Customer Reviews

Self-Destructive Pattern (Clean)

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Spineshank are the band that are on the tip of everyone's tongue. It always seems that they are inches away from a massive breakthrough and reaching a level of success that their peers have acheived much quicker. Their debut was a raw, heavy album that fused melody with blistering metal, and the follow-up, 2000's 'The Height Of Callousness' took what was already there and bulked up their sound with the use of electronics. 'Self-Destructive Pattern' is the culmination of those two albums. Both sides of the coin are presented here and Spineshank have turned out not only their heaviest, but their catchiest album to date. Songs like "Violent Mood Swings" and "Dead To Me" will kick you around the room until they finish, well "Smothered" and "Beginning Of The End" have Spineshank showing a softer & catchier, yet unrestrained style. The pinnacle of this album to me is the slow-burning "Stillborn," which is the perfect fusion of metal and electronica. Other standouts include: "Consumed," "Slavery," and "Forgotten." I definitely recommend that if you like any kind of heavy music, you pick this up. Spineshank are experts at what they do. They know how to bob your head without snapping it off and they are just now reaching full maturity.

And even if it could, the cd blows easily away with its memorable tunes, clear melodocism, and the remarkable heaviness.

At some tracks the band definitely got even heavier and angrier sound, while the songs like Smothered, Beginning of the End, and Forgotten (hopefully, one of next singles) can stay forever in your head due to actual melodic singing and extremely catchy choruses. The commercially professional and correct mixture of the "screaming" hard-hittnig songs with more plain heavy rock-like tunes only helps in this case, making the album interesting for much greater number of the heavier music fans.

Lyrics and perfectly played instuments add a lot, and overall the recent release by Spineshank can easily and beautifully decorate rock charts, as well as any modern rock collection.

Undoubtedly strong effort that's worth buying and real enjoying.

When it comes to Nu-Metal bands such as Linkin Park, Disturbed or Papa Roach come to mind. Radio friendly, angry at your dad, rap/metal. While there's nothing wrong with that, the genre doesn't seem to bolster a great deal of creativity. Spineshank I feel is underated, for their lack of rap, and not so radio friendly songs. Lyrically they've improved at some aspects, but stll contain the angst filled shouts "It's like a f*cking disease!" But overall they've managed to make some nice progressionns with each album starting with Strictly Diesal(which sounded somewhat Industrail).

The CD is quite good, and the vocalist does a nice job switching from his shrieks to more melodic singing, something which was sparse in Hieght of Callousness.

1. Violent Moodswings - This song could of come right off of Callousness. It's a rougher piece of work, but I like it for it's rawness.

2. Slavery - This is progression, the lyrics are good, and the song is hard but not so much that it hurts.

3. Smothered - The most radio friendly song on here, it's practically devoid of any shrieking, and is slower, but you fans of old will still enjoy it.

4. Consumed (Obsessive Compulsive) - A decent song, it does do a nice job in switching from his growling to singing voice. After a few listens it gets kinda old.

5. Beginning Of The End - The beggining kinda sounds like New Disease, but the rest of the song is anything but... it's more catchy and less harsh.

6. Forgotten - The slowest song, I think they could of done better, it's sounds like something Linkin Park would sing.

7. Self Destructive Pattern - From here on out it's back to old school, the songs pick up as do the lyrics.

8. Tear Me Down - One of the faster songs on here, lyrically it could be better. It's somewhat forgetful.

9. Stillborn - An awesome song, the into is sick, and the riffing excellent, although lyrics get kinda repetive. However, this is the kind of musicmanship I'd expect more from a more traditional metal band, and I like it.

10. Falls Apart - Anothe swift song, thats like, but better than Tear me Down, it's got more atitude and better composition.

11. Fallback - I love the riffs on this song. This song seems to recapture all the previous songs, keep it strong, but also make it appealing. It acts as an excellent climax to the CD.

12. Dead to Me - This song is just relentless. It could define the Nu-Metal genre. The lyrics are harsh, the added effects don't overpower the actually musicmanship, but rather enhance it, and the crunches in the end are memorable. It's not what I'd call appealing to most people, but I'm glad that Spineshank decided to end it on a less catchy and commercial note.

