This is the 2nd installment of my attempt to review all the new albums that i've been listening to lately, there is some good stuff in here that you should check out. Enjoy!
Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate
Black Dahlia is a band that has taken quite a while to grow on me but with this new album they've finally produced something that is very for me to listen to multiple times.
Their past few albums had alot of parts where the vocals were horribly annoying and there were no discernible riffs to really get the blood boiling, on Deflorate however that is most definitely not the case. The addition of one of Arsis's 5 Million ex-guitarists Ryan Knight, and Trevor Strnad's new found ability to lay down legitimate vocals makes this album without a dout, a million times better than their previous albums, it took them alot longer than most of the bands in their genre to release their best album, but this one is most definitely a doozie. There's just alot of really really good, really brutal riffs on this album, and the production is solid, my only complaint is Strnad's lyrics...their pretty stupid.
This album blows their entire discography away and is full of some very memorable and very listenable riffs that are very much relevant today, and for that i think this album is an 8.5/10.
Muse - The Resistance
What can i say about this album that hasnt already been said, it's really epic.
I kind of knew that this album was going to rule based on their insanely rising popularity amongst twilight fans, and the fact that this band rarely writes a bad song. This album has so many epic parts in it that it's almost too much to deal with at times, i mean it's REALLY epic, the lyrics fit the theme of the album title "The Resistance" as most of them are very obviously about rising up against oppressors and whatnot but it's decidedly un-rock n' roll and more atmospheric. My favorite song on the album other than the main single "The Uprising" is "United States Of Eurasia" because it is SUPER epic and has a very very cool bohemian rhapsody moment that i absolutely adore.
The album has a very synthy, atmospheric feel to it and even ends with a symphony in 3 movements that would fit in just as well at an opera-house as it would to an arena full of rabid hipsters; this album is definitely deserving of a 9/10.
Fu Manchu - Signs Of Infinite Power
I must admit that i am incredibly biased about this album because i am 100% obsessed with this band. With that out of the way, i am, of course, excited about the release of this album, and even though it's only been 2 years since their last album, it feels like forever.
Their Century Media debut "We Must Obey" was an absolute work of art! Needless to say, my expectations for the follow-up were alot higher and though i will go on the record saying this album isn't better than 'Obey, it is most certainly not worse. They seem to have gotten alot fuzzier on this album and have gone back to the roots of their sound, as alot of these songs are very reminiscent of the Brant Bjork days, which is pretty cool. Their are still alot of monstrous riffs and plenty of songs to drive fast/skateboard to.
The thing that gets me about this album is that most bands who sign to a major label and take on a different sound for their debut generally appear doomed, but not only did Fu Manchu take on a different sound with their major label debut, it worked really really well, but the kicker is...they actually reverted back to their previous sound on their new album, generally bands on majors nowadays tend to go awry on their followup and take their previously redefined sound and ruin it completely by trying to capitalize on their success, but Fu Manchu just went back to their older sound and fuzzed everything out alot and brought back a really old-school vibe to their sound and for that i applaud them very loudly, 9.5/10 album.
Steel Panther - Feel The Steel
Okay, so i must admit...i used to have a slight obsession with hair metal bands my freshmen year of high school, an obsession that lead to me getting into some great bands like Guns N' Roses, and Van Halen, and of course there were bands like Dokken and Ratt and Motley Crue and even Def Leppard. Of course i'd be lying if i said that i don't still have alot of those bands on my zune.
With that being said, i'm extremely excited about Steel Panther! This album has all the punch and zazz that made those bands great, except they don't take themselves seriously. In the song "Death To All But Metal" there are alot of awesome jabs at people like Britney Spears, Madonna, Papa Roach, Sheryl Crow, and of course the line "50 Cent's a fag, so is Kanye West, shootin hot sperm, on each others chest!" haha, gotta love it!
Their lyrics are cheeky, the music is actually pretty good, the album has alot of re-playability and will have you both laughing and banging your head at the same time which makes me feel okay with giving it a 9/10.
Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
*speaking in redneck accent* "Bruh, look! Aylic n' chaynz got a new al-bum out, wunder how dey sound now dat ole boy is ded...i bet it aint no gud without 'im"
Most people at the store seem to echo that sentiment, to which my mental reply is "yeah dumb-dumb, cause Layne Staley played drums, bass, guitar, and wrote all the songs..." because i think it's 100% ignorance to write off a band who's lead singer died, especially when their guitarist wrote most of the songs and gave them alot of the balls that they are famous for.
Now that i'm off my soapbox, i'd like to say that this album is really, really good. There are alot of very solid riffs on this album and you can tell that new singer William DuVall definitely added alot of heart to these songs even though Jerry Cantrell is the one that really propels this album, especially the two hit singles "Check My Brain" and "A Looking In View" which, when played on the radio, i can't turn my volume knob far enough to the right.
Now, there are a few songs on the album that are very similar to Staind and Puddle Of Mudd, however it's unfair to judge them for that because...after all, if not for AIC those bands would still be playing in bars, or wouldnt exist at all. The good on this album most definitely outweigh the more generic radio rock parts which is always good.
I believe that this album proves that Alice In Chains are not only masters of their craft, but are still very much relevant 14 years after their last album obliterated Billboard charts and it is worthy of a 9, however some songs are entirely too long at the album does drag on a bit too much, although that dragging-on feeling fits the mood of the lyrics and music perfectly which is very strange....i give this album a solid 8/10.
Rammstein - Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da
It's been quite a while since Rammstein put out a new album...and i must say, this one is a doozy.
Upon first hearing about this album it was revealed that the first single was called "P*ssy" which immediately caught my attention! And as expected, not only are the songs lyrics in terrible taste, but the song brings a smile to my face every time i hear it because of it's clumsy and perverted nature, but it is so much fun to listen to, and the chorus will stay stuck in your head for eons.
One thing that is very certain about this album is the musicianship though, the synth on this album is phenomenal, they add alot of really good elements to the music beyond the guitar and drums, there's so many really cool sounds going on in it in fact that it's best to listen to this album through headphones. The title track of the album has a very very catchy chorus, as do most songs on the album really.
The whole album is very eerie, finely crafted, and supremely catchy. The fact that you can't understand 98% of the lyrics really gives it a pretty neat little touch because not only are the lyrics in german...but they fit very very well. I have been a fan of alot of their work so i'm used to listening to just the music and ignoring my ignorance to what the songs are about, if you are able to do get past the german and enjoying the music and Til Lindeman's incredibly unique vocal style this album is incredibly enjoyable and i think it's at least an 8/10.
Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
If you're a Wolfmother fan than you are most certainly going to enjoy this album quite a bit.
It's got all of the elements you'd expect from a Wolfmother album. You've got the gobs and gobs of influence from Zeppelin and Sabbath, plus a few new tricks added by a completely revamped lineup including a new drummer, bassist, and an additional guitarist, so naturally this album definitely goes in some new directions. The vocals are still very sabbathian in nature and semi-high pitched, and incredibly unique. The first single off the album "New Moon Rising" is definitely the best song on the album, but at the same time, that song is better than 99% of the stuff i hear on the radio now so that's not really surprising.
There's really no complaints about this album because it achieves everything i would expect from a Wolfmother album; it rocks incredibly hard, it's got some really good sabbathy riffs, plenty of songs that make you wanna shake your body part of choice, and of course it also avoids being a rehashed version of the last album which is always good. This album is at least 8.5/10.
Hatebreed - Hatebreed
Ever since listening to the covers album Hatebreed recently put out, i knew when Jamey Jasta released a new Hatebreed album it would most certainly be a horse of a different color, and i was definitely right...sorta.
You can tell 2 things upon first listen to this album
1: Jamey Jasta has been listening to alot of Crowbar recently, probably a by-product of Kingdom Of Sorrow
and
2: What they lost when Sean Martin left, is made up for a million times over by Frank 3-Gun.
This album has alot of the traditional Hatebreed elements, however they have become decidedly more metal. There are alot of really really awesome guitar solo's and old-school thrash parts on this album that separate it quite a bit from the rest of the Hatebreed discography.
It certainly isn't better than Perseverance, but Hatebreed is an absolutely super-solid album by these guys and though they are a million miles away from their original sound, i'd say Hatebreed have most definitely released an album that proves they are still relevant in the world of metal/hardcore and i think this album deserves an 8/10 for effort.
