Rock Review Phil

Change Of Address

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 08 May 2014 23:42:00 +0000

Hi All,

This website was been moved, click here to get to the current web address. If you should stumble upon this site (as a lot of my posts are still linked up to this site) please be aware that very few new posts will be posted on this site and more will be posted at the new web address.

Your interest is greatly appreciated, thank you
Rock Review Phil

Steel Panther "All You Can Eat"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 May 2014 14:11:00 +0000

Steel Panther have gained quite a bit of notoriety in the past five or so years. I think it’s great; I still remember finding out about them through YouTube videos before they released their first album Feel the Steel. My favourite video is of them with Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan playing Runaway. But their real international notoriety has come from their shtick of being a modern 80s hair metal band musically with the most vulgar lyrics you could possibly think of.

It worked for their debut, that album had some great music and at the time the lyrics that singer Michael Starr sang were just completely unheard of, so the shock and comedy of it all is what gave them the attention they need. Their second album Balls Out I felt really lacked in the music department and really just concentrated on the lyrics. The band was looking for a laugh more than they were trying to release good songs and while others didn’t seem to mind, this music critic did and though the album was still pretty good, it was no Feel The Steel.

I could speak more of those albums, maybe I should to clarify some things, but this article is for Steel Panther’s recently released third album All You Can Eat. Once again Steel Panther bring topics that are either real in everyday life or just made up for a laugh, regardless we find them with a whole new batch of wacky, zany and just plain grotesquely funny lyrics; this time with some quality in their music.

Take the opening track Pussywhipped. We all know at least someone who is pussywhipped, and for those who don’t, well they likely are the ones in their respective groups who are pussywhipped, and Steel Panther gives us an anthem for our frustration toward those individuals. That’s the wacky and zany part of the song, but the quality lies in the music; the classical guitar intro by lead guitarist Satchel, the guitar riffs and the melodies. Instantly I was able to tell the band put more focus on their music this time around.

The second track, Party Like Tomorrow Is The End of the World was the first song released from the album a few months ago. I’m not totally impressed by the music of the song, it really sounds generic, but the end of the song, before the last chorus, that part is pretty awesome. I can’t help but notice that the lyrics are actually quite held back. Their Balls Out album was filled with every dirty word in the book, but in this song I don’t even think Michael Starr says “fuck” once. He says “friggin” and “effing” but not the actual swear word. I don’t know, I just found that interesting and felt like sharing it.

Gloryhole (which has a music video so disgusting that I regret ever having watched it) is a song where the lyrics are absolutely no holds barred, but they aren’t much of anything special. The music for this track however is pretty awesome. The main melody of the verses is derived from that Middle Eastern sounding snake charmer song, and the lyrics are almost word for word just like those dirty rhymes kids would sing to the tune of said snake charmer song to each other to be funny (“There’s a place in France where the naked ladies like to dance.”) As great as I find the music of the track, it is once again the bridge that I feel truly makes the song, and the added (what I best assume is an) organ playing at the end of the guitar solo. I just find these simple little things make the song and help take our attention away from the lyrics, which aren’t the bands best.

The albums ballad quota, Bukkake Tears, is one of the worst lyrically (it certainly is no Community Property) but musically it stands above the rest. It is a bit dark, but then again really so are the lyrics. While it’s the only ballad, there are songs like the purposely self absorbed The Burden of Being Wonderful is very soft hearted, heavily keyboard driven and it some of the music actually sounds like some emotion was put in to it. The same could be said about You’re Beautiful When You Don’t Talk. Just like Pussywhipped, this song actually has a surprisingly relatable topic, I mean how many girls do you know that are just dumb and it takes away from their appeal? Okay hopefully you don’t know too many of them, but I’m sure you know one. If you think about it, this is one of the most civil songs they’ve ever made because it’s singing about what’s on the inside than on the outside (I actually just realized that right now!)

All You Can Eat’s lack of guest musicians surprises me. Both Feel The Steel and Balls Out had a smorgasbord of guest musicians on each album, but for All You Can Eat, Gangbang at the Old Folks Home features the only guest musician appearance; former Dio, and current Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell (who if you ask me is a hell of a guest musician) plays the songs guitar solo. Here is a track where the lyrics may damn well be better than the song. It seems to be one that a lot of listeners of the album that I know of seem to remember.

Then there are a few stinkers on the album, specifically Fucking My Heart in the Ass, B.V.S. (big vagina syndrome) and If I Was The King, all of which remind me of Balls Out in the sense that a tremendous more amount of thought was put in to making the songs funny than there was trying to make them sound good. I’m sure after a few listens these songs may sound better than my early opinions. I’m finding the first of the three songs growing on me ever so slightly.

For the first time, Steel Panther don’t end their album with a ballad/soft song; instead they save one of the best for last. She’s on the Rag kind of takes its lyrics too far at times, but it’s a song that is sure to stick in the minds of its listeners. If not for its lyrics than for it’s well placed keyboards. It also has my favourite guitar solo of the album, but that’s beside the point. Really this song ends the album the way I love albums to end, with the song to end all songs and make its listeners want more.

Feel the Steel had the music, Balls Out had the lyrics, All You Can Eat has both. Music with some pretty diverse influence (but not quite as diverse as Feel the Steel) and lyrics that borderline too far, there is no way this album can possible disappoint existing Steel Panther fans, all the while serving its rightful purpose in attracting more fans into the crazy world that is Steel Panther.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Ten Strikes You’re Out” - This is really the only song which had lyrics that actually made me chuckle. This song takes a break from the 80’s hair metal sound and borrows some ZZ Top Texas roadhouse blues influence (complete with Michael Starr channelling his inner Billy F. Gibbons with some “haw haw’s” at the beginning of the song.) What helps my choice in picking this as the highlight is that I know at least three other people who point this song out as being if not one of, than the best song on the album.

FINAL RATING

8 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	"Pussywhipped"	4:37
2.	"Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World"	4:01
3.	"Gloryhole"	4:32
4.	"Bukkake Tears"	4:47
5.	"Gangbang at the Old Folks Home"	3:47
6.	"Ten Strikes You're Out"	3:24
7.	"The Burden of Being Wonderful"	3:29
8.	"Fucking My Heart in the Ass"	4:14
9.	"B.V.S."	3:57
10.	"You're Beautiful When You Don't Talk"	3:49
11.	"If I Was the King"	3:42
12.	"She's on the Rag"	3:50

Good Knives "A Place Called Doubt"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 15:28:00 +0000

There’s more to Good Knives than just your average hard rock band. Their latest album A Place Called Doubt would show anyone that while there is a definite classic rock influence to their sound, they have no intentions of sounding like anyone but themselves. The reason I find this very apparent is in the bands singing. Singer Shaunny P does have a familiar sounding voice, reminding me of Joel O’Keefe from Airbourne (one of my least favourite modern rock bands thanks to their complete unoriginal sound). However, unlike Joel, Shaunny doesn’t seem to want to sing in front of an AC/DC rip-off, but rather a band making original sounding material making his vocal capabilities shine that much brighter.

Opening track Until We Bleed is a good high energy track, but ultimately it doesn’t define the album the way most opening tracks should. It gives a general idea of the vocal capabilities (raspy, sort of high) and musicianship (great usage of two guitars,) however the album does have tracks that standout more.

Doubt and Dance With Death are both promoted with music videos from the band, and rightfully so because these are two songs which I would say are spotlights from the album. Solid mid-pace hard rock tracks with a serious attitude to them. But it’s the fourth track Keep On Running that made me realize just how good the band was at writing songs, mostly thanks to its key change at the end. Changing keys in songs has become such a lost art form; I guess it isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it certainly isn’t the hardest thing to do, and Good Knives does it with ease in this track.

I like how the album can go from high energy tracks such as the previously mentioned to slower tracks like Wasted, My Heart Is Cracked and Same Old Story. The album doesn’t have a ballad, so I’m not calling these songs ballads, but there was definite emotion put in to these tracks which is why the band doesn’t seem to want to lose that emotion behind loud and showy musicianship.

Then there are the songs like Nightmare and Fix Me which aren’t fast paced high energy songs (though Fix Me has its energetic moments), but rather dark, serious and melodic without losing their edge. This is around the point of the album that I think listeners would realize the album has only seemed to have been getting better. Even the remaining songs Lost in Time, Breaking Out (one of my favourites) and Found My Way don’t let up and manage to impress me with how they were written.

Just like the track that opened A Place Called Doubt, the song that closes it, Stand By Me (no it’s not a Ben E. King cover) is also a great track, but on an album with 13 great tracks, I’m not sure I’d have picked this song to be the closer. I feel it doesn’t punch the listener’s ear drug and tickle their memory the way other tracks on the album have and the way I feel a closing track should be.

My first impression of Good Knives is not at all what I think of them now. I was expecting loud, possibly incoherent music that was high in energy and low in quality, but what I ended up finding is that there are still hard rock bands out there that know how to write good music. As previously mentioned, I love their usage of two guitarists; no one wants to just hear power chords and nothing but power chords behind the singing, and Good Knives seem to know that there is a reason a rhythm guitar player is called a rhythm guitar player and why a lead guitar player is called a lead guitar player. And rather than trying to hook listeners by playing loud and fast, Good Knives really do let their music do the talking and they hook listeners the way listeners should be hooked.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Keep On Running” – While the entire album is great, the first half of the album is where I believe the band was trying to make the most of their statement, and Keep On Running is not only smack dab in the middle of the first half of the album, but it is also the track I feel stands out the most. It changes pace from simple and melodic to energetic choruses. Frankly when verses are a little basic compared to most of what the rest of the album has to offer, but the chorus is just so catchy, and the singing sounds at its absolute best in those moments. And for the songwriters out there, there is also that change in key toward the end as an added bonus.

FINAL RATING

8.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Until We Bleed	Good Knives	3:12
2	Doubt	Good Knives	3:35
3	Dancing With Death	Good Knives	3:02
4	Keep On Running	Good Knives	3:54
5	Wasted	Good Knives	3:29
6	My Heart Is Cracked	Good Knives	3:07
7	Nightmare	Good Knives	3:41
8	Fix Me	Good Knives	3:16
9	Same Old Story	Good Knives	3:38
10	Lost in Time	Good Knives	3:50
11	Breaking Out	Good Knives	3:50
12	Found My Way	Good Knives	4:01
13	Stand By Me	Good Knives	4:03

Divot "To Shape The Mold"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 15:09:00 +0000

Do you remember around the early 2000’s or so how many alternative bands seemed to come out, not all exactly sounding the same but having similarities such as their slow and heavy tunes, not so happy lyrics and kind of a neo-grunge attitude? Bands that come to mind are Three Days Grace, Deftones, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, etc. This is the kind of alternative rock sound I think anyone would use to describe Divot’s sound.

While a lot of these artists are still making music, that wave of a genre seemed to have ended, even having bands like Shinedown releasing Nickelback sounding stuff now. Other bands like Deftones and Chevelle are still staying true to their known sound, just evolving a bit with maturity. Divot falls right in there alongside those names and stands as one of few new bands that I’ve been given, at least, recently, to really try to make music that sounds like that.

Their EP To Shape The Mold is filled with songs like opening track One Up which has a slow and loud guitar riff and listenable disturbing singing by singer/guitarist Cliff Hodson and offbeat drum beats by drummer Jeffrey Siptrott which are all essential to this type of alternative rock. Then there is songs like Succubus which has a relatively easy to remember chorus and the song Downer which seems to have turned up Paul Felix’s bass, because I seem to hear it more in this song than any other. It even has a simple and yet noticeable guitar solo which I enjoyed.

By the time you get to the final two tracks Divide and Stay, you realize that they truly are like the previously mentioned bands in the sense that their songs don’t change much. Sure they all have different melodies and riffs, but the style doesn’t change from always being slow and dark.

