Customer Reviews

Routine

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

 

 

As the final few notes of In the Unknown fade away gracefully into silence, and Hotwires major-label debut The Routine winds down to a close, I am admittedly left in a state of incredible glee.

Okay, before we go any further, lets get one thing straight. I nonchalantly popped in this disc about a week ago, listened to the first four or so tracks, and was far too hasty to write Hotwire off as the next Disturbed rip-off of recycled nu-metal nuances. That being said, I happened to read an interview with the band in this months Metal Edge with vocalist Russ Martin, and the writer seemed to make a point to say how The Routine is an album that needs more than one listen to fully grasp (and such is the case with a lot of todays music.)

Deciding to give it another shot was the best musically-inclined decision Ive made in weeks.

The true beauty of Hotwire is their ability to sound like everyone else, while not sounding like anything youve ever heard at the same time. How they manage to do this is an enigma Im going to fathom after the 40th time I listen to this very special album, but what I can say right now is this: songs such as Not Today and Neuro Girl (my personal favorite) are a cut above what youre going to hear in the hard rock/nu-metal scene today. They sound like Blindside if they collaborated with Staind and if Soulflys Max Cavalera produced it. If that sounds weird, its because it is. This album will do great things for true music fans lack of faith in a scene drowning in record industry-controlled entropy.

The songs range from emotional and heavy to heartfelt and soft. This contrast is epitomized in Invisible compared to In the Unknown, as the rock spectrum is fully examined and put to great use throughout the CDs disappointingly short 38-minute duration. Say What You Want brings to mind a few recent hints of Taproot, while Color Blind goes in and out of a caustic riff into a sinuous chorus.

Hotwire have a gift. They channel their energy and utilize this gift in the most effective way possible, and are going to captivate the mind of any avid music fan who happens to listen to it. However, The Routine ends all too abruptly, clocking in at just less than 40 minutes.

Slight length problem aside, Hotwire have the potential to be something absolutely stellar. This is as solid a major-label debut youll hear, and Im already eagerly awaiting the bands next effort.

The Routine is one of my new favorite Cd's. It has a great flow through-out the record, with each song seemingly setting you up for the next one, makes it hard to not listen to the full album every time you put it in. Not Today was the video single and it's a good impression on how most of the songs are like, so if you've heard it and are balancing on the metaphorical fence on whether or not to get this album, I urge you to procrastinate no longer and get it now.

This is a hard one to review. Other reviewers claim this is rap metal...which it is not. In fact the guy comes close to rapping once and even then its not rap. Normally I don't go for the whole track list thing, but it should help in this case.

Not Today - 4.5/5 The only reason this one doesnt get 5 is because the demo version (unreleased) is way better. Hard track with lotsa crunchin guitars and yelling.

Invisible - 5/5 Best song on the cd by far. The bridge at the end is killer, guitars and vocals just go off, its perfect.

Nice Profile - 4.5/5 hard rock, just not as hard as the rest...pretty catchy though.

Rugburn - 3.5/5 Another rocker, not bad, just not great.

Say What You Want - 4/5 The mandatory slow song, could have been better but oh well. The acoustic riff at the end is very awesome and goes on for well over a minute and a half with no vocals.

Hands On You - 4.5/5 pretty good song, starts off slow and builds into a medium paced rocker, not too heavy.

Magazine - 3/5 The weird song, just over a minute and a half, not horrible and the hard chorus probably saves it.

Tweaked - 4.5/5 Again, the demo version of this song is soo much better, they tried to improve this so much they actually made it worse. Still up there, the chorus just isnt sung the same way.

Neuro Girl - 3.5/5 Kinda slow song, not the best but not bad.

Colorblind - 4.5/5 The Better slow song, just more melodic and makes more sense.

How It Goes - 4/5 Good Rocker

In The Unknown - 4/5 Nice outro to the cd, but yet another slow song.

So, download the demos if you can, they're better, but also don't miss out on this underground gem.

hotwire was a whim pickup after hearing the demo of "not today" which rocked bigtime.the new version sounds awful, very over produced and sleek just like the rest of the cd.the guitars have no substance and russ vocals dont cut like they did on the demos."nice profile" is a fun little track very catchy and poppy while "rugburn" has a depressing riff and mellow verse and "tweaked" is pretty heavy straightforward but the song has been tweaked too much from its original.overall the album is quite boring, i tried to get into it on several occasions, just never happens.try their demos, thats where the good hotwire is at.

This album is tied with Depswa's Two Angels & A Dream for worst major label rock album of 2003. The music on this album is unforgivably generic and formulaic, but it's nice to see a band that isn't content to be just a forgettably mundane example of mainstream rock. They take talentlessness to a whole new level with riffs that must have been intentionally designed to be the least catchy and creative they could possibly come up with. In a genre overflowing with mediocrity, Hotwire stand out as a shining light of complete musical ineptitude.

The one thing these guys have above every other up and coming punk/rock outfit is a raw, unbridaled energy rarley seen by younger bands. This disc rocks. Think RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE (sans rap) meets QUICKSAND with the emoting distortion of NIRVANA's BLEACH. Don't get me wrong, although HOTWIRE's style borrows, there is still a fresh, edgy angst within that seperates them from the masses. THE ROUTINE is a good album from cover to cover with plenty of harmony and tempo changes and nicely sung/screamed hooks. Plenty of hard-assed riffs that rock the house, too, making the CD user friendly to punk enthusiasts as well as those who like violence mixed with catchy pop/rock. It's rare to catch such feeling in an art form that's dying like modern hard rock, but HOTWIRE keep the fire burning with their own ROUTINE. Great new band.

Bought this CD on a whim. Cost me ...used. Simply a blend of modern styles (ie:punk/thrash/grunge,etc). Nothing that hasn't been done a million times over. Better than your Puddle of Mudd/Adema "metal" bands, but not by much. Should fit right in at Ozzfest or on modern rock radio.