"Once More 'Round The Sun" is the title set forth for Mastodon's new album. I am very excited to hear what will be featured on the eleven track LP arriving on June 24th, 2014 via Reprise Records. With a very successful run of "The Hunter", I loved the 'back to roots' mentality where the prog vibe was put to the side in exchange for some hard hitting tracks that blended very well with vocal melodies. Tracks like "Octopus Has No Friends" were great reminders of their metal side that got them noticed in the first place. To this day, "Leviathan" has to be my top album from these guys as metal tracks like "Blood and Thunder" were my introduction to the band.
Don;t get me wrong. The prog side of the band is very attractive to the ear and watching them perform "The Czar" on their DVD "Live At The Aragon". Ten minutes of pure bliss to which you can just sit back and take in both the visual and audio aspects of the show.
So moving forward, the group hit fans on the right note when releasing "The Hunter". So with keeping that vibe, the band unveiled their newest album "Once More 'Round the Sun". Once again, it will be released on June 24th, 2014 via Reprise Records. The album was produced by Nick Raskulinecz. Nick has also done previous work with Ghost, Evanescence, Marilyn Manson, Deftones, Coheed and Cambria, Stone Sour, Trivium, Duff McKagan, Danzig, Velvet Revolver, Rush, Shadows Fall, Death Angel, and Danko Jones. Album artwork was done by Oakland based artists known as Skinner. Comments once again came from front man Troy Sanders...
"It's... a work of art for sure. It's... very eye-opening, very striking. It's from another dimension, and a lot of our music is geared toward that idea — taking you to another planet on songs. It's out there, and I think it's incredible." -Sanders
1. Tread Lightly 2. The Motherload 3. High Road 4. Once More 'Round the Sun 5. Chimes at Midnight 6. Asleep in the Deep 7. Feast Your Eyes 8. Aunt Lisa 9. Ember City 10. Halloween 11. Diamond in the Witch House (feat. Scott Kelly)
"It's not necessarily a concept, but the concept deals with things that have transpired throughout this past year. It's a year, it's a repetition around the sun and everything that's transpired. Some big things have happened to us. It's gonna be massive and insane, lots of epic greatness. There will be lots of huge riffs and new directions. It's real weird, real math-y, real straightforward. It's up, down and all around. It's a culmination of everything for the band. The snowball keeps rolling and collecting snow." -Brann Dailor
So here is some new material the group has released (starting around 3 weeks ago). With the track initially leaking online ahead of a release date, the guys thought quickly and jumped on the release with an audio visualizer of their own, and now a music video. Check out track number three on the album titled "High Road".
"The idea was generated before we recorded the title track on the record, but the title was thought up many months ago. After we finished the two-year touring cycle on our last record, 'The Hunter', we were kind of gearing up to go back to our rehearsal space in Atlanta. And we were starting the effort, the time, the blood, the energy, the months of driving, the recording and the long process between recording and the release day.
"In a nutshell: we're fortunate enough to do this again, but there's this feeling of this yearly cycle. It's not a bad thing. We get to go tour a bunch, we get to record a bunch of songs we love. It's embracing the positive — the wonderful side, to be able to have the same four dudes who love doing what we do so much. And like anything in the MASTODON world, it's open to interpretation." -Sanders
And a nice update on June 2nd as Mastodon releases it's second single "Chimes At Midnight", and once again is another great audio visualizer!
So that's about as much information as we have right now folks. Be sure to check back as I will try my best to keep the information up to date and load any further tracks from the album. Cheers!
Innovation seems to be one of the most interesting pieces here on AFGM. I could talk endlessly about albums, musicians, songs, tours, etc. But for some reason, innovations in both technology and music are those news articles and ideas that really catch my attention. This blog was originally designed to provide readers with NEW things they may have not known existed. So that's what we strive to do.
Even though some of these articles don't get the attention I think they truly deserve, they are always the most interesting pieces...enough to prompt me to write about them. Something that changes the way we do things, the way we think, the way we operate, something that takes the status quo and turns it into something more such as these articles below:
All of these articles [I found] sparked ideas in my head, or simply made me think, "What a great idea. I'm sure others are thinking the same thing right now." So here lies another innovation brought to you by Google. The group is now looking for a eco-friendly way to bring internet to people around the world. Check out the video (which is about 11 months old now) below to see what they are planning:
"We believe it's possible to create a ring of balloons that fly around the globe on the stratospheric winds and provide Internet access to the earth below. Balloons present some really hard science problems, but we're excited about the progress so far."
While the big picture here is to connect everyone on the globe with fast, consistent internet I decided to think in smaller circles with this. Imagine what doors of opportunity could be brought to the music industry with technology like this. Will we see new music and artists emerge from points of the world that could not be contacted before? Will we see a demographic shift in pop culture music? Maybe I am over thinking this. But then again, how could you not with a great idea such as this?
I think inclusion was the main goal for this. This will not only bring the global community closer to each other but also bring musicians and music lovers that much closer together to develop something we may not see in foresight. At a minimum, whether you are a label or an artist, your online audience will now increase significantly. Best to take note of new technology like this and make it an advantage for your music and/or label!
