Ditchwater combine bluesy styled melody with pugnacious modern metal that features hardcore tendencies. Very traditional sounding in contrast to the bands inhabiting the radio, they break out with a soulful, yet entirely heavy plan of attack and wind up sounding somewhat like a cross somewhere between Staind, Shadows Fall and Mudvayne, yet they don't step on toes and proudly wear a standard heavy metal overcoat that acknowledges the lost art of solo's and rhythm.

At times the vocals can bring to mind Staind's Aaron Lewis with their raspy melody, but there's also a brutish hardcore/metal styled aspect at play as well that sounds slightly evil as sharp verses are menacingly spit out with a hoarse grumble which essentially stokes the intensity levels to higher degrees. Guitars are a tad downtuned and although there are a few Korn sounding squeals here and there, overall the riffs are very educated and can bring to mind Slipknot at times as they combine death metal and modern metal into one solid technique, before letting loose with the occasional overblown solo. Bass is aggressively downtuned and at times hits notes that are low enough to substitute for a 2x4 across the chest. Due to the tuning though, the percussive snap of the fingers hitting the strings seems to be the most detectable sound of the lowend and although this could rob the band of depth, the basslines more or less follow the guitars lead anyway. Drums are energetic with a huge helping of double kick to pummel the listener back a few steps before unleashing a furious snare roll to thoroughly take them out. The playing style isn't so much as precise as say a group like Slayer, but it still manages to anchor the songs with a strong footing and give them more bite.

The band have a ferocious snarl as they pump out acidic metal and mix it with rough edged melody to create an unrelenting assault, but rather than become tiresome with full on aggression, they change it up enough to feel very dynamic and touch on a few different emotions. The sound is edgy and moody and at times even emotional, but through it all it is still inherently angry. Unfortunately though, although there is indeed some talent documented on the disc, the songs don't feel anywhere near their full potential and fail to vary much from one another. They just aren't polished enough and its almost frustrating, as just a bit of tightness and making the instruments more cohesive as a unit would lethally increase the potency of the material. Ditchwater are indeed a muddy sounding band that contain varied styles and elements that have been used and tossed aside, left only to rot away, but rather than eventually breaking down and dying they are fermenting and taking on a whole new life, it's just going to take a bit more time brewing to become something the listener will definitely not want to ditch.
(3.5 / 5)