Plead the Fifth was one of those albums you did not expect to see when you wake up in the morning. For a good while, I honestly thought that Taproot was no longer together, having heard nothing about them for year, but apparently they've been a very active band over the years. Plead the Fifth marks this bands seventh studio full-length release, and it's quite a departure from the group's original sound back in the days of their debut full-length, Something More Than Nothing. While the band has clearly taken a much more Alternative Rock sound over the years, Plead the Fifth is not that bad an album.
While this release does start off a bit rocky, having the generic sound of earlier Nu-Metal bands from the time they formed, the first few tracks off the release wind up a little repetitive and didn't quite work out jumping from a heavier sound to a more Alternative sound. Plead the Fifth only really kicks in around the time of "Release Me", which is a catchy Rock song that shows some great talent and breaks the repetitive factor of the album with a well composed chorus and sticks to music that doesn't necessarily go between heavier to softer throughout. "Stolage" follows this trend of music writing, but does have a brief moment where the band does bring in a heavier sound and seems to, out of nowhere, act like they have a hardcore fighter personality and will punch you in the face before going back to practically crooning against some Alternative rock chords.
After this point, there's only one more really hard song on here, and if the band had composed the first three tracks like it then it wouldn't have been so hard to swallow as soon as it started. "Trophy WiFi" does wind up following the same repetition that "Now Rise" and "Game Over" have, being heavy at the start with a sung chorus, but there is still some intensity behind the vocals during this song that really makes the track stand out all on it's own and put the band in a slightly new light. Even though this heavy song is one of the best off here, Taproot brings it down musically one more time to close out the CD with "Left Behind" and "No View Is True", which are some of the lightest songs off the album. The latter, "No View Is True", even brings in what ambience an Alternative band can bring to a CD and leaves you feel as if you are simply just drifting along through the whole song.
All in all, Plead the Fifth is not that bad an album and features some good lighter Alternative Rock and Hard Rock materials that fans of the band or style will enjoy. While the vocals do come across as a bit grating after a while due to being a higher pitch and somewhat nasally, it works well with plenty of the tracks on this release. Taproot have clearly found a sound that works for them and continues to push forward with it for this album, though it's probably best if the band just completely leaves behind their semi-Metal roots and stick to creating the Rock songs that have apparently kept this band alive over the years. While it may work for some tracks, such as the closing of "Stares" and on "Trophy WiFi", the band has clearly matured away from this sound, and it actually winds up holding the band back greatly.
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