The members of These 5 Down wear their musical influences pretty plainly on their sleeves. They cop Primus riffs ("Revelation War"), 311-style grooves ("Enslaved"), and Marilyn Manson-esque vocalizations ("What's Your Kind").
But for copycats, they're pretty good. There are moments on the self-titled debut that are euphoria-inducing. The opening track, "Low," is eminently danceable, in a jump-around, bang-your-head sort of way. "Hymn" layers darkly beautiful, chimy, wet guitar sounds over grindy power-chords and chunky bass guitar before exploding into the formula screaming-and-cymbals.
Less successful are songs like "I Am the Media," full of trite scare-tactic lyrics, some of which are sung backwards (to ridiculous effect), and "Hit the Wall," which showcases solid rhythm-section work but lacks anything resembling a hook.
The album's curse and blessing is the slick production by Dez Dickerson. The clean, crisp sound makes the songs more accessible to radio, but strips away some of the hardcore credibility the band seems to want. The album cries out for a raw, live, undoctored jam - but it never comes.
All told, These 5 Down is a solid debut. It makes up what it lacks in originality with good musicianship and swagger. It's worth a listen, but it's not the most memorable album of the year.