It’s true what they say; don’t judge a book by its cover, or a CD for that matter. Despite the armature look of the album, with its thin CD case and “do-it-yourself” graphic design, the album is anything but thrown together.

The four song LP, Tilt 360’s first, is an eclectic mix of songs varying from rock to heavy metal, truly showing the singer’s vocal talents and range, as well as the band’s ability as musicians, both personally and as a group.

Although some of the songs lyrics, such as “Point Blank,” are a bit confusing and random, other songs such as “Long Road” and “Remain with Grey” really show the depth and emotion the band has invested in their lyrics.

The album starts out with a heavy hitting “Point Blank,” which truly has the band living up to their ‘Heavy Metal’ categorization with screaming lyrics, slamming guitar riffs, intense drum beats and heavy bass adding needed weight to the song. Although the song is well executed, the melody causes a bit of déjà vu with almost any other heavy metal/punk rock group out there.

But despite the ordinary and predictable beginning, the next song, “Long Road,” really separated the group from the ordinary and truly showed the group’s ability – both musically and lyrically. With lyrics such as “It’s a long road to the end/I won’t break but I’m sure I’ll bend” and the emotion that seeps from lead singer Bill Smaltz’s voice, really take the album from being just another punk rock wanna-be group, to a group with their own identity and talent.

From there, the group heads back to more of the hard-hitting heavy metal from the first song, however, “Remain With Grey” forms sort of a compromise between the sound of the first and second songs, keeping the emotional integrity and honest of “Long Road” with lyrics such as, “I’ll bleed the colors right out of you/and you’ll remain with grey,” and combines them with the heavier, faster beat of “Point Blank.”

Tilt 360 ends their LP with “Blindspot,” which has probably the most unique guitar and bass melodies of all of the songs, and is the most impressive song musically. The increasing tempo of the bass and guitar, with the strong beat of the drums, really adds up to create a pumped-up song that you can help but feel the rhythm surging through your body.

All in all, it’s obvious the group has a lot of work still to do, as they are just starting out, however, they proved with “Point Blank” that they have the talent to rise to that level. It may be a “long road” to the top, but after all the hardest part is always getting started off on the right foot – which Tilt 360 has certainly done. If you’re not a fan of punk rock or heavy metal, this album may not be for you; however, for most rock fans it’s worth a listen.