Cinder, a new band from Ft. Myers, Florida, got
Stone Temple Pilots'
Scott Weiland to sing on, write some lyrics on, and co-produce their debut record,
Break Your Silence. It seems quite a feat, until you realize that
Cinder play music similar to
Stone Temple Pilots, only it's way less catchy. The singer,
Roger Young, sounds like
Weiland at times, while on more uptempo tunes like "Ugly" he could easily pass as the singer of your average nu-metal band.
Cinder's rise from average club band to a Geffen debut album has little to do with talent and everything to do with marketability. These guys combine the
Stone Temple Pilots/
Creed/
Alice in Chains formulaic sound with some nu-metal-style yelping and carrying on thrown in for good measure: two genres that rock radio, MTV, and apparently kids everywhere, are crazy about for the moment. Undoubtedly, the band must also be conscious that they've come up with a very consumer-friendly style: a musical equivalent of Zima beer or dry dog food. However, it's very cynical to be a band creating music that's little more than Corn Flakes for the masses.