(Alternative) Nural - Weight Of The World - 2005, MP3, VBR 192-320 kbps

Nural takes an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to The Weight of the World, resulting in an album that's an unfortunate collision of post-grunge, emo, classic rock balladry, and nu-metal. Imagine a world where Chris Carrabba might collaborate with Fred Durst and you've got "Tension," just the first of several sonic blunders here. Long on melody, Kyle Castellani has a decent enough range and the group is talented, but the band's tepid Christian rock perspective lacks an edge as preachy numbers like "The Root of All Evil" and guidance-seekers like the piano-fed "Forgive Me" and the acoustic "Enlighten Me" take hold. One can appreciate Nural's attempt to be all things to all people, but most often, they just sound uninspired. ~ John D. Luerssen