Review: WASP - Babylon

Label: Demolition Records

Released: October 13, 2009

Are you sick of the 80s? I certainly am. Having the synthpop of my youth sold back to me as if it's a new thing is bad enough, but the more egregious offenders are the old hair metal dinosaurs who not only want to resell their corporate sound, but also the mindless, superficial party mentality of the Reagan years. While that stuff was a musical mixed bag, it was, with few exceptions, an emotional void.

So, one would think that perhaps the latest offering from Blackie Lawless and WASP, the band who gave us the deep and heavy "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" as well as a drunken Chris Holmes monologue in Decline of Western Civilization Part 2, would be no different, but closer examination of the band's career says otherwise. Even the stupidity of songs like "Animal" had a darkness that WASP's peers only pretended to understand and it wasn't long before WASP began expanding on that. By 1992's The Crimson Idol, Lawless, who essentially is WASP, began using his music to take an introspective journey. By 2004, he offered up the social commentary of the Neon God two part concept album. The point is that there's a little bit more to WASP than perhaps meets the eye and to lump them in with the other nonsense that's been held over from the 80s hard rock scene is unfair.

That brings us to WASP's latest release, Babylon. Musically, it isn't a real musical departure from their sound two decades ago. Some tracks lean toward hook-heavy hard rock. They're memorable and easy to fall into, but also suffer from that sense that there isn't much behind the veneer and that's where Lawless' sense of searching that underscores the album really helps out, providing substance rather than just smoke and mirrors. Much of the album leans more toward the heavier 80s metal sound and while these tracks benefit from the album's spiritual/emotional undercurrent, they don't require it. Babylon is solid today, but would have held up back in the genre's prime as well.

Overall, if you can't take 80s hard rock and heavy metal, Babylon won't change that. However, if the music is basically up your alley, but you've grown sick of its stagnation and stupidity, this might be the album that restores your faith that someone is playing your song without playing in your past. If you still wish it was 1988, you'll love Babylon and hopefully its sense of growth will rub off on you, because you need it.

Ratings
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 5/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

Website

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Incite - The Slaughter

Label: I Scream Records

Released: October 20, 2009

Considering they're fronted by Max Cavalera's stepson Richie, there's probably no way that Incite can avoid comparisons to Sepultura. That has to be a bit daunting for a young band on their debut album. After all, they're going to measured against one of metal's most intense and creative bands.

Incite, however, doesn't seem to be all that intimidated. On The Slaughter, they unleash 12 tracks of untempered intensity. Overflowing with the blast beats, lightning riffs and waves of heaviness, the album never holds back. It's rhythmically dynamic, but whether the pace is explosive and blistering or slow and churning, the music's potency is undeniable.

Does Incite live up to the inevitable comparison to Sepultura? Well, no. However, their debut has the raw passion of a hungry young band. That coupled with their abundant technical skill, still makes for a fantastic record. It also makes it clear that what is now an unfair comparison may be much more equitable in the near future.

Ratings
Satriani: 9/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

DVD: Blue Cheer Rocks Europe

Label: Rainman Records

Released: June 26, 2009

There's a handful of bands out there whose influence has been felt far and wide decades after they made their mark, yet they never enjoyed significant commercial success. The Velvet Underground comes to mind. So does Nick Drake. There are others, but in heavy rock circles, one of these bands rises above all others - Blue Cheer. Unlike most members of this exclusive club though, Cheer continued to do their thing for over 40 years, even releasing a fine album recently, 2007's What Doesn't Kill You.

Blue Cheer Rocks Europe finds Dickie Peterson, Paul Whaley and "Duck" MacDonald (the "new guy" with only a little more than two decades of service) standing tall as they bring the sound they pioneered, and others have copied, to the stage. Ripping through material, new and old, they have both the energy of a hungry band and the tightness of a well-oiled machine. Peterson's voice is raw and passionate. MacDonald's riffs are heavy and grooving. Whaley's beats are driving end energetic. Although the video is a bit too sterile to fully capture it, it's easy to imagine the big dose of crazy that still permeates their show and it brings up the question of whether Blue Cheer might actually be better today than in their acknowledged prime. One thing is undeniable though: They still give the bands they influenced (some of whose members weren't even born when Cheer made rock heavy) something to shoot for. Just check out "Parchman Farm." I don't know if they could have done any better in 1967, when they first recorded it.

Sadly, this may be Blue Cheer's last document. Bassist, vocalist and founder of all that is heavy, Dickie Peterson, passed away on October 12, 2009. He once said, "We're more interested in the gig tomorrow night than being in the hall of fame." I suspect that making the music and seeing it blossom in other bands over the last 40 some years was the greatest reward for him. Rest in Peace, Dickie. Thanks for all the crazy tunes.

Rating: 9/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Admiral Browning - Magic Elixir

Label: Dancing Sasquatch Records

Released: April 2009

So much stoner and doom rock tends to be an exercise in heaviness alone. While that certainly has its place, few people can take the steady bludgeoning that it offers even as it fills that need in all who really love heavy metal for the mind-numbing weight of slow, trudging riffs that take Tony Iommi to the extreme. Sometimes, however, a band offers such crushing power in a more dynamic form that respects the song as well as pushing the limits of the heavy in metal.

Like Kyuss and Clutch before them, Maryland's Admiral Browning is just such band. The five tunes that make up Magic Elixir are quite a ride. Sure, there's the standard downtuned sludgy riffs, but, unlike most of their peers, that's only a small part of what Admiral Browning has in their heavy bad of tricks. Instead of going on ad infinitum, songs will suddenly take off with wild, frenetic energy or slip into spacey, psychedelic ramblings. They even through in some brighter, more colorful progressive hard rock, à la Rush, and it fits with strange perfection in the same song with hard rock freakouts.

The whole album really builds up to "Speaking in Tones," the 13 minute opus that closes the album proper. All the parts, stoner rock, psychedelia, prog, come together into Admiral Browning's unique vision of what heavy metal can and should be when its limits evaporate in the ground zero where they split musical atoms.

The untitled coda is a less structured jam that lets Magic Elixir down easy after an exhilarating ride into what can be. Its vaguely incomplete nature just begs the question, "What's next?"

Ratings
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

DVD: Iron Maiden - Flight 666

Label: UMe

Released: June 9, 2009

Before I get into this review, I really have to get something off my chest. I am sick to death of the 666 crap. Iron Maiden writes one song and titles one album related to this and it seems like it remains everyone's favorite focus. It just strikes me as rather sad that metal's least clichéd band still suffers one of metal's most overused clichés (even at their own hand in a sense).

Now that that's out of the way, this DVD features a great band making a great documentary about a great tour. Of course, it documents many of the amazing feats of the Somewhere Back in Time Tour which found Maiden playing 23 shows in 45 days on five continents (sadly, they didn't get to Antarctica). We get a good picture of Ed Force One, the 757 that carries the band, their crew and their equipment over 50,000 miles with Bruce Dickinson in the pilot's seat. Better still, it paints down to earth portraits of the band and the major players in the words of their touring mates that help to make clear what keeps a band ticking (still at the top of their game, no less) 30 years down the road. The energy of the live footage in the documentary (as well as the concert disc) would shame most bands still in the vibrancy of their youth.

All that being said though, what really makes this a standout rock documentary is that it gets to the core of what music really means and why this tour, perhaps more than any in Maiden's storied career, was so important. When other bands have stuck to the standard tour circuit of the US and Western Europe, perhaps occasionally hitting Australia and Japan, Maiden did what seemed like the impossible and brought a great rock show to countries that seldom if ever get to experience anything on the scale of Iron Maiden. Even the film's brief celebrity breakdown in LA, sadly featuring the always annoying and self-important Lars Ulrich, couldn't do much to detract from the real human story. It can really be summed up in the most poignant moment, after the show in Columbia, showing a fan, tears streaming down his face, offering up a prayer of thanks to God...for a concert. Here in the US, we often forget how lucky we are and, as a result, may never be able to fully appreciate a concert in the way that Maiden allowed so many on this tour to appreciate one.

Rating: 10/10

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Before this film had even been released, the comparisons to Spinal Tap were coming from all quarters, including, it seems, the film's creators and promoters. There's good reason too, because the parallels between the two films are uncanny, especially considering that one is parody and the other reality. While director Sacha Gervasi surely emphasized the similarities in the two stories (did that amp really go to 11?), it worked well as a vehicle to show how life is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Anvil's story is one of amazing frustration. While early albums Hard n Heavy and Metal on Metal as well as their 1984 appearance at the Super Rock Festival in Japan made it seem like they were on the crest of a huge wave, when that wave broke the band found that they had missed it while just about every band around them got the ride of their lives. But unlike many of those bands, Anvil is still at it, enduring the hardships of touring and recording while maintaining regular jobs, engaged in what is typically a young man's game.

The film shows everything from a star-struck Lips meeting artists with whom he should be peers to him in a near brawl with a club owner who refuses to pay the band to Lips and Robb Reiner nearly in tears as they mend their friendship for perhaps the millionth time in their 30+ years together. It dabbles in their family life, giving the fullest possible picture of what their pact to rock together forever means.

I expected a good bit of comedy that this film did not deliver. Sure, there were funny parts, but to its credit, I was often far too caught up in the humanity of the story to laugh at it. By no mean an actual tearjerker, beware that the film can nonetheless get the eyes welled up in a couple spots as Anvil's desperation is much easier to internalize than perhaps anyone might suspect.

While Spinal Tap is a great rock n roll movie that manages to expose some truth about rock n roll and tops all for pure entertainment value, Anvil the Movie is an even better film. The latter might not have nearly the comedic value as the former, but it illustrates perhaps rock n roll's greatest truth: There's more to it than just songwriting and technical proficiency. Rock n roll, at its core, requires heart and soul and in that sense, Anvil is a better band than all those around them who went on to sell millions of albums. Lesser men would have given up long ago. Ultimately, this is a film that appeals not only to metal fans, but to rock fans in general and, even more broadly, to anyone who understands dreams and the struggle to achieve them.

Maybe this time, things will work out for the guys in Anvil (or at least Lips might be able to pay his sister back).

Rating: 10/10

Website

Review: Exciter

Label: Magnetic Air

Released: January 20, 2009

I didn't pay close attention to Exciter back in the 80s, but looking back, I've wondered why they weren't considered at least in that second tier of speedmetal bands with the likes of Overkill, Testament, etc. They were early adopters of that happy marriage between speed and heaviness...and yet they're so often forgotten. Why?

The answer can be found on their 1986 self-titled album (now re-issued again on Magnetic Air). After flirting with thrash success over the course of four albums, the band decided to change course a bit with Chuck Beehler focusing on drums and Rob Malnati taking over vocal duties. In addition to this personnel shake up, they also took much of the speed (and therefore the excitement) out of their music. Malnati at times fancies himself a cross between metal giants Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. He isn't as terrible a singer in his own right as he seems in comparison to these two, but his voice just can't carry the load he attempts to put upon it. To boot, the underlying music doesn't help the cause either. At its best, it's derivative Judas Priest pandering. At its worst, well...let's not even go there.

Exciter is now being issued for the fifth time (two of those on Megaforce as OTT), yet isn't essential listening for anyone. For those who missed Exciter the first time around, there are four albums that beg the question, "Why are they forgotten?" Unfortunately, this is the album that answers that question.

Ratings
Satriani: 4/10
Zappa: 5/10
Dylan: 3/10
Aretha: 3/10
Overall: 3/10

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Sepultura - A-Lex

Label: Steamhammer/SPV

Released: January 27, 2009

There's a fine line between grand and grandiose. Most concept albums are so much the latter that they never even get close to the line. Sepultura, veterans of the concept album, aren't close to that line either, but they're on the good side. Their new album, A-Lex, is based on Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange and decidedly not Stanley Kubrick's somewhat more famous film based on that novel. Why split hairs? Because the book contains a chapter omitted from the film that deals with free will and choices and that's important to what the band wants to convey here.

