Album Review: Master Boot Record - "Floppy Disk Overdrive"

In these trying times, individuals find comfort in the familiar.  For me, and I’m sure for many others, a good chunk of that comfort comes in the form of music.  So it is that while I am locked in inside, held at an (understandable) arm’s length by my job and society as a whole, I while away the hours by scouring through promos and new music that come into my inbox.

During these days, I hoped to merely find something interesting, and in doing so I stumbled across two revelations – though revelatory for different reasons.  As such, consider this the first part of what is a two part review, with the second chapter to come (on the new release from The Heavy Eyes,) tomorrow.

One of the sublimely pleasing privileges of my meager station as a music reviewer is the unearthing of some new gem.  A heretofore unexplored genre or permutation that the world is yet to fully digest. 

Enter Master Boot Record.  While we here loathe the confining parameters of genre labels, it is a fun game to play in these instances when so many narrow definitions can be turned on their ear in an ultimately futile effort to describe the indescribable.  Master Boot Record, and his debut full-length “Floppy Disk Overdrive,” is both all of and none of a hundred different qualifiers, including electronic, thrash, dramatic, symphonic, industrial and video game.  It is the kind of construction that is clearly built on the premise of ‘what would sound good here?’ as opposed to ‘what progression does my idiom dictate?’  Sometimes, the best words to define music are words that are not exclusive to music – if asked about MBR (for short,) my answer would be ‘energetic’ or ‘oddly captivating.’

A friend of mine, who I had listen to MBR for a second opinion, said it better than I could have, and I’m paraphrasing, but her message was this – if Floppy Disk Overdrive had been released six months ago, I don’t know that I would have liked it.  But with the influx of electronic music into the metal scene, this is something we’re now ready for.

Indeed, much of the album dances with abandon on the line between industrial good taste and over-the-top video game nonsense.  It’s as though KMFDM were performing a cover of “Clash on the Big Bridge” from “Final Fantasy V.”  The music is heavy enough to demand serious attention, but there is a sense of unavoidable…I don’t know, whimsy?  Nostalgia?  Hard to pinpoint a proper term, except to say that it clearly evokes images of the video games my generation grew up on.  As a listener, if you are not attuned to that style already, know that you may have to battle against it in order to see the underlying genius of MBR.

Part of the beauty of this record is that is has stop-on-a-dime changeability.  Due to the keyboard programming, the entire record pounds ahead with a ferocity that human musicians would never be able to match, or sustain.  One imagines this is the kind of thing that Al Jourgensen is talking about when he’s discussed producing music so fast that the beats are indistinguishable.  And yet, as MBR shows in “DISPLAY.SYS,” he can instantly change from a Beethoven symphony played at warp speed to a section with the docility of an unaccompanied string quartet. 

Make no mistake though, the real attraction to “Floppy Disk Overdrive” is the adrenaline factor when the beat really gets going.  The bass is deep and the ‘drums’ are fast and relentless, as though this were the soundtrack to a thousand starfighters having a dogfight.  In the middle of the Crab nebula.  At speeds much faster than light.  Imagine watching all of that, and now tap your foot while it’s happening, and you’ve got the idea.

There are some flaws which should be mentioned for accuracy’s sake.  The album’s first eight songs all sound kinda the same.  Some of them are long, some are medium, some are short, but the album flows in such a way that it’s hard to tell where one ends and another begins.  So as a listener, you might get forty-five minutes in before you realize the track has changed.  That doesn’t diminish the fun of listening to them, but it does mean that if they show up on your music shuffle, you’re going to know it’s an MBR song, but not which one.

Finally, with “SMARTDRV.EXE,” we hear something that shines as a beacon above and beyond its brothers and sisters, but in some small part it captures attention because sections of it sound like an electronic cover of “Master of Puppets.”  Nonetheless, it’s the first ‘Wow!’ moment on the record, and shows MBR’s ability to blend high tones, low tones and measured beats into something beyond just workout fuel.

He extends this trend through the end of the album.  “DISKCOPY.COM” is a slower, more methodical and, dare I say, emotional approach that revels in dramatic effect, while “EMM386.EXE” is the album’s equivalent of that part in the “November Rain” video where Slash rock his righteous guitar solo out front of a dusty chapel with a wind tunnel blowing his hair around.

Pro tip – when listening to this record, don’t try and hear what it would sound like played with the instruments you picture in your head.  I made that mistake the first time through and missed what the album was actually all about. 

“Floppy Disk Overdrive” is a beautiful, fast-paced new thing, unlike just about anything you’ve ever heard and complete unique.  As we mentioned at the top, one of the singular joys of listening to new music, especially when you get buried under as much stuff as Chris and I do, is finding something uncomfortable and new and shiny and different.  Master Boot Record’s debut record is many things, but chief among them is different.  It’s a pleasant reminder that we can experience something novel while partaking in a familiar old hobby.

Album Review: Ad Infinitum - Chapter I: Monarchy

I've written many times about my issues with symphonic metal. I'll be brief in recapping, but far too often I hear symphonic bands that don't make the best use of their extra instrumentation. They will either add no drama to the proceedings, or the songs would be no different if the orchestrations weren't present. They exist as a candy coating on the chocolate; empty calories that make it look pretty, but don't taste like anything. Ad Infinitum is in a position to not change my opinion, but at least show me it isn't a hard-and-fast rule.

The two singles released before the record were everything that symphonic metal should be; foreboding and dramatic, with big swells that sashayed across the speakers with real flair. Couple that with the captivating vocals of Melissa Bonny and some stirring melodies, and Ad Infinitum sounds more than promising. They sound like what I have been waiting to hear for so long.

