Good thing it's payday on Friday, cause from the looks of this lineup there is going to be some major spending happening. Not to mention the wide range of albums being released today, there should be something there for everyone to enjoy. I did want to mention something really cool though that took place in light of an album release. Legendary Canadian rockers The Tragically Hip did something quite nice for the city of Toronto for their upcoming release today. They have been spotted performing intimate shows in Toronto's Kensington Market. Setting up shop and performing for crowds no bigger than 300-350, it got everyone in the city all fired up for their new album. Good publicity that's for sure.
You can read more on the TOBlog site.
Now I've had the chance to check out a few of the more heavy albums such as Acaro (support for KSE's 10th Anniversary tour), The Amity Affliction, Eluveitie, Sybreed and AxeWound and I got to say that metal heads will not be disappointed. All bands have something good to bring to the table this week. I am also looking forward to sitting back this afternoon with a coffee and chillin out to some more afternoon music such as Diana Krall, Frank Turner and Van Morrison. All of which you readers should check out, they all have some great merit and the reviews show.
So that being said, make your way to your local record store or online retailer (as you're reading this) and pick up a few of the albums. It's a good trade...you get good music and they get to keep making it. Win win!
"The rest of the album continues in much the same vein, although the tracks do pick up a little in length particularly the 5m 29s titan R.O.J. Salvation’s End and Becoming the Process are a throwback to early 00s thrash, with a good dose of new-thinking beatdowns thrown in for good measure as well. Throne of Blood and R.O.J even contain some slower, slightly stoner-y elements thrown in, before all hell breaks loose and your ears and nearly ripped off by your speakers of course.
When all these elements are thrown together, along with short-but-sour heavyweight Moritui the album becomes a violent melting pot of ingredients. Acaro could have chosen to just serve us one of these, and I’m sure they would have done it spectacularly, but instead we get a vile soup of hate-filled, crunchy, well-executed METAL ready to burn your throat and ears and have you moshing on your own for hours on end." -Metal as F**k
"It might come as a surprise to some that ‘Chasing Ghosts’ is The Amity Affliction’s third album; though their name has been batted around metalcore circles for a few years now, they’ve never been able to do a huge amount outside of their native Australia. That said, third time might well be the charm, because ‘Chasing Ghosts’ is a solid effort and one that successfully breaks out of the tired metalcore mould. Frontman Ahren Stringer has an Anthony Green-esque wail on the likes of ‘Flowerbomb’ and ‘RIP Bon’, while behind him there’s enough excitement and progression here to make ‘Chasing Ghosts’ a worthwhile look." -Round Sound
"It is an interesting mix and not one I was expecting myself from the term ‘folk metal’. I admit, I was expecting prettiness all the way through, not death style vocals and thrashy elements. Given the mix of influences, this album has the potential to appeal to a wide audience, and so regardless of your preferred genre, I suggest you give it a listen as there is so much combined within these songs that you may very easily find something there you like." -Planet Mosh
"Nu-metal survivors Papa Roach’s sixth full-length is an exhilarating return to form. The tracks are grittier and crunchier, akin to their breakout albums Infest and lovehatetragedy, while incorporating the more radio-friendly elements of their later records. Vocalist Jacoby Shaddix is ballsy enough to even resurrect rapping, and with surprisingly strong results on standout tracks 'Not that Beautiful' and 'Won’t Let Up.' Most notable, though, is the raw, pounding, and pissed anthem 'Give Me Back My Life.' The centerpiece of The Connection, it seems to sum up the album since, with it, Papa Roach have taken back that life for themselves." -Revolver
"Nancy Wilson and Ben Mink’s shuddering, sustained guitars cut to the quick — you can almost picture shimmering heat waves coming off the instruments — while Ann marshals her powerful voice into a compact, twangy performance. (Think the jagged, raw sound U2 cultivated on ‘Achtung Baby.’)
The lyrics of the song are like a fever dream, phrases strung together to signify conflicting emotions and desires. 'I can’t stop crying, I can’t stop screaming / I can’t stop talking / I can’t stop dreaming,' Ann sings.
But the ending of the song — 'I gotta have it, I gotta use it / I gotta own it / And never lose it' — hints at the song’s true meaning: grasping on to passion — through thick and thin, and whether it’s rational or not — simply because you love something so intensely." -Ultimate Classic Rock
"Here's yet another great record from one of Canada's biggest concert draws, a band tragically overlooked south of the border despite nearly 30 years' worth of melodically memorable and lyrically potent rock 'n' roll. Downie's soul-wrenching vocals are at turns reminiscent of the Call's Michael Been and Velvet Underground-era Lou Reed, while the muscular three-guitar drive of Downie, Paul Langlois and Rob Baker make them Kingston, Ontario's answer to the Rolling Stones.