As far as Nu-Metal goes, Spineshank is one of my favorites. After a few listens some songs get stale, but overall it doesn't contain any horrible songs, and is a milestone in the bands career. They are trying to appeal to a wider audience, but aren't forsaking themselves in the process, while experimenting and developing. The band has excellent promise for the future, and hopefully their following will improve.

Now most of you who like heavy heavy heavy music won't like this as much as HOC, but this CD also has the heaviest stuff they've ever made...however, it also has some of the lightest stuff they've ever made. I like the analogy used on the roadrunner records site. It says that HOC punches you in the face and keeps punching you, while Self-Destructive Pattern will punch you, let you think they're done, and then punch you in the face again. This is exactly how the CD is. With tracks like Violent Mood Swings, Slavery, Consumed, Self-Destructive Pattern, Stillborn, Falls Apart, and Dead to me...there is no drop off on how heavy they are. However, with tracks like Smothered, Beginning of the End, Forgotten, and Fallback...they will gain a lot of new fans.

After a three-year wait since their 2000 album "The Height of Callousness", the four members of Spineshank returned with a better third album entitled "Self-Destructive Pattern". With Jonny Santos' intense vocals, Tommy Decker's heavy percussion, Souren 'Mike' Sarkisyar's guitar and Rob Garcia's heavy bass and backup vocals, Spineshank demonstrates how well the band has come together since its 1996 inception. The twelve songs on the third album are an excellent mix of heavy to melodic vocals that are usually backed by very strong bass, percussion and guitar that never overpower them. My ratings for each of the twelve songs are below:

1. "Violent Mood Swings" (5). Soft percussion that slowly crescendos begins this fast and intense song that features heavy bass and heavy vocals.
2. "Slavery" (5+). Intense percussion, heavy bass and a mixture of heavy and melodic vocals combine in this mostly fast song with a brief slow point.
3. "Smothered" (5+). A fast blend of aggressive instrumentation with edgy melodic vocals broken only by a brief, lightly instrumented respite.
4. "Consumed (Obsessive, Compulsive)" (4). A heavy song characterized by mostly heavy monotonic vocals.
5. "Beginning of the End" (4.5). A fast song that combines lightly instrumented sections with aggressive sections and mostly melodic vocals.
6. "Forgotten" (4.5). A moderately instrumented ballad with melodic vocals, synthesizers and a slower pace.
7. "Self-Destructive Pattern" (4.5). Heavy percussion and a mixture of melodic and heavy vocals are featured in the fast title track.
8. "Tear Me Down" (5). Fast, very edgy percussion & guitar blended with a mix of heavy to melodic vocals that are very well harmonized.
9. "Stillborn" (5+). A soft start is overshadowed by heavy percussion and guitar then gives way for melodic vocals before returning to accompany heavier vocals. This style is repeated several times.
10. "Falls Apart" (5+). A great mix of heavy and melodic choruses with purely melodic verses.
11. "Fallback" (5). Strong guitar and bass are featured alongside very edgy vocals.
12. "Dead To Me" (5+). Heavy vocals and percussion are featured with a strong bass line in this fast song with a brief melodic section.

Overall, I rate Spineshank's album "Self-Destructive Pattern" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it.

when roadrunner released return of the rock cd it had "synthetic" on it (from height of callousness), i thought it was the best song on the cd, so i bought the album thinking they had songs like synthetic.. nope..
i was totally f**king blown away.. basically every song on it was very good or the best ever.. iv'e had the album for 3 years.. & still love it 110%.. after waiting like 2 1/2years they finally got their 3rd cd out & still has the edge it had in thier 2nd album. In my opinion this album is no greater then H.O.C. but has songs that any spineshank fan would love. They have gotten lighter in some of thier songs.. like "beginning of the end", & "fallback. They also got heavier.. like "violent moodswings", self destructive pattern & stillborn. I came to find that i like Spineshank's heavy side better then thier melodic side. Although Spineshank is both heavy & melodic mixed in, they do have songs where its just melodic. Songs like "Synthetic", "New Disease", "Full Circle", "Smothered" & "Forgotten" are melodic songs that i like. "Fallback" is a little too upbeat, which i hope Spineshank never ends up doing.

