Dropbox's debut is emblazoned with a sticker blurb from
Sully Erna, who proclaims that the band's melodies are the best he's heard since
Alice in Chains. That's high praise. But it's also a bit misleading, since
Dropbox are the first signees to
Erna's Realign/Universal vanity imprint. The
Godsmack mastermind also had a hand in
Dropbox's creation, introducing guitarist Lee Richards (himself a former member of
Godsmack) to vocalist John Kosco.
Erna also played drums on the majority of the band's self-titled debut. What all of this really means is that
Dropbox doesn't fall very far from the
Godsmack tree. Whether the vocal harmonies of post-grunge anthems "Wishbone," "Unfold," and "I Feel Fine" really are on par with
Alice in Chains, there's no question that the band is
Dropbox's primary -- some would say only -- influence. Kosco, Richards, fellow guitarist Joe Wilkinson, and bassist Jimmy Preziosa temper their sludgier moments with brooding material ("Take Away the Sun"), and also find time for some straightforward heavy rock in the vein of
Tantric ("Run," "I Told You"). But for the most part,
Dropbox stick to recycling the powerful riffs and throaty vocals of vintage grunge, whether it's
Alice or the chugging bottom end of
Soundgarden, most apparent in the aforementioned "Wishbone."
Godsmack fans won't be disappointed, even though
Drop don't pack quite the metallic crunch of that group. The real audience for
Dropbox seems like the casual active rock radio listener, the fan willing to take harder moments with the soft, and looking for melodic progressions suggestive of grunge's past glories. ~ Johnny Loftus