Jonathan Hill

Tag: Rock

  • Queen Greatest Hits (UK Version) Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Queen
    Album: Greatest Hits (UK Version)
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenre(s): Art Rock, Progressive Rock
    Released: 1981
    Length: 58 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): EMI, Parlophone Records, Hollywood Records

    Track List:

    01. Bohemian Rhapsody
    02. Another One Bites the Dust
    03. Killer Queen
    04. Fat Bottomed Girls
    05. Bicycle Race
    06. You’re My Best Friend
    07. Don’t Stop Me Now
    08. Save Me
    09. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
    10. Somebody to Love
    11. Now I’m Here
    12. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
    13. Play the Game
    14. Flash
    15. Seven Seas of Rhye
    16. We Will Rock You
    17. We Are the Champions

    Queen Greatest Hits UK Version Cover
    Queen Greatest Hits UK Version Cover

    Queen Greatest Hits (UK Version) Review

    Greatest Hits is the first compilation and ‘best of’ album from iconic British rock band Queen. Released in different regions with slightly altered track listings, there isn’t a strictly definitive version of the compilation. The UK version features at least one song from every album from Queen II (1974) through to the Flash Gordon film soundtrack (1980).

    Bohemian Rhapsody is the opening track and was Queen’s first and only number one UK single (1975) when Greatest Hits was released. One would not expect lyrics about committing a murder (Mama, just killed a man/Put a gun against his head/Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead) being executed via the electric chair (Thunderbolt and lightning/Very, very frightening me) and then sent to hell (Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me) to be part of the package.

    Coming from a progressive rock background where song-writing sensibilities demand musical boundaries to be pushed, they are effortlessly married to pop accessibility and rounded off with a flamboyant exuberance rarely found elsewhere. Most notably this is found in the operatic segment of Bohemian Rhapsody, where the nonsense lyrics are spliced between the narrative just for the sake of doing so it seems. The song also lacks a chorus which makes it even more of an oddity in pop music and, yet, this unlikely single became one of the most easily recognised songs in British pop culture.

    Considering that there are songs from 8 different releases on Greatest Hits, and noting Queen’s lack of inhibition when it came to crafting their sound, it should be of no surprise that the songs do not always flow from one to the next effortlessly. What is more remarkable is that everything featured here was released in a short period of 6 years.

    After Bohemian Rhapsody the listener suddenly finds themselves a world apart in the mind numbingly repetitive bass hook from funk rock hit Another One Bites the Dust. More twists and turns ensue with the jovial piano-driven Killer Queen about a call girl and the sentimental You’re My Best Friend was written by bassist John Deacon for his wife. The centre piece of Greatest Hits is the infectious rock ‘n’ roll of Crazy Little Thing Called Love featuring hand claps, an acoustic guitar and Freddie Mercury’s Elvis-inspired performance but the bass is the underlying source of the momentum here. Jumping from that to the gospel arrangement on Somebody to Love or the jaunty nature of Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy lacks even the pretence of consistency.

    Greatest Hits is concluded with the two iconic anthems from News of the World; We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions. Often cited as a rock anthem, We Will Rock You is actually devoid of rock music entirely until Brian May’s guitar solo at the end. The rest of the song is made up of the instantly recognisable stomp/stomp/clap body percussion arrangement.

    Immediately beyond the realm of a Spartan approach to music, Queen offers an absolute gourmet of songs that are loosely ordered into two halves as the best way to present the eclectic collection. The first is mostly material from Night at the Opera and Jazz whereas the second is divided evenly between Day at the Races, News of the World, Queen II and the ‘Flash’ theme song. Both halves have one song from Sheer Heart Attack and two from The Game, which produced four charting singles from 1979 and 1980, along with ‘Flash’ from the aforementioned film soundtrack.

    Releasing this compilation at such a prosperous time for Queen must have played a big part in not only to the success of Greatest Hits as a business and marketing opportunity, but also in immortalising their contributions to music. Going on to sell over 25 million copies globally, it is one of the best-selling albums of all time and the best-selling album in their home country with 6.3 million copies sold to date.

    For all the inconsistencies one could imagine finding on a compilation album, due to the nature of the format more than anything else, it isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to listen to all the way through. It will give newcomers a good oversight into the first half of Queen’s career and from there, a course can be plotted to specific albums based on any preference they find.

    Ultimately, the flamboyant personality embodied by Queen combined with their immense creativity exemplifies what has made them endure as strongly as they have while attracting listeners, both new and old, to this day.

    Performers:

    Freddie Mercury: Lead vocals, piano, finger snaps, bicycle bells, handclaps, acoustic guitar, organ, synthesizer, foot stomps, co-lead vocals on “Fat Bottomed Girls” (chorus)
    Brian May: Acoustic and electric guitars, backing vocals, bicycle bells, handclaps, piano, synthesizer, foot stomps, co-lead vocals on “Keep Yourself Alive” (bridge)
    Roger Taylor: Acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals, timpani, gong, triangle, chimes, bicycle bells, handclaps, woodblocks, tambourine, foot stomps, cowbell, co-lead vocals on “Keep Yourself Alive” (bridge)
    John Deacon: Acoustic, bass and electric guitar, piano, bicycle bells, handclaps, foot stomps

    Additional Performers:

    Mike Stone: Co-lead vocals on “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy”
    Roy Thomas Baker: Stylophone on “Seven Seas of Rhye”

    External Links:

    Queen Homepage
    Queen on Wikipedia
    Greatest Hits on Wikipedia

  • Opeth Damnation Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Opeth
    Album: Damnation
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Progressive Rock, Soft Rock
    Released: 2003
    Length: 43 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Music for Nations, Koch Records

    Track List:

    01. Windowpane
    02. In My Time of Need
    03. Death Whispered a Lullaby
    04. Closure
    05. Hope Leaves
    06. To Rid the Disease
    07. Ending Credits
    08. Weakness

    Opeth Damnation Cover
    Opeth Damnation Cover

    Opeth Damnation Review

    Damnation is the seventh studio album by Swedish band Opeth. Unlike all of their previous albums, Damnation sees the band shedding themselves of their renowned death metal, progressive metal, folk and acoustic music blend for a hybrid of progressive and soft rock. The album is soft to the point that at times it can be seen as pushing the boundaries of what can be considered rock music, progressive influences or not.

    Windowpane sets the tone perfectly with a sound crafted around a central clean-sounding guitar melody that interplays with an acoustic guitar and a steady rock drum beat devoid of metal tempos that give room for the prevailing melancholic mood to take hold. This is further enhanced by the keyboards and is indicative of what Damnation is about. Fans hearing this for the first time, and being familiar with their previous output, will be anticipating the sudden transition to Opeth’s metal sound but that moment will never come. On top of this, vocalist and guitarist Mikael Akerfeldt has also left his death growls in favour of a restrained singing voice that sounds fragile at times. While some fans will have undoubtedly being disappointed by these drastic changes, it would have also been impossible to fit that aggressive vocal style into Damnation and make it work.

    The melancholic mood is a central theme to Damnation and in some ways this helps to paint the album as a by the numbers effort. This is due to the songs, at times, blurring together and losing their distinctive nature when listening from start to finish. Two of the biggest standouts are the minimalist Weakness, which is centred on a subtle keyboard arrangement and is entirely devoid of percussion. Closure, the only song that shakes of the passive sound thoroughly, actively engages the listener in a different way. The tempo picks up as the song progresses and Opeth pushes it even further towards the end to create a total cacophony when put next to the rest of the album. This abruptly cuts out and if you had downloaded this song through one of the illegal file sharing services around at the time Damnation was released you would have thought that the song had been corrupted or was incomplete. This leads directly into Hope Leaves and makes these songs contrast in a way that can be seen an intentional throwback to their previous albums where the acoustic and metal parts can come right after each other. This way of integrating that aspect of Opeth’s character into Damnation is not as well executed as desired, if that is the case, since it is more disjointed than fluid in its delivery.

