Taint-Secrets and Lies

Candlelight
2008

I really felt myself saying "hmmm" a lot while I listened to this one because I found myself really having to consider what was going on here.
A lot of people seem to be easily biting onto the hook that's being offered by this band from Wales. After two tracks I was left a little disappointed as the impression I was getting that this was starting to sound like an entree of warmed over, very stoner rock with a skimpy side of so-so death metal drippings. Yet by track three the meaty riffs I had been hoping for started to make an appearance and the vocals that had too far buried on the first two tracks started to emerge. After that the album stays at a fairly high level with the music being somewhere between Clutch and Black Sabbath, but a times they strike out on their own and show their own style of heavy hitting, sludge laden riffs as well. I am not sure I completely like the sound of the bass at all times and the vocals aren't always consistent. I think at times they show themselves as being technically better than a number of bands playing this style, but at other times they are merely just decent. There is a lot of potential and Taint slowly seem to be easing themselves into their own style as they try to build up a foundation, but there's certainly work to be done. These guys know how to bring the sludge and pump some heaviness into it, but their are plenty of moments where it's just alright. My hope is they don't buy into a lot of the hype that seems to being tossed their way. Instead I think they need to focus on the times when they just grab a song and rip and tear into it. That's the kind of approach they are capable of, but they need to reach for it to be their main approach rather than the occasional peak which is what they have here with "Secrets and lies". Pretty good overall, but hopefully the best is yet to come for this band.

http://www.myspace.com/taintuk