This is the paragraph where I’ll be brutally honest; Divot’s main flaw is their similarity to Chevelle. I could be polite and say they are a mix of Deftones and Chevelle, but realistically the only thing that differentiates those two bands is the singing for the most part, and Divot’s Cliff Hodson has a voice pretty damn similar to Pete Loeffler, even the way he uses it; kind of soft and a bit whiny, which is fine, and capable of adding some intensity, which is even better, but it’s just too similar. Realistically I like Cliff’s voice very much. the band is practically carried by its vocals. The band is going to have to change something about their sound, step out of their comfort zone, if they want to get real attention.

Based on To Shape The Mold, I believe the band will evolve in the right direction though, their song writing tells me they are smarter than most bands out there. I thoroughly enjoy the lyrics and the melodies that they play and their integrity is all there to be admired by the right listener.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Downer” – Placed at the perfect part of the EP, smack dab in the middle, is what I consider the most melodic and well written track on the album. It’s easy to remember upon having listened to maybe only twice, and not to mention it has that guitar solo that I enjoyed. The band is in full swing here, making for the perfect highlight because it shows them really trying to give it their all. Blogger won't allow me to upload the YouTube video of the song, so just click here.

FINAL RATING

6.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	One Up	4:37
2	Succubus	4:08
3	Downer	3:32
4	Divide	4:23
5	Stay	4:09

Steel Threads "For Those Who Are Left"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 14:31:00 +0000

One type of music I haven’t reviewed yet (because up to this point I’ve never been given any of it) is folk rock. My interest in folk rock stems more toward the more edgy stuff from the classic rock days; Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young (with or without CSN,) Joni Mitchell¸ all that good stuff. I do however enjoy bands that play a more prominently traditional folk, perhaps bands with a bit of a pop fusion mixed in such as The Strumbellas, a Canadian band that was brought to my attention in early February, and then there is of course Mumford & Sons. Love them or hate them, I respect people’s opinions on them, I am a fan. I saw them live late last summer and thoroughly enjoyed their show, and I do think they are quite unique. But this article is about a very different traditional folk rock band, Steel Threads.

Rather than being a full band with a variety of different instruments typical to folk music (acoustic guitars, violins, fiddles, even banjos and whatever else you can name), Steel Threads has just two members; Neil Wardleworth on vocals, guitar and bass drum and Laura Wilcockson on Violin and Vocals. There is also bass played on most songs by the producer Stuart Eastham, but the band classifies themselves as a duo, and this impresses me because their songs sound so full that it really is hard to believe so few musicians took part in playing on them.

The opening track of their album For Those Who Are Left is Believe, which is a good example of their sound. Acoustic guitars carrying the perfect musical rhythm with just a bass drum to lay down the beat all underneath terrifically harmonized violins, topped with Neil’s lead vocals complimented with Laura’s vocal harmonies. Other songs such as Disappear, It Goes On and New Song follow similar structure, but each has their own unique and well written melodies.

Then there are songs with mixed influences such as All My Time (which features both Neil and Laura sharing lead vocals) which has a strong country influence to it, with its jumpy beat and the way Laura plays the violin. It reminds me of how Charlie Daniels plays his fiddle (and no I’m NOT only referring to The Devil Went Down To Georgia). There is a dark undertow on The Boy Who Lost His Way to add to the different influences the album features.

There are some pretty beautiful moments on the album. For example, Beautiful Friend is the perfect ballad. Few independent bands that have given me their music include ballads lately, but of the few that have, not many of their ballads have provided as much pure emotion and thoughtfulness as I feel Steel Threads put in to this song. The waltz song Take This With You not only further shows the bands ability to write songs that sound rather different from one another with the few instruments and few members that they have provided, but it also shows that Steel Threads can write more than one great sounding ballad.

Laura has one song on For Those Who Are Left in which she is the sole lead singer; that song is Follow You. It follows the standard structure of songs such as Believe and Disappear, though it is slower in pace. It’s not a ballad, nor is it dark. It’s actually quite nice and I like hearing Laura sing lead for once, not only to change things up but also just to really see what she’s got. While I believe, judging by Follow You, that she is a more suited harmonizing vocalist than a lead vocalist, she does make the best of her time with the microphone.

The album ends with somewhat of a suite. Title track For Those Who Are Left ends right where closing track Twisted Up begins. Both songs are completely different however; the former is very dark and slow while the latter is a cheery country folk song similar to All My Time, but a tad more serious sounding. Both add up to make a good close for the album as both tracks remind listeners what made listening to this album a rather special enjoyment by mixing so many of the albums many influences in to the two tracks.

As mentioned, the most impressive part about For Those Who Are Left and Steel Threads in general is that they are just a duo, yet they sound as full as a quartet at times. There is a definite uniqueness to their brand of folk rock; edgy vocals from Neil, an abundance of influences from dark undertows to waltz’s, and most importantly there is some pretty intelligent song writing, both lyrically and musically, as I believe there isn’t much negative to say about the band. I wonder how future recordings will sound given the few instruments and fewer band members, but as of now I have faith that the future of Steel Threads is something I look forward to listening to.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“The Boy Who Lost His Way” – I believe this is one of those albums where any song could be the highlight, given the many different styles explored within. I personally don’t have a favourite song, it’s not easy to choose one, so that makes it even harder to pick the highlight (as usually when I’m stumped for a highlight, which isn’t often, I just pick my favourite track) but there are songs that I feel stand out over others, and it won’t typecast first time listeners opinions of the band the way I fear other songs would. For example, should someone listen to a song like All My Time first before anything else, I worry they’d think of Steel Threads as a country band and not hear anything else out of their music. There is just unfortunately no video that I can provide for listeners to hear.

FINAL RATING

8 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Believe	3:53
2	Disappear	2:49
3	All My Time	2:28
4	Beautiful Friend	2:42
5	The Boy Who Lost His Way	3:12
6	Take This With You	3:21
7	It Goes On	2:45
8	New Song	3:13
9	Follow You	4:04
10	For Those Who Are Left	4:00
11	Twisted Up	2:13

The Colourist "The Colourist"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 13:24:00 +0000

I guess it’s kind of obvious, but when I review an album that I bought myself, not one that I was given for review, it is because it’s an album that I like and therefore the review will nine times out of ten be a positive review. I don’t have the money to just go out and buy random albums for the sake of reviewing them, though I really wish I did. I did this recently with my review of Ume. I have to admit that this album, The Colourist; the self-titled debut album by the California four-piece indie pop rock band, is one of those albums. I came across it on the day of its release, listening to samples of the songs and I really felt it was something that I could get in to. Luckily I was right.

The Colourist, made up of guitarist/vocalist Adam Castilla, Guitarist/bassist Kollin Johanssen, bassist/keyboardist Justin Wagner and drummer/vocalist Maya Tuttle is pretty standard when compared to other indie pop rock bands of today, but they do have a certain character that I feel stands out above the rest. It is the unique vocal duo of Adam and Maya that really made their music jump out at me over other newer bands that I hadn’t previously heard of.

The first track and first single, Little Games admittedly took a few listens to truly appreciate. At first I considered it the only dud of the album. Ultimately it has what makes all of the other songs special; it’s upbeat in every possible way, with exceptional melodies and good vocals, it just felt like the band was trying too hard to write a radio hit. However, as mentioned, after a few listens of the album, I have grown to like the song much more than upon first listen. Rest assured I’m pretty sure this is all merely just personal opinion. I believe other listeners are sure to love the song.

As the album continues with songs such as Wishing Wells, We Won’t Go Home, Yes Yes and the youthful anthem Tonight (Young Hearts) the band shows their song writing capabilities better than I believe are shown in the opening track. The upbeat nature of the songs mixed with the perfect blending of keyboards and guitars do an exceptional job at making The Colourist potentially standout over other indie bands. All four of these songs practically make The Colourist worth the purchase. Even if the rest of the album were to have been a disappointment, which isn’t the case, I’d have still not regretted getting the album thanks to those four specific tracks.

Really the only non-upbeat song on the album is the mostly acoustic Stray Away. The song is the closest The Colourist get to having a ballad on the album. Though the song wouldn’t be the same without Adam’s lead vocals, it is Maya’s vocal harmonies that make the song special, giving it an almost tropical feeling without making the song lose its indie rock credibility, which I find completely unique.

Maya doesn’t have many songs where she is the lead singer. Though there is a lot of call and answer vocals on a lot of the songs, and a hell of a lot of harmonizing between the two vocalists, ultimately Adam (for the most part) gets more vocal time in most songs. However Maya really makes the most of the few songs (What Can I Say and Fix This) which feature her as the dominant singer. In fact, her voice fits the upbeat nature of The Colourist’s songs better than Adam’s voice does. At least, she makes it seem that way when she gets the microphone.

Perhaps ironically, the song Oh Goodbye is not the closing song to the album, despite its title. I find a few bands do that with their albums, especially as of late. I guess it was an overdone cliché at one point, to have the last song of the album have a title like “Goodbye” (which Paul Stanley did on his first solo album) or “The End” (which The Doors did for their debut). Instead, The Colourist made Oh Goodbye the second last song on the album, leaving Put The Fire Out stand as the song with the important task of ending the album, and it does a good job at that. Though many of the songs on the album are what I’d call anthems, the chorus for Put The Fire Out is the chorus that I have the easiest time potentially hearing a whole crowd of people singing during a live performance.

The best thing about The Colourist, both the album and the band, is their (as I've previously called them) youthful anthems, even though the band isn’t exactly made up of kids; but I only find that more impressive. They remind me of the innocence of being young. I mean I'm not exactly old (most people consider mid-20s to still be young) but they have this good feeling about them that makes for a good change from the dark and angry stuff I can sometimes get too caught up with. One thing that isn’t hidden is their ability to write great music for purposes beyond trying to get a hit on the radio. It really is a talent to be able to write catchy riffs and melodies and still pass as credible song writers. I feel The Colourist is the feel good album of the year so far, and they do it without needing outside songwriters and over-computerized backing tracks like today’s lamestream (I mean mainstream, why do I keep doing that?) pop acts.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“We Won’t Go Home” – Yes this is my favourite song off of the album but no that’s not why I’m proclaiming it to be the highlight. Sure it’s just as upbeat as most of the songs on the album, and the guitar tone and harmonies sound just as great as just about anything off of the album, but I feel the song hooks its listeners in a different way than the other songs on the album; it’s the call and answer vocals of the pre-chorus that shows like no other song on the album exactly how well Adam Castilla and Maya Tuttle can play off of each others vocals.

FINAL RATING

9 (Out of 10)

Track List:

"Little Games" - 2:42
"Wishing Wells" - 4:17
"We Won't Go Home" - 3:!2
"Yes Yes" - 2:56
"Tonight (Young Hearts)" - 3:13
"Stray Away" - 3:45
"What Can I Say" - 4:01
"Say You Need Me" - 3:12
"Fix This" - 3:23
"Oh Goodbye" - 3:03
"Put the Fire Out" - 3:08

The Lad Classic "Thunder"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 14:56:00 +0000

The first time I’d heard of Toronto hard rock band The Lad Classic was probably close to a year ago when they followed me on Twitter. I always listen to the independent bands that follow me before following back. At the time they just had an all acoustic EP called Lightning, something I normally don’t find to be a good idea in terms of sampling music if a band is also an electric band, but I really heard something in that acoustic EP that I thought it would be a good idea to follow them. Then every now and then I’d see their name pop up playing live shows around Toronto, more so than practically any other independent band I’ve come across, which made me realize that The Lad Classic are a bigger deal than I estimated.

Needless to say I was thrilled when band vocalist Paul Stevens asked me to review their follow up EP Thunder, this time all electric versions of the songs that appeared on their Lightning EP. As an added bonus, the entire Lightning EP, which I already enjoyed, was included too, which I appreciated. If purchased on iTunes, the EP comes in this format as well.

Thunder shows its high energy right away with the song Cadillac Jack. It has a stand out bluesy guitar riff by guitarist Ben Healey that you can sing to and Paul’s vocals are the most soulful thing I’ve heard in a while. His voice has a natural talent and charisma, not only on Cadillac Jack, and mixed with Ben’s guitar tone make up for an obvious trademark sound that listeners are sure to take mental note of. The second track Hit Me starts off with a pretty noticeable and impressive offbeat drumbeat from drummer Josiah Whitney playing behind the main guitar riff. The music break/guitar solo of this track is probably my favourite on the EP.

