Peach - Giving Birth To A Stone
Label: Vile Beat Records

Tracks:
1. Spasm
2. Naked
3. Catfood
4. Velvet
5. Dougal
6. Burn
7. Signpost In The Sea
8. You Lied
9. Don't Make Me Your God
10. Peach

Peach's "Giving Birth To A Stone" has been hyped as Justin Chancellor's side project to Tool. Taken that way, this CD can seem like a slight disappointment. It certainly doesn't seem nearly as fresh or vital as Maynard Keenan's "A Perfect Circle." However, what Peach really IS  Chancellor's former band. Peach, an English alternative metal band, actually released "Giving Birth To A Stone" on a small English label in 1994. This is an American re-issue of that disc.

With that said, this CD suddenly becomes more impressive. The songs, like Tool, emphasize  powerful bass and crunchy guitars. What makes Peach most different from Tool is the added (slight) element of pop and a song writing style that is less about shock value, and more about progressive Pink Floyd-ish rock.

The cover art has a haunting black and white skeleton with it's muscle visible, with a red color emanating from it's gut. A very haunting visual, courtesy of Tool's Adam Jones. However, the rest of the liner is a let-down, there are actually blank pages and very minimal credits inside. I had to go to the Internet to find any info on Peach.

It's been said that Tool plays two Peach tracks featured on this CD in concert; "Spasm" and "You Lied." Actually, most of the songs on this CD are quite good, including the two just mentioned. "Catfood," a King Crimson cover, has become a favorite of mine, and if my friend wasn't banned from Napster for having a Metallica song, I'd download the original, so unfortunately I can't compare. "Velvet" and "Burn" are also great. Peach is at it's best during their faster tracks, like these.  To me, some of their moodier, more dramatic tracks like "Dougal" miss the mark.

I'd recommend this CD to most Tool fans, especially those of which are interested in getting a little bit of Tool history. The lead singer might not be for all Tool fans, since he's obviously British, but he does an effective job. Every one in the band had a lot of talent. It's almost a tease, Peach was a band with high potential that will most likely never be realized, since they're now broken up. 

Rating: 3.75 of 5
 

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