Maybe No. 13 is the charm." -NewsOK
Elsewhere, the first single 'Chalk Outline' paints a vivid picture so catchy it's criminal, and "The High Road" shows just how potent Gontier's voice can be over a warm guitar tone. It's a stadium-size anthem carried to galactic heights by Neil Sanderson's massive drums and Brad Walst's bass thud. 'Operate' glides on the tight interplay between Gontier and lead guitarist Barry Stock. One standout, 'Happiness' infuses a thrash crunch into the melodic assault making for a potent and punch-y metal anthem.
Everything builds up to the acoustic strains of 'Unbreakable'. The album's best cut, it's elevated by Gontier's impeccable delivery and pensive lyrical musings. Plus, there's a hook that blasts off past the competition with an orchestral heft.
For those who worry about the state of rock 'n' roll, Transit of Venus is proof that the music's alive and well. Three Days Grace could've easily cranked out another Life Starts Now, but they challenge themselves and the zeitgeist—emerging victorious. Float away with one of the best hard rock records of the year." -Artist Direct
"Still, the opening ‘Open the Door (To Your Heart)’ is his most engaging song in years, a soulful and near-spiritual love song underlined by humming horns and rolling keyboards. But like so much of ‘Born to Sing: No Plan B,’ it doesn’t know when to cut itself loose. There’s at least one verse too many, an overlong instrumental interlude and a jazz-vamp ending that may work in concert but just drags here.
Perhaps Morrison’s last album, a live recreation of his 1968 masterpiece ‘Astral Weeks,’ influenced his decision to wander a bit this time. On 2008’s ‘Keep It Simple,’ he basically did just that, with a set of compact songs that didn’t overstay their welcome. But even the best cuts on ‘Born to Sing: No Plan B’ — ‘Goin’ Down to Monte Carlo,’ ‘Mystic of the East,’ ‘Retreat and View’ — could use some editing.
But that’s always been Morrison’s bag, so maybe we shouldn’t come down too hard on the album. Yet with some trimming here and there, ‘Born to Sing: No Plan B’ would rank among Morrison’s best-sung, best-played and best-written works of the past two decades. But the political messages in a few of the songs and even the occasional subtle musical notes become blurred as they go on and on and on…" -Ultimate Classic Rock
"Unfortunately, the things that many people love about Sybreed, and the sound they have consistently entrenched themselves in, are the things that will ultimately cause some of you to ignore them completely. The most common complaints will most certainly be directed toward the vocals. While the screams don’t seem to be a problem, Benjamin’s melodic voice is often a bit too dramatic for most extreme metal fans. The only other complaints that should be brought to light here are the complete lack of bass presence in the mix and the repetitive tonal drone of the guitars. Even though the guitar tone is perfect for this album, the lack of tonal variation fights against the song writing and makes the album feel more repetitive than it may otherwise have been. Overall though, God Is An Automaton really is a return to form for Sybreed. This may not be the album that fans of the band were hoping for after three years of waiting, but it is still a consistently solid effort from this Swiss metal crew. Take it, or leave it." -The New Review
"There are not a lot of breathing moments on the album, so ‘Vultures’ is the equivalent of a street fight in that it pummels over and over again, without much in the way of pauses to allow you to catch your breath.
The songs are compact, usually clocking in at three minutes and under. So they don’t overstay their welcome or become too ambitious by trying to be experimental with all that extra time, nor do they drift into boring territory by being too samey.
Ultimately, ‘Vultures’ is the work of seasoned musicians who are adept at their instruments and their roles. They don’t rely too much on their past (or most prolific) works, nor do they attempt to be something they are not. It’s a fresh metal album that’ll satisfy your thrash jones." -Loud Wire
"With this collection of often playful songs, many of them from the 1920s and `30s, Krall has made what she calls a 'song and dance record,' but its resonance goes deeper. Krall could have gone on making a killing playing easy-on-the-ear jazz forever, as some of her contemporaries have been satisfied to do. But as she has proved more than once (The Girl In the Other Room, her excellent 2004 singer-songwriter album, being another notable example), she doesn’t always play it safe.
