Generally, I wouldn’t view Facedown Records as a label that plays catch-up in trending its roster, but the label’s signing of REMOVE THE VEIL smells far too much like a move to acquire a Christian southern metal band for the token sake of having one. “Let’s go out and sign the next MAYLENE AND THE SONS OF DISASTER, if you know what I mean. If REMOVE THE VEIL weren’t entirely mediocre, that observation might be for naught, but I’m reluctant to find much positive about this release. Musically, Another Way Home is plodding and stuck in neutral. Not quite heavy enough to make the band’s riffs stick (even the new THROWDOWN, a band from Orange County, California has more ‘southern’ in their sound than these fellas from Birmingham, Alabama), and not nearly melodic enough to give the listener something to chew on (THE SHOWDOWN put these guys out on the curb). Another Way Home is barely passable when the band forgoes the heavy rock altogether for something that’s a more grizzled version of country. Maybe there’s a better musical future in-store for these guys – this is after all their debut full-length; but for now, REMOVE THE VEIL are a band that slipped into the skin of a southern metal band, but forgot to leave any fingerprints.

Facedown

www.facedownrecords.com