    It’s difficult for any band to break away from their established sound to explore new ideas but Opeth embrace their progressive rock influences honestly and passionately. This combined with the efforts of co-producer Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) on the keyboard and piano rounds off their sound and helped them to realise their vision. Damnation is an important milestone in Opeth’s history and is recommendable to anyone wanting to experience the softer side of rock music.

    Performers:

    Mikael Akerfeldt: Vocals and lead guitar
    Peter Lingren: Rhythm guitar
    Martin Mendez: Bass guitar
    Martin Lopez: Drums

    Additional Performers:

    Steven Wilson: Keyboards, piano, Mellotron, backing vocals

    External Links:

    Opeth Homepage
    Opeth on Wikipedia
    Damnation on Wikipedia

  • Kvelertak Nattesferd Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Kvelertak
    Album: Nattesferd
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Punk Rock
    Released: 2016
    Length: 47 minutes
    Language(s): Norwegian
    Label(s): Roadrunner

    Track List:

    01. Dendrofil for Yggdrasil
    02. 1985
    03. Nattesferd
    04. Svartmesse
    05. Bronsegud
    06. Ondskapens Galakse
    07. Berserkr
    08. Heksebrann
    09. Nekrodamus

    Kvelertak Nattesferd Cover
    Kvelertak Nattesferd Cover

    Kvelertak Nattesferd Review

    Nattesferd is the third studio album by Norwegian rock band Kvelertak. While they have been referred to as a black metal/rock hybrid in the past it is hardly relevant to Nattesferd because Dendrofil for Yggdrasil is the only black metal song, along with part of Berserkr, on the entire album. Almost everything else is broadly hard rock or punk rock filtered through the lo-fi aesthetic of black metal with a vomitus vocal style spraying all over the music. The lyrics all happen to be in Norwegian and given how they’re delivered it is questionable how intelligible they are, even to a native speaker.

    After opening with a black metal song, Kvelertak immediately shifts to hard rock and then alternates between that and punk rock up to and including Ondskapens Galakse. The fusion and alternation of all these different elements is novel but in practice comes across as disjointed (and arguably unfocused) despite the sincerity and passion that the band clearly possesses. The vocal style doesn’t suit any of the hard rock songs and they detract from the experience since songs in this subgenre tend to sound powerful and spirited, whereas this leaves you lacklustre and wanting an actual singer that could have really made the songs into something special.

    Berserkr, as the name implies, goes all out with the aggression and wild experimentation in which they blend all three styles into a single song. The majority of the song is black metal meets punk rock and from the bridge onwards the hard rock influences seep back in. To Kvelertak’s credit this is pulled of remarkably well and is certainly a highlight of Nattesferd, as is Bronsegud, a short and punchy hardcore punk flavoured song where the vocal style seems to fit almost naturally.

    The last two songs on the album, Heksebrann and Nekrodamus, are almost yin and yang to each other. Heksebrann is a curveball at 9 minutes long while drawing on progressive rock and having a large instrumental section lasting about 4 minutes at the beginning. This contrasts with Nekrodamus, which continues the Kvelertak tradition of having “Nekro” in a song title, and is the complete antithesis of Heksebrann. This song sees hard rock stripped back to the basics and is much slower compared to the other songs, which once again take the listener in an unexpected direction, but is a bit longer than it needs to be.

    It’s always good to hear a band perform in their native language and for anyone to embrace the spirit of rock wholeheartedly to the same extent that Kvelertak does. However, the scattershot approach to writing for several subgenres is often inconsistent and they seem to rely on the unpolished aesthetics and consistent use of harsh vocals to add a cohesive thread to the album.

    Performers:

    Erlend Hjelvik: Vocals
    Vidar Landa: Guitar
    Bjarte Lund Rolland: Guitar, Piano
    Maciek Ofstad: Guitar, Vocals
    Marvin Nygaard: Bass
    Kjetil Gjermundrød: Drums

    External Links:

    Kvelertak Homepage
    Kvelertak on Wikipedia
    Nattesferd on Wikipedia

  • Tomahawk Mit Gas Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Tomahawk
    Album: Mit Gas
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Experimental Rock
    Released: 2003
    Length: 41 minutes
    Language(s): English, Spanish
    Label(s): Ipecac Recordings

    Track List:

    01. Birdsong
    02. Rape This Day
    03. You Can’t Win
    04. Mayday
    05. Rotgut
    06. Capt Midnight
    07. Desastre Natural
    08. When the Stars Begin to Fall
    09. Harelip
    10. Harlem Clowns
    11. Aktion 13F14

    Tomahawk Mit Gas Cover
    Tomahawk Mit Gas Cover

    Tomahawk Mit Gas Review

    Mit Gas (German for With Gas) is the second album by American experimental rock super group Tomahawk. Released only 2 years after their self-titled debut and the band has already shed themselves of their country influences and delved a little bit further into soundscape territory with more noise and ambient elements creeping into the mix.

    Birdsong sets the ball rolling, ever so slowly, with a mild-mannered wall of distortion contrasted with samples of birds tweeting. If you can imagine a sludgy liquid slowly oozing out of your speakers with birds gently perched on your lightshades tweeting joyously then you’ll have some understanding of the surreal nature found in this song. The tension builds up over the first minute and then bassist Kevin Rutmanis and drummer John Stanier change the pace by beginning with a moody mid-tempo rhythm before Duane Dennison’s guitar comes in to enhance the tension further.

    So far so good – and steady – then Mike Patton introduces his eclectic vocal stylings in the form of a wordless wail that sounds rather distant and is somehow akin to a lunatic chasing you through the woods with a knife, if only that lunatic was a gleeful Mike Patton taunting you with his sinister vocal acrobatics. The verse arrives with a characteristically obtuse narrative delivered in a deep spoken voice about “the way you look at me when you’re hungry/lay your head down, shoot a load in your ear/the way you look at me when you’re hunted” that only gives credence to the lunatic-chasing-you-through-the-woods image. The song eventually breaks into a frantic lead-guitar with the energetic rock attitude fans will be anticipating. A steady decline in tempo then leads to what would have been a disappointing fade out but buzzing noise, church bells and the familiar bird tweets carry the song into an unexpected and satisfying conclusion.

    Delving into completely new territory, a looped drum beat more akin to an ambient drum and bass song is coupled with a slow and sombre clean guitar to make the mid-album Capt Midnight instantly stand out. In case there’s a chance of you losing interest the song explodes into full-on rock fury half way in and Mike Patton goes from an eerie croon to shouting without any vocal effects which lets the rawness of his performance stand by itself. The drum loop and ambience is restored after the outburst with the song ebbing and flowing to the build-up of it happening again through the use of noises and sound loops to keep the anticipation high without ever reaching the expected payoff.

    More atypical song arrangements are also found at the end of Mit Gas with the bass and keyboard centric Harelip breaking down and turning into the transitional piece to Harlem Clowns to create a two part song. The latter quickly returns to the distortion and noise first heard on Birdsong and uses a looped snippet of dialogue stating “I don’t know how to read notes” before the unusual soundscape becomes the focal point. Another recording is played at the end which listings numerous other bands and artists.

    Even more challenging than this is Aktion 13F14. It marks the return of the acoustic sound found on their debut but is nothing like what Tomahawk has done before. A mechanical voice, presumably performed by Mike Patton, is overlaid and gives the listener instructions on how to defeat an opponent in hand-to-hand combat and concludes with a reminder stating “remember, attack aggressively, with one purpose in mind: to kill”. A series of rapid snare drum rolls are performed before ear shattering noise is pumped into your skull at maximum volume and goes on relentlessly for about half a minute. Assuming you haven’t suddenly developed tinnitus there is a graceful period of silence before a melodic guitar begins and is overlapped with mumbled and incoherent voices.

