for prog-rock fans. Falling easily into this category is 10 Years’ debut, The Autumn Effect.
Although lead singer Jesse Hasek’s clean, expressive vocals stand out from the sludge of unremarkable rock, the majority of the album plods along predictably. Lyrically, the songs fall flat, lacking the poetic dexterity characteristic of exemplary prog-rock.
A lot of the music is standard modern rock fare–intros and choruses with one guitar riffing away and the other playing a higher melodic part, verses carried by the bass with some picked melodic lines, and the occasional chunky breakdown. Not every song follows this pattern, but most do.
Existing in a musical sphere dominated by the lyrical ingenuity of Tool and musical creativity of 30 Seconds to Mars, The Autumn Effect only exemplifies 10 Years’ shortcomings in such areas. While the album shows potential, it is ultimately left unfulfilled, making for a radio-friendly rock album neither original nor memorable.