Old Dog & New Tricks

On more than one occasion in this blog, I have said that I am a child of the 80's.  I grew up on bands like Poison, Bon Jovi, and Guns N' Roses (GnR).  That said... the nostalgia factor is in full effect for this post.

Back From The Dead

Before you get your hopes up... no GnR is not getting back together, sorry.  However, the former drummer for the group, Steven Adler, has released an album.  Back From The Dead features a great "classic" sound!  Big, fat reverb on the snare, screaming guitar solos, and vocal lines that have shades of Bon Jovi and Van Halen are sure to make any fan of hair metal smile (I know I did).  Certain songs like "Just Don't Ask" and "Waterfall" have that throwback "power ballad" feel to them too, adding to the vintage style.  I know what you're thinking... what kind of a throwback record can be complete without cowbell?  Yep!  Adler's got that too!

Not everything is tea and roses (or is that supposed to be Guns N' Roses?) on this record.  Certain stylistic choices fell flat on me, or felt out of place in the song.  Another negative is that the record as a whole seems sonically flat.  Everything is generally in your face - all the time. Song to song the sonic profile doesn't seem to really change that much. You don't really have time to let your ears rest before getting hammered again.  Some people like that, but I could've used a break on this one.  Lastly, and not really a complaint since it fits the style, I found the lyrics to be slightly adolescent in nature.  But as I said, that's par for the course when dealing with a retro-style record.

Adler

You can find more Adler by visiting the website, www.adlerrocks.com or visit the Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube pages.

In other news....

"I didn't do it" - Bane

I'm sure that you've heard the low rumbles of laughter surrounding the power outage at this year's Superbowl.  Well, it turns out it wasn't Beyonce's half-time show that did it.  Numerous theories abound, including mine.  I think the networks did it for the ratings since the game seemed to go really quickly in the first half.  They wanted to make things more exciting for viewers.  It's either that.... or Bane.

In any case, believe it or not, I don't have a lot of criticism of Beyonce's show, because that's exactly what she did... show.  That opening number was more of a strip-tease and dance number than an actual song.  What are you there to do? Shake your bum, or sing?  The one part I could say that was kind-of cool in a "oh I remember them" sort of way was the reunion that took place on stage.

Beyonce strip-tease?

Also, I would like to take this time to remind readers that this year's halftime show was the first in around 6 or 7 years to feature someone under the age of 60.  We've sat through archaic performances from Tom Petty, Bruce Springstein, The Rolling Stones, and other geriatric artists enough.  So, thank you Beyonce, for bringing "youth" back to the halftime show.

As always... be sure to check back soon.  The Grammies are coming (does anyone have Pepto?)

The Rausch Show

Hello again everyone!  It's February, and you know what that means...SuperBowl, Grammies, and much more.

But before all that happens, there is some new music that you may want to pay attention to...

Illusion album cover

Producer Jasen Rausch has been a busy guy lately. He's worked on Disciple's new album, entitled O God Save Us All, RED's upcoming disc Release The Panic, and after 6 years...Spoken comes back with a brand new album called Illusion.  Rausch's signature is all over this album!  The crunchy, active guitar lines, heart-pounding kick drum, and the occasional bass blast all make an appearance on this record. Of course you can't have a Rausch record without the use of low-fi drum sounds and loops, and a nice explosion of sound to kick things off. The soundscape is brilliantly balanced between all the instruments and vocals.  Everything has a voice.

In comparison to their last self-titled album, Spoken has kept their signature; high-energy sound.  The new record comes across much cleaner in the mixing process though.  The grittiness of the self-titled album worked, but Illusion brings it home in a big way!

In terms of the talent behind the band, I have to say that I am impressed.  After such a long span between records, it's nice to know that the guys of Spoken haven't lost their edge.  The opening track of the disc ignites your interest, and stands to deliver in the rock department.  There are some definitive pit songs in this record such as "Accuser", but also a nice balance of medium tempo and ballad-like pieces, such as "Remember The Day".  The first single, "Through It All" has a video out, and can be found here. Illusion is set to hit stores on February 12.  Be sure to keep tabs with the band by visiting www.spokenmusic.com.  You can also find them on Facebook.

Spoken

Hey fans of Brian "Head" Welsh.... PAY ATTENTION!

Between Here & Lost album cover

You may have already heard that "Head" is reuniting with Korn for a few shows, but who really cares about that? Ok, a lot of people do, but still what's better? A few shows, or an entire album?  Curious?  Brian "Head" Welsh's new project Love & Death has released their new album, Between Here & Lost.  Be sure to check it out here, and watch the video for "The Abandoning"  courtesy of our friends at Alternative Press.

Change on the Horizon

Hey everyone!  Welcome to 2013.  We survived the "Mayan Apocalypse", and now here we are, ready to delve into more of the goings-on of the music world.

This time around, I have a little something for everyone; Christian music, Rock, and Metal.

Wavorly = Goodbye

It saddens me to say it, but I saw it coming down the pipe.  Fans of Wavorly, I am truly sorry.  The band has announced that they are calling it quits.  After a small EP was released in November of 2011 following their debut album, the band just couldn't get back in the groove of things.  They have promised not leave you all empty handed though.  The band announced that they will be releasing one final CD, comprised of b-side material, entitled "Something Like Fiction".  It boasts an impressive 22 tracks and a price of only $5.  For more information on the band's break-up and news of the release, check out Wavorly's Facebook page.