    There isn’t any real context available for the last two songs so their durability is down to how outside the musical box you’re willing to travel before you start asking if you really get what’s going on or if Tomahawk is just taking you for a ride.

    With so much focus being given to the noise and experimental aspects so far it is fair to ask what happened to the atypical rock songs. The answer is that they’re still here with inviting names like Rape This Day, Mayday, Rotgut, When the Stars Begin to Fall and Harelip. They’re far more accessible and probably what most fans are after so they are more likely to garner repeat listens and favourability than the bits that genuinely remove themselves from most people’s understanding of music. In contrast to all of this there is a sincere moment to be found in Desastre Natural, a ballad with its only quirk being that it is sung entirely in Spanish and somehow it manages to fit in with everything else around it.

    Mit Gas has a broader experimental edge that draws on ambient and noise music while still maintaining a balance with their off-kilter rock foundation. However at the same time these new influences are more likely to deter listeners so it is worth listening to for existing fans but for newcomers it is advisable to start with Tomahawks self-titled debut.

    Performers:

    Mike Patton: Vocals, keyboards
    Duane Denison: Guitar
    Kevin Rutmanis: Bass
    John Stanier: Drums

    External Links:

    Tomahawk on Ipecac Recordings
    Tomahawk on Wikipedia
    Mit Gas on Wikipedia

  • Nails You Will Never Be One of Us Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Nails
    Album: You Will Never Be One of Us
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Grindcore
    Released: 2016
    Length: 22 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Nuclear Blast

    Track List:

    01. You Will Never Be One of Us
    02. Friend to All
    03. Made to Make You Fail
    04. Life is a Death Sentence
    05. Violence is Forever
    06. Savage Intolerance
    07. In Pain
    08. Parasite
    09. Into Quietus
    10. They Come Crawling Back

    Nails You Will Never Be One of Us Cover
    Nails You Will Never Be One of Us Cover

    Nails You Will Never Be One of Us Review

    You Will Never Be One of Us is the third album by American grindcore band Nails. The band has remained largely consistent with all of the common threads running through their previous albums still being present here. For anyone unfamiliar with Nails, their template is along the lines of:

    • 10 songs per album
    • Angry and/or pessimistic lyrics
    • Incorporating elements of sludge metal and noise into their grindcore sound
    • Chaotic micro-songs
    • Ending the album with a noticeably longer and more experimental song
    • Masterful tempo shifts

    The Nails sound can still be summed up as “utter chaos” or that “it’s almost entirely forgettable because it is over before it starts” in reference to aforementioned micro-songs playing at breakneck tempos.

    You Will Never Be One of Us received the customary testosterone injection to ensure that fans can rejoice at the unrepentant ferocity that Nails are known for. Vocalist Todd Jones, who had a throaty shout on their previous two albums, has now adopted a more guttural style that also appears to have been altered in the studio at the same time.

    Friend to All and Life is a Death Sentence both feature the masterful tempo shifts that see Nails instantly drop the suffocating blast beats to switch to the bridge of the song or a slower guitar riff respectively because despite rushing through songs, they always manage to find time to throw this impressive feat into the mix.

    There is some change to be found in the title track and Violence is Forever. Both are fairly accessible, at least by Nails standards, with the former having the mantra “you will never be one of us” far more distinguishable from the other lines to give it something resembling a hook (albeit loosely) and the latter focuses on memorable riffs while playing for a reasonable three and a half minutes. Some noise is then thrown in at the end just in case you thought Nails might go easy on your ears.

    As Nails tradition has it, the final song is longer and more experimental than the rest and They Come Crawling Back does not disappoint. At 8 minutes long it takes up a little over 1/3 of the album and is by far the longest song Nails have recorded by about 3 minutes. It starts out with a slow, desolate black metal guitar riff accompanied by the lo-fi distortion you’d expect from an early 90s album before thundering into life. Starting with lots of momentum, the song slows down and eventually enters into sludge metal territory that is spliced up with some guitar screeching to disorientate the listener and a few of the words are quietly spoken too.

    If you are already a fan of Nails then You Will Never Be One of Us will not disappoint. For those wondering where to start with Nails then the longer playing time and improved song writing will make this album an ideal starting point. Nails haven’t changed that much so for the minor differences to add up to something significant it will be over the course of a few albums.

    Performers:

    Todd Jones: Vocals, guitars
    John Gianelli : Bass guitar
    Taylor Young: Drums

    External Links:

    Nails Homepage
    Nails on Wikipedia
    You Will Never Be One of Us on Wikipedia

  • Nails Abandon All Life Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Nails
    Album: Abandon All Life
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Grindcore
    Released: 2013
    Length: 17 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Southern Lord

    Track List:

    01. In Exodus
    02. Tyrant
    03. Absolute Control
    04. God’s Cold Hands
    05. Wide Open Wound
    06. Abandon All Life
    07. No Surrender
    08. Pariah
    09. Cry Wolf
    10. Suum Cuique

    Nails Abandon All Life Cover
    Nails Abandon All Life Cover

    Nails Abandon All Life Review

    Abandon All Life is the second album by American grindcore band Nails. Three years on from their debut and Nails show no signs of slowing down as they ferociously hammer through another uncompromising batch of micro-songs.

    There’s barely a moment to breathe and at 17 minutes long Abandon All Life is somehow as long as it needs to be. To demonstrate the direct and uncompromising mission statement from Nail you need not look any further than the 23 second vignette that is Cry Wolf. It is nothing but sheer auditory terror that also leads to the crux of the problem with this kind of song writing: it’s almost entirely forgettable because it is over before it starts.

    This isn’t to say that there isn’t any talent here; it’s simply a case of beyond the raw intensity of their performance you will be hard-pressed to find much else.

    With their intense anger, short blasts of chaos and lack of anything even remotely nuanced Nails are squarely on the caveman side of extreme music which will make Abandon All Life a welcome addition to any grindcore collection but for anyone anticipating an expansion on their foundation will be left to look elsewhere.

    Performers:

    Todd Jones: Vocals, guitars
    John Gianelli : Bass guitar
    Taylor Young: Drums
    Andy Saba: Lead guitar

    External Links:

    Nails Homepage
    Nails on Wikipedia
    Abandon All Life on Wikipedia

  • Nails Unsilent Death Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Nails
    Album: Unsilent Death
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Grindcore
    Released: 2010
    Length: 14 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Six Feet Under Records, Southern Lord

    Track List:

    01. Conform
    02. Scum Will Rise
    03. Your God
    04. Suffering Soul
    05. Unsilent Death
    06. Traitor
    07. I Will Not Follow
    08. No Servant
    09. Scapegoat
    10. Depths

    Nails Unsilent Death Cover
    Nails Unsilent Death Cover

    Nails Unsilent Death Review

    Unsilent Death is the debut album of American grindcore outfit Nails. At only 3 minutes longer than their 2009 EP, Obscene Humanity, this brings the total running time to approximately 14 minutes. For a debut album this is a meagre introduction on the surface because it doesn’t give the impression that you can fit much into such a short span of time.

    Nails are quick on the draw to prove the listener wrong and throw you into the middle of their sonic fray with Conform, a 31 second blast straight from the bowels of hell that leads right into Scum Will Rise through feedback noises to continue their sensory assault. This serves as the base-line for Unsilent Death and there’s rarely a moment to remember because of the utter chaos compacted into these micro-songs, of which many are under a minute long, since it’s next to impossible to digest what you hear when most tracks almost start before the last one ends.

    Suffering Soul and the title track do manage to slow down and retain some sense of melody, mainly due to the fact that there is a heavier focus on hardcore punk. At best it proves that Nails don’t have an entirely one-track mind and at worst were included for the sake of variety but in either scenario their inclusion works to the advantage of the album. The title track is especially well crafted and includes some of the bands noise elements.

