The question has to be asked, is being handpicked, endorsed, and signed by the frontman of Godsmack really an indicator of superior quality? Drawing lots of attention to an endorsement from Jimmy Page, or David Gilmour, or Kirk Hammett, I could understand, but an endorsement from a moderately successful nu-metal band? I mean, perhaps Sully Erna is a much better businessman than he is a musician, but I'd think that basing pretty much all of the pre-release hype for this album around the fact that Erna really likes these guys might be a bit of a mistake. It created, at least for me, the impression that these guys were awful, and all the attention had to be put on their label, rather than their actual music.

It's a mistake, because this music isn't all that bad. It's not particularly good either, but it's not so terrible that at least some of the marketing attention couldn't have been focused on it. In fact, a few tracks here are even rather good, sticking to the hard rock staples of heavy riffs, guitar solos, and throaty vocals, and combining the three elements rather well.

This is evident on tracks like Nowhere Man, easily the best track presented here. Opening with some loose basswork, before blasting into a verse reminiscent of Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. The guitar solo is particularly satisfying in this age of hard-rock guitar players who wouldn't know a blues scale if it burned their house down.

Unfortunately, for every good track here, there are a score of dull post-grunge filler tracks that recall the more mediocre moments of Alice in Chains. End of Days, Fall Away and Take Away The Sun all suffer from this. Some hilariously bad lyrics are also thrown in here for good measure, such as on Forgotten Song, which actually uses the chorus "Nobody knows my pain/Nobody sings in the rain". I would have been embarrassed to use such lyrics in my second-rate high school band, let alone something that's actually going to see a worldwide release.

Sully Erna's assessment that the band sounds like vintage rock-and-roll is frighteningly accurate. Dropbox churn out a bunch of songs that sound exactly like early 90s grunge, without really doing anything with the formula. Combined with the high degree of tracks here which can only be described as "filler", this makes this record one to stay away from unless you're the sort who still has long hair and wears flannel to work.