Well hold onto your hats ladies and gents. After a solid Labour Day weekend here in Canada I am very happy to get back into the grind and take a look at the releases we are seeing across North America this week. As you can tell from the first two albums, AFGM has been heavily following the releases of both Nine Inch Nails and The Safety Fire. Both of which were highly anticipated by not only myself but it seems the entire music world was right on their heels waiting to hear the next track. Not comparing NIN to The Safety Fire (heaven forbid someone take offense to it!) but both bands have their respective followings that show equal anticipation.
Other albums making their way onto shelves today such as Turisas, Revamp, and even the Sterophonics all have some hype behind the release. I have give a few of these albums a chance and spun them over the weekend. Not bad by any means when it comes to any of the albums I have already mentioned. I do have some choice words/constructive criticisms for a few of the albums but unlike other review sites, I don't necessarily care about putting my own stamp of approval on an album. Fans and artists alike have different perceptions of their music so who am I to say otherwise?
Anyways folks, you know my usual 'buy if you like' mentality. If you liked listening to an album then go and buy it. Even guys like Trent Reznor need funds to keep making awesome albums for you all. I think people would have a much different perception about the music world if they were told to work for free. Head to a local record store, an online retailer or another legal source to pick up a couple of these albums. Cheers!
AFGM: NIN 2013/Hesitation Marks
Those e-commerce experiments proved NIN can remain a viable business in the absence of corporate-funded marketing campaigns, but he presumably wants something that not even 100 per cent royalty rates can buy you: to be a game-changing pop cultural force once again. And despite what tech-topian industry analysts would have us believe, for the time being at least, traditional tools like global major-label distribution and aggressive radio promotion still often mean the difference between an artist being a household name or a merely respected one. -Pitchfork
(The Safety Fire - Mouth of Swords)
AFGM: The Safety Fire - Mouth of Swords
It takes but a moment to acknowledge that pressing play on “Mouth of Swords” is equivalent to landing smack in the middle of a chemical experiment horribly and beautifully gone wrong. Promptly shifting dynamics to and fro, the title track starts the business in regular fashion till the crazy rhythm section takes reins. If anything, Sean McWeeny’s vocals seemed to sync with the music perfectly for me and was enough assurance of an album I was bound to enjoy more and more with each progressive listen.
“Mouth of Swords” takes its own sweet time to build up the feel, to let you grasp the vast array of musical creativity the band packed the record with. The thing with an album like “Mouth of Swords” is it does not go straight for the jugular; every riff, every line, every drum fill percolate in your subconscious till they host a sick orgy in there and burst into your head and occupies it for hours to come, quite the same way as Between the Buried and Me. -The Circle Pit
(Stereophonics - Graffiti on the Train)
However, the band’s latest release and eighth studio album, Graffiti on the Train (co-produced by Jones with Jim Lowe and released on the band’s own label), is the highly anticipated follow-up to the virtually ignored and easily forgettable 2009 release, Keep Calm and Carry On. Mere seconds into the moody opening track “We Share the Same Sun,” it becomes glaringly obvious the band has regrouped and rediscovered their passion for making records. -American Song Writer
(Revamp - Wild Card)
These tracks aren’t light on either the metal elements or the symphonic ones, so no one will be left wishing the album went more strongly in one direction or the other. There’s a wide range of sounds present, from fast-paced guitars that are equal to any melodic death metal excursion to more gothic and opera-style sounds. Those gothic twists will bring to mind Tristania, although the music as a whole is more symphonic than dark and brooding.
A variety of guest spots further round out the disc from such names as Devin Townsend and Mark Jansen of Mayan. Fans of that band in particular should take note, as there’s a good deal of bleed through between the two outfits, with the track “Misery’s No Crime” in particular sounding like it could have come off Mayan’s “Quarterpast” debut. In addition to those harsher and more extreme aspects, “Wild Card” will have a huge appeal for fans of female-fronted projects like Nightwish or Within Temptation, and the strong balance between extreme and melodic is on par with Sirenia’s latest album “Perils of the Deep Blue.” -Metal Underground
(Portnoy, Sheehan, MacAlpine & Sherinian - Live In Tokyo)
Live In Tokyo is a live performance from November 14, 2012 at Zepp Tokyo for supergroup PSMS, which features drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, The Winery Dogs, Transatlantic), bassist Billy Sheehan (Talas, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth), guitarist Tony MacAlpine & keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Black Country Communion, Dream Theater, Billy Idol). This 95 minute concert showcases a wide range of instrumental performances from each of the members careers & collaborations. Included in the set are Shy Boy from Sheehan's band Talas, MacAlpine's The Stranger, Sherinian's Apocalypse 1470 B.C. and Dream Theater's A Change Of Seasons: The Crimson Sunrise. -Amazon
(Turisas - Turisas2013)
To say that Turisas2013 is a strange one is a bit of an understatement. Although I would definitely describe this album as a ‘grower’, it is by no means their best release and I have to admit that upon my first listen, not a single track stood out to me. A few more listens later just to make sure, I did manage to connect with a couple of songs but the fact of the matter is that the album just doesn’t seem to have the energy or pack the same punch as their previous releases.
Will I be at their upcoming UK tour in October? You bet! Regardless of what I think of Turisas2013, I’ll still be there, dressed head to toe in a handmade costume and covered in red and black paint. I’ll always love their live show and who knows – maybe seeing some of the new material in a live environment will change my mind on the album! But for now, I’m afraid I will have to admit that Turisas2013 just doesn’t ‘do it’ for me. A shame really, considering that this was one of the albums I was most excited to hear this year and Turisas are one of my favourite bands. -Soundscape Magazine
(John Legend - Love In The Future)
Though Love in the Future purportedly has its ear on the future, Legend frequently draws on his past, most notably with a subtle melodic nod to "Ordinary People" buried inside the cool "Wanna Be Loved." He takes stock of his extravagant lifestyle on the album's first single, "Who Do We Think We Are," which, thanks to a verse by Rick Ross cataloging a list of indulgences, doubles as a comment on hip-hop's excess. But the track falls back on a tired Kanye trick of employing an old-school soul sample to capture a vintage vibe, and while it certainly complements the texture of Legend's smooth pipes, the effect feels more dated than retro in 2013. -Slant Magazine
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