Another One has a bit of a slower pace but a more jumpy beat. Mark Rynkun’s bass playing makes you move in ways the two previous songs just couldn’t. Most importantly, the slower beat of this song makes it much easier to appreciate Paul’s voice, his melodies and the vocal harmonies. London Bridge starts off with yet another terrifically original guitar riff played at a similar pace to the previous track. Once again, this pace makes it easier to appreciate Paul’s vocals, which I believe are at their best on this track.

The last song on the EP Blow Out is what I would have to call my favourite track. It has the heart of a blues song and the way the guitar chord melodies match the vocal melodies in the chorus is absolutely something special. It is another slower paced song, perhaps the slowest on the EP, but it still rocks pretty hard. It is that closing track that I love; the kind that makes you want more.

Thunder is one of the best independent EPs I’ve been given in a while. It features a band that I consider to be highly intelligent, not just as players but as song writers. It’s impossible to not mention Paul Stevens. He sings with some true emotion, which is something a lot of naturally talented singers forget how to do so this is a rarity in my books. However, sometimes when he hits his highest pitch, it does sound a little showy, but these high pitches are appropriately placed and definitely not overused which makes them all the more effective.

Call me old-fashioned, I do wish there were more guitar solos. Just about every one of the five songs have short music breaks which features a stand out guitar riff to give Ben Healey some spotlight, but they aren’t really guitar solos and from what I’ve heard of Ben’s ability to come up with and play a riff, I would love to hear his capabilities in respect to guitar solos. Regardless, that doesn’t take away at all from the fact that The Lad Classic is surely a band not to be missed.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Cadillac Jack” – I guess this would come as no surprise to the band and their existing fans, because Cadillac Jack is the main song that they are promoting, but to make it clear that is not why I pick this song as the highlight. I never pick the highlight based on anyone’s opinion but my own. It just so happens that this song does jump right out at you instantly. It shows all of the bands capabilities all bunched up in to one song; the comfort of the band playing together, the standout guitar playing and the high energy yet soulful vocals.

FINAL RATING

9 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Cadillac Jack	The Lad Classic	3:52
2	Hit Me	The Lad Classic	3:17
3	Another One	The Lad Classic	3:30
4	London Bridge	The Lad Classic	3:44
5	Blow Out	The Lad Classic	5:26

Mark Stone and the Dirty Country Band "The Sequel"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 16:16:00 +0000

So this is going to be a unique review. Hard country rock band Mark Stone and the Dirty Country Band is about to release their second album - simply called The Sequel - sometime in June and if you pre-order the album, you get six tracks immediately, then when the album is released, those who pre-ordered the album get the other four tracks that will complete the album PLUS two bonus tracks exclusively to those who pre-ordered the album (so 12 tracks altogether.) The thing that makes this, what will be a review of The Sequel, so unique is that the second half of the album is so top secret that Mark Stone would only give me the first six tracks from the album (the six tracks you immediately get when pre-ordering the album.)

I know, it’s confusing, but I was both intrigued and curious by the offer, especially since Mark Stone lists artists such as grunge legends Alice In Chains, southern rock greats The Charlie Daniels Band and country rock royalty The Eagles as influences, all are three of my absolute favourite bands, as well as other influences spanning from country to southern rock.

The opening track, based on the order they were sent to me by Mark Stone, is Living the Dream and it’s not what I had expected. I was sold to think the Dirty Country Band would be a complete dirty hard rocking roadhouse band, but Living the Dream is actually a light-hearted country rock tune with some really nice melodies, plus some sludgy sounding guitars to add some grunge influence to the sound, but all in all Living the Dream is a pretty solid melodic rock song, and it made me wonder how much more about the band I was wrong about.

Living the Dream would prove to be an interesting choice as the opening track seeing as how the following track, Lost Weekend turns up the rock, making for a unique mixture of hard southern rock and even some alternative influences, and is the polar opposite of the opening track. This then leads in to Mudder Trucker which is something like what I’d have expected from the band before having listened to the first two tracks. This tune has the roadhouse blues attitude of some of my favourite classic rock songs, reminiscent of songs by ZZ Top or The Doors just with the guitars distorted FAR more.

My Neck of the Woods takes a slow and creepy sound while No One’s Leaving brings back the country influence; it even adds some fiddle and steel guitar to the mix, further showing the capabilities of Mark Stone’s music writing. Actually, No One’s Leaving is probably one of the best songs on the album, because it is completely different; it’s the only tune that doesn’t have the sludgy guitar sound and it’s the closest to a country song without a really being a country song. It reminds me of a John Mellencamp song, but I think that’s cause the sound of the fiddle reminds me of his song Cherry Bomb. I think they call it “heartland rock” (they really have a sub-genre for everything, don’t they?) and I think that’s a good term to use to describe No One’s Leaving.

The last of the six tracks (again, based on the order in which I was given them) is the song She Like’s Dixie, an obvious double entedre, and really the only dirty song on the album which is a pleasant surprise. The song is unquestionably the fastest song on the album, with its “Chuck Berry” riffs and never ending drum pounding, this song is definitely the perfect finale for the album, and I hope that when the full album is released, this remains the album closer, because it has everything I like in a closer, it opens your eyes and leaves you wanting more. My favourite part of the song is the inclusion of the old classic “Dixie” (better known as the car horn for the General Lee on Dukes of Hazzard) in its guitar solo, I just thought that was very clever.

If I have one complaint, and I do, it’s in the production of the drums, particularly the hi-hat, which comes out much louder than everything else. Aside from that small detail, I really wasn’t sure what to expect before listening to these songs, I had my thoughts on what I was in for, but I’m pleased to say that my expectations were exceeded after having listened to all six tracks. I was expecting a dirty hard rocking roadhouse band, but I got some terrific well written songs that really did blend many more modern rock styles with country influence like I’ve never heard before, going from “heartland rock” to heavy grungy roadhouse blues and not caring what listeners think. I look forward, as I recommend others should, for the full album when it comes out.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Living The Dream” – This is one of those cases where all of the songs sound relatively different from one another, so a highlight isn’t the easiest to pick. The reason I picked Living The Dream is, while I don’t necessarily think it should be the opening track (it lacks the punch) I do think it’s a good first song for people who want to get an idea of the band to listen to, because they may be thinking what I initially thought the band would sound like, “dirty country,” in which case I’d recommend listening to Mudder Trucker, but I think if someone listens to the mixture of sludgy guitars and relatively soft country influences, they’ll see there is so much more to the band. Of course I choose the one song that there is no video on YouTube for, but you can listen to it on the pre-sale link.

FINAL RATING

7.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Living the Dream	4:01
2	Lost Weekend	2:15
3	Mudder Trucker	2:59
4	My Neck of the Woods	3:48
5	No One’s Leaving	2:54
6	She Likes Dixie	2:51

Ume "Monuments"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 13:58:00 +0000

It was in a recent Guitar World issue - the one that counted the top 50 Eric Clapton moments - that featured a small article on Texas rock band Ume. It was then that I was first gained knowledge that such a band existed, and to top it all off they were mere weeks away from releasing their album Monuments. I checked them out right away; their song Black Stone was not hard to find on YouTube, and I knew immediately that this was going to be big.

Just a trio; Lauren on vocals/guitar, her husband Eric on bass and Rachel, their drummer, but I couldn’t believe the power that just these three people could produce. Needless to say I was first in line to order Monuments the day it came out, and once it came out, my expectations were pleasantly exceeded. Starting with the previously mentioned Black Stone, a hard guitar riff driven track, slow at first but flawlessly and effortlessly transitioning in to an all out storm. Lauren’s perfectly imperfect vocals hard not to love, and the obvious ability to write songs not equivalent to really any that I can think of.

Actually I love the thousands of ways I can describe their sound. One may call them indie, maybe even modern stoner rock. I don’t know if they would subscribe to any of these titles, frankly, it’s just good old hard rock. Actually their sound reminds me of many of the rock duos I’ve been hearing lately, the ones with just a guitar and drummer such as Indian Handcrafts who maintain a really loud sound, only Ume actually has a bass player to properly fill out the sound, making for the feel of a real band, and not just a couple of people jamming on record.

Embrace sounds alternative, kind of Foo Fighters-ish; its pace is more consistently fast, unlike Black Stone, but it rocks equally as hard. Too Big World adds in the sound of keyboards, broadening our idea of the capabilities of the band as songwriters while Chase It Down goes back to the slow and doomy pace of Black Stone, but again speeds up toward the end, again making the easy transition; this time thanks to a jam break by the band that helps the song pick up intensity with ease.

The albums variety of relatively different sounding songs continues with Until The End, which by this point is the slowest paced song on the album once again picking up intensity, this time again thanks to a jam break that ends the song. Barophobia however maintains a slow pace throughout, even slower than Until The End at its slowest. Barophobia may be my favourite song on the album, with its curiously unorthodoxly played acoustic guitar, and the simply incredible harmonies that Lauren sings. The only other song on Monuments that is comparable to Barophobia is Within My Bones; this time a completely acoustic song, more poetic than anything, with some electric guitars added for some flavour, but not entirely noticeable.

It’s during the song Revival that I can start to make out some punk influence. The song isn’t a punk song, nor is the band really a punk band, but essentially my point is that no matter what Ume has thrown at its listeners to this point, it’s hardly been the same thing twice. Gleam, Oh Fate and Barricade are no exception to the awesome sound and song writing abilities by the band, all three have memorable guitar riffs and guitar tones that just mesh so well with everything else going on around them.

The album ends with Reason. The reason I find this to be a significant ending to the album is that, just like Too Big World, the song is just so well written, with more than just loud guitars, but also the very present sound of piano that adds an inspirational sound to the track. This doesn’t stop the song from completely rocking though. I’m not sure it’s one of the best songs on the album; there isn’t anything wrong with it, just that I do think there are better songs on the album, but I don’t disagree with the bands choice at all to end Monuments with Reason. It features the same guitar riffs, the same pounding drums, the same everything, just with a little added flavour.

Really what we have in Ume is a modern day jam band, which is obvious by the number of jam breaks they take in some songs. As essential as the guitars are to Monuments and the band in general, there isn’t a guitar solo that stands out as much as the raw energy of the band playing together in just the most comfortable sounding of ways. The originality is there, disguised in something that any rock fan would like, which is key to any bands success. Personally I love the classic rock vibe from the band. They remind me of one of my favourite bands Thin Lizzy, while I’m sure Ume wouldn’t site them as an influence, I can’t help to love the same things in Ume that I love in Thin Lizzy; effortless vocals, simple yet genius guitar riffs, (her heavy use of single note riffs rather than always playing chords also reminds me of Thin Lizzy's first guitarist Eric Bell) and just completely badass rock and roll. That’s what Ume are, just badass rock and roll. Definitely the best album released so far in 2014.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Black Stone” – It’s impossible to mention why this song is the highlight without mentioning the songs transition to slow doom metal track to practically a thrash song with the snap of a finger. But that shouldn’t take away from the vocals, just like so many other songs on the album they are, as I said previously “perfectly imperfect” really because they don’t sound like they belong in a hard rock song (Lauren's voice reminds me of a slightly more damaged Emily Haines of Metric), yet I can’t imagine this song/band any other way, and I can’t imagine this song being better with any other vocalist. Then there is the guitar playing; the guitar riff is the most addicting to the brain on the whole album, and the music break/guitar solo is what I’d consider the catchiest on the album.

FINAL RATING

9.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Black Stone	2:51
2	Embrace	3:04
3	Too Big World	3:57
4	Chase It Down	3:37
5	Until the End	3:40
6	Barophobia	3:10
7	Revival	2:53
8	Gleam	3:25
9	Oh Fate	3:29
10	Barricade	3:46
11	Within My Bones	2:13
12	Reason	3:55

Rynheart "Rynheart"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 14:16:00 +0000

Toronto hard rock band Rynheart wear their influences on their sleeves, as have a lot of bands I’ve written about. That, of course, is never truly a bad thing. Another of the independent bands who seemed to grow up fans of 80s hard rock, it isn’t hard to hear the balls of Guns N’ Roses infused with the sleaze of Poison on this four track self titled EP that I was given by them. I mean who doesn’t like a good hard rock song that can shake the ground under your feet?

