In The Wake of a Hurricane

Hey everyone!  It's been a while...

This post is covering a lot of "new" things.  I put that in quotes because it's more than likely new to me and not to the rest of you who lead normally paced lives.  In any case, this time around we have new music from As I Lay Dying, Anberlin, and of course...the Deftones!  I also have some news about Underoath, following my last post, Josh Freese and A Perfect Circle, and some very sad news about the Foo Fighters.

*******NEW MUSIC*******

Cover art for Awakened

As I Lay Dying came out with their latest album back in late September, so many reviews have already been written about the album in general.  After listening to it myself, I have to agree with a review posted by Chris Gap in the iTunes store page.

"Awakened is one of the most surprising and difficult to explain of the 2012 releases so far. In a few words, it’s a confusing and over stimulating album first listen through. Since I figured you’d want me to cut to the chase, I’ll list the pros and cons before my review and you can decide if I’m credible enough.
Cons:Every song is an epic shred fest (minus the instrumental); it can get exhausting listening when the usual As I Lay Dying dynamics are something along the lines of heavy, soft, heavy, middle, ect…here it is fast with it being fairly heavy every song. One or two choruses may be just a little too “poppy” for fans.Even though it’s about the same length as past releases, the ending just feels too abrupt and leaves you “needing” more. 
Pros:Best production quality of any of their past releases. Best use of gang vocals yet.Best pronunciation in screams yet.Most audible and well mixed clean vocals yet.Verse lyrics are poetic and deep as always, however, Tim (lyricist) manages to simplify the chorus lyrics to something catchy and to the point unlike most past releases. Best solos yet. There’s a variety of styles on the album. Josh (clean vocals) gets to show his prowess as a vocalist even if a decent chunk of fans hate clean vocals in general.These songs will be great live. "

Vital Cover Art

Fans of Anberlin have been chomping at the bit for a solid record since 2007's release of Cities, which is regarded as their gold-standard. The latest record that debuted on October 16, entitled Vital promises to be Anberlin's best work to date.  Boasting the return of producer Aaron Sprinkle, this record promises to be much more aggressive than the last two.  From what I've heard, that is true.  However, there is a "newer" element to their sound.  The use of synth is something that people are becoming used to in music lately, especially when it comes to mimicking that "poppy" 80s sound. There's a good mix of fast and slow pieces on the album as well, adding to that quality that we found in Cities. Overall, I have to say... nice job guys!

Koi No Yokan Cover

Last but certainly not least is our friends the Deftones.  These guys have been rocking in their own unique way for a really long time.  For those who follow the band, you already know that it's been a while since we've seen a new record from the boys.  Well it's coming, and coming soon.  In fact, the Deftones are currently our tour to promote their latest album, Koi No Yokan. The tracks that have been released so far are "Tempest" and "Leathers"...at least that I have heard.  The sound still has that classic "other worldly" etherial edge to it, but combines it with the sudden explosiveness we've all come to know and love from the Deftones.  This almost seems to throw back to their older records sound, which is okay in my book.

They will be playing a show at the Electric Factory on October 28th.  I know that's TOMORROW!  But at least you can get one last, really good, show in before hurricane Sandy wipes us all out. If you want to listen to some samples of the Deftones new record, you can visit their PureVolume page. 

*******MUSIC NEWS*******

On the heels of my last post, I found out some new information about Underoath.  I've already reported that they are breaking up after playing for 15 years together, but the new part is the album, Anthology 1999-2013 that will be released in November. For more information, click here.

This next piece of news might be older, but it still bears mentioning. Revolver Magazine reported that Josh Freese, the drummer from A Perfect Circle (APC) has quit the band. Freese has been drumming with APC for 13 years, but is quoted as saying he "has no plans of returning."  For more info on this, check out the article from Revolver.

Dave Grohl

And now for the sad news concerning the Foo Fighters....they are going on hiatus, but this does not mean that they are breaking up.  They are just taking a really long break.  Revolver posted a letter written by frontman, Dave Grohl, following his comment during a show saying, "I'm not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again." Check it out here.

So there you have it, folks.  Normally, I would tell you what to look forward to, but hurricane Sandy is about to hit the east coast, so I will be getting myself ready to hunker down and survive.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

I write this post with a somewhat heavy heart...

It came to my attention, sometime ago, that one my all-time favorite bands launched their farewell tour and will be releasing a new album.  That band is Thrice.

Thrice at the House of Blues

Thrice started way back in the late 1990s as a kind of heavier punk style band.  Personally, I didn't catch on to them until they released Artist In The Ambulance, their 3rd album.  Since that point, I have watched as this band transformed themselves time and again from an aggressive "rip-your-face-off" style to a more theological/etherial style that I came to fall in love with.  Vheissu was that transformational album in my opinion.  It had the right blend of aggression and etherial-ness that has trademarked Thrice's more recent music. In honor of that, I have been listening to Vheissu a lot lately.

Enough nostalgia... as stated above, Thrice will be releasing their last album, Anthology, on October 30th. The farewell tour is already underway. Be sure to visit thrice.net for all the details on the shows and album info.

This is not the last we will hear from Dustin Kensrue, however, he is talking about plans to release a worship album.  This would follow his folk project that he released 2-3 years ago.  I can't wait to hear the result.

Also on the breakup list is Underoath.  They have decided to hang things up, and will be releasing more information on a final tour sometime this week.

*******NEW MUSIC*******

Now that I've depressed everyone with the news above, allow me to make up for it with a little taste of things to come. 

Return to Life Cover

War Of Ages has released a new album entitled, Return to Life. For those who may not know much about the band, I would check them out.  They aren't the hardest thing I've ever heard, but certainly not light on the metal scale.  They have a nice blend of rock/metal that serves as a bridge between something like RED and something like Impending Doom.  My personal opinion and probably only downfall to the album was the need for more of a bottom end.  There are moments in the tracks that a nice bass blast would take it to the next level... but I was left hanging.

Self-Titled Cover

What didn't leave me hanging was the new stuff from Texas in July.  They are currently streaming their new self-titled album.  You can check that out here.  I like what I hear when it comes to the quality of music and aggression.  My one critique would come with the sonic profile of the album as a whole.  After listening to the whole thing, the songs all start to sound the same until track 6 or 7.  I've heard of bands having a signature sound, but that's taking it a little too far guys. 

*******UPCOMING NEWS*******

Coming up in future posts, I have interviews with local bands in the Philly area, as well as new stuff from As I Lay Dying and...wait for it..... THE DEFTONES!!!!  Stay tuned...