I threw on some tunes from these albums yesterday and was quite happy to find my niche with Ray Bonneville and Sevendust. While those are only two of the albums listed for release today, I just happened to be in the mood for some mellow attitude and a stripped down version of what I am regularly used to listening to. You know... that chugging, breakdown, down-tuned, upbeat metal!
A well rounded list I must say for this week. Like stating before, Bonneville along with some other notable released like Ian Anderson, NEEDTOBREATHE, Strunz & Farah, and Ziggy Marley give off some great mellow vibes to sit back and relax to. Something to feed your brain when you first wake up and in need of that slow build up to the afternoon. Then you can move into the more erratic stuff such as Emmure, I Declare War, and Teramaze.
So be sure to show some love to the artists by purchasing their album from your local record store (yay Record Store Day this weekend) or from an online retailer. If digital is more your thing, then be sure to purchase it from an authorized legal source. Cheers and have a great new release Tuesday!
(Ray Bonneville - Easy Gone)
There aren't any extended guitar breaks. His pace is unhurried and deliberate, rhythm and melody parts of the same animal. Produced with Justin Douglas, Bonneville's band is small and his grooves are tight. The settings in these songs are the American highway, the road in all its seduction and fury. His traveling characters are all vulnerable to the gnawing hole of loneliness; they're hungry for connection but can only inhabit it for a moment if at all, because they're haunted -- or pursued by -- the spirits of restlessness and movement. Bonneville has always been drawn to hard-bitten characters, not for what they signify, but simply for who they are.
Bonneville skillfully strips the veneer from popular illusions about the freedom of the road. His characters choose it or are cursed by it, but either way, they accept it as the price of doing business. Easy Gone is not just another chapter in his remarkable late-blooming saga, but the finest one to date. -All Music
(NEEDTOBREATHE - Rivers In The Wasteland)
NEEDTOBREATHE have found their feet. This is an album with soul… this is an album with heart… this is an album with history without burdening you with all the dirty details… this is an album of songs that have been crafted by experience, by pain, by laughter and by faith.
This is the most complete album that NTB have brought to the table. There was a Reckoning (their last album) and from the ashes of that a phoenix has risen, that not only has lit a new fire and a renewed purpose for NTB but brought water into a wasteland. NTB have had a weight lifted from their shoulders and it shows. If you are looking for an album that encourages you to be lifted during the driest of places, then stop here for a drink. -Screaming Goose
(Ian Anderson - Homo Erraticus)
I must admit upon first listen I was not too sure about this album but after several more subsequent spins it grew on me a few notches upon the ladder of approval. This is not music you can listen to in the background; it demands your complete attention to be appreciated as an entire work of art. It’s never cut and dried with Mr. Anderson and you will find once you consume every bite of this full course meal that Homo Erraticus is yet another triumph. This is indeed a musical story that deserves repeated listens. Is this another prog rock classic? I have no doubt that it is. You must add the album to your collection if you have a place in your heart and soul for progressive music. -Prog Rock Music Talk
(Strunz & Farah - Moods and Visions)
Moods and Visions is Strunz & Farah's 20th release and 15th studio recording. With all new material, this album celebrates 35 years of the Grammy-nominated guitar duo's highly successful collaboration, continuing and evolving their original synthesis of multicultural elements into a flowing, melodic and rhythmic acoustic guitar style of high virtuosity. Spectacular improvisations flash through always colorful sonic weavings. These renowned master instrumentalists are accompanied by a top flight ensemble of rhythm section and flute. -Amazon
(Tuomas Holopainen - Music Inspired By: The Life and Times of Scrooge)
It should also be clarified The Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge is not a metal album, but a symphonic soundtrack. The orchestra heard throughout the album is The London Philharmonic Orchestra, arranged by Pip Williams, who has also arranged the orchestral portions of the last three Nightwish albums.
Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge is an album for every occasion and for every emotion felt. The album has a tranquil effect, similar to that of Classic music, making it not only for true Nightwish fans or metal fans, but for everyone. There is no question Tuomas Holopainen is one of the most talented musical composers of our time and this album proves it. -Cryptic Rock
(Ziggy Marley - Fly Rasta)
'Fly Rasta' finds Ziggy exploring both traditional reggae and new musical territories, often merging the two. Keen to stretch himself beyond his usual frame-of-reference, 'Fly Rasta' incorporates elements of rock, funk, soul and pop over a broad range of lyrical content.
Along with pushing musical boundaries, the album is a call for humans to come together, support one another and treat Mother Earth with care and respect. Marley has been a strong advocate for the environment, the overall health of the planet and its inhabitants. He is a long-time supporter for the industrialization of hemp and recently launched his own line of GMO free, organic coconut oils and hemp seed snacks. -Contact Music
(Sevendust - Time Travelers & Bonfires)
Staying true to the fact that the band has never been situated in a specific genre, Sevendust’s newest album contains a combination of numerous elements from various sub-genres. There is a considerable amount of ‘space’ to the composition of these tracks allowing the rich sound of acoustic and vocal melodies a chance to breathe. More established songs such as the single “Black” - from the band’s self-titled release back in 1997 – gain a breath of fresh air as the acoustics add a rich tone to the band’s classics. Furthermore, I’d personally like to thank the band for NOT writing an album full of ballads; a habit that many other hard rock bands fall into when writing an acoustic album. Simply put, Sevendust’s ninth album is great, refreshing, and pure. -Lithium Magazine
(The Birds of Satan - The Birds of Satan)
That’s the key word with The Birds of Satan—adequate. This record certainly highlights the trio’s musical chops and their songwriting strengths, and yet the overall feeling that this record produces is nothing to write home about. And while it’s good to see a rock and roll band still trying to win fans in an era that has seemingly given the “mother of us all” the boot, The Birds of Satan is neither Nevermind or Revolver—neither groundbreaking or era-making. It is, in short, a sonic ping in a wide ocean that is no longer searching for new grit or new guts from guitar acts. -In Your Speakers
(I Declare War - We Are Violent People By Nature)
The change was from a brutal death metal type of sound, when they had Jonathan Huber as a vocalist, to a guitar chugging, overly loud and heavy, deathcore sound. The album itself is ten songs long and has roughly 35 to 40 minutes worth of listening material.
Of course, in a different light, you can say the album is quite boring with its repetitive instrumentals and lack of diversity in the vocals. This album may be for you for those reasons alone, and that's understandable, but for those who are into the kind of music, they will absolutely enjoy this album. Basically, if you like I Declare War's self-titled album that released back in 2011, you'll like (if not love) this album. If you're into chuggy deathcore, you'll also like this album. But if you're not into either of those things, you will not like this album. -Pig Squeals And Breakdowns
(Teramaze - Esoteric Symbolism)
The album’s concept, while not narrative based centres around the experiential nature of deception; especially by that of governing bodies and the powers that be. I think the title of ‘Esoteric Symbolism’ is perfectly apt as this is not the viewpoint or mindset of everyone and best kept as the worldview of a particular minority of people. I think for some the lyrical approach could border on conspiracy but I like the exploratory nature of them and what is truly the harm in questioning some of the taken-for-granted “truths” we hold in this ever-changing world. Kudos to Teramaze for honestly and whole-heartedly fusing their beliefs with such hard-hitting music in a way that I see as completely lacking pretence. -Metal Obsession
(Emmure - Eternal Enemies)
In all honesty, this chance to fire back should have been the perfect platform for Emmure. Instead it emerges as one of the album’s biggest letdowns. For all the resentment and anger Palmeri and the band air out, it always seems to distill down to the same two themes: A. Palmeri could care less about the insults and disrespect lobbed his way; B. that people should try and say those comments to his face.
But after suffering through an album’s worth of banal, textbook deathcore riffs and stale nu metal leftovers, eternal damnation has already long set in. -The PRP
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