    For the listeners who manage to wade their way through Unsilent Death will also pick up on the knack that Nails possesses to do sudden, sharp tempo shifts in a seemingly effortless manner without ever sounding disjointed as demonstrated in the 28 second long track Traitor.

    Every musical element from the blasting grindcore sounds to feedback noise and even sludge metal are used on the closing track, Depths, which proves that Nails are capable of far more dynamic compositions when they put their minds to it and they achieve far better results on the few longer tracks on Unsilent Death.

    Nails are catering to the furthest ends of the extreme music community and if you happen to have a penchant for short blasts of unrelenting chaos and/or lack anything that resembles an attention span then you will feel right at home with Unsilent Death. For everyone else there isn’t going to be much in the way of replay value bar a few shining moments.

    Performers:

    Todd Jones: Vocals, guitars
    John Gianelli : Bass guitar
    Taylor Young: Drums

    External Links:

    Nails Homepage
    Nails on Wikipedia
    Unsilent Death on Wikipedia

  • Deftones Gore Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Deftones
    Album: Gore
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Experimental Rock
    Released: 2016
    Length: 48 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise Records

    Track List:

    01. Prayers/Triangles
    02. Acid Hologram
    03. Doomed User
    04. Geometric Headdress
    05. Hearts/Wires
    06. Pittura Infamante
    07. Xenon
    08. (L)MIRL
    09. Gore
    10. Phantom Bride
    11. Rubicon

    Deftones Gore Cover
    Deftones Gore Cover

    Deftones Gore Review

    Gore is the 8th studio album by American rock band Deftones. As the band has evolved and implemented new sounds into their repertoire over the years it is self-evident with Gore that they’re still cutting into new territory. This has largely been caused by the conflicts within the band over what direction they should move in and somehow both camps got their way through an amalgamation of post hardcore, post rock, shoegaze and sludge metal in different measures. Some of these genres do already overlap in other musical circles but Deftones have managed to combine them in an entirely new way that most easily placed Gore under the large umbrella genre of experimental rock.

    The use of the pop format is still present in many places but there is also a two part song found in Pittura Infamante, meaning “infamous painting” in Italian, and Xenon. This format also works to their advantage by being able to experiment sonically while still appealing to a wide audience.

    Chino Moreno’s voice is at times heavily distorted to sound like high pitched radio garble so his lyrics aren’t always easy to recognise, with many of them being cryptic enough to be interpreted in many ways depending on the listener, but he also clings onto his distinct singing voice elsewhere when he isn’t breaking into a shouting frenzy elsewhere.

    There are some parallels to be found with their 2006 album, Saturday Night Wrist, in terms of subdued musical elements although the flirtation with trip hop found there and with White Pony (2000) are nowhere to be heard. The opening song, Prayers/Triangles, kicks off Gore with familiar feedback noise from Saturday Night Wrist’s opening song, Hole in the Earth, but instead of launching into a meaty guitar riff it dissolves to introduce the subdued moods that are littered throughout Gore. (L)MIRL follows on much in the same way whereas the title track is much less streamlined and evolves into a massive sludge metal plod towards the end.

    There is certainly no hugger-mugger from the variety of influences that have crept into the melting pot that is Gore because everything from the internal conflicts of the bands has managed to be turned into an unexpected advantage rather than a hindrance. How far the pendulum swings from this point on is yet to be seen but if Gore is any indication to go by then Deftones will continue to innovate.

    Performers:

    Abe Cunningham: Drums
    Stephen Carpenter: Guitar
    Frank Delgado: Samples, keyboards
    Chino Moreno: Vocals, guitar
    Sergio Vega: Bass
    Jerry Cantrell: Additional guitars (track 10)

    External Links:

    Deftones Homepage
    Deftones on Wikipedia
    Gore on Wikipedia

  • Napalm Death Smear Campaign Limited Edition Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Napalm Death
    Album: Smear Campaign (Limited Edition)
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Grindcore
    Released: 2016
    Length: 54 minutes (including bonus tracks)
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Century Media

    Track List:

    01. Weltschmerz
    02. Sink Fast, Let Go
    03. Fatalist
    04. Puritanical Punishment Beating
    05. When All is Said and Done
    06. Freedom is the Wage of Sin
    07. In Deference
    08. Short-Lived
    09. Identity Crisis
    10. Shattered Existence
    11. Eyes Right Out
    12. Call That an Option? (Bonus Track)
    13. Warped Beyond Logic
    14. Rabid Wolves (For Christ)
    15. Deaf and Dumbstruck (Intelligent Design)
    16. Persona Non Grata
    17. Smear Campaign
    18. Atheist Runt (Bonus Track)

    Napalm Death Smear Campaign Limited Edition Cover
    Napalm Death Smear Campaign Limited Edition Cover

    Napalm Death Smear Campaign Limited Edition Review

    Smear Campaign is the twelfth studio album by British grindcore pioneers Napalm Death. While many of their albums from the 1990s to the first half of the 2000s walk the line between death metal and grindcore, the punkish approach to song-writing pushes Smear Campaign further towards the grindcore camp this time around.

    Despite the overtly chaotic nature of Smear Campaign, the music is relatively straightforward with the raw intensity coming from the self-described blast beat terrorism drumming of Danny Herrera and the combined guttural performances of lead vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway and bassist/backing vocalist Shane Embury while Mitch Harris provides feral high pitched shrieks for contrast.

    For this reason alone the lyrics are largely undecipherable without having a written copy in front of you for reference. In some ways this is quite a shame because Napalm Death brings a much needed intellectual counter balance to extreme music lyrics which offset the staple diet of guts, gore and cartoonish bellyaching about the woes of the world. Instead they deliver sharp and direct criticism of religion and society, the main themes of Smear Campaign, without the tired and overused approach of most other bands that tackle the subject.

    Early on the band addresses the philosophical concept of fatalism, on the song Fatalist no less, to proclaim that “existing becomes a prison where self-discovery’s forbidden”. Since Fatalism is the belief that all actions are predetermined (fated to happen) then there’s no control or changing of any unfolding events. It is then concluded at the end of the song that “any fool starting afresh would surely ditch this/after two-thousand years of schism/only irreligious hearts can do the saving” so as to offer a solution in saying that a new, non-religious train of thought must take hold within society to make progress for the betterment of everyone instead of clinging on to ideologies that were developed thousands of years ago and don’t necessarily apply to modern life.

    The theme of societal progress and anti-religion is reinforced with the chorus to When All is Said and Done, which proclaims that “when all is said and done/heaven lies in my heart/no slave to beliefs that propagate pain/when all is said and done/heaven lies in our hearts/this life is a gift to be lived and loved” to reject ideologies that harm people and strip away the value of life itself.

    Along with the critical lyrics comes an added sense of melody and experimentation in some instances because, after all, there is only so far you can push outright aggression before you repeat yourself or begin to stagnate. Some notable moments include the industrial influenced introductory song, Weltschmerz, which includes a wordless vocal contribution from Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering), who also performs the monotonous spoken word piece on In Deference. On paper this comes across as an odd pairing but it is probably the only way that her voice could fit into this kind of music and the end results are effective in blending her voice to the cacophony around her without coming across as forced experiment for the sake of it.

    Smear Campaign closes with a 3 part mini-epic that will easily catch many fans off guard. Persona Non Grata is the first part and sees Napalm Death using measured aggression to play off against slower moments with growled vocals performed in a melodic fashion that will make you think that the band are about to burst into clean singing at any second. Sludge metal is then embraced for the miniature title track along with the more melodic singing style that turns into a sort of echo-laden chant before fading out and concluding the album on the standard edition.