Unlike a certain symphonic metal band that no longer writes anything but the simplest, ham-handed riffs to serve as a basis for their prettier tinkling, Ad Infinitum's music has a heft and power to it befitting the extra adornment. The core of the band is powerful, so they don't get overpowered and swallowed when the strings and horns come in. They are both symphonic and metal, which isn't always the case.

It's details like the plunking of strings during the verse of "See You In Hell" that set symphonic metal apart. It's a completely different sound than you can create just with guitars, and it's blend of percussiveness with an organic harmonic is a necessary component. Far from being tacked on, it draws you further into the composition, focusing your attention on such a small detail that the swell of the chorus sounds even bigger by comparison. Ok, I'll go there; while there might be more wildly sophisticated elements to some of Nightwish's music, Ad Infinitum shows a more deft touch in putting all those elements to good use. They are a heavier band, and their music better written, than anything I've heard from Nightwish in recent years.

Whether it's the softer moments, or Bonny's occasional growls, the music does take us on the cinematic ride only appropriate for such large-scale music. The package might be compact, but Ad Infinitum packs a lot into these brief moments. There isn't any wasted space or time on the album, instead delivering tightly written tracks that are more focused on their power than their egos. There is no 'composer syndrome' to be found here. Everything is in service of the songs.

As you can tell, I found myself liking this record quite a bit. A collection of great songs with big melodies and heavy doses of drama is what I want out of symphonic metal, and it's what Ad Infinitum has given us. Of the two similar albums being released within an eight day span, it's a no-brainer which one I would choose. Nightwish might get more acclaim and attention, but Ad Infinitum is the better record. No doubt about it.

EP Review: Candlemass - The Pendulum

I want to try something a bit different today. When is a review not a review? In this case, when talking about the new Candlemass EP, I'm not really going to talk much about the music contained herein. I have other issues this brings to mind, and I find them much more interesting than commenting on yet another Candlemass release.

For starters, I seem to be the only person tangentially related to the metal world who is still angry at the band for soldiering on after they promised us they were done. "Psalms For The Dead" was promoted as their final album, and it pains me to see how many people have absolutely no problem with the band going back on their word. Candlemass is not the only band to do that, but no one ever seems to be held accountable for their words and actions anymore. I don't like being lied to, and that's exactly what Candlemass did. You don't make such a life-altering announcement without thinking it through, and you certainly don't come back without some kind of substantial mea culpa, but Candlemass has never had to do that. We have let them get away with lying to us, and going back on their lie. In fact, they might be more loved now than before they sullied their reputation.

The other issue with this release is what it is. These songs are from the cutting room floor, the scraps that didn't make it into last year's well-heralded (not by me) album. That's the problem. Candlemass is now trying to push out this EP, and promote it as something we have to listen to, while also telling us these songs weren't good enough to be on their last record. If they weren't as good as a record that didn't impress me all that much, why would I want to listen to them? Saying you considered these tracks second-rate isn't a strong selling point, even to people who did like what the record had to offer.

Plus, half the tracks here are worthless, minute-and-a-half interludes. Interludes wasting time... on an EP. Ugh.

Furthermore, I don't understand why the band would feel the need to say any of this. While I don't like being lied to, we also don't need to be made aware of every dirty detail. The band could have simply told us these were new songs, or songs they had never finished until now. Something, anything that would indicate to us they believed in these tracks as more than a stopgap. But that's not what they did. They instead chose to take the route of honesty here, and not with their very existence, which is a confusing existential mess. I'm not sure what to make of their selective honesty.

And then there's the matter of "Porcelain Skull", the one song that wouldn't fit into that last paragraph's suggestion. This song appeared on Avatarium's wonderful album last year, and is now being given to us (presumably) more as Leif Edling envisioned it. I consider this a problem as well. Firstly, if Leif thought the song was good enough, he shouldn't have given it to Avatarium. Releasing it himself, and as a single no less, seems like he's trying to one-up a band that no longer needs him. It feels petty. Secondly, his version isn't anywhere near as good. Candlemass' version is rough around the edges, unrefined, and lacking the soulful, sultry emotion Jennie-Ann Smith can bring. If anything, putting the song out on this EP only shows that Leif needs help to get the most out of his songs, which can't possibly be what he intended.

So yes, "The Pendulum" is an interesting release by Candlemass. Just not for any of the reasons they might want.

Singles Roundup: Katatonia, Illumishade, Blues Pills, Skarlett Riot & Motive Black

I haven't had the opportunity to talk about some new songs that have come out recently, but there are some very interesting things to take a look at. Here's a few of them:

Katatonia - Lacquer & Behind The Blood

After celebrating an album anniversary and taking some time off, Katatonia is finally following up "The Fall Of Hearts", and the early indications are not good. "Lacquer" is an alectronic song that sounds nothing like Katatonia, and is too far removed from their usual sound for me. "Behind The Blood" is better, but a pale imitation of their best work. The commonality between the two is that, regardless of the instrumentals the band plays with, the melodies are flat, boring, and uninspired. There is no hook or gravity to them, and both songs are entirely forgettable. Katatonia is always depressive, but this music is depressing.

Illumishade - World's End, Rise, & Crystal Silence

This new band, on the other hand, has been doing everything right. Featuring Fabienne Erni of Eluveite, this project is a theatrical/symphonic brand of heavy metal that has plenty of crunch, and fabulous melodies and vocals. "Crystal Silence" is the short and sweet typical single, pairing angelic vocals with seven-string guitar sounds. "World's End" is more dramatic, and shows the scope of the coming concept album. Fabienne does more great work on that one, but hits her height on "Rise", the sweeping ballad that is a stirring rush of drama. The band has much in common with The Dark Element, and these songs are pointing to a record perhaps even better than we say from Anette's group last year. This is one to seek out.

