This time around The Hobo and antiGUY give us their impressions of the new album from Adema.

Adema – Unstable
Label: Arista
 

Tracks: Co-Dependant Rip The Heart Out Of Me Stand Up Unstable Promises Blame Me So Fortunate Stressin’ Out Do You Hear Me Let Go Betrayed Me Needles

The Hobo's review - he gave it a rating of:

What an uninspiring, boring, sterile and generic album. When our dear friend Scott Slapp grinded the band’s EP “Insomniac’s Dream”, I though it somewhat harsh. I briefly remembered hearing an Adema song months back, and while it rather bad, I did not think it warranted the flaming Slapp delivered (with, may I say, great finesse and flair). But I was wrong. So damn, damn wrong.

Such are the amazingly insightful plunges deep into mankind’s clouded heart of darkness. Marky’s pathetically shallow, repetitive and base droning about his significant other grow old with a speed of such intensity, that the boredom itself breaks the speed of light, hence opening up a time warp of such power, that your very soul grows tired of its timeless existence.

The lyrics are pathetic. The guitar work exceeds the monotony and simplicity found in the disgraceful collection of popular punk bands. 

Marky’s voice itself is devoid of any interest or talent. Of special note is the single ‘Unstable’, which provides an apt dichotomy of the pitiful content of the album; at which I am deeply saddened I was asked to review. To end off the single Marky screeches, “you’re so unstable” over and over again. On the track immediately successive (a horrifyingly bad ballad) Marky ends the song repeating; “you’re so played out” in the exact – same – tone. These people test me. 

At times Adema sounds like Korn, minus any talent or originality, others like a skin puppet pop rock band. In any case, I weep for anyone unfortunate enough to hear this album. This album is just like a horrifyingly brutal and gory car crash – you know you don’t want to see it the dismembered limbs and assorted giblets, but you can’t avoid slowing down to examine the flaming wreckage. My advice to anyone curious about Adema is to save themselves the mental anguish and effort involved. It’s so bad I have considered placing out a public offer of $11,000 for anyone who brings me Marky Chavez’s spine.

Worst album of the year.

antiGUY's Review - He gave it a Rating of 

I wasn’t too impressed with Adema’s debut album. It was just one of those releases where the songs didn’t grab me and it sounded a bit too engineered towards making sales. My opinion of the group went up a few notches after I saw them live on the Music as a Weapon tour. The songs translated so much better live. It wasn’t just that there was more power behind them but on the disc is did seem like the band held back quite a bit, either that or the music was simply over produced. 

While they did get my attention with their live show, when I tried to relisten to their debut, my opinion of the disc still held firm. The songwriting just wasn’t that imaginative. The musicianship was pretty good, considering the genre of music, but the songwriting as whole seemed pretty generic. I was hoping they would put their best foot forward on their next release. 

Sadly, “Insomniac's Dream EP” fell short as well. In fact, in some ways it was a step backwards. But the group’s growing legions of fans ate it up and at the end of the day, it’s not what critics think but what the kids that buy the music think that counts, if you’re looking at the bottom line. 

Now we come to the group’s sophomore album, “Unstable”, and I have to say after a few spins that I was impressed on how much the group has grown in the songwriting department. There are some solid musical moments on here. ‘Co-dependant’, ‘Stand Up’, and ‘Betray Me ‘are compelling nu-metal songs with big choruses. ‘Blame Me’ is another standout with it’s heavy to light dynamics. The big surprise comes with the two ballads, “Promises” and “Let Go”. These songs show the group’s real potential if they step outside of the box for a moment and try something new.  Although, put neck in neck against each other, “Promises’ is the clear winner. “Let Go,” could have been a much stronger song if the lyrics weren’t so repetitive. 

That's the group's biggest weakness; the lyrics and repetitiveness. If you pay attention to the lyrics then Marky just may go down as Nu Metal's answer to Missy Elliot. 

For the most part, the nu-metal riffing is predictable but Adema do deliver in the melody department. Marky’s lyrics are still a bit insipid and he’s a really bad tendency to beat a line into the ground, but he’s getting better. 

Will Adema still be around in ten years? Given the recent history of the music industry, that’s up for debate but when it came time to deliver a stronger album than their debut, Adema did accomplish the task. 

Listen to samples and Purchase this CD online