    On the limited edition this then leads into the second bonus track and third part of the mini-epic, Atheist Runt, which is the slowest and longest song on the album at nearly 7 minutes long. This will prove to be quite a test for some fans due to the slow nature of it and yet it is by far one of the most rewarding moments of the whole album if you appreciate the bands decision to branch out and do something a bit different.

    Underneath what will sound like the utter chaos of a battlefield to most people, Napalm Death have artfully fused thoughtful lyrical content and a bold experimental edge into their frantic grindcore blueprint to prove that they are as innovative on Smear Campaign as they were at their inception.

    Performers:

    Mark “Barney” Greenway: Shouting, Screaming, Swans, Sermons (Lead vocals, lyrics on 1-4, 6-9 and 11-6)
    Shane Embury: Four Strings of the Apocalypse, NY Aggro Lung Assault (Bass, backing vocals, lyrics on 5 and 10)
    Mitch Harris: Shredding, Grinding, Subliming Noise, Shrill Cries (Guitar, backing vocals)
    Danny Herrera: Blast Beat Terrorism (Drums)
    Anneke van Giersbergen: Additional vocals (1 and 7)

    External Links:

    Napalm Death Homepage
    Napalm Death on Wikipedia
    Smear Campaign on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed Indestructible Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Indestructible
    Genre(s): Heavy Metal, Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Traditional Heavy Metal
    Released: 2008
    Length: 50 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Indestructible
    02. Inside the Fire
    03. Deceiver
    04. The Night
    05. Perfect Insanity
    06. Haunted
    07. Enough
    08. The Curse
    09. Torn
    10. Criminal
    11. Divide
    12. Façade

    Disturbed Indestructible Cover
    Disturbed Indestructible Cover

    Disturbed Indestructible Review

    Indestructible is the fourth album by Disturbed and their second in the hard rock/traditional heavy metal style that was adopted on their last album, Ten Thousand Fists. Aside from a small step forward in musicianship not much has changed stylistically and Indestructible is a direction continuation of that sound.

    This time around there are less songs and a slightly shorter running time which both work in Disturbed’s favour because despite refining their knack for high calibre anthems even further, Indestructible is very much a by the numbers effort and the first few songs will let you know exactly what you’re in for so not much is going to catch you off guard.

    The title track gets the ball rolling and sets the tone perfectly with a mid-paced guitar riff that is preceded by air raid sirens. The lyrics have an inspirational angle that is used to address and motivate soldiers which contrasts with the contemplational lyrics of Overburdened, a song from Ten Thousand Fists, which deals with the morality of war and its consequences.

    Many of the other lyrics found on Indestructible deal with harsher subject matter such as suicide (Inside the Fire), mental illness (Perfect Insanity) and domestic abuse (Façade) but if your band operates under the moniker Disturbed you probably feel somewhat obligated to live up to your name.

    Unlike the infamous shock monologue heard on Down with the Sickness from their debut album, Façade is far more mature in dealing with the subject matter of domestic abuse, which describes the situation of a female victim with David Draiman questioning “for how long will you try?/how long until you walk away?/your facade can’t disguise/the fact that you’re in misery” before the situation is escalated to her retaliation with lines like “homicide flashes through her mind again/no more pain, take control/if he raises his hand again/she’ll find her freedom in killing him/the world will see that she’s had enough” which points to her taking her partners life and the situation subsequently unfolding through the media.

    Perfect Insanity and Divide were both originally written before the release of their debut, The Sickness, in 2000 but they didn’t make it onto the album and it’s not hard to see why since they didn’t adhere to the strict nu metal sound that Disturbed moved onto at that stage in their career. The groove metal foundation of these songs translates into their current hard rock/traditional heavy metal sound exceptionally well because they both offer a lot of aggression that is rounded off with their emphasis on melody to bring the best of both worlds together.

    Other moments on the album such as the bridge to Enough ramp up the aggression not only in terms of instruments but also in terms of David Draiman’s vocal delivery, which is done with a deeper snarling voice that is outright ferocious. His manic laughter on Inside the Fire is another highlight in its own right while the keyboards/programmed parts heard on some songs are tastefully integrated to enhance the atmosphere.

    To some listeners Indestructible could start to wear thin after a few listens because Disturbed haven’t really pushed their sound out of the box on this album but their ability to fuse hard driving guitar anthems with an unrivalled sense of melody will undoubtedly allow them to embed themselves in your ears after any amount of time spent listening to them.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, electronics
    Mike Wengren: Drums, backing vocals
    John Moyer: Bass guitar

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Indestructible on Wikipedia

  • Tomahawk Tomahawk Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Tomahawk
    Album: Tomahawk
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Experimental Rock
    Released: 2001
    Length: 42 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Ipecac Recordings

    Track List:

    01. Flashback
    02. 101 North
    03. Point and Click
    04. God Hates a Coward
    05. Pop 1
    06. Sweet Smell of Success
    07. Sir Yes Sir
    08. Jockstrap
    09. Cul de Sac
    10. Malocchio
    11. Honeymoon
    12. Laredo
    13. Narcosis

    Tomahawk Tomahawk Cover
    Tomahawk Tomahawk Cover

    Tomahawk Tomahawk Review

    Tomahawk is the debut album of the eponymous rock super group featuring vocalist Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas), guitarist Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard), bassist Kevin Rutmanis (Cows, The Melvins) and drummer John Stanier (Helmet). With the band members’ collective backgrounds covering post-hardcore, noise rock, country rock and experimental music among other genres it would be difficult to guess what the end result would be although you could describe Tomahawk as an experimental rock album that blends a wide scope of influences together in their own twisted fashion while retaining some pop sensibilities, mostly in terms of song structures.

    Gritty lyrical themes appear throughout the album to tackle different subjects with the most noteworthy arguably being found on Flashback, the first song on the album, which starts out with a seemingly harmless description of someone undergoing hypnosis before a sampled voice counts down “3, 2, 1” to start visiting memories to end up diverting into child abuse with snarled lines like “I’m a schoolboy why don’t you teach me/bend over and we’ll hush the squealing/put on the mask and dance for Daddy/wait for the world to say it’s sorry”. The bridge of the song sees it descending into a series of screams and cries that alternate between your speakers and make you think that if this is how the albums starts, it is going to be a twisted experience in one form or another if this is Tomahawk decided to introduce themselves to the world.

    101 North focuses on hitchhiking through a ghost town the ends in a hijacking and the ensuing violence whereas the short country song Cul De Sac, which is stripped down to an acoustic guitar and telephone vocals, is used to express an apathetic view of the end of the world with Mike Patton speak-singing “the world is growin’ old/and preparin’ for sleep/but you and me are just not gettin’ outta bed/wakin’ up/sunbathing on the shores of a nightmare”. The lo-fi recording style used on this song adds an eerie touch to it much like the harmonica contribution of JD Wilkes (Legendary Shack Shakers) does to the country rock song Point and Click when it interplays with the bass guitar.

    Underneath the grittiness of the lyrics found on many of the songs is a sense of humour and self-awareness in the band which comes out on the satirical Pop 1. This song mocks the nu metal and rap rock trend of the late ‘90s and early 2000s by using a steady drum/bass combo with keyboard ambience for the verses before lunging into a screaming frenzy on the chorus to proclaim that “this beat could win me a Grammy” backed by the guitar. There are more cutting lyrics found throughout the song but they are nigh-on impossible to understand without the lyrics written out in front of you due to the jabbering delivery of them.

    Another country-inspired song is the albums closer, Narcosis, which is also sombre in nature and is complete with wordless chanting to counter-balance the noise rock explosion on Laredo. Tomahawk also penned a downbeat quasi-ballad in the form of Sweet Smell of Success complete with elements of noise music as well as the more even-tempered Honeymoon that has subtle glitching noises and panted breathing sounds.

