Well hello everyone and welcome back to a delayed edition of music releases for this week. Being that I have been mixed in my choices for music genres the past few weeks, I am kind of happy to see old visited bands dropping new material such as Pro-Pain, Boston and Black Flag, while at the same time discovering some newer groups like I Exist. Mind you, these are new to myself while bands like I Exist is on their (I believe) third album and have been touring their hometown of Canberra, Australia since early 2009.
Pro-Pain got me all excited since I discovered these guys when in my days at high school as they released it back in October, 2000. Eight albums later and they are still belting out the New York hardcore tunes like they were a Pez dispenser. The other note I am looking forward to checking out is Muse and August Burns Red as they both have DVD's coming out this week. Muse apparently gave a unreal filming experience for this DVD so looking forward to the lights, sound and production, while August Burns Red made themselves a behind the scenes documentary of their "metal titans" touring nonstop around the world!
Other albums to take notice to would be of course the wizard himself Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater and Boston's "Life, Love & Hope" (their first release in over 10+ years). Nothing to shy away from and will give you plenty to listen to for the rest of the week/weekend. So even though we got some notable names here on this week's releases, even Jordan Rudess is selling his album solo without the help of a label so be sure to hit up your local record store, online retailer or other legal source to pick up these albums. Cheers!
Jordan Rudess, keyboardist for Dream Theater, takes a break from prog rock and returns to his roots performing acoustic piano improvisations. Visit the iTunes store to download the interactive iOS version of this album entitled "Jordan Rudess Explores". -CD Baby
There are still moments — like on the chorus of the album-opening ‘Heaven on Earth’ — when the band’s trademark formula clicks into place with a perfectly infectious chorus and that famous Tom Scholz guitar tone. But that buzz rarely lasts for an entire song, and far too often what turns up instead is highly generic pop-rock filler.
You’re not supposed to judge an album by its cover, but compared to ‘Boston‘ and ‘Don’t Look Back”s scenes of escape and exploration, the ‘Life, Love & Hope’ artwork does rather effectively portray the image of a band that seems somewhat aimless and adrift at the moment. -Ultimate Classic Rock
To its credit, What The… has a consistent sound and mood. It's a hectic, seemingly willfully grating album with a madcap, almost cartoonish feel, epitomized by Ginn's theremin, which turns up frequently as a kitschy accent. The style of the record might be called punk, but it's a punk that feels distinctly 90s, with loud, funky, extroverted bass and swaggery, cornily danceable cadences. (For a representative sample, spend 98 seconds with "Shut Up.") In fact, the most Black Flag-ish aspect of these songs might be the way that—in keeping with the album cover—they defy the dumbed-down caricature of the band as the quintessentially angsty first-wave hardcore outfit, opting instead for a cocky flamboyance that's at odds with the lyrics' generic harangues against fools and fakers. -Pitchfork
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(Pro-Pain - The Final Revolution)
For my money, Pro-Pain are one of the best kept secrets in heavy music. They have consistently made excellent albums that tap the vein raised by NYC hardcore and thrash bands like Anthrax, S.O.D. and Exodus. Their sound is heavy and pounding, topped off with raging and understandable lyrics grunted by mainman Gary Meskil. Unafraid to tackle injustice, Pro-Pain have been raging against the machine much longer than most bands and have never stopped to even take a breath.
If you enjoy Pro-Pain you’ll definitely enjoy this. It’s a bit more dynamic than the band’s new millennium albums and for that many fans of their early works will likely be drawn back in. Don’t hesitate to give this one a chance if you haven’t been following along in this millennium. -Metal Forces Magazine
For years, riff summoners I Exist have been making a name for themselves with their amalgamation of doom metal and hardcore, conjuring up vivid, cannabis-infused voyages that have been lauded as much for their ferocity as for their finesse. On third album ‘From Darkness’, the Canberra sextet pool these strengths together in a way that feels natural and distinctive, delivering their most powerful, engaging and diverse record to date.
A roaring, multi-headed beast of a record, with ‘From Darkness’ I Exist have created their finest album thus far. Taking the best elements of past releases and delivering them with confidence, ‘From Darkness’ sees the band step firmly into their own skin, maturing into the sort of act they’ve been trying to become since the start. A compelling listen. -Kill Your Stereo
CD/DVD/Blu-Ray:
(August Burns Red - Foreign & Familiar)
“Foreign & Familiar has literally been three years in the making. It's no small task to try and squeeze 18 months of touring into a two hour package, but that's exactly what we have here. I am grateful that we were able to pull this DVD together, as this is something we'll all be able to look back on as old men and remember the good ol' days. I think anyone who cares about this band will find Foreign & Familiar to be an entertaining and insightful behind the scenes look at ABR on the road.” -JB Brubaker
(Muse - Live at Rome Olympic Stadium)
Live at Rome Olympic Stadium filmed on 6th July 2013 in front of a capacity audience of over 60,000, captures the momentous evening in the Italian capital and showcases the most extravagant set build and spectacular stage show of any Muse tour to date. The three school friends from Devon take the audience on a mesmerizing journey using pyrotechnics, expansive digital screens and a troop of actors to accompany their epic playlist of 20 tracks, mixed in incredible surround sound, including hits from their most recent studio album The 2nd Law, as well as classics such as Uprising, Supermassive Black Hole, Time Is Running Out, Starlight and Plug-In Baby. Shot using the latest 4K camera technology, Muse - Live at Rome Olympic Stadium, the cinema audience has an unrivalled opportunity to experience the full visual spectrum of the show blending jaw-dropping shots of the Stadium Olympic with views from 'spider' cameras darting above the surging crowd as they chant and cheer to the driving beats and soaring melodies, and on stage close-ups that expose the musical mastery and showmanship of the trio. -Rotten Tomatoes
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