So don’t be fooled by the cheesecake cover shot, showing Krall (barely) dressed as a Ziegfeld girl. With this batch of beautifully-played songs that rock when they have to and whisper when they must, she proves herself, once again, to be an artist whose body of work grows more interesting with time." -Montreal Gazette
"Billed as a set of rarities and standards, the 15-track Last Minutes and Lost Evenings is designed as a sort of Frank Turner primer for uninitiated North American audiences. The English punk rocker turned folk-punker (he used to play in the London-based hardcore outfit Million Dead), who counts Johnny Cash, Billy Bragg, The Beatles, and The Boss as influences, has been quietly establishing himself as a voice of the people since his 2007 debut, Sleep is for the Week, balancing the working class pragmatism of Ewan MacColl and Woody Guthrie with the rowdy, anti-establishment swagger of Against Me! and Joe Strummer. Lyrically sharp, musically simple, yet sound and always one verse away from a pint-swinging chorus, Turner should have little trouble infiltrating the Dropkick Murphys/Flogging Molly/Social Distortion crowd, especially with rousing blue-collar anthems like 'Sons of Liberty,' 'I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous,' and 'I Still Believe,' and his obvious love of American country and folk music, best exemplified by full-band, open-highway rovers like 'The Road,' while 'Nashville Tennessee' helps to soften some of the more region-specific vernacular. Hand-picked by the artist, the songs on Last Minutes and Lost Evenings ebb and flow with grit and grace. That said, Turner garnered some of his best reviews with 2011's excellent England Keep My Bones (the riveting 'One Foot Before the Other' seamlessly integrates his hardcore punk past into his more rustic present), but only the aforementioned 'I Still Believe' was chosen to represent. It’s hardly a deal breaker, though, as the target audience for the compilation will be oblivious to any deficiencies that would otherwise be obvious to seasoned fans, many of whom will be picking up Last Minutes and Lost Evenings purely for the bundled DVD of Turner's magnificent headlining performance at Wembley Arena." -All Music
"New Orleans sludge/doom metal outfit Haarp return with Husks, their three-track follow-up to their exceptional 2010 debut full-length, The Filth. Clocking in at 40 minutes, Husks is an unrelenting onslaught of low and thick, groove-heavy riffs that are at once depressing and engaging, embodying an insane amount of hopelessness, decay, hatred and self-loathing. 'Deadman/Rabbit' is an 18-minute composition, featuring a combination of slow rhythms and fast riffs, as well as vocalist Shaun Emmons' disdain-filled, raspy growls that anchor the track in pure hostility. 'Bear' is more of a classic sludge number, with strong, furious grooves that build and dissipate, then build again in a vicious cycle, while 'Fox' is a slow, doomy dirge, encompassing oppressive and despair-soaked guitar tones that end Husks on a beautifully bitter note. Produced by Phil Anselmo, the record features raw and filthy muddiness, showcasing Haarp's classic, uncompromising approach to doom-infused sludge, as well as NOLA-bred anger and intensity." -Exclaim
"The rock band is quite a lot of fun too. By now, most will be familiar with Survival, the Olympics jingle that broke all records for enhanced performance silliness and quasi-Nietzschean pep talking. It sturms, it drangs and finally collapses in on itself in a flurry of falsetto, having out-Queened Queen. It's not alone. The opening track also heads straight for the nuclear option. 'Wake to see/ Your true emancipation is a fantasy!' intones Bellamy at the start of Supremacy, another maximal workout (low-slung metal bass, strings, military rat-a-tat, falsetto, kitchen sink) that soon matures into a warning – to the bankers and their political friends, one might assume.
Bassist Chris Wolstenholme says of The 2nd Law that 'this time, we really went the whole hog'. Presumably this relegates the super-massive airborne rock piggery of their previous efforts to mere bacon sandwich status. Bellamy is not blind to the contradictions of his band's attempts continually to ramp the ludicrousness up to 11; endless growth is, of course, unsustainable. But for now they remain pretty comfortable with the idea of obscene over-inflation. So should we." -The Guardian
"The Piano Guys have become a YouTube sensation with their clever and inspiring takes on popular music and creative videos that accompany them. From Beethoven to Adele, their eclectic mix of classical, film score, rock, and pop favorites resonate with audiences across generations and from all walks of life. Their debut album on Sony Masterworks includes songs featured in their hit videos, including their latest viral smash, a distinctive take on One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful'." -Amazon
No comments:
Post a Comment