Subject to Change

The debut disc from Cleveland's Switched is slick MTV-styled nouveau metal, awash with the standard sort of grim adolescent lyrical stresses, and intense volume over innovation. The single and lead track, "Inside" encapsulates much if not all of what follows: pitched-down guttural vocals, pounding and pedestrian bass and drum lines, and a semi-catchy chorus decent enough to have netted them bottom billing during Ozzfest 2002. Songwriters Ben Schigel and Bradley Kochmit continue to tap right into the heart of their genre with tracks like "Four Walls" and "Reflection," but they are never able to crest the clichés that they have mastered. As a result, tunes like "Dead Fingers" devolve into uninspiring formula. Howard Benson's production work alongside Tom Baker's mastering, however, is the sort of spot-on effort that makes Switched appear considerably more viable. Unless the band follows the advice of their album title, they will perhaps be forever more suited to the soundtrack of an aggressive video game than the collection of a discerning metal enthusiast.