Across the pond, our friends and rockers for Christ, the Architects, are looking for a guitarist.  They recently announced the search during a show in last year's world tour.  If you are interested in applying, or want to know more info... be sure to check out the article from Rocksound.

Paramore at the Warped Tour

Hey Paramore fans... guess what?  We STILL don't have a release date for the upcoming self-titled album!  What we do have, though, is the track listing... which is better than nothing, so quit crying.  The new project, whenever it comes out, promises 17 new songs.  The first single, called "Now" is set to release in just a few days (January 22nd).  So that ought to cheer you all up...right?  If you need more Paramore... click here.



Last, but not least....Metal-heads rejoice!  David Draiman, frontman of Disturbed, has finally explained why he and the guys decided to go on hiatus from Disturbed.  He is launching a new band, called Device (apparently he has a fascination with the letter "D").  The debut album from Device is set to release sometime in the spring of this year.  Draiman has  promised the fans of Disturbed that this new record from Device promises to "make the average Disturbed fan salivate like the Pavlovian dog."  He also states that there is plenty of darkness to go around, to which I quote Charlie the Unicorn, "Yea....darkness!"  I'll let him explain the rest of it:





Well that enough for now. Stay tuned....February promises to be a great month for music.  You already know about RED's new album from a previous post, but someone else has gotten into the act that you haven't heard from in a while.

(This blog post has been brought to you by the letter "D")

A Taste Of Things To Come

The end of another year is just around the corner.  People are making resolutions, and the music industry is busy cranking out plans for albums, tours, and lots of other things to make us spend our money.

Album cover

First and foremost in my mind is the new RED album slated for release on February 5, 2013.  The 4th studio album from the group is called Release The Panic, and is the only album cover to not have the color red involved in it at all.  Along with that, the songs on the album seem to be slightly different than the norm of RED sounds.  This may be a good or bad thing depending on who you ask, but I for one welcome the experimentation.  This is not to say that the entire album is different.  They still have their ballad piece on this record.  This time around the song is called "Hold Me Now".




The guys have been busy making lyric videos for 3 of the songs off of the new album, you can check them out on their Facebook page, but just for fun.... here's "Release The Panic" for you to watch.  By the way.... totally a pit song (can you say "drop C")!

Dave Grohl on the kit

On the touring end of things comes two interesting twists.  Dave Grohl, frontman for the Foo Fighters, has teamed up with Queens of the Stone Age, once again, for their upcoming tour/album in 2013.  Dave's been keeping busy with directing videos, making documentaries, reuniting with Nirvana, and now drumming for Queens.  Got enough on your plate, buddy?  Also set to help on the upcoming Queens album is Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails.  Lord only knows what can come out of this.  Be sure to check out Revolver's article for more info.

Flyleaf Live

The other twist in touring comes from Flyleaf.  I know what you're thinking, "What on earth can be twisted about Flyleaf?"  Well, it's not so much them as it is who they are co-headlining with.  The band has announced that they will be touring with Drowning Pool.  Drowning Pool?  What rock did they crawl out from under?  Nevertheless, Revolver has posted a list of tour dates, if you happen to be interested.

Thousand Foot Krutch

Last on the list for this year is an album review for Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK).  They've released a remix album called Metamorphosiz. The idea of remixing a previously released album (End Is Where We Begin) is not unheard of, but often does not go well, as seen with Linkin Park's Reanimation.  This is no exception to that rule.  The songs were stronger before the "wub-wubs" came in guys.  Suffice to say that these remixes are sure to be used in youth groups and church camp videos for the next two years, so basically "There is no escape" (Darth Vader).  If you happen to want to hear this for yourself, you can check out some samples on iTunes and Amazon.

Cold Turkey Leftovers

Hey everyone! Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope as you are all recovering from your annual tryptophan overdose, that you have done a better job keeping up on the music scene than I have.

Never-the-less, I do have some news for everyone.  First up - our metal friends.

Love and Death

Everyone should know the name Brian "Head" Welsh by now.  If you don't, you've been living under a rock.... a very large, heavy rock.  After a successful solo career - post Korn - the guitarist/singer has taken on a new project on called, Love and Death.  "Head" and the gang of Love and Death have already put out their first album on Nov. 19th as well.  You can find Between Here & Lost on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify.  You can also check out their first video and get more information by clicking here.

Welcome back Finch!

On to some very exciting news.... especially if you're me.  Ladies and gentlemen, Finch is coming back!!  The band has released information about a show in London scheduled for March of 2013.  The reunion is happening in honor of the anniversary of What It Is To Burn, the band's first major label release.  The album first came out in March of 2002 boasting a great sound and fantastic producing by Mark Trombino.  Get more information about the show from the folks at Rocksound.

Must they own everything?

Of course you can't have Thanksgiving leftovers without dipping into some pie - specifically Apple (Okay that was a bad segue).  In any case, Apple has announced that they are going to launch an online radio in 2013.  The mega-corporation just can't seem to get their fingers in enough pies, and heaven forbid they let Pandora have all the fun. There's plenty of backlashing and corporate fighting to go around. Bloomberg has the full story.

Russell and Phillips

The last bit of news I have comes from an unlikely source.  Adam Russell and Ryan Phillips, of Story of the Year, have started a campaign to make a documentary film called Who Killed (or Saved) the Music Industry.  The film is set to interview artists, producers, and music moguls for stories, reasons, questions, and answers on the last decade in the music business.  You can donate to the project and check out the Facebook page for the film by following the links on AP News.

 
I apologize for the poorly photoshopped photo of the guys... I didn't do it.

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...