"A lot of people it seems don't understand how fundamentally important the internet and computers are in addressing people's actual basic needs. The internet is information. The internet is education. The internet is democracy. The internet is business. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Give a man internet, and you're giving him the potential to solve all of the world's problems. Imagine how much hidden talent there is out there." -MultiRationale
"Recently I started a discussion about 'Internet hate' on my blog. We receive lots of love, but also lots of shit on the Internet. Free speech on the Internet affects many people, not only us artists. It could be hard to handle the negative in the beginning, but now I'm used to it. I understand that it's very easy to say almost anything when you're sitting at home protected behind a screen. The problem is that it makes people say things they probably wouldn't say in 'real life.' People have different opinions about everything, just like I have mine. I know people have different tastes; it's normal. We get both positive and negative critique, and it's no problem for me to handle it. Constructive criticism can be very good, but when it comes to hating us because of the music we make, I get very concerned about the world, human rights, cyberbullism, respect, sexism, equality and the developing of the human mind in general." -Elize Ryd
I am sure I am not the first person (nor the last) to say that the past few Linkin Park albums have been a DUD. As much as I am a fan of bands trying to incorporate new sounds and taking wisdom from their youth, a band's core sound is a main focus of why you became a fan in the first place. So when Linkin Park decided to make the move towards electronic beats and heavy drums in albums such as "A Thousand Suns" and "Living Things", much like a relationship, I lost the spark that connected me to their music. I didn't hear the crunching distortion blended with drum and synth that I was used to hearing. I know they gained a lot of new fans along the way, so I remained humble and kept listening to "Meteora" and "Hybrid Theory".
Even though it's a cover (originally composed by Nine Inch Nails), look how aggressive these guys looked ten years ago!
So knowing that Linkin Park were working on a follow up to "Living Things", I expected a further shift into the EDM-ish style they have been producing these past few years. However, Mike Shinoda surprised me, as well as many others I'm sure with this interview answer...
"We need to weed out a lot of the soft, emo kind of approach to our music, and we need to weed out anything that feels aggressive for aggressive's sake. We're not 18-year-old kids making a loud record – we're 37-year-old adults making a loud record. And what makes a 37-year-old angry is different than what made us angry back in the day." -Mike Shinoda
That was all I needed to hook me back into the fold. Then little by little the information surrounding the new album came out. Album artwork and track listing are listed below for LP's sixth full length album "The Hunting Party". It will be released on June 17th, 2014 via Warner Bros Records. The album was recorded at Larrabee Sound Studios/EastWest Studios (Los Angeles) between May, 2013 and April, 2014. The production was taken care in-house by Brad Delson and Mike Shinoda.
1. Keys To The Kindgom 2. All For Nothing (feat. Page Hamilton of Helmet) 3. Guilty All The Same (feat. Rakim) 4. The Summoning 5. War 6. Wastelands 7. Until It’s Gone 8. Rebellion (feat. Daron Malakian of System Of A Down) 9. Mark The Graves 10. Drawbar (feat. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine) 11. Final Masquerade 12. A Line In The Sand
"We like to add a little darkness to it, but we've been known to write poppy songs. And we were heading in a direction that was more like that. And at some point Mike was listening to it, and some other bands, and realised he was kind of writing songs that harkened to the stuff he was listening to, and came to the realisation like, "This is not what I want to do." There is so much of this right now, all we are going to be doing is just adding more noise to the noise. And that sucks. And so we threw out all of those songs, and I think he played it to me first, and he said, "I am going to play this for the guys, but this is kind of where I want to go: Let me know if it's too crazy." So that was when he played me the beginnings of what turned into 'Guilty All The Same'. And I was like "Ah, f**k yeah let's do that, all day, every day, on every single song!"-Chester Bennington
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this marks the first time in their career where they have featured musicians collaborating with them on their tracks. I am very excited to hear them as Tom Morello, Daron Malakian, and Page Hamilton are all very respected musicians who will add some great variety to the album.
"We were working on a bunch of songs, for a long time, and we had all been writing demos for about six months, before we started working on songs specifically for the record. We always write. So, Mike [Shinoda] had been working on quite possibly - most definitely - the most together batch of songs. Mike typically is the creative general of the band anyway. So we were writing stuff that was really in line with a lot of the stuff that's going on right now. We're listening to a lot of alternative, indie rock right now, and we like a lot of it. And we like writing poppy music too, you know." -Chester Bennington
So why the change back to roots all of a sudden? Like most people in life, sometimes a moment of clarity is all that is needed. For Mike Shinoda, that clarity was realizing that he was emulating music he enjoyed listening to rather than making music for himself.
"There was a point last year where I was making stuff and I realized that it was just wrong. I was making stuff that I wanted to listen to, not something I wanted to be making." -Shinoda
Makes sense. All big name artists can go through this change. Machine Head, Metallica, Megadeth, Rob Zombie, Mastodon, Slipknot, and many others have veered away from their core sound in favour of something a little more diverse. I guess it is a hit and miss type of risk artists have to take to see what their creative capabilities are.
“With Page and Daron and Tom, we sat and talked to each of them about their process and our process. Everybody writes songs differently, and I think fans would be surprised at how different it can be. With Morello, we just got together and jammed. We’re so far from a jam band, and that’s all he does, as far as writing. Rage Against the Machine wrote their songs by jamming them out; we write our songs on the computer, and then learn them after we’ve written what to play. But we got together with him and jammed, and that little interlude, that instrumental, was the best thing we made together. It didn’t end up being a song—we tried putting some vocals on it, but it just didn’t feel like that.” -Shinoda
So the most informative thing I have read about this new album is some of the track breakdowns. While YouTube is doing a great job keeping track from leaking online (such as "Until It's Gone"), Loudwire got the opportunity to break down some of the tracks and describe the overall tone the song sets on the album.