Blues Pills - Proud Woman

A great debut album was followed by a shift in style and tone I didn't enjoy much, and this first taste of album three seems to be trying to split the difference. They are rocking more than on "Lady In Gold", but without the timeless quality of their debut. Elin is still a magnificent singer, but once again she fails to give herself a good enough melody. This doesn't sound like the same band that wrote "Jupiter" or "Astral Plane". I'm sensing another disappointment coming.

Skarlett Riot - Human

I liked their album, "Regenerate", a good deal. It was a record that nicely straddled rock and metal, with Skarlett's vocals setting a very interesting tone. This is the first taste of their upcoming next record, and it finds the band picking right up where they left off. The production is heavy and incredibly modern, and the song colored with both piano notes and growled vocals. It's aggressive while still being melodic, and it's a highly engaging take on the up-to-the-minute trends. Skarlett Riot is very, very good.

Motive Black - Broken

The first single from this new band is one that caught my interest. Very much like the recent album from Stitched Up Heart, this is heavy mainstream rock that has plenty of crunch, and great melodies and vocals from ____. She has enough snarl to make the song sound heavy, but soars when she needs to. That chorus is pure radio fodder, and quickly got caught in my head. Word has it an EP is coming sometime this year, and you can count me in on it. I'd love to hear more of us.

Album Review: The Birthday Massacre - Diamonds

What is a dream? If you listen to the music described as 'dream pop', you'd be inclined to think it's akin to the images we draw of the afterlife, with fluffy clouds, shapeless robes, and the soft plink of harps. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound much like the dreams I have. Dreams can be visceral, they can be lucid, and yes, they can be frightening too. If we want to attach the word 'dream' to music, we need to look at a much wider array of sounds and attitudes. Among those would be what The Birthday Massacre give us, which is a synth-rich sound that lies somewhere between the conscious and unconscious. Or at least I hear it that way.

The Birthday Massacre has been around for many years, but the first time they grabbed my attention was when I happened across the lead single for this record, "The Sky Will Turn". It immediately stood out as something with an interesting mix of dark and cool, a soothing soundscape that could be the aftermath of a dystopian 80s. Given my feelings on that decade, I really like that impression.

What that song in particular, but the album as a whole, is able to do is make a dark and heavy version of synth-pop that is melancholy without becoming sad-ass misery. Like watching a ballet of sad clowns, there's something beautiful to be found in the shadows this music was made in. To throw out another comparison, there's a band called Pale Waves whose debut album was one of my favorites two years ago. They were also melancholic rock with plenty of synth overtones, and "Diamonds" sits with it as a yin and yang. Pale Waves was pop melancholy, while The Birthday Massacre is melancholy pop. Trust me, there is a distinction there.

What makes The Birthday Massacre so interesting is Chibi's voice, which is an ethereal whisper where the music would be pointing us towards a deep Gothic warble. When she sings, "it's like a car crash burning at the edge of the earth", the line isn't a sinister description of grief, but more of an angelic observation about the callousness of life. Also like Pale Waves, there's an emotional detachment to the vocals that is a deliberate way of manipulating the audience. It's the very lack of emotion in the performance that gives it an emotional impact. It's very clever, and not easy to pull off. With lesser songs, it would manifest as boredom.

Even though "Run" and "Flashback" feature swells of heavy guitars, "Diamonds" is at its heart a subtle album. The intrigue lies in the details, whether it's the way the drum hits echo in the space between the notes, or the vocal lines that only start to seep in after you hear them a couple of times. Given a bit of time, the record reveals itself to be quite charming, beckoning us to join their mad tea party.

What I can say about this record that might mean more than anything else is this; I am not a fan of synth-laden music, and yet I find myself rather drawn to this album. There is a pull to these songs that I can't quite describe, or avoid. "Diamonds" is quite the gem.

Album Review: Hallas - Conundrum

There's a fine line between being inspired by the past and ripping it off. One is embracing a style of music that spoke to you the way modern trends can't, and the other is a cheap and lazy way of showing you have no creativity of your own. Where do we draw that line? In one place, we draw it when you start wearing capes. Hallas do that in the music video that accompanies the first single from this album, and the appropriation of everything 70s is so obvious, so gimmicky, and so cheap, I can't take them seriously. Wanting to sound more organic is fine, but wholesale copying the entire look and sound of a time before you were even born is pandering to an audience you know is older than you. The capes not only look stupid, they're a big, neon-lit sign saying, "Look how retro we are! Remember this stuff?!"

Needless to say, after seeing that, I was not exactly brimming with enthusiasm to listen to what else Hallas came up with. I got in trouble for saying this, but their nostalgia trip is meaningless to me, since you can't be nostalgic for something you never experienced the first time.

The best bands of this ilk are the ones that take the organic production of the old days, and do something new with them. This is where I once again invoke Graveyard, who have a similarly vintage vibe, but never once in their songwriting do they so obviously point backwards. Everything about Hallas, however, is firmly dedicated to saying the 70s were better than today. Whether it's the drum echo they put on the hits in the spacey bits of "Beyond Night And Day" that are right from the beginning of the 80s reverb morass, or the synths that can't be described as anything but 'wizard rock', Hallas is engaging in musical cos-play.

