Suck Out the Poison
Suck Out the Poison makes He Is Legend's heavier rock sound rougher and more Southern in character. The guitar riffs have a dry, forceful weight, while Schuylar Croom moves between melodic singing and a much harsher delivery. It is a strong setting for the band's mixture of hooks and aggression, though the album does not sustain its best ideas evenly.
Dixie Wolf (The Seduction Of...) introduces the change with firm guitar and rhythm work around a gruffer vocal sound. Attack of the Dungeon Witch keeps the energy moving, combining quicker guitar lines with a harder final stretch. These opening songs give the record a clear physical impact without abandoning the melodies that make the band accessible.
Electronic Throat brings the Southern guitar influence into sharper focus. Its opening figure gives way to heavier playing, with the contrast helping the song maintain its identity. Stampede continues that force at a quicker pace, making the guitar work and vocal changes part of a concentrated burst of energy.
The Pot Bellied Goddess offers a more melodic shape inside the same heavy sound. Croom's singing gives the arrangement a different emphasis, while Mushroom River uses lower, heavier guitar tones and a stronger growl later in the song. Those changes show that the band's new direction can cover more than one kind of intensity.
The two instrumental passages are less convincing as parts of the complete sequence. Opening reduces the music to a brief piano setting, and Cannonball Hands (The Tomato Parade) gives bass and atmosphere more space. Both provide contrast, but they also interrupt an album whose strongest appeal comes from the full band's momentum.
The long closing track, (((Louds, brings rough guitar, a wide vocal range and a female guest voice into a larger arrangement. It is an ambitious ending, although the record has already asked for considerable attention by that stage. Across the album, returning to harsher vocals near the ends of songs can also become a predictable device.
Suck Out the Poison has plenty of convincing riffs and character. The combination of Southern rock and heavier music suits the band, and its best songs make that blend feel purposeful. Shorter sequencing and more varied development would give those strengths greater impact across the whole record.
