Customer Reviews

Echobrain (Dig)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Ever since Jason Newsted left Metallica I've been eagerly awaiting the side project that was so important to him, following every new development. Then, back in July a local radio station had him, Brian Sagrafena and Dylan Donkin on to preview their stuff.

I was shocked, the music I heard more resembled The Beatles rather than the thrash of Metallica. I wasn't quite sure if I liked what I heard. I followed up on it, checked every now and then for the obligatory interviews, and finally we got a March release date. I bought the album, unsure of what to expect after that preview.

Well, after listening to the whole album a couple times, I must say this is great stuff. Don't expect anything like Metallica, even though lead guitarist Kirk Hammet makes a cameo in SuckerPunch. The tunes range from beautiful and sad in Ghosts to the catchy Colder World and SuckerPunch. Cryin' Shame wraps the album up in a 9 minute song that ranges from a serious bass 'n drums tone to a fun jam at the end.

This album's style is all over the place, and each song has a different sound. In the end, what we have here is a CD full of beautiful music, and I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in a different sort of rock.

Echobrain is the "brain child" of former Metallica bassiest Jason Newsted and two fresh faces in the music world, Brain Sagrafena and Dylan Donkin. It was recorded at Newsted's own Chophouse Records and put out by little-known label Surfdog Records (unless you know who Gary Hooey is, aka "Mr. Metal Christmas" for his rocking renditions of classic Christmas songs, who is under this label). Why take notice? Well, kept reading and get the answer.

I was able to catch the group live just last year on their "Keep Me Alive" Tour in New Haven, CT. They are one live act that you must see! Plus, I was able to see Newsted before he left the group to join Ozzy's band!

I already had the CD even before I saw them live and I must say, this is music that will perk up your spirits and won't annoy the folks (but, then again, if your folks are into metal, this could be a gain of salt to swallow). Similar to the already cloned alterna-pop acts, Echobrain stands out well. Instead of a polished, cookie-cutter record, we are treated to a semi-gritty, almost underground indie rock set. Very radio-friendly, but may never even see radio's radar (you would mostly likely catch this on college radio).

Now here's a quick review of the entire disk, all in order:

Colder World--Very up-tempo and could easily leak onto a station like 96.5. Exteremly catchy! A great song to start off a great record!

The Feeling Is Over--A flowing track, wonderful to sit back and relax too. Also radio-friendly without being over-baked!

Spoonfed--Nice track and great guitars make this track most enjoible!

Adrift--Very laid-back with a folk-flavor to it. Everytime I hear it, I think of the old Peanuts movie "Snoopy Come Home".

Keep Me Alive--Another radio-friendly track with more great guitar work!

Ghosts--I mostly ingnore this track due to the fact that it's WAY TOO depression. But it's a nice sad song.

Suckerpunch--A mellow, almost Gothic-like track that features a wonderfully-played solo by Kirk Hammett (Metallica) which gives this track a nice kick!

Highway 44--A bluesy road song that makes you almost smell the dust from the nearest dirt road!

I Drank You--Nice track with some great acoustic guitars!

Cryin' Shame--The longest track on the record. A moody, dark song that reminds me of the anime series Trigun. A great song too!

**HIDDEN TRACK** The Crazy Song--A silly, up-beat doodle that features the kazoo. Diffently will put a smile on your face!

To sum up, Echobrain requires you to listen with an open mind. If you enjoy arty music like Radiohead, this may not sound like Radiohead, but with the amazing talents of Sagrafena and Donkin now left to pick up where Jason has already placed them, chances are the Echobrain will delight whoever its' audience maybe.

Given Jason Newsted's past (Metallica, Flotsam & Jetsam), I expected a hard thrash type of sound from these guys. What we get is more like Alice in Chains with a much fuller sound. It is hard, but approachable. There are several excellent hooks, especially "Colder World". If this is why Newsted left Metallica, I totally understand. This is definitely a keeper.
I hope they tour!

EchoBrain that is Dylan Dankin doing the vocals and playing the guitar, Brain Sagrafena behind the drums and Jason Newsted on the bass. But I want to take a closer look at the bass player and at one of the additional musicians who appear on this album. Newsted belonged to the four horsemen of Metallica until 2001. It is said that the underlying record caused the separation. But regardless of that fact Kirk Hammett, who is still an active Metallica member, acts as a guest musician for one song.

Now here are two recommendations for first listening. Track 7 is called SuckerPunch and features Kirk Hammett. Focus your attention on the solo in the middle. It would be Hammett all over if you could only sharpen up the meter. You hear effective bendings and crushing licks but it is simply too slow. Next, there is this song named Ghosts, track 6. Watch out for the emotional viola intro and outro. The remaining string parts are quite rhythmic and remind me of Metallica's S&M which was released in 1999, but build up your own opinion upon that.

