Knoxvilleâs musical resume has blossomed rapidly in recent years. Bands including Whitechapel, The Dirty Guvânahs, Place of Skulls, and The Black Cadillacs have received regional, national, and even international acclaim. K-town has also produced members of Weezer, Moon Taxi, and the Everybodyfields, among others, as well as a slew of fantastic bands that still play on a local scale. But whoâs missing from that list? 10 Years have jumped from being local kids caught up in the modern rock swell of the late 90s/early 00sto touring with Deftones, Chevelle, Sevendust and Hatebreed and becoming one of the most nationally recognized alt-metal acts of the last decade. They should probably be on there. As it would so happen, 10 Yearsâ latest effort, Minus the Machine dropped last week on their own independent Palehorse Records label, and while itâs nothing groundbreaking (modern rock records rarely are), itâs certainly worth noting as one of the more entertaining, listenable, and progressive releases within its genre. Thatâs right â progressive ;not a term you hear thrown around with mainstream rock a lot. Nevertheless, 10Years have integrated a hint of prog rock (donât worry die-hards: the emphasis is still very much on ârockâ) into their sound on Minus the Machine . Just notice the breakdowns on âSleeperâ andâKnives,â Brian Vodinhâs furious jazz-metal drumming on lead single âBacklash,â and, most obviously, the dark, almost harrowing piano âballadâ âForever Fieldsââ all of which turn out to be some of the albumâs standout tracks. But more often than not, the album sticks to its roots,bearing more similarity to other alt-metal superstars like Sevendust, Mudvayne and (earlier) Deftones. Thatâs not a bad thing, though â 10 Years seem to be able to do what Chevelle has been failing at for 15 or so years: make radio-playable, venue-packing modern rock while at the same time not being mind-numbingly boring. Whatâs more, each of the members is at least competent a this instrument(s), another rarity in modern radio-rock. Guitarists Ryan âTaterâJohnson and Vodinh (yes, he also plays guitar) express their ability in well-crafted, rhythmically odd riffs rather than shredding solos. Vodinhâs drumming isnât just the 90s/nu-metal rehash that so much current drummers dish out; instead, he integrates jazz, prog, hardcore, and even electronic (ââ¦AndAll the Other Colors,â perhaps) influences into his beats. Bassist Lewis âBig Lewâ Crosby is no Flea or Dan Briggs, but that doesnât mean his bass doesnât sufficiently anchor the albumâs 12 tracks. What will first strike the average listener, though, is Jesse Hasekâs vocal delivery. While heâs no golden god behind the mic, his distinctive clean vocals are a lot better than those of many in the modern rock scene (see: Chad Kroeger). Unfortunately, one of the albumâs weaker points lies in the lyrics. Lines like âTake me all the way to the end/Show me how you want it to end/Keep dancing with the deadâ and âHung by your self-righteous hands,get ready to meet your makerâ skirt the much-scuffed line between meaningful and trite. Really, though, Minus the Machine âs biggest drawback is its genre. As they say, there is nothing new under the sun, and that certainly includes alt-metal. Nevertheless, Knoxvilleâs favorite modern rockers have progressed significantly, and in doing so have produced one of their fieldâs better albums of the last few years. Overall rating: 7.5 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Jack H. Evans is the entertainment editor for The Bark. Follow The Bark on Twitter@BeardenBARK and like The Bark (Bearden High School) on Facebook.