July 15, 1999 - 40 Below Summer and Side Show Freaks

Two days after my last release a new band joins my library when 40 Below Summer released their debut album "Side Show Freaks" on July 15, 1999. But who are 40 Below Summer? They are a four-piece nu-metal band from New Jersey consisting of lead singer Max Illidge, guitarist Joey D'Amico, bassist Jordan Plingos and drummer Carlos Aguilar. 40 Below Summer follow the nu-metal blueprint pretty closely with lots of fast, almost rapping vocals and of course some nice heavy music. Let's see what 40 Below Summer is all about!

The album kicks off with "Suck It Up" and they dive right into a catchy main riff with some pretty cool guitar. Illidge comes in to sing the verse and he sings in a decent low voice and at times raises things to a nice high scream. His range is pretty wide as he is all over the place, holding notes in interesting ways kind of similar to Korn's Jonathan Davis. The chorus is not as heavy and is still alright but nothing special, but the rest of the song sounds pretty good, including a nice heavy part where Illidge screams the name of the song. It's a pretty good taste of what 40 Below Summer is all about! Up next is "5 Lb. Bag" and Aguilar plays some solid drums, D'Amico plays some repetitive but catchy guitar and Illidge raps/screams overtop and he sounds pretty good spitting some quick vocals. Once again the chorus is sung in a lighter voice and is toned down compared to the verse but I suppose it makes each verse hit that much harder. This is a short song but it's definitely still a solid one that I was headbanging to for the most part. Track 3 is "All About You" and it's got a much slower pace than the first two tracks as Plingos plays some nice slow bass and D'Amico plays a lighter but decent guitar riff while Illidge sings lightly overtop. After the first verse they snap nicely into a heavy new riff with some nice heavier guitars and Illidge does a good job of singing for the most part and screaming at the end of each line for nice heavy effect. After a couple rounds they end the song with a long softer part, followed swiftly by a nice heavy ending with Illidge screaming "it's all about you BITCH" in a nice heavy finish. The next track is called "Sunburn" and Aguilar starts us off with a catchy drum beat, the bass and some cool guitar follow suit and Illidge completes the riff with some solid singing, but it's the chorus that makes this short song as Illidge screams high and low and very quickly and he sounds pretty crazy and awesome! They also end the song with a pretty sweet breakdown that is easily their heaviest stuff yet. It's an easy pick for my favourite at this point! Track 5 is "Little Lover" and they play a stop-and-start main riff that is decently catchy and Illidge sings nicely overtop. The chorus is pretty repetitive and not that amazing and this is easily the blandest song on the album so far. After a couple rounds Illidge kind of rambles overtop the main riff and he sounds alright, but the music is very repetitive and not all that exciting by the end. Up next is "Untied" and Plingos plays a nice low bass riff to set the stage before the rest of the band joins in with a light main riff as Illidge sings pretty softly. It's a light but decent verse and it makes the heavier guitars in the chorus hit even harder. This is by far the most chill song on the album and it reminds me of Korn's lighter and creepy stuff. Track 7 is "Disease" and it's back to some heavy guitars that sound pretty good and Illidge sounds great in the verse with some nice long screams. He sings the chorus, but the music stays nice and heavy and he snaps nicely back into screaming for the verse. I'm glad most of the album is like this song; things sound pretty solid the whole way through, especially the verse which has some really cool guitar and vocals. The next track is "2 Fisted" and D'Amico plays a great catchy guitar riff that drives things and Plingos copies it on bass and it possibly even sounds better on bass! Illidge spits out some super fast lyrics and things sound pretty great! The chorus is heavy as well with Illidge screaming nicely and this is what nu-metal is all about! The middle of the song has a slower and space-time part that at first seems like an unwelcome deceleration, but it sets the stage for a really epic breakdown that hits pretty fuckin' hard and words do not do proper justice. Illidge sounds really good and the music is pretty awesome as well, this is easily my favourite song on the album, very nicely done! Track 9 is "I'm So Ugly" and Illidge sings quickly in the verse overtop a repetitive main riff but the chorus is much heavier and better. After a couple rounds Illidge releases a long, low growl that sounds awesome and they proceed to close out the song with a great new heavy part. Fantastic finish to this short and fairly good song. The album wraps up with "I'm Still Bleeding" and it starts slow and creepy with Illidge sounding good singing. The heaviness comes in as they bridge the gap nicely to the repetitive but heavy chorus as D'Amico plays some cool guitar. After a couple rounds Illidge rambles a new verse that starts as singing but ends with some pretty heavy screams, all at a nice fast pace. It's a fitting way to finish things off!

That is the end of "Side Show Freaks" and I thought it was a pretty solid debut by 40 Below Summer. They fit the nu-metal mold perfectly and there's lots of cool bass, catchy and heavy guitars and Max Illidge is a pretty great nu-metal vocalist with the ability to scream high and low, sing, and also pretty much rap. "2 Fisted" was my favourite for sure and aside from a couple slower ones most of the album is very fast and heavy. I look forward to hearing more 40 Below Summer in the future!