    Tomahawk offer a lot of variety on their debut album while managing to strike a good balance between accessibility and experimentation that comes through the blending of some pop sensibilities with different rock subgenres and the creativity that has manifested itself through the members’ collaborative efforts.

    Performers:

    Mike Patton: Vocals, keyboards and samples
    Duane Denison: Guitar
    Kevin Rutmanis: Bass guitar
    John Stanier: Drums
    JD Wilkes Harmonica on “Point and Click”

    External Links:

    Tomahawk on Ipecac Recordings
    Tomahawk (band) on Wikipedia
    Tomahawk (album) on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Ten Thousand Fists
    Genre(s): Heavy Metal, Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Traditional Heavy Metal
    Released: 2005
    Length: 56 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Ten Thousand Fists
    02. Just Stop
    03. Guarded
    04. Deify
    05. Stricken
    06. I’m Alive
    07. Sons of Plunder
    08. Overburdened
    09. Decadence
    10. Forgiven
    11. Land of Confusion (Genesis Cover)
    12. Sacred Lie
    13. Pain Redefined
    14. Avarice

    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Cover
    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Cover

    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Review

    Ten Thousand Fists is the third studio album by Disturbed. With the popularity of nu metal rapidly declining most bands in the subgenre chose to take another path and Disturbed are no exception to this as they embrace a sound that is somewhere between hard rock and traditional heavy metal for Ten Thousand Fists.

    With the musicianship of drummer Mike Wengren and guitarist Dan Donegan being heavily contained on Disturbed’s nu metal albums for the most part, Ten Thousand Fists makes its evident that they want to do more or at the least get back to the level that they were at when playing groove metal under the name Brawl.

    The songs are faster, sound more powerful and for the first time there are guitar solos to be heard on several songs including Stricken, Overburdened, Forgiven, Avarice and Land of Confusion, an unexpected cover of a Genesis song that translates exceptionally well into their new sound. There aren’t any weak songs to be found per se but after a few listens it can start to sound a bit played out due to the lack of variety, which isn’t helped by a 56 minute running time and it seems hard trying to justify the length of it for this reason.

    David Draiman’s vocals are as strong as ever and on I’m Alive he cleverly enunciates the words rage and anger when he sings “change again, cannot be considered/I rage again, dispelling my anger” for effect without having to resort to shouting. However his trademark barking noise from The Sickness make an appearance on the title track, Sons of Plunder, Forgiven and Avarice but is absent from most songs.

    His lyrical themes have now progressed onto topics such as war and personal struggles with Decadence addressing self harm and I’m Alive dealing with the pressure of others trying to influence the bands artistic direction to create something that wouldn’t be Disturbed and their subsequent rejection of this.

    Overburdened looks at people killing others in the name of religion or political ideology only to finding themselves queueing up to enter Hell, which is overburdened by the sheer number of people caught up in harmful ideology all while thinking that they’re fighting for a righteous cause. At the start of the song one of these people reflects on this by saying “Fate is so unkind/Now I should have known/Blind leading the blind/Reaping what I’ve sown/If it all amounts to nothing/Why, then, am I standing in this line?” after believing that they were right in doing what they did. David Draiman puts a different lens on this perspective to infer that “holy blessed homicide” is wrong in any context and that people that believe otherwise have been misled, possibly for the gain of others.

    The improved musicianship and deeper lyrical content that has come with the change in sound will surely have won over some new fans and there are many infectious hooks that will get stuck in your head for days after hearing them but on repeated listens some songs will start to wear thin due to the rank and file nature of the album.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, electronics
    Mike Wengren: Drums, percussion
    John Moyer: Bass guitar

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Ten Thousand Fists on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed Believe Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Believe
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Nu Metal
    Released: 2002
    Length: 47 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Prayer
    02. Liberate
    03. Awaken
    04. Believe
    05. Remember
    06. Intoxication
    07. Rise
    08. Mistress
    09. Breathe
    10. Bound
    11. Devour
    12. Darkness

    Disturbed Believe Cover
    Disturbed Believe Cover

    Disturbed Believe Review

    Believe is the second album by nu metallers Disturbed. Following the massively successful release of The Sickness, you could have easily expected Disturbed to follow up in a similar fashion but that isn’t the case because they have chosen to shed off many of their defining traits to start on a new path for Believe.

    The confrontational singing style and angsty lyrics have been scrapped in favour of highlighting David Draiman’s highly melodic singing abilities with his lyrics now taking a closer look at religion and spirituality, which is also depicted on the albums cover as a mix of the Christian crucifix, Islamic crescent, Jewish star of David and a Wiccan pentacle. The only song on Believe to feature any of his distinguishing barking noises is Intoxication so for anyone that is put off by that on The Sickness will find Believe much more welcoming.

    The electronic elements have disappeared almost entirely with the tiny exceptions being the glitchy vocals at the start of Liberate and then the keyboards at the start of Remember and on the bridge of Mistress. Another rare moment is the final song, Darkness, which is an artfully crafted piano ballad that will catch most listener’s off-guard. It also proves that the band is capable of expressing themselves in an entire different way when they want to. It also happens to be the only song to feature an acoustic guitar as well as cellist Alison Chesley.

    Devour picks up a lot of momentum right at the end before coming to a sudden stop and it’s hard not to think that this could have easily transitioned into a new verse or even something slightly progressive but instead of tip-toing around something new Disturbed strictly adheres to their radio friendly format. That isn’t to say that there is anything inherently wrong with this, despite it almost feeling intentional at times, but it would have been interesting to hear the band tackle something more challenging.

    Despite the sudden shift into a highly accessible and melodic style, Believe is still a nu metal album that focuses on straightforward guitar riffs and stays away from any form of flashy showmanship. In contrast to this, the rejection of angsty lyrics and aggression in general makes Believe one of nu metals most mature efforts by the simple virtue of escaping these common elements. Whether you consider Believe to be a streamlined or a stripped back effort will depend entirely on your perspective of the band and the subgenre.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, keyboards
    Steve Kmak: Bass guitar
    Mike Wengren: Drums, percussion
    Alison Chesley: Cello

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Believe on Wikipedia

  • New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Review

    General Information:

    Artist: New Model Army
    Album: The Ghost of Cain
    Genre(s): Rock, Folk Rock
    Subgenres(s): Post-Punk
    Released: 1986
    Length: 35 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): EMI

    Track List:

    01. The Hunt
    02. Lights Go Out
    03. 51st State
    04. All of This
    05. Poison Street
    06. Western Dream
    07. Lovesong
    08. Heroes
    09. Ballad
    10. Master Race

    New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Cover
    New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Cover

    New Model Army The Ghost of Cain Review

    The Ghost of Cain is the third studio album by British post-punk outfit New Model Army. Unlike a great number of other rock bands, New Model Army has a big emphasis on narrative-driven lyrics that touch on serious themes of justice, politics and social issues.

    This is outlined right from the get-go with The Hunt, which deals with street justice in a town overrun by drug dealers and thugs that are untouchable due to corruption and fear. 51st State is an irony-soaked acoustic song about American exceptionalism while Master Race reflects on countries acting like the world police because of their arrogant sense of superiority.

    Western Dream is perhaps the most serious in terms of lyrical content when Justin Sullivan pessimistically looks at “the bitterness of failure and the dirt of success” in the western world. He goes on to sing about how sometimes it looks like there are only two choices; know your place or “trample over everyone” to be successful while living with the dirt of doing so.

    Every instrument has been mixed with a high degree of clarity so that they are all represented equally on The Ghost of Cain. This means that the bass can not only be heard clearly, which is a rarity in rock music, but it proves to be an integral part of the New Model Army sound. There is also a noticeable influence from folk music on 51st State, All of This and Lovesongs while Poison Street and the dusty sounding Ballad feature the harmonica courtesy of Mark Feltham.

