I bought the self-titled debut by Trapt on the strength of their
single "Headstrong." This is not something I do often. My precious
CD fund is limited, and I am typically very choosy about how I
spend it. But, I was in Target, and they had it at the "Nice
Price," so I grabbed it. I'm an old-school metalhead, but I also
enjoy a lot of the post-grunge, "Nü Metal" stuff. "Headstrong"
is a tasty song, with strong guitars and vocals, and a memorable
chorus. I had heard it on the radio a few times, and liked it
enough to check out the album.
What I got was a classic case of "bait & switch." The remainder of the album bears no resemblance whatsoever to the single "Headstrong." The rest of the album is completely forgettable, pop-ish power ballads. Middle-of-the-road parroting of the mainstream hits vis-à-vis the likes of Nickelback and Creed. One expects that a single should be representative of the body of work of the artist(s). No other song on this disc has a scintilla of the energy of "Headstrong." I loaned it to a few friends and got the same reaction from all of them. My friend Leslie summed it up well, "The first song is great, but the rest put me to sleep."
I listened to it in its entirety several times, mainly out of respect for my dear departed $15, hoping it was one of those things that would click after a few listens. No dice. It was boring the first time, and every other time I played it. I was eventually able to off my copy on half.com for about half of what I paid for it, and was happy to get that much.
Soulless, utterly devoid of originality or creativity, and ultimately disappointing.