A-Lex is the most thrash-oriented material we've heard from Sepultura since perhaps Arise. The album has a different kind of intensity than they've been cultivating over the last decade or so. It doesn't have the density of an album like Roots, but it has more flat-out speed than they've shown in some time and in the end it's a fair trade. As raw as it is though, it is never sloppy or rough. They've managed to make an album that has the intricacies of careful planning along with the energy of spontaneous creation.

In the past, Sepultura has been able to integrate non-metal elements into their sound seamlessly, much as they did with indigenous Brazilian music on Roots. Obviously, there would be no way to avoid the inclusion of the "glorious Ludwig Van" on this project, but it does present a problem. Despite seeming like a match made in heaven, classical and metal have struggled in most past collisions and, at least at times, that's true on A-Lex also. "Ludwig Van" feels more like the technically proficient, but meaningless narcissism of classical/rock ego-fests like Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It stands out like a sore thumb on the otherwise engaging album. How could they have done better though? They clearly couldn't leave out a nod to Beethoven's Ninth. Well, check out the final "chapter intro," "A-Lex IV." It not only tips its hat to classical as any treatment of A Clockwork Orange must, but also taps into Walter Carlos' strange take on it from the film's soundtrack and fits perfectly into Sepultura's work. Had they done that on the previous track, the album might have achieved the unthinkable. As it stands though, that one misstep is huge at a crucial point. Does it hurt the album? Yes. Does it kill it? Not by a long shot. A-Lex is far from a glaring weakness even in Sepultura's strong catalog.

There aren't many bands as musically ambitious and intense as Sepultura and A-Lex lives up to their already formidable legacy. Now entirely Cavalera-free, Sepultura still has no problem staying true to the vision that made them one of metal's best and most interesting bands. It's not perfect, but there is a youthfulness to A-Lex escapes other bands of their generation and also fits the concept perfectly.

Ratings
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Mighty High - In Drug City

Label: self-released (available at amazon, CD Baby and Interpunk)

Released: March 11, 2008

My copy of In Drug City came with an interesting promo item - a combination lighter/bottle opener emblazoned with the Mighty High logo. There was a note from guitarist Woody High saying, "I know you're straightedge, but the bottle opener works for soda and the lighter for fireworks." That same sentiment applies to Mighty High's music.

Too punk for metal and too metal for punk, Mighty High revives the other late 80s punk/metal crossover scene than spawned the likes of Gang Green and SNFU and they also draw on the wild, inebriated humor of Adrenalin OD. Abandoning precision for raucousness and cleverness for insobriety, the band has a broader appeal than expected, because they're high on one drug everyone likes - fun. Not ones to be bogged down by politics or philosophy, Mighty High exudes a sense of good times that is easy to relate to even if their particular brand of fun isn't up your alley (and it is anything but up mine). Oddly enough, they spend a lot of time focusing on pot, but aside from a few more stoner rock-oriented tracks, their music more closely approximates what I suspect speed is like. It's frenetic and relentless and never stops to think.

I guess In Drug City just shows how music crosses barriers. The album is up to its ears in drug-addled silliness, yet drugs aren't needed to appreciate what makes it such a good time. Remember though kids, don't try this at home!

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 5/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 6/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Clutch - Full Fathom Five (Audio Field Recordings 2007-2008)

Label: Weathermaker Music (distributed by MVD)

Released: September 15, 2008

As a studio band, Clutch has released several of my all-time favorite albums, but those came out a decade or more ago. As a live band, Clutch has never satisfied me. Their dynamic heavy groove that sets them apart from the field of Sabbath and space rock devotees that have popped up over the last 20 years has never been there when I see them in person and that, coupled with how much I've loved some of their albums, has been a tremendous letdown. But Clutch is a weird, wild band that builds on the craziest parts of heavy music, conspiracy theory, history and mysticism, so anything is possible at any time.

The opener, "The Dragonfly," led me to believe the worst about the album. It's hard to imagine that they could turn such a song flat and dull. The rhythms are plodding, the riffs quiet and the vocals out-of-sync. This is just what my live experience had been with the band and I was disappointed that I wasn't wrong. However, things pick up as the album moves along. By the time they get to "Cypress Grove," they've loosened up and the sense that Clutch is just a little bit off their rockers starts to come out in the song's maniacal groove. A few songs later, they tear through a version of "The Yeti" that makes a case to stand beside the studio version of perhaps the best song they ever wrote. The three final tracks, "Mr Shiny Cadillackness," "Electric Worry" and "One Eye Dollar," finish the album in a whirlwind that is one part Baptist minister, one part old blues musician on the street corner al with a heavy presence of their own unique psychedelic monster.

The albums tracks are gathered from four separate shows and the fades between tracks sadly emphasize this. However, it does gather steam as the band loosens up over the course of the album and, unlike just about any other live album compiled from multiple shows, has a real sense of what a show is like, rather than just a bunch of songs played live.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 10/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Grayceon - This Grand Show

Label: Vendlus Records

Released: November 11, 2008

Symphonic metal seemed like a good idea, but every time someone gives it a try, we either get Metallica's S&M, where classical is merely superimposed onto metal, or Dragonforce, where we get all the soul (or lack thereof rather) of classical dummied down for the average rock fan. It should work, but it never does.

Now, Grayceon isn't symphonic metal...but they do some of the things symphonic metal should. Sure, there's a cello, but their classical leanings go much further than just a bit of anti-rock instrumentation. Their arrangements, particularly in the 20+ minute "Sleep," draw from everything from the sacred compositions of Bach to modern power metal. What really sets Grayceon apart though is that they don't noodle for the sake of noodling nor do they play for the sake of merely displaying their skills. Their focus is on the music itself. While Jackie Perez Gratz's cello is immediately striking, it is Zack Farwell's drumming that plays the biggest part in the management of This Grand Show's energy. When the music is at its most dirge-like, the drums still go off. When the rest of the band catch up with Farwell, the tension is released and the energy explodes, then everything else tones itself back down and the tension and potential energy build again.

This Grand Show's madness isn't as immediately striking as it was with Grayceon's self-titled album last year, but don't be fooled. They've just gotten a little bit better at it. While you wait to be smacked in the face, they're knocking your feet out from under you and then setting you back up before you even know you've fallen. It's much more subtle, but don't think that means it won't move you.

Ratings
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Strike First Presents: Earth from Above

Strike First Records is pleased to announce the signing of Southern California's Earth From Above. These guys have been tearing up SoCal for a while now and will be recording their debut full length in January with engineer Chris Eck (Impending Doom, Mirrors of Dead Faces, Oblige) for a spring 09 release. You can hear The Antidote, a brand new pre-production song on their myspace now.

Earth from Above growl and sneer their way through their live sets, with two studied metal vocalists at the helm; and their shows are just a taste of what will come out of Chris Eck's recording studio.

TOUR DATES:
Oct 31 The Paradigm w/ Impending Doom, Yucaipa, CA
Nov 8 The Maac w/ Impending Doom, Chula Vista, CA
Nov 14 The Green Turtle Whitier, CA
Nov 22 PC Paramount w/ Impending Doom, Paramount, CA
Nov 29 Salon Fiesta w/ Impending Doom, Tijuana, Baja CA

Review: Protest the Hero - Fortress

Label: Vagrant Records

Released: February 11, 2008

There is a musical gray area that exists between good bands that live within their limitations and great bands that have no limitations. Bands in that gray area are clearly very, very good and deserve credit for their willingness to push the envelope of their sound. At the same time, they get dinged for lacking the self-knowledge to know when to stop pushing and to start concentrating on songwriting rather than theory. These bands avoid the perfection that can be achieved on either side of them and the degree to which they avoid it determines whether their album flirts with greatness or disaster.

Protest the Hero's second full-length album, Fortress, certainly falls into that gray area. These guys' chops far exceed most of their peers'. The rhythms are tight and dynamic, their dual guitar attack can be both lightning fast and beautifully melodic and Rody Walker's vocals are as effective when smooth as when brutal. They incorporate hardcore's brutality and thrash's speed with moments of symphonic metal that actually aren't all that gratuitous. In their best moments they knock on the door of the Mars Volta, but unlike Volta, their songs often lack the cohesiveness that turns experimentation into song. That and perhaps the thinness of the production are the limiting factors of the soaring potential of Fortress.

All members of Protest the Hero are under the legal drinking age (here in the US, but not in their Canadian home), yet they've been playing together for nine years. That may account for both their incredible ability to play together as well as their struggle to write focused songs. For such a young band, they are incredibly literate, writing lyrics that sensible enough to get a feel for the song, yet cryptic enough to keep you guessing. If they could translate that same ability into the music, they would get out of that gray area and do more than just flirt with greatness.

Ratings
Satriani: 10/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 4/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: The Devil and the Sea - Heart vs Spine

Label: Acerbic Noise Development

Released: January 29, 2008

When an album runs wild, there's not usually a whole lot of middle ground. It's either on the verge of brilliance or on the verge of disaster. The Devil and the Sea are certainly wild. Like Black Flag before them, they take the spirit of free jazz (call it free punk, if you will) and apply it within the sphere of their own genre. Into this mix, they throw early thrash elements, doom and post-metal drone and the vocal stylings of a soul in turmoil.

While the album does rein in its wild abandon for a few tracks, it's at its best when it pushes. The drums are wild, the bass fuzzy and the overall character is manic.
At times, the band seems on the verge of disintegration, but always manages to hold it together by the sheer force of will that pushed the music to its limit in the first place. Heart vs Spine is not a melodic record so much so that the little bit of melody that sneaks in on "My Soul Is My Abacus" is shocking. Instead, it has the slow, lumbering energy of a very large beast that plods deliberately along and then suddenly breaks into a stampede.

Growling has become such a common convention in heavy music that it's almost an instant turn-off, but the Devil and the Sea is one instance where anything less would be inappropriate and, unlike other bands who are simply following the formula, this growl conveys real emotion and the manic fragility of being on the very edge. It goes beyond inarticulate anger and, most importantly, it works. It thrives on being harsh, not smooth.

Plenty of bands go for crazy, but so few succeed. I guess it's just one of those things that's hard to fake. The Devil and the Sea are either really good actors...or they're just nuts. Listen and decide for yourself.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 9/10
Overall: 8/10

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Judas Priest - Nostradamus

Label: Epic

Released: June 17, 2008

By basing their latest album on the life of the famous 16th Century French clairvoyant, Judas Priest opened themselves up to a wide variety of clever (and not-so-clever) quips. In anticipation of the release, I think I've gotten most of that out of my system over the last few months. Nonetheless, I will do something special for this review: I'll write two, one (in the spirit of Nostradamus' foretelling of disaster) will be a prediction before I listen and the other a reaction after I listen. In the end, I guess we'll see if I share any of Nostradamus' gifts. (Would that make me Nostrabobus?)