    All of these inclusions play perfectly into the post-punk ethos of expanding beyond punk rock’s simplistic 3 chords of fury to explore more artistic possibilities while maintaining the same energy and passion.

    Performers:

    Justin Sullivan: Vocals, Guitar
    Robert Heaton: Drums
    Jason “Moose” Harris: Bass
    Mark Feltham: Harmonica (Poison Street and Ballad)

    External Links:

    New Model Army Homepage
    New Model Army on Wikipedia
    The Ghost of Cain on Wikipedia

  • The Devin Townsend Project Ki Review

    General Information:

    Artist: The Devin Townsend Project
    Album: Ki
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Progressive Rock
    Released: 2009
    Length: 107 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): HevyDevy, Inside Out

    Track List:

    01. A Monday
    02. Coast
    03. Disruptr
    04. Gato
    05. Terminal
    06. Heaven’s End
    07. Ain’t Never Gonna Win
    08. Winter
    09. Trainfire
    10. Lady Helen
    11. Ki
    12. Quiet Riot
    13. Demon League

    The Devin Townsend Project Ki Cover
    The Devin Townsend Project Ki Cover

    The Devin Townsend Project Ki Review

    Ki (pronounced key) is the first of a planned 4 part series by Devin Townsend following a 2 year hiatus from recording music after he found himself uncomfortable with the fact that he had difficulty writing music without drugs. During the hiatus he wrote music that he found fitting into 4 different styles and wanted to create an album for each of them.

    To help him realise this ambitious goal he enlisted a different group of musicians for each album. For Ki he chose long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Dave Young, who provides much of the ambiance as well as drummer Duris Maxwell (Heart, Jefferson Airplane and Skylark) and bassist Jean Savoie who is a member of a Beatles tribute band called The Bobcats as he thought that they would bring a fresh perspective to Ki’s quieter aspects. Devin Townsend himself takes on lead vocal and guitar duties as well as some bass playing and ambiance.

    There are 2 distinct sides to Ki. The first is the moody and introspective music that would be the perfect soundtrack to a quiet winters evening. This is introduced immediately with the minimalist A Monday, which focuses on simple and undistorted guitar playing with some keyboard work to fill in the spaces around it. Other songs like Terminal, Winter and Lady Helen are particularly close to this blueprint in terms of the mood and stripped back musicianship while Coast is slightly more up-tempo, especially towards the end when the music intensifies with layers of voices. Ain’t Never Gonna Win is a loose jam song that never loses the feeling of the other songs mentioned but sounds distinct from everything else in its own right.

    Unfortunately there is also the other side to Ki which is made up of irate songs like Gato, Heaven Send, the title track and the aptly named Disruptr (yes that’s how it’s spelt). They all contain the softer side as well but Devin Townsend’s latent aggression starts to seep through in a controlled way. The loud chugging guitars come in, Devin Townsend shouts and snarls in his distinct way as the songs intensify like at the end of Coast before dissipating into soft ambience once again.

    There are 2 problems with this. The first is that the anger seems to be allowed out in controlled bursts which prevent it from really taking hold of the music and going somewhere of significance. The second is that the different styles are divisive because the moods that they create rub shoulders in an awkward fashion instead of complementing each other. It would have been a much wiser idea to split Ki into 2 separate albums for the sake of consistency if nothing else.

    There are other anomalies such as Quiet Riot, an optimistic sounding folk song that turned out to be a real highlight of the album and I can’t help but wish there was more of this on Ki. Then there’s Trainfire, a tongue-in-cheek rock and roll song with more of the wrath-filled heavy metal segues that eventually gives way to the introverted night time music. This is one of those songs that you’ll either accept as a particularly odd progressive rock song that blends 3 styles of music together or you’ll sit back and think that it’s a train wreck of conflicting ideas. Demon League is another low key song that closes the album while bringing Ki around full circle by revisiting the themes found at the start of the album on A Monday.

    Ki gives the impression that Devin Townsend was fighting with himself over what kind of music he wanted to create and ends up with an odd combination of styles that would have been better suited to 2 separate albums. It’s a bumpy ride because of this but if you are either a fan of Devin Townsend or want to hear something different without having to jump into the deep end it would be an ideal place to start.

    Performers:

    Devin Townsend: Vocals, Guitars, Fretless Bass Guitar, Ambience
    Duris Maxwell: Drums
    Jean Savoie: Bass guitar
    Dave Young: Keyboard, Piano, Ambience

    Additional Musicians:

    Ché Aimee Dorval: – additional vocals
    Ryan Dahle: – additional vocals on Gato
    Bjorn Strid, Peter, Christopher, Grant, Corey, Jeremy, Ryan: additional vocals

    External Links:

    Devin Townsend Homepage
    Devin Townsend on Wikipedia | Ki on Wikipedia

  • Jay Reatard Watch Me Fall Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Jay Reatard
    Album: Watch Me Fall
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Garage Rock
    Released: 2009
    Length: 32 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Matador Records

    Track List:

    01. It Ain’t Gonna Save Me
    02. Before I Was Caught
    03. Man of Steel
    04. Can’t Do it Anymore
    05. Faking It
    06. I’m Watching You
    07. Wounded
    08. Rotten Mind
    09. Nothing Now
    10. My Reality
    11. Hang Them All
    12. There is No Sun

    Jay Reatard Watch Me Fall Cover
    Jay Reatard Watch Me Fall Cover

    Jay Reatard Watch Me Fall Review

    Watch Me Fall is the second and final album solo album of the late Jay Reatard. Consisting of rough cut garage rock anthems, he carefully blends it together with contrasting pop sensibilities and bleak lyricism that focuses on angst, depression and apathy.

    Most of Watch Me Fall is centred on fuzzy guitar hooks and Jay Reatard’s under produced echo-laden voice, which actually compliments the sound rather than hindering it. Between the jagged guitar work there are some songs in which he flex his sonic pallet. I’m Watching You is the closest that you’ll get to a ballad as he brings the acoustic guitar, keyboard and organ to the front while Wounded favours the acoustic guitar and an overly sweet wordless chorus.

    Still within the realms of rock music, another interesting development is found on My Reality when it channels brief climatic build ups and the post rock sound of Explosions in the Sky. Whether this is a case of independent invention or not, we will never know. The album closes with There is No Sun, a grim premonition of Jay Reatards own untimely death if there ever was one.

    Watch Me Fall is the perfect blend of bleak lyricism, pop sensibilities and the garage rock aesthetic which have secured Jay Reatard a well-earned legacy.

    Performers:

    Jay Reatard: Vocals, Guitar
    Stephen Pope: Bass guitar
    Billy Hayes: Drums

    External Links:

    Jay Reatard Homepage
    Jay Reatard on Wikipedia | Watch Me Fall on Wikipedia
    Jay Reatard on Discogs | Watch Me Fall on Discogs

  • Sick of it All Death to Tyrants Review

    Artist: Sick of it All
    Album: Death to Tyrants
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hardcore Punk
    Released: 2006
    Length: 37 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Abacus Records

    Track List:

    01. Take the Night Off
    02. Machete
    03. Preamble
    04. Uprising Nation
    05. Always War
    06. Die Alone
    07. Evil Schemer
    08. Leader
    09. Make a Mark
    10. Forked Tongue
    11. The Reason
    12. Faithless
    13. Fred Army
    14. Thin Skin
    15. Maria White Trash
    16. Don’t Join the Crowd (European Bonus Track)

    Sick of it All Death to Tyrants Cover
    Sick of it All Death to Tyrants Cover

    Sick of it All Death to Tyrants Review

    Death to Tyrants is a testosterone fuelled rage fit by Sick of it All. After the first few songs you’ll come to realise that Sick of it All are content with playing short, snappy bursts of hardcore punk and aren’t trying to do anything else. While the passion is clearly there, the lack of desire to diversify their sound leaves each song on Death to Tyrants sounding all too similar to the ones before it.

