Recoil

Nonpoint deliver another set of angst-filled hard rock that challenges the notion that modern metal eschews melodicism. Vocalist Elias Soriano displays a truly versatile set of pipes on their latest, Recoil, a record that falls short of elevating Nonpoint to the level of contemporaries like Rage Against the Machine or Tool, yet strikes a winning balance between the angular crunch of nu-metal and the anthemic brooding of heavy metal's heydays. The serpentine melody lines that weave their way through "The Truth" and "Impossible Needs" are indicative of a group that's not content with just pounding the listener into submission. Each time a song veers into atonal tedium, someone comes in with a curve ball, whether it's a sneaky guitar line that changes the direction of the verse or a strategically placed backwards cymbal swell. Some of the tracks sound like filler, especially the ill-conceived remake of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," but even then the band sounds road-weary tight. While by no means revolutionary, Recoil shows promise, and if Nonpoint continue to steer away from alternative metal's whiny and calculated aggression, they could very well break out from the middle of the pack.