I will start by mentioning my first thoughts about this band while observing the cover, the name of the band and the CD's name. At first I thought that these guys where a Doom Metal band, especially when I saw that this EP release is named Odes To St. Chris. It seems I was wrong, and by the way, I can't say that Doom belongs to my favorite genres.
BELOW THE LINE are coming straight from London, England. The band came together when singer Andy Hutton (ex-STOOPI) joined in February 2005. This EP, Odes To St. Chris is their first official release. Their biography seems to be a bit poor and I didn't find any other things that are worth mentioning.
So, BELOW THE LINE is a band that seems to combine its members influences pretty well. Their sound is a very nice mixture of Grunge bands like PEARL JAM and ALICE IN CHAINS, STAIND, and some references to the more melodic moments of TOOL (don't imagine anything progressive or crazy riffing, just melodic). I admit that these guys convinced me that they can do it pretty good, better than some bands out there that are selling thousands of CD's. Hutton's voice is very expressive; I really liked this guy's vocal skills. He is not the singer that will rock your socks off, but there were times I could almost feel his voice and not just listen to it. He reminded me of Eddie Vedder (PEARL JAM) a lot! There are also some brutal vocals in some tracks and I don't know if he has recorded them, too. Anyway, the five compositions of this EP are not something out of this world and I am pretty sure that many metalheads will despise it because of its Grunge nature, but I really liked this band! People that listen to more commercial stuff will find many similarities with STAIND. The production isn't the best possible, but it gives a more stoner and doomy feeling to the tracks.
Be careful! Think about it before you check this release out! If you like the bands that are mentioned above as influences, you will definitely find this EP interesting. All classic and extreme metalheads should stay away from it! As for me, I will definitely keep listening to Odes To St. Chris!