Unstable


 Unstable came out in 2003

Track Listing:

1. Co-Dependent
2. Rip the Heart Out of Me
3. Stand Up
4. Unstable
5. Promises
6. Blame Me
7. So Fortunate
8. Stressin' Out
9. Do You Hear Me
10. Let Go
11. Betrayed Me
12. Needles

Genre: Nu-Metal

When Unstable came out in 2003 I was a broke middle schooler.  So I did the sensible thing, downloaded the album online and played the shit out of it.  I think I eventually bought a 2nd hand copy of it.

Co-Dependent - Right where we left off with on Adema.  Nu-Metal riffs and a rappy style of vocals.  Definitely a great leadoff track

Rip the Heart Out of Me - Ahh there's the shit lyrics I missed from Co-Dependent.  Pretty mediocre song here.  Not much really happens.

Stand Up - Have you heard Never Again from Nickleback? This is pretty much a more mediocre version of that.  Similar vein to Rip, another just mid song

Unstable - Cool guitar riff.  Definitely feels like more of a focus on the instrumentation on this album as opposed to the previous.  This one is just a solid song start to finish 

Promises - This is a slower one.  I expected that Chavez's vocals would bring this one down but I think he's improved from Adema and can handle songs like this better.  Turned out pretty good

Blame Me - Interesting decision to go from slow to slower.  Not a bad song but a bit too simplistic for what I'd expect.

So Fortunate - Oh so this is just the style they're going for here.  I appreciate the message here, dude loves his child, but man the falsettos do not pair well here.

Stressin Out - Cool bass riff, but overall this song is on the generic side.  Like usual the chorus rips, but as a whole its just mediocre.

Do You Hear Me - Another slower one here, but works a bit better than the others.  I like the chorus and the lyrics seem a step up from a lot of their other songs.  Reminds me of some of the songs 10 Years would put out in a couple of years.

Let Go - Oh I hate this.  Sounds like some whiney bullshit, but its supposed to be uplifting? The fuck are they doing here?  And the "solo"? is obnoxious.  Easily their worst song so far

Betrayed Me - Back on track.  This one is still slower, but at least doesn't sound like shit.  

Needles - Decide to end the album in a heavy note, but not in a good way.  This song feels like such a hard left turn from the rest that it just falls super flat.  It almost sounds like a death metal parody at points.

So here, Adema tries to mature and the results are mixed.  The best songs are the ones that stick to what worked on Adema.  A lot of the slower songs just dont work.  Chavez's singing improved, just in time for him to leave the band.  Planets (their next album) is a major shift.  Not as good as Adema, more in the vein of generic radio rock, but has song good songs.  When it came out I didnt care for the new vocalist so I didnt bother getting it.

3 green and 3 red, a very mixed bag

3/5

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