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| | Invitation to the Dance | | | Music Artist : | | 40 Below Summer | | Music Style : | | Alternative Metal | | Record Label : | | Warner Bros / Wea | | Release Date : | | 2001-10-16 | | Store Price : | | $13.96 | | Artistopia's Price: $13.96 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. We The People
2. Rope
3. Still Life
4. Whither Away
5. Step Into The Sideshow
6. Falling Down
7. Smile Electric
8. Rejection
9. Power Tool
10. Drown
11. Minus One
12. Jonesin'
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Best from this band
Submitted on: 2008-08-24 |
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| This band reminds me of Nothingface, but not quite as good. This is the only album of theirs I really like. There are about 4 really good songs on this disc, the rest are kind of similar, and don't really stand out. It's worth buying, but I would recommend you listen to the samples and see if you like all the songs, or just want to download a few. |
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Invitation to the Dance
Submitted on: 2007-05-30 |
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This CD is quite an enigma. I wanted to buy it when I heard `Falling down,' a song that starts out hard-hitting and changes into a completely different, beautiful song about half-way through. There are a few good songs that are incredibly creative both in lyrics and in style. On the other hand of the spectrum, there are some terrible songs as well.
The style isn't terribly far from their contemporaries, but they master it nonetheless. The lead singer, Max's vocals are far better than anyone I've heard in a genre even close to this. His style seems more derivative of R&B with beautifully balanced high's and lows. There's a lot of Deftonesesque scream-rapping, but it's done far better than most bands who try to pull it off. Another reviewer used the phrase `rabid-dog' to describe Max's singing on some spots, which I couldn't say better: other similar artists try to do that whole going-crazy thing but it sounds fake. This guy sounds like a nutcase.
There are a few trite songs and a few absolutely terrible ones. `Step into the Sideshow' really has terrible lyrics, reminiscent of nineties white-rappers (maybe that was the point? Some sort of ode?) even though it's catchy. That's why this album is such an enigma: then you turn right around and have `Falling Down' which I've actually included in my top 100 favorite songs of all time.
`Smile Electric' might be a good little rowdy song for any other band, but when you listen to the album straight through with raised expectations after hearing `Rope' and `Falling Down' it falls incredibly short.
You eventually get to Minus One, which not only sounds dull and uninteresting, but has terribly written lyrics about killing some lost love or something. In places, the album has this great sort of freaky psychosexual vibe going, and in other places, where it attempts to be very dark and shocking, it just comes off campy and cringe-inducing. It had a very unbalanced vibe that could have used a more discerning producer.
But then on the other hand, you have a couple gems: `Power Tool' is not only up their with `Falling Down' but I felt, is right up there with that of the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Living Color. The music is jazzy, fluid and sexy. The lyrics are actually brilliant and honest. `Jonesin' concludes the record with excellent style and ease but again, the lyrics are too much like `Minus One' and cover the same subject matter--pure camp.
Over all, the album gets three stars alone for `Falling Down' and `Power Tool.' The very fact that `Minus One' is even on the same record as these, is automatic grounds for a one-point deduction. It's too bad the band split up, because I felt that with a little bit of improvement and maturity, these guys had a lot of potential to blossom into a great band. I thought they were one of the most exciting things in the genre and had the potential to affect not just the GENRE but MUSIC. Oh well.
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 Raw energy, driving rhythms, and original vocal style
Submitted on: 2007-04-13 |
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| 40 Below Summer was one of my favorite bands during my college years. They are just a great band to party to. Lots of upbeat, heavy, and fun to sing along to tunes. The vocals and bass guitar are probably my favorite parts of 40BS. Check out "We the People", "Rope", "Wither", "Power Tool", and "Step Into the Sideshow". I guess you would define them as nu-metal, but without the rap-rock thing going on. |
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Here's your invitation...will you accept?
Submitted on: 2007-01-26 |
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40 Below Summer kind of slipped under the radar for the most part. They didn't get much if any radio time, and I don't recall them ever playing a venue in my home-town but I do remember stumbling on their song `Rope' while cruising Napster and taking a double-take. After getting their debut album `Invitation to the Dance' I was impressed because this little known band had a sound better than a lot of the more well known artists everyone swears by. No this is far from a perfect and polished album, but this band has more promise than a lot of bands making the big bucks today.
The opening track `We the People' is an infectious anthem, the perfect way to open an album...immediately causing the listener to crave the attention of a mosh-pitt. Personally `Rope' remains my favorite track, the entire experience is perfect. Max comes off like a rabid animal towards the ends of `Still Life' and the softer partly acoustic `Wither Away'. It's brilliant. `Step into the Sideshow' has an infectious chorus but the rap influence is annoying. Stick to singing and screaming please.
And scream they do through most of `Falling Down', just about every other word is screamed at ear splitting levels. Actually the best part about this song is the fact that in the end they switch things up completely, softening the riffs and singing soft and slow and then really blowing it out...shows a great side to this band. Max falls back into the rabid dog vocals on `Smile Electric', a song that resorts to the rap influence again but redeems itself in pure intensity. `Rejection' should have, can't help it, been rejected from the final track listing. It's just not that great, kind of boring if that's believable. I just really don't like it.
They redeem themselves though with `Power Tool'...just love this song. `Drown' is actually a beautifully melodic track, one that I listen to regularly. `Minus One' yet again delves into rap, but this is probably their best go at it. It's so heavy and aggressive that the rap sounds well suited. I love the fading they do with the riffs, it adds character. The closing track `Jonesin' is just what you'd expect from a band like this, sick, creepy and somewhat sadistic while being somewhat docile compared to the remainder of the album. It works but not as well as it could have. Thanks to the ending it's deemed a worthy closer.
So in closing this is a great debut, while it's not brilliant. There are a few killer tracks, some are much better than others, but they show promise so they're a band to watch out for...maybe they'll perfect what they started. |
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Good, but lacking.
Submitted on: 2007-01-12 |
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| Quick review of 40 below summer,.. being a listener of many bands from Metallica '83, Pantera '90 etc. to Tool '92, Korn '94 etc. Slipknot '99, Mudvayne '00 etc. This group sounds like they are trying to set themselves up there with the big dogs, right off the bat the songs sound good and heavy, the intros keep you wanting more but if your a deep listener and like complex drumming and original guitar riffs the songs start to fall apart, they sort of go all over the place ("Rejection" is a good example). Im not a drummer i do play a little guitar but it sounds like amateur drumming compared to what im used to listening to and thats the big let down with these guys for me. but if your ready for a loud sound and tearing vocals its a keeper. Id say these guys have one up on primer 55. Most satisfying song "Power Tool". |
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