This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
When you’ve heard one Armenian-American alterna-metal band from Los Angeles, you’ve heard them all — literally. Or so I thought.
Like most people, I assumed System Of A Down had that particular field to themselves. Turns out not to be the case. Meet The Apex Theory, another crew of Armenian-American Angelino rockers on the scene. But heritage and geography are about all they have in common with SOAD. For one thing, Apex’s self-described “heavy Mediterranean groove” mines a slightly more authentic-sounding ethnic vein; for another, they seem more influenced by At the Drive-In and emo than Rage Against the Machine and rap-rock; and for a third, their strong melodies, intelligent lyrics, complex time signatures and hypnotically circular constructions are more brain than brawn. All of which prove once and for all that all Armenian-American alterna-metal bands are not created equal.