But that's not all. They also have adopted the attitude of 70s prog, where they feel that long passages of synth notes constitute strong songwriting. Both the vocals and the guitars are entirely bland and forgettable, leaving atmospherics as the driving force of the songs. That leaves the music in a precarious position, sounding like it must look to see through a cataract. The music is hazy, lazy, and unfocused. It flows with a pleasant enough sound, at least until you realize they aren't giving you anything to listen to. I have the same issue with a lot of classic rock, wherein the bands who were trying new sounds and pushing boundaries weren't always writing great songs, because the newness was enough for a lot of listeners. Hallas doesn't have that luxury, so their boring songs are just boring.

And considering that the last three tracks are all between seven and nine minutes, with another a few second away from six, it's a lot of time to be wondering if and when Hallas has anything to say. It's one thing to take from the past, another to steal from the past, but as is true in most cases, all can be forgiven if you do it well enough. Hallas doesn't. This album is chock full of boring songs that don't have power, melody, or even interesting twists and turns. It is a cookie-cutter reproduction of 70s synth prog, and like all reproductions, it's essentially worthless. The only conundrum here is why they put in the time and effort to make this record.

Blood Good News: Our Post-Epidemic Reality

The music industry is shutting down all around us, as is most of the world, it seems. The viral pandemic spreading around has redefined what life means, and how we are going to exist moving forward. There are far larger questions to answer, but we're here to talk about the music industry. Just in that little slice of the world, the disruption is immense, and possibly irreparable.

Virtually every live performance between now and the summer has already been cancelled, and it's only a matter of time until the rest follow suit. In the blink of an eye, the touring industry went from a monolithic entity that was subsidizing the entire existence of music as a commercial art form to one that no longer exists. The bands we love are now essentially out of work, save for the pennies that all but the largest bands get out of streaming.

The scariest part is there is no end in sight. Every day, festivals and shows further into the future are getting called off, and no one can tell us when to expect life to begin going back to something resembling normal. Maybe we'll be able to get back to seeing bands on the road by the summer. Maybe we won't. Maybe this situation will carry on through the rest of the year, and we will become so inured by our new reality that the industry never recovers.

Think about that. There is a very real possibility that we are essentially quarantined away from large groups of people for months, maybe years. If that happens, live music will be the least of our worries, but I can easily see a future in which we never go back to where we are. As part of preventative measures, we are never again allowed to cram ourselves shoulder-to-shoulder into sweaty bars, or arenas with the populations of medium-sized cities. It might have never been a good idea for that kind of human density to have been allowed, but thinking about it in the future almost feels foolish already. Yes, we might get past this moment in time, but we might not. And even if we do, who is going to want to run the risk of it happening again?

Music will go on, because it always does, but it won't be the same as it was. It can't be.

Bands will eventually head back on the road, but audiences will be smaller. Fewer people will want to crowd together, both out of fear, and due to our new learned experience. With less people, either prices for tickets will make the shows exclusively for those at the top of the income ladder, or bands will simply be making even less money than they already do. I fail to see any way things will return to the level they were at, let alone grow.

And we can't go back to the days of making money off physical sales, either. Streaming is the reality we live with, but the physical sales that do exist are now imperiled. To prioritize the household goods needed, and being hoarded right now, even Amazon is temporarily ceasing shipments of CDs and vinyl into their warehouses. How long will we be deprived of even the opportunity to buy albums before we grow so used to that we stop altogether? Downloading was the first disruption, streaming the second, and this perhaps the final blow.

I don't know what the future holds, but I know tomorrow will look different than today. I don't know if there will still be a steady stream of albums to talk about over the new few months, nor do I know when things will settle into a new normal. All I know is the world has changed dramatically, and faster than we could have ever imagined. It won't be for good, or for our good, but we have to deal with it. I'll let you know if I figure out how.

Album Review: Lucifer - Lucifer III

When we last heard from Lucifer, they were leaving quite a good impression. After the breakup of The Oath, Johanna Sadonis formed a new band, and they put out a record that was still rather doom-and-gloom, and not exactly living up to the potential her talent displayed. The lineup shift leading into their second album made all the difference, as a bit more life was put into the music, and they were writing songs that were still gritty and authentic, but also far more enjoyable to sit down with. They were finding the right balance to their sound, and while I really liked that record, I still had the impression they could grow into something even more impressive.

That brings us to records number three, where that feeling is put to the test. With a solid foundation to build upon, Lucifer is able to focus on letting the songs develop into their best form. The opening "Ghosts" picks up where the previous album left off, with stoner guitar tones that build up to a desert bonfire sing-along of a chorus. Just that alone would be enough for the song, but then it drops into a bridge with a hint of piano anchoring the bass, and the twist shows Lucifer isn't just about giving us the simple ditties. There's meat on those bones.

"Midnight Phantom" is interesting for how it blends doom and almost sunny 60s rock. The riffs and the verses would be pure doom if the guitars had a thicker tone, but then the chorus hits and Johanna brings the sun back over the horizon. There are a lot of bands that play either gritty or occult rock that sounds pulled from the past, but most of them aren't able to infuse their songs with catchy melodies. That's the genius of what this version of Lucifer does. This record is still fuzzy, dirty, and anything but mainstream, but the songs have that kind of appeal.

If there's such a thing as 'laid-back doom', that's what Lucifer has created. Their sound is rather unique in being able to straddle the line between bright and dark, soothing and off-putting. They are sort of like painting a gargoyle with pastels. I know how that sounds, but I mean it as a compliment.

Now comes the hard(er) part; Lucifer hasn't really taken the step forward I was hoping for. "Lucifer III" is a fine continuation of "Lucifer II", and does the same good things as that record did. It just doesn't do anything better than the previous record. I was hoping not for something new, but for a few songs that pumped everything up even further, and were their best work. I don't think we've gotten that, but that doesn't mean the album isn't really good, because it is. I was very fond of "Lucifer II" and this record is every bit as good.

