Recently labeled by MTV as "rock's secret gem" DWR is a a five man group from Florida. Their name is a slang term for the south. It's a common misinterpretation that the south is full of inbred, slack-jawed hicks. In other words, the south is a place evolution forgot. They might not be too far off the mark. I live in the south.

It's been boasted that DWR's sound is a "raw, unclassifiable pulsing fusion of hip-hop rhymes, monster rythmic grooves, crunching riffs, and moments of stark melody." That IS true, but you can sit there and list all the bands from whom they stole their sound. They have riffs straight from Korn. Rage that sounds like Disturbed, and a MTV image quite familiar to Papa Roach's.

The lead singer has quoted, "We think that the style we have is pretty different and unique and doesn't sound like other bands out there, so we're orphaned in that regard".....sure. Emcee Grimm is tormented by his estranged relationship from his father, he talks about visions of patricicide and feeling incomplete in the song "Sometimes It Happens Like this." These emotions are very real and many kids experience feelings of inadequacy and guilt because of rocky parental relationships, but I don't think this is something to be blatantly capitalized upon!

Every song is frustrating and sounds like every other song aired on MTV. I don't like their pseudo-sincerity and what they stand for. I think this is another band that's appealing to kids in order to sell an image rather than to help them understand their feelings. With a sigh and a toss of their album behind my back, I give Orphan half a star.