Legbone

Ten years is a decent chunk of time to be in a punk rock band, and that’s one milestone that Ohio’s Legbone can claim without a problem. The problem, is that during those ten years, Legbone have found themselves stuck in quite the rut, unable to write anything more than mediocre punk rock records. Their skatepunk sound is solid, but unable to lend itself to anything more memorable, and Different Path continues with much of the same.

A bit harder than a lot of skatepunk, the band does incorporate some dark, and heavy metal riffing into their sound, which affords them some more creative opportunities than they may otherwise have had. Even on that token, however, they may not explore those possibilities to their fullest extent. “Swallowing Razorblades” opens with some extremely heavy, methodical riffing, but before long the sound is forgone in favor of some speedy punk rock chord progressions and sing-along choruses. It’s a solid sound, but simply not all that memorable.

They can’t be faulted, though, for doing what they do rather well. Vocalist Kyle Curtis alternates between Movielife-esque sung vocals and some hardcore punk shouting, the latter of which fits much better with both the pace and feel of the album. The rhythms are tight and the vocals have plenty of grit, but from song to song, there’s really not a whole lot to grip onto. The songs don’t often exceed the two-minute mark, accomplishing just what they set out for in a relatively short amount of time. “Can’t Believe It” impresses with its lightning quick rhythms and powerful rhythms, and the anthemic vocals are a nice accent on top of it all. “Mind Your Own Business” follows that up with a decidedly angrier approach, including a lot of shouted vocals and rolling drum fills cut in between the buzzing of the guitars.

The length of this album helps to combat how monotonous it would become in an extended amount of time, seeing as there’s fifteen tracks in less than 25 minutes. If you ignore the band's back catalogue, full of releases in almost the same exact vein as this one, what you’ll find is an enjoyable punk rock record with small but effective tinges of metal and hardcore.

Hopefully in the next 10 years, they’ll be able to garner a bit more of an identity for themselves.