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The Italian band Node showed me something important regarding Metal; that changing direction can truly be a fine thing. However, if you start with something and then switch to something better only to change again and go downward, people are bound to question you. Though Node's new album, In the End Everything is a Gag features some lineup changes, it was meant to be different. Bringing in a new vocalist and guitarist will have that effect. I wasn't that impressed with the changes despite the potential, but I wasn't gagging in the end.

On a positive note, the band went for a more technical sound than in the past. They use modern grooves along with hard breaks to create suspense. These elements turned on them from time to time, however. Node, in some ways, sounds like a modern Thrash/Hardcore band, a la Killswitch Engage, Machine Head or even late Sepultura and Pantera. Those might be good bands (Or not – Ed.) and nice directions to follow (Really not – Ed.), but even if the performance is good, there are things lacking.

I found myself asking "where are the solos?" If there were a few bits of melody, that would also be nice, but I couldn't find them, or, at least, any that were good. The only solo that grabbed my attention was in the cover of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell," and that was so far away from the original it really wasn't very enjoyable in the context of the well-known song. The solos or lack thereof, is only one aspect contributing to the rating because there are some tunes you can enjoy on the album. The band has a lot of experience and there is still promise here. I still can't support this shift toward modern metal, especially when their version of Death Metal sounds so unlike the real thing. In the future, I think Node should try to tune in to their younger selves because they aren't moving forward with what they are doing now.