The band Tenpoint -- who sent me their EP entitled Northern Rock -is a funny band.

Not funny in the sense of ‘funny like a clown’ as Joe Pesci says in the quote from Goodfellas, but more in the sense that the current band the members make up is nothing like the bands they used to be in.

The drastic departure from their previous sound(s) reminds me a lot of what a few of the members of metalcore band Eighteen Visions did -- they formed Burn Halo because they wanted to make a straight-up rock album. If you haven’t heard it, check it out -- it’s got a few pretty decent tracks on it, especially the song ‘Dirty Little Girl.’ It’s a song that may very well remind you of a Motley Crue track.

Mike DiMeo, Tenpoint’s lead singer, used to be the frontman for the band Riot. Their sound was influenced heavily by the 80′s ‘epic metal’ type bands.

Doug Bohn, the drummer, used to do the same in the band Suffocation. If you have seen a picture of pretty much any new metal/metalcore/deathcore, etc. band, someone is wearing a Suffocation shirt -- that’s how influential those guys were/are in the scene. For those of you that don’t know anything about them, blistering death metal would be three good words to start with.

Steve Seigerman used to be the guitarist in Welt, which was a little softer than Suffocation -- a little more of a metalcore vibe rather than straight up death metal -- but still pretty heavy stuff.

Chris Kozikowski, the bassist (and the one who contacted me about this review), was the bassist for Destroyed By Anger. Their name should give away what they sound like. They cite Hatebreed as one of their influences, and it definitely shines through.

So that brings us to the big question…what exactly does Tenpoint sound like?

The answer: They sound like a mixture between Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Also known as pretty sweet. Mike’s voice is so Chris Cornell-like it’s uncanny. From the first thirty seconds of ‘Killing Me’ (embedded below), the first track on the Northern Rock, you can hear Mike channel his inner Cornell; and it shines through even more on the chorus. The track is a great way to start the EP as well.

The second track, ‘Untied’, also showcases Mike’s vocal ability. As would be expected with any band whose members have been in the music scene for over a decade, the other members of the band are all very instrumentally proficient -- Mike is not the exception to the rule here.

The bottom line here is that if you are a fan of rock music -- especially bands like Audioslave, Alice in Chains, and/or Soundgarden -- check out Tenpoint. The press kit I got in the mail said that “this is just the beginning!”

With a sound like this, it’s hard to disagree.

For more information on Tenpoint, head over to the Tenpoint MySpace page.

Tenpoint -- Killing Me

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

02052010

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!