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Obsessive Compulsive - A demon for every occasion

Reviewed by Rall on 30th August 2004

Obsessive Compulsive don't seem to be the kind of band that want to be put into any of my nice little labelled boxes. I quite like the way I've got them all in order, but now I think I'll have to add another box. Perhaps named "Never Judge A Book By Its Cover" (an old one I know, but when the cap fits...)

I admit that on opening A demon for every occasion I didn't think I was going to like it. It's a footwear issue. I was expecting lots of loud random noises and shouting and screaming and... stuff. But you know what I heard instead? Real tunes! And not bad ones at that.

Taking in their relatively wide (although admittedly 99% RAAAWK) influences, they generally stick to the quiet LOUD recipe and have strong melodies. Some tracks such as the opener Better Than This and closer Eliminate Personal Comments would probably have greater impact if they were a little rougher round the edges, that said, the cleaner sound definitely fits comfortably around the vocals.

While at first the lyrics from the CD seem very dark, they also have an underlying positivity, in contrast to what is expected of most 'heavy rock' bands these days. This isn't to say they're anything like Evanescence. They're not. Because Evanescence are SHIT.

I've refrained from doing a track-by-track review of the CD, because frankly, I don't think I'd do it the justice the band want or it would deserve. I'll keep it to a short Better Than This is the weakest track and the rest are... pretty good. The one shame is that there isn't one track in its own that stands out, they're certainly good, and almost anthemic in places, but none really slap you round the face and tell you to pay attention.

Obsessive Compulsive seem to have (and will probably continue to grow) a dedicated following, their music certainly lends itself to dedicated fans. They seem like intelligent and yes, angry, young people, who may look a bit scary, but in the end that's just not what it all boils down to is it.

Rating: 7/10
Website: www.obsessivecompulsiveband.com

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