‘Keys to the Kingdom’: Right off the bat this track has an old-school punk vibe with a new twist. The hasty drums and explosive riffs a hardcore element to it. Vocalist Chester Bennington unleashes melodies and the balance of Shinoda’s rap verses makes for a powerful combination. Although the band will be playing arenas on their forthcoming Carnivores tour, this song has an underground feel that would welcome them to a small, beat up venue in Brooklyn, N.Y.
‘Wastelands of Today’: This tune starts with a hip-hop verse and the song has a lot of groove with heavy drum and bass. The chorus is catchy yet sludgy and has some grit to it. Watch out for the heavy breakdown in the middle of the song. Linkin Park take you on a sonic roller-coaster ride as they play around with the tempo and ambiance of the song.
‘Until It’s Gone’: It’s a more mid-tempo track with softer lyrics provided by Chester Bennington, who really shows his vocal versatility. The dreamy and atmospheric sounds are enough to whisk you away but Bennington brings you back down to earth as he belts out their take on a familiar chorus: “’Cause you don’t know what you’ve got / No you don’t know what you’ve got / You don’t know what you’ve got / Until it’s gone.” This catchy song is one that’s bound to get stuck in your head for a long time.
‘All for Nothing’: This one, when performed live, will get the crowd moving for sure. With a hip-hop flow in the first verse this quickly turns into almost a punk anthem. The song is relentless and unapologetic, with a stellar guitar solo by Brad Delson. It’s no surprise that this heavy tune is hardcore especially since it features a guest spot Helmet vocalist and guitarist Paige Hamilton.
“That’s Page singing—there’s a double of me in there, but that’s him way up front. We hung out with him over the course of a day or two, and went back and forth over the song. It was just as much about meeting the guy and picking his brain and hearing cool stories about things that he’s done. But the other thing was, I really wanted him to know that this was a song we wouldn’t have made if I’d never listened to Helmet—you know, ‘It’s because of you that we wrote this. If you don’t want to sing on it, that’s OK, but we wanted to play it for you first. And if you want to be on the song, then you can be on the song.’ He liked it so much that he wound up singing on it, and he added some cool layers and chords on guitar.” -Shinoda
‘Rebellion’: With a name like ‘Rebellion,’ as a listener you would expect pure chaos and mayhem and that’s exactly what Linkin Park give you. The vibe is almost thrashy with its speedy riffs and galloping drums. While listening to it one might think that it could even fit on System of a Down’s first album — that’s probably because none other than Daron Malakian of System of a Down is featured on this song.
“Daron came in, and we tried having him play over a couple of existing things. It wasn’t vibing at first, but Daron’s such a great songwriter, that having him play over an existing track wasn’t my first choice, anyway. I said, ‘Maybe if you come in with some stuff, we can work it out together.’ And he came in with these great riffs that made the song–that’s what we built it around. As he was doing it, I was laying out the drums on the keyboard, like I like to do, and his mind was just blown. He was like, ‘Oh my god, they sound real! Dude, that would have taken us days to get that done—and you did it in 15 minutes!’ So he was showing us a bit of his world, I was showing him some of our world–it was really collaborative.” -Shinoda
"My personal biggest moment was Velvet Revolver. Because at a certain point during the formation, I was like, 'Can we really do this? Can we really pull this off again?' And we all did. We got together and had a very successful band after Guns N' Roses. That was really icing on the cake, especially for Slash, Duff and myself. To be able to come out of a band that big, and basically have Hollywood turn their back on us, was initially very difficult — and the answer to the low point. To go back and reinvent ourselves wasn't easy. When we managed to do just that, we were very, very ecstatic.
Duff and I came out of a subway one day in New York City and some kid yelled at us, 'Hey! You're Duff and Matt from Velvet Revolver!' That was the first time we ever heard that after years of, 'Hey it's Duff and Matt from Guns N' Roses!' And we knew right then that everything was going to be alright. We were able to move on; we were able to move forward." -Matt Sorum
Another week has come where some new releases are at our doorstep. A good mix here between hip-hop, rock, soft rock, and of course the heavy stuff. Yesterday was a day to check out a few of the releases such as Black Stone Cherry and Tech N9ne. Both artists have not really had much of an effect on me so thought to give their material another try. The end result? Well, let's just say that "Me and Mary Jane" is most likely my summer anthem tune.
Other artists such as Xandria and Epica will round out this afternoon as I am always up for some symphonic rock/metal on a hump day afternoon. So that being said, I hope the majority of you make your way to a local record store or online retailer to check out a few of these albums as well. If digital is more your thing, then be sure to grab it from an authorizedlegal source. Cheers and enjoy the tunes!