The Guns N’ Roses meets Poison shtick isn’t hard to hear; the opening riff to the EPs first song Last Call just screams of Slash influence, but the singing isn’t angry like what Axl Rose would belt out. The singing is loose, perhaps a little too loose, and it isn’t easy to compare with much else in terms of vocals.

Seeing as how these are “demos” and not official recordings, many moments on the EP unfortunately are just not well produced. I understand perfectly well that this stuff isn’t cheap to make, not at all. It’s important for listeners to know this about bands. While it is easy to get past the quality for the most part, the track Follow Me is not one of them. The guitar riff isn’t easy to make out and the drums overpower just about everything, but the vocals are affected the most. Ironically, had the production been better, the vocals on this track may have been the most powerful performance of the four songs; more so during the chorus than at any other point.

Player and Jumpin’ Bones are just as rocking as the other two tracks on the album. The latter features more obvious and heavy influence from Slash in its opening riff. It is also really the only track that I feel puts its melody above its heaviness; it’s really the only song on the album where the vocals sound like real effort was put in to them. Even the harmonies are pretty good.

The main flaws of this Rynheart EP are that it lacks originality, and it really tries to capture its audience on its music rather than the singing. There are hardly any vocal hooks for people to remember to sing along to, but there are plenty of guitar riffs that after a few listens are sure to remain in its listener’s memory. It's more a guitar players EP than anything.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Jumpin’ Bones” – either of the last two tracks are good on a music standpoint; the whole band stands out rather than just the drums or the guitar. You can hear how the band plays well enough together, but it’s the previously mentioned concentration on the melodies of the song that makes this the highlight. They could be a little better, but it’s a point in the right direction.

FINAL RATING

6.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Last Call	4:02
2	Follow Me	2:52
3	Player	2:55
4	Jumpin’ Bones	4:20

Albatross "Happenstance"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:25:00 +0000

I do love a good blues rock tune. It’s something I’ve made quite clear in previous articles. Both as a listener and as a guitar player it is one of my go-to types of music to go to. It is a type of music that I find really shows the true emotion behind the instruments played, and as per usual, the more genuine emotion put in to a song (by the guitarist, the singer, whomever) the better. I was happy when Albatross gave me their EP Happenstance for review, as I feel they have a good grasp on the blues rock genre.

Happenstances opening track, Evil Woman, starts off just like a ZZ Top type roadhouse blues riff. It’s a pretty standard blues rock song, the singing isn’t half bad and the guitar lead fills are pretty enjoyable, but most importantly it makes sure people don’t mistake Albatross for anything other than a blues rock band.

Of course with this being an early in the bands recording career they need to mix things up a bit and be careful not to make the same song twice. The Seaside follows that criteria well, it is a slow blues track with a meaty chorus that fills it out well. It still reminds me of a ZZ Top track, with a little Jeff Healey influence to it as well, but most importantly it shows the further capabilities of the band. Then there is the EPs third track, The Runaround; another harder blues rocking track. Actually, this is the hardest the band gets out of the four (technically five, as the last track is a live song) songs on the EP. This time it’s a little more original than any of the tracks heard so far.

The closing track Smoke & Mirrors is where Albatross show they are very capable song writers and not just another blues rock band. The song goes back and forth from acoustic guitars and heartfelt vocals and then switches electric slide guitar driven roadhouse blues choruses, as well as perhaps the best guitar solo breakdown of the whole EP. The lyrics are at times a little less than spectacular, but if the band can continue to produce songs such as this in future recordings then I look forward to seeing where they go.

I am impressed with Albatross’s Happenstance. The production quality could be a tad better, but there is really not much that can be helped about that so it and it doesn’t take away from what I feel are intelligent musicians who play well off of each other. They sound nice and loose, but on tracks such as Smoke & Mirrors they really tighten up when they have to. I’m not quite sure how original some of the material might be, but that’s fine considering the outcome.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Evil Woman” – I figure the band is a blues rock band, might as well be a blues rock song that’s picked as the highlight. In which case it would have been between this and The Runaround, and while I feel the latter has a more original sound, I feel Evil Woman captures Albatross at its best in respect to how the band plays off one another.

FINAL RATING

7.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Evil Woman	3:18
2	The Seaside	4:23
3	The Runaround	3:34
4	Smoke & Mirrors	6:22
5	Evil Woman (Live At Summerfest)	3:18

Step Echo "Songs for the Broken"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 15:53:00 +0000

In the year and a bit that I’ve been reviewing albums, I’ve got my hands on quite a few independent albums by bands from all over the world. Hell, since mid January, all but one album I’ve reviewed have been recorded by independent bands. It’s refreshing to have finally been given the follow up album to one of these bands for review. Last May I write about St. Catherine’s Step Echo and their album Jagged, an album that I was impressed with as well as a few other people that I’ve played the album for. Now I feel privileged that their independent record label Red Dragon Records felt comfortable sending me Songs for the Broken.

Immediately from the opening track, Too Much, it is obvious that Step Echo is turning over a new, heavier leaf. All three of the opening tracks; including Bring and the title track Song for the Broken all sound heavier and more serious than anything off of their Jagged album. Even vocalist Joel Degonia’s voice, which I had no complaints about regarding his performance on Jagged, is heavier and more serious, and dare I say improved. It’s almost as if he decided to change his vocal style altogether.

Just like Jagged, Step Echo weren’t afraid of including some slow songs on Songs for the Broken. Stay With Me is a dark ballad, very slow and full of heavy sound but it has pure emotion that only a slow song could pull off. Then there is the undeniable ballad off of the album, Stumblin. This song brings out the sweet sounds of acoustic guitars but keeps the sound of electric guitars to effectively add power and emotion to the song. Unlike Jagged, which had two (three depending on who you ask) ballads, Stumblin is the only ballad on this album, but Rape My Heart, heard later in the album, is another slow song; not quite a dark ballad like Stay With Me as the pace is slightly faster, but the song is just as effective.

My least favourite songs on the album come one after the other. Rock Your Body sounds like the band is trying too hard to have a radio hit and the result is something that could easily be a pop song if the guitars weren’t so distorted. Sexual Taboo is basically everything I didn’t care for on the entire Jagged album all put in to one song. On my Jagged review, I mentioned many times that the band had a sleazy sound on some songs, which at times bordered on cliché, but each of those songs still succeeded in impressing me. This time with Sexual Taboo, the only sleazy song on the album, Step Echo just sound uninspired and this time the music wasn’t quite good enough to mask the clichéd lyrics.

The rest of the album rocks as hard as the three opening tracks do. The most important improvement I think the band made with these songs is in the musical perspective, the band behind the singing is more noticeable. There was a song or two on Jagged, Crazy comes to mind, when the band playing behind Joel’s singing just plays power chords. That’s good to keep the sound sounding heavy, but you don’t really notice the band and Joel is pretty much left alone to entertain the listener (I would like to specify that not every song on Jagged was like this though, unlike some other bands I’ve reviewed). With the songs on Songs for the Broken, most importantly on the heavy songs, the band behind the singing is much more noticeable.

Ugly is a good ending to the album. It is a standout track on a really good album, but really every one of the albums heavy tracks, even the slightly slower Rape My Heart could have made for a good closing track on the album. Ugly does differentiate itself from most of the album, though, with a very noticeable guitar solo (something most of the rest of the album lacks) and the songs ability to go from a good low vocal and solemn guitar playing, then switch to a heavier sound for its chorus on a dime. The song is a little too power chord friendly though.

Step Echo takes a very noticeable turn in sound with Songs for the Broken. I can’t help but notice how much more the band sounds like an alternative rock band, compared to the straight forward hard rock of Jagged. While Jagged has an old fashioned hard rock sound with a modern edge, Songs for the Broken has a modern rock sound with an old fashioned edge. It’s not really an easy task to meet in the middle.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Bring” – One flaw on the album is that it lacks a true standout track. While just about every one of the heavy songs on the album really is great, and they do sound different enough from each other, one doesn’t truly stand out, unlike the slower songs on the album. But I really don’t believe a slow song should be an albums highlight. Instead, I pick what I think is my favourite song from the album, Bring. Its vocal melody and the bands obvious comfort in playing with each other just makes for such a great sound. The band hasn’t released any of the songs from the album on to YouTube yet, so there is no sample of the song to provide.

FINAL RATING

8 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Too much
2	Bring
3	Song for the broken
4	Stay with me
5	Rock your body
6	Sexual taboo
7	Stumblin
8	Sanity
9	Fight the power
10	Not a world for the living
11	Twisted story
12	Rape my heart
13	Dark ride
14	Ugly

Social Strife "Social Strife"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Mar 2014 15:55:00 +0000

I’ve done over a hundred of these now so it’s getting hard to find clever ways to introduce my articles. It’s frustrating really, I enjoy my rants, sometimes relevant, sometimes not so much, but after thinking about it for days, I just can’t find one this time. It’s unfortunate because Toronto hard rock band Social Strife really do deserve a good introduction to their featured article on my site for their five-track self titled EP which is nothing short of a classic hard rock sound that can stand pretty tall in today’s rock music.

The EPs opening track, You Were Nothing hits like a ton of bricks with its hard and moderately fast paced punk influenced drum and bass beat. The song is not a punk song, though, as punk songs are generally just power chords and nothing special to listen to from a musical standpoint, and punk songs don’t have choruses as great and melodic as this track.

The EP immediately surprises listeners with its second track MDMA, which mixes slow and jumpy verses with faster paced choruses. The song is very upbeat, thanks to Sean Farro’s singing, which is mid-ranged and very raspy, but the melodies that he sings are very upbeat. Terry Doucette’s guitar playing is at its finest on this track, with great guitar riffs and a perfectly simple guitar solo. At many moments, the song reminds me of a hard rock song from the early 80s, specifically hair metal bands like Mötley Crüe, before it was all make-up and glitter and pop.

The EP gets back to rocking with Reign and the self titled track Social Strife. Reign is pretty much a heavy metal, practically thrash metal track in terms of its verses, with some intense drum work by Mike Conroy. Social Strife (the song) is similar to the opening track, with a two-chord main riff and very punk-like rhythm section playing. I’m immediately reminded of Canadian punk legends Teenage Head, especially with the songs guitar solo which is played in a very (Teenage Head guitarist) Gordon Lewis fashion.

The EP saves the slowest song Aliens & Freaks for last, which is something I dislike when bands do because I always believe listeners should be left with a solid punch to the ears when it comes to hard rock EPs/LPs such as this. It is understood, though, why this was chosen to close the album. It is a very dramatic track, with (likely synthesized) string sections heard and the consistent sound of a acoustic guitar riff heard under the louder instruments. Frankly, this is one well written song and it surprises me every time I listen to it when comparing it to the rest of the EP.

As I mentioned already, an EP as good as this deserved a much better introduction than the one I gave, it’s just unfortunate that after I just ran dry for this one, because not one of the five tracks on Social Strife’s self-titled EP fails to impress me. All five songs are very different from one another, which I’m pleased to say I’m finding more bands are getting better at doing lately. There are moments on this EP, particularly the track MDMA that I don’t think many other bands could have pulled off, nor would have even bothered attempting. I’m not certain on the originality of the band, but it is certain that there are not many other artists out there right now who can do what Social Strife have done on this EP.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“You Were Nothing” – Though MDMA is my favourite track, I don’t believe it captures what the band is all about. The highlight of this EP has to be a heavy track, preferably one of the two tracks that feature some punk influence for two reasons: listeners to get a good idea of the band’s sound and to make people want to hear more, and that’s what I feel You Were Nothing is capable of doing for the hard-rock lover. The song is on YouTube, but Blogger won't let me upload it here (I really hate Blogger sometimes) so you can view/listen to the song here.

