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Motorhead | Black Stone Cherry | Journey | Tamtrum | Metalhead | The Alarm | Shallow Water Grave | The Smackdown | Vader | Hymns of the Wicked | Hash | My Great Escape | Katagory V | Ihsahn | Metal Church | Keep of Kalessin | She Said Destroy | Collage | Battered | Starkweather Motorhead Motorhead. 30 years in the business. More than 20 albums. Loud as fuck. What more needs to be said? "Kiss Of Death" is a new Motorhead album. You already know what to expect because Lemmy & company aren't about to change what they're all about at this point in their career. I mean, dude, what??? You want me to tell you how great this album is??? It's freakin' Motorhead. You should already know it's gonna be good. It's angry, aggressive, straight forward, take no prisoner, rock 'n' roll. Lemmy's "a million too many cigarettes" vocal style doesn't miss a beat and he's like, what, sixty now? I swear, the man's stronger than death itself. In "Devil I Know," he says, "I ain't gonna change a thing, I ain't gonna change my ways." You know he's not kidding. Opening track, "Sucker," is an instant classic. You don't have to wait ten/twenty years to look back on that song to use that term. You can use it the first time you hear it. If you skip down to track six, "God Was Never On Your Side," for a brief moment, you get to see Lemmy's soft side. I happen to believe there's a higher power. But, Lemmy pours so much power and conviction into this tune that you almost wanna question your faith after you hear it. If there's a "happy" side to a Motorhead song, it's gotta be "Christine," which is kind of an upbeat song. I think the heaviest song on here might be "Kingdom Of The Worm," which simply crushes. The disc ends with Lemmy's tribute to the Ramones, "R.A.M.O.N.E.S.," which you should have heard before. That tune's been around. When a band comes out with a new album, you're almost expected to say, "Wow...this is the best album they've ever done!" I'm not gonna say that about Motorhead because they've got 30 years worth of "best they've ever done!" This album is just another testament to the greatness of this band. You know you're not gonna be disappointed with it. So, you might as well just stop playing around online right now and go pick up a copy. You want musical satisfaction. "Kiss Of Death" delievers. Enough said. Black Stone Cherry Now here's a refreshing album you can listen to from start to finish. I say refreshing because...well...they say that the first impression is everything and I had so many thoughts going through my head as I was listening to this album. You see...Black Stone Cherry is a southern rock band that's heavy in a Soundgarden kind of way. They also gave me a bar rock band vibe...on a much larger scale of course. Some might even consider them to be a metal band...which isn't too far off the mark. What's even more suprising is one small piece of information that I found on their website. None of the four members are older than 23. Sure, it's a rock 'n' roll age. But, these guys come off sounding like they've been around the block more than the sidewalk. In other words...they have their shit more than together. Everything on this album...from the vocals to the instrumentation...is damn near perfect. A solid album through and through. Well worth lookin' into. http://www.blackstonecherry.com Journey Five albums by the legendary rock band Journey have been reissued and repackaged, some with bonus tracks. Journey were one of the biggest names in rock in the 80s, and were one of the bands who defined the classic arena rock sound. Their musical style was composed by the golden voice of Steve Perry, powerful and operatic, but also smooth as silk and full of emotion, melting many a young girl's heart when he sang; by the skillful guitar work of Neal Schon; the rich, textured, classically oriented keyboard harmonies of Jonathan Cain; and the strong rhythm section of bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith. Journey were famous for their big anthems and even bigger ballads. They could be emotional, but also rock out. The first of these reissues is their breakthrough album "Infinity", which was the first to feature Perry on vocals. It contains some of the band's best known classics, including the ballad "Lights", which kicks off the album. This song has some bluesy, Stones-like guitar in it, and I can remember thinking it WAS the Stones the first time I heard it. It's followed by "Feeling That Way", after which comes "Anytime", which is really just an extension of "Feeling...". These two songs are always played as one on the radio. The bombastic anthem, "Wheel In The Sky", is also featured on this album. "La Do Da" and "Can Do" are hard rocking tunes with some blazing guitar from Neal (he can really jam when he wants to), and the remaining songs, "Patiently", "Something To Hide", "Winds Of March", and "Opened The Door", are all ballads. While everything on "Infinity" is well done and there's no faulting Journey's talents, there are just a few too many ballads on here for my blood. But then again, it's Journey, what did I expect? Tamtrum Tamtrum's musical style is electronic/industrial, dance/trance/techo/goth with a taste of black metal and maybe even a little bit of punk and, to be honest with you, what I really liked about this album was the hot goth corpse bride model on the front cover. I spent more time on her website than I did trying to find out additional information on Tamtrum. But, anyway, for