Lucifer fills a niche, and no one else is quite like them. Like someone else who was making numbered albums a long time ago, Lucifer's second and third albums are part of a larger thread of blues, doom, and rock that I'm not sure we'll entirely see for another album or two. In the meantime, "Lucifer III" still rocks.

EP Review: Dilana - Animal

At it's best, art speaks the truth in ways that we can't achieve by talking alone. Whether it's an image you can't stop seeing when you close your eyes, or a melody that means you can't get the words out of your head, art allows us to absorb a message we might not be willing to sit down and listen to otherwise. It's true that a lot of music doesn't try to say anything beyond platitudes, but we're talking about art here. Not every musician is an artist, not in the way that makes their music important, not in the way that gives their music weight. There is fluffy pop music, and there is art filled with earworms.

Dilana is an artist. When we last heard from her, on "Beautiful Monster", she was writing painfully honest songs about her life that spoke to the core of the human experience. At least for me, it was deeply important music.

With the new songs on this EP, Dilana is taking on the world. Several of these songs are issue-oriented, trying to shine a light on stories we don't necessarily want to hear, but need to. "Kids Must Play" addresses the state of the world, and the impact it is having on the next generations. They can see and feel society crumbling around them, and the fear that brings up robs them of their childhood. Mass shooting drills are more terrifying than we know, and current gun policies are doing nothing to stop the flow of violence that has numbed us to high body counts. The heavy guitar groove and the siren effects echo the adrenaline flowing as calls for help cry out the next inevitable time a shooting happens. "Who's going to save the kids?" Dilana asks repeatedly. There is no answer, but we can't find one without asking the question.

"Animal" takes on the exploitation of nature, with dramatic strings and Dilana's booming voice taking the world's leaders to task for not recognizing and protecting the beauty of our animal brethren. It is a plea to our humanity to do better, to put aside how easy cruelty can be in favor of a more compassionate reality. "Da Big Man" uses its stomping marching beat to throw us into a world of false patriotism where we listen to and accept anything that is said by the people who are supposedly on 'our side'. Loyalty has become blind, truth has become multiple choice, and power has become everything.

These songs stem from the autobiographical update that comes in the form of "Oh Jericho", a song about life, longing, and how no love can measure up to motherhood. It's that fierce love that forces Dilana to confront the world's problems, because she can't bear to leave them to fester until it's her child's responsibility to fix them. Her focus is singular, and wanting a better future includes changing her music to do what she can to make it happen. So instead of another album of bleeding her soul, we get this more eclectic collection trying to show the scars on society. That's why it makes sense for these songs to throw everything from slide guitar to world beats, from crooning vocals to rapping, into the mix. Speaking to everyone means speaking every language (metaphorically). Dilana tries to do that here, just like she did with her single "Behind Closed Doors" before, and it's nice to have a reminder that music can make a difference on more than a personal level.

And as a treat, we also get a cover of Audioslave's "Like A Stone", which can be interpreted two ways. We can take it on face value as a tribute to a great song, being sung by one of the few people with the power and tone to pull it off. It's a rousing enough success that way, but I think there's something more to it. Fitting the theme of this EP, we can also take it as a reminder that mental health struggles are real, they are severe, and far too many of us are impacted by the ripple-effects of suicide. It's a hard song to listen to, but even more beautiful, when you think about it that way. And that vocal.... dear God.

Yes, this is a very different Dilana than we might be used to, but as time has progressed, she has grown. She is now not just speaking about herself and to each one of us individually, but about everyone and to all of us. As much as sharing your soul is brave, so too is speaking up for what you believe is right.

Album Review: David Reece - Cacophony Of Souls

We often use the word 'journeyman' when we don't know what else to call someone who has been around for a long time, been a part of many bands, but hasn't really accomplished a whole lot. It isn't exactly a pejorative, but it serves that same purpose, merely with a softer touch. David Reece is a journeyman, and there's nothing wrong with that. He's been around, he's been on plenty of records, but I doubt there are many other than the die-hards who would know of him. Being in Bonfire isn't exactly setting the world on fire, nor is being the least prominent singer Accept has had. Maybe putting out something under his own name can change that....

I wouldn't count on it, since the most prominent thing said to promote the record is that it features a song written as the theme for a YouTube channel that talks about this kind of music. Reece isn't exactly aiming for the stars here.

The album is very by-the-books traditional heavy metal, too much so, really. Over the twelve tracks, Reece and his band hit on most of the cliches of the style, putting out the sort of record we've all heard a thousand times before. That alone isn't a criticism, but if you're going to do something so standard, it has to be pulled off nearly flawlessly. It doesn't matter how rote something is if the songwriting is expert. Reece can't make that claim on this record.

We get the stomping rhythms of Accept, and some late-era Iron Maiden riffs to open "Collective Anesthesia", but that's not enough. A few guitar parts don't make songs all on their own, and for being an album emblazoned with the name of a singer, Reece doesn't have great melodies to sing. And given how the record is produced, he isn't even pushed out in front enough to be the focus of the music. It's an odd decision to not highlight the man whose name is on the front cover. Maybe they realized Reece's contributions weren't strong enough to rely on. Even when he does come up with a solid chorus, as he does on the title track, the verse getting there is performed with incredibly awkward, faux-Gothic talk-singing that is completely out of place here. It sounds awful.

As for that theme song the album is (literally) centered around; it's the most energetic track on the album, so I'll give it that. But I'm sorry, I can't get even one iota excited about lyrics telling me to "raise your metal voice". The single lamest thing metal has ever done is constantly brag about how metal metal is. I keep resorting to the same advice; if you have to say it, it probably isn't true. I can't even call it humble-bragging, since there's nothing humble about puffing your chest out and telling people what a big man you are. It's over-compensating, and reducing people to the music they listen to, or at least a narrow band of it. That's not exactly an enlightened, empowered view.

