CINEMA8
self-titled (Mason Mgmt)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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Cinema8 is a hard driven arena rock outfit poised to make their mark on the mainstream alternative chart. Formed in 2001 by guitarist/singer Michael Sauri, formerly of the popular Richmond, Virginia based ska band Fighting Gravity, it is hard to look at this band and not recognize that they are a unit with purpose. Armed with their new self-titled release, exposure playing "All I've Got" a song of Olympic triumph during the 2002 winter games and a tenacious tour schedule, the onset of national exposure seems a mere formality.

Cinema8 blends a straight-forward arena rock sound with wanton jilted lover lyrics, placing them up in the stratosphere with bands such as Stabbing Westward or the more contemporary Creed. "Give In To Love" is a musically taut, open plea to an ex-lover. Sauri shows off his liberal arts background in literature and mythology with songs like "Icarus," and evokes images of Homer in "Thoughts of You." The album's single "Bleed" is dramatic and pleasing. It begins with slow harmony, then bursts forth with a seemingly uncontrollable, in your face guitar that threatens to tear through its soft opening. The chorus - "Every time you walk through the door, I bleed / Everything I've got is what you need" - is emblematic of the album's preoccupation with earnest, forthcoming expression.

Such a pre-occupation however is somewhat thwarted by Bryan Martin's production (Propellerheads, Mark Eitzel, Tom 'Ze / David Byrne) which often loses the vocals in the mix. Whether this is a deliberate device in the interest of enhancing the mystery behind Sauri's hushed / screaming vibe remains to be seen, but in places it serves to undermine Cinema8's purpose. Sauri's dynamic sense of melodrama is the thrust behind the band's assault on arena rock heavy weights like Creed, and any means of bringing that forth will only hasten their ascension.

© 2002 - Erick Mertz