Tag: Rock

Green Carnation The Acoustic Verses Review

Green Carnation The Acoustic Verses

Artist: Green Carnation
Album: The Acoustic Verses
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Art Rock, Progressive Rock
Released: 2006
Length: 43 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Sublife Records, The End Records

Track List:

01. Sweet Leaf
02. The Burden is Mine… Alone
03. Maybe
04. Alone
05. 9-29-045
06. Child’s Play (Part 3)
07. High Tide Waves

The Acoustic Verses is the 5th and final album by Green Carnation. It shows a drastic shift in sound by taking the soft art rock/progressive rock sound that could be heard on parts of their previous album, The Quiet Offspring, and letting its influence seep out to create an entire album based on that sound. The Acoustic Verses is full of low key melancholic vibrations and unstrained, almost delicate singing from Kjetil Nordhus to match the theme. The Burden is Mine… Alone only consists of an acoustic guitar, keyboard ambiance and straightforward lyrics but it manages to neatly summarises this theme over its short duration.

While the title of album allures to acoustic instrumentation, there are still some electric instruments used including the bass, keyboard and theremin. The acoustic guitars often take centre stage with the biggest exception being Child’s Play (Part 3). It is the only instrumental piece on The Acoustic Verses and only involves the piano and keyboard. Songs such as Alone and High Tide Waves see Green Carnation go as far as bringing in a string trio (consisting of a violin, viola and cello) to add another dimension to the rich sound of The Acoustic Verses.

In a throwback to Green Carnation’s knack for writing long songs back in the early stages of their career, they wrote a 15 minute, 3 part suite called 9-29-045 (Part 1 My Greater Cause, Part 2 Homecoming and Part 3 House of Cards). This is at odds with the other songs being that they are between 3 and 5 minutes. Placing it in the middle of the album was certainly a bold move as it could throw off some listeners but Green Carnation pulls it off and melds all the elements of The Acoustic Verses together to make a fluid sonic journey out of it.

Drummer Tommy Jacksonville deserves a special mention for being able to play a diverse and often subtle role that could have easily gone against the soft nature of the music. The drums haven’t been mixed too loudly which prevents it from overshadowing anything which leaves Green Carnation and your own ears with the best results.

Long-time fans could be disappointed by the change in sound, or even the lack of distorted heavy metal guitar riffs, but Green Carnation proves to be adept enough to dive headfirst into their new sound that lets the band end their career on a well-deserved high note.

May 3, 2014
Palms Palms Review

Palms Palms Review

Artist: Palms
Album: Palms
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Post Rock, Shoegazer
Released: 2013
Length: 47 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Ipecac

Track List:

01. Future Warrior
02. Patagonia
03. Mission Sunset
04. Shortwave Radio
05. Tropics
06. Arctic Handshake

Palms is a post rock/shoegazer super group made up of Deftones singer Chino Moreno and 3 members of Isis. The first thing you’ll notice about all of the songs on their self-titled debut is that they all lack hooks and grooves to grab your attention. Instead they rely on lengthy guitar soundscapes that focuses heavily on layering shimmering clean guitar tones alongside their fuzzed out counterpart (that sometimes boarder on becoming blue noise) with Chino Moreno’s ethereal voice sitting comfortable in the middle of it all.

Unfortunately the soundscaping that Palms indulges in also happens to be the major pitfall of the album. It becomes apparent early on that the songs lack definition and given that the song lengths average out at almost 8 minutes each, there is little variety and ever fewer memorable moments. This becomes frustrating when the songs sound like they are building up to something but then nothing significant happens, resulting in some rather lengthy songs that don’t appear to have any real momentum behind them.

Sadly the album isn’t what it could have been and while Palms have a lot of style in their well-crafted ambience, they lack the substance in the song writing department that makes an album memorable and engaging. If you hear a single song from Palms then you’ve heard the rest of the album. Stronger song writing would have given it the potential to be a sonic masterpiece but the lack of variety is what holds Palms back.

February 28, 2014
Peeping Tom Peeping Tom Review

Peeping Tom Peeping Tom Review

Artist: Peeping Tom
Album: Peeping Tom
Genre(s): Rap, Rock
Subgenres(s): Rap Rock, Trip Hop, Trip Rock
Released: 2006
Length: 44 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Ipecac Recordings

Track List:

01. Five Seconds
02. Mojo
03. Don’t Even Trip
04. Getaway
05. Your Neighborhood Spaceman
06. Kill the DJ
07. Caipirinha
08. Celebrity Death Match
09. How U Feelin?
10. Sucker
11. We’re Not Alone (Remix)

Peeping Tom is the debut album of Mike Patton’s rap rock music project of the same name. Put into motion in 2000, the album was recorded from then to 2006 and subsequently released that year. A wealth of guest performers and producers including Dan the Automator, Massive Attack, Kool Keith, Norah Jones and Rahzel amongst others are enlisted to bring a different sound to each song.

As this is a pop album of sorts, Mike Patton and his collaborators embracing rap, rock and downtempo music that is then blended into a broad set of rap rock and trip hop/trip rock songs with mostly conventional song structures and fewer of the eccentricities associated with many of his other bands (namely Fantomas, Mr. Bungle and his collaborations with John Zorn).

