Echobrain by Echobrain

Echobrain

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Echobrain

Features

Audio CD (March 5, 2002)

Number of Discs: 1

Label: Chophouse/Surfdog

Amazon.com
Who knew that an alt-rock heart beat in Jason Newsted's sinewy body during his 14-year tenure with Metallica? Newsted left the band in 2001, sick of the band's no side-project clause. Newsted had begun working with two teenagers--drummer Brian Sagrafena and guitarist-vocalist Dylan Donkin--in 1995, and completed this album seven full months before leaving Metallica. Given the bassist's state of mind, it's no surprise that Echobrain's debut contains none of the thrash-happy music that put his former band on the map. What with the rather sparse arrangements, retro obsessions, and rhythmic playing, they are the clear descendants of '90s stoner rockers Masters of Reality and Queens of the Stone Age. Echobrain play the same kind of mind-bending jams and ultra-heavy riffs grafted onto shimmering pop, with Donkin's beguiling vocals hovering somewhere between Soundgarden's Chris Cornell and Grand Funk's Mark Farner. The unsophisticated lyrics are marred by sophomoric imagery and forced rhymes, but now and then they'll zing one across the plate, like the witty skewering of a rock-god's ego in "Colder World," which you can't help thinking is a rather unsubtle dig at one of Newsted's former band mates ("Sometimes the crowd goes into a coma / You're so great / I know you could never see it / You're too busy being it"). Kirk Hammett guests on the majestically doom-ridden "Suckerpunch," elevating the track with his innovative and distinctive playing. Echobrain is a work in progress, but one you can't help but hope will hone their style. --Jaan Uhelszki

Reader Reviews
I would have to say this is one of the worst purchases i have ever made. I purchased this cd for 1.96 and wish I would have kept my money. I read reviews on the musicians and was under the impression that there would maybe be a hint jazz or funk flavor based on their influences. Some of the reviews from above were like "This tune is very funky and swell...." Funky...there is nothing funk but maybe the space between tracks. As the days went by waiting for this cd to show up, the more my excitement grew. When it arrived i threw it in............BAM! It was like I hit a brick wall. The first tune reminded me of some weak excuse for new rock. At first i thought to myself "is this the freakin' Goo Goo Dolls..." But I didn't stop there. I figured I would give it a chance. I should have stopped while I was ahead. I honestly could only make it through 6 songs. Nothing really struck me as "Wow this band really has something fresh and new going on...." There is nothing fresh on this cd. My grandmothers 2 month old wonder bread was more fresh then what i heard. It sounds like everything else you hear on your local one hit wonder rock station. I guess I could on and on about how bad this cd is, but I would just be beating a dead horse. You may ask what are my plans with this half listened to cd are........i plan on bringing it to a place that buys used cds and getting my money back. If they do not want to buy it, I will give it to them and take the loss.

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