FINAL RATING

8 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1 "You were Nothing"	3:58
2 "Reign"	4:04
3 "M.D.M.A"	4:01
4 "Social Strife"	3:08
5 "Aliens And Freaks"	4:13

The Mouth of Ghosts "You Will Go Again From Me"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:00:00 +0000

I always love getting albums/EPs by unique bands. Some bands are unique because they are hard to categorize, others are unique because they aren’t in the realm of bands I’d usually review: not out of disinterest but merely because I’m typically sent hard rock/metal albums, while my taste in rock music does go far beyond that limit. London’s The Mouth of Ghosts doesn’t really fit under one specific categorization. If anything, they’d be classified as one of the many alternative bands out there, but there is no rock genre more diverse than alternative. There are also surprising progressive elements to their music, as well as the odd pop moment. They call themselves “trip-hop,” I never knew what that was until reading that, but upon looking the genre up, their new EP You Will Go Again From Me is NOT remotely anything close to “trip-hop.”

As a person who greatly appreciates good song writing, the first track from their EP, Winter Song was able to catch my attention right away. The song, just like the whole EP, has a great blend of soft but fuzzy guitar sounds and keyboards. The song is slow and soft, but that doesn’t stop lead vocalist Alla from belting out her pretty awesome singing voice during every chorus. She shows many of her voices capabilities giving a great falsetto sound in the songs bridge.

Sandwiched in the middle of the EPs four songs are two fairly regular timed tracks (Winter Song clocks in at over 6 minutes). Both Wrong and Right on Time are in the three minute realm and feature a few more elements of alternative pop rock. Wrong is a very dark song, not as soft as Winter Song but just as slow. The song adds a little more power to the band’s sound while Right on Time is similar in many ways to its style, but it isn’t as dark. In fact, the song is arguably the least dark sounding song on the album. What I like about this track is that it has the most stand-out guitar sounds on the whole EP.

The EP ends with one more long song, ending where it began with the 5+ minute sort-of-title-track You Will Go. The song starts off like most of the songs on the EP, just Alla’s singing and the sound of her keyboard before the rest of the band chimes in with their soft and effectively spooky sounding instruments. This song effectively blends in many keyboard/synthesizer sounds that fill up your speakers; effectively in that you really don’t notice that fact unless you really listen. This song features one of the progressive elements of the bands song writing capabilities that I previously spoke about, as the song builds up more and more from soft whispers to the whole band playing as loud as possible, something that isn’t easy to effectively do, before ending with the beautiful sounds of keyboards, and some drums, for the songs last two minutes.

The Mouth of Ghosts remind me of Evanescence. Not in the bands all around sound, because The Mouth of Ghosts at no point has a heavy sound the way Evanescence does. The reason the two bands remind me of each other is their singers. Though Alla and Amy Lee have very different and terrific voices, both are singers who don’t necessarily have a rock voice, but their voices are made effective thanks to having the right band members compliment them. Also both bands seem to tend to write songs with a slow tempo and with the exception with the ending of Wrong, they don’t really experiment with other tempos. However, unlike most bands that do this, I didn’t seem to mind during the many times of listening to this EP.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Wrong” – While Winter Song is my favourite song on the EP, I find Wrong to make a better highlight. The reason being that it has what makes The Mouth of Ghosts’ song writing so special: it has some progressive elements that differentiate it from other artists, it is soft and dark and it has a great blend of instruments, just like the EPs two long songs, but it compresses them into a easier accessible three minute track.

FINAL RATING

8 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1 Winter Song

6:39

Wrong

3:14

Right on Time

3:40

You Will Go

5:49

Our Last Enemy "Pariah"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 17:32:00 +0000

I can never deny the brilliance behind the concept of progressive music. Recently I wrote an article on an Italian band by the name of Il Rumore Bianco and how I enjoyed their style of classic progressive rock that carried much influence from bands such as Yes and King Crimson that really impressed me. The phenomenon of Progressive metal though has always been different from progressive rock. There are so many different kinds of progressive metal bands, just like there are so many different kinds of progressive rock bands. There isn’t one simple way that a band can be called progressive. I mean Supertramp are rightfully classified as a progressive rock band thanks to their inclusion of wind instruments and their unique song writing skills that were practically unheard of at the time.

But when it comes to progressive metal, we have bands like the rather well known Dream Theater who count on the oddest of time signatures and the most complex instrument playing possible to classify them as progressive. Then there are bands like Mastodon whose instrument playing isn’t quite so complex, it’s their odd time signatures and song writing that gives them progressive credibility. Our Last Enemy, the band whose album Pariah is the topic of this article, falls more under that classification of progressive metal.

Their apocalyptic music, their additions of synthesized sound effects (which give them industrial metal credibility) and their tight musicianship classify the band as a very capable progressive band. The only problem is the singing is all screaming, making it very hard to truly appreciate the bands originality musically. For the general metal music fan, they may appreciate how heavy the band is, as the band does make for an excellent metalcore band, but they probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Our Last Enemy and other metalcore bands such as Throwdown or Sylosis, both bands that have a following, but down sound very different from one another thanks to the usage of screaming vocals.

I would actually classify Our Last Enemy as a mixture of those two mentioned metalcore bands, as I feel Our Last Enemy’s vocalist Oliver to have a similar voice to Throwdown’s Dave Peters, but their music is closer to the unique style of Sylosis. The metal fan who appreciates good musicianship is sure to love this unique musical style of the band, which I find to be the only thing that differentiates them from other bands.

The album does have some undeniably great standout tracks, like the opening track Devour the Sun, Internus Diablos Verni and Low have memorable aspects to them upon first listen that include the singing, and then there are tracks like Pariah BC and Pariah AD (both very different songs despite their song titles) and the closing track Into the Light where the industrial/progressive capabilities of the band are impossible to miss, even by avid metal fans.

I feel as though the band would be able to improve their sound if they incorporated clean vocals in to their music, as this album has absolutely none. I would understand if the band didn’t want to get rid of the harsh guttural singing style completely, but it’s truly hard to differentiate and appreciate them otherwise. As for the bands song writing capabilities, I don’t think I would change a thing.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Internus Diablos Verni” – I couldn’t point out the albums best example of where the bands progressive style is best displayed. I can tell you that Internus Diablos Verni isn’t the best example, as musically it is pretty standard to most metalcore bands, with some progressive elements. It is the singing and phrasing of Internus Diablos Verni that I believe makes this the most memorable song on the album.

FINAL RATING

7 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1	Devour The Sun
2	Wolves of Perigord
3	10,000 Headless Horses
4	Internus Diablos Verni
5	Low
6	Carrion
7	Parriah BC
8	Don’t Look Now
9	Pariah AD
10	Decoy
11	What You Say
12	Ants in the Palm
13	Into the Light

Turk Tresize "Soul Casino"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 15:17:00 +0000

Artists like Australia’s TurkTresize are unique. At least as of lately they are. While there are a few artists that heavily wear their blues influence on their sleeve, Turk is different. With his mixture of some blues, some country, some soul and add in some total badass song writing, his appropriately titled album Soul Casino provides some excellence in originality and a fearlessness to step outside of the box.

Opening track Daddy Wazza Roller is a good example of how out of the box the album can get. Acoustic guitars and harmonicas fill up speakers to the point where you hardly notice the standard rock band instruments (drums, bass, and electric guitar) but I think the best part of the song is the slide guitar. The slide guitar is an art I’ve grown to appreciate so much more since the past summer, and it is played pretty darn well on this track.

The following track, Direction is more of a standard blues rock song. The pace is a little faster but the tempo is soft. The guitar sound remains crunchy and Turk’s voice, which has just the perfect amount of rasp to it, but he can craft it so well into a beautiful cry when he needs to, such as in many parts of this song. This is pretty much his singing style throughout the album, but with different songs backing his voice, like the slow blues track Karma Wisdom and the soulful following track Da Wheel, which is the first truly beautiful soft song on the album.

The album does have an all around soft feel to it, nothing too heavy and nothing too hard. Da Wheel is followed by an equally beautiful track called Nice to Know, this time featuring more acoustic guitars and fewer organs, unlike the previous track. Held A Rose is the last of these soulful ballads, this song specifically shows more country influence than the previous two.

Then there is a song like Miles ‘n’ Miles which I can’t categorize. Essentially the song is an acoustic song with a simple bass drum beat. It’s accompanied by a wide number of sound effects that just make the song sound like it’s coming straight from a hard working farm boy. This isn’t a soft song like Da Wheel or Nice to Know, but it isn’t a hard rock song, it’s like a neo-country track that I find strangely appealing.

The album does have its meat to it. Rollin’ has that roadhouse blues attitude that I love so much, with a hard driving guitar riff, great harmonized vocals and that slide guitar I love so much. The song shows that Turk can make a song with electric guitars just as well as he can make a song with acoustic guitars. Wasted keeps the badass feel of Rollin’, but calms it down to something more similar to Soul Casino’s opening tracks.

The album ends with a song that I feel sums up the album pretty well. West On Train is primarily acoustic, with other instruments chiming in as the song goes forward, but at no point is the song soft. The song brings one last chance to hear fine vocal melodies and a band that infuses country and blues just so well. This is one of those closing tracks that I feel couldn’t have been better picked, because if a listener of Soul Casino truly liked the album, this song would leave them wanting more.

Turk Tresize has such a believable way of delivering his music. You can hear it in his voice that he’s likely singing from experience. Even though influences are ever present in his song writing, he becomes the songs so well that you really do believe that he’s lived his songs. I don’t see why any fans of raspy voiced blues/country influenced rock wouldn’t enjoy Soul Casino.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Karma Wisdom” – Not one of the soft songs on the album, but not one of the completely badass roadhouse songs; Karma Wisdom falls in the middle, which is exactly the kind of song I love to proclaim the highlight. The song has a nice bluesy riff and rhythm with soulful singing. It has a soft nature to it, but that is well hidden by the rhythm of the song, which makes this the perfect highlight.

FINAL RATING

8.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	Daddy Wazza Roller	3:32
2.	Direction	4:50
3.	Karma Wisdom	4:10
4.	Da Wheel	3:40
5.	Nice to Know	4:29
6.	Miles 'n' Miles	3:35
7.	Rollin'	3:57
8.	Wasted	3:41
9.	Held a Rose	3:05
10.	West On Train	4:48

Greg McEvoy "Sea Of Yards"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 15:15:00 +0000

About a month ago, my cousin asked me if I was interested in catching a band that she enjoys at a bar in downtown Toronto close to where she lives. The band was recently Juno nominated folk group Strumbellas, whom I had never heard of before that point, but the ticket was cost me nothing and I trust this cousin’s taste in music, plus she needed someone to go with so I figured I’d come to the rescue, and I ended up having a hell of a night at this sold out show in a small bar on a snowy night. Not only did I discover the uniqueness that is Strumbellas music/live performance, but I also had the pleasure of discovering two other local artists who opened for them that night; one of them being the country rock infused Sarah Cripps and the other being soft indie rocker Greg McEvoy. I thoroughly enjoyed all three artists and was pleased to have left with albums by all three.

Greg McEvoy’s EP Sea of Yards was among the albums I left with that night. I was very impressed with his band’s live sound, and I figured if he could put that sound on record, it would make for a great purchase, and frankly I was right. It isn’t the easiest to categorize Greg’s music; nowadays I guess indie rock is the way to describe it, but there is also some country and soft rock influence to the music. The album can be found on his Bandcamp page.

Opening track Someone Who’s Around is a slow and steady track, with vocal harmonies that immediately grab the listener’s attention instantly, as well as a surprising amount of guitars being played, mostly rhythm guitars but there is the occasional lead guitar fill that just seems to fit. The second track, The Words In My Head infuses a bit of country into its sound. The song isn’t as slow as the opener, and it doesn’t have as noticeable vocal harmonies to it, but despite that, the vocal performance Greg puts forth is more memorable than Someone Who’s Around.

