Clean is what comes to mind when listening to Smite. It is not indicative of the band name though so you go into the music expecting one thing and getting something completely different. When you hear the name Metallica or Megadeth you are expecting something mean, aggressive, harsh and you get it (or at least you used to). Smite is expected to be taking it to you as the name implies. It falls apart though trying to give a whole lot of harsh lyrics which come across as more of a pillow fight then “Hey! Screw you man!” and it is somewhat of a disappointment. They repeat the trend through the majority of the tracks with some shining moments here and there.
Musically the band is fascinating. As I said previously about the lyrical content the same applies musically. I’m expecting gut crushing guitar licks. Head pounding drum work and deep bass to bring it all home. Instead what I got was a weird flamenco sounding vibe. It’s like the stuff you just start to learn when beginning to play music. It does not make sense a lot of the time with the song structure. Again – they are trying to be badass and it is more like that nerdy kid in high school that wants to be gangsta so he wears his pants down low and acts tough but your granny could whip him easily.
Does Smite suck? No. Not even in the least. They have some quality tunes with an interesting musical flare that somehow works fro them more times than it doesn’t. I suppose I could say it reminds me of Warrant’s “Dog Eat Dog” album where the songs, though good, were very unique – sort of odd but it all worked. Smite is along those lines. It’s different, fresh and unique enough to keep me interested in hearing what is coming next then wham – a pseudo REM sort of sound, some Punk, some EMO and it meshes well into a lump of clay that they mold into something worth listening to.
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More Information
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http://cdbaby.com/cd/smite
http://www.devioussemantics.com
http://www.myspace.com/smitemusic