(Sarah McLachlan - Shine On)
Shine On captures Sarah McLachlan at a period of transition, switching labels (she's signed with Verve after decades at Arista) and experiencing the death of her father and divorce from her husband. Some of this turbulence can be heard underneath the surface of Shine On -- explicitly so on "Song for My Father" and "Broken Heart," whose titles give their game away -- but the defining characteristic of this seventh McLachlan studio album is not despair but rather hope. Certainly, there is melancholy here -- a feeling that surfaces in the slower, gentler moments, the kind of sound that is heavily associated with McLachlan's mid-'90s hits -- but there's also a surprising, resilient buoyancy here, manifesting itself in big, ringing adult alternative pop tunes that pepper the album. Surrounding these songs -- the best of which are "In Your Shoes" and "Monsters" -- are those signature McLachlan swoons, the surprisingly soulful "Love Beside Me" and an effective, swinging coda called "The Sound That Love Makes" that's built on a simple ukulele but soon expands. Shine On, as a whole, has a similar trajectory; it starts from simple, sad emotions, then builds out into an embrace of love and life. -All Music
(Audiomachine - Phenomena)
Composed by Paul Dinletir, PHENOMENA was brought to life by 180 musicians in the heart of Air Lyndhurst Studio in London, with the powerful beat of 10 concurrent percussionists, a compelling choir of 80 voices and the commanding force of a 90 piece orchestra. Charged with emotional depth, PHENOMENA will capture the imagination and complement the core of every story. -CD Baby
(Tech N9ne - Strangeulation)
Thematically, much of the album is centered on Strange Music’s stringent independence and agency-assuming spirit. Strangeulation’s manifesto is declared in its opening lines, where a facetious Tech sings, “Smashes the masses, but the industry’s hatin’ asses.” Most of the proceeding songs form a rallying cry against mainstream and commercialized Hip Hop, with each member of Strange Music making a persuasive effort to prove that they’re going to be fine without the backing of a major label. The anti-mainstream attacks have a communal spirit, be it the four-part “Strangeulation” cyphers or gang vocals over the wailing guitar and driving stadium hook of lead single “Over It.” But the “fuck the industry” message so forcefully inscribed throughout the project is more effective when approached from an individual perspective; established names like Tech N9ne, Murs and Rittz offer more poignant reasons for going independent than up-and-comers like Ces Cru and Prozak. -Hip Hop DX
(Black Stone Cherry - Magic Mountain)
The album is maybe a couple of songs too long, with a few numbers very reminiscent to the sound of others and one could think a more tightly knit put together package could have been achieved with perhaps a touch more focus. Nevertheless, Magic Mountain is a fun listen and fans will no doubt enjoy the ride. It might not be the band’s landmark listening, but it is a welcome continuation of good riffs and powerful performances that are easy on the ears. -Renowned For Sound
(Xandria - Sacrificium)
Sacrificium is quite a cohesive album which must be listened to from start to finish through its hour plus running time to truly grasp its impact. There are no songs that pop out alone, but then again, that is the point of an album; cohesion and balance. The soprano singing of van Giersbergen’s is the perfect fit for Xandria, and is a formidable follow-up to Neverworld’s End (2012). Conceptually, the album clearly highlights all the elements of sound which Xandria fans love. While this is the case, growth and chemistry will naturally develop with van Giersbergen part of Xandria from this point moving forward making future releases even more eagerly awaited. Each song is extensive, which shows the band’s dedication and passion for music, instead of considering the radio-friendly lengths. Xandria knows their fans, and the solid efforts of Sacrificium confirms the bands place in the symphonic and gothic metal genres. -Cryptic Rock
(Arkona - Yav)
There are some really hard-going moments so I would say that this isn't for the faint of heart. The curtains are raised with opening track 'Zarozhdenie' which effortlessly passes the nine minute mark and presents progressive tendencies without breaking sweat. 'Na Strazhe Novyh Let' starts out fairly traditional with pace aplenty and putting the Metal firmly in the face of those who stand by and watch. Gradually the textures change as other instrumentation enters the equation. It proves to be one of several highlights on 'Yav'.
Although I had no idea what was going on throughout the numerous visits I made with this album, I always found a lot of enjoyment from 'Yav'. It spoke in various ways using the musical combinations, and mostly through the expressive voice of lead singer Masha "Scream" Arkhipova, who was husky and raw one moment, before adding whispers the next. -Metal Talk
(Epica - The Quantum Enigma)
In The Quantum Enigma, the past and present meet. Omen – The Ghoulish Malady exemplifies this perfectly. The chorus sounds fresh and modern, due to its straightforwardness. However, it also contains symphonics and rhythms that remind you of the debut, The Phantom Agony. The inspiration behind this renewed sound might be that the Dutch six piece worked with producer Joost van den Broek (ex – After Forever) for the first time, instead of Sascha Paeth (who was still involved in the pre-production process) or the fact that most songs were created through a team effort. In any case, Epica has turned to page to a new chapter. -Metal Exposure
So of course, when running your own blog it can be tough to keep up with the s**tload of stuff that comes across our ears over a weekend! Some good, some bad, some not even worth mentioning. I guess that's how I use AFGM in general. These articles that I go through everyday from various sites (Blabbermouth, CBC, National Post, AV Club, Exclaim, Music News, Rolling Stone, etc.) and sort of "filter" some of the nonsense news such as the latest fashion design, who's got beef with who and who ISN'T doing music...still.
These articles brought forth are for a few different reasons:
1. It is relevant music information that pertains to you as a reader, no matter the level of intent or the genre.
2. They are relevant to the music I would be currently listening to or a genre I have put some attention and focus on.
3. I am rather patriotic about my Canadian music, so that always comes as a first for me. I enjoy music from all parts of the world respectively, but I still have to promote local if I can. Canadian music rocks!
