237- Dead Risen

237 is a project that consist of Derek Spear (the man who made the recently reviewed album, Shine) and his brother, Dustin Spear. Considering that Derek's solo debut was based around the story of the Shining and looking at the band name here it is obvious that these dudes love the film/book. In late 1994 the band was formed by the brothers and they began covering their favorite metal tracks. Not long after the band started writing their own material. Dead Risen marks the first, and only full-length from the band thus far.

The guitarwork on this record is pretty damn catchy for the most part. Though the album does rely heavily on grooves on occasion things are switched up with a thrashier pace. A good example would be the track "Driven", these moments spice things up a bit and keep the listeners attention from drifting. The instrumental track on the album "Witch Hunt" is quite possibly the best. It features a riff that gets in your ears and lurks around your head for a few days, though this track is extremely simple it just features one of those mindnumbingly memorable riffs that we all know and love. The only thing that may make the playing on this record more interesting would be to incorporate some solos here and there. One thing that is most noticeably different from Shine is the lack of catchy choruses. In a way it can be looked at as a trade off. Shine had some catchy riffs spread throughout but Dead Risen throws out infectious riffs constantly.

Much like Shine, Dead Risen features a drum machine. It is used in a responsible manner and doesn't reduce the quality of the album by much. The machine starts to get a little stale and dull towards the end of the album, aside from that section of dragging it isn't too overwhelming. Even though the bass just follows the guitar for the majority of the playtime it really seems to add a great deal of low end to the overall sound. On the title track it plays a huge role in achieving the heaviness that makes the track so excellent.

Don't expect many surprises when listening to Dead Risen. This is just a solid, straightforward slab of groove metal. If you have heard Shine you should have a fairly decent idea of what to expect out of this. Out of the two this is my favorite but both have their own set of qualities and awesome tracks. Check this out if you are in search of some groovy metal that has the ability to get your head banging.