Ugh! Do I HAVE to go back to Toronto for work? Had some great love for Boston and the Dropkick Murphys, but back to business folks. There is some interesting albums dropping today. Did not realize that The Walking Dead released their first soundtrack for their show. After three seasons (I myself only seen the first so far) I figured there would be tons of material. But either way, better late than never.
Mr. Timberlake dropping his album and by no means needs AFGM for approval or promotion, but rather inform. Not a die hard fan of JT but can appreciate the vocal talent he has, even if it is hip-hop. Clutch and Anthrax are already some standards in the playlist and have been streaming their albums from various sites like Revolver, Alt Press and more. They are albums to definitely check out. I am also interested in what Tear Out The Heart, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Reign Supreme have in store (considering I have previous albums of BRMC and RS).
And of course we have Intronaut's new album "Habitual Levitations" (haha). Found out about these guys during their support for Tool and their Valley of Smoke album. A great band forging their way into their own sound and has shown on the latest ones. A gem to pick out.
So as the standard goes, head over to your local record shop, favourite online retailer or other legal sources to grab this week's latest and greatest. Cheers!
Original soundtrack to the hit AMC TV series' third season. Two incendiary tracks debuted in the first half of Season 3: Emily Kinney and Lauren Cohan's powerful Folk elegy "The Parting Glass," and Baby Bee's guitar-heavy zombie blues jam "Love Bug." Jamie N Commons' "Lead Me Home" will figure prominently in Episode 12, followed by Fink's "Warm Shadow" (Dactyl Remix) in Episode 13, and Voxhaul Broadcast's "You Are the Wilderness" in Episode 14, all leading up to the album's release date. In addition, the compilation includes previously unreleased material including "Sinking Man" from multi-platinum selling Icelandic alternative Folk sensation Of Monsters And Men, an UNKLE remix of composer Bear McCreary's "Main Title Theme Song," Delta Spirit's "Running" and more. Just like the show, the soundtrack remains a dynamic powerhouse replete with unforgettable moments. -Amazon
The tracks that succeed still don’t necessarily merit their extended lengths, but given that they are such fantastic examples of Timberlake working at the height of his powers, it’s easier to ignore. Album opener “Pusher Love Girl” is just an expertly-crafted pop-soul jam, layering horns, string sections and a legion of falsetto-sung harmonies over a simple bumping beat. First single “Suit & Tie” could do without the clunky opening vignette, but possesses the most nuanced production on the album thanks to Timbaland’s penchant for piecing together a small symphony of syncopated percussion parts. Album centerpiece “Tunnel Vision” is the crown jewel of 20/20, the one instance where the ambitious track length sustains the intrigue laid down by the intoxicating, dense funhouse production, and Timberlake’s lurid plot of lovelorn obsession. On all three songs (and most of the album for that matter) Timberlake’s vocal performance remains unimpeachable; a boyish croon that can drift between cool, limber, coy, soulful and straight-up sexy from one line to the next. -Idolator
In terms of other notable highlights on ‘Specter At The Feast’, ‘Fire Walker’ is a moody and atmospheric opener which features a typically grungey and well paced riff and some dreamy, contemplative vocals from Been. ‘Lullaby’ is a soft and gentle ditty that recalls the best bits from their 2005 album ‘Howl’ while in ‘Hate The Taste’ BRMC play to their strengths to create a powerful blues-rock anthem – the chorus refrain of “I wanna ride with you” can only become a live favourite in the coming months. ‘Rival’ carries on where ‘Hate The Taste’ left off, bringing in tattoo drums and heavily distorted guitars into the mix, before the album hits top gear with the quite brilliant ‘Teenage Disease’ – which is the kind of snarling and defiant rock song only Black Rebel can do properly.
Barring those five songs though, the rest of the album kind of passes you by in a swirling swamp of sludgy down-tempo tracks – which mostly try to conjure up Spiritualized-esque levels of mysticism and soul, but fall short. ‘Some Kind Of Ghost’ does nothing but interrupt the flow of the album, while the hymnal ‘Sometimes The Light’ lacks substance. -All Noise
Clutch have been labelled more times than a sofa in the DFS Sale. Part of this is due to their ever-changing musical output, but they’ve always retained that rock and roll edge. With ‘Earth Rocker’, the band has crushed these sub-genre labels into the ground. Clutch are a rock and roll band, and ‘Earth Rocker’ is a rock and roll album. Just imagine a whole CD full of songs like ‘The Mob Goes Wild’ from their 2004 masterpiece, ‘Blast Tyrant’. That’s what this album is; it’s just hit after hit. It’s possibly the most immediate album that Clutch have ever recorded, proving itself to be up there with the classics such as ‘Pure Rock Fury’ and ‘Robot Hive/Exodus’.
