Triad (Red Sparowes, Made Out of Babies, Battle of Mice) / 2006 Neurot / 6 Tracks / http://www.neurotrecordings.com / http://www.redsparowes.com / Reviewed 17 August 2006

Three way splits are usually impressive if there are enough in the way of tracks to fill up the disc. However, when most acts do a three way split, they only put a total of about six or seven tracks on. This is the same problem that happens with Triad, a combination of tracks from Neurot artists Red Sparowes, Battle of Mice, and Made Out of Babies. This is not to say that the music contained within this disc is not impressive; the bands (all three) are given enough time per track to work their magic).

The disc starts off with Red Sparowes, and they bring an intense instrumental track to the table. The band does not need to sing a single word during the track, because the interplay between the guitars and the drums during the track provides more of a narrative than even the most verbose singer could. This is not the case with Battle of Mice. In �Sleep & Dream�, the band blends together equal amounts of vocals and instrumentation. The vocals are little more than just talking over a very Spartan instrumentation that grows into something much more noisy and sludgy. The vocals quickly adapt to this change, and make this another strong and compelling track on �Triad�. The arrangement for the tracks on the disc does not make sense to me. For example, the Red Sparowes tracks end up as bookends for the Battle of Mice and Made Out of Babies tracks.

It seems as if the Red Sparowes tracks should open up the disc, and all the acts should have two tracks in a row. This would give individuals a better idea what the bands sound like than they do on this disc; by the time that Buildings Began to Stretch Wide�, individuals have heard four other tracks by other acts and have forgotten what Red Sparowes sounds like. Made Out of Babies uses the same vocalist as Battle of Mice, as well as a band member from Red Sparowes. The output from Battle of Mice and Made Out of Babies is not too terribly difference, but Made Out of Babies seems to have an edge in regards to bringing the metal to the disc. Each act is solid, and we�ll just have to see what Made Out of Babies and Battle of Mice can bring to a full album that keeps things fresh and interesting for more than just two tracks.

Top Track: Made Out of Babies �Proud To Drown�

Rating: 7.3/10

[JMcQ]