So no, David Reece's album is not the 'masterpiece' the press release says it is. It's an album of perfectly acceptable classic heavy metal, with nothing the least bit special about it. Plenty of people want nothing more than comfort food music, and if you're a self-professed metal person looking for that, you'll like this a lot more than I did. I found myself once again asking more existential questions, like why I keep listening to a genre that has no interest in bringing people like me into the fold. Those questions are much more interesting to me than listening to this album.

Album Review: The Unity - Pride

Power metal is a fickle thing for me. Despite being the genre that got me into metal, I got my fill of it long ago, and the cliches of the sound no longer thrill me. If a band isn't bringing excellent songwriting to the party, I'm not going to be in any mood to celebrate. The Unity's first album fit that bill, a perfectly solid record that was rather standard, and in turn didn't move me. But then I gave their second record a chance, and it upped the bar in every way. "Rise" was an album that had rousing melodies and songs that stuck the landing. It took any expectations I had for The Unity, and turned them on their head. That record was great, and made me curious to see if and how they could follow it up.

"Hands Of Time" kicks things off, and immediately I'm struck by a thought I didn't think I would have; The Unity sounds like a pumped-up version of Revolution Saints. Gianbattista Manenti's voice has the same smooth-tinged roughness that Deen Castronovo does, but the songs he's got to sing are bigger, and less rote than the standard melodic rock that other band has given us. The Unity's song is rocking and metallic, with a chorus meant to sing along to. It fits right in with what I loved about the last record.

As more songs unfold, I feel like it's unfair to call The Unity a power metal band, because they aren't filling their songs with relentless double-bass drumming and ear-piercing vocals. There are elements of power metal in some of the guitar work, but they are as much a melodic hard rock band as they are power metal. It's a blend that allows them to sound heavy and powerful, but also richly melodic and memorable. In fact, it's when they do veer more towards the metal side on "Angel Of Dawn" that the record loses a bit of steam. The stomping rhythm of the song is heavy, but the chorus doesn't have the same sheen and melody that makes the rest of the songs so appealing.

There is a nice amount of diversity to the record. We get the opening songs that are pure melodic rock, the aforementioned metal stomper, then "Damn Nation" is the most traditionally power metal song, and "Wave Of Fear" has some mid-90s post-grunge to the melodies and the way the vocals blend together. A lot of The Unity's contemporaries essentially write the same song countless times over, and that is surely not the case with this record. There's a little bit of something for everyone.

With this album, The Unity have once again shown themselves to be a band capable of writing some great melodic metal. Is it as good a record as "Rise"? Honestly, I don't think it is. There was something special about that record I don't hear in this one, but not many bands are able to have that happen more than once. "Pride" may not be their career-defining masterpiece, but it's a really good melodic metal album. There's nothing wrong with that.

Album Review: The Bombpops - Death In Venice Beach

Years ago, Morrissey sang, "to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die". That was in the song "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", which was a sunny sounding pop gem that just so happened to be an utterly miserable song in disguise. It also happened to come about before the world knew what an insufferable clod Morrissey turned out to be, but that's beside the point. Music often dresses up sadness, pain, and depression in songs that sound as happy as all get-out. It's one of my favorite tricks, not just because the sound is so appealing, but sneaking something meaningful into the listener's ears when they don't realize it is one of the pleasures of being an artist.

With this new album, that's what The Bombpops are doing. This record is a bright, catchy batch of punk and pop thrown together, but it's also an album that deals with alcoholism, and a host of other darker issues. So what you see isn't what you get.

The band throws us into the deep end, with "Dearly Departed" diving into issues of mortality, listing off famous couples that met untimely ends, and declaring "unhappily ever after". Thankfully, they aren't referring to the horrible WB sitcom that ripped off "Married With Children", only with a talking puppet. "Double Arrows Down" talks of being passed out on a gas station floor with a needle in your arm, but it's done with such a cheery attitude that you almost forget that they're painting with their own blood. The combination of Jen Razavi and Poli Van Dam toss off bouncy pop hooks like they're nothing, giving us songs catchier than nearly anything pop-punk has done in many years, but without sounding like they're trying.

Is it in poor taste to compare a relationship to the fire that ravaged Notre Dame? It could certainly be considered to be, but it's also a very punk thing to do, so it reinforces their credentials whether you like the metaphor or not. It was a gutsy call to make that song the lead single for the album, but it worked, since it was hearing it that made me think I needed to hear this album. If the prior songs were already catchy, "Notre Dame" is infectious. I won't try to be so punk as to compare it to the current viral scare.

There's an effortless charm to The Bombpops, which in part comes from Jen and Poli not being your typical punk singers. Their voices aren't trying to sound edge, or angry, or anything other than what they are. Their delivery is, and I don't want this to be taken the wrong way, prettier than might be expected of punk. Frankly, making the music more accessible to a wider range of listeners and emotions is a big selling point. When "13 Stories Down" talks about not being an alcoholic, but playing one on the weekend, being able to hear the words from a voice that is more stereotypically sober sounding gives the song a completely different feeling than if it was a more debauched delivery.

So is "Death In Venice Beach" a pleasure, a privilege? It's half an hour of a sugar rush with a kick that stays in the back of your throat. These songs are fun, sly, and really good.