Prediction: While Judas Priest is surely one of the giants of heavy metal (in the shadow of perhaps only Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath), their recent history isn't that inspiring. When Rob Halford left, they replaced him with Ripper Owens, a guy who was making his money trying to sound like Halford in a cover band. That doesn't exactly show a desire to move on. The non-Halford albums apparently weren't anything to get excited about, but Halford's return on 2005's Angel of Retribution proved that Halford wasn't the only missing ingredient. So, Judas Priest is coming off of their sketchiest period since 1986's Turbo and what do they decide to do to rejuvenate themselves? They make a concept album (and a long one at that) about perhaps the silliest, most clichéd subject they could find. They may just as well have written a concept album about Sasquatch (of course at least that one would have the potential for humor). So, my prediction, whether calculated or clairvoyant, is that Nostradamus will be an overwrought, egotistical debacle. I believe that it will be long on pretentious attempts at high art so to speak and short on the concise, driving metal that made Judas Priest great. The lyrics will be silly, yet will also be taken way too seriously by the band, as if the story of Nostradamus is important to history and philosophy rather than just just a persistent pop culture fascination. Basically, the album is gonna suck.

Review: First of all, what's up with all the synth? More than once, I expected Judas Priest to break in "The Final Countdown." A Judas Priest album should never make me think of Europe. And where are the songs that the album is structured around? I understand that a concept album is a different animal and I won't begrudge a good one a few extra filler songs that can't stand on their own, but Nostradamus is over 100 minutes long, so it needs more than a few songs to be standouts. As it is, there are only a couple songs that actually have any focus. Aside from those, there are just so-so Priest moments adrift in an otherwise aimless album. Those two forgivable songs have Priest pretending to be their metal rivals from 25 years ago. It seems a shame that band who did so much to establish their own sound, and an oft-copied one at that, should release an album whose best songs wear their Maiden-envy on their sleeves. Rob Halford's voice is still among the best in metal, but if he wants to make an album like this, perhaps he should try opera instead.

All of that makes for a bad album, but their is a more fundamental problem. I'd be glad to see Judas Priest push past their established sound and stretch out into new territory, making a case for their continued existence. However, it isn't their music that they were trying to stretch here, it was their egos. I can't help but think that Priest wanted to prove that they weren't just a bunch of "dumb metalheads," but perhaps they should have consulted Iron Maiden about more than just their sound, because Maiden based songs on epic poems, history and the Book of Revelations. Judas Priest wants us to take Nostradamus, based on what amounts to a persistent pop culture icon, just as seriously. As much as the lackluster, unfocused music, the overly processed sound and the bow to their rivals are bad, their attempt to pass off the story of Nostradamus as a serious topic is just insulting. Maybe they are just "dumb metalheads."

So, am I Nostrabobus? Perhaps. My prediction was fairly accurate, but probably more due reason than any sixth sense, and like Nostradamus, being a little vague didn't hurt my cause. So, clairvoyant or not, there's one thing I know: Nostradamus is awful.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 4/10
Dylan: 3/10
Aretha: 1/10
Overall: 2/10

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Cavalar - As a Metal of Fact

Label: Voice Music

Released: 2007

The 70s seem to be a bottomless well of influence, particularly in the realm of hard rock and metal. Cavalar don't break any barriers on As a Metal of Fact, but they do a good job rehashing a slightly different past. Twitch nails his take on Ozzy, but unlike so many bands, the primary influence isn't the same sludgey Sabbath riffs. Sure, Sabbath is present, but you'd be hard pressed to find a good metal album where there isn't true. Instead, Cavalar deals more in Ozzy's solo material which gives them a decidedly different energy than many of their peers. Sure, they cover "Hole in the Sky," but that's a decidedly peppy song compared to the most oft-copied Sabbath material.

As a Metal of Fact does draw a bit on 70s hard rock, but also taps some of the 80s metal that got lost between glam and thrash. There is perhaps a hint of the effects of grunge here, but by and large Cavalar sticks to the pre-90s hard rock/heavy metal world. It's nothing new, but at least it's influences aren't quite the typical metal party line. Oh yeah, that heavy groove is hard to beat.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 5/10
Dylan: 5/10
Aretha: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Bushwhack - s/t

Label: self-released

Released: 2007

These kids can play. There's no doubt about that. They're outstanding technicians and, at their age (all 18 and 19 years old), almost unparalleled. Beyond the technical though, they really struggle.

Their sound eases its layers back and forth between airy and heavy, but neither conveys anything meaningful other than that they've practiced. Hints of life in "Guacamole" are quickly stamped out by senseless complexity. Stabs at incorporating Middle Eastern and Latin influences too often devolve into bad jazz fusion. "Sirens" almost finds a groove, but it's too little to save it from horrendous synth parts and overuse of the phaser. They spend too much time showing off as individuals and not nearly enough making music together. The big keyboard swells have all bombastic arrogance, but without any punch. Acoustic guitar parts don't even sound acoustic. The rhythms are stiff and icy and the over-processed production robs any richness that the songs might have by overdosing on cheap, clichéd electronics. It's one thing to make a record that is intentionally cold. Those records still have life, however desolate and desperate that life might be. Bushwhack on the other hand have created something whose life, if it ever had any, has been subjugated and ultimately destroyed by technique that gives us the worst of both worlds, being neither interesting nor moving.

A young band usually struggles with technique or songwriting to get their own sound, but makes up for it with passion and excitement. Bushwhack is the opposite. They're textbook musicians and textbook writers, but they play like old men who've spent their days honing their skills rather than honing their souls. They play as if rigor mortis has already set in. Nothing is loose. There are no chances, no improvisations. It is safe and sterile and those are two traits that never make up great rock n roll.

Ratings
Satriani: 9/10
Zappa: 4/10
Dylan: 4/10
Aretha: 2/10
Overall: 4/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Review: Fight - K5 (The War of Words Demos)

Label: Metal God Entertainment

Released: January 8, 2008

At the time, Judas Priest's Painkiller seemed like a breath of fresh air. Ram It Down was a decent album, but not enough to assure metalheads that Turbo was a mistake Priest wouldn't make again. Painkiller, on the other hand, seemed like Priest had not only abandoned their pop metal ambitions, but were attempting to fuse their sound with the 80s underground metal that they helped influence earlier in that decade. But that was then. Now Painkiller shows a band struggling a bit for relevance without simply reliving their past. It was a noble effort, but their thrash and hardcore leanings (largely courtesy of new drummer Scott Travis' playing) never really gelled with the remnants of the old Judas Priest sound.

Three years later, Fight's War of Words gave Halford and Travis the opportunity to explore their higher energy approach unencumbered by the Judas Priest sound hanging over their heads. The result was even more refreshing than Painkiller seemed...and it's held up much better. The album generally sounds much more natural, because the new sound isn't being superimposed onto the past. However, War of Words had plenty of support behind it and the end product just may be a bit too polished.

Enter K5 14 years later. These are the demos that Fight recorded before it was cleaned up for radio, MTV and mass consumption. These raw sessions tap into the thrash and hardcore for which Halford and company formed Fight in the first place. K5 trims two and a half songs from the War of Words track list, but they're songs that had less of the new Fight sound. These are replaced by four songs that never made the original album, all of which are nice additions. "Jesus Saves," a track hidden in War of Words' final track, stands on its own for the first time on K5.

K5 is not essential, but for those of us who wanted to know what these songs sounded like before they were cleaned up to be sold, it's an interesting window and, in a sense, a better album that gets at the essence of what Halford was trying to achieve with Fight. While it might be construed as a filler release, just remember Judas Priest is working on a concept album about Nostradamus, so this is the best we're gonna get out of Halford for awhile.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

Lizzy Borden - Tomorrow Never Dies video

This one's over-the-top, but we expect no less from Lizzy and company.

Fall of Troy on tour

w/Protest The Hero, Chiodos
Apr 11 Vancouver, BC Croatian Cultural Centre
Apr 13 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall Ballroom
Apr 14 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Events Centre
Apr 15 Saskatoon, SK The Odeon
Apr 16 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theater


w/The Dear Hunter, Foxy Shazam, Tera Melos
Apr 19 Lawrence, KS The Bottleneck
Apr 20 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
Apr 22 Chicago, IL Reggie’s Live
Apr 23 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
Apr 24 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
Apr 25 Covington, KY The Mad Hatter
Apr 26 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
Apr 29 Rochester, NY The Club @ Water Street Music Hall
Apr 30 London, ON The Salt Lounge
May 1 Toronto, ON The Mod Club
May 2 Montreal, ON Club Lambi
May 3 Poughkeepsie, NY The Loft @ The Chance
May 4 Bamboozle E. Rutherford, NJ
May 6 New Haven, CT Toad’s Place
May 7 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar
May 8 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox Laundrolounge
May 9 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
May 10 Orlando, FL The Social
May 11 Miami, FL Studio A
May 13 Metairie, LA The High Ground
May 14 Houston, TX Meridian Red Room
May 15 Dallas, TX The Door
May 16 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock
May 17 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
May 19 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse Music Venue
May 20 Pomona, CA Glasshouse
May 21 Hollywood, CA Knitting Factory
May 22 San Francisco, CA Bottom Of The Hill
May 23 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
May 24 El Corazon Seattle, WA

Review: Anarchy Club - A Single Drop of Red

Label: self-released CD Baby

Released: March 4, 2008

Okay, I'll admit White Zombie was kinda fun...for about ten minutes. I don't know that I could ever take them in album-length doses. When the first track of A Single Drop of Red was nothing short of an homage to White Zombie, it was already off on the wrong foot. Unfortunately, it never recovered. Their focus on 90s shock-rockers like Zombie, and to lesser extent Danzig and Marilyn Manson, doesn't really give them much to work with. After all, these bands used their horror shtick to draw focus away form their generally boring tunes. Anarchy Club skips the novelty of the slasher movie mentality, but that merely exposes the shortcomings of their songwriting. Their cover of Sweet's "No You Don't" robs the song of it's fun pop sense and further shows Anarchy Club's inability to tap into what made their influences tick. The remixes that make up the second half of the album are really just a third-rate stab at NIN's gift for melding hard rock and electronica that sadly errs on the side of hard rock. At their best, Anarchy Club are a thinly veiled White Zombie tribute. At their worst, they're a celebration of all that was terrible in 90s shock rock.

Ratings
Satriani: 5/10
Zappa: 2/10
Dylan: 2/10
Aretha: 2/10
Overall: 3/10

Website

Myspace

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.

DVD: Iron Maiden - Live After Death

Label: Universal Music

Released: February 5, 2008

The fact that this DVD flat out rules is no surprise. Iron Maiden is one of metal's most technical and most literate bands and, as if that's not enough, they're a blast live. Other than a few foggy Spinal Tap-esque moments during the epic "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Maiden never comes across as self-indulgent. Their stage, with all its Egyptian props and its huge, animated Eddie, is quite a spectacle, yet it never (even in those few clichéed moments) overwhelms the music. Bruce Dickinson, already one of the genre's top vocalists, is also an incredibly dynamic performer. He's everywhere, never stopping. Nicko McBrain is more exciting live than on record and Dave Murray and Adrian Smith put all the technical skill they have in the studio on display. And all of them pale next to Steve Harris. He is not only metal's best bassist, but one rock's best as well and he does it without being flashy. Any questions about Harris' skill are answered right here. In some shots, his fingers are moving too fast for the human eye. Literally. He's just that good and like Dickinson, he's wonderfully engaging on stage.

Unlike the superficial content of so many of their peers, Maiden has always been able to translate a good command of literature and history into great rock n roll. This is never more evident than in Dickinson's gratuitous drug reference of the night. Any other band would just ask the crowd if they liked beer or pot, but Dickinson's pot reference involved stories about Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Queen Victoria! Even when he's being stupid, he's smart.

It's no surprise that this film has held up well over the last 23 years. Iron Maiden was so unique and so few bands have even come close to matching them that they're still fresh today. And Live After Death is one of the great concert films of all time, catching a truly great band in their prime. Why, oh why didn't I catch them live back then? The DVD isn't a substitute for being there, but as consolation prizes go, it's nothing short of awesome.

