Review by JD on March 2, 2011.

Southern Rock is perhaps one of my things that most people don’t know about me that I like. I love Skynyrd and 38 Special and Jackal. It is also true that I am not as much into Southern Rock as I am into metal, but it has been one of the constant things that I listen to, I admit it. It is when Southern Rock meets Metal on those glorious rare occasions in music history... I think I am in heaven.

Burn Blue Sky is a band that has two distinct styles playing with one another like Tequila and Lime. It is the best groove of Southern Rock meeting some down and dirty Metal. To put into perspective... it is like original Guns ‘N’ Roses mixed with equal parts Black Label Society, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top and Stone Sour with a touch of latter Cult as well as overtones of Black Sabbath. It comes together with beer soaked genius to provide a down and dirty experience that I have not had in awhile.

Looking at the track listings, I had to smile as the songs ran though my ears. 'The City Streets' is a song that makes you headbang without spilling one drop of beer in the process while the massive metallic-blues shuffle feeling of 'Cigarettes And Friends Long Dead'. This particular song makes me think it sounds so much like what if Blues Icon Stevie Ray Vaughan would have sounded like this if he played metal. This song alone was mean, nasty and full of feeling while being a masterpiece.

This is crossover at its finest, a true crossover at that. It may not be the Punk/Metal thing that is normal with metal but this southern romping, beer swilling Blues inspired metal that is so damned good. I cant think of anything else that I could ask for anything more than this party time rock and roll. Rock And Roll at its zenith.

This is the one album to make sure your playing in the car with the windows down and as loud as you can. It will scare the people who are driving around playing rap. That is the sign of a real metal.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Krys on April 17, 2002.

This power/progressive rock band was formed in late 2000 after two members of Inner Strength, Joe Marselle (guitar) and Scott Oliva (vocals) decided to unleash their musical vision under a new name, The Driven. Their vision is self-described as “raw, simple, straight and to the point”... I can agree with first 3 but to this day I’m not sure what point are they talking about because to tell you the truth, I don’t even see a point in releasing “Gravity Clock”.

So, let’s get their vision under a microscope. Raw - recorded with a low budget at mostly home studios, “Gravity Clock” sounds very raw but that’s not the problem here. The vocals are way up front, the guitars have too much distortion for a power/progressive style, dynamics don’t even exist and the stupid cover looks like someone did it 1 minute before it went to print.

Simple and straight - Oh in this department they achieved the ultimate highs... it so simple and straight that if you put me against a wall and stuck a gun to my head, I wouldn’t be able to recognize a single track by its title. The musicianship is actually quite promising and leaves some hope for the future, but if it doesn’t go together with a feel and touch for some good melodies The Driven faces a long road to the top.

To the point – I already said it; I have no clue what they’re talking about.

If this is “unrelenting power rock at it’s finest” as they claim, then power rock is dead for me because I don’t want to hear any mediocre bands after having had to endure the finest sons of the genre.

One thing I have to give to them is that for only $8 they delivered 18 tracks (68 min. of music). But on the other hand, I had to take a break after the first 9 just to make sure I could make it to the end. If they put all those ideas into 9-10 songs, gave them better arrangements and production maybe I’d appreciate this album a little more, but 18 tracks that basically sound the same without any atmosphere resulted in 3 finished cups of coffee and half pack of smoked cigarettes, just to get through.

Bottom Line: Boring. If a rock band can’t make their songs stand from one another then there must be something terribly wrong in The Driven camp.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 5
Atmosphere: 3
Originality: 5
Production: 4
Overall: 4

Rating: 4.2 out of 10

Review by JD on March 2, 2011.

Southern Rock is perhaps one of my things that most people don’t know about me that I like. I love Skynyrd and 38 Special and Jackal. It is also true that I am not as much into Southern Rock as I am into metal, but it has been one of the constant things that I listen to, I admit it. It is when Southern Rock meets Metal on those glorious rare occasions in music history... I think I am in heaven.

Burn Blue Sky is a band that has two distinct styles playing with one another like Tequila and Lime. It is the best groove of Southern Rock meeting some down and dirty Metal. To put into perspective... it is like original Guns ‘N’ Roses mixed with equal parts Black Label Society, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top and Stone Sour with a touch of latter Cult as well as overtones of Black Sabbath. It comes together with beer soaked genius to provide a down and dirty experience that I have not had in awhile.

Looking at the track listings, I had to smile as the songs ran though my ears. 'The City Streets' is a song that makes you headbang without spilling one drop of beer in the process while the massive metallic-blues shuffle feeling of 'Cigarettes And Friends Long Dead'. This particular song makes me think it sounds so much like what if Blues Icon Stevie Ray Vaughan would have sounded like this if he played metal. This song alone was mean, nasty and full of feeling while being a masterpiece.

This is crossover at its finest, a true crossover at that. It may not be the Punk/Metal thing that is normal with metal but this southern romping, beer swilling Blues inspired metal that is so damned good. I cant think of anything else that I could ask for anything more than this party time rock and roll. Rock And Roll at its zenith.

This is the one album to make sure your playing in the car with the windows down and as loud as you can. It will scare the people who are driving around playing rap. That is the sign of a real metal.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.5 out of 10