This could be your favourite Clutch album. Ever. -Stereo Board
Anthems is Anthrax's love letter to the music that shaped them into the band they are today. Despite being only six songs in length it packs a powerful punch. While you may wish the band chose different songs, you can't deny after listening to this record that the band does a stellar job on the tracks they've chosen. They've made these songs Anthrax songs, and when you're talking about bands like Rush, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, Journey, and Boston, that's saying a lot. If you love Anthrax, Anthems is a must listen. Definitely check it out. -Examiner
There were some moments that I personally felt weren’t up to par with the rest of the record, such as the sludgy and slightly repetitive “Daeodon”, but the pros significantly outweigh the cons on Entrench. KEN mode has given us an album that is truly lethal and expansive. From start to finish Entrench journeys through gigantic, harsh soundscapes and riffs straight from the mind of a manic depressive. I am a huge fan of the chaotic/metallic/whatever the hell you want to call it-hardcore style that KEN mode have been categorized under and I can safely say that this is one of the better records to come from a band of their caliber in recent years. I will go out on a limb to say that Entrench is KEN mode’s Jane Done, their We Are the Romans, and even their Sgt. Pepper if you will. If you pass up on this album you are living life completely wrong. Check out KEN mode. -American Aftermath
Reign Supreme’s Sky Burial is a release I was not expecting, and I am genuinely impressed by how much I like the record. While at heart this is still a metallic hardcore album, Sky Burial has a lot to offer that will definitely bridge the gap between fans of metalcore and hardcore. I’m going to keep this record on rotation for a while, and it’s one that will probably induce me to mosh at work on a regular basis. -Under The Gun
Polyrhythmic pyrotechnics explode in the skies of the organic production as the track summons prog metal, modern jazz and smoky jamming. The usual comparisons come to mind such as Isis, tesseracT, and Kylesa, but Intronaut has smoked itself up to a higher plain on Habitual Levitations.
The ribbons of textured guitar, spun like brilliant glass around skin-tight beats, seem to use melody as streamers of color and collision. Fret not as heaviness never throws its cape over it face and hisses off into the dark. There’s metal in every track, some brass, some gold and a lot of uranium. Danny Walker and Joe Lester have arc-welded themselves together into a jazz-metal monster of a rhythm section. -About.com
Iron Reagan’s Worse Than Dead is a fantastic debut album for such an interesting and talented group of musicians, and sounds exactly like what you’d expect from these two bands, bringing out the best in each of them. A great album for fans of high energy hardcore punk, as well as listeners looking to hear the folks in Municipal Waste sound a bit more serious, and a whole lot more heavy. -MXDWN
(*not sure how I feel about this album but since reviews for it were limited, I went with the best one I saw fit for the album rather than diving into it myself*)
If you were a fan of Tear Out The Heart’s “Hell Is Empty” EP, then you will be a fan of “Violence”. A little under 40 minutes of heart stopping metal is packed into “Violence”. I did find some tunes to be a bit more stale than others, but still made enough of an impression and were still enjoyable. The songs that I had kept putting on repeat were ‘Dead By Dawn’, ‘Crucified’, ‘Undead Anthem (which features Caleb Shomo of Beartooth, ex- Attack Attack!), and ‘Feed Me A Stray Cat’. If you are a fan of metalcore, then Tear Out The Heart would be an ideal addition to your musical library. Please note: Tear Out The Heart is not responsible for any heart attacks you may receive while listening to “Violence”. -Real Metal Reviews
Box Sets:
Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective comes housed in your standard issue box, modestly illustrated to somewhat resemble a guitar case. Nothing too fancy, but still effective. The discs themselves come in thin paper sleeves, which would be my lone complaint about the packaging (note to label: paper tends to cause discs to scratch).
Extras include a Skydog bumper sticker and a Duane Allman guitar pick (nice touch), as well as a generous booklet with notes on every track, and liner notes from Duane's daughter Galadrielle (who also served as a co-producer for the project). -Seattle Pi
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