AMPRAGE – Stuck In A Moment

Needless to say, the state of Idaho isn’t known for being a Glam Metal haven. Apparently, there’s a band by the name of Amprage that’s trying to change that. Considering where they come from, this is an ambitious endeavor. You’d think they’d try to add something to the scene in order to accomplish this. Sadly, that isn’t the case. They incorporate a little modernity to the sound, but in no way does that equate to greatness. If anything, this group seems more like they’re trying to rip off a bunch of the other Glam Metal bands that have come before them.

Amprage is as stuck in the eighties as a group could possibly be. They’ve got an insanely cheesy power ballad and the cliché, sappy lyrical content to boot. The band members have some interesting aliases too. Aeramis handles most of the vocal duties. Hawc is responsible for guitars and some of the other vox. On bass, they’ve got Skydd. Man, those are some bad-ass stage names. Wait, can’t forget about the drummer. He goes by the name of Jared. Guess he’s the only one in the group without enough sense to disguise his identity.

So many of these songs sound the same, it’s uncanny. Then there are the actual song titles. How about the one that kicks things off? It’s entitled, “Back for More”. Hmmm, that sounds a bit familiar. And the next two songs that follow, they’re called: “Caught in a Dream” and “Stuck in a Moment”. Yup, these guys are well on their way to getting MER’s Creative Genius Award.

As far as the actual performances go, the vocals are way too typical to be likeable. Even worse, when Aeramis goes for the high notes, he fails miserably. When Hawc sings, his voice sounds as scratchy (and crappy) as hell. You’d think he was suffering from laryngitis when this stuff was recorded. Actually, some of the music isn’t all that bad. The guitars sound fairly good. Well, when you can actually hear them. They’re too low in the mix to leave a lasting effect. When it comes time for solos, they’re a little more apparent, but are still lacking that requisite crispness.

If this album is any indication, Amprage won’t be able to extricate themselves from the mire of eighties excess that they’re drowning in. There simply isn’t any hope for these guys unless they make serious changes where creative direction goes. Alas, Idaho will continue to go unnoticed in the glam metal world. In the long run, that’s probably not such a bad thing.