Is it a hit, *hit or miss?

Pacifier � Pacifier by Scott Slapp

Pacifier � Pacifier
Label: Arista
Hit, *hit or Miss?:  hit & miss
Rating: 

Pacifier�s Arista debut is what would happen if Lit reinvented themselves as a nu-metal band. I know Pacifier fans are jumping up and down right now saying �Scott you�re full of it! They sound nothing like Lit!� Wait a second, I respond, go listen to the heavier tunes of Lit�s major label offerings (not their much heavier self-released debut) and you�ll find a lot of similarity in the vocal structure and phrasing, especially in the choruses.  Instrumentally, the band stays pretty true to the nu-metal formula but do mix a little industrial into their sound from time to time.  

Say what you will about Lit, they do have a keen pop sense and that comes through in the melody driven music. The same can be said of Pacifier who seemed to have studied what made most of the top nu-metal bands popular and tailor made their music to fit the mold. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your opinion of nu-metal. You could also call it contrived but most major label bands these days fall victim to that.   

The real question is do they meet the goal of making commercially viable music that is enjoyable to listen to?  Again that depends on your personal taste but going by the music market place of the past few years Pacifier definitely has the chops to compete and shouldn�t have a problem finding a mainstream rock audience. That is if that audience is still perceptive to nu-metal and judging by the sales of some recent albums, there is still a pretty large audience that is. 

There is some controversy surrounding this band. Their hardcore fan base in their native New Zealand were introduced to them under the moniker of Shihad, which in these post 9/11 days a name like that would go over in the U.S. like a lead balloon. Some older fans may be turned off by the fact that the sound the band went for on this disc seems to be heavily geared towards airplay. So there is bound to be a mixed reaction to this disc. 

Take away the baggage of the name and style change and also the stigma that goes along with being mainstream and take a closer listen to the music to determine if it�s enjoyable, then most will say yes. The songs have plenty of power and are yet extremely slick sounding with catchy chorus melodies. It�s a fun disc and the songs are catchy and that�s the bottom line. They may be a little late on the nu-metal train which seems to be just about ready to leave the station but this disc should help the genre hang on for a little while longer and they are better than a lot of the other nu-metal bands that have flooded the record stores over the past few years. 

If you�re into the more commercial nu-metal bands then this disc is for you. If you�re not into the nu-metal thing than Pacifier won�t change your mind. There is nothing really new here but what they do, they do well. And to be quite honest this album has really grown on me after a few spins. So if you check with me in a couple of weeks I�ll probably have a much more positive take on this disc.  Check it out, it�s worth the price of admission if this is your style of music.