4. Because it's humorous and we can always use a good laugh. Rarely will it be at someone's expense...but then again I am just the guy talking about it. They're the ones causing the comments.
So in closing, I trust you all will not read EVERY single article posted here. But I hope you find something of use here and keep the conversation going by forwarding it onto someone else. Click on each article heading for redirection to the full article. Cheers!
“This isn’t exclusive just to those hardcore consumers, it’s for everybody. If we can bring new people in the store that’s all the better. We’re selling the product that is there, but it’s about the artist. It’s a genuine brand extension, really.” -Nick Williams (HMV President)
“It was really mind-boggling and shocking that they would decide to ban it from the CNE grounds. Obviously this ended up being very political … You can see in the newspaper what’s happening and who’s partying where.” -Charles Khabouth (CEO of Ink Entertainment)
Artists include Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, Tegan and Sara, Death Cab for Cutie, Foster the People, Stars, Serena Ryder, MS MR, Cage the Elephant, Fitz & the Tantrums, July Talk, the Airborne Toxic Event, the Mowgli's, Dear Rouge, Sleeper Agent, and much more!
“It makes me proud to see how far we’ve come. The Guvernment is one of my proudest achievements and after such a long-lasting journey with such fond memories, we want to thank all those who made it possible and shared in our successes.” -Charles Khabouth (Founder and CEO of INK Entertainment)
"If it were up to everybody else, I would do Hendrix covers all the time. I saw this comment from somebody online the other day, saying, 'We need you to play more Chicago or Louisiana blues – we want the raw shit.' Well, I'm not from Chicago or from Louisiana. I'm not from that time period. . . . So why am I going to pretend? I'm not some poor kid who grew up in the middle of nothing." -Clark Jr.
"It was just that whole thing of the transmission of ideas through the tactile quality of playing an instrument, y'know, your steel, strings and wood, translating through the electric pickup through the amp, and that's really what it is for me. It's that, some magical quality, really. Some sort of alchemy, if you like." -Page
"Music -- "invisible yet everywhere" to quote Jack Skellington -- can rouse us to behave and to misbehave. The waltz was, once-upon-a-time, the devil's dance. Benjamin Franklin's self-described "greatest invention," -- the glass armonica -- was outlawed in some regions of Germany because it was thought to cause madness. (This surely is why Donizetti used it for Lucia's famous mad scene in Lucia di Lammermoor.) Marches encouraged men and women to kill each other in wars while celebratory and massive orchestral and choral works were created to make us feel good about doing it. Occasionally, a Benjamin Britten brought us to our senses with his War Requiem."
“I chose to do the course after spending a few years playing bass in bands. I always found I had the most fun when we were in the studio recording. That, combined with my lifelong love of computers, made the degree a natural choice. It was a great way to learn a lot and be around fantastic musicians.
I remember feeling very intimidated when I first picked up some of the books from the suggested reading list in the first year. However, the technical aspect quickly ended up becoming one of my favourite aspects of the course.” -Tyler Langan
"1. Any time Kanye spends on the spoken word is time Kanye cannot spend making rap records, jumping on stage to disrupt awards ceremonies, comparing himself to Jesus, making anti-Semitic remarks and giving babies stupid names. That has to be applauded."
"The techno rebels are, whether they recognise it or not, agents of the third wave. They will not vanish but multiply in the years ahead. For they are as much a part of the advance to a new stage of civilisation as our missions to Venus, our amazing computers, our biological discoveries, or our explorations of the oceanic depths." -Alvin Toffler (The Third Wave)
"Working in partnership with Clive Marks, who spent most of his life studying European history and music, and who was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 for his philanthropic efforts, Ms. Gilbert created an on-line resource for music associated with and played during the Holocaust. The website is part of the Organisation for Rehabilitation through Training (World ORT)."
“I would like people to tap into what JJ Cale did – that’s the point. I’m just the messenger; I’ve always felt that that’s my job. I try to interpret things so that the public at large, or at least the people who listen to what I do, will become intrigued about where I got it from." -Clapton
"Enter Google Play Music, which is rendering those CDs obsolete in my world. It allows you to upload and centrally manage your music, access it across many devices, work with playlists, mixes and, best of all, responds to voice commands (if applicable on your device) to allow you to play songs by artist or album just by requesting them."
"In a brief demo given to us, the two technologies in the special edition One did seem to enhance the audio in appreciable ways. Clari-Fi, the technology that is designed to restore the high-end frequencies lost during compression, did make the audio sound fuller and more dimensional without making it harsh or unpleasant. LiveStage is designed to simulate multiple channels of audio, which is most noticeable when viewing movies and other surround-sound sources. Importantly, neither technology muddied the sound or made it worse, unlike Beats Audio and other smartphone audio enhancements that tend to make the sound worse, not better."
"This record possesses a very dark, creepy carnival vibe at its essence, but the majority of the time is it bludgeoningly heavy and very twisted, melodically. The six of us have worked very hard to write a collection of songs that does the album title justice, all swathed in a very unique and fatal horror eargasm." -Filth
“I’ve witnessed music bringing people together. The melodies of a song will cause people to think alike, the harmonies will cause people to feel a certain something, and the rhythms will inspire us to move our bodies. In this way, music is like magic.” -Paul Reardon Rovira
Beartooth (Ex-Attack Attack!) Premiere “Dead” Live Video:
* Being Beige (World's On Fire)
* Anti-Hero
* Tiberius
* Run To Me
* One And All
* Drum And Fife
* Dorian
* Monuments
* Anaise
* W.P.C.
