Draven - Eden [Album]

CNR Records

August 5, 2009, 11:49 PM

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Draven is a new Hard Rock British band fronted by a pair of identical twins, Jim and Frank Paoli. I gave a listen to their debut release, 'Eden.' I will confess, after one listen to the album I was ready to give this one a mediocre rating. The first pass yielded two songs that I thought were OK and the rest seemed somewhat thin. As I went though it a second time, looking for descriptors and comparisons, I started to get it more. This is getting a better review from me and I have a feeling I need to listen to it again to see if it grows on me more.

I can hear an awful lot of Def Leppard in their sound and a bit of Metallica. Now, these are two bands I never liked very much, so it's not surprising Draven didn't grab me right off. In addition, I felt the lyrics often become a little sophomoric, but then a lot of lyrics are. It's a fine line between cool, pensive darkness and simple teen angst. Not every song is a winner, but they have an ear-friendly hard rock sound that will appeal to a lot of people. Give a listen to "Don't Cut Yourself' or "Itchy Finger" to hear what they sound like at their accessible best. Hard driving guitar, tight percussion, and fat poppy harmonies. It's pretty good.

My favorite track on 'Eden' is probably "Stranger," an 8-minute rock epic with several passages. The vocal melody is appealing without sounding too mainstream. The guitar work changes with each transition, moving from quiet and brooding to nasty and growling to towering and wailing. The bass and percussion work together to drive the song through its paces. It's an accomplished piece.

'Eden' is a strong debut and shows a lot of promise, though their future is going to be in heavy Pop, not the Metal to which they occasionally aspire. "Blitz," for example, is a decent rocker, but the corny lyrics and ham-fisted audio samples of war and war-related news clips are just distracting. Contrast this with "Breathe," which sounds like a late Aerosmith ballad that made them a squillion dollars and has the crossover appeal to draw girlfriends to the shows.

If you like accessible hard rock / pop, check out 'Eden.' Draven is a talented ensemble and the music they write has an honesty that is appealing even when they fall short of inspired. More importantly, keep your eye out for these guys. Their future looks bright.

Tracks:

1. Blitz
2. Itchy Finger
3. Eden
4. Don't Cut Yourself
5. I Don't Care
6. Fight
7. Home
8. You Won't Take Me Down Again
9. Breathe
10. Stranger
11. Eden Reprise

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