MAXIMUM METAL

R E V I E W S

Adrenaline Mob
Omerta

Company: Century Media
Release: 2012
Genre: Hard Rock, Groove
Reviewer: EC

A bastard child really

These US brick heads are a bit of a bastard child really. Adrenaline Mob is singer Russell Allen (Symphony X, Atomic Soul, Allen/Lande), drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater) and guitarist Mike Orlando (maybe BLS?). The band began plowing in 2011 with Fozzy members Rich Ward on guitar and Paul DiLeo on bass. Since then out with Ward (scheduling conflicts) and DiLeo (replaced by Disturbed driller John Moyer. To show the difference between the US and Europe markets...the debut album hits domestic shores via unknown label Elm City Music; Europe gets wide distro through powerhouse Century Media.

"Omertà" is the debut from the band and the fully stocked recording that cultivated on the band's EP last year (featured a stout cover of Sab's "Mob Rules"). Fans of modern down tuned heaviness will find plenty to like and absorb on the band's stomping grooves "Hit The Wall" and "Undaunted", the latter circling for days in my brain upon first consumption. Russell Allen is really out of the box here, self described "bouncing to these grooves" with a present day culture of Disturbed/BLS as the main influence here. The riffs on these cuts are really groove oriented and remind me of what Drowning Pool was doing years ago but with Allen's powerful authority behind the mic. Check out "Psychosane" with its pinch harmonics galore or the Throwdown styled "Feelin' Me".

Adrenaline Mob might sound as if they are too modern but the band effectively mingles hard rock into the intense riffing. The band really nails the melodic power ballad "Angel Sky" and Allen shows off a more emotional sound on "Indifferent". My favorite cut is the cover of Duran Duran's "Come Undone" featuring a guest appearance of Halestorm's Lizzy Hale.

Maximum Metal Rating Legend - Full Details

5	Excellent - Buy it and say a prayer to the metal gods that you were tuned on to this masterpiece. A classic.
4-4.5	Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a clunker or a lacking somewhere to keep it from perfection. You won't feel bad about dropping some bones on these.
3.5	Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler. This is the OK range where you'd search for the record on sale or used.
3	Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio. Could show skills but be dull overall. Redeeming qualities for indy bands are effort and passion. Majors that don't try or suck outright end up here.
2-2.5	Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors. There is much better metal out there.
1-1.5	Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0	Terrible or an otherwise waste of your life and time.
Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun. The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself. Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

All reviews for this band:

CD	TITLE	BAND	DOR	REVIEWER	DATE
	Omerta	Adrenaline Mob	2012	EC	10/20/2012

Interviews found from this band:

INTERVIEW

BAND

INTERVIEWER

DATE

You may also like:

<< back >>

REVIEW FEATURES

Review Status
Find out here what CDs our staff is currently listening to or where your CD may have ended up-- Where is my CD?

Review Walls
See what over 1000+ reviews look like graphically! Note the cover version will need to load lots of small images and is a bit bandwidth intensive.

Text Links . Album Covers

SITE STATS

Reviews
Total Reviews: 2008
Total Different Bands: 1408
Total Styles: 15
Style List
Reviewer Breakdown

Companies
Total Companies: 438

Top Company Reviews:
Nuclear Blast - 145
Century Media - 103
Candlelight Records - 91
SPV/Steamhammer - 87
AFM Records - 47
Metal Blade - 43
Sanctuary Records - 42
Earache Records - 39
Southern Lord - 30
Crash Music - 30
Frontiers Records - 28
Regain Records - 27

Full Company Breakdown

Company Links

Styles
Total Styles: 15

Breakdown:
Power - 423
Hard Rock - 294
Death - 277
Black - 175
Traditional - 166
Heavy/Extreme - 166
Thrash - 159
Progressive - 98
Doom/Stoner - 97
Gothic/Symphonic - 60
Metalcore/Hardcore - 35
NWOAHM - 26
Nu/Rapcore - 16
Industrial - 16