Well......
I apologize in advance to anyone who doesn't necessarily cater to the heavy music, but that seems to be the going trend for this week's releases. Sifting through Amazon, All Music, PRP, and basically any other release sites I get my hands on to find a string of rock/metal albums. Sure enough to keep you occupied for the week and who knows...you might just become a fans of the heavy stuff if you're not already. I mean there are a few exceptions such as John Fogerty or Skinny Puppy, but for the most part we are going heavy this week!
A few of these albums I have been eager beaver to wait for. Alice In Chains, Dark Tranquillity, TesseracT, Shining, and Skinny Puppy all add up to a wonderful week of "Communiting Capriccios" and some great gym music. (Probably going to have to release another one of those soon as well.)
Moving forward, here are AFGM's latest and greatest releases for the week. Be sure to drop by your local record shop and say hi to your dedicated front line workers of the industry giving you great tunes for little wages. That also goes for you online buyers and streamers. Music doesn't have to cost and arm and a leg, but singers won't have those limbs to play unless you buy. Cheers!
(John Fogerty - Wrote A Song For Everyone)
Fogerty, who turns 68 on Tuesday, recruited an array of younger artists to help resurrect some of his biggest hits, and the results rock. Highlights include a thunderous performance of "Fortunate Son" featuring the Foo Fighters and Fogerty sound-alike Dave Grohl; the 1997 obscurity "Hot Rod Heart," with Brad Paisley revving up his guitar; and a rollicking "Proud Mary," reclaimed from marching band songbooks everywhere by Jennifer Hudson, Allen Toussaint and the Rebirth Brass Band. -Ottawa Citizen
(Alice In Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here)
While Alice in Chains definitely does “dark” well, songs like ‘Low Ceiling’ and ‘Breath on a Window’ offer a catchier, faster-paced alternative and deliver the perfect change of pace needed mid-album. The disc also features such late record standouts as the more acoustic-guitar based and melody-filled ‘Scalpel,’ the metal-infused ‘Phantom Limb’ and the stellar mid-tempo closer ‘Choke.’
All in all, ‘The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here’ gives longtime Alice in Chains fans the harmonies, darkness and skilled instrumentation they’ve come to love on a disc that holds its own among the band’s classic albums. -Loudwire
From the very first spin of All Hell Breaks Loose, all those trademark elements are there, and the tunes are catchy enough to provide those instantly memorable moments. Tasty hard rockers "Valley of the Stones", "Bound For Glory", "Kingdom of the Lost", "Hey Judas", and the killer title cut all feature those patented riffs, harmony twin guitar leads, groove laden rhythms, and Warwick's emotional, ballsy vocals. "Someday Salvation" however doesn't really work, kind of a schmaltzy, ballady tune that Lynott could always pull off but this collective struggles to, and "Blues Ain't so Bad", while a decent enough Trower-ish blues rocker, kind of sounds out of place here. Otherwise, most of All Hell Breaks Loose is damn solid, and a hell of a lot better than I expected.
Longtime Thin Lizzy fans will no doubt eat this up, and while some no doubt will see this as a glorified tribute band (and maybe that's kind of what it is), there's no denying what a great homage this is to a legendary band. Well done by Mr. Gorham and Co.. -Sea of Tranquility
The three-piece—with recent addition bassist Sal Italiano—have a helluva lot of people in their corner as the feel-good story of being committed to metal complete with all the highs ‘n’ lows resonates. But that’s not why Hope In Hell is so good. All the planets are aligned. Anvil have nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain. And man, the material truly shines on album number 15.
Hope In Hell walks the walk and talks the talk. Nobody in heavy metal sounds like Anvil. Period. -Bravewords
(TesseracT - Altered State)
With Ashe's golden pipes you know exactly what you're going to get... Ashe's golden pipes. This is an exclusively clean vocal effort. Objectively, this may let some down. But DAMN Ashe can sing. And speak of the devil, sometimes he even sounds like Daniel Tompkins. Kind of uncanny really. I personally dig what he's brought to the band and look forward to seeing him grow as a musical artist as well as a performer in due time.
For the most part, this record is damn near flawless. It blends together high level talent from all members, musical maturity, a good helping of groove, intelligence, and sheer complexity into a monster of a record that it guaranteed to grow the more you listen to it. Not bad TesseracT, not bad. -The Circle Pit
"The schizophrenia starts here; the most interesting part of One One One also weakens the assault and creates a disjointed feel, which can be unnerving, even uncomfortable at times. Undoubtedly one of the most interesting releases this year will come down to if you like EDM or not. The electronic carnival of the Shining leaves you stunned and questioning what exactly happened in its short thirty five minute attack." - Metal Injection
(Dew-Scented - Insurgent)
Insurgent is a strange and uneven album by it's very nature, but there are some great moments in these 76-minutes and 19 tracks. Definitely for established fans of Dew-Scented, Insurgent gives a more varied and vibrant vision of what the band are capable of than most of their recent work. -About.com
(Skinny Puppy - Weapon)
It's probably the most accessible of SP's output but at the same time it's a Skinny Puppy album so a lot of people won't get it.
Overall, if you are a Skinny Puppy fan, this album is definitely worth picking up. If you're a fan of darker electronic music or industrial, I think this might be the new gateway drug into the band as it has both new elements and older ones and not only that, it's a really solid album. -Alan Cross
AFGM: Dark Tranquillity - Construct
Also unlike Dark Tranquillity albums of old, Construct legitimately feels like one monolithic, continuous piece of music–not just a collection of related and similar songs in album form. Making use of the varied and indulgent songwriting from song to song, Construct is near-perfectly sequenced (about as perfectly as you’ll find in 2013, anyway). Just when you’re approaching the end of the album, it’s apparent that you’re in the closing stage, “Photon Dreams” playing a perfect closing role.
If Dark Tranquillity’s intention was to find the perfect balance between staying true to the sound they helped mold while inching ever-closer to totally uncharted territory for the band, they’ve exceeded with flying colors. It’s rare that a band totally nails it on that front, but who else than Dark Tranquillity to be the prime example of how to do it right? -Under The Gun
(Judas Priest - Epitaph CD/DVD)
With a catalog as large and impressive as Priest’s it must have been a grueling task picking which songs made the set and which did not. Every fan would likely replace a song or two here and there with something they’d have preferred, or better yet simply added a few more since it was the final performance. Still, in all, it was an inspired setlist from a band that saved the best for last.
“Epitaph” is a must own DVD for any metal fan, and especially for the Judas Priest faithful. The prescient Metal Gods remain a bastion of what true heavy metal was, is, and shall remain: United! “Epitaph” is a monument to Judas Priest’s legacy, and an instruction manual on heavy metal music. “Breaking the what?” -Examiner
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