NEW JAMES LABRIE SONG IS NOT WHAT YOU’RE EXPECTING!

The new James Labrie solo effort “One More Time” — streaming today on Noisecreep — starts out much like you’d expect from a side project of a member of Dream Theater; deep, rich guitar tone (heyo John Petrucci), a pounding, driving but intricate drum beat (heyo Mike Portnoy), some proggy time shifts here and there and even a Johny Myung-esque bass solo mid-song. And… screaming vocals. Zuh???

Not that this is a bad thing. It just caught me completely by surprise. The screams come courtesy of guitarist/keyboardist Matt Guillory, and Labrie’s trademark pipes comes back into play in the choruses. The effect is a good cop / bad cop vocal scheme which, in concert with the music, really has a melodic death metal feel with a very slight technical edge. This is exactly what Soilwork would sound like if they had James Labrie singing for them instead of Speed Strid… now that’d be a cool duet, wouldn’t it?

Static Impulse comes out on September 28th via InsideOut. Stream “One More Time” at Noisecreep; it’s addictively catchy.

-VN