The time has come to discuss the sound a bit. Therefore I want to concentrate on the various instruments in greater detail. Dankin presents his lyrics in a melodic way and persuades with his pleasant voice. Drums and strings mainly serve as a kind of completing accompaniment. Sagrafena plays unobtrusive drums. The use of string arrangements is well-timed and does not make the songs too soft. The rhythm parts which are taken over by guitar and bass are played precisely and offer clear cut riffs. To round the whole thing off most songs are interspersed with delicate fills and interludes. In the guitar solos occur classic bendings as well as simple pentatonic patterns. To sum it up, you cannot say that it is Metal they play, but you cannot call it Grunge either. It is just EchoBrian, incomparable to everything existing!

My story was the usual "Metallica Fan" wants to see what Jason found so compelling that he would get up and go, give up on a sure thing...and what I found last June when I got got an advanced copy of "ECHOBRAIN" was an intriguing, complex and beautiful album that quickly made it to my top 5 rotation, and has stayed there ever since. I have encouraged many people to take the time to listen, and I likewise encourage all reading these words to take a chance, open your mind, your heart and your ears to something different and refreshing in these days of pre-packaged cookie-cutter bands.
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I listen to a lot of different kinds of music and I've always like Metallica and other metal artists, while also enjoying bands like Radiohead and Soundgarden. I was really surprised to hear such a fresh new sound come from Jason Newsted. It just shows you what a verstatile musicologist he can be. We know he's a metal fan but you can tell he likes to expand his horizons and EchoBrain does just that. EchoBrain accomplishes that by taking the listener in a lot of different directions. I agree that it might not be for every metal head but anyone who also enjoys straight ahead rock can appreciate Jason's new project.
The last song, Cryin Shame, showcases Jason's bass and theremin skills and also Brian Sagrafena's drums along with Dylan Donkin's guitar and versatile vocals. I recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation of metal and other styles of rock music.

In response to a degradin review i read concerning the new echobrain cd i would like to state that fans of music are fans of MUSIC, not just one genre. Openmindness is what creates such an astonishing MUSICian as jason hetfield. i only wish i had the guts to do what he did, leave a high profile band to begin form the very roots of a garage band. Abercrombie and fitch? i dont think so, this is not pop my friends, this is music. Just as people began to think Metallica were selling out a bit, he leaves to give more voice to a project of class A quality. For fans of MUSIC, here is my review of each track.

colder world- great song, very catchy, its the song that originally pulls you into the album, but it only begins there. porbably the fastest song on the cd.

The feeling is over - a song to sing along with with, sit back and groove to. amazing, although anyone agree that without seeing the lyrics it sounds like dylan is singing "feeling sober"??

spoonfed - yes, this track took me a little getting used to. lyrics aren't once to base any sort of feeling on. but overall, if an album is as good as the weakest link, this is certainly it, so it's a very successful cd.

adrift - ya! here we go! wake up a little. maybe a little dave mathew sounding, but man- the guitars are nice. kinda unusal sound to hear form jason, but hey! the two other dudes have a say in the album too! this is their debut to you know.

Keep Me alive- another catchy song to sing to. very impressive, very nice beat. no wonder its thier single. but Abercrombie and fitch? dont think so, they couldnt listen to this if they tried. get real.

Ghosts- have yo ever heard of the band OURS? this sounds just like it would come form them. kinda eerie, kinda nice to relax to.

Suckerpunch - now this is a very nice musically inclined song. the effects and layers are astounding, and yes, kirk has a nice solo- so what will they do when they play it live cause they gotta play this great song live!

Highay 44 - you just know jason wanted something with a lot bass in it and he put this togather, kinda a wierd, funcky sing along also.

i drank you - byt the time you get to this track, the overall feeling of the album has blossomed and you know its a layed back- kinda, not pop, but not country album, just nice guitars and singing. what else is music supposed to be?? (thats what this song is..)

cryin shame - now here, jason picked somethign up form metallica, like in load and reload, they eneded the album with a longer track, just jamming. and thats what this is! its great, they found a nice melodic verse and just played around it a little.

after Cryin shame hidden track- dunno they name, but funky. meant to help the album end on a up beat, funky tone. gotta love jason.

I hope they tour too!

I'm a huge fan of Jason Newsted and i couldn't wait to get my hands on this cd!!! I wasn't dissappointed when I bought this cd either!!! WOW!!! Track 1-7 are simply amazing!!!! What's surprising is that you can play this cd straight through without pressing fast forward. That's rare nowadays! If you don't have this cd then something isn't right with you! Echobrain is on my top 5 greatest cd's list. BUY IT!!!!

I bought this album hoping for some heavy songs and was disappointed at first. While listening to it time after time, the songs are both addicting and mindblowing. There is a good mix of beautiful musicianship and great lyrics. It's been almost 5 months since this album came out and I'm still listening to it more than I did when I first bought it. Great album!!!!!

I tested out this CD on Echobrain.com first, and decided to purchase it that moment - and was pleasantly surprised. Not at all what I expected from a Newsted project, but very interesting in its own right. I was lucky enough to see Echobrain in concert locally, and their true appeal is lost on the CD. Live, the songs truly rock, and actually take up new energy. I still love the CD, but more so because I have the memory of the live show to back it up.