Theory Of A Deadman - Gasoline (20th Anniversary Edition) (2025)

Review by Johnny Loftus

Chad Kroeger isn't as close to Gasoline as he was Theory of a Deadman's 2002 debut, which he co-produced and helped write. But his Nickelback-ian bellow is still a primary influence on Theory frontman and principal songwriter Tyler Connelly, and Gasoline's read of the grunge handbook is just as broad. The acoustic touches on "Hello Lonely" and "Santa Monica" are a respite from the record's processed distortion hammer, but only in the way Tantric bludgeons the tradition of Alice in Chains' Jar of Flies EP. No, Gasoline's main thrust is Connelly's brooding over a departed girlfriend, which he does incessantly as his band methodically transforms 1990s grunge dynamics into mindless 21st century hard rock thud. Opener "Hating Hollywood" roars on the siphoned power of a riff you've heard a million times before, "No Way Out" overdoses on yowling wah-wah pedal, and "Better Off" is another three minutes of meaty guitar setting up a cynical, one-dimensional chorus: "I don't care about anyone/You know that I'm better off," in this case. "No Surprise" has a similarly unfortunate swagger -- "It ain't no surprise/Woah that that bitch is leaving me" -- but its melody at least carries it as a single. Barely. Gasoline's remainder drops in a power ballad ("Since You've Been Gone"), a bluesy throwaway ("Hell Just Ain't the Same"), and songs like "Quiver" and "Save the Best for Last" that would slot into anything by Nickelback or Puddle of Mudd without the turn of a tuning peg.