The name "Godhead" threw me. I admit I'm not familiar with this veteran Washington, D.C., band that's placed songs on the soundtracks of a few cult movies. So I was expecting some doom-metal outfit with zombie-like vocals or a bizarre black/gothic-metal hybrid. Instead, when I popped in The Shadow Line – the first release on the new Cement Shoes Records label and Godhead's fifth U.S. release overall – I heard 49 minutes of crisp, aggressive and melodic industrial modern metal that packs plenty of commercial wallop. For the best comparisons, look no further than bands with which Godhead has shared the stage: Saliva, Static-X, Mudvayne and especially Disturbed. Of course, the fact that The Shadow Line bursts with mainstream appeal means that Godhead sounds like plenty of other bands you'll hear on any active-rock radio station in the universe. But a handful of songs (the exceptional title track and first single, the synth-propelled "Push" and the stop-and-go spontaneity of "Once Before") are bound to keep Godhead among the freshest and most-intriguing bands on the current scene, while "Your End of Days" fulfills the doom requirement demanded by the band's name. Lead vocalist and guitarist Jason Miller is a real find, his clear and steady voice a welcome presence in a genre overburdened with guys who think that just because they can write decent lyrics they also have the right to sing them. "Inside Your World," a complex track that opens with a simple acoustic guitar and eventually evolves into a textured, soaring love song unlike anything else on The Shadow Line, boldly closes the record and signals that Godhead is only beginning to reach its potential.
Track Listing:
1) Trapped In Your Lies
2) Hey You
3) The Gift
4) Fall Down
5) Push
6) Another Day
7) Once Before
8) Unrequited
9) Through the Cracks
10) Goodbye
11) Your End of Days
12) Inside Your World
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