by Ed RivadaviaEverything about Abdullah's self-titled debut is middle of the road. They're heavy, but not too heavy; they're technically competent musicians, but uninventive songwriters; they also sit somewhere between stoner rock and doom metal without really committing to either one. Singer Jeff Shirilla's voice borrows equally from Ozzy Osbourne and Trouble's Eric Wagner, but his delivery is almost entirely devoid of any passion. And when they embark on Alice in Chains-styled vocal harmonies (see "Conundrum"), the resulting alternative metal accents just add confusion to the mix. Truly powerful moments, like the doomy final riff of "Earth's Answer" and the acoustic guitar bridge of "Proverbs of Hell," occur much too rarely, and are countered by impossibly dull, drifting excursions like "Visions of the Daughters of Time" and the seemingly endless "Awakening the Colossus." And what the heck does the heroin-chic model pictured on the back cover have to do with the album's otherwise pretty cool pagan artwork? In short, chops will get you signed, but Abdullah needs to define their identity before they can expect to stand out from the pack.