In addition to the original concert that was released on VHS in 1985, this DVD re-issue comes with a second disc which includes videos, stills, live footage and two short documentaries. As if disc 1 wasn't enough, the bonus material isn't just the regular third-rate add-ons. The footage from their trip to Poland is particularly interesting. It was a bold move by a bold band and those young Polish rock fans of 1985 probably have an appreciation for Maiden that none of us can even understand.

Rating: 10/10

Website

Review: Lafcadio - Kibosh

Label: Joyful Noise Recordings

Released: January 22, 2008

In a nutshell, Lafcadio could be described as King Crimson meets Dillinger Escape Plan meets Black Flag meets Black Sabbath meets Shel Silverstein. If you're not immediately turned off by the threat of that, then their new album Kibosh is probably for you. At times, they are as refined (though not quite as safe as) late 70s/early80s King Crimson jazz/prog. At other times, they play what sounds like noise, except...there's something to it. In between these two extremes is the heavy, discordant noodling that can likely only be picked up by locking oneself in a room and listening repeatedly to side 2 of Black Flag's My War. Just in case you're tempted to take all of this too seriously, check out that album cover with its 70s catalog spoof and the track list with the likes of "freewillynelsonmandela." That's right, on some level, it's all supposed to be fun. The result is hardly accessible, but for the brave and silly alike, there's something here that will catch you when you're not looking.

Rating: 8/10

Myspace

Review: Grayceon

Label: Vendlus Records

Released: February 14, 2007

Prog rock's faults aren't usually related to technical skill at any stage of the process, from writing to playing to producing. In fact, the genre's greatest difficulty stems from its artists being too good, too musical. Prog bands have a tendency to lose the emotional connection with their audience that is essential in rock n roll. Sure, some bands were successful in incorporating pop elements and others just dummied everything down to nothing more than a grandiose version of pop, but so many of them still had that problem with emotion.

Grayceon is not purely a prog band, but their music, a successful amalgamation of metal, punk, classical and folk (particularly of the Eastern European variety), is complex enough to at least overlap significantly with prog. What Grayceon does that so often eluded even the top bands in rock's most complex genre is to simply connect with listeners. While prog plays at its audience, Grayceon plays too them. Their music, despite being the work of a trio, is every bit as complex, but it remains in a raw, emotive form than envelops rather than alienates the listener. Cello might not be a standard rock instrument, but it never feels like a novelty on this album. It's smooth lines are often juxtaposed with heavy, plodding guitar and wild percussion. Instead of taking those elements and streamlining them into a neat package, Grayceon allows them to remain loose and raw, giving the music both a chaos and freedom that feels more like a reflection of life than an esoteric musical exercise.

Grayceon's appeal is two-fold. First, their musicianship is so strong that their possibilities have few boundaries and second, they still play music that is very human and easy to take to heart. If that's not enough, this four track album has songs of 12 1/2 and 20 minutes in length and neither gets tedious even for a second. Few bands can say that whether they dabble in prog rock or not.

Rating: 8/10

Website

Myspace

DVD: Rat Skates - Born in the Basement

Label: Kundrat Productions

Released: December 11, 2007

Born in the Basement is original Overkill drummer Rat Skates' documentary about the early days of thrash metal, from its punk rock and New Wave of British Heavy Metal roots to the days of its major label success. While there is some mention of other thrash bands like Metallica and Slayer, Skates focuses his attention on his own scene in NYC. And that focus is narrowed even further, because the documentary is really just an extended interview with Skates himself interspersed with video and stills. That limits the film's breadth, but also allows it dig deep into its limited subject matter and touch on details and bands that are likely unknown to anyone who wasn't there.

Because the film only shows the perspective of one man, albeit one who was as thoroughly involved in the birth of thrash as anyone could probably be, its total truth comes into question. At times, Skates almost seems to imply that his hard work and go-for-it approach were the primary factor in Overkill's and thrash's success. It's difficult to tell if he's trying to overstate his role or if this is simply the result of the same personality that drove his success the first time around. The production is amateur, but it would likely seem disingenuous to make a slick film about the DIY ethic.

Despite a few obvious weaknesses, Born in the Basement has plenty of real value. It provides a view into just how much effort was involved in making the music that many of us felt so close to at the time by making us privy to everything that happened behind the scenes. These guys worked like crazy for something they loved, regardless of whether it would ever pay off. It also shows how things have changed. Gone are the days of the Xerox machine. They've been replaced by the advent of iTunes and Myspace. While there are still bands that put their own album art together and screen print their own shirts, they do so by choice. Skates and his peers did it out of necessity.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

Review: Sebastian Bach - Angel Down

Label: Get Off My Bach/MRV/Caroline/EMI

Released: November 20, 2007

In light of the number of 80s hair metal has-beens trying to cash in on a sadly nostalgic public, I didn't have tremendously high hopes for Sebastian Bach's latest, his first album in eight years. The upside of this record is that Bach didn't entirely bow to the past. From the opening track, it's pretty clear that Angel Down isn't just a cash-in on the sound of the first and most successful Skid Row album. It's a pretty heavy affair that taps more into his Slave to the Grind-era work along with some of the churning crunch of metal's more recent practices.

The downside is that while the songwriting and playing is soild, it's also largely uneventful. There were five tracks that Bach didn't contribute to as a writer and he wrote the rest...with help. Unfortunately, that help streamlined everything into a very generic hard rock format. What do you expect when the producer co-wrote four tracks and another one got "help" from Desmond Child who wouldn't know innovation if it hit him over the head. Even the songs written by band members don't show any desire to establish their own sound rather than just rely on Bach's voice and waning starpower. As I got further into the album, I became hopeful that he may have forgone the ballad. You can imagine my disappointment when "By Your Side" began. On top of the writing, the band is tight, but not all that enthusiastic. Technical skill is seldom a substitute for actually feeling the music and the difference between those two becomes more and more evident over the course of the album. The over-hyped presence of Axl Rose on three tracks was completely forgettable.

None of this made the album outright unlistenable, but it did keep it from reaching the level of a few other hard rock/heavy metal blasts from the past that came out this year. The one thing that really did the most to point out what's wrong with Bach's work is his cover of Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle." If you're going to take the swing out of an Aerosmith song, you better have something good in its place. Bach and company have nothing. They play it entirely safe, straightening the shuffle right out and robbing it of its swagger. This really sums up the album well. On the songs that don't have to measure up to Aerosmith's prime, Bach's conservatism isn't as clear, but the cover lays it all out in the open.

Rating: 5/10

Website

Myspace

Review: Tia Carrera - You Are the War 7"

Label: Arclight Records

Released: 2007

Over the course of rock history, "Louie Louie" has been covered countless times. Its simplicity and infectious hook make it an easy task for even the most pedestrian bands. On the other hand, to my knowledge, only one band has covered Lungfish's "You Are the War." There's a few reasons: Lungfish is fairly far outside of the mainstream, "You Are the War" is far from a pop song, and most importantly, how would one go about it? The song is a great example of Lungfish's seething, yet oddly subdued psychedelic art punk. Where to go with a song that already pushes the edges of sanity?

Enter Tia Carrera, a band who's captured the trippy energy of Hendrix and the musical insanity of instrumental Black Flag on other outings. Even for them, "You Are the War" had to be such a challenge. Where could they take it? Well, first, they take the three minute original and expand it to a twelve minute epic (splitting the song over both sides of the 7 inch). Then they take the psychedelic power that churns under the surface to the forefront, rounding off its angular punk edges with waves of fuzzed out guitar and organ. The extended interplay between these two over the thunder of the rhythm section is one of the best excuses not to do drugs. Who needs anything else with a freak-out like this? This is what true psychedelic music should be. This is the trip. And it just keeps going...and going...and going. Even having to flip the record won't break the spell they cast.

If I had any doubts remaining after hearing November Sessions and Heaven/Hell that Tia Carrera was the best heavy psyche act going, this EP, this one song, a cover even, dispels them. Tia Carrera take an almost uncoverable song, shake it free of its moorings and fly off on a new trip.

Rating: 10/10

Website

Myspace

RIP: Kevin DuBrow

I'm not good at writing these things, because I so hate the dishonesty of sentimentality that I end up giving dead people a hard time rather than a break. However, I did read two fitting tributes to the colorful Quiet Riot singer. Metal Mark's tribute takes an honest look at DuBrow's public self and Ray's is a little more personal. Both avoid being overly sentimental and dishonest and, in the end, do more justice to DuBrow's life than absurd "things won't be the same without you" statements.

Review: Lizzy Borden - Appointment with Death

Label: Metal Blade Records

Released: October 2, 2007

When I saw that Lizzy Borden had a new album coming out, I had mixed expectations. While I liked several of their early albums despite the silly theatrics, I began to lose interest in the late 80s and didn't even pay attention to their thin output over the last 17 or so years. Face it, odds are that a band who faded out of their prime and then had huge recording gaps in their catalog isn't going to put together anything all that exciting. Still, I had some hope and that hope was rewarded with Appointment with Death.

This is the first Lizzy Borden album in seven years (unless you count the Starwood album from 2004) and all I know is they must've been resting up for this one, because it flat out rocks with a nearly live energy. It isn't without its flash, especially some of the Maiden-esque dual guitar leads and Lizzy's still strong voice, but none of that feels gratuitous as it does with so many metal artists. While a lot of metal has become more angular, only using melody to counter dissonance and crunch, Lizzy Borden walks the fine line between metal heaviness and hard rock melody. With little exception, it is an 80s metal album, yet the band's enthusiasm keeps it from feeling old.

While it's solid, it may not brilliant musically and it certainly is not brilliant lyrically. The album's theme obviously revolves around death which is frankly rather silly. However, despite its attempt to bare Lizzy's dark side, it's more fun than anything else. There's no doubt that it's a one-dimensional album, but the band does thrive in that dimension. It's unusual for an album to not offer anything new and still be worthwhile, but Lizzy Borden has served up an exception with Appointment with Death.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

Review: Queensryche - Take Cover

Label: Rhino

Released: November 13, 2007

A cover here and there isn't a bad thing and often playing covers helps a band know itself. But there's a big difference between the occasional cover that pops up on an album or a live set and releasing a whole album of someone else's songs. This trend, similar to the current trend of Hollywood remakes, made me fear for the creative future of rock n roll until I realized that the bands making these albums are generally those whose creative force have either never been strong or are so far in the past that they may just as well not have existed. While most who can take honest stock of Queensryche today would argue that they are the latter, I tend to think of them as a band who was, despite a good deal of technical prowess, not all that interesting in the first place.

Needless to say, I didn't expect Take Cover to be very compelling and it wasn't. The covers on this album range from uninteresting to unlistenable. Of all the tracks, I suspected a band as emotionally crippled as Queensryche had the best shot at success with the deliberate coldness of Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine." Instead of allowing their weaknesses to work as a strength, they feebly attempt to make it emotional. Of course, they fail, but success wouldn't have been much better. It's as if they never understood the song in the first place.

When I saw "For What It's Worth" on the track list, I was surprised, but Queensryche did kind of fancy themselves social commentators. Unlike Buffalo Springfield though, they failed to recognize that love is a big part of social protest and their cover doesn't have a drop of it. In most cases, I'm pleased when a band tries to add their own flair to the interpretation, but there's one caveat: the change has to work. This one doesn't. A band with all the political import of the Candyskins was able to move me more with their lite jangle pop version.

