Arizing's full-length debut album,
Womb, has been awaiting release for quite some time, yet it took until March of 2002 for it to be available, largely due to former frontman Jason Revoir's unhappiness and subsequent departure from the group. Shortly afterward, Matt Dalton entered the scene, having abandoning his other band,
LeFT, and his addition has added a new dimension to the group, transforming the band into one of the most promising new faces on the crossover circuit. Dalton's voice has seemingly evolved from the aggressive tones heard on
LeFT's album to a forced melodic singing that propels each song forward with passion. Dalton's singing does need work, but it's intriguing to hear such a different direction for him to take and, accompanied by the solid musical ability of the remaining members of
Arizing, these young men have quite a bit of potential to be the Michigan scene's next breakout stars. It is a little unusual that Dalton chose to reuse the lyrics that former frontman Revoir had written instead of writing his own personal thoughts, yet he does sing with conviction. Small changes are noticed here and there, and for the most part seem pointless, yet do not detract from the enjoyable aspect to the songs. The group's finest moment is likely the song "Hassle," which finds all the bandmembers at the top of their game, flawlessly weaving emotive guitars with passionate vocals that are at once touching and catchy.
Arizing's blend of emotion and meaty aggro is nothing new, yet the band does it so well that it's worth a listen. Given time, these men could definitely find great success, as
Womb is a slightly bumpy ride that steers clear of many of the scene's pitfalls, and should appeal to fans of such groups as
Taproot and
From Zero.