e-lux

Human Waste Project: Aimee Echo (vocals); Mike Tempesta (guitar); Jeff Schartoff (bass); Scott Ellis (drums).
Additional personnel: Chuck Johnson (snare drum).
Personnel: Aimee Echo (vocals); Mike Tempesta (guitar); Scott Ellis (drums).
Human Waste Project vocalist Aimee Echo sounds an awful lot like Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, but the two groups play completely different musical styles, so that's where the comparison ends. Aimee also sings with lots of fire and vitriol in her voice, which fits the pissed-off music perfectly -- at times sounding a bit like both Korn and the Deftones (both friends of the band). With the help of Korn/Deftones producer Ross Robinson, Human Waste Project's debut, e-lux, packs quite a punch (the album title is a merger of the words Electra, a star from the Pleiades constellation, and Lux, Latin for light). Besides a knack for composing heavy metal assaults ("Disease," "Hold Me Down"), the group also often experiments with the uncommon. On the short opening track "Graverobbers from Mars," Aimee sings through an electric fan into a karaoke microphone, while "Drugstore" features some underwater-like guitar, and the beginning of "Exit Wound" is pure spacy psychedelia. Human Waste Project shows on their debut that they're not afraid to explore new metal avenues. ~ Greg Prato