Taproot Album: “Gift”

...Because this one's truly a 'gift'. Now this is the type of debut that a lot of bands would wish for... I'd first heard about Taproot right here on amazon by merely thumbing through some of Robert L. Thompson III's reviews of various titles, not to mention a recommendation from a family member. Call it fate or something that the exact same day I so happen to stumble across 'Gift' in the music store the for 10 bucks. I bought it, popped it into the CD player and played it. First few listens weren't bad. First impressions of Taproot were just another angst ridden aggro' band in a market that's flooded with this style of music currently. However, after further listening, the group comes off as more than just `something special'. The lead singer (haven't learned his name yet) has a excellent ear hooking voice with an uncanny ability of combining screams of rage with melody in a loosely innovative style like none other. Which makes the band easily dismissed of the comparisons to Staind, and (pains me to even mention his name, Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst. Along with the great voice work, another plus to 'Gift' are the lyrics. Well written, laced with emotion and superior to anything else of this genre. A simple equation for success that so many bands lack these days.

Nevertheless, as good Taproot's debut is, it's far from flawless. Their biggest shortcomings are found (not hard to notice) in their instruments. The drumming is well more than above average, which is good AND bad. Reason being, because the guitar work isn't quite up with it. The riffs that they crank out are slightly flat, lacking substance in progression and variation. In addition to that point, the licks are nearly identical in every song. Which might and already has brought about the argument that Taproot's songs in general all sound the same. Even for myself, the tracks didn't start to distinguish, and stand out from each other until after a few plays.

Needless to say, with just a couple of 'new band imperfections', Taproot is STILL a gem, nearly as good as the first by Slipknot. Listen to `Gift', it brings great difficulty when trying to remove it from the CD player. Already itching to see what these guys do next, if they polish up the rough edges, they will grow from being a really good band, to a great one.

I had heard some Taproot before this on samplers and independent releases that I picked up on line to concerts but this CD was my first real chance to hear them shine.

The CD kicks off with a song called "Smile" which is strikingly similar to Korn when they were in their prime. The song is amazing and was a great choice for the first track.

"Again and Again" is the next song and this is Taproot's best known song. It will also be their first single. It was a bit different then the version I had heard. A new intro was put on it and it added a lot to the song. The lyrics were also far more professional sounding. It is another amazing song.

"Mirror's Reflection" is another remarkable song. It has also been touched up big time. It has a great new beginning and the vocals are touched up big time. Some of the lyrics from "Fear To See" (which is not on the CD) were also added to the song.

"Dragged Down" is a song unlike the rest of Taproot's. It is emotionally charged and to me sounds a lot like something that Staind would do. The lyrics are real good and this was my personal favorite song on the CD.

Another song that caught my eye was "Comeback". The vocals sound a lot like those of Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst...a man who has had his problems with Taproot. I found that pretty interesting. This showed me how multi dimensional Steve Richard's (the lead singer) is.

The last track is called "Impact" and it is a great track. A real solid way to finish off a flawless CD.

This is one of the few CD's that I was able to listen to start to finish without thinking about hitting the fast forward button. None of the songs are "duds" but I was disappointed that they left out my favorite song; "Shine". I would have to recommend this CD strongly to fans of Tool, Deftones, Vision of Disorder, Staind, and Korn.

I bought this album after hearing one track, again and again, and after reading various articles about the band and within a week i fell in love with the album. 'Gift' combines heavy riffs, melodic bass lines, nu metal beats and stephen richards heartfelt lyrics to create a fresh and unique sound. It may be put under the unfortunate catagory of 'nu metal' but dont write taproot off as another rap metal boy band as this album certainly suggests otherwise. 'Gift' contains fantastic mosh worthy tracks such as 'mentobe' and 'again and again', aswell as emotioal heartfelt tracks such as 'mirrors reflection' and 'now', a tribute to stephens girlfriend nikki. This album is a rollercoaster ride of happiness, sadness, anger and deceit. Standout tracks 'emotional times' and 'Smile' certainly have future single hopes. This a striking debut for any band and if you do not own this album already then I strongly advise it, you wont be disapointed. This is new age metal at its best.

I am a big fan of all music, but primarily heavier rock. I like Limp Bizkit, Korn, System of a Down, Spineshank, Slipknot, and mellower stuff like Incubus and 311. Taproot sound a lot like 311 meets Deftones... They have the heavy music style of Deftones, but the singer (Steve) has great vocals, so he sings and screams...

I bought this CD today and cannot stop listening to it. Again and Again and Mirror's Reflection are my two favorite songs as of right now.

By the way this is also the band that started the big controversy between Limp Bizkit and System of A Down on the Family Values Tour issue when Limp kicked SOAD off..IT was because Taproot signed with SOAD's label and not Fred's.. Anyways, I highly recommend the CD. They are a great new band and will only get bigger.

Enjoy

When Gift was first released my friend got the CD and played it all the time....so much so that both of us got sick of it and he eventually threw it away. Fast forward to about three months ago and I'm sitting in the autitorium about to watch Staind (my favorite band) throw it down and Taproot gets up to open. I wasn't expecting much but they blew me away. The next day I went and bought all three of their CD's and I have to say that Gift is just as great the second time around. 'SMILE' opens things perfectly and 'IMPACT' closes out the same...but it was and still is the single 'AGAIN & AGAIN' that just gets my blood pumping. 'NOW' and 'I' and my personal favorite 'MENTOBE' just rock everytime...songs like 'EMOTIONAL TIMES' are a little too whiney for my taste's but '1 NITE STAND' makes up for it (killer song)...This album is just all around kick@$$ and will be on constant cycle in your CD changer...just take a hint from me and don't play it TOO much...savor it...it taste better that way.