New Music Review: Nonpoint – The Return

                It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two years since I reviewed Nonpoint’s self-titled album, but the time has passed and Nonpoint has delivered yet again.  If you enjoyed their self-titled album (and if you didn’t, what’s wrong with you?) then you will find that The Return is more of the same without being derivative.

                The album opens with the fast and vicious “Pins and Needles”, a song that would easily fit in on any other Nonpoint album.  It’s sonically and thematically similar to everything else you’ve heard from the band since 1997, but it doesn’t feel stale at all.  They aren’t really breaking new ground, but they sure as shit are making sure the ground their walking has their boot-print in it.  The band doesn’t really let up throughout most of the album either, it is just an unrelenting crash of music, assaulting the senses and refusing to let up.  Unlike many of their contemporaries, Nonpoint is able to weave a melody and a certain listenability throughout their music that many of today’s metal bands are just unable to do (they are a lot like Sevendust in this respect).  The majority of this has to do with lead vocalist Elias Soriano and his ability to sing, rap and be intelligible while doing so.  You may not think this is a big deal, but in this day and age (adjusts old man overalls) it is hard to find vocalists that can really sing, especially in the metal genre.

                The album is not without flaws, as one song (“Widowmaker”) is whiny fluff that the band has done before, but better (“Past it All” from 2004’s Recoil), while another song (“F**ked”) while the message is accurate (we really do live in a fucked up world) it just feels like a song that is there to give Soriano an excuse to say fuck twenty-five times in a three minute song.  Obviously, I’m not someone that has a problem with any curse words, but I can tell when something is egregious and feels silly. 

                Despite the two missteps outlined above, this is a great album that continues Nonpoint’s return to the heavy music that was a hallmark of their early albums.  Nothing can beat seeing them live though, so if you ever get a chance, go and stand back (the mosh pits can get a little crazy).