Rattlesnake is quite an apt name for A Static Lullaby's new album. After all, with every passing album they shed their skin and start with a new one. Take the first record and put it side by side with this one and you'd assume they were by two different acts. ASL now sound like Every Time I Die covered by The Used; it's so two years ago (again), but it's done pretty well. ASL have never been at the forefront of any genre revolution and this time they're copying their peers again, but as usual they do it to a relatively high standard.
'Bear Trap', for instance, has a huge, huge chorus. The fact it sounds just like The Used is by the by - I could write an entire review about how the guitars have been pillaged from Every Time I Die. As a result I can't score this record any higher than 6/10; it's just too borrowed for me to go large. That said, in places this record really hits hard. 'The Turn' is a tune, infact the first 4 or 5 songs are quite impressive. The change in direction does suit the band. But as the record goes on it does sound ever more obvious and samey. 'Aller Au Diable' starts off frenetically and will surely be a live favourite, but the second half fails to live up to the standards of the first. Not disappointing, just not as good.
Look past the obvious (generic, rip offs, all sounds the same blah blah blah) and this is quite fun. Other bands do this type of thing better, but it ain't as bad a record as I thought A Static Lullaby were about to churn out.
