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At the turn of the century, Adema was a hot property, with family connections (original lead singer Mark Chavez is related to “Korn” mastermind Jonathan Davis), and local hype resulting in multiple labels bidding for their services. The band parlayed that, and their then hot nu-metal sound into a successful self-titled album.

A few short years later, and it’s a different story. Chavez exited the scene, taking with him the rap/metal vocals, subsequent albums had middling sales, and the band retooled. Now, with third lead singer, Bobby Reeves leading the way on, Kill the Headlights, the band’s 4th album, Adema has emerged with a leaner, more straight ahead approach.

The end product resulting from the changes is a decidedly mixed bag. It’s difficult to really compare the Adema of 2007 with where they started from, since the sound is so different. Though the earlier incarnation may have just been riding a thankfully short lived trend, the band had an edge back then that current incarnation largely lacks. There’s still a few good songs to be found on the CD, mostly among the tracks when they go with the all-out assault mode, filling the headphones with a wall of noise. By and large, however, Kill the Headlights is a relatively harmless affair. Part of the blame lies with Reeves, what with his vocals failing to stick out from the crowd of singers leading the mass of modern rock outfits on the air these days.

The disc opens on a good note, with Dave DeRoo providing an urgent, attacking bassline to, Cold and Jaded. Emblematic of the up and down nature of the disc, the very next song is the utterly forgettable, utterly bland Brand New Day. However, a couple of tracks later, Open Till Midnight opens with a atmospheric guitar shimmer that sets the scene for another outstanding bassline from DeRoo. In conjunction with Kris Kohls’ percussion, he lends the band a solid rhythmic base to play from. Unfortunately, the guitars aren’t nearly as compelling as what the guys on the back line bring to the band.

Waiting for Daylight, somewhat bridges the gap between what was and what is in the Adema universe, with the song displaying the attitude and energy the band showed in their nu metal days. While a contender for best track on the CD, it falls short, with the honors going, instead, to Los Angeles. The album is generally its weakest when the band plays less intense material, but Los Angeles is a definite exception to that trend. There’s something about the song, an emotion reflected in Reeves voice as he sings about “Los Angeles/Shameful city/I’ve been taken by the world below,” that makes you wonder what the city did to him, and raises the track above its peers.

Kill the Headlights closes on a similar note, with Reeves hailing, The Losers, singing, “here’s to the losers/the substance abusers/the beaten and broken down/don’t look now/all the bluest skies are turning black.” Someone’s obviously been through a rough time, but it could well be a metaphor for what Adema have been through the past few years. If that were the case, the band could be said to be on the road to recovery, but they’ve still got a long way to go.