I have long since made it one of my primary goals to combat stereotypes in whatever form they take. Yes, I dress just like any stereotypical metal-head would, and yes, I listen to mostly loud and sometimes obnoxious music. Many may never see it, but there is, in fact, more to me than just heavy metal.

In keeping with that idea, it was suggested that I review an album of someone else’s choosing. Seeing that Justin Timberlake just released an album really made me nervous that I may have to tough my way through the muck known as teeny dance pop.

Luckily, the album selected was Modestep’s ‘Evolution Theory,’ which was not too difficult to get through. There are some really awesome bits and pieces found throughout this London quartet’s debut LP. Considering the entire album consists of 15 tracks, all falling somewhere within the dubstep genre, it seemed promising that there would be at least a few solid ideas, otherwise the entire listening experience would be a bit daunting and repetitive for a listener like myself. My only initial objection to this genre was that it is way over-saturated with far too many subpar artists.

‘Evolution Theory’ manages to stand taller than the bulk of dubstep. This could be because it incorporates much more than what is contained in the usual formula for the genre. There is some definite rock influence present on a number of tracks, most notable in the guitar solo that accompanies the single ‘To The Stars,’ or the entirety of the stand-out song, “Time.” The latter track is definitely the black sheep on the album, as there is no big drop or any of the typical dubstep madness. It merely consists of solid backbeat, simple guitar leads and an emotional vocal performance led by singer Josh Friend.

It is, in fact, those vocals that separate Modestep from everyone else. I found myself walking away from this album not with any specific musical passage stuck in my head (though I did have the generic dubstep drop stuck in there for a few hours), but the vocal lines stuck with me. Nothing too crazy about them, but they are definitely effective.

Overall, it’s a fairly good group of songs. However, I can’t help but think that this kind of music isn’t really meant to be consumed in album form. Ingested as a whole, it gets repetitive and annoying. I mean, how many times can the same drop be used on one CD? But if you take a song here and a song there and play it in a club situation, it would go over very well. They may never be a huge act to have on a bill, but they would fit quite nicely opening for one.