Craig Owens can hang his hat on a lot of accomplishments at this point in his career. He was a highly successful singer for the post-hardcore act Chiodos; he is the brainchild of the scene approved super-group Isles & Glaciers; he lent his talents to the experimental rock assemblage The Sounds Of Animals Fighting; he has released a pop-rock EP under the name Cinematic Sunrise as well as a solo, acoustic EP. If nothing else, Owens is prolific.

Yet Owens has never garnered the respect he deserves partly due to his polarizing figure in the alternative music scene and the choices of people he associates with— Jonny Craig of late Macbook scandal included. So when Choidos made the decision on September 24, 2009 to relieve Owens of his vocal duties with the band, many were neither shocked nor worried. The assumption was that he would choose one of his many side-projects to be his full time responsibility. However, Owens decided otherwise. He was determined to have a fresh start, a new sound. That is when he decided to start a new project, which would become Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (D.R.U.G.S.).

From late 2009 through 2010, Owens announced who would be joining the band as permanent members via Youtube clips. Former Matchbook Romance drummer Aaron Stern, guitarist Nick Martin (formally of Undermined), ex-From First To Last guitarist Matt Good, and finally Adam Russell of Story Of The Year fame all signed on to be part of D.R.U.G.S. Scorning the “super-group” label, the quintet insisted that D.R.U.G.S. was their full-time occupation. They enlisted super-producer John Feldmann to man the boards and the group entered the studio to record their debut album. D.R.U.G.S., their self-titled debut, is a collage of genres wrapped into one, 11-song record. From pop-rock numbers (“I’m Here To Take The Sky”) to brutal, hardcore-tinged songs (“Stop Reading, Start Doing Pushups”), Owens & Co. pull from their extensive catalog of influences to craft a record that is at no point boring to listen too.

Those who were looking for a continuation of the sound Chiodos presented may be let down. D.R.U.G.S. is extremely aggressive and straight forward. Owens ditched the ambiguous, epic lyrical techniques he employed on Chiodos records in exchange for no-nonsense, unequivocally honest anthems about back-stabbing and scorn. This technique is hit-or-miss, however. Songs such as “The Only Thing You Talk About” and “The Hangman” stand out lyrically while “Mr. Owl Ate My Worm” is a flat-out miss: “I’d like to keep cutting // I’d like to keep cutting // But I can’t stand to watch myself bleed” are lyrics even Hawthorne Heights circa “Ohio Is For Lovers” would cringe at.

Yet, even when the lyrics fall flat, the band does not seem to miss a step. One would expect that from a band made up of seasoned-veterans. Matt Good absolutely shines on “Sex Life” and “Laminated E.T. Animal.” Aaron Stern plays the drums with vigor and passion throughout the album, but specifically on the opener “If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is” and the aforementioned “Stop Reading, Start Doing Pushups.” His playing is the backbone of every song and he, more than anyone else, deserves to be singled out for his contribution to D.R.U.G.S. His drumming is phenomenal throughout the record. Simply put, Stern never misses a step.

D.R.U.G.S. is not perfect, but for a band that is just getting their start together, this record should be considered an accomplishment. The talent is there, but the cohesiveness is still a work-in-progress. The album closes with the best song on the entire record, “My Swagger Has A First Name.” The song, anchored by Nick Martin’s vicious screams and Stern’s fantastic kit playing, destroys from the first note to last. Perhaps it is best to end their debut with the album’s strongest track for it indicates the great things still to come from Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows.

***.5/*****

*This review was composed by Mike Meeze