Then let the havoc choose to shape us all, push us to invent

Somtimes you need something sweet.  Something to leave a nice taste in your mouth; like a bottle of Coke (and I know that the American bottles of Coke with your silly corn syrup pale in comparison to the taste of the cane sugar used just about everywhere else, so you don't necessarily know what I'm talking about) or a mandarin orange.  Other times, you need something bitter, maybe a little salty; like chocolate peppered with chilis.  Some days, you may feel like something tart or sour; like a gin and tonic.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm going on about flavours, especially in what is ostensibly a review of an album.  Well, I'm currently suffering through a certain amount of pain in my mouth; the second of my upper wisdom teeth is coming in.  I know, I could just go to the dentist and get it pulled, however, as he's said previously, there's enough room on my upper jaw to hold it, and sometimes I'm just stubborn.  To weather out the pain, I've been listening to the new Chevelle album, Sci-Fi Crimes.  I picked it up earlier this month, but until now, really haven't paid it much attention.  I needed something to listen to that could be aggressive, but wasn't necessarily the level of napalm that much of the black or death metal to which I listen.  I needed something that had a certain undulating rhythm and bite to it; but I wasn't in the mood for Agalloch or something as pretty as Nest.  I didn't want doom or drone.

I'm an unabashed fan of Tool, and sometimes it's just too long between albums.  Unlike their cookie-cutter clone, Earshot, Chevelle manages to sound a wee bit like Tool -- certainly in Peter Loeffler's vocals, but different enough that it has a flavour of its own.  With Sci-Fi Crimes, I think I've finally figured out what the other influences -- aside from the obvious in Tool and Helmet -- might be; late 80's/early 90's grunge.  Especially a band like Pavement.  Coming from me, that's a compliment.  It also dawned on me the overlap that exists also with bands like the Deftones and The Mars Volta.  Strange to come to that conclusion just listening to this album.