those of you who are into this style of music, the disc has a good sound, a nice package. You'll get your money's worth. It should be noted that the lyrical content is dark and sometimes in French I believe. Best tune on here is "Abort The Pope," which I couldn't agree with more. Also, if you're really into the band, there's more than a single disc release. They also have a limited edition "box set" that includes a bonus disc with ten additional songs and two live videos. Other than that...I think I've told you everything there is to know. Don't have anything else to say. Metalhead 12 tracks of some groovy boogie metal that to my ears wasn't band. The band mix in some southern rock in with their brand of metal, sort of like Soundgarden if they played southern rock. The vocals were clean, but he has a powerful set of lungs and he fits the style of music this band is playing. All proceeds from this cd go to National Scierosis Society so how can you not want to purchase this. Info: http://www.metalheadtheband.com The Alarm Yes this is the same band that was all over the air on MTV many moons ago. The band with their 1st release in quite some time and this is a little more raw and a little more aggressive then I remember them being. The band play's power pop punk with a gritty edge. The vocals are more aggressive than I remember and this blows away all this MTV punk shit. Shallow Water Grave This reminded me of like Exodus if they had Phil from Pantera singing for them. The thrash riffs will tear you apart and I don't even mind the tough guy vocals, cause they are sung with feeling and don't sound forced. The production is right on the money and everytime this band goes into one of those thrash riffs i start to bang my head. The band also throw in some hardcore now and then. For thrash metal it doesn't get much better than this. info: http://www.innerstrengthrecords.net The Smackdown Very vicious hardcore/thrash with vocals that you won't be able to understand one word ha ha. The vocals are screamed almost in Jap core style with music almost as fast as grind. The band mix in the vicious style of thrash and throw in some speed metal and also some hardcore overtones and what a combo it is. This band must kill live. Worth getting. Info: http://www.goodfellowrecords.com Vader "Sothis" is 23 minutes of high quality, brutal death metal as only Vader can do it. I'm no fan of typical death metal music. But, Vader isn't your typical death metal band...at least not on this release. The production is excellent. I mean, this disc has a great sound. You can crank this one up until your speakers explode and it's still gonna sound good. Opening track, "Hymn To The Ancient Ones," has a Venom/Phantasm vibe to it, which was really cool. Although, I get the impression that this was more or less an intro track. Close to two minutes later when "Sothis" kicks in, your face is blasted off with the sonic explosion that Vadar has created for you. You can take a slight breather during "De Profundis," which seems to be an intro into "Vision & The Voice," which is even heavier than "Sothis." Once that one's done, they rip into "The Wrath," which is probably the fastest tune on this disc. The strange sounds of "R 'Lyeh" lead you into a crushing version of the Black Sabbath classic, "Black Sabbath," which is my favorite tune on the album. It slowly rises up from the darkest depths of Hell to consume your mortal soul. There's a reason why Vader is at the top of their game...they make great music for extreme people. If you want a quick lesson as to what death metal is all about, this EP will do the trick. http://www.vader.pl/glowna-e.html Hymns of the Wicked This was really good. The band play a more modern metal style with a sort of grungy edge to it that works for these guys. The music is also spacey at times too. The band have a pretty original sound sort of reminded me of Anacrusis at times, but using a more modern sound. The band can play and the vocals are fuckin cool as he screams and sings his heart out and his emotions you can hear as he screams and as this played on. A band to keep an eye on for sure. Info: http://www.obeliskent.com Hash Now this is the kind of music that I can get into. Sloppy bar rock with a modern sound that brings early Rolling Stones to mind, maybe a little AC/DC with a touch of sleaze. It's pure, raise your fist and yell, beer drinkin', good time, no bullshit rock 'n' roll. It's got a raw sound that's full of energy. With a name like Hash and tunes like "Lil' Miss Rock 'N' Roll," "Drinkin' On Sunday," "She's On Top," "Slack Jack" and "Hard To Swallow," I kind of knew what to expect. But, damn...I didn't expect it to be this good. This one's gonna spend a lot of time in my CD player because this is the kind of album that I can't get enough of. I can listen to this one over and over again from start to finish and never get tired of it. Get your hands on some Hash and crank it up loud. Your rock 'n' roll collection isn't complete without it. Take that to the bank! http://www.myspace.com/hashrock My Great Escape 5 tracks of typical groove jump metal with duel vocals, one guy sings sort of clean and the other does the tough guy death metal vocals. This actually wasn't bad for what it is was. The band can play and the production is good and if your into this sort of thing, you might want this. Info: http://www.uepmusic.com Katagory V Katagory V are a progressive/power metal band, who are comparable to Crimson Glory. Their vocalist is very Midnight-like with his