Dry Cell
Disconnected

THE REVIEW

A winning team doesn't change. That's likely what they thought at Warner when they decided to call Jeff Blue to produce this CD. Riding the wave of the much-discussed "Hybrid Theory" by Linkin Park, co-produced by the same J. Blue along with another 'Warner man' Don Gilmore, comes "Disconnected," a predictably nu-metal album from Dry Cell.
What is unfortunately evident is that today producers and their henchmen have too much say in the composition of the tracks, so the present "Disconnected" appears almost perfect in its hip-hop interludes and its cross between two vocalists, (this story seems like déjà vu), but it lacks creativity, except for some interesting flashes, especially in the initial part of the album. First of all, let me start by saying that Dry Cell is a band born in California (no surprise there), and so far they have released only one album, precisely this "Disconnected."

Tracks like "Slip Away" and "Underneath The Sun" are definitely spot-on, and the vocal lines of the duo J. Gutt and D. Warsieski are gritty and maintain an 'radio-friendly' style that is acceptable, even if they are a bit too perfect and polished. The first and only single from the CD is "Body Crumbles," which is also part of the OST of the film "Queen Of The Damned" (guess which other band contributed to the film's OST), though it must be said that the track is good, the guitars are aggressive without going overboard, and as often happens in recent years with bands like Dry Cell, the bass is practically nonexistent unless you have a high-powered hi-fi system. The screams in "Sorry" and "Last Time" are very predictable and polished, yet both tracks positively nod to alternative rock and are acceptable. The album continues with a bit of mediocrity and monotony in tracks like "Forever Beautiful" and "Brave." In short, the album overall slides by without infamy and without praise. Certainly not a CD to buy, but for what is shown especially in the first part, the work grabs a passing grade, placing itself comfortably as filler in a genre (the clean nu metal) that is now dead and buried, but which intuitively will return shortly with a different formula. We’ll see what the masterminds at Warner will come up with, what kind of dish they’ll serve us, or what reheated soup they’ll offer us soon, Linkin Park teaches.