Theory Of A Deadman
Scars And Souvenirs

Do you know when, at the end of a review or presentation of an album, you see the phrase "did you like it? try also..."; well, this band, Theory Of A Deadman, surely have appeared and will always appear in such a note referring to Nickelback..

Discovered a few years ago by Chad Kroeger, they truly have everything in common with Nickelback: the record label, the Canadian nationality, the tours, the look, and obviously the musical style: the fact is that every single track of this "Scars And Souvenirs" (which translates to "old wounds") could easily have appeared on a Nickelback album, a fact that alone would lead me to discard this album, both because I am not exactly a fan of Kroeger's band, and because it's not by copying other artists that great musical works are made..

Nevertheless, I believe that those who do not abhor the genre might still find some reasons to be interested in this album: for example, in the warm and powerful voice of singer Tyler Connelly or in the good guitar work of Dave Brenner, and, indeed, the big strength of this "Scars And Souvenirs" is precisely that these two elements are pushed to the maximum and an effort is made to make them shine as much as possible in all the tracks, with varying results..

Listening to the album, however, reveals many major and minor flaws such as the poor songwriting, chock full of clichéd phrases like "nobody wins when everyone’s losing" and similar things, and the excessive use of vulgar words like "come on bitch" or "there’s no fucking way" when it is not really necessary (oh dear, not that I'm a puritan, the fact is that this songwriting just doesn’t suit the type of music, in short, it feels forced), or the excessively clear drop in attention on some tracks compared to others (songs like "Crutch", "Hate My Life" or "Sacrifice" are more than a little... "transient"), not to mention that listening to the album all in one go is tiring and repetitive..

There are a few tracks that stand out from the crowd: the opener "So Happy", upbeat and fun, the big ballad "By The Way", sung with the talented singer Chris Daughtry, and "Not Meant To Be", with a chorus that I find really too catchy and hard to ignore; other notable episodes are the surprising and orchestral "Little Smirk", which tells of Connelly's character stealing his girlfriend's car with her kids in the trunk, and the hit "Bad Girlfriend", but honestly it is way too Nickelback for my taste, you have to listen to believe it (and then it makes me raise another point about the album's consistency: in one song the singer says he’s "So Happy" and in another he says "I fuckin hate my life", in one he steals his girlfriend’s car, in another he says he has a bad girlfriend and in yet another he cries for her absence... well..).

Ultimately, however, it must be said that Theory Of A Deadman are a young band and, while poor in terms of composition, undeniably know how to play; as of now, I find them lacking in personality, but despite this, they have only 6 years of experience and no one has ever expected a masterpiece from them so far.. so I wouldn't lose hope for these TOADM, hoping they will make better works and perhaps leave such old wounds behind.