From the depths of Kentucky comes the next band in a chain of promising young acts from up and coming Vindicated Records. Eustace, a group only formed in 2000, has already played with the likes of the late Jeremiah's Grotto and My Hotel Year in that short time. With their debut release The Intinction Method, is the hype true?

Leading off is "Angels Have No Tears" getting on a nice instrumental foot whereas "Surrender" acquires the vocals with a Jimmy Eat World or Goodbye Letter vibe adding a very catchy chorus. "Shine" goes off into some late Nirvana but brings something new to the table, a sense of hope. "Squealer" is Lifehouse with some heavy emo thrown in, stating, "It's taken me a million tries to formulate the syllables. We spoke alone in confidence of thoughts and dreams and incidents. I'm not breaking down, I'm broken in." "Not ½ Bad" brings back the Nirvana as well as the Goodbye Letter while "World Seems Waste" enters in Dashboard Confessional or Lyndsay Diaries but exits with a distortion pedal. "Falling Off The Face Of The Planet" sounds like old Bush; when Bush was good, and "My Precious" adds some Pete Yorn or Denison Witmer. "Away With Me" is a highlight, catchy and worship-filled. What more can I say? "Life comes back to reprimand the times I've tried to be a man. At last I open up my hands to You. Tragedy is a way of telling me I've gone far enough for the day. I'm dancing so proud in these filthy rags, I can't fight my way out of a paper bag." "Cassie Said" ends the debut on, if I'm not mistaken, a song tributing the life of the modern day martyr Cassie Bernall, from the Columbine shootings.

Remember the days when Alternative and Grunge was indie? Well, now those days are behind us and emo has taken its place with music just on the horizon of that mass appeal. With Eustace, they are not your everyday emo band, as the grunge influences stand out, possibly even more than the emo. This is an impressive debut that paves the way for a bright future. It's hard to say goodbye to the past. If that's your case, then you should say hello to Eustace.

- Review date: 2/5/02, written by Blake Garris