Subject To Change
While Switched fit neatly in with the nu-metal milieu, they are a bit left of center, and put a unique stamp on the 11 discrete and heady songs on their major-label debut. Much of the credit goes to Ben Schigel's dramatic vocals, which range easily and well from melodious to irate. While some songs are intense yet melodic rock like a more soaringNickelback("Inside"), other aural offerings are more metallic, like the furious "Exterminate," which nearly doesSlayerproud. Then there are moments that recallLinkin Parkand conjure up dark rock roots, while the intense layers of sound and powerful musicianship on songs like "Darkening Days" and "10 Dead Fingers" add almost a modern-cool progressive musical tinge, also evidenced on theSystem of a Down-meets-King's X"Anymore." WithSubject to Change, this Ohio-bred five-piece proves that Cleveland does indeed rock, and hard, too.--Katherine Turman