The heavy bass line that begins “Adventures in Chaos” is reminiscent of Anthrax’s version of “Got The Time”. This properly-energetic track is the perfect introduction of the band to fans, and represents just one of the many high points that the disc has to offer. Intense vocals, splashy drums, and driving guitars all unite to create a track that straddles the line between rock and metal. “Bridge Too Far” switches…
I absolutely love when there is a good remaster or reissue of a forgotten disc. Sundazed’s 2011 version of the Blues Magoos 1966 classic is without fault. A quick glance of this 1,000-print limited edition disc showcases absolutely brilliant and vibrant cover art, while sticking the album into one’s player will show a similarly intense quality. This is due to the fact that Sundazed has procured the Mercury master reels,…
After faltering in the late nineties and early oughts, it seems as if vinyl has finally vanquished one challenger (cassette) and is looking for a tag team victory with iTunes against the flagging CD format. This blend of old music format and cutting-edge digital representations of music is mirrored perfectly in OFF!. OFF! is the new project by Keith Morris (Circle Jerks and Black Flag), taking up residence with Dimitri…
A great many of the bands that come from the United Kingdom possess a certain musical pedigree that presents itself audibly during their music. It becomes an easy feat for a great many of these bands to succeed based on this pedigree along, but a special kudos has to go out to any sort of band that looks to break free of this style. I have to contend that The…
The Last Act is a bluesy, metal-based act that immediately assaults listeners with their own blend of Metallica, Motorhead, and Dimmu Borgir. While absolutely brutal in its execution, “Still Standing” is a track that will have listeners singing along after their first listen. With a head full of steam, The Last Act continues to kick ass with their “No Chance…Again”. Despite blazing through the track with a grim grittiness, this…
“Read the Fine Print” begins with an absolutely smooth bit of funk, blues, and jazz that will ease listeners into the unique sound presented them by the Wolfe Gang. With an absolutely lush production, the Wolfe Gang have a tremendous amount of momentum going into “Everyone”. “Everyone” changes things up considerably, with a bit of punchy percussion that allows for a sultry, almost Tom Waits meets John Morrison type of…
The range of different styles broached during this disc is simply fantastic, and is even more impressive given the fact that all of the artists here subscribe to some sort of jazz music. The album begins with Roy Hargrove’s take on “Ev’rybody Wants To Be a Cat”; pulling deep from the Disney archives, I content that Hargrove is even able to reclaim the track for eirself to those that are…
World music is such a cop out in terms of the musical styles and approaches contained within. If the music cannot be easily categorized into a major genre tag, such as rock, dance, or pop, it usually has a “World Music” label stamped on it. Telepath is Michael Christie, and despite being located in the United States, the fifteen compositions that compose this album showcase a truly world-wide mindset. To…
At a time when everyone from Collective Soul to Spacehog was able to garner a ridiculous amount of radio and MTV airplay for so little talent, just by tacking the suffix “alternative” onto their press materials, a band that truly defined “alternative” – The Jayhawks – never really got their rock star moment.
The angular sound of the the guitar and how it interplays with the drums during “Goodbye” makes this opening track sound like it was influenced by Rage Against The Machine. The set of influences of Revolution Mother also include heavy amounts of Fireball Ministry and a little bit of Coal Chamber. The band has a hard feel to them, but the one thing that individuals need to take into consideration…
So, let’s see. Revelation theory mixes Nickelback with Disturbed. “M367”, the first track on “Truth Is Currency”, is created with the same bi-polar structure that without much warning busts into something much more spastic and loud. The paradox here is that the music contained on the track is sweet and sensitive; the acoustic interlude during the track sounds much more Finger Eleven than Slayer. While it is true that this…
John Reuben has been a major factor in the Christian rap scene for over five years now, and “Sing It Like You Mean It” is an interesting track. The backing beat for that track is similar to the surf music of the sixties, without much in the way of current instrumentation to keep a current sound. Reuben continues almost the same flow of “Sing It Like You Mean It” during…
Retching Red take no time creating their signature song that catapulted them into the hearts and minds of all true punks during their last album. “Get Your Red Wings” was a great album, but “Scarlet Whore of War” improves on even that. The recording is even better, allowing the guitar and Cinder Block to put forth different sounding outputs even if they at some point are similarly aligned (at the…
Snotty, loud pseudo-crust punk from California. How could one go wrong? With the first track “Battery Acid” barely cracking one minute, immediately people have to think of M.O.D. and all those thrash-punk bands from the late eighties. Every single lyric is screamed out, the music itself faster than shit, and the mastering surprisingly solid for a band of this type. Each track is fast, unrelenting, simplistic and yet catchy as…
Muted and quiet compared to their performance, The Retainers still retain that punk nature, even down to the loud, hating-of-authority lead singer. Running over the guitar lines like the earliest days of Darby Crash’s music, The Retailers play a short, succinct style of punk rock. Overly distorted guitars lead the tracks, being as present as the vocals – the drums hide themselves throughout the tracks. “For The Rich U Die”…
Starting out “To Force A Fate” with a more powerful version of The Anniversary and Rilo Kiley, the vocals laid down by Elizabeth and Sean mesh together, even in some places (Bottle Rocket Battles) achieving one cohesive sound. The jangly, loud guitars belie some deep-seeded like of punk, and Steve’s playing on the disc does much to further this thought. Breaking out of the rigidity of the punk influence, tracks…
Starting out “The Great Leap” with a very pop-alternative sounding instrumental opening, recalling The Minutemen and Husker Du, shades of Dick Dale are infused with this shambling behemoth as the first strains of vocals come out. Moving more in the Patti Smith / Nico vein of things during the second-half of the first track. Moving away from the earthy and dark sounds for a more emotive and electronic mood, the…
In what is the most insane rap album of 2003, Relm busts through with a city-themed album that I could actually understand. With the major amount of his tracks about Ohio or Columbus (Veteran’s Memorial, Buckeye City, O.H.I.O.), this album definitely approaches the high level of David Banner’s Mississippi or Outkast’s ATLiens. While the tracks are tricked out with bells and whistles enough to go up with the big dogs…
Reindeer/Tiger Team play a brand of indie rock that has been popular in one style or another for the last decade or so. The first track on the disc, “Boy + Chief” is more along the line of the “emo” music put out by Deep Elm pre-2002, and the minor modifications to what would be a traditional time signature really allows the track to shine. It is primarily the nuanced…
The amount of polish that is on the average track on “Not Happy” is absurd. This is Josie and the Pussycats-level manipulation, and you know what? It sounds damn fine, probably because the sextet that is known as Reel Big Fish have been around for almost 15 years and have been privy to a myriad of different influences. “Drinkin’” looks back to the earliest days of the Barenaked Ladies and…