Don't you wish pay days were on a Tuesday? The hole burning in your wallet wouldn't be so bad at that point (haha). So were back with another string of albums coming out today. So far, there have only been a handful of these album I have had the chance to go through, but from what I am hearing, it's going to be a great day today.
As you can see from some of the album covers, the Halloween spirit has left the building and already we're seeing the holiday albums starting to surface. I am always in the mood to check out Trans Siberian Orchestra for this occasion, simply because of the amazing light show they display when performing live. The music also has a great rock style twist on winter classics (as well as their own original material).
Parkway Drive, Flyleaf, Kamelot and West End Motel are great choices for this week's collection and encourage to pick any of them (as well as others) at your local record shop and/or online retailer.
"That focus aside, Cradle of Filth’s music is getting pretty predictable after 10 full-length albums. It’s to the point where a listener can probably guess ahead of time when a track will open with Dani Filth’s drawn-out and high-pitched scream, when a girl will start moaning in the background, when a female vocalist will tell a story segment, etc. The only real twist comes from 'Huge Onyx Wings Behind Despair,' which doesn’t bother waiting for the inevitable remix EP to bring out the electronic/industrial sounds.
It’s a good bet that any Cradle of Filth fans who liked 'Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa' or 'Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder' will thoroughly dig the sound presented here. The less black metal-oriented guitar work and the removal of the overtly cheesy elements also gives the album a potentially wider appeal, but overall, this is just Cradle being Cradle, with a few of the window dressings changed." -Metal Underground
"2012 holiday EP from the Progressive/Symphonic Rock band. Nearly 20 years after they first formed, TSO continue to dominate the holiday music market with their inventive mix of Classical, Metal and Progressive Rock. Their clever approach to Christmas music has introduced Symphonic Rock/Metal to a whole new audience who would normally have avoided the genre entirely." -Amazon
"While I tentatively look forward to hearing what else these guys have to offer I’m pretty skeptical about the longevity of this project. The lyrics were a little weak at times, and I feel like the unclean vocals could have been utilized more. It feels like they intentionally set out to create a band who fits the description for the kinds of post hardcore bands that are being signed to labels in boat loads right now. Whether or not that’s the case, at least they managed to create something of their own that has some potential. Maybe." -Under The Gun
"Even when the cuts feel a bit derivative, such as with 'Iron' — where it sounds as if Harris’ ears had perhaps overdosed on Daft Punk‘s Tron soundtrack — there’s enough hook and melody among the squiggling synths to keep things from becoming derailed.
Clearly this is Calvin’s moment, and there’s no cooler go-to guy in pop, currently. So it’s nice to hear him making the most of his talents by pushing himself to produce quality tracks that don’t all sound the same, where others in his position would perhaps default to spreading themselves too thin." -Idolator
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"Silverthorn surprised me. I had begun the writing off process for these guys even with Khan in the band and didn’t expect this to be as good as it is. In fact, this is the best Kamelot release since The Black Halo and its gone a long way toward bringing me back into the fold. If you prefered the early, more power metal-y material, this will be right in your wheelhouse. If you like more bombast and chamber music than metal in your metal, you may want to look in the Frilly Shirt Department of your local music store. Way to go guys, you done good." -Angry Metal Guy
"This is a really enjoyable live record and a good way to listen to a mix of all things Thrice but as you may have gathered from this review, the mid to late career songs are where the band sound at their best and most 'into – it'. If you used to be, or still are a Thrice fan or are indeed curious about what they are all about then this is a good purchase.
We can only hope that front man, Dustin Kensrue’s, promise that Thrice are only going on hiatus and NOT breaking up for good is one he keeps. In the meantime, enjoy a special band’s Anthology." -Daily Dischord
"HOLIDAYS RULE, a deliciously diverse collection of seasonal music featuring an array of glittering contributions from across the musical spectrum, will be released by Hear Music/Concord Music Group on October 30th, 2012.
