From crushing death growl vocals to melodic metal female vocals. you'll be banging your head to the 11 tunes on this album. I am looking forward to seeing more from this great band
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Hardcore Buddha Metal. Now what the fuck does that mean? I have listened to this CD a few times, the first full length release by Huntsville, AL based Sciatica entitled “Down the Beaten Path”, and I still don’t have a clue as to what they mean. But by trying to figure it all out, it has given me a chance to gain a better appreciation of this band than I had at first blush. 

Let me get this out right at the beginning: I like this band and what they are trying to do. I think that they have a tremendous amount of potential and if I come off sounding a bit negative or picky, it is only because I hear in them something great that hasn’t yet been actualized. Now, how the hell they have come up with the sound and style that they have while being from Huntsville, I have no idea. I have been to Huntsville, and a rockin city it ain’t. No wonder the band says that they hate their hometown, along with Dothan (hahaha), on their website. I concur, and wish them the best in making it out of there. 

Sciatica is a four piece unit made up of the husband and wife team of Christine (vocals) and Mike (guitar, vocals) Hate, Chris (bass), and J (drums). They have a huge laundry list of influences, but it takes some very careful listening to pick any of them out in their music. The music itself is a progressive blend of straight ahead metal, hardcore, sludge/doom, with a slight goth tint. I really can’t say that they sound like anyone other than themselves thanks to the blend of vocals by Christine and Mike. Christine’s straight ahead goth/rock vocals are offset by Mike’s death metal vocalizing and it makes for an unusual combination. I find it really refreshing to hear a female clean vocalist who doesn’t sound anything like Amy Lee or Christina Scabbia. Sonically, the bass, drums, and guitar provide a full, rich backdrop to the vocals. While there really isn’t any new ground broken here, the music is full and enjoyable and provides a wide range of styles. Some are brutal and in your face, others are acoustic and pleasant. 

Enough of the good stuff, time for the critiques. First off, while the music itself is solid and the vocals are unique, the melodies are flat and uninspired. They really sound much like any other local band whey it comes to their melodies. The drum sound is decent except for the kicks, which sound too flat and electronic. A shame really, considering how great the low end is on the balance of the music. Some of the songs sound, well, unfinished. Almost like there wasn’t enough time left to get to all the finishing touches. On a few of the songs, the vocals were pitchy, especially Mike’s when he sings on the track “Crawling”. And overall, I think the CD is probably too long at 11 tracks and almost 56 minutes. Being a first full length and an introduction for most of us to the band, maybe a bit less would be more, especially if they would have spent a bit more time polishing up 8 or 9 songs rather than thinning the production out across 11. 

The key word here is potential. Given more time and experience, I expect Sciatica to mature in their songwriting and hone their sound to a fine edge. While I can’t say that this CD is one of the better ones I have heard this year, it does give me hope for American metal and for finding great metal in the most unusual of places. But I still don’t know what the hell Hardcore Buddha Metal is. 

