Feeding the Wolves

10 Years managed to chalk up three albums and one big modern rock hit -- 2005’s modern rock chart-topper “Wasteland” -- without quite making a name for themselves. They remained stuck in the middle of the pack, selling enough discs and tickets to stick around but not grabbing attention. 2010’s Feeding the Wolves is designed to change that. Teaming with producer Howard Benson, who shepherded hits by My Chemical Romance and Papa Roach and is not adverse to working with pop acts including such American Idol alumni as Alison Iraheta and DAUGHTRY, 10 Years trims away their excesses, suppressing their Tool-inspired menace, keeping things tight, letting ballads brood and having the harder numbers hit cleanly so they don’t leave much of a mark. The band manages some sleek anthems -- the not-quite-a-power ballad “Fix Me” hooks in -- and the digital distortion provides loudness if not weight, so Feeding the Wolves winds up fulfilling the goal of being a potential active rock crossover, yet ironically the group still sounds like part of the pack, performing their job competently but without distinction.