"Thrilled to report that we now have our album in total, as top songs are arranged and set for drum tracking. So over the next three days, I'll be focusing on vocal arrangements, lyrics, and tweaking the overall aesthetics of the record as I hope it shall be. At least then I'll be able to share a different narrative for a spell, and get off this merry-go-round we've all been on." -Billy Corgan
“The internet will suck the creative content out of the whole world until nothing is left. The single best thing that has happened in my lifetime in music, after punk rock, is being able to share music, globally for free. That’s such an incredible development.” -David Byrne
"Turnover" is taken from the band's latest album, "Ruining Lives", which will be made available in the U.S./Canada on May 13th, 2014 via Steamhammer/SPV.
1. M.A.L.
2. Inherit The Crown
3. Cease To Exist
4. Sacred Words
5. Control (feat. George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher)
6. Warrior
7. You Can't Stop Me
8. Monster Within (feat. Greg Puciato)
9. We Have All Had Enough
10. Ending Is The Beginning
11. Don't Die
12. Ouroboros
Bonus Tracks:
13. Blue Haze
14. Last Breath (HATEBREED cover)
+ Bonus DVD (featuring studio & touring footage)
"The long and short of it is this. Mitch left behind a set of lyrics with the title 'You Can't Stop Me'. This gave us chills, to say the least, and we knew we had the title and title track. This filled us with inspiration for writing sessions to empower us and empower you, the supporters of SUICIDE SILENCE.
We as a band (and Steve Evetts) worked tirelessly on this record and I'm not gonna say we can't wait for you to hear it. I'm gonna tell you that you have to hear it. You have to sit and listen from start to finish.
I'm not gonna tell you this is our best record we've ever done. I'm gonna tell you this is the record we care more about than any record we've ever done. This is a record that we fought, bled, sweated, and fucking cried over.
Go pick up a copy and turn this sucker up to eleven. We couldn't be more excited. Thank you all for supporting SUICIDE SILENCE." -Mark Heylmun
"...the first-ever Burger a-go-go, taking place August 2 at the Observatory in Santa Ana, the entire lineup is driven by women. Headlining are Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls, two bands that ushered in a female-rock revival in the late 2000s that today is a force in the indie scene. Joining the headliners are Bleached, who are on the verge of breaking out. Local favorites like Colleen Green and the Aquadolls are also on the bill."
“We’ve been doing something similar for the past couple of years with people with physical and learning disabilities. It’s about creating bonds between people – and their carers.
We sing well known songs and encourage them to use a wide range of musical equipment. It’s down to individuals what they want to do. It’s having an outlet, being themselves and building self esteem.” -Teela Hughes
DEATH ANGEL - 'The Dream Calls For Blood' Video:
"The Dream Calls For Blood" was released on October 15th, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.
"They're all very poor, and their homes are very precarious. The spirit and the willingness of the kids to make the effort to achieve something, the music permits that. It was something like magic for them. They never imagined their children could produce such beautiful sounds." -Fabio Chavez
"For most of the history of audio recording, people collected music too. Many fans amassed massive vinyl and CD album collections that covered broad music categories, while others concentrated just on the recordings of a particular artist, or even just the songs they particularly liked. A “record” collection was something that in many ways defined who you were, because your collection was shaped exclusively by your musical taste."
So history is bound to repeat itself. And to further that, I am very interested in what this kind of technology is going to have in store for us. It's a throw back but a new-age kind of throw back, if that makes any sense. Over the next few days in Dresden Germany, the IEEE International Magnetics Conference will be taking place where vendors and manufacturers will be showing off the latest and greatest in the magnetism field. While this may not sound all too attractive to the average music lover, the product coming from the Sony camp had me intrigued right form the get go.
So let's start this article with a photo joke I saw online:
An age test if you will where I instantly caught the connection and had a few chuckles. I may have even sent it off to a few friends of mine. Then shortly after seeing this photo, a video emerged online showing the newer generation of kids trying to operate and listen to the music on a Sony Walkman. Pretty funny stuff eh?
If that doesn't give you a sign that you might be aging a bit, then I am not sure what will. So thinking forward and always keeping an eye out to what music formats and players will be on the horizon, I thought movements like iPod and Pono have changed the way we view and listen music, even though Pono isn't on the market yet.
So how about we take a throwback format like cassette and utilize it with modern day technology? Say hello to Sony's newest technological advancement with an old format. According to an article published by Extreme Tech, Sony has developed a new type of magnetic material that will now take data backup to a whole new meaning. The previous record for amount of material to be held on a single tape was approx 29GB. With the new technology that Sony has created, these tapes could now be able to hold an astonishing 185 TERABYTES of data. That's roughly 75 times the amount of data that could originally be stored. How did they do it? Well, since I am not on the forefront of magnetism technology, I thought to let Extreme Tech do the talking:
"Sony employed the use of sputter deposition, which creates layers of magnetic crystals by firing argon ions at a polymer film substrate. Combined with a soft magnetic under-layer, the magnetic particles measured in at just 7.7 nanometers on average, able to be closely packed together."
Basically, they found a new way to shove more information onto a smaller platform. Seems like the standard way of technology. Unfortunately, Sony has not given a timeline as to when the product will be commercially available or how much it would cost. More information on that as it comes.
