Music: Special Ops: Phase 2: Amidst the Madness

Our Take

Canadian band Special Ops have created a buzz for themselves among mainstream listeners thanks to their appearances at major festivals in their home country as well as appearances with established US bands (both in Canada and the United States). Now on their sophomore album, Phase 2: Amidst the Madness, this metal/alternative rock band definitely stands out among the pack thanks to a variety of different instrumental styles. And while they could stand to expand on some styles and ditch others, Special Ops is definitely a group that has mainstream appeal but at the same time isn’t just more of the same.

Listeners will immediately notice that the vocal styles are all over the map and seem to change on a near song to song basis. The best way to describe Special Ops vocals would be as a mix of rap/rock singing a la Rage Against the Machine and Hed P.E. combined with the hard rock/alternative rock vocals often seen throughout the mainstream music world. While none of these are unique on their own, it’s very likely that you haven’t heard them combined in this fashion before. However, I believe it would benefit Special Ops to ditch the higher pitched, overly melodic singing or just tone it back, as the rapped/screamed and gruffer pitched singing styles fit the instrumentals better.

The instrumentals on Phase 2: Amidst the Madness definitely have some post-grunge influences to them, but also hint at both metal and alternative rock. The riffs here are definitely hook oriented and certainly have commercial radio appeal. But as previously mentioned, Special Ops has managed to create a sound that will appeal to fans of today’s mainstream hits but will also carve its own niche. This is a band that brings a lot of energy and catchy hooks to the table, and though they won’t win over avid metal listeners they should gain the attention of hard rock fans.

With their sophomore album, it is clear why Special Ops has been slowly gaining more and more fans. Their brand of hard rock meets alternative rock/metal is different enough to stand out from the rest, and while it’s not perfect they are certainly on their way. If you enjoy a lot of the bands of this type on commercial radio and television today, add Special Ops to your list as they are sure to impress, but if these styles haven’t impressed you before don’t expect to be converted.

http://www.opsmission.com/

Chris Dahlberg
May 28, 2008