Shovelhead wish they were more metal. Unfortunately, it takes more than vocal reverb effects to get there. Even out of context, the quartet would fit well on a classic rock station's classic rock roster, with their often Byzantine guitar-hero antics and larger than life face-melting bridges: it seems what scraps of lyric there are serve only as a prelude to the jam-heavy and endless B-sections.

Why isn't it metal? The leather they wear is by Harley-Davidson, not a satanic dungeon, they aren't very scary (any attempt at heavy bombast is no more than that), they've got too much sweaty Southern flavor, their beards are closer to ZZ Top than anything else, and they're overall just too fun to get sucked into ponderous riffs or chugging ragers for very long.

The ultimate test of their genre allegiance lies in the albums unexpected closer, a sweetly done rock ballad cover of "Amazing Grace" that manages both pyrotechnic and soothing pleasures. It makes one wonder whether they wouldn't do a lot better with crowds who aren't waiting for Anthrax to take the stage.