Alone in the Fire has heavy use of acoustic guitars; in fact no drums are heard until almost two minutes in. This just further exemplifies the writing capabilities of Greg McEvoy, who by this point on the EP hasn’t really recorded the same song twice. Even though the track Fear & Love is also heavily acoustic based, the songs other instruments, such as piano and bass guitar are more apparent, and when the music picks up on this track, it hits you a bit harder than Alone in the Fire.

This trend is continued with Forever. Though by this point, we have figured that Greg’s specialty in writing and recording is in slower tempo songs. Forever is the slowest paced track on the album. I’m no dancer, but I can see a waltz being danced to this songs pace. I think I’d have to say that Greg’s vocals on Forever are my favourite on the entire EP.

The most high tempo song on Sea of Yards is All This Time. The song has the fastest drum beat, and just sounds all around happier than previous tracks. I’m not saying the album is really all that melancholy, it really isn’t at all, but All This Time seems to give even more life to the EP. It’s just unfortunate that it is the shortest song on the album.

The EP ends with one more acoustic track, Kerouac. Unlike the previous acoustic songs, I feel there is more emotion put forward on this track. I don’t know if anyone else would agree, but it’s how I feel about the song, and it makes for a good closer to the EP. Given the soft nature of the EP, ending Sea of Yards with an acoustic song (this one doesn’t pick up at the end, unlike the previous to acoustic songs) to be a fitting choice.

Again, Sea of Yards is hard to really categorize. I think of it as soft rock, and soft rock that I really enjoy. I like the somewhat poetic and well thought lyrics, and for the most there is some spectacularly composed music to glue everything together. I don’t know if it’s original, I mean I don’t know who would agree with the EP being original, but it sure is unlike much music that I’ve heard, making me appreciate what I feel is some good originality. I don’t say this often enough about the independent artists I review, even though this applies to quite a few, but I look forward to future music released by Greg McEvoy. I just hope for more tracks like All This Time the next time around.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Someone Who’s Around” – I don’t know if there’s a track that can truly sum up the album, and I definitely haven’t narrowed down a favourite song yet, but I feel that for first time listeners of Greg’s music will get a good idea of what he is about upon hearing this opening track to Sea of Yards.

FINAL RATING

8.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

	1.	Someone Who's Around 03:06
	2.	The Words In My Head 02:59
	3.	Alone In The Fire 03:50
	4.	Forever 05:00
	5.	Fear Of Love 03:35
	6.	All This Time 02:47
	7.	Kerouac 03:06

Wildheart "Gypsy Soul"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 16:36:00 +0000

When Toronto hard rock band Wildheart gave me their EP Gypsy Soul for review, I’ll admit that the first thing I did was judge them on appearance, before giving them one listen. I thought to myself they’re just another band trying to look and play the part of an 80s band, whose real talent in performing and writing are oblivious to their attempt revive a musical genre by only its clichés. Luckily I was wrong.

In fact, I’ve all but forgotten about the images of their lead singer Cody V. in tight pants shaking his hips in a David Lee Roth fashion after having heard the EP. Its first track Night & Day in particular proved me wrong immediately. It actually reminds me musically of something that may have come out in the 90s. It isn’t even too heavy, it’s very unique in that sense, because it’s a powerful and catchy song, but doesn’t rely on distorted group rumbling music to do so.

Gone matches the sleazy image of Cody V. What I like about the song though is that this loose sleazy sound seems to come naturally for the band, where as when most modern bands attempt something of this sort, it really just ends up filler material. I think a lot of credit goes to bass player Renee P. For her noticeable bass patterns, but there’s also a Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers influence that I hear in the guitar playing which further pushed my intrigue to continue listening to the band.

The EP sort of has a ballad; I Know You Will. I say sort of because it isn’t a slow song, but it’s very nice to listen to. It was written and sung in a light hearted manner that I think really succeeds in coming across, further showing the capabilities of the band. However, I was convinced of the bands ability as song writers upon listening to the title track Gypsy Soul. Its two minute guitar solo intro features so many influences that I don’t know where to start. There is definitely blues rock, that’s at the forefront, perhaps a little southern rock, which I’ve heard at other points as well on the EP. The song itself, after the intro, has probably the best guitar riff on the EP. The song is just as catchy as the opening track Night & Day but it is so much darker and more serious.

The EP ends with Fiery Sweet Thing, another sleazy track. I don’t feel this track is quite up to the calibre of Gone, it doesn’t sound as natural to me. It keeps me interested with its many guitar fills (I wish I knew which of the two guitarists, Scotty B. Goode and Lewis P. played what, because they both impress me throughout the EP), I like how the song has a bit of a roadhouse feel to it, but I feel the EP could have done better ending with a different track, while still including this track on the album of course.

I think Wildheart remind me of some of my favourite Canadian classic rock bands from the past, such as April Wine and Harlequin, just to name a few. They don’t sound like these bands, but they sound as though they could have fit in, yet at the same time, despite the image of a few members, and one or two moments on the EP, they don’t necessarily sound like they are trying to bring back the sounds of the past, but rather embrace the past as a big influence, which I feel is important.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Night & Day” – Unfortunately there is no video to accompany this song, which is why I almost picked Gypsy Soul, but I couldn’t, because I feel Night & Day is far too good of a track to put in the corner. I think it’s because Night & Day is the first track on the album, it’s pretty much the first song anyone would hear from Wildheart anyway, so it is sure to surprise anyone as it did me of the capabilities that hold.

FINAL RATING

8 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1. Night & Day 3:08

	2.	Gone 3:24
	3.	I Know You Will 3:48
	4.	Gypsy Soul 6:30
	5.	Fiery Sweet Thing 3:40

Anyone's Guess "March in the Dark - Chapter 1"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 16:42:00 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve been given a good alternative rock album. I almost forgot how much I enjoy the genre. Being one to indulge in so many different kinds of rock, I usually have to find my way back to certain genres every now and then, though I never stay away from any genre for too long. Sometimes it takes a good song or album to do that. In this case it was Florida alternative trio Anyone’s Guess whose EP March In The Dark – Chapter 1 brought me back to my love of slightly damaged sounding well written music and transgressive lyrics.

The EP starts off with a minute long Intro that starts with drum snare hits and ends with heavily distorted guitars and leads right in to the first full song of the EP, the title track March in the Dark. The songs mix of strong intense guitar riffs and choruses and soft dark verses make this a very enjoyable song that keeps my attention all the way through. Lead vocalist Sanja Jovanovic’s voice has the potential to be beautiful, but this is anything from a soft song so she turns her potentially beautiful voice into a voice that sounds damaged with pain and emotion, and this makes the song all the more effective.

Apathy is a unique song, because I can’t think of many bands that would make a song that sounds like this. It has a nice steady bass drum beat and an almost punk style guitar riff. Even the track Go As You Came starts off with a punk-like guitar riff, but Matt McCormick’s drumming is less simple this time around. The latter of the two tracks shows a bit more intensity, and shows some guitar licks by guitarist Clint Chambers that I quite enjoy. Both songs at times kind of remind me of Paramore but with more balls. However I’m aware that I tend to think a lot of female fronted bands have a bit of Paramore in them, which is a mentality I’ve unsuccessfully been trying to shake.

The EP ends with Hunter, perhaps the most well put together track on the EP. It builds from a very slow and sullen and effectively silent introduction, then builds up towards a powerful chorus, and while the song never loses its melody, it ends far differently from how it started. Well actually it ends with the same drum beat that it started with, but that’s the only exception. Hunter is perhaps the darkest sounding song on the album, but also probably the catchiest with its chorus which is relatively easy to get stuck in your head.

I’ve used terms such as “damaged” a few times to describe Anyone’s Guess’s sound on this March in the Dark EP, but that’s because it’s the most effective term I can think of to describe the band’s sound, which makes them an effective alternative rock sound. I wouldn’t go as far as calling the band grunge, but that’s pretty much the quintessential factor that makes so many classic grunge bands so good and so relatable. I feel Anyone’s Guess lack a bit of anger to truly be called grunge, but really, no band can really be called grunge anymore. I just wish that the term “alternative rock” wasn’t so damn diverse. I don't know if I'd say the band has originality, I might say that I just don't want to speak to soon. However, Anyone's Guess has a sound that you really don't hear and provides a terrific change in the modern norm for rock.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“March in the Dark” – I feel this track effectively sums the band in a nutshell, and I like the fact that this song (with the exception of the Intro) is the song that opens up the album to immediately give listeners an idea of what they are in for. It has that “damaged” sound that I speak of so much, which is only topped by the track Hunter, and it goes back and forth from its slow and dark verses to its full throttle chorus with such ease. Unfortunately there is no video sample that I can provide for this song.

FINAL RATING

9 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	Intro	1:09
2.	March in the Dark	4:32
3.	Apathy	3:29
4.	Go As You Came	3:11
5.	Hunter	4:51

A Breach of Silence "Dead or Alive"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 15:08:00 +0000

I feel as though I’ve started off so many articles saying this but “screaming” in music is something I don’t enjoy. I mean, especially in punk/pop-punk/anything remotely related to modern punk with screaming is just so bland. There are exceptions when it comes to metal related screaming though, but only some. I look at screaming in metal the same way people in the early 90’s looked at the high-pitched voices of what 80’s “hair” metal became, it all sounds the same, which is why I downright dislike bands whose sole vocal performance on every to almost every song involves nothing but screaming. It’s good to listen to when a little anger is needed to be offset, but that’s about it. Bands like, off the top of my head, All That Remains who, even in their heaviest days, combined screaming vocals with clean vocals fairly evenly and feature no real punk elements, so they can still retain my attention. Australia’s ABreach of Silence also fit under this category.

This genre, known as “metalcore” (or "melodic Death Metal") derives from punk, solely on its vocals (for those who don’t know, the title is essentially “metal” and “hardcore” [an offset of punk] together in one word). What makes metalcore bands different and slightly more appealing to me than punk-related screaming bands is metalcore bands attempts at making catchy guitar riffs rather than just playing chords. A Breach of Silence’s album Dead or Alive does just that.

Opening track Blind starts off which a huge growl from vocalist Rhys Flannery with a mixture of thrashing instruments playing in the background, including a guitar riff that gets kind of washed out from the rest of the intensity, just like pretty much every other metalcore song out there. One thing A Breach of Silence has that I really enjoy is the clean vocals of bass player Blair Layt. He is heard in every song, unfortunately this track specifically he’s not heard nearly enough.

Blair’s voice stands out much more in songs like the second track, Dawn To Rise, as well as To Oblivion, Circles, There Will Be Blood (in which he unleashes his inner King Diamond),Empty Smile, Like Sand Through The Hour Glass, and the albums closing track Final Breath. His voice, at many points, reminds me of Atreyu’s clean vocalist/drummer Brandon Saller. Blair is the main thing stopping this album from being a complete cliché of a metalcore album. After the first few tracks, you actually begin to look forward to his portion of every song.

Despite each song having its differences in riffs, pace and beat, the songs can begin to sound the same. I don’t really see how much more of a future metalcore has, and I definitely can’t see its audience growing any more than what it is already at, so it’s hard to predict where the band will go. However, this is still a better metalcore album than what has been released from other new bands I’ve heard lately.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“There Will Be Blood” – This song has one of the better riffs, and it has the most clean vocals out of every song. As mentioned earlier, Blair Layt releases his inner King Diamond; by that I meant he hits what I assume is his highest pitch as a vocalist, which is a pretty high pitch, similar to that of King Diamond. This song should generally be the main standout track for anyone after their first listen of the album.

FINAL RATING

7 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	Blind
2.	Dawn To Rise
3.	To Oblivion
4.	Eyes of the Enemy
5.	Circles
6.	There Will Be Blood
7.	Night Rider
8.	Empty Smile
9.	Like Sand Through The Hour Glass
10.	Hollow Grounds
11.	Final Breath

Red Dragon Cartel "Red Dragon Cartel"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 16:16:00 +0000

It took me a little longer than I’d like to admit to truly appreciate Jake E. Lee. He is known prominently as one of Ozzy Osbourne’s most popular guitarists, having played on his immortal Bark At The Moon album, but it wasn’t until I first heard Shot In The Dark from his second album with Ozzy, The Ultimate Sin, when I first truly discovered who this man was. I was in my early years of high school by this time. It was a little bit after then that I discovered Badlands; the other band Jake is well known for. However, despite having found out of his existence, I still didn’t truly have a grasp on how significant Jake E. Lee is as a guitar player. Just before graduation, I got my hands on a copy of The Ultimate Sin and was blown away. To this day it remains my favourite Ozzy album, completely because of Jake E. Lee’s ability to bring the best out of Ozzy Osbourne as a singer.

