NONPOINT: 5 MINUTES OF DRONE

Nonpoint won’t be on Metal Hammer’s Dimebag tribute album, but they have recorded a cover of one of my favorite Pantera songs of all time, “5 Minutes Alone.” Back when I had this real dickhead boss, I had to listen to this song pretty much every morning right before I walked into the office just to burn off enough aggression so that I wouldn’t actually attack the douche.

But Nonpoint’s version is frickin’ weak, dude. Musically, it’s pretty much a perfect replica of Pantera’s original – guitarist Zach Broderick didn’t even take a stab at putting his own unique spin on the solo – but holy crap, do Elias Soriano’s vocals just sound way, way off. I don’t mean off-key – I mean they just sound completely wrong for the tone of the track. This is a song about wanting to be left alone for five minutes in a room with someone you hate so you can beat his ass – a fantasy I’m sure we’ve all had at one point or another – but Soriano’s vocals are so melodic you’d think he was bummed ’cause his baby just left him. Where’s the aggression, the rage, the burning desire to introduce a man’s brains to the wall? This is just a case of the wrong artist being matched with the wrong material.

Also, Nonpoint were never really that great to begin with.

You can listen to the song here.

-AR