LikeDAVID is a California-based rock band off of Bettie Rocket Records. Looking for a departure from their debut Beyond The Shifting Sand, the group has brought to the table It Started With Twelve, an album with more power and less pop.

"Who Are You Spitting At" gets things started with a slow haunting heavy melody along with "Add Up Those Points" bringing to mind Eve 6 or Lit with a little more edge. "Head Under Water" and "Dry Bleeder" include soaring melodies that almost sound of Alien Ant Farm. "Mr. Calvin" and "Why Did Sarah Laugh" extend thick guitar riffs that grasp your attention and "Everything Meaningless" puts a haunting piano part that Mike Myers and the cast of Halloween would adore but only adds a speaking element of Ecclesiastes 1 and 2: 1-23. This is a great change of pace and a delightful touch to the as of yet, unoriginal album. "For Jason's Car" brings a weird techno Mortal Kombat, Beck-ish vibe that is also distinctive, whereas "Suffer To Reach" ends on an impressive melodious note.

LikeDAVID has that whole hip hop/ metal craze going. They're doing the same thing Project 86, P.O.D., and Disturbed have been doing, but just in a more repetitive fashion. The lyrical ability is impressive but for the most part, I don't see anything new here. Take away the two delightful tracks that have nothing to do with the genre they're trying to appeal, and all you have left is just another P.O.D. silhouette. But look on the bright side -- at least they do it well.

- Review date: 3/12/02, written by Blake Garris