Take It To The Limit

This was a band I felt had a lot of promise after their debut, and while they clearly seem to have embraced the 80s rock sound with an even stronger 80s vibe on this album, Hinder encountered about the worst thing that can happen to a young rock band -- Big commercial success with a ballad. It's taken down many bands, Def Leppard, Firehouse, the Scorpions ... It can take years to recover, but some never do. It's impossible to know if it's the band or pressure from the label, but once it strikes, it's addictive as hell and they need it again. Not content to just include another ballad or two and hope for repeated success, Hinder covered their ass by including no fewer than FIVE ballads ... just in case the first three or four didn't get the job done. That's five of eleven. Tracks three, five, seven, nine and eleven. Every other song after the opening two, and then they end the album on a ballad just to drive the point home. To add insult to injury, none of these ballads are as good as the ones from their debut. The other six songs are pretty good for the most part, but honestly, it's difficult to build any sort of momentum when every other song drops the pace. It's still worth getting, but just consider it an EP and be prepared to skip a lot. --Scott