There's something genuinely interesting about (hed) Planet Earth. Rather than simply singing about being different, they actually attempt to be so. The result is that Blackout is a fascinating piece. Though nearly all the 14 tracks do kick off into a metallic frenzy at some point, they're also wildly varied in their pace and feel. "Crazy Life", for instance, begins with sinister Wu-Tang keyboards, then rips into a raucous sha-la-la chorus, before a hard-hitting dual rap about sex on the road leads to a screaming rock crescendo. "Flesh and Bone", meanwhile, has vocalist Jahred howling a weird blues, conjuring lost souls at midnight crossroads, while the shuffling, semi-acoustic "Other Side" is cushioned by a soft 1970s haze. Elsewhere pop, soul, reggae and even folk are slipped into the mix, all of it making the band's histrionic outbursts all the more effective. Jahred's lyrics, too, are in a class above the norm, though too many tracks deal with a personal betrayal (probably a business betrayal) that holds no interest for the listener. --Dominic Wills