Dope : " Blood Money pt 1"

I used to the like the song "Bitch", I know one of the girls in the video and that was my first exposure to this band back in the early 2000s. Acey Slade who plays bass for Joan Jett as well as Murderdolls backs Edsel, along with Lords of Acid guitarist Virus and long time drummer Racci Shay. They come on stronger with a blend of industrial strength hard rock that could have rolled out of the best moments of 1997.Edsel sings more on this album that the more nu-metal liking shouting I recall from other songs like "Bitch". They back off into the darker "Lexapro" that is really more of an interlude than a song. This is a shame because I find it more compelling than the run of the mill metal of "Hold On " that feels like a Bullet For My Valentine b-side. Granted these guys are going for a more mainstream take on metal than what I normally listen to.

The blast at you with a more militant bulldozing typical of post- 90s industrial, ironically the lyrics of the chorus are "I never though I'd be alive after 1999". The  vocals go into a higher auto-tuned sounding emo on "Razor Blade Butterfly " that sounds like the might be trying to bring back the more sugar coated ghost of H.I.M. It's hook and well crafted cheese. "Drug Music" reminds me of Strapping Young Lad's more restrained moments. They put on more of a tough guy act for the Static X like "Hypocrite". "X-Hale" turns down another dark corner, but this too is another interlude. There is more of a 30 Seconds to Mars feel to "End of the World". Sure there is more of machine like bump and grind to it, but the way the melodies are handled seem like something Jared Leto would do. So Edsel has become a much better singer over the years.

"Selfish" has more of a groove to it though the riff re-hashes a great deal of 90s metal. The auto-tuned vocals to "Numb" remind me of Weird Al. The song itself is pretty decent. Over al despite sticking to the conventions of modern radio rock and coming across as more accessible than what I have heard from these guys in the past, this album is pretty decent for what it is. I'll give it a 8.