operatic wail, while the guitarists are similar to Ben Jackson and John Drenning, offering a classic style dual axe metal team, and they are good at it, playing with skill and technicality. Their sound is metallic but melodic, the songs anthemic but also tinged with dark, brooding atmosphere. The band is talented, with good musicianship, singing, and songwriting, and thoughtful lyrics. However they are rather derivative of other bands, and are not the most original band I've ever heard. Also, the songs tend to crawl along and are a little drawn out. They need to put the pedal to the metal a little more. A little more speed is needed here, and they'll have it made. Ihsahn This is the solo release of one of the guys in Emperor. This was somewhat like Emperor in the sense that is is fast like then and of course the vocals are the same. He uses some keyboards and the fast parts are brutal in nature. Ihsahn performs everything on here, but the drums. For fans of extreme metal and Emperor fans too. info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com Metal Church There's no question about it...my all time favorite Metal Church album is "The Dark." If you try to compare "A Light In The Dark" to "The Dark," you're gonna be disappointed. That's to be expected because...and this goes for any band...once that magic goes away, you may be able to bring it back in some way, shape or form. But, it will never be the same. "The Dark" is a legendary/classic release in my opinion. You can't beat that no matter how hard you try. You can, however, keep the musical spirit alive and that's how I view "A Light In The Dark." It's a new album...a new line up. But, the one thing that hasn't changed is the spirit of what Metal Church was all about. When I view it in this light, this is a great album. It's got everything I expect a Metal Church album to have. Excellent guitar work, a pounding groove, a bit of aggression, solid, well written tunes, which is what you should really pay attention to because, let's face it, back in the day, thrash/speed metal, a genre in which Metal Church was placed, was more or less a pretty simple, straight forward affair. It was a "chunka-chunka-chunka" sound, if you know what I mean. Metal Church has gone way beyond that, without forgetting where they came from, to create a fresh, kick ass album. Listen to tunes such as "The Believer," "A Light In The Dark," "Pill For The Kill" and "Blinded By Life" and you'll see what I mean. They end the disc with an updated version of "Watch The Children Pray," which also serves as a tribute to former vocalist David Wayne who, unfortunately, passed away. If you're a fan of old school Metal Church, I believe you'll like the new school version as well. "A Light In The Dark" is a worthy addition to your metal collection. Keep of Kalessin Very fast death metal sort of like Vader. The band pound out tune after tune of some serious brutal death metal. While this wasn't original, it was nevertheless a solid release. The songs will just rip through you and the vocals are very good death metal style vocals. No groove or tough guy vocals to be found. In your face fast non stop pounding death/black metal is the ticket here. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com She Said Destroy This is another release that while not original, it still worth a listen. The band play death metal with a bit of groove and lots of speed. The blast parts are real blast parts not that fake shit. the vocals are typical growls of death and the music mixes in slow with fast parts. Production is strong and the guitar sound works for me. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com Collage If I'm not mistaken, "Changes" first saw the light of day back in 1994 and what I have sitting here in front of me is a re-release. I guess the band has quite a following because I did a DVD review on them awhile back and it was clear that a lot of time and effort when into making it. The same can be said with this release. So, somebody out there is diggin' on their music, which I would describe as sophisticated/progressive rock. "Changes" is a collection of rare/previously unreleased songs from the 80's and 90's. I could get into the music. But, there's a lot of tunes on here that aren't in English and, for me, if I can't understand something...I can't enjoy it. You can also throw this disc into your computer and watch the band perform "God" and One Of Their Kind" live, which was kind of cool. This is a must have for the die hard Collage fan. As for reaching a new audience...I don't think you're gonna get a lot of people jumping on this bandwagon unless, of course, they have an open mind when it comes to discovering something they haven't heard before. Battered This was another one of those swedish sounding death metal bands except this band inject a bit of thrash to the mix. The vocals are the screamed dying metal vocals with a bif melody thanks to the thrash sounds. The band also throw in some groove parts. Great just what we need. This wasn't so good as they sound too much like a million other bands. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com Starkweather I have head a lot about this band, but never heard them till now. In a couple words, they suck. The music was boring, the vocals sucked and tunes put me bed. The tunes just plodded along with little or no feeling. The band just let the tunes plod along and its just down in dirty sludge with no value at all. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com |