The Review - Rocksound Magazine

When news came into our office that Scott RH was finally getting back into creating music again, we at Rocksound HQ took the reports with the pinch of salt that they clearly merited. While the former Blood Of Wecz vocalist is without doubt one of the most legendary figures in the music industry, his repeated claims of comebacks over the past years and months have (so far) proved to be largely fruitless for his almost-constantly disappointed fans. In fact, so sure were we that this would fizzle out before ever reaching the stage of release, that when a CD landed on our doormat one morning, its tastefully artistic cover staring tantalisingly up at us, we still feared that the disc within would merely be blank; but it wasn't, and how thankful are we?

Rose is little more than a taster of what Scott's new band District 13 are going to be doing over the next few years, claims the blurb that comes inside the CD case, and its three songs certainly deliver on that promise, leaving the listener almost on their knees and begging for more. From the first quiet whisper of the vocal in opening track Tethered, to the time the last powerful guitar note strums out the end of the EP with closing track Natural Disaster, this EP hits the listener in the face like a ton of beautifully crafted bricks. It's heavy, it's soft, it's angry, it's happy, and most of all, it's everything we have been waiting for.

If you were at all a fan of Blood Of Wecz, then it is probably the case that the appearance of female vocalist Cat Wendel in this project alerted you to the fact that this CD might just not be for you, but for the rest of us, it's a triumph that leaves us feeling rewarded for having waited so long. Wendel's soft yet powerful stylings never sound out of place alongside the resplendent voice of the rock icon, whose guitar hammers mercilessly throughout the duration of the CD.

It's perhaps unsurprising that most of the focus throughout the CD will be on Scott RH. The 27-year old has long been a sought after re-admission to the music industry, with many saying that his being on the scrapheap for the past few years was one of the biggest wastes of talent ever. However, his band also provide some tremendous backing to the back and forth vocals between himself and Cat Wendel. Jimmy Adler's skills behind the kit are quite evident, the percussion being handled with perfectly-tight precision throughout, and while his work is far from flashy, with the frontman taking on most of the lead guitar duties, Jakey Fallon still lends a stellar performance on guitar, holding the music together with a thoroughly professional outing.

The opening track of the EP, Tethered, is a perfect way to start any CD. Beginning with the soft keyboard backing the almost whispering voice of Cat Wendel, it transforms quickly into a song reminiscent of the catchy rock-tones of Alter Bridge entering some form of taboo relationship with the technicality of Dillinger Escape Plan; somehow you know that it should wrong, but it just feels so right, and delivers the punch that really makes the listener sit up and take note. The track is followed by Beneath The Waves, a song which undoubtedly gives just the slightest hat-tip to Scott RH's metal background. It's fast, it's furious, it's intriguing and it's the only track on the EP to contain a guitar solo. Finally, the EP is brought to a close by Natural Disaster. For all that Beneath The Waves is a heavy look over the shoulder, the EP's closer is evidently a straight up look towards the future. The riffs sound atmospheric, the drums beat in a beautiful echoing manner, and the vocals of the chorus are simply epic. This is the undoubted highlight of the EP, and when its final note is strummed out, slowly fading, you can almost feel your ears begging out for just a little more.

They say that good things come to those who wait, and sometimes adages like these are proved to be perfectly right. What Scott RH and District 13 have managed to produce here is a perfect teaser to what many will hope could be a long career together as a band. If you are a Blood Of Wecz devotee, then you may listen to this with a heavy heart and the realisation that Scott is finally out of the world of metal, but for those who simply love to hear rock dragged into the 21st century, the genre just got itself reinvented.

9/10 - Olly Carter

For fans of: 30 Seconds To Mars, Alter Bridge, Funeral For A Friend

Red - Cat Wendel
Black - Scott RH
Blue - Both
Itallics - Chorus
Bold - Sung through a megaphone

My thoughts are wandering
My head feels completely lame
I stalk daily through this awful dream
A nightmare far from tame
Only in my head, you're with her
I close my eyes, I see you kiss her
Please stop
Just make it all go away
Please stay here
I won't let you slip away

From day-to-day and week-to-week I feel the grip of this waking nightmare
My skin crawls when you touch me, even when I close my eyes I feel you stare
Let me go
Don't tie me up inside this dream world where you're living
Let me go
Cos you have used up all the chances I've been giving

Please stay here with me, hold me until night time turns to day
I'm only scared of what I'll lose if I just let you walk away
Don't go
Let me be here for you I'll do anything that you could ask
Don't go
I know deep down that sullen face is nothing but a mask

So before, before I go and lose my mind
Just give me one last chance to step away, and see what I can find
You've bound my wrists for so long
I've been here through stormy weather
In your head you've done no wrong
So why do I feel fucking tethered?
Your bleeding heart's a fucking tether!

If you force me to be without you, it would be pointless to exist
Would you really push my darkened mind right into the abyss
Just stay
I can be just anything that you ever wanted
So stay
If you walk away, you only go and leave me haunted

Hey…Hey can you hear me? That's right, I'm doin' this
Why do you continue to ignore me, every time I push you away
The tears aren't working anymore, don't even beg me to stay
Can everyone else make this out? I've given her a thousand chances
But now it's all over, don't come back at me with your advances

Tear my eyes open now, I rip myself from your dreaming prison
You thought that this was love, but you were just misplacing visions
Time to get out
So spread your blackened wings in the wind and float away from me
I gotta get out
I'll lock my frozen heart and I'll throw away the key

So before, before I go and lose my mind
Just give me one last chance to step away, and see what I can find
You've bound my wrists for so long
I've been here through stormy weather
In your head you've done no wrong
So why do I feel fucking tethered?
Your bleeding heart's a fucking tether!

So before, before I go and lose my mind
Just give me one last chance to step away, and see what I can find
You've bound my wrists for so long
I've been here through stormy weather
In your head you've done no wrong
So why do I feel fucking tethered?
Your bleeding heart's a fucking tether!

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