Shiny Toy Guns – “Season of Poison” (2008)

Genre: Industrial Pop

Sounds Like: Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Mindless Self Indulgence, BT

Listen To: 1 – When Did This Storm Begin – A dance-pop song that trades shouts between Sisely Treasure’s angst-rap and Chad Petree’s emo-croons//4 – Ghost Town - A dance-rock tune best suited for the mainstream pop-crowd but is pretty fun to listen to//6 – Ricochet! – Their first single that exudes a strong influence of Nine Inch Nails or Marilyn Manson

I have never listened to an album that tries this hard to touch upon as many genres as possible. The album begins by combining angst-rap with emo croons in “When Did This Storm Begin.” Skip to the middle of the record and you’ll hear “Season of Love,” a electronic love song sung almost entirely in falsetto… and far inferior to BT’s –“ Simply Being Loved.” Skip once more to the end you hear “Frozen Oceans,” a rock ballad that changes style from an almost operatic performance into a slow melodic drive.

I find it difficult to review this record in that I can’t critique any one aspect because nothing remains constant throughout this album. Both singers use every part of their vocal registers in every volume. The there is no lead guitar which doesn’t seem to be a problem due to the sheer variety of singing styles in the background. Many tracks are largely drum driven even though drummer rarely deviates from minimalistic drum-snare beats.

Shiny Toy Guns shot for the moon but didn’t have enough thrust to escape Earth’s gravity and because of that, I can only call it average.

Grade: C Reviewer: Andrew Huang