Album Review

The Maple Room – A Glimpse of the Inside

• 14th Aug 2007

The Maple Room (TMR) are six crazy young guys from Belgium, who formed in 2003 with a serious work ethic that got them signed to Funtime Records a year later. Since then, they’ve recorded their debut LP ‘Uncover Everyone’, changed labels to Four Aces Records (UK) and toured alongside the likes of From Autumn to Ashes and Funeral for a Friend. So here we are with their lushly adorned follow up LP ‘A Glimpse of the Inside’.

From the outset it’s clear that these guys have got ‘something’. They’ve got an almost generic ‘angry kids with guitars’ sound, it’s true. What sets them apart is their songwriting and their structuring of the many layers that make up their sound. Two guitarists, two vocalists, bass and drums sure can give a full on effect! Reminiscent of The Used and their latest LP, this album shows an unexpected maturity and depth, which upon initial inspection could quite easily be overlooked. And I think I know the reason for this.

Dries, one of the vocalists, righteously credited for screams, is clearly overworked, regrettably overpowering the rest of the band and its more accessible complete music as he does his thing. He does scream well, but to the point, I feel, of compromising the bands full potential for the big time. And considering they’re looking for a new bassist, surely the logical move would be to get him on bass and reduce the raw edge he brings, an edge that might well pay off on the live circuit and every mosh pit they entertain, but it does hold back a great band and their music. Hell, I’ve even contacted them, begging them to see sense and to spread their wings! Here’s hoping so, because TMR have got the energy and passion that so many bands like them have long since misspent. Come on TMR, rise! And don’t forget to wait for the hidden track at the end of this LP!