01. Violent Moodswings 10/10: What a great way to start off the album
02. Slavery 9/10: Good death/hardcore metal song.. lyrics in this are kinda weak though
03. Smothered 10/10: Does this remind u of "Synthetic"?? another great song that deserves a metal.
04. Consumed 10/10: One of my fav spineshank songs, i never tire of this song
05. Beginning Of the End 6/10: I love the music in the verses, really dark.. at first i dint like this song but i gave it a few listens and its not a bad song
06. Forgotten 9/10: This is another great song that i really like. It isnt heavy but this is a side of Spineshank i like
07. Self-Destructive Pattern 7/10: I like the music in this song, really heavy.. not really fond of the chorus in it though.
08. Tear Me Down 6.5/10: Not a bad song but its average to me

09. Stillborn 10/10: This song is sooo good, i love it, the lyrics, the music.. everything.. stillborn..
10. Falls Apart 10/10: Another freaking great song by Spineshank.. really eratic moodswings in it.
11. Fallback 4/10: I didnt really care much about this song, it was too upbeat for me.. it's pretty decent though, but not a good direction for Spineshank
12. Dead To Me 10/10: Height Of Callousness!!! Height Of Callousness takes over!!... This song reminds me alot from thier H.O.C. album which is very good, its a good way to end the album & they go nuts at the end.

Overall i think this album is a must buy its relativly close to Spineshank roots, they havnt changed thier style too much.. they have gotten better with each release. Hopefully they will keep that up.

Just as their 2nd CD, Height of Callousness showed tremendous growth over Strictly Diesel, SELF DESTRUCTIVE PATTERN, shows that Spineshank continues to take heavy, hard edged metal to new heights. From the opening raw sounds of "Violent Mood Swings" to the (some people say) mellow sound of "Smothered", the drive, edge and energy smack you in the face. The lyrics of "Consumed" and "Dead to Me" indicate a maturing in the writing of Mike and Tom. The quality of musicianship has improved since the days of Strictly Diesel. Not to say they were bad, they have simply become more proficient in their abilities. I particulary think that the drumming of Tom Decker is moving him up the list in today's rock drummers. If you think you are in any way knowledgeable about tody's music, you better have this CD!

Spineshank is one of those bands that is awfully cliche as a metal band. Writing songs that mostly appeal to teenagers who are angry about the facts of life. This being said, Spineshank pulls it off in amazing fashion. While the lyrics may not be the deepest, they fit and unlike a lot of the new "we're political because it's cool to rebel" they speak a lot of truth about life and how things work.

The first song I heard off Self-Destructive Pattern was Smothered, from the MTV2 Headbangers Ball double CD. It didn't sound like Spineshank to me, but I still found the song to be really good. They stay true to what they are but still manage to have a more broad radio appeal with Smothered. The rest of the CD is magnificent, it really takes you through an array of sonic emotions, which really isn't common with heavy music. The best way to describe this album is exactly how Roadrunner said it: it punches you in the face, makes you think it's done, and then pummels you in the ground.

I'm really not sure if I recommend this over the other albums they have offered. They show a little more melody in this offering, but I can't say it is better than their other albums. I definitely recommend the album to anyone unsure if they want it..and to anyone who likes metal but doesn't want to bother with the rap infusion, Spineshank is for you.

I thought this CD was awesome. Spineshank has done it again, more melodic but still maintaning the rage of their previous albums. Track reviews:

Violent Mood Swings: (A-) A hard hitting song packed with fury, great way to start off the album. Jonny says f--k something like 25 times.

Slavery: (B) This song is overall good, but at times it doesnt seem to flow right.

Smothered: (A-) A very good, less heavy song here. Good lyrics, good all around song.

CoNsUmEd (Obsessive Compulsive): (A-) I really love this song. It has a good formula, going from soft singing to screaming in a split second, and about the last 30 seconds of this song it really picks up and ends the song great.

Beginning Of The End: (B+) Another less heavy song, featured on the Freddy VS Jason soundtrackl. (Sh*tty movie, good soundtrack)
Very catchy.

Forgotten: (B) I like the way the song flows but at times the singing just sounds a little bit off.

Self Destructive Pattern: (B-) A decent song, but the only one on the album I usually skip. It has a good chorus, but the prechorus just doesnt seem to flow with the rest of the song.

