Somehow this reviewer thinks that giving birth to a stone would be horribly painful, but listening to Peach's rerelease of Giving Birth to a Stone is surely not.
Peach
Giving Birth to a Stone
Vile Beat
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Peach is getting most of its publicity from the fact that it features Tool bassist Justin Chancellor. There is a haunting resemblance between the sounds of both bands that can be traced to the dark bass beats and heavy grunge guitar work. The two bands actually toured together in Europe way back in 1994.
As if there weren't enough Tool connections with this band, Adam Jones, guitarist and artist for Tool, redesigned the artwork for Giving Birth to a Stone. The liner notes now feature a four-page foldout of a wide-eyed skeleton.
But here is where the connections end. Peach, while containing a bit of similarity in sound, is neither as polished nor as powerful as Tool.
Perhaps the biggest problems lie in lead singer Simon Oakes' droning voice. He is often off-key and stands out far too much above the power-driven music. In "You Lied" he sounds like he's dying. Tool has on occasion covered this song live, and one can only imagine the improvement that Maynard James Keenan makes with vocals.
But the rest of the band shines far above any lack of lyrical talent. Chancellor shows why he won the job as bassist for Tool after Peach disbanded. His beats lay the backbone for a solid heavy-rock sound which guitarist Ben Durling builds upon. His dark, grunge riffs provide an eerie and hard-hitting sound.
Peach disbanded more than half a decade ago, and Giving Birth to a Stone is merely a rerelease and not a full-scale reunion. Tool fans tired of yet another hyped-up side project might be a tad disappointed with this album. Projects featuring individuals from Tool are a far cry from the magic that the band creates as a whole.