Bloody Good News: Journey's Infighting & Bob Rock's Honesty

Our Top Story: Journey is the latest band to find themselves embroiled in bitter legal battles, as the anonymous rhythm section of the band has tried to stage a coup. They convinced the board of the company set up to deal with Journey's business to put them in charge, thinking that would give them the rights to the band's name, which they could then leverage back to Neal Schon in exchange for guaranteed money for doing nothing. They were mistaken, as according to Schon, the Journey name is subject to a separate legal agreement that gives him and Jonathan Cain the sole and exclusive right to perform under the name.

This is merely another in a long line of bands that are going to court to fight over the money generated by a brand. As the money in music becomes even harder to earn, and a still growing majority of it comes from playing live, musicians will do everything they can to ensure they get as much of that money as possible. In this case, two members of Journey that practically no one gives a damn about thought some clever lawyering would net them income they didn't deserve, because bands are businesses. We saw something similar happen not long ago when Alexi Laiho lost control of the Children Of Bodom name, though the next steps in that case have yet to shake out.

Much of this comes back on us. The brand-name bands wouldn't be subject to as many of these kinds of challenges if we, the fans, held them accountable. For nearly any band that has undergone changes over the years, there's a huge section of the fan base that has no idea who is still in the band, so obviously they don't care who is standing on stage when they buy their ticket. Foreigner continues to sell tickets despite having none of them members who made the music they are playing. KISS is getting ready to try doing the same thing. If we were more knowledgeable, and we refused to see a Journey that featured two nobodies as the only real members, they would have had no perceived angle to undertake this shady business. They still deserve plenty of blame for trying to steal someone else's life's work, but we aren't without blame.

In Other News: Bob Rock said in a recent interview that the sound of Metallica's "And Justic For All" made no sense to him. While Rock gets plenty of (unfair) criticism for being the man who ruined Metallica, he is absolutely right about this. "Justice" sounds absolutely horrible, and has from the day it was released. If it was any other band but Metallica, we never would have put up with having to reflexively praise such a horrible recording. I feel the same way about "Kill Em All", but that's a separate issue.

What interests me about this story is the reminder that so many albums from bands that are big enough to know/do better are sorely lacking in many respects. "Justice" is but one example of that, even from Metallica. I mentioned "Kill Em All" already, which sounds like a rough demo more than a professional album, but they also put out "St Anger" and "Death Magnetic", which both sound utterly horrible on objective analysis. The fact that they continue to defend their mistakes, rather than admit them, is also infuriating.

It goes beyond them. Pantera is given credit for saving metal in the 90s, but Dimebag's guitar tone is one of the worst that has ever been put on a major-label record. I won't blame his use of solid-state amps over the more traditional tube varieties, but his buzzing mess of a tone was painful to listen to when you compared it to what was possible.

And as technology makes it easier, faster, and cheaper than ever to make a professional sounding record, the quality we are given is actually getting worse. Baroness is the biggest offender in recent memory, with their last two records so distorted they are unlistenable. If you want to know if an outlet you read/listen to is honest or not, see what they said about Baroness' "Purple" or "Gold & Grey". If they didn't mention that the records sound worse than demos from the days of 8-track tapes, they aren't shooting straight. There is no excuse for distorted recordings, and there is no excuse for not calling out bands when they deliver sub-standard products.

So did Bob Rock ruin Metallica? Given what they have done when left to their own devices, of course he didn't. Whatever you think of "Load" and "Reload", their success prevented us from having more "Lulu" like projects for a decade. That deserves our thanks.

Album Review: Stitched Up Heart - Darkness

We talk often about bands that are doing interesting things with their music, but not so much about bands that are doing interesting things with their music. The world we live in now is not one where every album follows the same path or marketing, promotion, and release. There are a lot of ways of getting your music to the fans, and we get an interesting example of that from Stitched Up Heard with this release, which has been in the making for half a year.

The band has been releasing singles, roughly one per month, for that long, with the vast majority of the record already listened to be many of us before we get to this release date. That makes for an interesting experience, hearing a record taking shape slowly, being intimately familiar with the music when sitting down for the first time to hear the record as a whole. I can't answer the question of whether it was an effective strategy from a marketing perspective, but I can give my own take as a fan. We'll get to that at the end.

But let's talk about the music. Stitched Up Heart is giving us a record that is modern rock, but also a diverse ride through many of the things that phrase entails. The record kicks off with "Lost", which I really liked as a single, and which works beautifully as an opener. The riff is huge, the sound is heavy and modern, and the hook is pure ear candy. It's excellent modern rock with the perfect blend of heaviness and melody.

That describes the majority of the record. If you think of New Year's Day's album from last year, you'll have a pretty good idea of what Stitched Up Heart is doing. They aren't pushing things as aggressively, which makes this record easier to digest and enjoy. Mixi's the star of the show, with her passionate vocals driving the strong hooks, and a tone that plays well against the guitars. Her voice is beautiful without losing its power, which isn't all that easy to achieve.

"Problems" is the catchiest song of the bunch, with a groove-heavy riff, some skittering effects on the vocals, and a chorus that could be a modern pop hit. It's them taking the Billie Eilish formula, and turning it into heavy rock instead. I didn't hear the song that way when it was first released, but in time I started to see it differently, and now it fits into the album in a way I wasn't expecting. There are a few of those effects and production tricks scattered through the record, which ground everything in the here and now, which you can interpret how you want.

The biggest detour is "Crooked Halo", which leaves rock behind for an approach that is almost entirely pop, the dark and quiet kind of modern pop, to be precise. It's my least favorite song on the album, which is otherwise stacked with track after track delivering hooks the crowds will be singing back from the pit on tour, but it does serve as a pivot point where the album can take a breather and keep our ears fresh.