But it wasn’t until just before I turned 20 that Badlands took the forefront of my musical interests. To that point, I had known, and loved, their song Dreams In The Dark, but Badlands albums are so damn hard to find. Once I finally got my hands on their self-titled debut album, I had a completely new lease on music. I consider it one of the most important albums in my life, not only because of Jake E. Lee’s obvious skill and untouchable talent as a hard blues-rock guitarist (a genre Ozzy wouldn’t, and couldn’t, touch with a ten foot pole) but also because of the soul and all around charisma of the late Ray Gillen, possibly the greatest singer that few people have ever heard of. With exception to a small stint with Black Sabbath, (to which his only recordings were never officially released until recently for collectors such as myself) Badlands is really the only main thing Ray has to show for his talents. Three albums worth of songs donning his voice have been released; all three encompass the sheer hard blues-rock sound that I love so much with Ray and Jake’s perfection as musical collaborators. You almost can’t believe how much they reportedly couldn’t get along on a personal level for how tremendous they got along musically.

So, fast forward to the present; Badlands completely fell apart at the seams after two albums (a third was later released), Ray Gillen passed away from AIDS in ’93 at age 34, and Ozzy Osbourne has gone through a couple of other well named guitarists. In all this time, barely anything has been heard from Jake E. Lee, despite a few low key solo albums. Suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, Jake has come back with a new band, Red Dragon Cartel, and seems to be fully dedicated to recording and touring, despite some early fears that nobody would “give a shit,” which I think he realizes by now was nonsense. The band includes bass player Ronnie Mancuso, drummer Jonas Fairly and vocalist Darren Smith.

I couldn’t be happier with Jake’s choice of a singer, as I’ve been a fan of Darren’s for years. Originally a drummer, he performed with one of my favourite bands, melodic rockers Harem Scarem. Their self titled debut album is another that I consider to be one of the most important albums I’ve ever listened to. Very briefly, it helped me through a difficult and stressful summer in my life: everyone who has been through high school remembers that time that they graduated (or dropped out) in which they realized that their next step in life was adulthood. Some people handle that realization well; I didn’t, and had a real hard time being able to relax that summer. However when I think back on that time, I don’t remember the stress; I remember that Harem Scarem album and listening to it beginning to end countlessly that summer. Darren even sang lead on a song on their second album, and later became vocalist for Heavens Fire, among other Toronto bar bands, so I’ve been aware of his talents for a good decade or so.

There’s nothing left to talk about besides the long awaited self titled debut album for Red Dragon Cartel. Let me get right to it by talking about the opening track Deceived. Actually the opening riff is what should be talked about first because it sounds like if Edward Van Halen were to attempt the riff to Bark at the Moon. Basically, you know right away that Jake E. Lee has not lost his touch. The song continues in to a completely intense fast paced hard rock ride and starts the album off in the best way possible because you already can’t wait to hear the next track, which is Shout It Out. What I don’t like about Shout It Out is the chorus, I mean there really isn’t anything wrong with it, (having seen the song performed live on YouTube, it makes for a good means to get the crowd pumped) but songs that try too hard to be anthems have never interested me, they are too basic. Luckily Jake’s guitar playing throughout the song still makes this worth hearing on record.

Four of the tracks on the album feature guest vocalists singing lead; this includes the first single released from the album, Feeder, which features Cheap Trick singer Robin Zander. This track is effective in its delivery, with the very heavy and noticeable sound of bass guitars playing behind a seemingly Slash inspired guitar riff. Robin’s voice doesn’t seem to have changed much in the 35+ years that he’s been recording music, but this song doesn’t seem to demand too much in its pitch. One man I was glad to see come out of the heavy metal shadows is former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno, who sings lead on Wasted. After recording Iron Maiden’s first two albums (which are my favourite Maiden albums) and subsequently getting fired, Paul just couldn’t seem to come even close to matching any such success again and has since just been playing bars and has taken up quite the change in appearance, but it is great to hear his voice, while very different and very aged, on this ruthless heavy metal tune.

In This Moment singer Maria Brink sings lead on Big Mouth, which according to Jake E. Lee features the oldest guitar riff on the album, written in the 90s. I am a big fan of Maria’s voice, I just hate In This Moment’s most recent album Blood, but it is good to see she hasn’t forgotten how to really sing her heart out, which she does on this track that actually fits her style well. It is a good mixture of Jake’s style and In This Moment’s recently adopted electronic rock sound to combine for the absolute sleaziest dirtiest song on the album. The last song to feature a guest vocalist is Redeem Me, featuring Canadian legend Sass Jordan. Those familiar with Sass’s style know she’s mostly known for an early 90s southern rock sound relatively similar to The Black Crowes, which is a style that this track encompasses very well. Plus, you can hardly hear any age in Sass’s voice at all.

These songs don’t take away from the great job Darren does throughout the album. His voice changes well with every song; including the fast riffed/mid paced Slave which calls for a very dark voice which is delivered well. It is accompanied by perhaps the best work by Jake E. Lee done on the album. However, it is the albums ballad Fall from the Sky (Seagull) where Darren truly makes his identity. I like this song most because musically it sounds the most like something that would have been released with Badlands than any other song on the album. The vocal performance is just flawless; Darren doesn’t soften his voice too much and maintains a credible rock voice, while putting forth the most melodic and beautiful performance I’ve ever heard from him.

War Machine’s intro and riff are a little uncomfortable to listen to given the similarities to Black Sabbath’s War Pigs and N.I.B. The song is a doom metal song, just like what Sabbath is so credited to have created. The song is great, and so far I haven’t seen anyone really say much negative about the song despite some mentions of its Sabbath similarities, so I’m definitely not going to be the first to put the song down, as it is probably the heaviest song on the album.

The album ends with a piano instrumental called Exquisite Tenderness. The significance with this song is that it is the first song Jake E. Lee ever wrote when he was a kid and piano was his primary instrument, so for big Jake E. Lee fans such as myself, this is just an absolute treat and the perfect way for Jake to come full circle with his career, even though he doesn’t show any signs of stopping now.

Jake E. Lee is a unique guitarist in that he has so many colours that practically all of them are his true colours. The heavy metal sound he played on his two Ozzy Osbourne albums are 100% different from the hard blues-rock sound he played in Badlands. With Red Dragon Cartel, he does as fine a job as he possibly could at finally bringing the two elements together. I wouldn’t call this album a blues rock album as it does show a lot more heavy metal on it, but it is still different from anything else he has ever done. For the first time, he was able to do what he wanted to do and still get his music distributed to a large audience. The albums few flaws lie more in the rhythm section than anything else, as some songs could have been much more dynamic had the drums, for instance, been more dominant rather than just playing basic beats. Nevertheless, one of the most anticipated albums to come out this year holds up pretty well to my expectations of it.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Deceived” – Every song on the album sounds different from the other, as should any good album, so there isn’t one track that could best sum up the album for first time listeners. That said, I can’t see why any first time listener of the band won’t want to hear more after hearing Deceived. The song never lets up from its almost effortlessly dynamic pace. Both Jake’s guitar playing and Darren’s singing are in tip-top form and they are sure not to disappoint.

FINAL RATING

8.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	Deceived	4:26
2.	Shout It Out	3:59
3.	Feeder	5:25
4.	Fall From The Sky (Seagull)	4:45
5.	Wasted	4:35
6.	Slave	4:09
7.	Big Mouth	4:23
8.	War Machine	5:58
9.	Redeem Me	4:28
10.	Exquisite Tenderness	2:22

Blowsight "Life & Death"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 16:23:00 +0000

If there is one thing I enjoy, it’s being given an album by a band that is as hard to classify as Sweden’s Blowsight. Any band that can manage to put out an album of thirteen songs such as their album Life & Death (fourteen tracks including the bonus track) and have just about every song sound different from the other is not an easy task. I couldn’t properly decide on a true genre for the band; I mean they are definitely alternative metal, or alternative punk, but they feature elements of pop and show other surprises the more you listen to them.

Take the opening track It’s Me You’re Looking For for example: The song starts off with a very 90s pop punk sounding guitar riff, but when Nick Red’s singing comes in, I’m reminded very much of Black Veil Brides vocalist Andy Biersack, only more intense. Nick does a great job at switching between clean vocals and screaming vocals throughout this intense song, but it’s about 2:30 in to the song that the band pulls out one of its many surprises by temporarily changing the songs sound in to a country influenced, almost southern rock sound. I don’t think anyone could possibly expect that upon first listen to the song.

The next track, Back Where We Belong features a lot of what made the opening track so special, with its fast distorted punk beat, but it doesn’t really have any surprises to it. The same could be said about the following track Play Play Play. It’s The Sun Behind The Rain where things are further changed up to sound like a Seether-esque alternative track, turning away most of the bands punk influence and playing a more straight forward alternative rock riff. The guitar solo of the tune sounds like it has some 80’s hard rock influence, just for how it is subtly virtuosic but simple and easy to remember. Blackout Time, heard later on the album, is another song I find features many elements of alternative rock.

The albums ballad, Through These Eyes is a moment on the album not many people are sure to forget. It is a very pop sounding song; I mean I’m not sure metal fans would really take to it, but it definitely further shows the capabilities of the band. I’m not crazy about the ending of the song. The ending features a rapper by the name of Pato Pooh, and his appearance on the song changes the sound completely, making the second half of the song a rap song. It may be because I just don’t get hip hop, but I feel the song could have been more useful without him. Perhaps they could have used this rap breakdown on another song, because I’d have really loved to hear how this song could have ended without the rapping.

Afterwards, the band goes back to their alternative style of punk with Surprise and Hit On the Radio. I’m indifferent about the latter of the two songs, because true to its title, it really sounds like Blowsight is trying to get a hit on the radio. It reminds me of the new Fall Out Boy album, an album that I hardly consider a rock album despite its “Save Rock and Roll” title. One thing I won’t take away from Hit On the Radio is that it is a catchy song, and it sounds better than most pop songs in the mainstream, but that’s just what the song is: a pop song. The main other song on the album I’d call a pop song is We All Fall Down.

This Pain is the heaviest moment on the album. It is almost a Metalcore song by definition, with its very heavy usage of screaming vocals, which Nick Red can do well and thankfully he doesn’t overuse on the album. The music of the song is not as thrashing as your average metalcore song, but it is definitely heavier than just about anything else on the album, and definitely heavier than anything up to this point.

Blowsight puts forth one more surprising output with the jazz/swing influenced Red Riding Blues before ending the album with the epic Dystopia II. This almost nine-minute epic covers everything from its lullaby intro to its apocalyptic heavy punk body to its nightmarish middle part that sounds like it could have come out of a Tim Burton movie. And that’s all covered in just the first half of the song. The second half of the songs hard rock piano driven melodies makes me wonder if the band is actually genius at writing songs and I’ve only noticed at this point so late in the album. Every time I hear this song, that thought goes through my head. I couldn’t think of a better ending to the album.

While Life & Death does have some shortcomings, for instance the pop songs, and the fact that the basis of the band’s sound (that Black Veil Brides sound is sure to either make or break their credibility) but it is undeniable that Blowsight are a dime-a-dozen. They are truly talented musicians who have a major mix of influences and they aren’t afraid to show that.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“The Sun Behind The Rain” – I don’t know what I’d call my favourite song from the album, but this is definitely one of them. It may not have as much of a punk sound as other songs on the album, it really does remind me of what Black Veil Brides would sound like if they attempted a Seether song, but anyone who knows the two bands would know that’s an intriguing mixture. The song demonstrates the dark nature of Blowsight’s sound very well and would give any listener a good idea of what the Blowsight sounds like.