They go on to rob "For the Love of Money" of its groove (it's sad when you're outdone by the Bullet Boys), "Innuendo" of its power (Geoff Tate is a sad excuse for Freddie Mercury and he's closer than any of his band mates are to their counterparts in Queen), "Synchronicity II" of its urgency (did they read that one right off of the sheet music?) and "Red Rain" of its poignancy (I didn't think it was possible not to be moved by that song). I don't think I can even bring myself to talk about their misdeeds on "Bullet the Blue Sky," but it certainly would have been bad enough without extending it past 10 minutes. Were they being serious with that one or was it supposed to be funny? Even though I couldn't bring myself to laugh, I hope comedy was their goal.

The bottom line is that a good cover should do more than just a reinterpret the music. It should show an understanding and, more importantly, a love for the song. Either Queensryche doesn't love the songs on Take Cover or they are completely incapable of conveying their love. Either way, this album is a failure even among all the failures that make up this sad new convention practiced by bands that are desperately trying to show their relevance.

Rating: 1/10

One Sentence Review: Queensrÿche - Take Cover

Listening to Take Cover reminds me that the word "good" cannot be made from the letters in "Queensrÿche," but the word "cheesÿ" can.

Contest: Queensryche - Take Cover

I have a copy of Queensryche's new covers collection, cleverly titled Take Cover, for giveaway. I'll send it to the person who has the best definition for what a queensryche actually is. The best answer might be serious or it might be funny, who's to say. Go ahead and post your answers in the comments and I'll choose a winner on Monday, November 26. Check back to see if you're the winner, because I'll need to get contact info from you.

I'll have a review posted soon, so check back if you're interested.

Review: Steve Grimmett - Personal Crisis

Label: Metal Heaven

Released: October 26, 2007

Time changes some things, but not all. This is certainly true of Steve Grimmett. The music hasn't taken any great strides, but time has tempered his once distinctive voice. Other than an occasional hint of modern metal (and I do mean hint), Personal Crisis doesn't explore any new territory. It is a fine mix of melody, tight riffs and solid 80s heaviness that crossed the Atlantic as the NWOBHM. Grimmett's voice, which certainly had its grating moments back in the Grim Reaper days, is toned down. While it isn't quite as distinctive, it is a lot more consistent, making the album more palatable than his past work. The band is capable of reaching technical heights, but never sacrifices the whole sound for the sake of the individual spotlight. While there may not be a truly new moment on the album, there's also not a dull one either as Grimmett and company rip through almost 50 solid metal minutes. For those who relish in the heavier side of 80s metal, this should be a treat, but don't expect to hear the future, because you won't find it here.

At this point, Personal Crisis is not available in the US, so you'll have to pick up the import.

Rating: 6/10

Website

Myspace

Interview: Irritant

Irritant are an up and coming metal band from the UK. For their age (late teens/early 20s), they're amazing players. They've already come to the attention of some big names (Bruce Dickinson for one) and things are looking up for them. Bassist/vocalist Niall answered a few questions for me about the band's past, present and future.

RnRnMN: You're all in your late teens/early twenties, yet you've been together for four years. You must've grown as both people and musicians in that time. How are things different now that when you started?

Niall: Its definitely been a huge learning curve for us and we all are still learning a lot about each other, our music and the music scene at the moment. Its become much more of a career now than when we started, we spend as much time practicing and doing band work as we do earning livings so its pretty tiring being unsigned! Musically its beginning to find a foothold. We've all brought many different influences into this and the way we are all maturing as musicians is now effecting the music we write.

RnRnMN: Vic Coppersmith-Heaven produced your single. While he worked with Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones, he also worked consistently with the Jam. How did you hook up with him and how did he influence Voice Of The Siren? Is there anything that he brought to the table form his work with Jam whose music is so different from where you guys are?

Niall: It was a great experience working with Vic. He is a legend in his own right so at first was daunting as we were completely self produced up until he offered to work with us on the single "Voice Of The Siren". He lives not far from us and saw us play at a local outdoor festival and our relationship grew from there. We worked with him on a few acoustic demos of tracks and really learnt how he worked and he really got the best out of us in a studio environment. His perspective brought out a less "metal" side to the music we played and he also threw in crazy percussive ideas and his aim was to capture our live energy which we have lacked in previous recordings and releases.

RnRnMN: It seems none other than Bruce Dickinson is a fan. How did you get his attention? Since Maiden is an obvious influence on your music, what was it like to find that he really liked your stuff?

Niall: We sent in our latest singles to him at his radio show in the UK and were lucky enough to catch his attention. Its a great feeling to know that one of your heroes is aware of who you are and is into the music your producing.

RnRnMN: How important have online communities like Myspace been to your success?

Niall: Massively. I think that Myspace is possibly the best the biggest tool at an Unsigned artists disposal. Its free, absolutely everyone has some kind of profile or knows someone who has a profile and as a Band you can access all of those people. I cannot imagine how people would have got their music listened too without trawling the country playing at every toilet club going. Myspace gives artists that deserve the chance (and who have the patience to contact as many people as possible) to build up a fan base and attack larger cities and gain recognition in a respectable way. Also gives people who never would have shown off their talents, the ability to do so.

RnRnMN: How did the Ed Stone Rockwear Tour go? Were these the biggest shows you've played to date? What the crowd reaction like?

Niall: The shows weren't the biggest we have played but it gave us an opportunity to play to people a lot further away than we ever have before. We had a great response and had an awesome time. I'm sure any other band reading this will know, what goes on tour stays on tour!

RnRnMN: What is it about your music that you find special? With a lot of metal bands out here, why should someone listen to you?

Niall: I would say that at the moment there seems to be a huge resurgence of really heavy metal. We've been on so many bills where were playing with 4 other bands who seem to be carbon copies of each other, the same detuned guitars, the same screaming vocals and the same breakdowns and time changes. And it is at these shows that we get loads of new fans telling us how its really refreshing to hear something different done well. Our music is based on artists who are still going strong after 20 years, but the modern trends have missed out on all the energy and showmanship these acts had. We like to feel that we are bringing back a sense of grandeur back to rock/metal music.

RnRnMN: What does the future hold? Full-length? Tour? Any plans to break into the US market?

Niall: We are currently taking out a little time to really get back into songwriting as a main focus. Its been a really busy year for us touring all over the place, filming music videos and most recently our first mainstream tv performance so its all become a bit hectic. Its nice to chill out and really spend time on the music. So expect a full length early next year. Touring is always on our schedule but at the moment we have nothing major plans until the new record comes out which we will be working extremely hard! We would love to get over to the US, you find the venues we will be there!!

Pick your favorite from each pair:

• Beatles versus Rolling Stones: Beatles
• Iron Maiden versus Black Sabbath: Iron Maiden - duhh!
• Sex Pistols versus the Clash: The Clash
• James Brown versus Marvin Gaye: James Brown!!
• Metallica versus Slayer: Metallica

Check out my review of Good Evening from the Machine.

Review: Avenged Sevenfold - s/t

Label: Warner Bros.

Released: October 30, 2007

Avenged Sevenfold are one of those bands that makes me wonder what all the hype is about. It's not that they're bad, just that they don't seem to really separate themselves from the pack so to speak. Their self-titled follow-up to their major label break-though, City of Evil, both justifies my question about them and answers it.

The album jumps right into their metalcore bread and butter, but by the second track, they bring a sense of hooky melody that begins to show just why they may have a platinum record on their hands this time. They incorporate everything from hardcore to melodic hard rock to pop to classical. They even close with a country-tinged ballad that only works based on the strength of the rest of the album. Extremely tight throughout, they show that their music works with delicate string arrangements as well as harsh, aggressive rockers. They do have a miscue on "Lost." The song itself fits well, but no one who wants to be taken seriously should employ an effect that reminds anyone of a bad Cher song (you know the one). Still the album shows that Avenged Sevenfold graduated into being a versatile rock band that plays music big enough for arenas, not just another run-of-the-mill metalcore act. The music is certainly grand, but it's also fairly safe.

Other bands are out there taking their small sub-genre and making great big rock records. If bands like My Chemical Romance and Chiodos are the Queens of this generation, then Avenged Sevenfold are the Foreigner. That doesn't make them a bad band, it just means that they aren't pushing the limits of what a rock band can do. While MCR and Chiodos are both the present and the future, Avenged Sevenfold are simply the here and now, so enjoy them while you can.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

Review: Remove the Veil - Another Way Home

Label: Facedown Records

Released: October 16, 2007

Unlike most of the Facedown stable, Remove the Veil takes it's cues from gritty hard rock, grunge and stoner rock rather than more technical metal. Interestingly enough, the album still fits well with the label's catalog. Their ability to use this in a powerful hardcore format sets them apart from their peers.

The album's nod to hard rock shouldn't be taken as an indicator that they're lite compared to other bands in the scene. Their down-to-earth riffs and heavy grooves make the album more accessible, but no less intense. Their use of vocal harmonies is reminiscent of the interplay between Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell that made Alice in Chains a stand-out in the 90s. Vocalist Mark Hendrix's voice does have a tendency to get witchy in the more frantic sections where he isn't harmonizing, but while it's grating at first, it settles in with the music over the course of the album. Unlike the cold technical riffs of their contemporaries, Remove the Veil mixes in southern rock licks that make a more direct connection that the esoteric noodlings that are so prominent today. They get a little too pedestrian on the title track which all but rips off "Wanted Dead of Alive," but they otherwise walk the line between melodic accessibility and sludgey heaviness with much success.

The result is an album that is equal parts Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains and generic hard rock with perhaps a dash of the Allman Brothers. Another Way Home maintains a consistent energy level across pace changes, giving it both punch and passion that easily connects with listeners.

Rating: 7/10

Myspace

Remove the Veil is currently on tour to support the album:

Oct 31 - Phenix City, AL @ Halloween Ho-down @ Champion's Den
Nov 2 - Elizabethtown, KY @ Reno Starks
Nov 3 - Herrin, IL @ Hitts
Nov 5 - Ocala, FL @ The Capitol
Nov 6 - Tampa, FL @ Transitions Art Gallery
Nov 7 - Homestead, FL @ Life Pointe Church Homestead, FL
Nov 9 - Mobile, AL @ The Mug
Nov 10 - Cleveland, GA @ Real Hope Fest '07
Nov 12 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Factory
Nov 13 - Bartlesville, OK @ The Warehouse
Nov 15 - Memphis, TN @ The Dregs
Nov 17 - Douglasville, GA @ BBQ Fest '07 @ the 7 Venue
Nov 18 - Greenville, SC @ The Unknown Venue
Nov 19 - Kernersville, NC @ Creation Skatepark
Nov 20 - Berea, KY @ Berea Folk Center
Dec 1 - Greenville, NC @ Silver Bullet
Dec 2 - Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
Dec 4 - Melbourne, FL @ The Melbourne Jaycees
Dec 5 - Winter Park, FL @ Island Oasis
Dec 6 - Ocala, FL @ The Capitol
Dec 7 - Buchanan, GA @ The Hangar
Dec 8 - Mobile, AL @ The Chiropractor Building
Dec 10 - Baton Rouge, LA @ The Darkroom
Dec 11 - Corpus Christi, TX @ The Compound
Dec 13 - San Antonio, TX @ The White Rabbit
Dec 15 - Stockbridge, GA @ The R.O.C.K. Show at First Christian Church
Dec 18 - Corinth, MS @ Cruzin' Cones
Dec 19 - Douglasville, GA @ The 7 Venue
Jan 1 - Fredricksburg, VA @ Revelation Fest
Feb 16 - Clyattville, GA @ WoodFest @ War House Of Prayer

Review: Motley Crue - Carnival of Sin (live)

Label: Eleven Seven Music

Released: October 23, 2007

With the possible exception of Dr Feelgood (and that's even pretty questionable), Motley Crue hasn't done anything meaningful since 1983's Shout at the Devil, so it is quite beyond me why anyone would waste their time and money to see them. That being said, Carnival of Sin turned out to be a bit of a surprise.

