Todd

Purity Pledge is a sludgy, pounding affair that dabbles in everything from messy underground rock to old-school hardcore and stomping metal. Todd play heavy music, pure and simple. These twelve tracks are stripped down, raw bursts of aggression.

Todd is fronted by former Hammerhead member Craig Clause, which may hint at why this album sounds like something from the mid-to-late 90's. I have seen a lot of comparisons to the Jesus Lizard, but Todd is heavier, dirtier, and much more ready to shout.

This album is hard to judge. It is one of those CDs that if you throw on for some friends, it will quickly divide the group. Some will respond with comments like, “This shit rocks! These guys are nuts! This band is fucking heavy!” while others will chime in with, “This is just noisy and messy. These songs all sound alike. This guy can’t sing.”

I am still on the fence myself. Sometimes Todd seem to have the right mix of kick-you-in-the-crotch attitude and songwriting prowess. On songs like “Butlers Portion,” “Purity Pledge,” and “You Wouldn’t Believe Me,” they sound like a heavier version of Mclusky or a filthier version of Queens Of The Stone Age. The riffs are smart, the vocals are shouted but structured, and there is an infectious amount of energy. At other times though, the sludge gets so thick it is oppressive and the vocals suddenly dip into ogre-level deepness and just sound forced. It's these times when Todd sound like just another faceless hardcore band who know how to turn up the distortion, but not the songwriting.