Some songs (Five Seconds, Mojo and We’re Not Alone) draw back to the rap rock sound of the late 1990s by alternating between rapping and singing to the well-established loud/quiet song structure dynamics. Thankfully the overblown angst ridden lyrics are out of the equation and this prevents it from becoming a pale imitation of the scene it draws inspiration from.

Mike Patton is a flexible vocalist as his long, meandering career has proven time and time again. He puts on a strong performance for the rock-centric parts of the album and while he can rap and beat box, it’s evident that it is not his forte and the guest vocalists often outshine him in this element.

Getaway, Your Neighborhood Spaceman, Celebrity Death Match and How U Feelin? favour a heavy helping of hip hop influences to balance out Peeping Tom’s sound while We’re Not Alone (Remix) is a brilliant summary of what Peeping Tom offers: hard guitar sounds, relaxed trip hop beats, diverse vocal performances and enough song progression to feed Mike Patton’s eccentric tendencies without alienating the listener.

Mike Patton never loses track of what he set out to accomplish with Peeping Tom and while it is certainly not a jarring effort, the breadth of styles used do give the album plenty momentum and a real sense of unpredictability.

January 31, 2014
Alice Cooper Trash Review

Alice Cooper Trash Review

Artist: Alice Cooper
Album: Trash
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
Released: 1989
Length: 40 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Epic Records

Track List:

01. Poison
02. Spark in the Dark
03. House of Fire
04. Why Trust You
05. Only My Heart Talkin’
06. Bed of Nails
07. This Maniac’s in Love with You
08. Trash
09. Hell is Living Without You
10. I’m Your Gun

Alice Cooper returned to the throng of commercial success with Trash in 1989. This was his biggest selling album since the mid-1970s and it isn’t hard to see why. Alice Cooper cuts the fat to leave you with the best possible experience; 10 powerhouse rock anthems with a plethora of catchy guitar rhythms and infections sing-along hooks that are bound to snare your ears.

He tackles 3 topics that more often than not make a pop sensation (sex, love and heart break) with a sleazy, tongue-in-cheek grin that will make you laugh and cringe simultaneously with his blunt refrains. Memorable lines go from “no one else gets as deep inside you as I do” (Bed of Nails) and “pull my trigger, I get bigger, then I’m lots of fun” (I’m Your Gun) to him portraying an obsessed stalker on This Maniac’s In Love With You.

The 8 boisterous rock anthems are balanced out with Only My Heart Talkin’ and Hell is Living Without You, the 2 slightly more sincere power ballads in which his tone changes fittingly to deal with heart break. It’s worth mentioning that while sincere next to the rest of the album, Only My Heart Talkin’ descends into an incessant animal yelps as part of a long fade out that cues Alice Cooper to get back to what he excels at on Trash. Spark in the Dark takes a nod to Alice Cooper rejecting the use of hard drugs with the line “we don’t need cocaine” after overcoming his own addictions in the early 1980s.

As far as the recording of Trash goes, it has a distinct 1980s sound to it complete with the era’s cheesy keyboard effects. Thankfully they are used subtly and are relegated to the background so when they come into play, they don’t have enough emphasis in any song to diminish its quality.

Trash possesses all of the hallmarks of a great rock album. It will have you coming back for more time and time again with Alice Coopers sleazy lyrics delivered in a high energy performance across a small set of songs that never feel played out no matter how many times you listen to them.

December 27, 2013
The Darkness Christmas Time Don’t Let the Bells End Review

The Darkness Christmas Time Don’t Let the Bells End Review

Artist: The Darkness
Album: Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
Released: 2003
Length: 7 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Atlantic, Must Destroy

Track List:

01. Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
02. I Love You 5 Times

Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) is a festive EP by The Darkness in 2003 as a bid to grab the Christmas number 1 spot in the UK but landed second after losing out to the joyless Mad World by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews. The single was then featured as a bonus track on the rerelease of their debut album Permission to Land.

Both songs are rife with the same cheeky humour found on their debut album and since there are only 2 short songs on this EP, The Darkness manages make it more obvious than ever on Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) by letting the double entendres loose to sing about “bells end” “ringing in peace” during the festive season. The song also features a children’s choir and ends with bells and chimes to give it that authentic Christmas feeling while referencing the title in a musical context this time.

Justin Hawkins maintains his falsetto range and somehow restrains himself from his own flamboyant wailing only to let loose in a desperate plea to grab some attention from the choir when his own voice is buried by them on Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End).

I Love You 5 Times is a power ballad that is highlighted by its ridiculous lyrics in which Justin Hawkins confesses that “I watch as you spend an hour or two in the bath like a tuna” and “twice a week I take a peek as you bathe like a reptile”. If this wasn’t enough for you he purrs, moans along to the choppy guitar solo and ends the song with a kiss. The lyrics pull the ballad together and wouldn’t be the same without them whereas Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) is thoroughly enjoyable even if you are completely oblivious to the humour.

The Darkness put a brilliant, cheeky twist on Christmas cheer by bringing a duo of genuinely jovial songs to the table instead of rehashing tired Christmas classics like countless others have done before.

December 19, 2013
Stolen Babies There Be Squabbles Ahead Review

Stolen Babies There Be Squabbles Ahead Review

Artist: Stolen Babies
Album: There Be Squabbles Ahead
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Experimental Rock
Released: 2006
Length: 49 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): The End Records, No Comment Records

Track List:

01. Spill!
02. Awful Fall
03. Filistata
04. A Year of Judges
05. So Close
06. Tablescrap
07. Swint? Or Slude?
08. Mind Your Eyes
09. Lifeless
10. Tall Tales
11. Push Button
12. Gathering Fingers
13. The Button Has Been Pushed

There Be Squabbles Ahead is the debut album of the genre bending Stolen Babies. The quartet manages to pair their unusual take on rock music with twisted circus-like sounds that move in many bizarre directions while featuring an alarming number of instruments. The more common ones being the accordion, organ and piano in addition to the standard bass, drum and guitar set up. Stolen Babies then go as far as using a glockenspiel, jaw harp, mandolin, sitar, marimba, tuba, trumpet, euphonium and a violin in a low-key capacity.

The bulk of the singing duties are handled by Dominique Lenore Persi, whose abilities are as flexible as the music is. She goes from explosive rage (Spill, A Year of Judges and Tall Tales) through to singing (Lifeless), semi-spoken lines (Push Button) and a smattering of hissed whispers are thrown in the mix for good measures (So Close) but most songs have a combination of two or more styles in them.

It’s hard to tell what you should expect on first hearing There Be Squabbles Ahead when Stolen Babies kicks it off with the volatile Spill before going onto the comparatively relaxed and bass driven Awful Fall. Filistata is the first song to feature the oddball circus music and from then on you will be subjected to any combination of this (much like the vocal performances).

Stolen Babies break further away from their wayward format to feature dance-like rhythms with a heavy keyboard focus on So Close, the tragic Lifeless provides a much needed break from its antithesis Mind Your Eyes and The Button Has Been Pushed is abstract and sounds as though it belongs on a credit reel to a film from a far off land that only exists in the mind of the Stolen Babies band members.

Most bands that purposefully try to stand so far apart from any of their contemporaries while using so many instruments would easily turn everything into an unfocused pile of auditory vomit. Stolen Babies are one of the rare exceptions. There Be Squabbles Ahead is well structured and thought out, with their collective vision coming through in their music to give the album (and band) a real identity of its own.

October 31, 2013
The Gathering The West Pole Review

The Gathering The West Pole Review

Artist: The Gathering
Album: The West Pole
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Post Rock, Trip Rock
Released: 2009
Length: 54 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Psychonaut

Track List:

01. When Trust Becomes Sound
02. Treasure
03. All You Are
04. The West Pole
05. No Bird Call
06. Capital of Nowhere
07. You Promised Me a Symphony
08. Pale Traces
09. No One Spoke
10. A Constant Run

The West Pole is the first Gathering album since the departure of singer Anneke Van Giersbergen in 2007. She has since been replaced by Silje Wergeland (Octavia Sperati) and The Gathering deceptively approached The West Pole with the mentality of “new singer, new sound” with the misleading mammoth opener When Trust Becomes Sound.

The song is an unexpected post rock number that continuously builds on itself before a questionable background megaphone ramble comes out of nowhere courtesy of guest singer Anne van den Hoogen. Thankfully the guitar buries the megaphone in a fashion most favourable and lets you enjoy the rest of the sterling craftsmanship that has gone into writing and performing it.

After The Gathering waste time not introducing Silje Wergeland she makes a powerful introduction for herself on the even-tempered Treasure. Her performance should remove any doubt from long time Gathering fans that are sceptical of her being able to replace Anneke Van Giersbergen. She easily proves to be a suitable replacement while there are some noticeable similarities between them.

The overly noisy side of The Gathering is short-lived and the mid-paced songs become the theme before they manage to take it down a few more notches beginning with the quelled No Bird Call up to and including Pale Traces, which throw back to the sombre ambience of their 2006 album Home.

Unlike their previous trip rock albums, the distortion drenched guitar has been integrated into their sound to give them a new edge to work with, just not in the way you would expect from the opener. It has definitely push them forward and kept them from rehashing their existing sound and while it would have been exciting to hear The Gathering take on the post rock genre and weave their unique vision around it, The West Pole ends on a well-deserved high note.

September 22, 2013
Rob Zombie Hellbilly Deluxe Review

Rob Zombie Hellbilly Deluxe Review

Artist: Rob Zombie
Album: Hellbilly Deluxe
Genre(s): Nu Metal
Subgenres(s): N/A
Released: 1998
Length: 38 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Geffen Records

Track List:

01. Call of the Zombie
02. Superbeast
03. Dragula
04. Living Dead Girl
05. Perversion 99
06. Demonoid Phenomenon
07. Spookshow Baby
08. How to Make a Monster
09. Meet the Creeper
10. The Ballad of Resurrection Joe and Rosa Whore
11. What Lurks on Channel X?
12. Return of the Phantom Stranger
13. The Beginning of the End

Hellbilly Deluxe is the first album that Rob Zombie recorded as a solo artist. Released the same year as his heavy metal band White Zombie disbanded, Hellbilly Deluxe serves as a spiritual successor to White Zombie’s final album, Astro Creep: 2000, but in many ways it is something entirely new.

Abandoning the groove metal sound of White Zombies last 2 albums, Rob Zombie gravitated towards nu metal still with an emphasis on strong groove laden songs and samples of horror film dialogue with his own lyrics revolve around the same themes as well as offbeat characters and concepts of his own creation.

Rob Zombie manages to cling onto his distinct gravelly voice while showing a massive improvement in his singing abilities. He sings clearly enough to be heard throughout most songs and no longer sounds like he’s straining himself anymore. At other times he takes to an almost spoken word delivery on Living Dead Girl, The Ballad of Resurrection Joe and Rosa Whore, and Return of the Phantom Stranger.

Song-writing has flourished in a lot of new ways while each song is generally shorter and has a more clearly produced sound. After the creepy samples that make up Call of the Zombie he cuts to the heart of Hellbilly Deluxe; adrenaline pumping horror rock anthems tinged with an assortment of odd noises and all the other ingredients you’d expect to hear in a b-list horror film.

The other, more arguably artistic side of Rob Zombie crawls through on the spooky soundscape work of Perversion 99 while How to Make a Monster is a seemingly intentional lo-fi rocker that sounds as though it was recorded in a basement with the microphones in another room. The supernatural monster shenanigans come to a bizarre finish with The Beginning of the End, a noise song that is riddled with several layers of unidentifiable sounds that swirl around uncomfortably.

While some parts of Hellbilly Deluxe are comparable to White Zombies later output, it’s important to remember that Rob Zombie has moved beyond what White Zombie was and has gone onto carve out a far more ambitious and creative solo career with Hellbilly Deluxe.

July 28, 2013
Storm Corrosion Storm Corrosion Review

Storm Corrosion Storm Corrosion Review

Artist: Storm Corrosion
Album: Storm Corrosion
Genre(s): Ambient, Folk, Rock
Subgenres(s): Dark Ambient, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Folk
Released: 2012
Length: 48 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Roadrunner

Track List:

01. Drag Ropes
02. Storm Corrosion
03. Hag
04. Happy
05. Lock Howl
06. Ljudet Innan

Storm Corrosion is the long awaited collaborative project between progressive rock/metal stars Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, solo) and Michael Akerfeldt (Opeth). Given the background of these 2 prolific musicians you would think that you would have some inkling as to what Storm Corrosion would turn out like but the results are much more unexpected than you’d think. As with a lot of Steven Wilson’s output in the last few years, the music is brooding and dark sounding without strictly sounding like anything either musician has put forward before.

There are only 6 songs on Storm Corrosion and together they manage to make up a little bit more than the average length of an album. Drag Ropes, Storm Corrosion and Ljudet Innan all clock in at around 10 minutes each and like most of the album, they work around the same tired format; soft guitar lines that keep the rhythm, dark keyboard atmospheres, sparse and infrequent percussion and unstrained singing from both halves of Storm Corrosion.

Half way through Hag you’ll be treated to a short burst of distorted guitar noise and frenzied drum rolls with plenty of sharp clashes on the cymbals thrown in in an effort to keep your attention and break up the monotony. Lock Howl is the only song with steady use of percussion and while remaining well within the duos ominous criteria, it manages to wake the listener from their slumber before abruptly stopping once they realise that they are in danger of playing something that might be memorable.

Unlimited artistic freedom isn’t a bad thing in and of itself but when 2 of the current progressive rock/metal scene figureheads get together and produce an album with maybe 20 minutes of material worth hearing you know that something hasn’t hit the marker.

July 21, 2013
Against All Authority The Restoration of Chaos and Order Review

Against All Authority The Restoration of Chaos and Order Review

Artist: Against All Authority
Album: The Restoration of Chaos and Order
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hardcore Punk, Punk Rock
Released: 2006
Length: 38 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Hopeless Records

Track List:

01. The Restoration of Chaos and Order
02. Sweet Televised Destruction
03. All Ages Show Tonight
04. Collection Scars
05. Radio Waves
06. Silence is Golden But Duct Tape is Silver
07. Shut it Down
08. Sunshine Fist Magnet
09. I Just Wanna Start a Circle Pit
10. War Machine Breakdown
11. Grinding My Life Away
12. The Production of Self Destruction
13. Buried Alive
14. Best Enemies

The Restoration of Chaos and Order is the final album by punk rockers Against All Authority. The band has shed off almost all of their former ska punk influences with the exception of a handful of ska rhythms and a trumpet on Radio Waves and Best Enemies whereas some of their older material made use of a larger brass section consisting of a trumpet, trombone and saxophone.

Against All Authority are still as furious as ever and with the removal of almost all of the ska punk influences they have decided to stick to what they know and struck a fantastic balance of straight ahead punk rock and the more aggressive hardcore punk sound that they slip in and out of with little effort.

Danny Lore’s has improved on his vocal performance a fair bit since the release of their previous studio album Nothing New for Trash Like You in 2001. He still sings in a familiar throaty voice but he is much easier to understand and the band has a way of getting you to pay attention to what he has to say over everything.

The lyrics tend to focus on social/political commentary, the highs and lows of life as well as more specific subjects like the murder of Brian Deneke on Sunshine Fist Magnet and what the spirit of the punk rock scene is supposed to be on Shut it Down.

Against All Authority broke up in 2007, ending their 15 year run on a high note and truly showing how far you can stretch 3 chords and 6 strings without throwing in a single piece of redundant material.

July 14, 2013
Alcest Souvenirs d’un autre monde Review

Alcest Souvenirs d’un autre monde Review

Artist: Alcest
Album: Souvenirs d’un autre monde
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Shoegazer
Released: 2007
Length: 41 Minutes
Language(s): French
Label(s): Prophecy Productions

Track List:

01. Printemps Émeraude
02. Souvenirs d’un autre monde
03. Les Iris
04. Ciel Errant
05. Sur l’autre rive je t’attendrai
06. Tir Nan Og

Souvenirs d’un autre monde (Memories of Another World) is the debut album by French multi-instrumentalist Neige working under the name Alcest. Apart from guest singer Audrey Sylvain, Souvenirs is a 1 man project that shows Neige casting off his black metal background to experiment with the sound of Shoegazer music.

His songs follow a rigid formula, meaning that after the first couple of songs you’ll know what Alcest is all about and you can expect everything to follow on in the same vein. The core of Alcest’s sound will have you bearing witness to tidal waves of guitar distortion and Neige’s disembodied voice calling out to you as though he where a ghost. Together this gives the music a strange melancholic quality.

The simplistic percussion patters away rapidly in the background of the distortion drenched music and manages to slow itself down to compliment the softer moments that are considerably shorter. The softer moments act as interludes to relieve your ears of the oppressive pressure put on them by the distorted guitar and in doing so, Alcest almost innovates but the guitar distortion takes hold again before the interludes have a chance to take root and be explored in greater depth.

Thankfully Tir Nan Og is the exception to the formula and sees that soft interlude music being transformed into a full song. Roots are taken and Alcest reveals an entirely different side to the music that flourishes beautifully when it doesn’t have to compete with the distortion.

Souvenirs d’un autre monde is a consistent effort with some good ideas and a lot of vision but a diverse take on the song-writing would have carried Alcest a lot further.

June 30, 2013
The Gathering Home Review

The Gathering Home Review

Artist: The Gathering
Album: Home
Genre(s): Rock, Ambient
Subgenres(s): Trip Rock
Released: 2006
Length: 60 minutes
Language(s): English, Spanish
Label(s): Noise Records, Sanctuary Records (excluding North America), The End Records (North America)

Track List:

01. Shortest Day
02. In Between
03. Alone
04. Waking Hour
05. Fatigue
06. A Noise Severe
07. Forgotten
08. Solace
09. Your Troubles Are Over
10. Box
11. The Quiet One
12. Home
13. Forgotten (Reprise)

Home shows yet another face of Dutch band The Gathering as their sound moves in a new but familiar direction where they have changed enough to keep long-time fans interested but not enough to alienate them either. The Gathering relied primarily on the use of textural keyboard playing and low key guitar lines to create a series of introverted songs that are kept grounded by simplistic percussion that works together to create some particularly subdued music.

With the exception of the Spanish spoken word verses on Solace, all of the songs are sung in English by Anneke Van Giersbergen whose dulcet voice is a more than suitable accompaniment for their reserved sound. Sadly, Home is the last album to feature her before she left The Gathering to pursue her solo career.

The songs are often bridged together by subtle interludes that begin at the end of 1 song and run through the start of the next to keep Home flowing while managing to be distinct enough from either song and stops them from blurring together. Unfortunately the flow of Home is shaken up as it draws near to its conclusion. The title track ends with 2 minutes of silence and Forgotten (Reprise) follows on with an unnecessarily dragged out finale that lasts for over half of its 8 minute duration due to an incredibly slow fade out.

The long silence and fade out could only have been included so as to push the album needlessly passed the 60 minute marker. The Gathering doesn’t do themselves any favours by doing this but it definitely isn’t something that should ruin the experience either.

Home isn’t the kind of album that will leap out and captivate most listeners immediately. Instead it will turn into a rewarding experience as it grows on you over the course of a few listens while being the perfect soundtrack for rainy days and quiet nights.

June 23, 2013
Spiritual Beggars Demons Review

Spiritual Beggars Demons Review

Artist: Spiritual Beggars
Album: Demons
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Stoner Rock
Released: 2005
Length: 49 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Icarus Music, Inside Out

Track List:

01. Inner Strength (Intro)
02. Throwing Your Life Away
03. Salt in Your Wounds
04. One Man Army
05. Through the Halls
06. Treading Water
07. Dying Every Day
08. Born to Die
09. Born to Die (Reprise)
10. In My Blood
11. Elusive
12. Sleeping With One Eye Open
13. No One Heard

Demons is the 6th effort by Swedish quintet Spiritual Beggars. The band draws on influences that span across the rock spectrum to include elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock and even heavy metal for the colossal song In My Blood. When meshed together these diverse influences form the basis of the semi-obscure stoner rock scene, of which the Spiritual Beggars are usually associated with.

The lyrics are quite straightforward and focus on the struggles of life, regrets and depression but are presented in a way that is more akin to perseverance than misery. It is the last album by Spiritual Beggars to feature singer Janne “JB” Christoffersson (Grand Magus) whose powerful grit laden voice brings the songs on Demons to life in a way that few others ever could.

His voice is backed by a plethora of catchy, driven guitar leads and passionate solos courtesy of founding member Michael Amott (Arch Enemy, Carcass). This contrasts with bassist Sharlee D’Angelo as his playing seems to exist somewhere in the middle of everything else and while never being washed out, he rarely comes to the forefront. He gives the album a denser sound quality but lacks many of the outstanding moments you’ll hear coming from the guitar.

Spiritual Beggars frequently delve into fluid instrumental passages that give each band member the chance to really come to life and show that they have perfected their craft. Drummer Ludwig Witt injects creative fills between verses and keyboardist Per Wiberg provides colourful, sometimes textural keyboard lines (and an extended solo at the end of Dying Every Day). He often sounds like he is taking on a support role but if he featured more prominently it could have introduced an exciting and different dynamic to their sound.

Spiritual Beggars embody the heart and soul of rock music on Demons and in doing so they create a genre defining album that should have a place in the collection of all rock fanatics.

May 26, 2013
Team Sleep Team Sleep Review

Team Sleep Team Sleep Review

Artist: Team Sleep
Album: Team Sleep
Genre(s): Electronic, Rock
Subgenres(s): Trip Hop, Trip Rock
Released: 2005
Length: 54 minutes
Language(s): English, French
Label(s): Maverick Records

Track List:

01. Ataraxia
02. Ever (Foreign Flag)
03. Your Skull is Red
04. Princeton Review
05. Blvd. Nights
06. Delorian
07. Our Ride to the Rectory
08. Tomb of Liegia
09. Elizabeth
10. Staring at the Queen
11. Ever Since WWI
12. King Diamond
13. Live from the Stage
14. Paris Arm
15. 11/11

Team Sleep is the self-titled debut album and end result of an extensive collaborative project that manages to pull together a myriad of influences ranging from shoegaze, post rock, dream pop, instrumental hip hop and glitch music. When combined, these influences are used to create a low key trip hop/trip rock album that focuses on ambience and textures with an experimental edge rather than big choruses or flashy instrumental leads.

The trip hop/trip rock songs that make up about 2/3 of the album are abruptly broken up by the more experimental and challenging songs littered through the track listing. The post rock/shoegaze styling of Your Skull is Red and Blvd. Nights will make you feel like you’re being swept under by a tidal wave of noise.

In contrast, the hip hop and glitch inspired song Staring at the Queen features programmed percussion that clangs around like a lumbering machine and is rounded off with skipping and looping effects in an effort to make it sound as dysfunctional as possible. King Diamond on the other hand uses samples of Chino Moreno and Mary Timony to create an odd spoken word collage with a similar musical style. While arguably not the highlights of Team Sleep, they are certainly memorable.

Paris Arm is a straightforward love song that is unexpectedly sung entirely in French by Sandy Lakdar, who is not credited in the album booklet but does get mentioned on the Team Sleep homepage. It is also one of the shortest songs on the album, only outstretching the interlude Delorian by 9 seconds.

While the brooding ambiance makes Team Sleep a suitable soundtrack for the small hours, the noisy post-rock/shoegaze and glitchy hip hop inspired songs will provide enough variation to stop the songs from running together.

May 5, 2013
Device Device Review

Device Device Review

Artist: Device
Album: Device
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
Released: 2013
Length: 40 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Warner Bros. Records

Track List:

01. You Think You Know
02. Penance
03. Vilify
04. Close My Eyes Forever (feat. Lzzy Hale) (Lita Ford Cover)
05. Out of Line (feat. Serj Tankian & Geezer Butler)
06. Hunted
07. Opinion (feat. Tom Morello)
08. War of Lies
09. Haze (feat. M. Shadows)
10. Through it All (feat. Glenn Hughes)

Device is the new collaborative project started by Disturbed frontman David Draiman and former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo. The sound can best be described as a continuation of where Disturbed left off with Asylum, only with a return of the electronic effects reminiscent of The Sickness while performing under a new moniker.

Song-writing ultimately remains the same as what you would expect from Disturbed but with a few small deviations. Hunted is the most obvious song to point at for the new bands experimentation. It has Device jumping into the deep end of the pool as they infused slow, ominous electronic segments with louder guitar passages that makes it a credit to the album. If this fusion was a common element in Devices debut, it would definitely bring the album into its own.

Device features a multitude of guest performers with perhaps the most memorable being Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), who performs a duet with Draiman on their cover of Lita Fords Close My Eye Forever. While faithful to the original song that featured Ozzy Osbourne, Device injects their personality into the song to give a fresh take on it that prevents them from cloning the original.

Devices debut will probably be a hit amongst hardcore Disturbed fans after they went on hiatus in 2011. Unfortunately not enough has been done with Device to step out of the shadow of Disturbed sans the occasional flirtation with the electronic elements.

April 23, 2013
Porcupine Tree Deadwing Review

Porcupine Tree Deadwing Review

Artist: Porcupine Tree
Album: Deadwing
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Progressive Rock
Released: 2005
Length: 60 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Lava

Track List:

01. Deadwing
02. Shallow
03. Lazarus
04. Halo
05. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
06. Mellotron Scratch
07. Open Car
08. The Start of Something Beautiful
09. Glass Arm Shattering

Deadwing makes for another impressive foray into progressive rock by Porcupine Tree, who used their previous effort, In Absentia, as a blueprint to build off for this album. The brooding soundscapes have been replaced with a dreamlike ambiance created through the heavy presence of keyboards, synthesisers and pianos. The metal-esque guitar tones now resemble a driven, rock-orientated sound, while Steven Wilson’s singing remains firmly in their established passive and unstrained style.

The rock-centric portion of the album is often mid-paced, while the ambient portion is restrained with steady percussion and subtle bass playing that stops it from drifting into formless soundscape territory. The soft sounding moments are easily recognised on Mellotron Scratch and Glass Arm Shattering as the ambient textures lead them. Many of the songs switch between these styles and because of this, the album rarely stays static. Instead, they opted to create sprawling and imaginative passages with plenty of dynamic changes.

The different styles are brought together seamlessly over the course of Deadwing and never feel out of place with one another, which is exemplified with Arriving Somewhere But Not Here. This is Deadwings centrepiece and epitomises the albums sound over its 12 minute duration. The length of the song could seem daunting to some, but it builds up and flows into new passages effortlessly to keep the listener interested and comes to an end before you know it.

Deadwing is an excellent introductory album to the current progressive rock scene. It is also a worthy addition to the already lengthy Porcupine Tree catalogue and easily ranks amongst their strongest and most rounded efforts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug8CWIasWi8

April 9, 2013
Andrew WK Close Calls With Brick Walls Review

Artist: Andrew WK
Album: Close Calls With Brick Walls
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Art Rock, Noise Rock
Released: 2006 (Japan), 2010 (international release)
Length: 48 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Universal Music

Track List:

01. I Came for You
02. Close Calls With Bal Harbour
03. Not Going to Bed
04. You Will Remember Tonight
05. Pushing Drugs
06. Hand on the Place
07. One Brother
08. Las Vegas, Nevada
09. Dr. Dumont
10. I Want to See You Go Wild
11. When I’m High
12. Golden Eyed Dog
13. Into the Clear
14. Mark My Grace
15. Don’t Call Me Andy
16. The Background
17. Slam John Against a Brick Wall
18. The Moving Room

Andrew WK Close Calls With Brick Walls Review

Close Calls With Brick Walls shows Andrew WK stepping down from the wall of sound approach of I Get Wet and The Wolf entirely. Instead, he allows for his creative spirit to run wild and takes his sound in a direction that no one could have predicted.

The throaty shouts are just a memory at this point as more conventional singing techniques have taken the helm, but perhaps the biggest change of all is the lack of adrenaline pumping guitars that were a staple of his sound up to this point. While the guitars still have an important role on Close Calls With Brick Walls, equal focus has also been put on writing more memorable moments for the bass, piano and drums that let them share the spotlight.

Calls With Brick Walls should solidify the artistic integrity of Andrew WK and dispel any notions of him as a gimmick act. The new direction will also probably alienate some hardcore fans who were expecting him to follow up in a similar fashion as before, but Close Calls With Brick Walls will reach out to new listeners and long-time fans alike. Andrew WK’s new sound is unique and just as engaging as his previous efforts but in an entirely different way.

External Links:

Andrew WK Homepage
Andrew WK on Wikipedia | Close Calls With Brick Walls on Wikipedia
Andrew WK on Discogs | Close Calls With Brick Walls on Discogs

April 2, 2013
Atari Teenage Riot Is This Hyperreal Review

Artist: Atari Teenage Riot
Album: Is This Hyperreal?
Genre(s): Electronic, Rock
Subgenres(s): Digital Hardcore
Released: 2011
Length: 43 minutes
Language(s): English, German
Label(s): Digital Hardcore Recordings, Dim Mak Records

Track List:

01. Activate
02. Blood in My Eyes
03. Black Flags
04. Is This Hyperreal?
05. Codebreaker (feat. Steve Aoki)
06. Shadow Identity
07. Rearrange Your Synapses
08. Digital Decay
09. The Only Slight Glimmer of Hope
10. Collapse of History

Atari Teenage Riot Is This Hyperreal Review

Is This Hyperreal is Atari Teenage Riot’s first album after a decade long hiatus and continues in the exact same fashion as they left off; setting out to create a furious wall of oppressive noise that is achieved by melding hardcore punk, techno and breakcore while covering it in a blanket of distortion just in case there was a chance that some part of the album could be considered an easy listening experience.

Male and female vocal duties are shared between digital hardcore pioneer Alec Empire and newcomer Nic Endo respectively, although Endo does become the primary voice on the album as it progresses. Not surprisingly, the vocals are also drenched in distortion whereas the lyrics are unfortunately reduced to blathering repetitive, half-baked pseudo-political rhetoric and social commentaries without any deep meaning or discernible thought process behind them.

Shadow Identity features one of the few relaxed moments on the album and has softly sung passage performed by Endo towards the end. It breaks up the pace nicely before Rearrange Your Synapses interjects itself with Alec Empire spouting out angry ramblings in the style of a street protester bellowing into a megaphone. This happens just before the song turns into something at could only be described as the soundtrack to a panic attack. It features a few illeisms that are present in Black Flags and the title track as well.

Atari Teenage Riot manages to mix several genres together in a cohesive and exciting manner but let themselves down with poorly thought out lyrics that are often pushed to the front of each song. They do not offer any real insight or solutions to the problems addressed which become tiresome quickly. If this was an instrumental album then it would most likely be viewed in a completely different light.

Atari Teenage Riot Homepage (contains flashing lights)
Atari Teenage Riot on Wikipedia | Is This Hyperreal? on Wikipedia
Atari Teenage Riot on Discogs | Is This Hyperreal? on Discogs

March 26, 2013
Andrew WK The Wolf Review

Artist: Andrew WK
Album: The Wolf
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
Released: 2003
Length: 43 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Island

Track List:

01. Victory Strikes Again
02. Long Live the Party
03. Tear it Up
04. Free Jumps
05. Never Let Down
06. Your Rules
07. The Song
08. Make Sex
09. Totally Stupid
10. Really in Love
11. The End of Our Lives
12. I Love Music

Andrew WK The Wolf Cover

Andrew WK The Wolf Review

The Wolf has some noticeable changes when compared to Andrew WK’s debut effort, I Get Wet. The most striking of which is that the overly sleek, everything-must-be-as-loud-as-possible approach that left all of the instruments in uniform before has been abandoned in favour of creating a more varied and dynamic album. This can be seen through the introduction of flashy guitar leads, louder and improved drum work as well as keyboard/piano playing that comes to the forefront on occasion.

He no longer relies on the simple mantras to be the focal point of each song and has instead opted to replace them with longer verses with marginally less repetition. The lyrics tend to deal with motivation, life and positivity in addition to the love and party themes that Andrew WK has become known for. While sometimes singing clearly, he also falls into a throaty singing voice that isn’t always easy to understand and can feel out of place at times now that the tempo has been cut back across some of the songs.

The expansion on his established style prevents him from becoming a self-parody and won’t alienate his core audience anytime soon with this album as he has managed to put enough new material forward to keep the listener engaged without thinking that it is just a reworking of his last effort.

External Links:

Andrew WK Homepage
Andrew WK on Wikipedia | The Wolf on Wikipedia
Andrew WK on Discogs | The Wolf on Discogs

March 23, 2013
Dropkick Murphys Signed and Sealed in Blood Review

Artist: Dropkick Murphys
Album: Signed and Sealed in Blood
Genre(s): Folk, Rock
Subgenres(s): Folk Rock, Hardcore Punk, Punk Rock
Released: 2013
Length: 41 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Born & Bred Records

Track List:

01. The Boys Are Back
02. Prisoner’s Song
03. Rose Tattoo
04. Burn
05. Jimmy Collins Wake
06. The Seasons Upon Us
07. The Battle Rages On
08. Don’t Tear Us Apart
09. My Hero
10. Out on the Town
11. Out of Our Heads
12. End of the Night

Dropkick Murphys Signed and Sealed in Blood Review

Signed and Sealed in Blood is the Dropkick Murphys 8th album overall and if you’re familiar with their previous output then you’ll already have a rough idea of what you’re in for. But for those not in the know, the septet mixes bagpipes, acoustic guitars, whistles and accordions among other instruments with the standard punk rock format of guitar, bass and drums to forge an unforgettable and explosive listening experience.

Sonically, the majority of the songs are still firmly rooted in the folk punk style that they have become known for, but this time around there seems to be a stronger emphasis on creating the most glorious gang shouts and infectious hooks possible. The album features a few folk-centric songs that bring the folk instrumentation to the centre of the stage and Out on the Town even allows for a chirpy whistling break mid-song. All of this makes for a subtle, yet noticeable change in composition that allows the band to retain their trademark attitude and personality, all while branching out enough to keep their well-defined style fresh and interesting.

The vocals are clearly sung, spluttered, shouted, bellowed and chanted by 6 of the 7 band members over the course of the album. Lyrics tend to revolve around drinking, celebrating, unity and situations in life as told through fictional characters. The best example of this is in The Seasons Upon Us, a sarcastic caricature of a dysfunctional family that recounts their miserable annual Christmas gathering and is guaranteed to leave you grinning. It’s worth noting that while being a Christmas song, albeit unconventional, the way in which the lyrics are written make it timeless so that it can enjoy at any time of the year and not just when the Christmas season comes around.

The band tones back the cacophony on occasion but they rarely slow down the tempo significantly. The exception to this trend is End of the Night, a somewhat sombre sounding song that lets the listener know that the album is coming to its end. It features a rare appearance of the piano, not the most commonly used instrument in their arsenal, which is also used on Don’t Tear Us Apart to create a memorable opening and makes another small appearance later during the bridge.

Signed and Sealed in Blood is packed full of memorable choruses, catchy hooks and a passionate, energetic performance that blends 2 distinct genres, several singing styles and a variety of instruments into just over 40 minutes, which prevents it from overstaying its welcome. It will keep you coming back for more listen after listen and because of this, it could already be on its way to becoming one of the best albums of 2013.

External Links:

Dropkick Murphys Homepage
Dropkick Murphys on Wikipedia | Signed and Sealed in Blood on Wikipedia
Dropkick Murphys on Discogs | Signed and Sealed in Blood on Discogs

March 10, 2013