Women plus hard rock is usually a win-win situation. Thankfully this is the case for Charetta, the female-fronted hard rock/alternative band. There is just something about female vocals that soar over guitar riffs that makes me just ooze with rocker’s delight. “You Prevail” is a great showcase of this band’s talent. A churning hard riff followed by heavy drumming immediately draws you in. Once lead singer Angelina Del Carmen steps in, it’s a done deal. There is no turning this song off. Her voice is beautiful and sensuous but also has bite to it, which only complements the hard groove riffs even better. Her voice and singing style are like that of Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil. She is coy when she wants, but is also not afraid to let out her malicious side.
“Stop the Cycle” is dark and indulgent. Del Carmen shows just how sinister her voice can become. She takes pleasure in revealing someone else’s faults, “Obsessed with your flaws and you will fall.” There’s no remorse or sympathy in this discovery. She couldn’t be happier to divulge this information to us. But it’s okay to let out this anger because we feel the same way. The guitars are also turned down to this state of evil making for a deliciously daunting song. The group takes a moment to slow things down on “So Convincing” and Del Carmen shows us that fragile side, the side that most keep hidden. There’s always that one person who we can’t give up and this song is dedicated to that person, but the song isn’t mushy at all. Instead, Del Carmen admits her cunning abilities to convince the person to stay. I knew she wasn’t a softy.
“The Truth is Out” completely teased me with a few seconds of a drum solo. It’s so rare to hear a drum solo these days. A longer intro could have turned a great song into an awesome song. Del Carmen again shows us that little evil side to her, “I want to see you on the floor / I want to see you on your knees / I want to hear you cry for mercy / I want to see you suffering.” I guess in her defense she admits she doesn’t recognize her own face nor believes her actions, but I’ll be the first to admit that seeing a woman take control is more than inspiring. Even if she does wish this guy harm. I’m sure he deserves it anyway! The ending to the song more than makes up for the intro however, as she screams “The truth’s out and you’re standing in defeat!” Perfect ending.
I always suffer from the dilemma of should a band end an album with a bang or with heart. Charetta chose the latter but I can’t penalize them for that because the song is simply beautiful. It’s also impossible for me to fill this review with anything negative about them. The only constructive criticism I could think to harass them with was not making Defying the Inevitable longer because after “Never,” I still craved more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristen You can read more about Kristen at her new website http://beerenlightenment.wordpress.com/
