Icky Mettle

Icky Mettle, The Archers of Loaf's debut album, is filled with jagged guitars playing broken riffs, yet they have enough melodic sense to tie it all together into memorable songs, as evidenced by the alternative rock hit Web in Front. As that song's lyrics suggest (All I ever wanted was to be your spine), the group cherishes the obscure, but they are never weird for weirdness' sake -- their fragmented poetry fits the cut-and-paste of the noisy music. [Icky Mettle is also available in an import release.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide