[7.5/10] It’s hard to look past hook-laden, well-written rock, metal or not. Surely most of us regardless of metal preference can soak music like this in, so call us fans of Hollywood-based Freakhouse. Whether the band falls into the metal category is up for debate (we’ll pass), but there’s some surprisingly seismic, catchy songs here and they’re frontloaded at the beginning of the album, so you have to get in while the getting is good.

Central to the success of Freakhouse is “Dead On the Inside” a FM radio rocker with a killer, Chevelle-esque chorus that would be destined for arenas if this were a decade or two earlier. Vocalist Rob Escher has that mid-90’s alternative rock twang to him (just check out “Stitches” for proof) and he’s what makes the band go. When he’s given a strutting, broad chorus (i.e. “Dead On the Inside,” “Stitches,” and “No Way Down”), Freakhouse appears to be a cut above the rest of whatever is being called modern rock nowadays. When’s he not, well…

Beyond that, the album tails off. There’s not a lot of depth here and that’s sorta symbolic of hard rock of this nature. If there’s no big chorus to carry a song, you might as well forget it. Plus, the band’s clumsy cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” won’t do them any favors.

For what it is, Freakhouse is worth some investment of time. You have your two or three radio-friendly songs that are keepers and the rest is forgettable. Whether they can produce a full album of songs on par with “Dead On the Inside” remains to be seen. It’s a touch-and-go world out in Hollywood, apparently.

www.myspace.com/freakhouse