Singles Roundup: Magnus Karlsson, Yours Truly, Thundermother, & Evanescence

We're in a weird time where a lot of records are getting delayed (for obvious reasons), but new music might be more needed than ever. I won't get into my feelings on those decisions right now, but there has continued to be some new music still coming out way. Let's take a look at some of the single doses we've been gifted in recent times.

Magnus Karlsson - Queen Of Fire

This song from his upcoming solo(?) effort features Noora Louhimo from Battle Beast on vocals, and it is glorious. I've come to the realization that Magnus' music is dependent on the singer. When he has someone I love, his songs and records are melodic bliss. When he doesn't, they sound tired. This is the former, with Noora's voice wringing everything she can out of this song. It's dramatic, melodic, and a great addition to the Allen/Olzon album we already got from Magnus this year. The rest of his solo album.... we'll get to that eventually.

Yours Truly - Composure

I loved Yours Truly's "Afterglow" EP, and said the only thing wrong with it was that we didn't get a full-length album. That appears to be what we're going to get sometime this year, and this new song makes that something to look forward to. Among the bands playing ultra-catchy pop/rock, Yours Truly is right at the top of the mountain right now. Mikaila's voice pierces through the crunchy guitars, and by the end of the song the upbeat energy starts to wash over you. It's nothing fancy, but it's done so well I absolutely love it.

Thundermother - Driving In Style

When their last album came out, I thought Thundermother had the pieces needed to do something really good. They were solid players, and had a really good new singer, they just needed a bit more in the songwriting department. With this new song, they've got that. They are still playing classic rock with an AC/DC sound, they've expanded in more melodic territory, with this being the catchiest song they've done. It's a great tease for the album, because it shows them stepping up their game, and makes me wonder if it's a one-off, or if they are now that good of a band.

Evanescence - Wasted On You

I'm amazed how much attention this band still gets, since they had one album and one single more than fifteen years ago, and have given us nothing to care about since. For some reason, though, people still care. I don't know why, and this song makes that question echo louder. This track doesn't really rock, it isn't really beautiful, and it isn't all that good. It's bland, forgettable, and not at all worthy of the hype Evanescence is going to receive. This is a band still riding on past success, and if this song is an indication, there won't be any in the future.

Album Review: Trick Or Treat - The Legend Of The XII Saints

I have talked before about the problem with concept albums mainly being the difficulty in telling a story through lyrics without having them stilted and awkward. There is another problem with concept albums, one that I run across just as often, but can usually ignore, because of the aforementioned issue; concept albums aren't interesting if you don't care about the concept. Should it be done well, and the concept is easily interpreted through the music and lyrics, you still need to have a subject that people want to hear about. Telling a story everyone is going to enjoy is impossible. That's why we have so many different genres of art.

That brings us to this album, which has two concepts behind it, neither of which I give a damn about. On the one hand, this record is based on an anime series. I have never seen one, so I surely don't care in the slightest about any of the characters from this particular one. Also, every song on this record deals with a sign of the zodiac, and considering that I find astrology to be a pile of garbage that somehow gets humored by the mainstream, this record is swimming upstream.... and up a mountain.

We start the cycle with Aries, and quickly run into more problems. First isn't quite a problem, but an observation that Trick Or Treat is playing incredibly rote power metal, so this song reeks of being generic. The second issue is more important, as the accent on the vocals is strong enough that many of the lyrics get lost as he tries to sing them. I've been picky about this before, but there is simply no excuse for indecipherable words on a concept album. They are dearly important, and yet we can't hear some of them. It's an utter, complete failure on every level. The band shouldn't have put up with it, but neither should the producer. It's clear they don't understand what a concept album even is if they allowed this to go forward as it is.

Beyond that, the album doesn't give us a lot to talk about. The music is mostly fast-paced power metal, but the hooks aren't the most memorable, and the whole thing feels like I've already heard it many times before. Sure, it sticks out when we get a guest vocal that tries to sound like Axl Rose, but that doesn't mean it's good. I suppose the record is fine for what it is, but I've heard better generic power metal from plenty of other bands, and at least on thos occasions I'm not left wondering what I'm missing, because I sure don't get any of the concept coming through during this one.

On that basis alone, I would have to call this record a failure. It doesn't really get across the point it's aiming for, and it doesn't give us any big songs I would want to listen to outside of the story either. It's bland, generic power metal that thinks it's something more, when it so clearly isn't. It's sort of like that kid who puts on a pair of glasses and suddenly thinks people will believe they're a genius. No, we won't. And no, this album isn't.

Album Review: Double Experience - Alignments

It's funny how every word seems to have more than one meaning. Double Experience proudly brand themselves as 'nerd rock', which is a term that sounds like it should apply to me. However, that word has more than one way it can be interpreted, and they lead to very different realizations. In some contexts, 'nerd' can mean RPGs and anime. In other contexts, 'nerd' can mean intellectualism and social awkwardness. One of those applies to me, and I can relate to, the other not so much. But when they list their nerd fore-bearers in the press materials, and include Muse of all people, I don't have a damn clue what 'nerd rock' is supposed to be anymore. I immediately think of Weezer (a contemptible band, if I do say so), and heck, I even think of Ozma. I certainly don't think of Muse, and I don't think of prog rock either.

So I think Double Experience is mixing up a whole bunch of things that aren't cool, and assuming we'll be fine calling them all nerdy. They aren't, and I'm not. But I digress...

