In this post-grunge world, there are two types of heavy rock bands - ones that are dark and intelligent and thuggish, childish rap-metal hybrids. Thankfully, Toronto, Canada's Tenth Planet (http://www.tenthplanet.ca) belongs to the former. For some reason the Canadian rock scene doesn't get the coverage it deserves in the U.S. or in the U.K.; once a while a Canadian act will seep through, such as Our Lady Peace or Nickelback, but for the most part Canadians are usually ignored.
Hopefully, Tenth Planet will not meet the fate of their predecessors the Tea Party and Econoline Crush, two other Canadian bands that took U2's thoughtful arena rock and gave it a metallic crunch. There's no sell-out pop single on "The Prophet Curse"; the enigmatic title seems to have been inspired by '70s prog rock, but if the songs have any thematic unity they are lost on me.
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Nevertheless, "The Prophet Curse" is solid rock & roll. The literary "Shadow" opens up ominously before it rips into layers of headbanging sludge. However, the group throws a curveball right after, offering the relatively mellow and mysterious "We Are the Cause of Everything," which also features Martin Ouellette's best vocal work.
The band is highly skilled at setting moods and then thrashing expectations. The cinematic "American Dreams" is finely crafted alternative rock, much better than what is often on FM radio. The same can be said of the whole CD.
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