Creature of Habit--Endangered Species (1997)
Rating--7.0
A four-piece unit from up around Pennsylvania, Creature of Habit bring a fresh edged metal/prog approach to the table, showcasing
various talents along the way. Nice guitar distortion here, and vocals with range. Though the songs shift in genre throughout the
disc, some of the evoked images are of Queensryche, Radakka, and
Wicked Maraya. The biggest complaint about this release: the drum sound is very stale and mechanical
sounding up against the other instruments, and as a result really holds some of the songs back in terms of total heaviness--which is a shame.
Opening track "Drive By" starts with a heavy crunch, and has a constant pulse throughout. "Fragile" is a chunky, metalized groove,
and "Foolish Mortals" is slow anger--a nice pickup at the end!
The all instrumental "Shredasaurus Lixx" is kept in check for the
most part, but guitarist Bill Staley does indulge in some impressive Malmsteen-esque runs at times.
"Escape" has a strong back groove, and the time phrasings in "Revengeful Hate" make the riffs that much better. That heaviness
would have been matched on "Last Dance", save for the drums---this may be the most evident place where the instrument holds a
song back.
"Release Me" is a lighter tune, and singer Greg Holtz conjures visions of Seattle with his Tate-like crooning. A promising
disc from a band to watch...
TRACK LIST: Drive By/Fragile/Foolish Mortals/Release Me/Shredasaurus Lixx/Crying/Escape/Sunshine/Revengeful Hate/
Last Dance
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