As their press release and Myspace page proudly proclaim, Arabrot are a group that plays noise rock. However, they hail from Norway, a country known more among heavy music aficionados for producing Tolkien-loving, poorly-produced black metal bands than anything else. So, props to Arabrot for trying to carve out their own path, but how do things actually play out on their album The Brother Seed? Pretty unevenly, unfortunately.Something that pretty well sums up the impression The Brother Seed leaves as a whole is the voice of cryptically-named vocalist/guitarist K:N. The man’s voice constantly shifts from one sort of delivery to another in a manner that’s almost inexplicable, from a distraught-sounding wail, to a kind of clenched-teeth growl, to a higher-register scream, to attempts at singing more traditionally. It’s inexplicable because, just when K:N is really hitting the verbal mark, he usually decides to show listeners another facet of his voice. Sometimes the constant voice-changing is pulled off well, such as the catchy chorus of 'Holes-Fake Dimitri' that will surely get some good audience movement and participation. With that song in mind, it’s unfortunate that moments like the first 1:15 of 'End of the World ”“ Revelations' are far more common on the album: the vocals and the instrumentation don’t go together at all and neither is impressive enough to compensate for the other’s lack.Throughout The Brother Seed, there are moments where the instruments just don’t work either. The intro to 'With this or upon us ”“ The Bastard Cause' sounds like a black metal blast beat intro, with good speed and appropriate guitar, except that there is no snare drum: the result is weak and could have painlessly been cut out. 'Pest ”“ Misery' begins by building tension and doesn’t go anywhere until the final minute of the song, all while K:N does a really grating grunt/whiny vocal. Songs like 'He is Disease ”“ He is Love' and 'It’s Hot ”“ Toss It' just blend together.What’s so frustrating is that that final minute of 'Pest' is so promising, and that 'With this or upon us ”“ The Bastard Cause' is so good if the intro is discarded. 'Holes-Fake Dimitri' is a really great song, and shows that the band can build tension with a heavy pay-off. 'Dead to me ”“ Aficionado' is driving and would have made a great album opener. Even though I don’t have a lyric sheet, what I can discern has piqued my interest and might turn out to be a strong point for the band.When I came across this album, I was unfamiliar with the specifics of noise rock. After giving The Brother Seed a couple of spins, I wondered if I was missing some point of their aesthetic. So, I did what anyone with a question does: I looked up “noise rock” on Wikipedia. The definition given was exceedingly broad, but it gave me some points of reference. Namely, it explained why I kept thinking that Arabrot sounded like a watered-down version of Dillinger Escape Plan. Now, I know that not everyone can be DEP, but Arabrot just doesn’t pull any particular thing off notably well, whether it be things pulled from punk, rock, hardcore, or metal (just try to tell me that their bassist didn’t steal the stage name “Deadly Nightshade” from one of his corpse-painted countrymen.). I think that the band are capable of making a standout album, but they need to focus their songs more, to find a particular niche (or simply stop trying to fit into so many niches at once), and work with those blinders on for awhile. When that happens, watch out. Until then, there’s better out there.