Music Releases For July 10th, 2012

Few in numbers, huge in sound!  That's the vibe I am getting from this week's CD (& DVD) releases.  I have been looking forward to a few of these albums personally (coughglasscloudcoughpodcough).  Some of the reviews for the album give quite a different perspective on albums people would normally pass over (such as Staind & Duran Duran).  I am going to (hopefully) sit down and check out each individual album this weekend, because I feel they all have some merit over the course of the day, depending on your mood.

Anywho, you know the drill.  Show some love and show some support.  Head down to your local record store or online retailer to grab a few (if not all) of these awesome releases for Tuesday!

"Duran Duran Live in Concert 2011: A Diamond in the Mind is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 2.35:1. The visual ingenuity of this concert isn't especially well served by this high definition presentation, for a few reasons. The concert itself is subject to the quick cutting ethos that is standard operating procedure for so many concert directors these days, but in this case, that also includes cutting between various film and video stocks that don't jive together that well, especially when thrust up against each other in such rapid succession (individual snippets between edits rarely last longer than a couple of seconds throughout the entire concert). But the extreme filtering and other gimmicks added to the imagery works to the detriment of the overall look here, with rampant softness and a lack of fine object detail. Large swaths of the concert are also subject to banding and posterizing, two regular bugaboos of these live concert offerings. While there's nothing horrible about this transfer, it never really pops with the clarity one might hope for in a 2011 live concert feature." -Blu.ray.com

"Metalcore may be a generic genre of music, but as previously stated, it is all a matter of consistency. The Royal Thousand will hold your attention, and that is due to talent, creativity, and enthusiastic songwriting. Glass Cloud hardly breaks the traditional metalcore mold, and if this album proves anything, it's that you don't necessarily have to. The Royal Thousand is sure to be slept on, perhaps even ignored. Although, upon listening, you just might surprise yourself with how fast you will find that replay button." -Sputnik Music

"Everything culminates on the metallically masterful closer, "Weave On". It's punky, it's theatrical, it's heartfelt—it's everything you'd hope for from Tankian.

This is revolutionary music on a few levels. There are certainly words worthy of rallying together, but the songs themselves don't adhere to anyone's rules. That's why Harakiri simply explodes on impact. Once it hits on July 10, 2012, rock 'n' roll may never be the same." -Artist Direct

"Similarly, the deftly simple and romantically epic ballad "Beautiful" has a '90s, Smashing Pumpkins sound and is easily one of the most moving and heartfelt songs the band has ever delivered. Elsewhere, the group references '90s West Coast rap and '70s soul on the bright and head-bobbing "West Coast Rock Steady," featuring a guest appearance from Cypress Hill's Sen Dog. Certainly, longtime fans are well aware of P.O.D.'s Christian beliefs and nobody should be surprised that the title track to Murdered Love, as well as most of the songs on it, play with Christian themes, often in a dark, purposefully disturbing way. On the fiery leadoff cut "Eyez," Sandoval exhorts believers and non-believers alike, "Awake and scream all who sleep in the earth/Hear His voice in the grave, arise and step forth/And make your stand while men run for the hills/Fill the valley with blood and flood the killing fields/Keep laughing now, you’re gonna regret it then/Cuz this day God will judge all the secrets of men." But rather than coming off as religious blowhards, P.O.D. still just seem like exuberant West Coast hip-hop punks, emboldened by scripture and still riding high on positive vibes while making a play for their perfect girl, as on the infectious "Bad Boy." Sonny sings, "I like the girl with the big ol' eyes/Cuz I can see her mind, body and soul harmonize," and later, "You know that I'm a bad boy but I wanna good girl/To share my world and show you how I do it." Ultimately, sharing their world is what P.O.D. do best and that's what Murdered Love is all about." -All Music

"Where many bands fail to strike the balance between strength and sincerity, Thick As Blood has succeeded for years, and Living Proof is no different. You can write some cool tough-guy music, but if your heart’s not in the words, the audience will be able to tell. The fact that Dino would write a song to his mother on his band’s hardcore album is beautiful and powerful at once. As 'Madre Mia' screams 'YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE! WHO ALWAYS STOOD BY ME! YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE! WHO MADE ME BELIEVE!', the simplest loving relationship between mother and child is pumped-up to its full potential. All the power of Dino’s emotion goes into his lyrics, and Thick As Blood creates great thrashing hardcore around it. No wheels are reinvented. No vague groping toward technicality or overproduction. This is simple, clear, loud music, and that’s how Thick As Blood has always kept it.

Living Proof will be an album for fans of hardcore and modern metalcore alike. It’s heavy enough to keep breakdown fiends coming back for more, and raw enough for even low-fi purists to nod along. Over the twisting, breakneck course of the short, exhilarating 27-minute album (with some really great album art courtesy of Miami artist Jason Seife), Living Proof fulfills its name. Thick As Blood cannot be defeated." -The New Review

 (CD/DVD)

"Staind prove to fans they're still going strong with the live album Live from Mohegan Sun, recorded at the first show of their first tour after the departure of drummer Jon Wysocki earlier that year. Still riding high off the revival they experienced with the release of their self-titled album in 2011, Staind deliver a dark and visceral live performance showing that the band has fully shaken off the cobwebs and is ready to get back to the business of getting out there and getting people worked up. In terms of sound quality, the vocals sit a little high in the mix, and though that doesn't ruin the album, it certainly means that the rest of the band has to fight for sonic real estate, diminishing the impact of the band's punishing, detuned riffage. While it doesn't really detract from some of Staind's quieter moments, it can be a bit distracting on songs like "Spleen," where the heaviness of the song feels a bit subdued by the mix. Quibbling issues with the mix aside, Live from Mohegan Sun gives fans a good taste of Staind's moody live presence and, more importantly, proves that they made a good choice in recruiting Sal Giancarelli, who seems like a suitable replacement for Wysocki behind the drum kit." -All Music

(CD/DVD)

"In addition to footage of some of the craziest shows the band has ever played, it also captures some of their greatest adventures and most poignant shared moments. Traveling to many obscure destinations, including some third-world cities that had never been visited by an international heavy band, PARKWAY DRIVE embrace the local peoples and cultures as a vital part of their experience.

More than just a film about five musicians connecting with the planet and its inhabitants, “Home is for the Heartless” is about the untold power of music and its ability to communicate beyond any language, geographical or cultural boundaries." -Chucking A Mosh