The two-disc set obviously concentrates of the band's 80s recordings and rightly so, because the newer songs aren't worth hearing. The first disc largely concentrates on the first two albums and is therefore, the stronger of the two. The second disc stumbles a bit with weaker songs, back-to-back ballads and their ridiculous cover of "Anarchy in the UK." While Motley Crue aren't a relevant rock band any longer, they still prove to be energetic, albeit stupid, showmen. They no longer convey the wild side that they once did, but they give a worthy performance of the old material and inject life into their newer tunes.

Just as the band surprised me with their performance, so too did Bob Rock with his production. Rather than the slick commercialism that is his hallmark, this album actually captures the rawness of a live performance without being so raw that it's unlistenable.

The album was certainly better that I expected and it gives some credence to the position that the band should tour (and maybe even that people, not me, should bother seeing them). However, the strength of the older versus the newer material makes it quite clear that they shouldn't bother with studio albums.

Rating: 6/10

Review: Hematovore - Untitled

Label: Acerbic Noise Development

Released: 2004

Hematovore is what you'd get if really heavy, technical bands scored movies. Untitled is a constantly changing landscape, yet the songs flow together into a single piece of work. The band combines layers of the technical thrash of Prong and difficult to nail down avant-garde experimentalism with the melodic theatrics of Queen and Maiden and occasionally even straightforward hard rock for contrast. Just like the flow of a film, the album alternates between calm surfaces with churning undercurrents and all out assaults, sometimes with smooth transitions and other times with agitated mathy shifts. Often drawing comparisons to Pelican, Hematovore actually found their own niche with a grander sound that more tells a musical story than sets a musical mood. While the album is highly technical, it still maintains a rich warmth, making it more a piece of art than the artistic exercise that similar projects often devolve into. It would be an overstatement to say that Hematovore is the John Zorn of metal, but such a sentiment is not without any basis in truth.

Rating: 8/10

Myspace

Review: Various Artists - The Heavy Metal Box

Label: Rhino

Released: October 2, 2007

The trouble with this four CD box set is that it splits the difference between serious and cursory metal fans, probably only half-pleasing each camp. The serious metal fan is less likely to be interested, but may find a few gems over the course of the four discs. Certainly Tygers of Pan Tang or Angel Witch aren't in everyone's collection. For those who missed the 80s, there are also some interesting inclusions that are currently running a little pricey on Ebay. It also digs into the roots of metal with Iron Butterfly and Blue Cheer. Still, the vast majority of these tracks would show up in even a moderately complete collection.

For the cursory metal fan, there are far too many tracks that dig down under the surface. Someone with only a passing interest in metal or a bit of nostalgia for days gone by might be thrilled to hear "Metal Health" or "Round and Round" again, it is unlikely that Overkill or Manowar hold the same interest.

The Heavy Metal Box does do a good job of crossing sub-genres and the ocean, serving up songs by everyone from lightweights like Poison to the heaviest of the heavy like Sepultura and everything in between. It also bridges the Atlantic, drawing on bands that were popular here in the states as well as those who only made inroads in Europe. Depending on your interest, this could be a mixed blessing. After all, there isn't a lot of crossover between Cinderella and Testament.

The package, styled after a Marshall head, does look cool, but that only masks the mixed bag inside. In trying to be all things to all people, The Heavy Metal Box is unlikely to really please anyone.

Rating: 5/10

Here's a promo video:

Review: Blue Cheer - What Doesn't Kill You...

Label: Rainman Records

Released: August 21, 2007

Most people probably fall into one of two camps regarding their expectations for Blue Cheer's latest album, What Doesn't Kill You: One group expects this album, featuring 2/3 of the Vincebus Eruptum lineup, to be an amazing return to past form, proving that Blue Cheer is as vital today amongst their stoner rock devotees as they were in 1968. The other group expects this, their first album since 1991 (first in the US since 1984), to be just another in a sporadic run of attempts to relive past glory. The truth is that neither is correct.

What Doesn't Kill You does stick largely to what Blue Cheer always did best, slow, heavy, psychedelic grooves. Their mind-altering power doesn't burn quite as brightly as it once did (although the lyrics imply that it is not for lack of drug use) and by and large the new album takes a bluesier turn without abandoning all of their fuzzed out thunder. The opening track is a bit of a shock initially, sounding as though they had spent some part of the last few years listening to Motorhead, but it turns out to be an anomaly. "Young Lions in Paradise," their take on a rock ballad is the album's only misfire, but even there they achieve some degree of heaviness.

For those expecting Vincebus Eruptum, this album won't measure up, but for those fearing a disaster, this will be more than just a pleasant surprise. Blue Cheer does fail to match their past, but in trying they show why they're still imitated almost 40 years later.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

For another opinion on this one, check out the Heavy Metal Time Machine.

Megadeth - That One Night

Label: Image Entertainment

Released: September 4, 2007

Live albums often fail to walk the fine line between "so live that I can't hear it" and "so clean that it sounds like the studio." Megadeth's That One Night, recorded in Buenos Aires in 2005, is not one of them. It is the rare live album that walks that line almost perfectly.

That One Night offers a Megadeth set that draws from nearly all of their albums (only Killing Is My Business and the not released at the time United Abominations make no contributions) with a slight preference for their late 80s/early 90s prime. Megadeth, despite the many line-up changes over the years, has always been a remarkably tight band and this makes it quite evident that it's not just a matter of studio tricks. They're really that good even 20 years down the road.

The one problem with the album is that it doesn't quite compel me to keep listening so much as it makes me think about listening to the studio albums. It does everything right, yet still doesn't offer much to entice the less-than-diehard Megadeth fan to keep coming back. It's not that the album doesn't capture Megadeth's live energy so much as their live energy doesn't offer more than their studio albums. To be fair, that's true of most live albums though.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Review: Wooly Mammoth - The Temporary Nature

Label: Underdogma Records

Released: November 28, 2006

With a name like Wooly Mammoth, this band has a lot to live up to. They either have to live up to the name literally as the heaviest of the heavy or ironically as light and fluffy pop. Few will be displeased that they opt for the former even if they don't fully live up to that heaviness.

While I was expecting Wooly Mammoth to take on the extremes of the stoner/doom sub-genre with extended drone jams in the mold of Sleep, they're a much more straightforward band. Like most stoner bands, they have a strong affinity for 70s hard rock, Black Sabbath in particular, and they stay truer to that with heavy riffs and songs that actually move along at a decent clip rather than the experimentalism of their more extreme peers. Occasionally, they drift more into the realm of grunge (a la Louder Than Love-era Soundgarden) which shows that they're rooted more in rock than far out theories. The Temporary Nature does stretch out at times and manages to walk that line between cutting loose and coming unglued, showing it to be both wild and disciplined at the same time.

Wooly Mammoth isn't the band that pushes the limits of heavy music, but without bands that are somewhat grounded, it makes pushing a moot point. On The Temporary Nature, they take heed of the challenges from those who do push without forcing those challenges all at once upon unsuspecting listeners.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

Review: Prong - Power of the Damager

Label: 13th Planet Records

Released: October 2, 2007

In their prime, Prong established a sound that was so unique and intense, that it's influence can still be felt today. In doing so, they also set their own standard fairly high, making post-prime albums even more difficult for them.

Power of the Damager won't hold up to an album like Cleansing. It doesn't show Prong's ability to mix the technical with the visceral, a feat that few bands have been able to copy. In the past, Tommy Victor and company's prowess has been rightly obscured by their ability to mix heavy crunch and lots of pinch harmonics with an undeniable groove. They simply rocked so hard that it didn't matter that they were fantastic musicians to boot. On their latest album though, the heaviness and the fine playing is obscured by Victor's poor production. The album's weight is muted into a thin shell of itself and fails to bring out the separation that exposes what almost certainly is top-notch playing. On top of that, the songs, while attempting to move in the same direction, generally lack the groove that remains memorable even over a decade later. There are moments where they really hit stride, but they don't maintain that over full songs let alone the whole album.

On Power of the Damager, Prong is actually a victim of their own success. While most of their followers would be thrilled to release an album this good, it just doesn't reach the bar Prong set themselves.

Rating: 6/10

Website

Myspace

For a second opinion on this album, check out Metal Mark's review. For a third opinion, check the Metal Minute.

Review: War of Ages - Fire from the Tomb

Label: Facedown Records

Released: July 24, 2007

This is not an entirely new album, nor is it a re-issue. Rather, it's a re-recording of War of Ages' first album with a bonus track. I hadn't heard the original recording, but the band felt it didn't do the songs justice and opted to take another shot. If the recording quality was truly an issue, then they certainly had reason to release this, because the sound quality is excellent and the songs for the most part are intricate enough to warrant good production.

Fire from the Tomb doesn't rewrite the rules of hardcore, but they do put a particularly technical spin on it. While the vocals stick to the standard guttoral growl, the rest of the music carries War of Ages at times into the realm of the hardcore elite. The tight, brutal rhythm section sets a pace varied and creative enough to keep the songs fresh. The two-guitar attack provides both chunky rhythm as well as some downright beautiful melodic leads. Occasionally, the album does get bogged down with a song that can't seem to rise above generic, flat hardcore, but those instances are clearly an exception.

Lyrically, the band relies on many of the stalwarts of hardcore imagery: battle, strength, solitude, pride, brotherhood; but they also express a more personal (though by no means emo) side related particularly to their Christian faith. Many "positive" bands have a tendency to become preachy, expressing a black and white, fundamentalist view of the world. War of Ages steers clear of this, dealing more with their struggles and, when they do point the finger, it's at other "Christians" who fail to be true and thereby fuel anti-Christian arguments. This resonates with me as a Christian, but also has the potential to do the same with non-Christians and that's something that few bands with these intense feelings (on any side in the spectrum of religion, atheist to devout) can accomplish.

Fire from the Tomb puts War of Ages very close to the top of the hardcore game and gives them enough crossover appeal that they should have a significant fan base in the metal camp as well. With their second shot at these songs, they've created a record that is brutal and occasionally even beautiful.

Rating: 7/10

Purevolume

Myspace

Review: Irritant - Good Evening from the Machine

Label: self-released

Released: 2007

I first heard of Irritant at Rock of Ages. I was expecting Good Evening from the Machine to be a bit heavier, but it turns out to be more on the hard rock side of metal. It took a couple listens to adjust, but once beyond my preconception, I found the album to hold quite a bit of promise.

The songwriting on this four song EP isn't earth-shaking, but it is solid hard rock with a fair amount of complexity that approaches prog. Irritant's strength lies in their two-guitar attack. Will and Jack's guitar melodies are both the best written and best played element of Irritant's music. At their best, they hint at Iron Maiden and at their worst they still give purpose to their two-pronged approach. The vocals are adequate, but lack the dynamics required to be integral. Rather than a strong hard rock voice, Niall seems to have taken some influence from the thinner, whiny approach of emo, only occasionally having real power. Still, his voice is good overall and may become a strength if used properly. The result isn't bad, just lacking the punch needed to match the guitars. The rhythm section provides a mundane backdrop for the music and never really gets into the driver's seat, but that's no more the fault of the band than it is tied to the album's glaring weakness, the production. The sound is crisp, but especially in light of the guitar work, this album should pack a lot of punch and it doesn't. The sound is too thin and that keeps the album's hidden thunder at bay.

Keep in mind that this is a young band with members in their late teens and early 20s and the only logical conclusion is that Irritant has a lot of potential. Not many young bands write with this level of complexity and even fewer have a single guitarist at this level, let alone two. Still, they need to figure out how to better use Niall's voice. Better production and more interesting rhythms would also drive the songs better, allowing those guitars to shine even more. While this album is short of amazing, it may set the stage for amazing things to come.

