The first thing I though when I cranked Badasser up is that Christine is a strange name for a band like this. The band is definitely metal. There are touches of gracefulness but the overwhelming theme of the album is metal.
The next thing I thought was “what do I know about metal?” I have little experience as a listener of what constitutes good metal vs. bad metal. I’ve always thought of metal as terribly loud, distorted white boy music with no grove; Just a bunch of people playing big, fast and loud (possibly to compensate for something?).
But Christine did some things that made me remember why distortion can sound good.
The band has a really strong rhythmic pulse through many of the songs. The distortion actually takes on a nice creamy texture, and heavy drumming is complemented by a thick bass and two electric guitars. One guitar has a fat sound and the other is smaller. Both work together well. Tones change through the album though, so your ears get exposed to slightly different tones throughout, including an acoustic song that still fits in somehow.
One thing that does stay consistent, though, is that most of the songs follow a smooth, heavy groove. Many of them could be described as stoner metal or stoner rock with some faster and heavier sections at times.
Another major theme of the album is that the vocals tend to change. There are both male and female vocals that sing melodies, as well as the typical metal growl voice. Several songs shift from male to female lead vocals, and some songs shift from singing to growling mid-song. This may cause some issues with record labels who may find it difficult to categorize this music and market it. However, this is also Christine’s biggest potential identifier as a band in some ways.
Production wise, the album sounds good. The only issue I had was that the bass seemed a bit loud or boomy at times. This seemed to add to the thickness though, and focused your attention on the lower frequencies’ rhythmic pulse rather than the treble and midrange. It was appropriate for this type of music.
Overall, I enjoyed the album. There were times when I was wishing for the band to expand their tonal range with some new instrumentation or effects. But, the shifts in the vocals kept the album feeling fresh with each new track. So mostly, I would say that this album is a success. I would recommend expansions in the varieties of sounds used, but only if the band’s solid grove based feel is preserved.
