Well, I told you in my review of their last disc, that this one was on the way, and here it is as promised. I gotta say, I just love this band's current image; they look like a cross between some demented, gothed-out Horror-Punk outfit, and a Black-Metal band. Last time out I compared Coilback to a whole bunch 'o bands. This time, I only hear a resemblance to two, and oddly enough, neither of them are ones I listed before, in fact, I actually made a point of saying I specifically did not hear one of them last time. It all starts with the intro guitar riff to the leadoff track "Unbroken". This riff is almost a straight lift of the leadoff riff to White Zombie's classic "Thunder Kiss '65". The song then goes on to sound like a Zombi-fied version of Metallica's "Whiplash". The rest of the disc then follows suit. Hints of Rob Zombie (assorted riffs and movie samples, etc.) are peppered over a very heavy "Kill 'em All" era Metallica vibe, hell even Lew's vocals sound a lot like Mr. Hetfield's. Now, don't get the wrong ideas, I sure as hell don't mean any of this in a bad way. Sure, I may be saying that the sound isn't 100% original, and that they sound a lot like old Metallica, but who cares? Old Metallica was killer, White Zombie was killer, and you know what, when you throw them in a blender together, the results are a mighty tasty brew. The songs on "Love Is Dead" are absurdly easy to get into. You' almost feel like you can sing along during the first spin, and after a couple more times through your speakers, these tracks will seem like old friends. A damn fine first full-length, and one that should have a very broad appeal, I can see everyone from your current hard radio listener, to underground Metal-heads and Horror-Punk kids digging this. These guys should have a good future ahead of them.
RATING = 8 Metal (Released 2004)