I give Sciatica’s “Down the Beaten Path” a 7.5……out of 10.
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While the format for writing a review here requests that you focus on the cd and not the artist in general, I can't help but to respond to that appeal with a giant "Fuck You!".  I've known Mike for a very, very, VERY long time, and the evolution of his musicality and his desire to communicate his passions is a tortured but sincere story.  I won't go into great detail, but suffice it to say that Sciatica's "Down The Beaten Path" is the most dynamic move he's made yet.  And this is in no way a discredit to Christine, J and Chris and their contributions to the overall sound.  In fact, this is the first evidence I've heard (and seen, in their live shows) of Mike finding sympathetic musicians to build a camaraderie with, and the payoff is fantastic.  It's been stated already that the slower and quieter moments can be more powerful than the heavier passages on the album, and I have to say that I agree.  It's REFRESHING to hear a band take risks like that from the outset of their career, especially on a song like "Creation Of Your Demise", which might be their best song so far, which almost touches on a Cure/New Order quality with the heavy focus on the bass guitar melodies with the guitar either doubling the parts or supplying atmosphere behind it.  J's drumming is solid on tracks like these especially, and it's no surprise that Christine weaves a sort of creepy jazz haunt through it all - it's the perfect choice.  It's just one example of what works on this fine recording, and I could think of many more: the relentless fury of "I Know What You Did" (it's also a great album closer), the sincere dialogue between lovers/friends/enemies on "No Trust" and the reworkings of the songs from the original EP are a vast improvement, if for no other reason that this sounds much more like the live band that Sciatica thrives as.  Regarding the comments I've read so far that some wish this were catchier or more familiar sounding on first listen........if I may, I think you lot are missing the point.  It might even be borderline sexist to assume that because Christine's vocal is the dominant of the two on most of these songs that she would have to fit the Cristina Scabbia/Amy Lee model in order for their songs to work.  Broaden your horizons.  Sciatica isn't trying to do what you've already heard.  In fact, I think the real testament to the quality of their work is Mike's dedication to writing a better part/riff/song than his last, and that in the fifteen years he's spent as a songwriter, he's found his own niche in this vast world of sonic bombast and icy backdrop that is heavy metal.  Maybe it will take some of you a few more albums to hear that and truly understand it, but that's good - one more reason for Sciatica to keep making music.  As long as they'll be  as true to themselves in the future as they are with "Down The Beaten Path", and build up an even more ferocious sound as a live act, they'll be fucking unstoppable!
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While the format for writing a review here requests that you focus on the cd and not the artist in general, I can't help but to respond to that appeal with a giant "Fuck You!".  I've known Mike for a very, very, VERY long time, and the evolution of his musicality and his desire to communicate his passions is a tortured but sincere story.  I won't go into great detail, but suffice it to say that Sciatica's "Down The Beaten Path" is the most dynamic move he's made yet.  And this is in no way a discredit to Christine, J and Chris and their contributions to the overall sound.  In fact, this is the first evidence I've heard (and seen, in their live shows) of Mike finding sympathetic musicians to build a camaraderie with, and the payoff is fantastic.  It's been stated already that the slower and quieter moments can be more powerful than the heavier passages on the album, and I have to say that I agree.  It's REFRESHING to hear a band take risks like that from the outset of their career, especially on a song like "Creation Of Your Demise", which might be their best song so far, which almost touches on a Cure/New Order quality with the heavy focus on the bass guitar melodies with the guitar either doubling the parts or supplying atmosphere behind it.  J's drumming is solid on tracks like these especially, and it's no surprise that Christine weaves a sort of creepy jazz haunt through it all - it's the perfect choice.  It's just one example of what works on this fine recording, and I could think of many more: the relentless fury of "I Know What You Did" (it's also a great album closer), the sincere dialogue between lovers/friends/enemies on "No Trust" and the reworkings of the songs from the original EP are a vast improvement, if for no other reason that this sounds much more like the live band that Sciatica thrives as.  Regarding the comments I've read so far that some wish this were catchier or more familiar sounding on first listen........if I may, I think you lot are missing the point.  It might even be borderline sexist to assume that because Christine's vocal is the dominant of the two on most of these songs that she would have to fit the Cristina Scabbia/Amy Lee model in order for their songs to work.  Broaden your horizons.  Sciatica isn't trying to do what you've already heard.  In fact, I think the real testament to the quality of their work is Mike's dedication to writing a better part/riff/song than his last, and that in the fifteen years he's spent as a songwriter, he's found his own niche in this vast world of sonic bombast and icy backdrop that is heavy metal.  Maybe it will take some of you a few more albums to hear that and truly understand it, but that's good - one more reason for Sciatica to keep making music.  As long as they'll be  as true to themselves in the future as they are with "Down The Beaten Path", and build up an even more ferocious sound as a live act, they'll be fucking unstoppable!
                            Read more...