Warren Beal- " Noise Therapy"

At first listen I must admit I was rather thrown off guard By The latest Cellar Dweller c"The Other Hell". This being my inital encounter with the NY based Metal band , I had based my expectations entirely on the Occultish, quasi -satanic Image they seem to thrive on, Only to find this CD to be a melodic, hook filled project that has little or nothing to do with the dark, forboding nature they portray. Or DOES it?

Preparing to write this review I was planning on calling it a pleasent enough , tight sounding rock cd with a nice mixture of straight up rock tunes and ballads to satisfy most commercial metal fans. Then, as I was humming the lyrics to the cds most catchy tune " All along" The true nature of this band struck me like a bolt of lightning. Taken at face value these tunes are not what they appear. Having a song stuck inside your head, as "All along" was for me, is NOT a new experience, But discovering that catchy little power punk number is about the second coming( and subsequent murder) of jesus christ left me numb.

I went back and searched much deeper into these tunes and found a whole new project.  A concept album filled with various psychotic infections of the mind. Suicide, Madness, Murder, Isolation and despair await those who delve deeper thru the melodies into the heart of the songs. Even a glimpse of the occult and anti religious rhetoric that I somehow missed on first listen seem as clear as day to me now

In the opening rocker "No tears to cry" A snarling marcus kane brings us a story of unrepentant madness. Remorseless and cold as he growls " I've been forsaken in the eyes of the lord/ A refugee they couldnt tame anymore" Its references to drug therapy, religious brainwashing and murder nearly lost on all but the most ardent of listeners. Likewise "Damnation waltz" A Black sabbeth inspired tune that warns "Don't let them tell you that we're all behind the walls" As it likens the insane to " Masqueraders at satans ball" hides within it traces of a dark understanding of their plight that is nothing short of brilliant

Then comes the infectious power ballad " Hell is where you belong" that excuses murder by chiming " now I'm free/ but I see/ Thats its something they can't understand" as it weaves a story of passions gone far wrong

Only when we get to " What the night brings" does the blatent occultism make itself  present for all to see. Oddly eerie yet powerful as its throbbing drumline underscores the lyrics " I'm the blood on the nail where the holy failed/ I'm the crucifiers fate" Its like a blatent hint for the listener that all is not what it seems to be here in "The other Hell"

Even the CDs Ballads take on a much different nature when taken as a whole instead of individually. " Fate" a love song that will have the more romantic of listeners shedding a tear and lighting a candle at its declaration of love everlasting,( " You're my fate/ I never close my eyes that I don't see your face"", seems somewhat out of place here until you remember The true nature of the album. Is Kane suggesting that true love is akin to madness, mocking the raw emotions that develop with caring, or simply writing a love ballad you could play at your wedding? Therein lies the genius of this work. For the casual listener you will get a very good, hook filled rocker of an album with some pop inspired ballads that even your mom might like. To the ones who dig deeper you will find a very dark, introspective journey into the most uncomfortable places in your mind,filled with double meanings and hidden messages. One that kept me fascinated for the last two weeks as I pulled more and more depth from what I had thought was a fairly shallow pond

"The Other Hell" is bound to be thought of as a commercial metal album, albiet a well written one, and thats really unfortunate considering how much it has to offer.Sure its far from the Black metal inspired image the band gives off, but its far from the simple, pop senseable creation it seems to be as well

Cellar dweller is much more than they appear to be at first listen. That much I have come to realize. In hindsight perhaps their image is one that suits them very well. While the 50's pop sounding strains of " Slip away" blasted from my cd player, my girlfriends mother commented on "how pretty" the song was,  and I couldnt help but smile and wonder if thats the masterplan. Make music that sticks in the head of the listener without them ever suspecting the true messages being embedded in your brain cells

Hey, If thats not evil I don't know what is!