In simple terms, the Doppler Effect is the compression and extension of sound waves as a noise approaches and moves away from a fixed object. The closer an ambulance siren is to your bedroom, the louder it's going to sound. The closer you move your ear to the speakers, the louder the music is going to sound. This leaves me in a rather indifferent state concerning the band sharing their name with that aural phenomenon.

A metal band seemingly having a bit of an identity crisis on their self-titled EP, the band matches lighting quick riffs and a rhythm section to match with some unnecessarily slowed down sections complete with bad singing. The first track makes this known right from the outset; "Bittersweet Heart" opens and closes with some terrific clean metal riffing, but in between that is some ultimately clumsy songwriting choices and lyrics to match:

And I'm trying to hold everything, inside is a torn up heart with a mind on the other end / So eaten up that absolution barely exists, Inside are some used and broken bones that'll never mend / And I still sit in silence as I rip myself apart, bit by bit.

Littered all through the record is gothic imagery and self-loathing passages that will undoubtedly bring My Chemical Romance fans out of the woodworks. I really just wish the band would stick to being the metal power they so often hint at. Add a Darkest Hour-esque vocalist to this band, and that's an extremely formidable act capable of really making some waves in the metal scene, but for the time being the Doppler Effect just trudge through the middle of their songs. The squalling guitars simply do not match up with the singing, and the punk leanings they go on for a lot of the guitar work during bridges doesn't work any more in their favor.

The last track is over ten minutes long, and once again what starts promisingly with some quick riffing is dragged back into the muck as soon as vocalist Marc Moyce starts singing. The track goes through several stages, many of them extremely enjoyable metal chord progressions, but the damn singing kills the momentum each and every time.

Either Moyce needs to learn how to scream, or he needs to be replaced, because this pop-punk-meets-metal is simply making me want to move farther and farther away from the speakers.