Tear Me Down: (B+) Picking the CD's heaviness back up again with this song, very good, catchy.

Stillborn: (A) This might be the best song on the album. The verses are singing with a little going on the background, and then the prechorus and chorus go right into the screaming that sounds insane.

Falls Apart: (B) I dont know, good flow but the chorus just seems kind of awkward.

Fallback: (A-) This is a really good song, its catchy and has good lyrics.

Dead To Me: (A) Now this is another one of the songs where Jonny says f--k alot. This song it was only about 13 times. But anyway, this was a great way to close the album. Full of rage mostly just screaming, couldntve ended it better.

Some of the songs got lower ratings than others, but there isn't a single "weak" track on the whole album. So, in conclusion, I give this CD 5 stars. Whether you like Spineshanks previous albums or not, you cant miss with this record. If you havent heard Spineshank give them a try, you wont regret it.

I recently read a really bad and unfair review on a certain website that would probably rather go unnamed, regardless of how much I love em I just highly disagree with the review written on this incredible album, and I think the guy just listened to the album through once and quickly dismissed it as Nu Metal which it is NOT by all means. Spineshank are still as heavy as ever, but they are getting more in touch with their melodic side, and true, some songs are more radio-friendly but boo-f*cking-hoo, just skip the song! Here's a little track by track review...

1. Violent Mood Swings (10/10) Great Way to start the album, very heavy, traditional Spineshank stuff with a very catchy chorus, which you will find it practically all the songs throughout and it IS a good thing, mind you.

2. Slavery (9/10) Another great, heavy, perfect mosh pit song, with good lyrics but they kinda seem a little too simple. There's actually some blast-beat type drumming going on in this one.

3. Smothered (10/10) First single, great catchy chorus, majority of the song is singing except for Jon screaming "SMOTHERED!!" at the end. Great stuff. Be sure to check out the video too!

4. Consumed (Obsessive-Compulsive) (10/10) One of my favorite songs on this album, just listen and you'll see why. Very reminiscent of older Spineshank (H.O.C.) not to mention another song that features some pretty sweet blast-beat-ish drumming in the middle.

5. Beginning of The End (8/10) I first heard this one on the Freddy VS. Jason soundtrack and wasn't too crazy about it, yet another pretty much all-singing song as awesome as Jon's voice is...and of course a very catchy chorus to top it off. They could have put a better song on that soundtrack, as this isn't a very fair representation of the band. Could be the next single. Not one of my favorites.

6. Forgotten (8/10) Another experimental, radio-friendly tune that could be the next single, who knows? This song may turn some heads of the old-school fans but of course it's good nonetheless. More on the melodic side. Great, but still not one of my favorites.

7. Self-Destructive Pattern (10+/10) This song, to me defines the whole album. It's just such a great, fast, heavy song, with a sweet catchy melodic chorus that you just cannot top. If I had to pick a favorite song off this album, it would most definitely be this one.

8. Tear Me Down (8/10) I don't really listen to this song that much, but it's still good. I dunno just check it out.

9. Stillborn (10/10) Another awesome defining moment of the album. Another track somewhat similar to H.O.C. and once again, a really sweet catchy chorus. This whole song is basically Jon doing his thing with that throat-mutilating scream of his. One of the heavier tracks, not to mention the great drumwork.

10. Falls Apart (9/10) Another song I don't listen to a whole lot but great nonetheless. Can't really say it's a filler....but I just often skip this one.

11. Fallback (10/10) Another song more on the experimental side, with some great guitar playing. Another melodic and catchy chorus haha but I personally couldn't get sick of that.

12. Dead To Me (10/10) Another really heavy song, great way to close the album, really intense and all around bad-a$$.

Do yourself a favor and just check this album out. If you're a hardcore Spineshank fan you should just love this cd to death. I know I do. Sure there are songs I usually skip, but this is definitely an album that delivers and will never fail to satisfy any fan of heavy music. If you're new to Spineshank I would highly recommend this or Height Of Callousness. But you may want to buy H.O.C. first...I don't know it varies I suppose. Nonetheless, this is definitely a cd you should check out before you dismiss these guys as just another Nu-Metal band.