FINAL RATING

8 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	It’s Me You’re Looking For	3:52
2.	Back Where We Belong	4:02
3.	Play Play Play	3:59
4.	The Sun Behind The Rain	3:28
5.	Through These Eyes (Feat. Pato Pooh)	4:34
6.	Surprise	3:48
7.	Hit on the Radio	3:47
8.	They Whisper...	0:54
9.	This Pain	4:57
10.	Blackout Time	2:32
11.	We All Fall Down	2:53
12.	Red Riding Blues	3:41
13.	Dystopia II	8:44

Skrou "Skrou"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 16:19:00 +0000

It’s very obvious, after listening to the band Skrou, how much influence the band takes from the 80’s. A time when rock songs were big and hair metal reigned supreme. Before grunge came and changed music (you can argue for better or worse, but that isn’t the point of this article) it was more common for rock bands to have fun and sound like they were having fun. It kind of trailed into pop metal, or glam metal, with acts like Autograph or Vixen adding in a lot of keyboards to their already pop-oriented rock hooks. Before this, though, with bands like Ratt in their earliest days and Mötley Crüe, to name a few, recorded a lot of songs, though most were centred on partying and sex, which would eventually become a complete cliché. Despite the lyrics, the songs were always big; I mean layered guitars, over emphasized drums: big. And I feel this is all what Skrou are trying to encompass.

I’m not going to use the term “hair metal” though. There certainly isn’t anything wrong with the subgenre, but the term “hair metal” derives a certain shtick that Skrou doesn’t have in their sound. They keep their sound more hard rock than anything. The song that starts off their self titled album shows just that. Said opening track, Place to Shake, starts off in an almost AC/DC way in its sound, and its constant usage of roughly the same chord during the verses. While I do enjoy the chorus, the song itself doesn’t really strike any nerves with its very simple and slow drum beat. When I hear songs like this, I can’t help but hear how hard the band tried to get a classic rock sound only to lose its listener halfway though. I’d urge any listener to give the album a second chance though, as this song is by far the weakest tune on the album. I like to think of it as a distraction to fool listeners to think that it’s the best they’re going to get.

The albums second track, Dirty Little Fantasy, starts off with a much better guitar riff, and already sounds more enthusiastic than the opening track. Even with the singing starts, you can already hear the hooks that Place to Shake lacked. This song sounds much more natural and less forced, as does the following track, the bass driven, dark sounding Cold Heart. Of course any good album of this kind needs a ballad; Awake In The Sun is just that. Acoustic guitars and background keyboards further differentiate this song from the previous tracks on the album.

The rest of the album is all hard rock. On The Streets, and true to its title, it has a good street feel to it. Eye Catcher is a very well composed piece; both its 57 second intro and the actual song itself. It is a good fast paced classic metal sounding song. It shows a drive in the band that they haven’t shown yet on the album. No One’s Home brings back the dark street vibe that On The Streets provides and Rock It Away brings back the partying good time sound of the album’s earlier tracks. Rock the Wild is a slow rocker, but not a ballad like Awake In The Sun. It provides one last sense of the bands writing capabilities.

The album ends with Ride On. This track is one last partying good time, in fact it’s the fastest paced song the album. I can’t think of a better way to end the album, bringing it full circle with a song that sounds different in many ways from the rest of the album, but at the same time sums up the entire album in a nutshell.

Despite the first track, I’m impressed with the output by Skrou on this self-titled album. It has a lack of originality, but I really don’t think the band minds that. It does have its shortcomings, as does every album, for instance singer Sam Kirou attempts a nice loud scream in just about every song. The problem is that he only hits the proper note in about half of the songs. Aside from that his voice fits the 80’s hard rock sound that the band does a rather good job at playing.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Cold Heart” – Unfortunately there is no video to provide, so you’ll have to rely on getting the album to hear it, but it is Cold Heart that completely sold me on the album. It showed me that the band could rock hard but also encompass a real good melodic element that every good song should have.

FINAL RATING

7.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	Place to Shake	5:29
2.	Dirty Little Fantasy	5:03
3.	Cold Heart	4:07
4.	Awake In The Sun	3:58
5.	On The Streets	3:45
6.	Eve Catcher (intro)	0:57
7.	Eye Catcher	3:36
8.	No One’s Home	4:43
9.	Rock It Away	4:10
10.	Rock The Wild	3:52
11.	Ride On	4:13

decoded "Topanga"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 16:06:00 +0000

When decoded leader Derek Jordan first emailed me to listen to Topanga, his bands new EP, he made it a point to mention that Dead Sara were a major influence on their sound. That is an intriguing statement to make, as I find Dead Sara to be easily one of modern rocks most all around talented band, possibly the most talented band to have debuted this decade. After having listened to the six-track EP, I could kind of see what he meant.

I heard it most in the opening title track, Topanga, which I initially thought was named after the canyon, seeing as how the band is from California, but after listening to the lyrics, it is obviously an ode to the 90’s TV icon Topanga Lawrence from the show Boy Meets World. This lovely reference aside, the song has a heavily fuzzed out guitar song, very similar to Siouxsie Medley’s guitar sound on much of Dead Sara’s debut. The rhythm of the song is very alternative, with hard beating drums and guitars so loud that they fill your speakers. At first listen I wasn’t sure what I thought of Derek’s voice, but as the EP went on and the more I listened to each track over and over, the more used to his voice I got.

What I really enjoy about Topanga is the diverse difference in styles between each of the six tracks. Last Night retains the fuzz guitar sound but the song is very sleazy which heavily differentiates the song from the title track. To describe Red Handed, I’d first have to mention the obvious references the song makes to the first two Home Alone films, most particularly with the mention of “wet bandits” and “sticky bandits”. That being said, the song has a sneaky rhythm to it, what I mean is that you can imagine this song being played when Harry and Marv are trying to sneak in to Kevin McAllister’s house in the first Home Alone film.

Judgement Day takes on a bit of a jazzy musical direction. It is heavily drum and bass driven but its chorus takes on a heavy pounding full throttle guitar sound similar to the EPs title track. I Can’t Control It turns the albums pace down even more, but it maintains the good hard alternative rock sound that the band encompasses and doesn’t soften up at all.

The EP ends with Not Easy Being Alone, which I’d have to say is my favourite song on the album, probably because it reminds me of a blues influenced rock song, it just isn’t guitar driven enough to be a blues rock song. I find this song to have the best melody to it, and I enjoy having the songs chorus stuck in my head. It rounds off the EP well by continuing the EPs tendency to not deliver the same song twice.

I really enjoy the song writing capabilities of decoded and I think Topanga really shows their capabilities. There are a few moments, but it is just a few, in some songs when Derek’s voice doesn’t fit well, like the main verses of Judgement Day, but other than these moments his voice is just fine. The lyrics on the songs aren’t exactly poetry, but they are better than lyrics to most of today’s pop hits. The bands strongest point is obviously their ability to write music. I enjoyed the incorporating of keyboards when the time called for it and as mentioned at least twice already, it isn’t an easy task to make six songs that sound relatively different from one another.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Topanga” – The song is obviously the pride and joy of the band, and for good reason. Every bit of the sound that decoded is trying to make their signature is present in this song; pounding drums, fuzz guitars all filling the speakers with sound. The song is also probably the easiest one to remember after first listen.

FINAL RATING

7 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	Topanga	2:34
2.	Last Night	3:13
3.	Red Handed	3:11
4.	Judgement Day	4:09
5.	I Can’t Control It	3:45
6.	Not Easy Being Alone	3:48

Fake Figures "They Must Be Destroyed"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:13:00 +0000

In a time when heavy punk music is unfortunately turning out far too many whiny sung pop induced outfits, one must wonder what happened to not long ago when bands like Eighteen Visions and Atreyu were making music; bands that included a lot of screaming in to their music, as well as a lot of clean singing, all while being taken seriously by many music fans and not just kids. Now we have bands like Escape the Fate and Blessthefall who have a tendency to produce a lot of plastic songs, much like a pop song heard on a top 40 station, and it’s unfortunate that these bands take such influence from the likes of the previously mentioned Atreyu or Alexisonfire, and they are the closest thing we have to new music of the similar genre. That being said, it is always good to discover a band that can capture the serious side of the heavy punk, some may call “post-hardcore” sound. The most recent band that I have come across that features such aspects is California’s Fake Figures.

On paper it should come as no surprise; the most notable member of Fake Figures is one of the bands two guitarists Travis Miguel, none other than the guitarist of the previously mentioned Atreyu. While Atreyu has been on hiatus (a hiatus that will apparently not last much longer,) just like when most bands go on hiatus, the band’s members have been doing their own things musically. Alex Varkatzas has fronted metal band I Am War, whom are really nothing special, and drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller has fronted hard rock band Hell or Highwater; a band that I have already previously ranted and raved about when this blog was newer. It was only fitting that I’d come across Travis Miguel’s band sooner or later. Of the three projects, I would classify Fake Figures to be more similar to the sound of Atreyu, particularly Atreyu’s heavier days. Atreyu themselves indulged in a bit of the more pop side of song writing toward the end; 2007’s Falling Down comes to mind.

Fake Figures have recently released They Must Be Destroyed, which is, from what I’ve gathered, their second EP. While I did just say that this project is most similar to Atreyu than the others, the band and this EP are most certainly not Atreyu. To be clear, this is a completely separated band that simply falls under the same genre. Such can be heard on the opening track You Stupid Beast, which gets straight into a punk infused hardcore sound, mostly thanks to the powerful voice of Rus Martin. Rus does what I always wish more vocalists who insist on screaming do; he for the most part turns the screams in to melodies, rather than just yelling lyrics in the same note. In many ways, Rus’s voice reminds me of that of former Eighteen Visions vocalist and current Burn Halo vocalist James Hart, who has a very good singing voice and a surprising set of pipes when it comes to screaming.

The EP changes almost on a dime with the track The Light. While the EP’s opening track was fast and thrashy, The Light is much slower in tempo and features much more clean vocals. The Light shows that whatever listeners were thinking of the band after hearing You Stupid Beast was wrong, and maybe, just maybe what they are thinking of the band at this point in the EP could be wrong again. They would be right, as the following track Normal Life somewhat mixes the first two tracks in to one; the tempo is a bit quicker, much closer to that of a standard punk song, but it still features mostly clean vocals. The complimentary guitar playing of Travis and his guitar partner Heather Baker really come out shining in the songs slowed down bridge section.

Ophidian reminds me of an alternative metal song, slow and heavy like something a band like Breaking Benjamin could have written musically, but Rus’s slightly freer punk style of singing differentiates this track from the likes of Breaking Benjamin or Three Days Grace. This is only a one song thing, as the following track, Sit and Burn goes right back in to a faster pace. The song starts off with a memorable riff and has one of the easier to remember choruses on the EP.

The EP comes full circle with the final track Here Come the Idiots. I find this to be a fine choice for the closing track on the EP because it features the most screaming vocals since the opening track You Stupid Beast, but it is of a slower pace like that of The Light or Ophidian, and it leaves the listener wanting more, which is what I always say a closing track should do.

I can take Fake Figures seriously, which is more than I can say than a lot of bands to come out lately. There is not much negativity that can be said about the six tracks presented on They Must Be Destroyed; all six tracks sound pretty different from one another, none of them lack too much originality, and there are surprisingly very few clichés found.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

“Sit and Burn” – I liken this and Normal Life to both be good candidates to be the highlight. Both are of a similar pace and tempo, they aren’t the fastest, nor the slowest songs on the album. I may have picked Normal Life over Sit and Burn because it has more screaming in it and would give listeners a better idea of what the band sounds like, but unfortunately for Normal Life, Sit and Burn has a video that I can provide for readers so that they can have a listen here.

FINAL RATING

8.5 (Out of 10)

Track List:

1.	You Stupid Beast	3:29
2.	The Light	3:40
3.	Normal Life	3:49
4.	Ophidian	3:28
5.	Sit and Burn	3:15
6.	Here Come the Idiots	3:21