The set boasts 17 all-new recordings, including pop phenoms fun., the legendary Paul McCartney, indie-pop luminaries The Shins, Americana favorites The Civil Wars, adored singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright (with Sharon Van Etten), playful popsters Fruit Bats, bluegrass revisionists Punch Brothers, soul icon Irma Thomas (with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band), cinematic rockers Calexico, eclectic troubadour Andrew Bird, Latin neo-traditionalists Y La Bamba, Texas twang-rock troupe Heartless Bastards, alterna-folk standard-bearer Holly Golightly, roots quintet Black Prairie (featuring Sallie Ford), choral revival collective AgesAndAges, Fiery Furnaces alumna Eleanor Friedberger and Seattle Americana outfit The Head and the Heart.
Holidays Rule delves into an unusually rich assemblage of Americana, alt-pop, folk, electronica, country, American standards, singer-songwriter, New Orleans gospel, garage rock and more. Holidays Rule is the most exciting, and highly anticipated, all-new holiday album of the year!" -Amazon
"Befitting their position as perhaps the last true titans of extreme metal, 'Honor Found in Decay' is a crushing reminder that Neurosis have gone to the furthest points in the metal universe and not only survived but grown in strength. This may not be their best record, so to speak, but it perhaps proves the band’s point more effectively than any of its predecessors. As a mission statement of the extraordinary talents Neurosis have to offer, this is unbeatable. As a demonstration of all that extreme music (in all its stylistic forms) can do, it stands alongside Swans’ 'The Seer' at the very pinnacle of provocative, exploratory sound in 2012. For the hour long duration of this record, Neurosis make almost every other band on the face of the planet sound completely irrelevant and unnecessary. Maybe, after listening to this, you will come to believe that they actually are..." -Stereoboard
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"The harder-edged tracks are where guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann excel. Flyleaf approach metal territory with ‘Green Heart,’ which is probably the most aggressive track they have done. The guitar duo is able to shift smoothly from gritty riffs on that song to more shimmering tones on mellower songs such as ‘Cage on the Ground.’
Sturm’s strongest performance is on ‘Freedom.’ She transitions from earnest to aggressive and back again, showing both vulnerability and attitude. Her voice has a unique and distinctive sound, which will be hard to replace.
‘New Horizons’ (available at iTunes) is a bittersweet album for Flyleaf fans. Sturm’s exit is a bitter pill to swallow, but the band has delivered some of the strongest songs of their career. It’s a great legacy for Sturm, and provides ample hope for for the future of the group." -Loudwire
"The hope of bliss is generally audible. The clunker She’s Always Dancing, for example, gets tantalizingly close to the heights of Like a Hurricane for a few moments of its relatively economical 8½ minutes. But it soon sinks in some sludgy Crazy Horse quicksand.
The shorter pieces are far more successful, and an album of those might have been a real pleasure. The title track — anchored by the same chord riff Young used for Sign of Love on the superb Le Noise — has a psychedelic charm (look out for all that phasing and panning), Born in Ontario is downright catchy and Twisted Road has a ragged hayseed strut that recalls Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Best of all is For the Love of Man, a tuneful, acoustic beauty that actually sounds like Crazy Horse was on a coffee break.
Only a few of Young’s contemporaries remain as prolific, interesting and vital. But the downside of brilliance must, alas, always be a willingness to fail." -Montreal Gazette
"The anticipated second release from Mastodon's Brent Hinds. West End Motel is a conglomerate of losers and poets and hobo-sexuals. Tom Cheshire met Brent Hinds in Atlanta on a corner under a bridge in 1993. They were panhandling and drinking cough syrup and songs just started spewing out of them. Songs were written on an acoustic guitar and a bucket for drums with the occasional toy piano in the background. They write and sing for the underdog and give the listener a glimmer of hope. The songs have taken on a life of their own and have never sounded the same twice; the music is honest." -Amazon
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