Taking Dawn - Time To Burn

Genre rock Publisher Roadrunner Records External Links

Having been writing music reviews for a while, one gets pretty gun shy about heaping praise on bands. I’ve been told that in my personal life, I have impossibly high standards. So what does that mean for the music I listen to? It has to be amazing right!? No, not really, I just have to like it. But I find myself in a bit of a pickle with Taking Dawn’s debut album Time To Burn. Clearly the album rocks and rocks hard. However there is just something on the album that dates it ever so slightly.

Well let’s stat where I always start, with the guitars. I love a good riff, a nice solid foundation to build a song. And let me tell you, this album is chocked full of ‘em. I think if I was to compare the band to anyone, it would be Saliva. They have the same minimalist approach to riffing. Nothing is overly complex and it all flows well. In the case of songs like “Time To Burn” the guitar riffs flow like precision, focused yet frenetic metallic assault on your ears. What I love most about this song is how everything musically goes off in a short one or two second burst in semi different directions only to come back right on the beat. I am actually very anxious to see these guys play live because I’d like to see if they can pull the music off with this precision in a live environment.

I think part of what might date the music as a whole is the lyric content. If I were to be simplistic enough to categorize the songs, I’d say a good portion of them are “good time” and “party” songs. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but after a certain point, one starts to wonder about the credibility of the music. Are you doing it really because you feel the way you say in the lyrics, or are you doing it for the payday like so many hair metal bands did back in the 80s? Songs like “Fight ‘Em With Your Rock”, while clearly a call to arms for all like minded musical soldiers, doesn’t quite sound as current as other songs of the same ilk coming out now a days. It actually sounds a lot like the latter material written by Motley Crue who progressed as little as they had to. It was slightly more modern sounding guitar, but the same tired arrangements from the 1980s. That is the fine line that Taking Dawn walk in this album.

The other thing that definitely gives it that hair metal vibe is the singing of singer/guitarist Chris Babbitt. Now I will grant you, he doesn’t push his voice into the high soprano octaves and have that stupid warble that every hair metal singer just HAD TO HAVE. However the vocal patterns of him and a Jon Bon Jovi or a Bret Michaels are pretty similar. So much so that I could hear those two other voices implanted into most of these songs and there would be almost no difference.

But if you listen to this album, you can’t deny that this album rocks. The degree is up to you to figure out, but you will be tapping your toe, air drumming, and banging your head a few times during the course of the little over half hour of power. To me the stand out tracks are the first two on the album “Time To Burn” and “Like A Revolution”. These are the songs that song most authentic. Despite my misgivings about the band, there is no doubt I’d love to see the band live at least once because if nothing else, it’d be a hell of a live show. But I think if the band tried to be a bit more authentic and stopped “trying” to emulate their heroes, the music could be light years better.