Propelled primarily by the charisma and conceptualizations of visionary vocalist Stacey Quinealty, Los Angeles-based Carbon 9's new CD, The Bull, is a trove of hard-edged gems that should strongly appeal to the modern-rock audience. This band inhabits a landscape similar to that occupied by Korn, and while not necessarily mellower or more "mainstream" than those boys from Bakersfield, Carbon 9 might be considered by many to be more accessible, more melodic, and less stridently off-putting. Like previous efforts by Quinealty and company, The Bull is based on a central theme, which deals simultaneously with feelings of alienation and reassurances of comfort and help. All songs were written by Quinealty and guitarist Darwin DeVitis, with the exception of "Mother," the Glenn Danzig hit, which is admirably and spookily interpreted afresh on this disk. 
Interestingly, "Mother" is sandwiched by the title track, "The Bull," and "Butterflies In My Head," illustrating the dichotomy of the emotions experienced by Quinealty's persona: bold and fierce, versus tender and delicate. Both songs are rendered with crunchy chords from DeVitis, bolstered by the articulate drumwork of Matty Milani and rumbling bass lines of Curtis Porche, plus backing vocals by Danny Cistone. (Although Porche played throughout the album's production, bass duties are currently being handled in performance by new band member Omar D. Brancato.)
While Carbon 9 has a signature sound that's part goth, part industrial, and part nu-metal, sometimes the band just busts loose and rocks out, as on a song such as "I'm Not Broken," complete with effects-laden, guitar-hero solo. And while there's indeed much more good rockin' on the album, it can be noted that in general, Quinealty favors a pattern of alternating plaintive, subdued phrasing 
with full-voiced insistence. This format is evident in the second track, "Crawling Over Me," and next in "My Friend," and again in "Somebody Like Me," and so on -- and it works every time. These varying levels of urgency permit Quinealty to explore a dynamic range of feeling when Carbon 9 performs live, and all band members are consistently hailed for the quality of their onstage delivery. The potency of their performance, both on disk and in person, may have served them well in a recent competition, sponsored by AirPlay Direct: the "All Things Digital Hard Rock / Heavy Metal Artist Contest, 2008." The winner will be announced this month in the Radio Programmers Newsletter, and if Carbon 9 prevails, then the band will be able to thank voters and fans with a line from a song entitled "For You," found on this latest excellent release, The Bull: "Mahalo, Arigato, for being you!"
