Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Why does "Burning the Process" seem like something I've heard before? Maybe because I have. It seems that MTV has laid claim to its very own style of music; Processed rap metal flowing forth from suburbanite college kids with either spiked or shaven hair. There are two differences between Pressure 4-5 and the others, A) they seemed to have had happy childhoods which bestows upon them a certain amount of optimism and B) they aren't covered in big black tattoos (that makes all the difference, I guess).

Pressure 4-5 formed in 1998 in Santa Barbara, California while Adam Rich (vocals) and Mark Berry (guitar) were in college. They soon recruited Lyle McKeany for bass and Tom Shmidt on drums. Joe Shmidt (guitar) started out as the DJ, which he wasn't too keen on, so after he made a few disappearing acts, they broke down and let him play guitar. The name comes from Joe's no shows, they never knew whether they were going to have four or five members.

I will say that Pressure 4-5 is more optimistic and positive than most bands. They show a large amount of dedication and hope in their musical approach as well as their life. They have an awe-filled wide-eyed sentimentality to the subjects they address. Frontman, Adam Rich quotes "We all know that the world is a fucked-up place but you can't just turn your back on it. You've got to work with what you have and overcome your problems or else there's not point, you know?"

Adam's vocals sounds much like Incubus' Brandon Boyd but the music is in the style of Silverchair for the most part. Jay Baumgardner, who also took bands like Papa Roach, Orgy, Slipknot, and Coal Chamber under his wing, produced "Burning the Process."

The Song "Enough" opens with a surging intro, then goes into an interchanging choppy, then flowing riff about getting over grief and moving on with your life.

"Even Worse" is done in that oh so popular rap metal fashion. The song focuses on the irrationality of religion, how it loses touch with its original purpose.

I liked the last song, "Into Yesterday" because I'm a sucker for the "wall of violins" effect.

It's no secret that I abhor the current MTV image. Maybe because it's not the same as the one I grew up with or maybe it's because MTV sacrifices creativity for mass appeal more and more each year. Pressure 4-5 didn't strike me as anything remarkable.

Their music is just too formulated, predictable, and replicated for me to enjoy it.