Having a sense of melody is very important in the rock world, and being able to slip a hook into the listener's ears and have them listening attentively from there on is also a highly talented skill. But you also need energy to rush out from your music and get your listeners moving. Although Contagious focuses on the lighter side of hard rock, their pop influences shine through on occasion and catch you with a nice hook or two. But generally speaking, the album is 70's arena rock, 80's metal goes soft, and pop-rock rolled into one with the awkwardness between the three showing its face a bit too much.

They show a lot of promise, taking into consideration they've been a band for a little over a year now, but the fact still remains that this record shows a young band in the midst of their musical immaturity and rawness. Give them time and they might really rock, but as it stands this disc is quite average. I'll give it a C.

Consumed: Hit For Six

Control, The: The Control 10"

[Issue Eleven // August 1998]