Wet Animal was originally born in 1995 out of the ashes of guitarist Rick Wartell's former group Trouble. After Wartell enlisted vocalist / guitarist Sean Pasqualla and fellow Trouble bassist Ron Holzner into the fold, they began to get to work. Unfortunately plans would change a few years later, family life called and the members went their separate ways. In 2003 things looked promising for both Wartell and Pasqualla to potentially collaborate again on new material, this time bringing in Jeff Olson on drums and Michael Diprima on bass. The band headed into the studio and began work in earnest on the material featured on this their debut release. It may have taken awhile for Wet Animal to arrive but I have to tell you it's worth the wait because this CD is a great example of how to successfully combine killer riffs and hooks galore with some of the most powerful, soulful vocals I have heard in a long time.
The disc begins with some of Wartell's trademark heavy riffing on opener "Soul Alone" and together with Pasqualla's Alice in Chains style vocal attack it makes for a lethal combination, pretty much setting the tone for the rest of the CD. In fact all I could think of for the next 2 songs, "Lost In My Head" and the absolutely fantastic "Outside A Hole", was just how much Pasqualla's delivery brought back great memories of the late Layne Staley. He has so much power in his throat that it really does bring the songs up a notch in intensity. If you want an example of how to take a song, which features only one note on the verses, and turn it into a riff heavy monster fit for radio play then look no further than this track. It absolutely smokes. The band shows that they're not only about heavy rockin' though as they slow things down for tracks "Left Behind" and "Fade Away" where the accent is more on creating songs with a bit more of a classic rock feel and sound. The latter track features some great melodic soloing by Wartell which starts slowly and builds in tension as it progresses. "Wreathe of The Roses" is another killer cut that starts with one of the tastiest opening riffs committed to tape since Black Sabbath's Sabotage album. If there is one minor complaint I have about the CD, it would lie in the production which at times sounds a bit muddy. Not all tracks are seemingly affected by this, in fact a few actually seem to profit from more of a garage feel, but I got the feeling other songs would have benefited significantly had they had a cleaner mix. Otherwise this is a killer disc from beginning to end, one that's already pushed aside some of the competition for heavy rotation in my disc player.
Track Listing
1) Soul Alone
2) Lost In My Head
3) Outside A Hole
4) Left Behind
5) Landminds
6)Don't Put Me Down
7 Fade Away
8 Nomads Land
9 Wreathe Of The Roses
10) Relentless
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