It feels like I've been waiting forever for this album to arrive, and yes, it was worth it. Stitched Up Heart have given us a fun, vibrant rock record that has both broad and deep appeal. I think it's as good a record as the mainstream rock scene is going to see this year, but I have to address the elephant in the room. By releasing so many songs over such a long time before the album dropped, there's less excitement in hearing the record as an entirety. It wouldn't have been better if I heard every song fresh at the same time, but it was a bit odd hearing an album I already knew so much about.

If you haven't been following the singles, then you're in for a treat. "Darkness" is this year's "Breath In Colors" (from Forever Still); the album that makes modern rock sound beautiful, emotional, and really damn good.

Album Review: Silverstein - A Beautiful Place To Drown

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, which is essentially a way of saying everyone tends to get stuck in a rut at a certain point, and anything new is merely the sunlight beating down on us while we're down in our hole. There is some truth in that, but not always. As a music listener, I do tend to stick in my own box, but there are always new wrinkles to explore, and new paths to explore. Last year, I did that with Dream State, who were the first band associated with post-hardcore I found myself enjoying. And it's in that spirit I now take up this new Silverstein album, a band I haven't had the opportunity to listen to before.

It was by happenstance I came across the singles for this record, "Infinite" and "Bad Habit", which both struck me similarly to that experience I had last year. Silverstein is a fusion of punk, pop, emo, and perhaps even a bit of post-hardcore, which is not a sound you would expect me to gravitate towards. And yet, those songs had a wonderful blend of aggression and melody I couldn't deny. And so, here we are talking about the full record.

I know this comparison isn't particularly apt, but this record seems to me to be a better interpretation of what we heard Blink-182 trying to do on their most recent album. They are taking the power of punk, but tilted in a more mature direction. Whereas Blink didn't have the ability to pull that off without resorting to some wise-ass trolling, Silverstein throws in the occasional harsh vocal and breakdown to emphasize the depths they are pulling these songs from. Doing that while still keeping the songs energetic and catchy is a nice feather in their caps.

"Infinite" still stands out as the song you need to hear, because the slightly slower pace heightens the drama, and makes the harsh vocals stand out from the band's fury. It's exactly what you would expect from a band celebrating their twentieth anniversary; a song that knows how to put the band's pieces together for maximum impact. "Shape Shift" follows in similar fashion, and as much fun as the more up-tempo numbers are, it's when they throw more of their emo influences into the mix that the album hits its greatest strengths. That more emotional delivery has teeth to it, and it really gives us something to latch onto.

I also find the AFI vibe on "September 14th" a welcome surprise, and not just because of how far that band has fallen in recent times. It's a throwback to a moment in time I can remember, and hadn't thought much about recently. It's funny how something so simple can take us back like that.

Silverstein might be a bit outside my normal listening, but it's worth it to take risks now and again. "A Beautiful Place To Drown" is an album with a lot going for it, for several different audiences. We don't always get a lot of examples of how teenage music can grow, evolve, and mature as we get older. That's what this record is. The roots are obvious, but the branches have reached far above the soil, trying to grab the heavens. Silverstein have bridged the past and the present, and it's something quite lovely to hear. I'm glad I found myself taking this path.

Album Review: Harem Scarem - Change The World

It's not too often a band that's been around for decades blows you away, or makes their best record. Usually, whether they've run through their best ideas, or we're just tired of hearing their particular sound, the back half of an artist's career doesn't leave the same impact. It does happen, though, such as how I'm the one person out there who says with no hesitation that "Peachtree Road" and "The Captain & The Kid" are Elton John's best records. I seem to be alone out on that limb. It happened a couple of years ago with Harem Scarem, who released "United", which was a masterclass in melodic rock, nearly the album of the year, and quite possibly the best album of its kind in recent memory.

That means the expectations for this follow-up are sky high. It's probably unfair, but since the bar was set by them, it's what we're going to work with.

I'll spare us all the drama. Is this record better than "United"? In a word, no. However, not being better than the best doesn't mean you aren't still great. And this record is still truly great melodic rock.

Harem Scarem have great vocals and great songs, full of big melodies and immediate hooks. Melodic rock has never been a popular subset of the genre, but with songs like this, I'm not entirely sure why. This sound is engaging, welcoming, and charming. It's like arena rock, if you dial down all of the phallic bravado that populated the worst of those bands. Maybe it's a problem that Harem Scarem are making music for adults, rather than teenagers and frat bros, but that's why it's great. They aren't pandering for popularity, they're making music for people who want to hear good songwriting instead of angst and gimmickry.

Harry Hess has a perfect voice for the style, comfortably melodic with just a hint of grit to keep everything from getting too polished. He delivers hook after hook with the confidence of knowing his band is firing on all cylinders. There's a lot of melodic rock being made, but not much of it is this good, and not much of it has its own identity. Harem Scarem doesn't sound like the conveyor belt bands that take their songs from the communal pile. This is clearly a Harem Scarem record, and that goes a long way to making it just that much more enjoyable.

Comparing the two records, "Change The World" is a bit softer, with guitar playing that pulls back a bit from the fiery licks that "United" featured. Relaxed is a word I often thought of listening through these songs. The band has already proven themselves, so they aren't trying to stretch any boundaries or sharpen any axes. That's just fine, but it does mean this record has a touch less spark and bite to it.

But that's not a criticism, merely an observation. Making the exact same record again and again gets redundant, so having a slightly different tone lets this record stand out as its own entity. This isn't "United" part two, no matter how good that idea might sound. "Change The World" isn't trying to be that, which I consider a good thing, because as I said before, measuring up to that bar was always going to be impossible. While I would still point you to the previous record first, "Change The World" is melodic rock at its finest, and a hell of a follow-up.