It’s been a few years since I heard Hoobastank, and Chach really makes me miss them (not really); their “Monte Carlo Blues†actually sounds like what Hoobastank would sound like if they had anything in thye way of talent. Strong vocals mix it up with the confident strokes of a guitar and splashing drums to create a track that is ready for rock radio any way you slice it. The…
Starting off “Worlds of Change†with “Get Up and Danceâ€, a Enrique Iglesias/ Marc Antony-style of track replete with rich Spanish (Argentine in Cesar’s case) guitar work. The same formula holds up during the disc’s second track, “One Day You’ll Be Mineâ€. What is immediately striking about “Worlds of Change†is the fact that the songs on the disc are both radio friendly and also the repository for what is…
Mixing together the guitar lines of Bryan Adams and The Cure along with the vocals of some of the best post-nu wave bands (like The Cure and Depeche Mode), Cerulean comes out of the gates quickly with “Here is Hopingâ€. Creating an innocuous rock sound, Cerulean continues to amaze – the smooth vocals of Rick provide a perfect hiding space for hard, rocking guitar lines during “Like Fading Starsâ€. Unlike…
The harder instrumental opening to “Lizard In The Wires’†first track “Brothel really belies the more Radiohead/Muse/Placebo sound of the vocals. What is most exciting during the track is the nuanced sound of the arrangements; far from just using power chords, the band creates a full sound by having interesting contrasts (most interesting of which being the interplay of the deep bass and the much lighter guitar). The guitar noodling…
The guitar work that starts up the “Indicia†EP is reminiscent of late-nineties Christian rock music, in the vein of a Delirious? or even a Switchfoot. The fact is that The C Elliott Project is ready to take the radio world by storm, and as soon as they wrap up a video, they can take the video world by storm. While individuals might have a problem with how full of…
Cellador play a very clean and full-sounding brand of metal that has definitely decreased in popular since its heyday in the middle to late eighties. The style of music thatg Cellador plays during tracks like “Forever Unbound†is only paralleled by acts like Dragonforce in the current period. The guitar work is the first thing that individuals should hear in this track, with the splashy drums coming in soon after.…
Three-fourths of an hour of music await the listener of “Desperate Northâ€. This ample amount of time means that Celestial can set the stage for large things, devoting the entirety of tracks like “Into This Earth of Shallow Intent†purely to set the mood for everything that ultimately follows. One just hears the tension level rise as Celestial works in repetitious ways, in the style of a more metal Vangelis.…
The speed in which Celestia start off their “Apparitia†is without comparison. Also impressive is the harmony that the band can bring to the table with the chorus of this track. This extremely focused output puts Celestia immediately alongside the most impressive acts in their genre. The track could almost be on popular radio, it has so much in the way of harmony strung through it. This is not saying…
One note before this review: if you have seen this band live, you must expect something almost totally different from what you experienced at the show. This album, from last year, really demarcates another stage in the continuous development of Cause for Diversion. What is now a very melodic post-hardcore band is recorded on this disc to be much more sedate musically. There are seconds, like in “Sucker Punchedâ€, when…
So is Cattle Decapitation trying to go for the play on “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath†or “Sunday Bloody Sundayâ€? The way that they create metal, I’d have to think the former is true. The style is a plain, unadorned metal that is just fast. Supersonic guitars tie up with intricate drums and a shouted out, early Seputltura-esque set of vocals to mark the bands foray with “Unintelligent Designâ€. The one thing…
There are so many nods to the earlier nineties version of pop punk music in Cats and Jammers’ first track on “Whole Lotta Goddamn†that one almost feels as if they are listening to “Dookie†all over again. The only thing that really distinguishes Cats and Jammers from the rest of the acts out there is more of an appreciation for the sixties rock that would eventually filter down to…
When the promotional sheet for Cats + Jammers says that they “have been lingering in a state of obscurity since 1997â€, they are not joking. This may just be the only greatest hits album of a band I’ve never even heard of, much less heard. While the music collected on “Propose Toast†was spread over the last decade, the surprising thing about Cats + Jammers is that the formula that…
From the opening strains of “Contradictoryâ€, Lucas Cates calls forth the Dave Matthews Band. However, this influence is not borne out through the entirety of “Contradictoryâ€, as a bluegrass type of style dominates, along with a Jason Ringenberg meets Anthony Kiedas approach to vocals. The track starts slowly, but by the time Cates has worked through half of the song, individuals will have to listen a little closer. This is…
Caterpillar Tracks may categorize their sound as being descended from Fugazi, but with their first track, “Just Here To Visitâ€, the band shows their allegiance to Monster Magnet, Offspring, and Henry Rollins. The straight-forward rock assault of Caterpillar Tracks on this song is one of the best lead ins to a disc, benefiting even more from the surf-breakdowns nestled away in opportune moments during the track. The vocals that dominate…
Catalyst starts this split out with “Kiss You Goodbyeâ€, a typical over-blown, theatrics-laden hardcore track rife with screaming. What saves “Kiss You Goodbye†is the ever-present and impressive drumming laid down by Kevin. Fairly normal guitar riffs wreck any pretense of innovation and spontaneity on Catalyst’s side of the split, as “Your Deathâ€â€™s average fare is just a poorly-mixed example of how to scream in monotone. Guitar lines are heavily…
The Casualties and I have had a long history. When I first heard that individuals were into them, I decried them as mall punks. One of my buddies told me a story about how ey was at an earlier Warped Tour and saw one punk person that was passed out with a beer in eir hand. Trying to be helpful, my friend told the “passed out†person that the cops…
Castles in Spain play a style of rock that often goes toward the goth side of things. This means that songs like “My Nerves†will remind listeners of acts like Siouxsie and the Banshees as well as early Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant.
I don’t know, for some reason I thought that Casket Architects were going to play a style of music that was not related to the hard rock meets punk blend that first assaults listeners during their opening track to “Dance on the Death Nerveâ€, “Turbine Vaccineâ€. Throwing in a shrill guitar line and a blend of elements from Bad Religion to Avenged Sevenfold to the Refused, Casket Architects are a…
With vocals like “One For The Kidsâ€-era Yellowcard, Will’s vocals match well with the supersonic instrumentation laid down by Nic and Joseph (guitars), Kevin (drums) and Ryan (bass). Tracks mesh well with each other; there is nary even a breathe between “Say Anything†and “Honestlyâ€. While there might not be the sizzling guitar solos and outright technical prowess of the technical emocore bands (those influenced by bands like Converge), the…