EVERY MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE - Deeper Shade Of Grey

Posted: 9/23/02

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Grunge

Released: 2/19/02

Label URL: www.perrisrecords.com

Artist URL: www.emnonline.net

1/2

Although I followed practically every hard rock band in the 80s and early 90s, my only exposure to Every Mother's Nightmare was their videos for "Walls Come Down," "Love Can Make You Blind," and "House Of Pain" on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, EMN only contains two original members, vocalist Rick Ruhl and drummer Jim Phipps (who returned to the band after the recording of this album). Although I won't profess to be an authority on EMN, I don't really remember them sounding like Alice In Chains, a style the band is displaying on its latest platter, Deeper Shade Of Grey. Rick Ruhl's vocals have the same tone as Layne Staley, and the moodiness of songs like ""Takes Your Breath Away" draws comparisons to Alice In Chains as well. This is a very strange thing, considering the grunge movement killed these guys and their major label status. While the band pulls off this style amply, they don't deliver songs up to the level of AIC's "Man In A Box," "We Die Young," or "Bleed The Freak." Although "Take Your Breath Away" comes relatively close, the ballad "Hello Darkness" and the mid-tempo "Fly Away" are a bit too bland.

The Bloody Truth: Recommended for fans of grunge, not straight-up 80s hard rock.