Burning Brides

It may sound nasty but with all due respect, one of the best things that ever happened to riff/groove rockers Burning Brides was not living up to the expectations of the corporate machine. The beastly entity scooped them up from out of nowhere, lauded them as the next big thing and then ditched 'em when they didn't deliver. What that did, however, was ensure that the power trio wouldn't resort to releasing more mindless, fluffy pop rock and that they would eventually realize Anhedonia. Dark and cryptic, driving without being overtly aggressive, the album's 13 tracks are wonderfully grandiose and epic, spiralling about in the same way that made some of Soundgarden's earliest recordings so haunting and unique. Thick riffs alternate between half-time grinding and upbeat, almost Sabbath-worthy jams, yet never feel overbearing or overplayed. That said, a few faster tunes would have ensured that Anhedonia leaned closer to balls-out rocker instead of boozy stoner. Factoring in strong harmonies and enough confidence to let the process play out as the tracks require, instead of fitting into a predictable radio-friendly format, Anhedonia is even more proof that as a hot ticket item, Burning Brides may have faltered but when left to their own devices, they are infinitely impressive.