Rating: 5/10

Irritant Website

Irritant Myspace

Review: Lozen - Enemies Against Power

Label: Australian Cattle God

Released: May 15, 2007

Lozen, a two-piece from Tacoma, Washington, take their name from an female Apache warrior and prophet. The name fits, because the music is simple, making a visceral connection more akin to prophecy than science. Enemies Against Power doesn't rely on complex rhythms or highly technical playing. Instead it sticks to simple riffs and pace changes. The result though is anything but dull.

Over the course of seven tracks that stretch to almost 50 minutes, Justine Valdez's plodding drums drive its meandering pace. Hozoji Matheson's guitar work is heavy, overdriven and often phased for great psychedelic effect. At the emotional peaks, her riffs are reminiscent of Greg Ginn's work on Black Flag instrumentals of the mid-80s, only simplified. The rest of the time she chugs along in the basic, yet moving stoner tradition. Her vocals are rich, but disturbing, occasionally straying into Perry Farrell's twisted trippiness.

The overall effect is a dark, tribal album. It isn't the type of thing that becomes a steady diet, but it will definitely find its times for those of us who need a break from the shiny, happy sheen of pop music.

Rating: 7/10

Lozen Myspace

Myspace: Rubbing Down Debbie

Rubbing Down Debbie is yet another band from Jacksonville, Florida. After writing about the Explicits awhile back, this is the second band to approach me asking if I'd do the same for them (Baker Act being the other). Something good must be happening down there, because Rubbing Down Debbie makes them three for three in my book as far as good unsigned bands go.

Rubbing Down Debbie is a little different than the two previous Jacksonville bands I've checked out. First, they've been together longer, having formed in 2003. They've also had some higher profile gigs, including playing with Exene Cervenka's Original Sinners. They seem to be more focused on getting signed and the professional angle of being in a band than their peers as well. Where the other two bands were intended to be taken at face value, Rubbing Down Debbie seems to have a bit of sexy shtick that reminds me of the Lunachicks.

They have four songs on their myspace page. The first, "Out of Darkness," seems to have come from a different mold than the other three. It has a bit more of a metal sound and it seems like they stretched themselves a little too far. Too much reliance on effects, flat vocals and a plodding, awkward chorus combine with poor production to make this a questionable effort at best. Luckily though, this song is the anomaly and they follow it with perhaps their best song, "Get Off." It's more of a punk song along the lines of early female-fronted LA punk bands. The vocals build from talking to tortured over an interesting rhythm driven by the bass line. The stripped down sound eliminates both the effects and production problems of its predecessor. "High Heels" is another simple punk effort, with great snotty vocals. It has moments where it goes a little flat, but all in all, it's a decent low-key change of pace that likely finds an important role on their album. Their final song, "Intrepid Fear," is another high-energy punk rock affair that falls only a hair shy of "Get Off."

Rubbing Down Debbie should be well on their way to finding a record deal. Their brand of punk rock isn't a huge field and they do it well when they stick to it. It's admirable that they tried to push their own boundaries, but they should be careful not to push too hard, too fast. Learning their limitations should allow them to capitalize on their strengths and find the best avenues for growth. In the meantime, their sexy, slightly gothy brand of punk rock should gain them a decent audience.

Rubbing Down Debbie has a self-released album available at CD Baby.

Review: Slough Feg - Hardworlder

Label: Cruz Del Sur Music

Released: July 2007

Though Slough Feg's name is derived from Irish mythology, they're really at the forefront of the NWOSFHM (New Wave of San Francisco Heavy Metal). What that really means is that they're from Frisco and they love Iron Maiden.

This is the band's sixth release, but the first one I've heard. Even from a band with that many releases under their belt, Hardworlder is a fine album. The album is technically proficient and has great energy which they manage well. They do borrow heavily from the NWOBHM, Maiden in particular, but their approach is more raw and that makes Slough Feg stand out. There is the occasional hint of prog rock as well, but it's never overbearing.

It would be a stretch to say that Slough Feg is the next thing in metal, because they're not. They look more to the past than the future, but at least they do the past a service by re-energizing it. If you don't like Iron Maiden, you probably won't like Slough Feg (you're also probably deaf or stupid), but if you can't get enough of Maiden, Slough Feg has enough of their own thing going to be of real interest.

Rating: 6/10



If you'd like to read other reviews of Slough Feg's latest, check Metal Mark and the Metal Minute.

Myspace: Birds of Maya

In response to Myspace's generic "sounds like" field, Birds of Maya state that they sound like "like a gg allin demo played through a megaphone." It's a fair description and it's certainly colorful, but it leaves out an awful lot. If they really sounded like dear-departed GG, I wouldn't be writing about them. They are loud and they are chaotic, but they have way more groove than GG Allin ever imagined.

"Porch Dude" sounds like it was probably recorded live. It gives a good idea of the sheer power emanating from the speakers, but loud alone doesn't make great music and it's hard to get much out of this one beyond hints of what might have been had the song's structure been better captured along with its volume. "Killer in the Snow" is Dark Side of the Moon by comparison. It's still a cacophonous mess, but it captures just the right amount of the song itself and mixes it with the unabated energy of the performance, creating a near perfect track that is so bluntly heavy that Blue Cheer might put in ear plugs. Still, the song moves along with a slow undeniable groove. It fades at the end, begging the question, "What else did it have to offer?" "Traveller" suffers from the same problems as "Porch Dude," but some of the manic guitar work still manages to come through and it is worth hearing even if the song struggles to rise above the poor recording. Low recording levels and bad mixing aren't enough to stop "Sleepwalker" though. The heavy groove soldiers on and feels like it'll smash your eardrums to bits even if you turn it way down.

Birds of Maya do have a bit of GG Allin in them, but more importantly they have a lot of Blue Cheer and the MC5 in them as well. Even those bands might be given a moments' pause at Birds of Maya. They have a full-length album coming in a few months on Holy Mountain and one can only hope that they don't rein in any of this power in the studio.

Review: Spider Rockets - Ever After

Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords

Released: July 17, 2007

The opening track of Spider Rockets' Ever After kicks right in with that churning metalcore sound that is a dime a dozen these days. It doesn't raise any hopes for the album even if the song itself is listenable enough. Don't stop listening there though unless metal or hardcore just isn't your thing, because it does get a little better.

As it turns out, the album's best offerings are its simplest ones. The hardcore leaning "Simple" and the more straightforward metal of "Hate" both stay fairly basic and capitalize on the band's biggest strength, Helena Cos' perfectly imperfect vocals. Her voice isn't crisp and clean, but it's raw, pleading passion is always a step above the less vivid music that backs it up.

When Spider Rockets get away from this simplicity in either songwriting or production, they go from being a little above average to a little below. The dull and over-processed "Facing Fear" relies more on effects than it does on songwriting. The pace changes in "Names" are clumsy and should have been worked out better before recording. The cover of "Helter Skelter" is the album's big disaster. Their attempt to use vocal harmonies for tension falls flat on its face and their seeming indecision as to whether they wanted to mix it up or play it straight robs the song of it's punch. Throughout the album their are some hints that they're fond of Prong's Tommy Victor, but they don't have the chops to pull it off and knowing their limitations would turn into a strength for them, because the album's basic energy is good.

They do stretch themselves a few times and pull it off though. The vocals in "What I Want" alters the cadence of the album for a nice change-up. The closer, "Whispers," gets a little off-track, but they nail enough of what they try to make it an interesting end, leaving some curiosity for the next album.

Spider Rockets have been around awhile, so they should have a better sense of themselves than they do on Ever After. However, they have some definite points that that keep their footing on solid ground and the final track leaves a lot of hope out there for the future.

Rating: 5/10

Review: Gypsy Pistoleros - Wild, Beautiful, Damned

Label: Evil Boy Records

Released: June 4, 2007

I can't say I'm a huge fan of glam after 1985 or so. I certainly like T. Rex and Sweet and Bowie. I like the New York Dolls and early Alice Cooper. I even like a fair amount of the glam revialists of the early 80s, but by the mid 80s, the revival seemed to have lost sight of its roots. It became stale and formulaic and all but a few of those bands seemed to be going through the motions at very best. That makes me wonder why anyone would want to resuscitate the genre at this point. It's over, it's spent, leave it alone. Then along comes the Gypsy Pistoleros to show me exactly why.

The Pistoleros claim to be "flamenco rock." It's a claim that leaves one asking, "What? How can that be?" It could be great and it could be a disaster. Wild, Beautiful, Damned shows the flamenco part of that claim to be a bit of a stretch, but the result is far closer to greatness than disaster. There is a very slight bit of Spanish flavor to their music, perhaps attributable to singer Lee Pistolero's days living in Spain, but the principle ingredient is the loose, dirty swagger of glam in its glory days (yeah, the 70s, not the 80s). The Pistoleros manage to do everything right and still make it feel wrong in the way that good rock n roll always should.

They've been touring with the likes of Adler's Appetite (least important GnR alumni Steven Adler's joke of a band) and piecemeal 80s metal acts like Bang Tango, Faster Pussycat, Bulletboys and LA Guns that should be ashamed of their whoring selves. They even opened the inexplicably successful Rocklahoma nostalgia fest. But it's the new kid on the glam block that really carries the mantle of the music that was established back in the 70s. If glam is in fact alive, it is not because of half-baked reunions and bands trying to relive their ill-gotten glory, it's because the Gypsy Pistoleros can channel the Dolls and T Rex into something new, fresh and a little bit dirty.

Rating: 8/10

Thanks to Bring Back Glam for pointing the Pistoleros out in the first place.

Review: Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound - Ekranoplan

Label: Tee Pee Records

Released: March 20, 2007

I don’t take drugs and because of that, I believe I am much more discerning about my psychedelic music. It isn’t an accompaniment to my trip, it is my trip. From the space rock explosion that opens Ekranoplan, across its mind-altering landscapes and through its soul-inflected finale, this is a tour de force of trippiness. Assemble Head is heavy when they need to be, yet delicate at all the right moments, choreographing 38 minutes of another world altogether.

They jump right into the trip with the overdriven power chords and echoey vocals. Cooking it up with spacey organ and electronics, it puts the mind in the perfect state, teetering between totally mellow and completely freaked out. Over the course of the trip, heavy space rock is mixed with surf, blues, soul, jazz and classical. The result is an album that alternates between blunt heaviness and delicate touches. Sometimes it pushes, sometimes it carries, but constantly it moves. Driven by the psychedlic power of guitar and organ, baked vocals and a rhythm section that controls the ride, Ekranoplan is more of an experience than simply an album. With this one, there's no need for any drugs but the music. If you need anything else, you’re not listening. It takes us down the mind-bending road from which the greatness of Dark Side of the Moon detoured us, but that still begs to be traveled.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Sammus Theory - See (It) Through

Label: OCI Records

Released: May 1, 2007

Sometimes, it's good to hear a really tight band, but not always. The Sammus Theory is certainly a tight band, they even play with passion, but they fail to excite. That's not to say that See (It) Through is without promise though. The Phoenix-based band's previous effort, Man Without Eyes, was primarily a solo effort from frontman Sam Hughes who wrote and played everything but drums. Less than two years later, they have become more of a group with all members playing and contributing. While Hughes suggested to the Idaho Falls Post Register (a city where the Sammus Theory seems to have quite a local following) that the writing process was inspired by the Beatles, it's pretty clear that this is a gross overstatement. The Beatles created the future, but the Sammus Theory rehashes the past. Their alt-metal sound peaked several years ago and has been done a thousand times, sometimes better and sometimes worse. They list Tool as an influence and that is clearly their direction, but unfortunately, their voice is also Tool's rather than their own.

