Perhaps in an attempt to recapture their past glories, the band has not drastically changed up their sound. For the most part the band seems content to rehash the same old tired riffs and clichés of the nu-metal genre. The guitars are extra crunchy and down-tuned and the production adds an extra layer of fuzz to all the riffs. A small move seems to have been made towards a more hard rock direction, with rapping eliminated from the sound. However this move only adds to the mundaneness of the album. There is little that distinguishes Adema from the great mass of bands vying to rule the corporate dominated American radio airwaves.

Though most of the album tends to blend together into one big crunchy mess, there are some moments that stand out. The lead single “Tornado” has a very catchy chorus and the first track “Shoot the Arrows” has perhaps one of the better nu-metal songs i have heard. Some solos thrown in out of left-field, like the Mexican flavored one on “Sevenfold,” help to mix things up a bit.

The collapse of nu-metal seems to have left Adema in a tough situation. Do they adapt to the change and adopt a new sound or keep on plugging away at the genre? The band’s answer to this question is a compromise between these two solutions that does not really solve things. As a nu-metal album, Planets, does not fall flat on its face, yet I can’t help but think that the CD has come out five years too late. Nu-Metal fans, if they still exist, will probably enjoy this but I can’t see how extreme metal fans could possibly like Planets.

written by Scott Huffard

Playing time: 57.13