“Well, as far as I know, we played our last show in 2011 at the Coliseum, and if that was our last show, that’s a good way to go out. I sort of had to put it in my head that that band is over in order for me to just move on with my life, to be honest with you, so that’s kind of where that lies. The Coliseum — awesome way to go out.” -Brad Wilk
Apologies to all for not posting this on my regular Tuesday release days. However, like the rest of the world, life catches up with us and sometimes planned things don't go as planned. Anywho we are here, we got some great albums being released this week, and I am thoroughly looking forward to listening to a few of these albums!
Obviously artists like the Pixies, Ray Lamontagne, and Yanni will have a large group of dedicated fans picking these albums up. They have spent many years perfecting their sound and performance which shows in their reviews listed below. Other newcomers such as Lindsey Stirling, Little Hurricane, and Devil You Know have impressive new material to show off as well and most likely will start with them for my picks of the week. It's safe to say there is a large quantity of material to keep your ears occupied till next Tuesday.
That being said, we still have to show some financial love to these artists if they want to continue making records. Head down (or up) to your local record store for a physical copy of the album, or an online retailer. If digital is more your thing, then be sure to purchase it from an authorized legalsource. Cheers and have a great day!
(Ray Lamontagne - Supernova)
On “Supernova,” he risks it big time — with some problematic results. LaMontagne let Auerbach blur and overlay his vocals until many of them lose the immediacy and depth of his timbre. The singer owns one of the most richly textured growls in modern music. It’s the central part of what has made his previous albums gripping. Here, its often lost in a wash of backup “ahs” or a blur of fuzzed-up guitars. It sounds like everyone took a deep toke before they tuned up. -NY Daily News
(Lindsey Stirling - Shatter Me)
Lindsey Stirlings latest album ‘Shatter Me’ is the purest example of why the violin is one of the best instruments out there (and I’m saying “one of” before you call me out on it). There’s an absolute beauty and truth to its sound, which manages to really come alive when you hear Lindsey perform. The beauty of having an album that is nearly entirely instrumental (there are two collaborations with singers that are great tracks) is that it instantly becomes more engaging on a basic level. It becomes easier to get into the music, as you don’t have to focus on lyrical content, instead all you have to do is listen to the composition and let it take over. -Back Seat Mafia
(Pixies - Indie Cindy)
You can’t head out on reunion tours making a killing for 10 years and not give fans new music and, in that sense, this first Pixies album since 1991’s ‘Trompe Le Monde’ is long overdue. That it’s arrived in the lumpy manner of being made up entirely of songs from three EPs that have already been released matters far less; there are no rules for how to release albums anymore and there’s no question that ‘Indie Cindy’ is an album, not a compilation. It comes complete with Gil Norton production and Vaughan Oliver artwork and it could be like the old days, expect bassist Kim Deal walked out of the band in the early moments of the Pixies recording new material at Rockfield Studios in Wales in 2012. -NME
(Yanni - Inspirato)
Each song has a deeply personal story behind it. 'Ode alla Grecia' (which was formerly the instrumental 'End of August') was composed when YANNI was at home in Greece, watching all the tourists departing at the end of summer. As he stared at the ocean, he reflected on his love for his homeland, and felt how bittersweet it was to leave to return to his career in the USA. When Domingo and his son heard this track, they knew immediately what story the lyrics would have to tell. -PR Newswire
(Little Hurricane - Gold Fever)
This is a really great album and the only difficulty is how to pigeon hole it. The fact that it has a wide range of feels, influences and styles is one of the things that make it so enjoyable. However, given the popularity recently of bands like The Black Keys and Alabama Shakes, it wouldn’t do them any harm to try and catch their coat tails. It certainly shows the same sense of a band playing ‘real music’ with a blues feel but also added funk. One things for sure, Gold Fever is definitely an album you should be checking out! -The Soul of a Clown
(Putumayo Presents - Music of the Andes)
Putumayo Records, a label known for putting together accessibly curated world music samplers, delivers the compilation Music of the Andes. Pulling from a variety of sources, this collection focuses largely on the modern 21st century folk music of Peru, Bolivia, and the surrounding Andean mountain region. Featuring a mix of vocals and folk instruments like the ten-stringed charango and the pan flute, acts like Rumillajta and Dueto Nocturnal take a classic approach to the region's traditional music. Other artists like Alejo Garcia and Fauna & Pascuala Ilabaca incorporate modern influences like electric guitars and drums into classic folk styles. The diverse compilation paints an eclectic picture of Andean music's past and present. -All Music
(Saliva - Rise Up)
Modern hard rock connoisseurs who relish big choruses and a plethora of hooks will have a new favorite album. Granted, originality is about as scarce as a virgin in Playboy, but that’s not the point. The band expertly nails the commercial rock format and that is the point. In other words, this may be the rock ‘n’ roll equivalent of fast food, but it’s high end fast food, where the burger is juicily grilled, the bun perfectly toasted, the condiments spiked with hot sauce to give them some bite, and the toppings cool and crisp. If that doesn’t make you hungry to hear this album, it should at least make you … hungry. -Hard Rock Haven