The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
This is generally the kind of album i tend to avoid, because let's face it the term "Alt-Country" is at times vomit-inducing.
I will admit however, even though this album is classified as country, it is definitely not a typical country album. It is mainly driven by thoughtful lyrics, and alot of piano and acoustic guitar. I don't generally listen to this type of music so it's very hard to use the right verbage to describe it, but based on what i could tell, this album is very happy and folky and it has some very creative parts and at times the vocalist sounds like Aaron Weiss from mewithoutYou but a little less free-spirited.
I would imagine that this album would be thoroughly enjoyed by fans of: Bright Eyes, Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes, and Wilco. I actually enjoyed this, at times i wish it would have had a little more energy, but i think that giving it a 7/10 is a fair judgement based on the fact that these guys could have made a much better album if they had pepped it up a little bit and lost the boring country parts.
Relient K - Forget & Not Slow Down
I've been overtly criticised many times for my unabashed love of Relient K and not once has it caused me any disdain towards them, because plain and simple, this band is incredibly creative and insanely talented.
Over the years the change in Relient K's sound has been not only insanely obvious, but also incredibly smooth, the way they shifted from a typical tongue-in-cheek pop punk band, to a tongue-in-cheek pop punk band with thoughtful lyrics, to a highly accessible pop punk band with very well told stories and a wide array of different instruments at their disposal.
These songs are not nearly as catchy as those from mmmhmmm, but they have taken the creative storytelling from their last album and advanced it quite a bit, every song seems to be a story, some even have intro's and outro's that flow smoothly and don't stick out too much which is pretty cool.
Without repeating myself too much i'll just say that this album is very happy and contains typical Relient K style catchy songs and alot of really cool progressive instrumentations, but it doesnt stray too incredibly far from the sound they've developed over the last few years. This album gets a well-deserved 8/10.
Jesu - Opiate Sun Ep
To quote Marvin Tickvah "4 al-bums with ya name on em in 1 yee-uh? cobb-on justin broadrick...cobb-on..."
Okay, so i'll admit i was incredibly psyched when the Greymachine project with Justin Broadrick and Aaron Turner was announced, even more psyched to find out that Jesu - Infinity was coming out too, then i saw where Mr. Broadrick was releasing the old final demos under the name White Static Demon...and i thought "uhh...okay...guess you gotta clean out the closet of some older stuff" and now this, Justin Broadrick has put out his 4th album of the year, which normally would never be a bad thing, except for the fact that this album sounds identical to every other Jesu album and really doesnt have any discernible differences that make it just completely amazing.
With that said...I really dig this album and i think it's got some really cool songs on it. It's got really good heavy guitar-tone plus the vocals are absolutely beautiful and it's most definitely a good album to listen to in the winter in front of a fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and your other arm around the neck of the one you love, which is odd for a Jesu album, but not really, so to avoid sounding like another Jesu fan pissed because of over-saturation of my zune i'll just say that this album is a solid effort and gets at 7/10 rating even though it deserves higher.
Lye By Mistake - Fea Jur
I once had the luck/good fortune of seeing this band live once in a dive-bar in Shreveport and i couldnt be anymore excited about this fact.
Freshly signed to Blackmarket Activities like most of their friends, Lye By Mistake have finally put a new albumt out, but with one glaring difference, it's instrumental! As much as i love their old singer Tony, i think that this was probably the best possible direction this band could go in, because frankly, as talented as they all are i think that the dillinger-esque screams subtracted ever so slightly from certainn people being able to enjoy this band.
This album is an absolute wet dream for fans of instrumental music, metal with a bit of jazz-infusion, guitar shredding, and well played music.
It's really kind of a moot point to go into too much detail into this album so i'll leave it at this, Fea Jur is a smorgasbord of acid-jazz and instrumental metal but with guitar shredding that is absolutely to die for! The drummer and bassist lay a solid foundation throughout and Josh Bauman destroys it all with a jackhammer with his incredibly skilled guitar-work. This album rules alot and if you like instrumental metal then its definitely worth your time. It gets a 9/10.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment