Album Review: Devin Townsend - Empath

I'm going to say something that is rather unpopular; I don't like Devin Townsend. I have nothing against him, who seems to be a nice and down-to-earth guy, but I have never come across music he has made that has interested me in the slightest. Strapping Young Lad was noisy anger for the sake of being abrasive, while his later solo works largely churned out the same chugging riffs and boring melodies. And throw in Ziltoid, which was one of the dumbest concepts I've ever heard of, and you get someone who holds no appeal for me. I've tried to listen to several of his projects, and while "Ocean Machine" wasn't terrible, his view of music and mine just don't mesh. So why, then, am I here to talk about his latest album?

I could be a musical masochist, or perhaps I'm intrigued by the idea of this being a mixture of every side of Devin's musical mind. If ever I'm going to find something in him to appreciate, it should be with this record.

After an ambient introduction, "Genesis" kicks off the album with electronic flourishes, those one-note chugging riffs, and Devin throwing every vocal trick in the book at the composition. He sings, he screams, and a choir comes to back his vision of what creation must have been like. Of course, this is the big-bang version, where there is a large noise, and then something arises from nothing. I find the composition slipshod, as blast beats come in from nowhere, the song bounces from sound to sound at random, and Devin sticks to his usual single note melodies that I find so boring. He does try a bit of everything, so I'll give him that.

"Spirits Will Collide" is better, if only because it's more focused. The song has an identity, and sticks to its guns through its run-time. The use of choirs is more effective with the symphonic backdrop, although it does get a bit repetitive by the end. Devin decides to semi-growl his way through some of what is supposed to be a beautiful song, which is another decision I'm not sure I understand. I suppose that is the way his music is often able to call itself 'progressive', but I find it confusing more than boundary-pushing.

It doesn't take long for me to realize this album is not at all for me. Devin's heavy use of electronics, and refusal to commit to an idea for more than a minute at a time, is simply not the kind of music I enjoy listening to. Progressive music can come in long-form, and it can integrate a wide variety of sounds, but it needs to have a built-in logic so it feels natural to make those shifts within a song. Devin's music often skips out on the connective tissue, and leaves us with a scattershot of ideas that don't feel cohesive.

And after however many albums I have listened to from him, I continue to maintain Devin is a lackluster vocalist. I'm not saying he isn't talented. His voice is good, and he can do so many things with it, I can't say he is untalented. What he is, though, is not a writer who gives himself good material to sing. Over the course of these tracks, there isn't a single melody he sings I can remember. Whether singing or screaming, they are all flat and dull, relying on the scope of the production, and his lung power, rather than crafting a set of notes with any hook to them.

And by the time we get to the ten and twenty minute epic tracks, both of which are filled with several minutes of ambient noise, my patience is fried. When I describe music as being self-indulgent, this is a good example of what I mean. Devin is indulging every creative idea he's had in the last few years, and throwing them at us without much regard for how they will sound to us. I didn't enjoy any of my previous experiences with his music, but "Addicted!" and "Ki" made sense. This record doesn't. It sounds like a jigsaw puzzle that was forced together with a hammer.

I know a lot of people love Devin, but I'm sorry, I can't see why. I may lack empathy, but "Empath" is going to wind up as one of the most painful listening experiences of my year.

Album Review: A New Revenge - Enemies & Lovers

In all the time I've been writing about music, I think this is a first. A New Revenge marks the third time in just three months I am reviewing an album featuring the vocals of Tim 'Ripper' Owens. There have been a lot of musicians who have been part of multiple records in a given year, including at least two I can remember who were on three, but they never came out so close together. I don't know if it was happenstance, or intended to try to ride the wake, but it also runs the risk of having us completely burnt out by the time the third offering comes along. And given that the first two albums Ripper has 'gifted' will wind up among the very worst records of the year, that threat is very real.

This time, thankfully, we aren't dealing with shriek-filled true metal. A New Revenge is rock and roll, driven by Ripper and Keri Kelli, who has played with Slash's Snake Pit. After what I've already heard from Ripper, that is welcome news indeed.

The album opens up with "The Distance Between", which is very Slash-like rock, with the exception of the odd laser-whoosh sound effects that pop up here and there. I'm not sure what they are supposed to be implying. Is the band somehow existing in a bad 80s sci-fi movie? Remove those, and it's a decent track. Actually, the record is much better than I thought it was going to be. Given his track record, and the spotty results from these supergroup bands, I wasn't expecting much of anything. To my surprise, what we have here is a solid record that gets in and out, throws a few punches, and doesn't try to fight above its weight.

What becomes clear as the record moves on is that Ripper's choices have limited his future. When he reaches back for a stronger note, he sounds fine. When he's singing in a more restrained manner, the cracks in his voice are undeniable. The years of shrieking over loud metal have done damage to what used to be a good voice across his entire range. I remember listening to him singing "The Clouding" with Iced Earth and believing he was better than Matt Barlow. Hearing him sing this material, his voice has deteriorated in those tones, which explains to me why he is so reliant on his high piercing voice in most of his work.

It's interesting to hear this record, as over the course of two decades, this is probably the catchiest and most melodic record Ripper has ever been a part of. Hearing him in a new context adds information I didn't have before, and what it does, at least for me, won't be something he wants to hear. A New Revenge tells me he's wasted a lot of years making generic shriek-metal, when he had the chops to be fronting a rock band that is bigger and better than any of his other projects.

Trust me, that's supposed to be a compliment. In all honesty, "Enemies & Lovers" is a good record that holds its own against all the other bands put together from 80s and 90s personalities. It's a short and sweet record that delivers fun rock and roll, the kind that's hooky and not concerned with posturing how 'rock' you are. It's refreshing, and something we need more of. I like this record, and I would certainly welcome a follow-up. A New Revenge shows a lot of potential here.

A Conversation with Erik Barath of Indestructible Noise Command

During the most lengthy hiatus in recent memory, Indestructible Noise Command was in danger of becoming a once-successful band that time had forgotten.  In 2010, they made their triumphant, violent return to the metal world, and everything has been trending up since.  Fresh off the release of their newest album "Terrible Things," we sat down with guitarist and ideaman Erik Barath

D.M.: Let’s start with how you feel about “Terrible Things.”  How does it separate itself from your previous albums, and what’s on there that fans won’t have heard from you before?

ERIK BARATH: On Terrible Things, we went back to our roots. It’s really a pure, old school thrash album so the fans that have been with us from the start will find it a familiar road they are traveling upon.

D.M.: It seems there’s less of the groove we saw on “Heaven Sent… …Hellbound,” (or “Black Hearse Serenade,”) and what feels like a return to traditional thrash – what made you go that way?

EB: Our music is dictated by whatever flows out of me. I just wrote “Fist Go Rek” and that opened a doorway in me. The rest of the album just followed that track as if it were an out of control freight train. We  are very comfortable with where we are right now. I think we’ll live here for a while.

D.M.: As you’ve gotten a little older, has the thrash writing process changed for you?  You can’t be the same person you were twenty years ago.  What’s your headspace like when you’re writing?

EB: Well now with the digital age, we don’t have to all cram into some dank rehearsal space and try and hash out a song. I can now record the song complete in my little studio and the boys just run with it from there. Much easier.

D.M.: One of the things that I appreciate about Indestructible Noise Command the most is your incorporation of the piano or a classical overture to enhance the sense of the moment – where does that come from?  What’s your influence in those moments?

EB: That probably comes from my first obsessions in music, which were Queen and The Beatles. Those bands showed there are no restriction or rules to rock n roll. You can make any other style or genre fit if you are clever enough and I love the challenge of making all the styles I love and feeling streaming through me fit together in one neat package.

D.M.: I believe I described the lyrics of “Identifier” as “deliriously random.”  It’s the album’s best song (one man’s opinion,) but what’s going on there?

EB: The song focuses on the madness following the 2016 elections so at the surface it’s political, but I approached it with poetic comedy. You will get it if you read between the lines. I left it as a bit of a puzzle.

D.M.: Talk about your band’s guitar tandem.  It’s one of the great pairs working today – if you were to compare them to the great metal tandems of then and now, whose company are you in?

EB: Oh I don’t know, Anthony [Fabrizi] and I are so different from each other and I especially from anyone else because I have no proper training, I know no theory so I learned to play my own way, which at times is unorthodox and chaotic, I think that’s why it works and has the sound it does.

D.M.: Once and for all – what happened that the band decided to go on hiatus in the first place?

EB: We had some really solid success with our first two albums in the mid-‘80s and wanted to get with a bigger label that could get us to the next level. Epic Records offered to sign us, and the deal was worked out and ready to sign when the head of A&R got fired. Our deal got cancelled. Then time just kept passing and we were lost at sea with wind in our sails. Being we were just over 20 years of age, we started fighting with each other and eventually called it quits.

D.M.: INC now has more albums post-hiatus than pre-hiatus.  What does that feel like?  Does it feel like you’ve crossed a threshold?

EB: It feels great. We actually feel like we’re at the top of our game and getting better. I have new material written already for the next record and it will be massive.

D.M.: What changed in the industry that made it the right time to end your hiatus and begin the second phase of your career?

EB: Oh, the industry sucks more than ever, it wasn’t that. I just started writing and it just started sounded better and better and it sparked the fire in the band. We do this for us and for the hard core fans that are still with us. The industry is a nightmare these days. And by Industry I don’t just mean record companies, I mean the overall business. It’s a money pit and recouping is harder than ever.

D.M.: Describe your hiatus as it relates to the band members – was there ever a falling out, or was everyone on board no matter how long it took?

EB: There had been talk of [a comeback] for years and years but it was always presented as getting together and playing some shows and I wanted to do a full comeback with new material, the whole 9 yards. It wasn’t until I started writing that it all clicked.

D.M.: As you look around in the modern version of a genre you helped foster, who gets it right in your opinion?  Who are the young thrash bands that are carrying on the torch properly?

EB: Municipal Waste are very cool. Kinda has the fun thrash thing that we were doing back in the ‘80s. Havok is a really solid thrash band as well. I am sure there are others that slipped my mind. The thrash scene is always pretty healthy with newbies carrying the torch.

D.M.: Okay, I gotta know – your band is from Connecticut and your bass player is Dave Campo.  Now, the Dallas Cowboys used to have a head coach named Dave Campo, and he’s from Groton, Connecticut.  Is there a relation there?  How many Campos can be there in such a small state?

EB: You know I have no idea [laughs]. I wish, he could hook us up with some sweet tickets [laughs].

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Album Review: Lance King - ReProgram

Sometimes it feels like a new genre is popping up every time I turn around. I remember the days when we had only a few varieties of metal; traditional, thrash, death, black, and doom. That accounted for nearly everything. Now, however, we get everything from 'pornocore' to 'power violence', and all sorts of other things I have pushed out of my mind. It's hard to know what you're listening to, even when you hear it described. Lance King says too much is never enough, as this new solo album is set to debut yet another genre tag; celestial metal. What is that? We'll figure that out as the album unfolds.

Mostly, the tag refers to melodic prog/power metal with a more introspective perspective than we usually get. These are not songs about swords and dragons, or awful teenage dystopian fiction. Lance is singing about the human condition, and our relationship with the world as it is developing. Lance wants us to think about ourselves while we listen to his music, which is a different aim than most bands have.

From a purely musical view, "ReProgram" is still a challenging listen. Whether we're talking about a more direct track like "Pointing Fingers", or the ten minute closer "A Mind At War", the music is complex and demanding. The former kicks off the album after the introduction, and it does so with a flurry of notes. I would need a more developed ear to know exactly what is going on, theoretically, but it's the kind of prog metal that has enough going on to satisfy anyone who enjoys technical music, but Lance is able to leave enough room for his chorus to hit a melodic note.

That is a tricky balance to find, as many bands have been unable to be both technical and melodic at the same time, as intricate music is not easy to sing over, no matter how skilled the musicians involved. That is one of the main reasons I don't listen to and talk about as much progressive metal as I could. While the music can often be incredibly interesting, it is not the best recipe for the kind of songwriting I enjoy. Darkwater recently released an album that isn't dissimilar to this, and it's an approach I wish more bands were able to muster.

I find "Reaction Formation" one of the most interesting tracks. With the chord choices, and the few moments of odd rhythm that come in, it reminds me a lot of Ark's "Burn The Sun", which is one of the most unique prog discs I've ever heard. I can even heard bits of similarity in Lance's vocals to some of Jorn's from that record. It has this wonderful ability to be laid back and chill, while also pushing some heavy and energetic moments. Like I said, interesting.

Another interesting aspect to the record is how in certain parts of "Technology" and "Wide Open", Lance's voice resembles Sebastian Bach. That adds another layer to the record, which morphs and changes with each new song. That keeps the album from growing stagnant, even if a song like "Chaotica" takes a path that isn't as melodic as the best material here.

The majority of the record, however, is the kind of prog metal I can enjoy. Lance anchors his deeper aims in songs that maintain their accessibility, which is the reason the record works. It's easy to go so far down the rabbit hole only the musicians themselves understand why the music is supposed to be interesting, but that's not what we have here. "ReProgram" may not rewrite the rules of prog, or rewire our thinking, but it does provide us with music that will make us pay attention and engage our minds. That's not nothing.

Album Review: Red Handed Denial - Redeemer

When it started out, metalcore was created to be the perfect take on modern metal. It fused together everything that made metal appealing to the various stripes of fans; the heaviness, the aggression, and the sing-along melodies that can turn live shows into communal experiences. That first wave of bands was offering something for everyone, but like most things, it got ruined as time went on. The generation that followed was influenced by metalcore only, and as you would expect, they watered down the sound and made the music less appealing. Few of the modern metalcore bands I've had the opportunity to listen to are able to find the melodic edge that made the genre stand out as the next big thing. So how does one move into the future without destroying the past?

You ask Red Handed Denial.

With this record, they have staked out the future of that kind of metal, whether the old genre tag applies anymore or not. Their sound is crushingly heavy, densely packed, and still balanced out with wonderful melodic moments. While the old sound was one combining alternative rock with Gothenberg death metal, Red Handed Denial takes it a step further by fusing catchy hooks with instrumentals that at times border on deathcore. It's shocking how music this heavy and technical can still serve as a base for choruses that can stick in your head. I've heard enough attempts and failures to do just that, to the point I was almost convinced it couldn't be done.

The singles "Clockwork" and "Empire" are what convinced me I needed to hear this record. "Clockwork" is a bit like an old mechanism, with guitars weaving in and out of each other, never stopping or slowing down. There is more playing going on than can be heard at first glance, hitting on circular harmonies and djent rhythms. All the while, Lauren Babic plays both the devil and angel on your shoulder. He screaming and guttural vocals are ugly in the best way, while she has an ear for simple melodies that stick I'm impressed by. This isn't the sort of record I would immediately be drawn to, but her performance is undeniable, and elevates the record well above their competitors.

I don't particularly like the term for music, but "Redeemer" is what you could call state-of-the-art metal. It uses an old formula, but the components are still shrink-wrapped as they get put together. The instrumental prowess of the band is impressive, flashing technical playing and off-kilter grooves as if it's nothing. On "The Art Of Bargaining" alone, they cycle through finger-blistering lead playing, a stuttering polyrhythm, and a melodic section that could almost have been a descendant of Iron Maiden. There's always some new wrinkle to their sound being added in, keeping things from becoming one trick repeated again and again.

"Redeemer" is a concept album telling the character's story as they make their way through limbo, and towards their afterlife. That works as a metaphor for the record, because it strikes me as a bridge between the mainstream and the underground of metal. The two are so often completely divorced, yet Red Handed Denial is a band that can bring them together. They have a unique ability to make the most modern sounds appealing to someone like me, who usually is turned off by that style. Ironically, I said the same thing the first time I heard "The End Of Heartache" back in the day. "Sins Of Yesterday" doesn't soar the same way "A Bid Farewell" did, but the appeal is much the same. It's three blistering minutes that coalesce around a hook that will endure.

"Worse For Wear" is a standout, with guitars that are far more upbeat that the rest of the record, and vocals that are clean for almost the entirety of the song. It goes a long way to showing the diversity the band can lay claim to. They can overwhelm with power, or win you over with something far more mainstream. You'll note the record gets 'softer', and cleaner as the second half unfolds, as I assume the protagonist is entering Heaven. The story would necessitate fewer harsh vocals, and Lauren does what the narrative requires, rather than put herself above what the songs are trying to convey. That is a mature attitude a lot of singers wouldn't be comfortable embracing.

That leaves us to render judgment. "Redeemer" is an album I found highly impressive. Red Handed Denial were abel to take a style that isn't my usual deal, and turn it into something I was excited to hear. Their music is challenging, but there's great reward for giving them a chance. "Redeemer" is one of the rare concept albums where the main story points can be felt in the shifting music, but more than that it just works as a thoroughly modern metal record. Red Handed Denial has a lot of appeal here.

Album Review: LA Guns - The Devil You Know

I have long said that a lot of bands and albums that get labeled 'classic' are more due to the dumb luck of coming out at the right time. I can run through a long, long list of records that would be laughed at if they came out today, but they are currently held up as defining classics of their genres. We don't like to think luck plays a factor, but it does. Take LA Guns, for example. They came up in a time when every band on the Sunset Strip was getting signed, and they had a minor tie to Guns N Roses, so it was natural they would find an audience. But they were awful then, and they're awful now. Their last album got praise from the 80s fanatics, but it was terrible. Phil Lewis might sound like he did back in the day, but that only means he sounds bad. The songwriting was weak, and the album sounded flimsy too.

So now they come back with an album that is supposed to be heavier and more aggressive, which are the same buzz-words that get trotted out every time a band is struggling to say anything good about what they've come up with. There are enough people out there who mistakenly think 'heavy' is a synonym for 'good', and that's one of the things that makes me sad about music.

Anyway, let's talk about this record. First thing's first; this is another album that sounds truly dreadful. Tracy's guitar buzzes with a horrible tone that sounds like a child's practice amp, and Phil's vocals are buried underneath that fuzz. That's both a good and bad thing. It doesn't help the songs to put all the focus on the ugly guitars, but it does distract us from hearing Phil's voice, which is an unpleasant strain. Why people from the 80s continue to say he sounds great is a mystery. Did the 80s have no standards?

The first lyric on the record is about "bullshit", which sums up the remainder pretty well. These fifty-somethings are trying their best to be heavy and tough, which is total posturing. I'm assuming it's that desire that led them to these production choices, which is a misguided attempt to slap a veneer of cool onto a band that is anything but. If the name LA Guns wasn't slapped on the cover, I would have no trouble believing this record comes from any local bar band. It's not well written, sung, or produced.

That said, it is still better than their previous record. That one had no redeeming features I could find, while this one has a couple of songs that aren't half bad. They aren't good, but they aren't embarrassing. I could do without ever hearing Phil's voice filtered through a piercing megaphone filter ever again, but something like "Loaded Bomb" isn't the worst way to spend four minutes.

But let's be honest; LA Guns doesn't deserve our time. Between the drama they have spent decades fostering upon us, and their mediocre at best catalog, there's no reason for us to care about new music from them. They have endured only because people thought they were on the verge of imploding. Being a fan of them is like waiting at the train crossing to see if a car gets hit.

This record isn't that full-on massacre, it's even worse. "The Devil You Know" is an afternoon spent waiting after forgetting the trains don't roll by anymore.

Album Review: Bloodbound - Rise Of The Dragon Empire

It's been a long, strange road. I heard Bloodbound right as "Nosferatu" was released, and I was quickly won over by the fun they brought back to power metal. What I didn't know then is that, regardless of who was in the lineup, they would be a band defined by their lack of identity. Over the years, that would become extremely troubling, as it's hard to know what to make of a band that doesn't know what to make of themselves. They have made records that are essentially tributes to Iron Maiden, Soilwork (one of my favorite records ever, by the by), Judas Priest, and Sabaton. We expect bands to evolve, and I welcome growth, but the wholesale shifts from one band's identity to another with each record is bizarre.

So who are Bloodbound now?

As a philosophical question, I don't think I can answer that. As a practical matter, this album finds Bloodbound turning in a direction more influenced by Blind Guardian and Nightwish. The title track, which was released prior to the record, showcases this new sound with a main theme that has a medieval or even Celtic flair. The use of wind instrument sounds is something entirely new for Bloodbound, and is a rather drastic shift from the orchestral overtones of the previous record.

This time around, the choirs backing the choruses are even bigger than ever, which is another cue back to Blind Guardian. They don't take on the thrashier aspects of that band, but the feeling is persistent through most of the record. It doesn't stop "Slayer Of Kings" from being a powerful piece of work, but it does keep it from ringing as true as if the band had a history devoted to making this kind of music. I can't help but think of each of these albums as experiments, which diminishes how much I invest in them.

"Magical Eye" features melodies that are catchy, but I also immediately hear in my head being sung by either Floor Jansen or Anette Olzon, given how eerily similar they are to later Nightwish. At a certain point, I'm torn between two very different thoughts; one being that Bloodbound is once again absorbing someone else's identity at the expense of their own, but also that they are very good at wearing these other personas. I can't recall any other bands that have so easily taken on so many guises, while doing them all justice.

Tht's what I find most frustrating about Bloodbound. Ever since the first record, they have written a lot of good power metal songs that I should be more fond of than I am. The issue is still that every good song they write is tarnished by the comparison to what it sounds like. Let me use this example. When Soen put out their first record, it was so much a clone of Tool that even the good parts were hard to embrace. They grew over the years, to the point where they are now one of the most striking and unique metal bands. Bloodbound hasn't done that. Instead of using a base to then graft their own sound onto, they continue to wear bands like robes, tossing each one in the wash for a fresh one when it becomes soiled.

So it comes down to this. Bloodbound is a decent band, and "Rise Of The Dragon Empire" is a fun little power metal romp. However, it never gives you any sense of who Bloodbound are, because it's clear by now the band doesn't know either. At least for me, that diminishes the fun. I'm probably being too hard on this album, considering that it's good at what it aims for, but I'm not going to apologize for that. At a certain point, you have to draw a line somewhere, and Bloodbound's usurping of other's creativity is too much for me. They're pretty good, but half the credit goes to whoever they're inspired by at any given moment.

EP Review: A Brilliant Lie - Threads:Weaver

Although I never got into them, it seems I owe Paramore a debt of gratitude. While they have escaped my focus, they did set in motion an entire scene of bands that continues to this day, many of which I have become quite fond of. That is a style of music I have found myself gravitating towards, especially as other strains of rock have had the color wash away like cheap grease-paint in a rain storm. And so that leads A Brilliant Lie into my sights, the latest band playing upbeat, alternative rock/pop-punk with a feminine touch on the vocals.

The EP kicks off with "The Tarot", the single chosen to showcase the band. The verses are the kind of pulsing chords that give a bounce to the rhythm, and then the chorus slows things down so the band has the time to make everything sound huge. It works, and the song makes a strong impact, in part because it deviates from the usual format of bands their style trade in. There's a bit more room to breathe, which is interesting for a lead-off statement.

"Unwoven" follows, and plays with the loud/soft dynamic. The verses focus on the tom drums, while the guitars pluck mostly clean notes in the background. But then the chorus comes, and the band swells into action with a propulsive energy that plays very well off the first track. "A Burial" is more somber, where the slightly down-beat attitude meshes with the natural verve their music has, which once again works well. It showcases there's more to the band than repeating three-minute pop songs, which are great, but plague the genre in the form of bands that only do one thing again and again.

There's more anger seeping through "I Was Never Her", while "Tiny Secrets" tones down their pop inclinations for a more rocking tone. Both songs continue to deliver what A Brilliant Lie does best; hooks that shimmer, and music that rocks hard enough to prove their worth. Then there's Tara Lightfoot, whose voice ties everything together with power, tone, and just a hint of Riot Grrl attitude.

The only downside to A Brilliant Lie is that they are far from alone. Even this month, there is Yours Truly delivering a very similar sound, with a slightly different bent to it. A Brilliant Lie has to fight through a lot of competition to get to our ears. Once you hear them, there's a lot to like here. I've been listening to a lot of bands of their ilk, and A Brilliant Lie compares well with them. I've been extremely fond of Yours Truly, and The Nearly Deads, and now A Brilliant Lie gets added to their list. With "Threads:Weaver", A Brilliant Lie has almost proven one part of their name. And let's just say I don't think they're lying.

Album Review: Forever Still - Breathe In Colours

I have yet to be able to explain why certain voices, and certain records, stick with us, while others that are similar fade into our memories. There is something ethereal about great music, or at least music that speaks to us, that words cannot capture. A few years ago, I happened upon Forever Still, who were in the process of releasing the EPs that would become their debut album. For whatever reason, those songs, and Maja Shining's voice, spoke to me more than the myriad other modern rock bands I heard around the same time. And since then, I have continued to return to "Tied Down", enthralled by their dark sound, hooky songwriting, and yes, Maja's voice. Needless to say, as an early arrival to their music, I was excited to hear a new album was ready to meet the world.

Our first tastes of new music came from the singles, "Rewind" and "Breathe In Colors". Both of these tracks continued the Forever Still story, taking a slightly darker tone than they had previously, while Maja's vocals soar over the top. Her voice is glass-shattering (in the good way), full of power and pristine tone, and she's able to sing melodies where every note is so distinct you can almost see the sheet music floating in the air. That's a very rare quality, even among singers I love, so it's certainly worth noting how Maja's voice is a highlighter for the melodies.

The other notable aspect of their music is how it comes across sounding classier than most dark rock is capable of. So much of this music I listen to is ugly and dingy, still carrying the worst aspects of the 'grunge' label. Forever Still avoids all of that, with their music sounding powerful and resonant. The lyrics on this record are dystopian, but for once the landscape is not a world that hasn't seen soap since the fall of civilization. The lights may be dimmed, but the mirrors we hold up still shine.

I admire how the songs aren't committed to the rock formula. Maja throws in a few screams in "Fight!", and almost growls on the title track, little details that are used to heighten the tension, and to balance the beauty she brings to the choruses. Even though the album's tone is dark, as is the subject matter, the sound is still beautiful. Forever Still aren't going to use the concept as an excuse to half-ass their songwriting. And let's be honest, there are plenty of conceptual albums out there that bands didn't put their all into, because they didn't think songs were as necessary when there was something 'bigger' in play. Forever Still don't make that mistake.

If you've heard "Tied Down", you know what to expect from this record. The new wrinkles are subtle, adding to Forever Still's core sound, rather than changing it wholesale. That's a good thing, because they incubated that debut long enough that it came out fully-developed. They know who they are, and what they're good at, so they can already tell us exactly who Forever Still is. A lot of young bands spent several records trying to come up with their identity, and some never do.

The only complain I can muster is the same one I had regarding "Tied Down"; these ten songs clock in at roughly thirty-five minutes, and they pass by so easily it leaves me wanting to hear more. That sure beats the alternative, doesn't it? Forever Still throws everything into this record, from heavy breakdowns to gorgeous emotional passages. They are a well-rounded band that is making records that are able to spread wings from their core sound. They are songwriters better than their experience would imply, and they have mastered the art of modern rock. "Breathe In Colours" is everything I was hoping for; a contender to be among the best records of the year. I can now sigh a rainbow of relief, knowing Forever Still is the real deal, and will continue to be.

Album Review: The End Machine - The End Machine

George Lynch has been rather busy lately, and no matter how many records I hear with him as a player, I don't get why he's supposed to be a legendary figure. I suppose I had to be there in the 80s to get it, but he sounds like everyone else from that time period to me. The End Machine is his latest attempt to get a non-Dokken band up and running, this time featuring the rest of that band's classic lineup, along with singer Robert Mason, who currently fronts Warrant. So yes, this is rooted in hair metal, although it's filtered through a grunge aesthetic.

I was rather intrigued by the first single, "Alive Today", which caught my attention as the sort of song that fits between what radio rock was in the glory days, and what it is now. The guitars have more space and nuance to them than the simple chugging we get most of the time today, but the vibe and melody is darker than we got from the 80s. It's a wonderful blend of the past and present, and already put this project ahead of KXM or Sweet & Lynch, for me.

The rest of the album tries to fit into that same vibe, but the melodies aren't quite as sticky as that first impression. Mason is a capable singer, but his writing is too caught up in the past, where simple gang chants were the norm, and more developed melodies were harder to come by. There are some of those on the record, "Ride It" being the worst example, and that's when I feel the band is at their best. It's on tracks like "Ride It" that I grow less interested, as the rehashing of the past is more apparent, and the ideas in the song aren't strong enough to cut through space and time.

I don't want to sound too harsh, because I do actually like the record. There's enough in it that reminds me of the time when I was starting to listen to music that I can feel some of the pull towards it that those a generation older than me will feel more intensely. I imagine anyone who was a Dokken fan all those years ago will be jumping for joy over this record, since I have to imagine Dokken itself couldn't make anything that sounded this good, if for no other reason than Mason's vocals being so much stronger at this point.

The run through the back half of the record, with "Hard Road", "Alive Today", "Line Of Division", and the closing "Life Is Love Is Music" is a strong statement, with each song delivering muscular, hooky hard rock. As the songs keep coming, the band's focus becomes clearer, and I find myself really enjoying what they are offering. There are a couple of songs at the beginning of the record which are a bit weak, and their placement doesn't help matters, but they are redeemed as the record moves along.

I didn't go into this record knowing what to expect, given that I don't have much affection for anything these guys have done before. That said, it makes it more impressive they were able to win me over by the time the record was over. The End Machine does well for themselves here.

Album Review: Indestructible Noise Command - "Terrible Things"

It’s official.  For all the press about Indestructible Noise Command’s accomplishment and influential power back in the day, they now have more full albums post-reunion than in their original iteration.  Which is significant because it means the band is living up to their commitment from so many years ago of resuming their career once the marketplace make it possible to do so without the complicating machinations of a major record label.

The interesting twist here is that “Terrible Things,” this shiny, new compendium of classic thrash, bears more resemblance to the albums before the hiatus than it does to the ones recently.

The album sees the band return to thrash in its truest sense – a snarled vocal, a shredded guitar riff, a pulse-pounding drive that inspires the listener to tear their furniture apart and run up and down the street screaming until a concerned neighbor summons the local constables.

There’re some conscious choices being made by the band here.  In making what was old new again, the band has sacrificed the platforms that made “Heaven Sent…  …Hellbound” and “Black Hearse Serenade” stand out from so many of their competitors.

That doesn’t mean that “Terrible Things” comes as a pale echo from three decades ago, far from it.  What it does mean is that gone are the ravine-deep groovy riffs of their reinvention, and also gone is vocalist Dennis Gergely’s stylings in the vein of Phil Anselmo.  The latter of these is a more than fair trade – Phil and his ilk have their place and their legacy, but that style only goes so far, and wouldn’t have worked as well for this effort.

As for the former, the value of the tradeoff is really contingent on the listener’s preference.  Erik Barath and Tony Fabrizi are equally at home as a guitar tandem working in this idiom as they were in crafting the deep undulations that previous albums required.  Their craft comes with the confidence of having played together for the majority of their respective lives.  From the album’s thumping opener “Fist Go Rek” to the more measured closure of “Devil of Hearts,” the pair creates a symphony of thrash brilliance.

As it happens, the mastery displayed by the duo is one of the two things that sets Indestructible Noise Command apart from their modern contemporaries, and if we’re being honest, disciples.  There are few bands in the world of thrash who can contend with the level of guitar virtuosity that these two bring to the table on a track by track basis.  Their blend of speed and craft, as evidenced in the solo of…oh, just pick one…”Declaration” is the kind of lost art that we haven’t really seen since Lazarus A.D and recalls the original, untamed days of Slayer.

The second thing that separates INC is their ability to flip the switch and instantly go big on their presentation.  This was something “Heaven Sent… …Hellbound” did with great success, and we see the seeds of that here as well.  The opening build of “Nemesis” is a tremendous example of the way in which even as straight-ahead a genre as thrash can set a scene and create an atmosphere.

For all that, the album’s jewel is actually the second track, “Identifier.”  It’s possessed of a simple, wide-open riff that doesn’t evolve into something more until Gergely’s vocals, of all things, set the pace for the entire track.  The lyrics are deliriously random and better for the fact, so when the song finally breaks, the listener can’t help but start to smile.  The open space and throaty bassline come together to set the table for the Judas Priest-esque galloping guitar solo that follows.  This is the album’s high-water mark.

We’ve heaped well-deserved praise to this point, but there are some cautionary notes worth mentioning.  There are choruses that are disjointed to the point of being distracting, including “Unscathed” and even the title track.  In these moments, the attempt to change the pace or shift the focus of a song breaks too far from the established rhythm and loses momentum.  Also, as ever with a thrash album, the reality is that there will be songs that just don’t work as well, and “Salmonella” isn’t a bad track per se, but it’s easily skippable when weighed against the album’s other triumphs.

In the grand scheme, those are relatively minor and ultimately forgivable transgressions.  “Terrible Things” is an excellent return to form from a band who is proving with each effort that they are still vital and relevant in their chosen genre.  This album, when paired with the two that came before it, also cements the band’s versatility, which means the horizon is still an intriguing prospect; INC, after so many years, is still leaving us with the idea that we haven’t seen everything they can do yet.  In terms of pure thrash, INC stands at the forefront with Power Trip in leading the genre into the next age.  In fact, they should tour together.  Let’s make that happen.

Album Review: Louise Lemon - A Broken Heart Is An Open Heart

Music isn't fun anymore. That sounds a bit dramatic, doesn't it? I admit that, but there's more than a hint of truth to it. In the mainstream, pop music has become so dour and minimalist that there's no more bright shiny songs that make us smile. In the rock and metal worlds, more and more of the music that garners interest is venturing further and further into the recesses of darkness. It isn't fun to listen to music most of the time. But it doesn't have to be fun. There are times when the darkness is what we want, and when that happens, there is more than one way to filter the moonlight. For an artist like Louise Lemon, playing with shadows becomes an art form.

In these thirty-four minutes, she uses dark sounds and emotions to cut our heartstrings, rather than pull at them. This is a trying record, one that you can't take lightly, or out into the light. Like a vampire, it can only exist in the darkness.

Louise's songs are charcoal sketches, monochrome images that are as blunt as they are nuanced. But they are also sketches in the sense that they aren't fully fleshed out into songs that effectively carry out their mission. The opening "Sunlight" is three minutes long, but spends the entire first half setting up the mood, so there isn't much to reveal once the stage has been set. With this kind of slow-burning atmosphere, more time is needed to properly draw out the maximum effect. Many of these songs move in and out of the melodies so fast they feel incomplete.

"Not Enough" is a case where everything comes together, which is why it was chosen as the single to introduce the world to the record. There are spartan pianos that bring to mind some of Adele's ballads, but then the hook of the song swells with a fuzzy drone guitar, not the orchestral backing you might expect. That gives Louise's music a dirtier, grittier sound that contrasts well with her voice.

This is a subtle album, perhaps too subtle. Louise has a lovely voice, and the smoky after-hours vibe works, but I'm left with a hunger for a bit more bite to the songs. I can do soft and somber, but I still need something in the songs to hook me in. Neither the pianos nor Louise's melodies are able to do that. Everything is pretty, but ephemeral like a chalk drawing on the sidewalk. You know it will disappear as soon as a light shower passes along. In the same way, even though I can appreciate the music I'm hearing, I know it will wane in my memory until it is fully eclipsed.

I sometimes talk about prog being music made more for the musician than the audience. I get that same impression from this record. It feels like something Louise needed to make, and enjoys pouring her voice into, but it is so insular to her interpretation that we aren't able to make that same connection. There are a couple of moments when we come close, mostly the most upbeat (though still not happy) songs, "Not Enough" and "Cross". Those tracks hit on a sound that is dark, nuanced, but still lively enough to catch your attention. If the record was more like that, it would be easier to recommend.

As it is, Louise Lemon has made a record that is sonically beautiful, and perhaps the right soundtrack for a certain mood. What it isn't, though, is a record that will be engaging enough to keep my interest over time.

Singles Roundup: Jasmine Cain, Kim Jennett, Rob Thomas, Pink, & Jazel

I have been absolutely swamped in both February and March with new releases, and I need a break from covering all of those albums, so let's take today to talk about a few singles, and what they may or may not mean for the near-term future.

Jasmine Cain - Brave

The first taste of Jasmine's upcoming album "Seven", this song hits all the marks I was looking for. The guitars mesh 80s rock (a la The Night Flight Orchestra) with undertones of 90s alternative, while there are sly melodic phrasings that make every line memorable. And then there's the chorus, which is a showcase for Jasmine's voice, which is massively powerful, and the right mix of rocking and sultry. I love her tone, and she sounds great on both the softer parts, and the huge belted notes. I've been wondering how Jasmine was going to follow up "White Noise", a record I still listen to regularly, and if this is any indication, the answer is going to be "very well, thank you".

Kim Jennett - Let Me Be The One

I previously mentioned her "Love Like Suicide" as one of the best songs of the year so far, and now we get the second single from an upcoming album. This one has more groove to it, sounding like it came from the 70s, and not the 90s like the first track did. It's a solid song, but the whole thing is centered around her vocals, which are fantastic. She's an ass-kicking rock singer, and hearing her belt this song is something. I'm looking forward to hearing more, because she's making a name for herself as a real vocal talent.

Rob Thomas - One Less Day

It feels like it's been forever since I heard from Rob Thomas, especially since the Matchbox Twenty comeback was a mundane bust. I loved Matchbox, and his first two solo albums were really good, so I'm always interested to see where his head is. Today, he's ruminating on being old enough that he can't 'die young'. He's always been a good songwriter, so melodically this is a fine track. The problem is it's modern pop, so it's filled with plastic instrumentation that sounds so small and fake, compared to the similar material he did on "Mad Season". Too old to die young, he's probably too old to rock again.

Pink - Walk Me Home

Production is apparently harder than I think it should be. I thought her vocals on "What About Us" were pushed to the point of distortion, which marred an otherwise lovely track. This time, "Walk Me Home" is hampered by synthetic production that doesn't allow the song to take off. It's a simple track, and it's fine (not as good as the aforementioned), but it relies entirely on the slowdown leading to the explosive last chorus. Except the production is so thin it never explodes. What could have been is left to the imagination, and this single wastes another fine Pink performance.

Jazel - Go Away

Speaking of Pink, Jazel has a strong vocal resemblance to her, but her song is a stronger pop number. The jangling guitars breathe well for modern production, combining with the synths to give layers and depth to the instrumental bed. It's a slinky number, with just enough bounce to stand out from the dark pop dominating today. She has a lovely voice that's breathy without being rough, smooth without being plastic. I don't listen to a lot of pop anymore, but this is the kind of stuff I can get into.

Album Review: Weezer - The Black Album

Let's dispel a notion; Rivers Cuomo was never great. He had a brief moment when he wrote songs that caught people's attention, and he helped start a movement that turned into a cadre of hipsters whining about their bullshit problems, but he has always been an immensely troubled songwriter. "The Blue Album" made people smile with the nerd image and "Buddy Holly" video, but underneath the surface were already clues that Rivers should have been kept at arm's reach. The depths of his lyrical genius were found as he wrote about having a Kitty Pride poster on his wall, or lamented a fraying sweater. He referenced Kerouac, which was an apt comparison. Like "On The Road", Weezer was ushering in a movement where reciting the minutia of the day-to-day was considered art, when it was really laziness.

I love "Pinkerton", as most awkward people around my age tended to. I still listen to that record, and I can get caught up in the angst that record captured. But let's not pretend Rivers was worth praising at that point in life. He was a miserable bastard writing miserable bastard songs, rattling off lists of women he either had sex with or wanted to have sex with, fetishized a letter from a barely of-age girl from Japan, and skirted the bounds of homophobia on "Pink Triangle". And all of that was during his 'good' phase.

Things only got worse as Rivers grew older, and couldn't cope with it. He chased trends, grew a porn 'stache, and wrote songs about being terrified of spiders (though I do like that tune), and how cheese smells on burnt lamb. Put it together and you get a portrait of a man who, fifty years ago, would have been shamed into a Howard Hughes type of seclusion. Rivers can come up with catchy melodies. That is his only redeeming feature, as his discography with Weezer has proven to us time and time again.

And so we reach "The Black Album", the well-titled nadir of a career that has been sinking for half of my life.

If it wasn't for the fact Rivers has already written an even worse album in the form of "Raditude", this would be the key piece of evidence at the trial formally judging him no longer worth giving a damn about. As he has told people, he writes some of his songs by gluing together random lines he has written in notebooks. Keep that in mind when he gets to "blah blah blah" at the end of the chorus in "Zombie Bastards". He has copious lines he's been waiting for years to use, and he couldn't even fill out three more syllables in a song they RELEASED AS A SINGLE.

Rivers started his career talking about having a KISS poster on his wall, and then ripping off the solo to "Rock You Like A Hurricane". We are a far cry from those days, as he has fully sold out to the modern machine. These songs are glossy pop. Sure, they're played with more real instruments, but there isn't anything other than River's voice and insanity to tie this to any previous stage of Weezer's career.

"Let's do hard drugs," River opens "Piece Of Cake" singing. That's an apt metaphor for the record, since a state of mental impairment is needed to think this is anything other than a pathetic grasping at youth by someone who refuses to grow up. If Rivers was a man of more means, I can imagine him as batshit insane as Elizabeth Bathory, bathing in the blood of Weezer fans who are virgins to hearing good music.

For a long time, I was able to overlook some of Rivers' obvious issues, because he was able to write some great hooks. Let's dispense with that; there isn't a single good tune on this album. Even if you thought "The Green Album" was a formulaic, emotionless exercise in writing by spreadsheet (which it was), it was simultaneously more rocking, more fun, and more honest than this outing. "The Black Album" has only one thing supposedly going for it; Rivers now swears!

If ever there was a statement that shows how far Weezer has sunk, it's that they feel the need at this age to start saying "fuck" to give themselves some edge. "Island In The Sun" was like deathmatch wrestling compared to this.

Just when you think Weezer can't get any worse, they find a way to crush your soul even harder. At this point, I'm ashamed the band ever meant anything to me. "The Black Album" is a black hole of talent and creativity, a cosmic vortex of suck that eats everything alive. I've said it before, and I probably won't stick to it this time either, but Weezer is dead to me.

Album Review: Children of Bodom - "Hexed"

The first time listening to “Hexed,” the new album from Finnish death metal powerhouse Children of Bodom, compels the listener to immediately recall the past. 

For myself, this meant going back to three albums in particular, all in an effort to make sure that what I thought I thought was actually what I thought (my consciousness is a strange place.)  With haste, “Halo of Blood,””I Worship Chaos,” and reaching all the way back to “Follow the Reaper,” all went into my playlists.

The first two because “Hexed” sounds like a stark departure from the path CoB had been inexorably marching down for two complete album cycles.  The last because this was the closest touchstone to what “Hexed” represents.

That is not to say that this new album is simply a re-tread by a band wending their own nostalgic avenue through the corridors of what was successful before.  “Hexed” is a grinning, sauntering demon all its own, though it does remorselessly abandon the tenets of its two predecessors.

From the opening crunch of “This Road,” the mission statement could not be more lucid – “Hexed” is to draw from the myriad of influences that have shaped both Children of Bodom and their chosen genre since its collective inception.  Certainly and above all there is blistering metal in its undiluted form, but the molten liquid is poured into punk rock casts, producing ingots of an altogether different composition.

At the tip of this album’s spear is the glossy precision of Alexi Laiho’s guitar playing, which remains the band’s feature element more than twenty years into their career.  The acrobatics of the primary riff of “Glass Houses” is evidence enough that in an era of metal gone mad with brutality, Children of Bodom still carries the banner for comparatively clean guitar artistry and provides a safe haven where six-string nerds can get their daily bread.

Where the punk roots start to show is right at the album’s fulcrum from side A to side B with “Kick in a Spleen,” which surely bears the hallmarks of death metal’s doctrine, but abbreviates it with staccato riffs and gang choruses that sound like the intersection of the Casualties and classic Anthrax.
One need not get farther than the title track to see the tie-in to “Follow the Reaper.”  “Hexed” the song would have fit right in between “Children of Decadence” and “Everytime I Die” some eighteen years ago.  The very same idiomatic guitar exhibitions, furious snare pounding and consummate keyboard dressing that propelled that album lives in the blast furnace of this one.

As the album begins to sunset, it lashes out again with “Say Never Look Back,” which for all the memorable tracks contained within, might be the album’s singly most infectious.  A fire-starter at the outset, the song pauses with genius at the one-minute mark to introduce a new, simple and entirely too catchy main riff, before it folding it back into the larger mix to be revisited later.  The insistent but not overbearing beat makes the song easily digestible and suddenly we have the makings of a true album ear worm.

“Hexed” is easily the best CoB album since 2011’s “Relentless Reckless Forever,” though it is an entirely different beast than that timeless classic.  “RRF” reveled in deep riffs and groovy hooks, which “Hexed” eschews in favor of climatic guitarcraft.  Neither is right or wrong in the grand scheme of composing a great album, but the dichotomy serves to illustrate just how versatile the band has been across their career.

There are no real weak points to “Hexed.”  Even the lesser cuts such as “Soon Departed” are enjoyable and can be disparaged only in the sense that they do not meet the lofty ambitions of some of the selections discussed above.  The album also goes by in a flash; in just a shade over forty-five minutes, eleven songs have come and gone, so the album doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Following the incessant hammering of “Halo of Blood” and the introspection and change of “I Worship Chaos,” “Hexed” is a reminder that Children of Bodom hasn’t forgotten their roots, or forgotten how to set to standard for the occasionally floundering genre of death metal.  This album damn near everything right and is a worthy addition to the band’s evolving legacy.

Album Review: Twin Temple - Bring You Their Signature Sound... Satanic Doo-Wop

Over the course of a year, I listen to what I feel is a lot of music. In that exploration, I find plenty of great music, and plenty of terrible music, but most of it all fits into neat little boxes. The genres we have created are rather tight, and with so many years of being influenced by exactly the same kind of music being made now, it all starts to get a bit derivative. That doesn't stop that great stuff from being great, but finding something truly unique is a rarity. So when something does come along that is completely out of left field, that I can honestly say I've never heard before, that deserves a bit of attention. That's where we are today.

Twin Temples have the distinction of being the first group I have ever encountered who are mixing 50s doo-woo and rock n' roll with outright satanism. No, you didn't read that wrong. They really are combining the origins of rock with the origins of evil.

We kick things off with "The Devil (Didn't Make Me Do It)", which opens with a shuffling rhythm, saxophone hits, and a guitar line that is as reminiscent of The Munsters as Chuck Berry. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be taking things deadly serious or not, but I have a hard time not cracking a smile and chuckling when the backing vocals in the chorus start crooning "Beelzebub". It's charming stuff, even if it isn't meant to be. That's the main feeling I get from the record, one of warm nostalgia for a bygone sound. The record does a remarkable job of sounding like a lost 50s album, from the songwriting notes to the slight distortion washing over the sound.

On a song like "I'm Wicked", the duo takes on the guise of a film noir jazz club, with a sultry number that builds some dark drama. It's the sort of thing I could easily imagine playing in the background of a montage in a period film about a serial killer. It's remarkably effective at capturing that mood, even if the multiple key changes in the last minute might be one too many. Being a bit over the top is fitting, anyway.

This record is challenging in the sense that it's a sound we don't hear anymore, so few people will go into it already a fan of what Twin Temple is doing. You need to have an open mind to appreciate this twisted throwback, but if you give it a chance, I think you'll find there is something delightful about their dark offering, for the most part. Through the bulk of the album, we get some rather intriguing sounds. The two segue pieces aren't necessary, but they also don't really get in the way. The first ten tracks of the record are easy to enjoy.

But then the record spoils a lot of that good will by ending with a nearly seven minute recitation of a satanic 'initiation'. It's much talking and organ chords, and not a song at all. Including it here might reaffirm their commitment to their beliefs, but it doesn't do a thing for the record. Putting non music on an album is always a terrible idea, and it is here as well. Thankfully, it's the last track, so it's easier to ignore, but for the purposes of reviewing the album I can't pretend it doesn't exist.

In the end, what Twin Temple has given us is temptation. They have created a sound, and a record, that slithers alongside and points us in the direction of darkness. Until the end, it's not hard to see how one would be swayed to the dark side.