Rise of the Lion is not perfect, however. Lead single ‘Echoes‘ experiments with a softer side, and Levi Benton‘s growls do not suit it. Only the soaring chorus salvages the otherwise awkward track, so it’s a surprise to hear it thrust into the pre-release limelight when they are much better at delivering darker material. That said, the overall quality of Rise of the Lion will please fans, both old and new. The sub-genre of Metal that Miss May I now perch in is popular, and they clearly have the skill and initiative to one day lead the pack. They have now shrugged off the high school band tagline, and it’s onwards and upwards from here. -Hit The Floor
(Whitechapel - Our Endless War)
The songs are tight, well composed, and technical with a decent amount of breakdowns but not to the point of being overdone. Phil Bozeman’s vocals are commanding and powerful and, thankfully, tend to stay in the lower range of the spectrum avoiding the high-pitched, ear piercing screams often associated with this type of metal. Our Endless War is a brutally heavy album for sure, but I feel it also has just the right amount of groove to suck the listener into its stream of chaotic chugging rhythms propelling them further into the swirling madness. -Pure Grain Audio
(Upon This Dawning - We Are All Sinners)
I never thought I’d be saying this, but Upon This Dawning are on the path to releasing one of the best albums of 2014. As much as I enjoyed their debut album, they had plenty of critics. If their newest single is any indication of what we can expect from their full length, then I think those critics, as well as fans, will be pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend checking it out. -Under The Gun
The album uses simplicity and brutality in a beautiful blend. The group doesn’t try to use any overly intricate backing music or crazy tempos. It’s just super heavy riffs, killer blast beats, and Jones’ signature screams offset by his silky smooth, soulful singing voice. The album also delivers a huge variety, as compared to most act these days. The guitar work is stunning, hosting big spider wed leads and solos, and the drum work on this album is top notch giving us the perfect fills, super heavy and pounding when it needs to be and technically melodic when it doesn’t. -Metal Injection
(Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun)
On a technical level, Shadows is superb, with some of the richest and cleanest production this niche has ever offered. Melodies/harmonies gleam with an emotional radiance, while layers of subtler rhythm guitars and atmospheric but restrained keyboards create a lush background, almost like clouds constantly bursting, only they're the same recycled tears of heaven alighting upon our shoulders and faces.
I feel the same about this as I do when staring at a well cut gemstone...brilliant for a few minutes in how it captures the light this way or that, or summons up a memory of beauty, but ultimately just a superficial stone. -Metal Archives
(Godhead - The Shadow Realigned)
Godhead is perhaps one of the most interesting hard rock bands recently to emerge, whose start dates back to the mid 90's. Their remix album, The Shadow Realigned, takes a diverse perspective on tracks that keep with their theme of being one part goth, one part industrial and one part metal. The album begins with "The Gift (Robotic Beehive Remix)," a song that offers a cutting edge electronic heavy backing and allows Jason Miller's vocals to shine through despite the relentless imagination that the producer opted to add to the cut. -Examiner
Vinyl:
(Rush - Rush: 40th Anniversary)
To mark the band's 40-year recording career, on April 15, 2014, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) will celebrate with the vinyl reissue of the original Moon Records (pre-Mercury) release of Rush, as part of Universal's reDISCovered vinyl series. Housed in a sturdy, custom box with a lift-off top, this landmark album is pressed on 200g, audiophile grade vinyl, from the original 1974 analog stereo masters, cut to copper plates using the Direct Metal Mastering (DMM) process at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Rush also features the original Moon Records jacket art, complete with the original MN-100-A/B Matrix etching, and will include a 16'x22' reproduction of the first Rush promo poster, three 5'x7' lithographs of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey, a 12'x12' Rush Family Tree poster, and a digital download card for a free digital copy of this newly remastered release. -Amazon
CD/DVD/Box Sets:
(The Allman Brothers Band - 40th Anniversary Show: Beacon Theatre)
This was also a normal Allman Brothers gig in the classic sense – that every active, improvising-rock band in America would kill for a few minutes at the peaks the Allmans, now in their 44th year, hit repeatedly over their two sets, as if this was just another day on the night shift.
In a band that has known too much tragedy and keeps dodging close calls (such as Gregg's recent victory over hepatitis), the two guitarists have become a loyal, renewing resource. -Rolling Stone
(Toto - Live In Poland: 35th Anniversary)
A wildly successful band in their own right, Toto helped shaped the sound of pop music in the '70s and '80s not just with their own songs, but as studio musicians for Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Michael Jackson. Celebrating their 35th anniversary, the band that served as the backbone for some of the smoothest pop hits of their day take Europe by storm on 35th Anniversary Tour: Live in Poland. Playing to a massive, standing-room-only crowd in Lodz, Poland, a lineup featuring Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, David Paich, and Joseph Williams take to the stage to deliver a stellar performance for their ecstatic European fans. Featuring hits like "Africa," "Rosanna," and a rousing rendition of "Hold the Line," this live set does their old material justice, and will be a welcome addition to the collection of any die-hard Toto fan. -All Music
(The Winery Dogs - Dog Treats)
Loud And Proud Records/Three Dog Records will release a "Special Edition" of their debut album that features a live CD along with the original studio album. There will also be a "Deluxe Special Edition" that contains not only the two discs mentioned above, but also a third CD of studio demos, a DVD of music videos and interviews with the band, Mike Portnoy's in-studio diary from the making of the record, a custom Winery's Dogs dog tag with chain, a custom Winery Dogs wine bottle topper and finally a custom embroidered Paw print logo patch. -JP's Music Blog
.jpg)
