(604 Records)
Theory of a Deadman may not be everyone’s cup of tea (or shot of Jägermeister for that matter) but you can’t deny the Vancouver band’s record of North American success over their past four recordings. Yes, music critics chew them up and those, supposedly in the know, discard TOAD as dated Nickleback clones. Yet the majority of rock fans continue to vote with their wallets and make TOAD one of Canada’s top musical exports – and taken at face value, there is nothing negative about Theory of a Deadman or their fifth release `Savages’. Tyler Connolly and Co pump out radio friendly pop/rock tracks like “Drown”, “Heavy” and the title track which features guest vocals from Alice Cooper and, yes, you can call it formatted if you will. Yet Connolly’s accessible lyrics set against Dave Brenner’s powerful but melodic guitar instruments is the stuff American radio eats for breakfast, and it’s not all just formula mid-tempo rockers. TOAD exhibit their creativity with sentimental ballads like “The One” and the record features a tongue-in-cheek country track titled “Livin’ My Life Like A Country Song” with guest vocals from Don Rooney of the Rascal Flats band. The reality is that most Canadian bands can’t get arrested south of Buffalo yet Theory of a Dead Man, like their stablemates, Nickleback, continue to fight adversity on the home front while carving out a solid career for themselves stateside. Somehow you get the feeling that they are having the last laugh.
Download: `Savages’, `Heavy’, `Livin’ My Life Like A Country Song’.