    However the biggest grievance on Death to Tyrants has to be vocalist Lou Koller, who insists on spluttering over what could have been some well-crafted songs without his constipated gorilla cries. Instead, Death to Tyrants turns into nothing more than an endurance test to get to the end of it.

    Death to Tyrants is best left to the hardcore punk enthusiasts as it will leave the rest of us feeling sick of it all before the album is halfway done.

    Performers:

    Lou Koller: Vocals
    Pete Koller: Guitar
    Craig Setari: Bass Guitar
    Armand Majidi: Drums

    External Links:

    Sick of it All Homepage
    Sick of it All on Wikipedia | Death to Tyrants on Wikipedia
    Sick of it All on Discogs | Death to Tyrants on Discogs

  • Beat Tornados Pole Position Review

    General Information:

    Artist: The Beat Tornados
    Album: Pole Position
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Surf Rock
    Released: 1998
    Length: 20 minutes
    Language(s): N/A
    Label(s): Amigo

    Track List:

    01. Oppa Fjellet
    02. Throttleman
    03. Pole Position
    04. El Nino
    05. Kon Tiki
    06. Pihen T Dalen
    07. Reinlender
    08. The Cruel Sea

    The Beat Tornados Pole Position Cover
    The Beat Tornados Pole Position Cover

    Beat Tornados Pole Position Review

    Pole Position is the debut album by the Norwegian surf rockers The Beat Tornados. Pole Position is almost entirely instrumental with the exceptions being the subtle wordless voices on Oppa Fjellet and a quiet yell followed by a much louder one on El Nino. This works to the albums advantage because there isn’t much space for actual singing as the songs take on new directions quickly and aren’t structured with a singer in mind.

    While all of the songs are up tempo with reverb drenched guitars taking the lead, there is plenty of variety in the song-writing department over the course of this short album. The lazy sounding Kon Tiki is the only slow song on Pole Position and it follows on from El Nino, a song that builds itself into a flurry of cymbal crashes and drum rolls before launching into the optimistic Phin T Dalen that is guaranteed to make you smile.

    Clocking in at 20 minutes, it’s hard to consider Pole Position to be a full length album but The Beat Tornados offer the listener a great deal of replay value with some excellent musicianship that does everything right without the need for any excess.

    External Links:

    Beat Tornados on Facebook
    Beat Tornados on Discogs | Pole Position on Discogs

  • Spiritual Beggars Ad Astra Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Spiritual Beggars
    Album: Ad Astra
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Stoner Rock
    Released: 2000
    Length: 60 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Music for Nations

    Track List:

    01. Left Brain Ambassadors
    02. Wonderful Word
    03. Sedated
    04. Angel of Betrayal
    05. Blessed
    06. Per Aspera Ad Astra
    07. Save Your Soul
    08. Until the Morning
    09. Escaping the Fools
    10. On Dark Rivers
    11. The Goddess
    12. Mantra
    13. Let the Magic Talk

    Spiritual Beggars Ad Astra Cover
    Spiritual Beggars Ad Astra Cover

    Spiritual Beggars Ad Astra Review

    Ad Astra is the fourth Spiritual Beggars album and the last to feature original singer Christian “Spice” Sjostrand. It is a fitting final album for him that sets the standard in terms of his own performance and that of his band mates which have all improved leaps and bounds in the time since their debut album, Spiritual Beggars, was release in 1994.

    There is no build up or easing off with Ad Astra. Spiritual Beggars go in at full throttle and after the third song, Sedated, you’re already half expecting the group to throw in a ballad but we’re in luck – there aren’t any. Ad Astra is almost an entire hour of face melting guitar riffs, authoritative percussive blows, dense bass and lively keyboard work to fill in any semblance of quiet.

    The first parts of Until the Morning and Mantra would have you thinking otherwise before you get floored by brooding doom metal force on the former and flashy solo work on the latter. Given that Spiritual Beggars don’t slow down on Ad Astra and focus primarily on the guitar, it is hard to call it sonically diverse. What they lack in this department is more than made up for with their finely honed song-writing skills and stunning musicianship that will blow your mind straight out the back of your head.

    Ad Astra is a staple of the Spiritual Beggars discography with the single-minded, full throttle approach to the song-writing actually being the Spiritual Beggars greatest asset that doesn’t fail them for a single moment.

    External Links:

    Spiritual Beggars Homepage
    Spiritual Beggars on Wikipedia | Ad Astra on Wikipedia
    Spiritual Beggars on Discogs | Ad Astra on Discogs

  • Opeth Pale Communion Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Opeth
    Album: Pale Communion
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Progressive Rock
    Released: 2014
    Length: 56 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Roadrunner Records

    Track List:

    01. Eternal Rains Will Come
    02. Cusp of Eternity
    03. Moon Above, Sun Below
    04. Elysian Woes
    05. Goblin
    06. River
    07. Voice of Treason
    08. Faith in Others

    Opeth Pale Communion Cover
    Opeth Pale Communion Cover

    Opeth Pale Communion Review

    Pale Communion is the eleventh studio album and third progressive rock outing by Opeth. Following on from the Damnation and Heritage albums, Pale Communion sees Opeth once again exploring their progressive rock influences without any traces of their death metal side which thankfully excludes the grunts and growls too. There is also some jazz fusion influence creeping in, which could be due to co-producer and guest backing vocalist Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, solo) following his own taking to the genre in the last few years.

    After appearing in a guest role on Heritage’s title track, keyboardist Joakim Svalberg has now joined the ranks of Opeth as a fulltime band member following the departure of Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars). The overall sound of Pale Communion is most easily described as a continuation of what is heard on Heritage. The big differences are that Opeth are more confident in embracing their progressive rock roots and the songs are more fine-tuned with many of them having a longer running time to reflect this.

    Like many of the songs on Pale Communion, Cusp of Eternity has a myriad of passages woven together seamlessly but for no reason it ends with a fade out. Given how many directions some songs on Pale Communion take, it almost comes across as Opeth brushing it aside for the ambitious 11 minute Moon Above, Sun Below, which does not feel like it’s half as long as it is.

    Still not content with their new sound, Opeth takes a breather on Elysian Woes by introducing elements of folk music and keeps a steadier pace to bring Michael Akerfeldt’s voice to the front. River is written in the same vein with a stronger emphasis on vocal melodies (which is another major addition to the album that gets its biggest spotlight on Faith in Others) and has a bit of a jam session part way through to mix things up even further.

    Goblin tips its hat to the Italian progressive rock outfit of the same name and is the only instrumental track on Pale Communion. It centres around a steady build up and drummer Martin Axenrot throwing in plenty of short and sharp fills to keep you on your toes. With all the songs before Voice of Treason being much lighter by comparison, it takes an uncharacteristically tense twist that is reminiscent of the song Closure from Opeth’s 2003 album Damnation. The atmospheric keyboard work at the end bridges it with Faith in Others to create a 16 minute 2 part song.

    The complete lack of heavy metal will be a disappointment for long-time fans that haven’t embraced Opeth’s progressive rock side but for the rest of us, it’s another exciting chapter in Opeth’s discography as well as the modern progressive rock scene as it seems that Opeth has its collective heart set on this path for the time being.

    Performers:

    Fredrik Akesson: Guitars, backing vocals
    Mikael Akerfeldt: Vocals, guitars
    Martin Axenrot: Drums, percussion
    Martin Mendez: Bass guitars
    Joakim Svalberg: Keyboards, backing vocals
    Steven Wilson: Backing vocals

    External Links:

    Opeth Homepage
    Opeth on Wikipedia | Pale Communion on Wikipedia
    Opeth on Discogs | Pale Communion on Discogs
    Opeth on Metal Archives | Pale Communion on Metal Archives