Considering that the Sammus Theory has taken this new direction of joint creativity within the last year or so, they work remarkably well together. Playing in a tired genre doesn't help them though, but the very fact that they are still listenable when so many alt metal bands simply aren't is a tribute to their potential. Hopefully, their new collaborative approach will help them grow in originality that will put their considerable abilities to better use the next time around.


Rating: 5/10

Review: Tia Carrera - The November Session

Label: Australian Cattle God

Released: September 6, 2005

First and foremost, Tia Carrera is a stoner rock band. This is not the long-dreaded release of Sweet covers by the largely forgotten Wayne's World star. It's a bad name, but that's where the bad stops.

The stoner rock field has gotten fairly crowded over the last ten years and it gets harder and harder for these channelers of Black Sabbath to stand out. I mean, how many different ways can you just be heavy? Not too many and most of those avenues have now been well-traveled. But Tia Carrera has found a new path. They play in the major leagues of loud, yet unlike that of so many of their peers, their music often caresses rather than bludgeons.

Tia Carrera raise the stakes immediately with the brief opening track, "Telepathic Confirmation," channeling the unrestrained feedback-heavy mania of Hendrix. They immediately go all in with "Scenic Oversight." Its textured heaviness of loose but deliberate rhythms and countering bass lines plays host to beautiful delicate leads. At five and a half minutes, it acts almost as an overture for the album, setting the lay of the musical landscape that the band describes in detail over the final three (considerably longer) tracks.

"As She Sleeps" is a psychedelic roller coaster that runs from low-key sludge to unrestrained frenzy and back again with several stops for sensory overload along the way. It finally winds down into what seems like studio noodling rather than a traditional ending. It might seem odd, but this is not the kind of song that wants to do things the "right" way. "Doom" is exactly what the title says. It's another long one, but much more straightforward than its predecessor. Still, the playing is so articulate that the fourteen minutes pass in time that defies the clock.

If the radio was still worth listening to, "J Bankston Manor" would become a late-night FM classic. At almost 34 minutes, it would certainly give the DJ time to do more than just use the facilities (as the old joke about "In-A-Gadda_Da-Vida" goes), but the listener would be lost in its waves of ethereal heaviness. While it doesn't have that heavy hook to latch onto like the Iron Butterfly classic, it certainly has that underlying groove that is punctuated by great musicianship across the board.

Notice that nowhere did I mention the vocals. That's because there are none and no one will miss them. Tia Carrera is so subtly dynamic that I had to go back to be sure I wasn't so wrapped up in the music that I missed the vocals.

There's no shortage of bands that are as heavy as Tia Carrera. Some are even heavier, but none can balance that heaviness with such deceptive delicacy for such a trippy, heady ride. The November Session is still a little too far out to transcend its genre, but it certainly sets a standard for the stoner rock trip (whether you're a stoner or not).

Rating: 8/10

Review: Retro Grave EP

Label: Retro Grave Music

Released: June 15, 2007 (stream is available at mp3.com now)

Retro Grave is Trouble drummer Jeff Oly Olsen's side-project. The five song EP, which should be followed by a full-length release sometime next year, is entirely written and performed by Olsen. Working alone may have some benefits, but likely more drawbacks. This isn't a big departure from Trouble, but does seem somewaht limited by the lack of collaborative effort.

The 12 minute "Pyramus & Thisbe" opens the album. Just due to its length, it seems an odd choice for the first track, but while it is inconsistent, it is varied enough to avoid getting bogged down early. There are plenty of heavy, sludgey guitars as well as some more delicate parts that keep it interesting. It has some cumbersome parts, but isn't nearly the burden that a track of its length could be. "Five Sentences" is a pretty straightforward, medium-paced tune. The riff is solid but not all that interesting and the song breaks down a bit in the middle as if Olsen wanted to break things up, but wasn't sure how. "Utopiotomy" is a step back in the right direction with heavy Sabbath riffs. Olsen makes up for his vocal shortcomings by speaking more than singing and adding a creepy flange effect. The song finishes with a manic, noisey crescendo which helps make it the album's strongest track. The simple organ intro of "Birth Death/Retro Grave" slowly mixes with more guitar heaviness and then spoken vocals. Everything but the vocal drops out by the end of the song's first part. It's not great stuff, but passable as an intro into the rest of the song. The song itself makes up for the intro with throbbing riffs over a string part that adds nicely to the doom effect. The EP finishes up with perhaps its most macabre piece, the droning "Stone Head" which finds Olsen repeating the title over and over, oddly reminiscent of "redrum" from the Shining.

All in all, this EP is a bit disappointing considering the expectations raised by Trouble's output over the years. It is clear that Olsen's preference is percussion, because the drums are significantly tighter than everything else. The vocals are often flat and the guitar work, while usually adequate, never really shines. The production is poor which doesn't help bring the album together. Still, Olsen does hit stride often enough to make this a worhwhile listen for doom fans.

Rating: 5/10

Review: Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain

Label: Epic

Released: May 22, 2007

You'd think that 16 years of half-hearted recordings would destroy Ozzy's career. If that isn't enough, surely the overexposure from his asinine reality show would do it. No? How about one of the worst covers albums ever recorded? Somehow Ozzy seems to survive all of this, like a heavy metal Rasputin.

I think "Not Going Away" is probably a threat more than a promise, because if its generic heavy groove is all Ozzy has to offer, I can't imagine who wants to listen anymore (even though I'm well aware that there are legions who will gladly eat this crap right out of his hand). "I Don't Wanna Stop" is a riffy affair that might be decent if it wasn't the same old thing I've heard so many times before. It makes an attempt at being a bit trippy just before the solo, but that ends up being so listless that it loses its intended effect before it gets anywhere. The title track sees Ozzy going with the medium-paced hard rock approach. To make it interesting, he throws in some electronic effects that hint at some industrial influence. It fails miserably. Over the years, Ozzy has been able to pull off some fine ballads, but that power seems to have left him along with his voice. Aside from some subtley nice guitar work from Zakk Wylde, "Lay Your World on Me" is likely the worst ballad he's ever recorded. It gets worse from there as "The Almighty Dollar" kicks in with a generic, funky bass line. The song tries to survive on Ozzy's voice (or the processing that has become his voice) and has very little real structure. "Silver" kicks off with an energetic riff that seems promising. While it's nothing particularly new, the song has a mild hook, decent use of keyboards to bolster Ozzy's voice and a driving chorus. It's not great, but at least it's listenable. Is the next track actually decent or have I just lowered my standards over the course of the album? "Civilize the Universe" lacks the driving chorus of "Silver," but it also has a fair hook and the processing on the vocals actually fits in with overall trippiness of the track. I wouldn't say it's particularly good, but at least "Here for You" isn't as bad as "Lay Your World on Me." The strings in the background aren't very original and neither is the guitar solo. "Countdown's Begun" is nothing new either. I'd only like it if it was the countdown to the end of Ozzy's career. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the case. I'm glad the last track is called "Trap Door," because I definitely want out. There's a bit of the heavy, processed riffy sound of Prong or maybe White Zombie that crops up throughout Black Rain, but it's always done in third-rate fashion and "Trap Door" is a great example of that even though it's actually one of the album’s stronger tracks.

Black Rain is another dull release from Ozzy. It's self-consciously heavy at times and generally formulaic, indicating that Ozzy has little or nothing left in the tank. His vocals are consistently over-processed and it makes his performance very disingenuous. If he can't even come close to what he could in his prime, he needs to either find a new direction or hang it up. As it stands, he's just embarrassing himself. Unfortunately, something tells me that Ozzy will survive even this and continue to destroy any credibility he has left...probably to the tune of millions in album sales. Sad.

Rating: 3/10

Review: Titan - A Raining Sun of Light and Love for You and You and You

Label: Tee Pee Records

Released: February 6, 2007

The problem with Emerson, Lake and Palmer is that they don't put enough rock in progressive rock. Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of ELP, but they do tend to lean a bit too far to the classical side. Over 30 years after ELP's peak, Titan comes along to correct those errors.

A Raining Sun of Light and Love for You and You and You takes ELP in their prime and adds a very healthy dose of heaviness, producing something along the line of progressive stoner rock (ELP meets Boris, perhaps). It seems that some people have been put off by the first minute or so of acoustic intro, but it (along with other quieter moments throughout) really serves to bring the album's sonic gravity into full relief when the amps kick in. Over the course of the album, the traditional prog keyboards mix it up with fuzzy yet precise guitar parts that alternate between cooperation and opposition. Even when the guitar is more riff than thunder it still feels like they're turned up to 11. The incredibly tight and dynamic rhythm section keeps the frequent pace changes seemless. The songs are so cohesive that even with all of them clocking in around 10 minutes or so, they never grow dull. Across the first three tracks, there is little distinction even across songs as the album works as a single piece in many ways. The fourth and final track is distinctly different from the others, drawing more from Trevor Rabin-era Yes and early 80s Rush than from the more esoteric sounds of early 70s prog. Still, it works well, letting the listener down easy after the mind-altering ride of the first three quarters of the album.

It's pretty amazing that Titan spent years honing their skills and exposing their music through self-released CD-Rs. Now that they've unleashed themselves upon the world, they sound like they are at their musical peak rather than their formative period. This is a band that blurs musical definitions without losing focus or direction. They are certainly ready for the world, but the question really is, "Is the world ready for Titan?" Probably not, but it should be.

Rating: 9/10

Cover: Leviathan - My War

Black metal is not at all my thing, but I somehow stumbled upon Leviathan on Myspace. When I saw they had a song called "My War," I figured I'd at least check to see if it was the Black Flag classic. Sure enough, it was. Now, Black Flag is probably in my top ten of all time and "My War" has particular sentimental value for me (I nominated it for my class song in high school!), so it's probably a tough one to do justice to in my eyes, but I doubt Leviathan could justice to much of anything. They robbed the song of all its real anger and replaced it with a sense of "look at me, I'm crazy" that seems to permeate their whole image. I was annoyed, not scared. What crap.

Review: Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion

Label: DRT Entertainment

Released: March 20, 2007

Admittedly, I haven't spent much time with any Clutch release since Elephant Riders. It's partly due to the disappointment of their live shows after the expectations raised by two albums that ranked #1 and #3 on my best albums of the 90s (Clutch and Elephant Riders respectively) and it's partly due to the fact that nothing since has grabbed me the way those two albums did. However, I still think I understand what makes them a good band and t hasn't really changed in the last 10 years. They're heavy, but not just another Black Sabbath ripoff, they always find a good groove despite their heaviness and they have a great quirky touch of psychedelia. The problem might be simply that they perfected it by their second album, so it eventually wore a bit thin.

From Beale Street to Oblivion is a bit of a departure for them, but instead of getting even further out there, they decide to return to earth in a sense. This has to be their most straightforward album ever. Unfortunately, it's also their dullest. The album has almost no texture. My first impression was that they must've spent a lot of time listening to ZZ Top and Foghat while writing this one. With few exceptions, that impression didn't change as the album played on. Where Clutch was once influenced by a lot of 70s hard rock, they now sound like a 70s hard rock tribute band. They do mix in a little bit of soul on "Devil & Me" which works well, but they don't build on that at all. The album immediately returns to the status quo. Only on the closer, "Mr. Shiny Cadilackness," does anything waver from the dull road this album drives, once again with a nice touch of gospel and soul.

From Beale Street to Oblivion is listenable, but uneventful. It's hard to believe this is the same band from 10 years ago.

Rating: 5/10