Being influenced by one of the few present-day U.S. bands worth emulating is admirable but problematical, in that you're dealing, of course, not just with a highly distinctive sound but with an entire aesthetic. So indelible is the Tool imprint that it basically clones itself, dominating the listener's consciousness, eclipsing everything else. All one can think of is "Ah, Tool." Hell, even the originators have recently been unable to escape criticism for sounding, er, like themselves. Only a presence so subtle as to be barely noticeable and intricately meshed with dramatically striking original and/or contrasting elements allows for significant individualization, and that is not the case here.

A less prominent similarity can be heard in the Maynard-like inflections vocalist Tristin Rogers sometimes uses. Otherwise, he sounds like a thinner, more mewly version of Living Colour's Corey Glover. While the timber of Rogers' clean (primary) voice leaves much to be desired, his growls, quasi-growls, and screams are decent, and he displays good instincts in terms of nuance. He is, in fact, largely responsible for the degree of feeling that pervades Bury the Facade, most affectingly in "Persephone" and in a long interlude during "The Waste," with which I wish they had chosen to end the song, rather than returning to the 3-part refrain, whose identical first and third sections are tiresomely repeated way too many times in the song.

Despite needing to do more to separate themselves from Tool, Left Brain are an adventurous band whose inclination towards "probing for the new," as expressed in their manifesto, should take them in directions where they can distinguish themselves. Some of the less tangible Toolish elements, such as the Lateralus-like, quietly compelling progression of "Persephone" could be achieved in many different ways. They also do some nice things with effects, and I'm intrigued by the experimentation with epic creation represented by the 4-track movement of songs chronicling a relationship ("Limerence" through "The Cleansing"). Left Brain are very young as a band, having formed in 2005, their previous recordings a 10-track demo, on which "Take What You Need" appeared and from which no samples are available, as far as I can tell, and three singles with songs from the demo and Bury the Facade. Already, though, they have established an advanced level of professionalism, as evidenced by the quality of Bury the Facade's sound and packaging (designed by and featuring the artwork of Left Brain guitarist John Allen), and of the band's promotional materials.

written by Maud

Playing time: 30.17