SLIK HELVETIKA
S/T
Screaming Mimi Records 2005
www.slikhelvetika.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
This is the debut release from the Philadelphia-based hard rockers led by guitarist vocalist Mikhall Myers.

Genre
Hard rock

The Good
I found the music on the disc to be uniformly outstanding. The songs range from the hard driving metallic rockers like “Westbound Train” and “Where Blood Spills” to the rather superb power ballad “September.” There are a couple of mid-tempo songs that stand out to me. The first one is “Skies.” It’s got a great melodic sound to it. The other track is my personal favorite “High On You.” The production on this song strangely seems better to me than most of the other songs. It’s really very well crafted.

The Bad
The songs are all pretty good on paper. What brings this album down for me is the fact that he’s not a very good singer. The songs I mentioned above in “The Good” section are the four songs really worth listening to. The rest are brought down by the fact Myers vocal delivery has a screeching quality that just wears on the ears after a while.

The Verdict
Mikhall Myers isn’t a bad lyricist but he needs to bring in a better singer. I think I would’ve enjoyed this album more if the vocals had been more competently done throughout the entire album. It’s a decent enough debut, but there’s lots of room for improvement.

Did You Know?
The album’s co-producer, David Ivory, has also produced albums by noted R&B legend Patti Labelle, rockers Silvertide, and The Roots.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts