If you're looking for proof of Waterdown's musical dexterity, consider this: The six-man German band supported its 2001 debut, Never Kill the Boy on the First Date, by playing gigs with both Sick of It All and Jimmy Eat World. With an engagingly complex hybrid of hardcore, metal, punk and even emo, Waterdown come off sounding like a heavier version of Linkin Park – complete with dual vocalists – by way of about a dozen other bands. If that's not a good enough description, tough.
Waterdown actually defy conventional genre slotting, as the band is more melodic than most hardcore groups and less whiny than most punks. But that doesn't mean they don't have balls. Opening The Files You Have On Me with an ear-splitting tone that could freak out dogs, Waterdown launch into "Bulletproof," a track that bottles the band's sound into one song. Other tracks feature little of the band's hardcore elements and actually border on radio-friendly pop rock. Songs about being on welfare ("Transient"), moral corruption ("Dodging Bullets") and death ("At the Waterfront") populate this dark album, but the compelling music doesn't convey the same emotions as the lyrics.
In less than 47 minutes, listeners are treated to a roller-coaster ride that makes The Files You Have On Me one of the most distinct and flexible underground metal records of the year thus far.
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