Hard Rock. Very Hard Rock. But with a mainstream sensibility that walks the line nicely between neo-agro rock crunch and melodic dream rock. Hailing from Seattle, "Second Coming" are poised to carry the crown of hard rock with their rock-come-grunge approach. Heavier than most of the quick comparisons when they want to be (everything from Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Candlebox, STP, AIC, and very much like a male version of Drain STH), "Second Coming" also know the value of the dreamy deep ballad that the radio loves so well. Production is ultra-slick, but engaging, in the dynamic of guitar, vocal and background sounds/effects. Singer (as well as sharing guitar credits) Travis John Bracht is as polished as they come, with a smooth bassy howl and melodic whisper, that will at some point on this disk illicit Layne Staley of AliceInChains comparisons, but this is no clone.

What should set these guys ahead of their peers is the sheer writing talent. Able to make familiar, yet original, structures through various builds. If pimped in the right direction, they should have no problem carrying on the flag of acceptable hard radio rock. Guitars jam in many directions. Guitarist Dudley Taft lays out big thick chunk chords for that thrashy feel, wormy twisting single note patterns for that moody rock feel, bouncy two chords repetitions for the fast rock jam, with some not-all-that bad soloing, and even some acoustic strum for a few more "sensitive" numbers. There's also some nice samples and effects, on both the heavy and lighter numbers, for spice (but not dominating).

Some of the slower numbers come off pretty over-dramatic, with the super-deep keyboards, plodding pace, and the seemingly obligatory string section added for depth (not necessary at all on "The Song"). In overall approach, "Second Coming" rock better than they roll.

SC songs tend to be pretty long with many movements. Interest sometimes wanders losing the "point" of the song. If anything, "Second Coming" have a tendency to "overwrite" songs, sticking movements and instrumentations into songs that seem overblown, when the core idea could be represented with a more stripped, raw sound, but I think this is more Capital's (or more precisely the engineers) doing than the bands. The band is proud of it's ability not to fall into predictable verse/chorus structures, and it is a definite strong point to their approach. Now they just have to fine tune which songs should avoid traditional trappings, and which songs might listen better with a more narrow scope.

With the push from Capitol, and some high profile opening gigs (MonsterMagnet and currently with Candlebox, which also contributed co-producer Kelly Gray), "Second Coming" should not surprise anyone by becoming a mainstay of radio hard rock in the next year. And if they can avoid marketing the "softer" edge of this band, and focus on their ability to craft mean, yet audibly friendly tunes, this may indeed mark a "Second Coming" of hard rock from the Pacific Northwest. f