:: Theory Of A Deadman - Scars & Souvenirs

Theory Of A Deadman

Has there been a more frustrating band to surface over the last few years then Canada’s own Theory Of A Deadman? Their first two albums (‘Theory Of A Deadman’ and ‘Gasoline’) showed that this is a band with exceptional talent, but that talent was tainted by the fact that for every good song on the album there would be two very cheesy tracks to follow. Some unkind scribes even labeled them the ‘new Bon Jovi’. Well I’m pleased to say that a very new Theory Of A Deadman is to be found on their new album ‘Scars & Souvenirs’; they have matured and songwriter Tyler Connolly should take a bow for producing such a great album.

‘So Happy’ is what Theory Of A Deadman is all about; it is aggressive hard rock that resembles Nickelback with attitude. In fact it’s not strange that they sound like Nickelback as Chad Kroeger was the man responsible for Roadrunner signing Theory Of A Deadman and he has mentored the band throughout their career. New hard-rock saviour, Chris Daughtry, helps out on ‘By The Way’; a hard rock love ballad that works well and is the first sign that Theory Of A Deadman have matured. On previous tracks any Theory Of A Deadman love ballad would be so cheesy you would want to vomit, but ‘By The Way’ is a pleasure to listen to. That new found maturity continues with ‘Got It Made’ which sees the band mess with an electronic sound that may annoy a few hard-rock purists. ‘Not Meant To Be’ is a song with meaning but is slightly tainted by some cliché lyrics, but all that is forgotten with ‘Crutch’. The band steps up a gear, gets heavier and delivers a song with pure hatred. Theory Of A Deadman again try something new with ‘All Or Nothing’; a song that actually contains a hint of piano and will have fans reaching for their new Love Song Mix Tape. The new sound continues with another ballad ‘Heaven (Little By Little)’ which actually sees the use of strings. The sins of the past return with ‘Bad Girlfriend’; a song so cheesy that most people will want to skip it, but unfortunately the record label liked it because it was released as a single. The cheesiness continues with the country-sounding ‘Hate My Life’. But luckily that’s where the cheesiness ends as ‘Little Smirk’ is one of the best songs about cheating to surface for quite a while. The band then channel Buffalo Tom with ‘End Of The Summer’ and then launch into the very beautiful ‘Wait For Me’ and ‘Sacrifice’; two songs that show what some of us have known all along, Theory Of A Deadman do have the talent to make it big.

‘Scars & Souvenirs’ is the album that will make or break Theory Of A Deadman. Luckily for them they have found a new maturity and blown away the cheesiness that has held them back in the past. This is one of the better hard rock albums to have surfaced this year.