'Topsy-Turvy'

Three-chord power jams are out; they stress the neck muscles, and the slamming fits make them dangerous for the road. Instead, musicians have adopted templates for rock metal: working formulas for maximum noise with an undercurrent of hard political outburst and whiny diary entries. The Apex Theory (vocalist Andy Khachaturian, guitarist Art Karamian, bassist David Hakopyan and drummer Sammy Watson), based in L.A., removes the melodrama, and shapes these themes into rock poetry with a little hip-hop mimicry, while its dynamic guitar rhythms and jazzy drum-'n'-bass carries its songs in and out, floating through layers of intensity. Three-quarters of the band members are of Armenian descent (the drummer is a Washington state native), and the group mixes its Mediterranean music with an urban groove.

Its debut album, Topsy-Turvy, was produced by Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Sugar Ray, Eve 6, Pearl Jam) and mixed by Rich Costey (Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down) and Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle). The band has received critical acclaim from major publications -- Rolling Stone describes The Apex Theory as "beat-wise Los Angeles metal with a flair for angst and exotics," and Metal Edge says the band is "aiming to crush monotony in heavy music by borrowing ambience from everything else out there."

The lyrics note the initial angst and confusion of the young, but the tones transform in the empowering wake of positive thinking. According to the band, the fast, trippy track "Aisle Always" is about "being able to beckon to yourself, to your self-spirit, so you can deal with tragedy." As with the rest of this album, the harder riffs relay the raw energy, while delicate guitars lift the song from the humid emotional bog that often weighs down the spirit of the genre.

During last year's Warped Tour, the entire audience migrated to Pennywise, who played simultaneously, and Apex was left jamming to its own mobile fan base. It battled back and performed at the Gorge during OZZFEST in August, and the name of the young band has spread rapidly since. Its new video for the single "Shhh ... Hope Diggy" is blowing up the MTV2 video rotation. The official Web site (www.apextheory.com) features a Topsy-Turvy virtual listening party, including two music videos and the first three songs on the album: "Add Mission," "Mucus Shifters" and "Come Forth." Despite the publicity, the band leaves more interesting, complex songs for the shows. Withholding "That's All!" and "Aisle Always" (my picks) from the Internet shows that it is leaving its core material for the CD-buying fans.

Dreamworks primped the band, marketing its appeal before it spilled over from the L.A. underground to the mainstream public. Consequently, the contemporary cleanliness of the modern rock images displayed on MTV2 negates the spiritual undertone of the group's music. I can imagine Apex Theory taking command of the crowd in less marketable venues, its daring new sound, driven by its atmospheric build-ups, born under explosive percussion and hammered down with a hard metal chorus, lifting the crowd up and down, loosening the flood with its new ethnic vibe. Watch this band build slowly -- it will rise due to its unique and inventive blends of drums and guitar, and its ability to effectively produce and weld softer melodies with more rampaging anthems.