The album starts off with "Perish Song", and it is anything but a nerd rock track. The riff is a bit more angular than your typical mainstream rock, and I can hear some drumming in odd times, but the chorus of the song is pure radio fodder, and no different than anything the more cro-magnon bands would deliver. "This is your perish song, now sing along" isn't exactly intellectual writing.

The band says something I find rather telling. They state, "it’s more honest for our band to write about how passionate we feel about specific pop culture than it is to write about blanket, angry emotions." While I appreciate the sentiment, and pop culture can be fine fodder for songs, that quote implies to me they think anger is the only emotion they can feel. Rock music doesn't need to be angry, nor do they need to be as people, but in a single line they distilled both down to nothing but anger. That has been one of my biggest complaints about the rock attitude for a while, and to hear so-called nerds buying into it disappoints me greatly.

So let's get back to the crux of the issue; what is nerdy about this album? There is a song about "The Punisher", but you would only know that because they shout "I am the punisher" during the chorus. Otherwise, there is very little in the lyrical content that directly ties the songs to anything nerd-level. The music itself isn't quirky enough to really be anything I would call that either. I say this not to pile on, but to ask a basic philosophical question; what do we make of a band that doesn't know who they are? They have adopted an identity that isn't theirs, whether that was a choice or a mistake, and it's a real lack of self-awareness, at least as far as I'm concerned.

The record is a perfectly fine mainstream-ish rock album. The songs are pleasant, and some of the melodies are pretty catchy. Sure, I would rather listen to this than the latest Five Finger Death Punch record, or anything of that sort, but they aren't that far removed from one another. If anything, at least those bands know why they are, and the audience they're shooting for. Double Experience doesn't have that luxury, and it really hurts them. My opinion of the record would be higher if I randomly came across it as a mainstream rock record. But when I'm told it's one thing, and it's really another, I can't say that doesn't have an impact. Even in the most pandering of music there is a grain of truth, but when the band is oblivious to their own identity, their work is as hollow as can be.

Sorry to say.

Album Review: Katatonia - City Burials

No one does depression like Katatonia does. For decades, they have been the soundtrack to the darkness, with an ethereal sound that is unmistakably theirs, and pitch-perfect for self-reflection. There have been others who have tried, but none match Katatonia's ability to make a creeping shadow sound like an old friend. They were never better than on their previous album, "The Fall Of Hearts", an epic statement of bleak songwriting and beautiful destruction. It took me a bit of time to find the right mood for it, but when I did, that record was revealed as a masterpiece of tonality.

Which is why it was so hard to hear the first single from this record, "Lacquer". Gone was everything Katatonia has been, replaced with an electronic sound that was hollow, plastic, and gave Jonas Renske nothing to pull from as he sang a weak, flaccid, and forgettable melody. It was, simply put, the worst Katatonia song I can ever remember hearing. It was also an omen for the rest of "City Burials".

This time out, the band's writing is more concise, and more textural. The guitars pull back, letting rhythms and soundscapes take much of the lead. It's a different backdrop for Renske's voice, and one that doesn't work well at all. The beauty of Katatonia is how his voice plays against the cold guitar tones. With less on one side of the scale, the balance is thrown off. In trying to do something new, Katatonia has diminished one of the things that makes them who they are.

I hear more 80s influences in "The Winter Of Our Passing", which is weird, but does make sense. A lot of synth-heavy 80s music was rather cold and robotic, and that part translates to Katatonia's personality. If they were searching for something new to explore, that sound is one that could work. Despite being only three minutes long, or perhaps because of it, there's a sense of urgency that we don't hear from them anywhere else. That makes it quite possibly the best song on the album.

Unfortunately, there is a fair bit of slower material, but with the approach the band has taken this time out, there isn't enough power in the music to make those moments shine. With the guitars pulling back, the ominous ringing chords aren't there to give the sense of foreboding needed. Instead, the slower songs plod along with lackadaisical rhythms made all the more obvious. Katatonia has never been an energetic band, but they also haven't always sounded this lifeless. The gap between "The Winter Of Our Passing", "City Glaciers", "Flicker" and the rest of the album is immense. Renske's melodies and layered vocals on those tracks are stirring, evocative, and glorious. On the other tracks, the beauty Katatonia has always pulled from the darkness is absent.

That leaves us with a mixed bag of an album. Katatonia wanted to do something new, and they have, but not all of it works. There are three fantastic tracks that show some new tricks in their repertoire, but there are more that don't have the songwriting to tie it all together. Getting off to such a slow start, and lacking some of their traditional guitar melodies, it's a record with less emotional power as usual. There's enough to make it worth hearing, but it's a far cry from "The Fall Of Hearts".

Album Reviw: Volturian - Crimson

I'm not entirely sure what to make of Volurian. On the one hand, I do quite enjoy melodic metal sung by a woman's voice. On the other hand, the thought of "a massive infusion of electronic music" scares the living daylights out of me. Metal has been trying to fuse with the modern pop sound for a while now, and while there have been success stories, there has also been a lot of music that doesn't understand how the elements can be blended together. It's not enough to throw them together and assume everything will work. It requires some thought, and some nuance, and neither of those words is normally associated with metal. Still, it's worth a listen.

I'm already a bit put-off by the first seconds of "New Life", when the keyboards are at the forefront of the mix, and the guitars are much quieter and in the background. The music would sound more powerful with a better balanced mix, and it might also hide that the synths and guitars aren't as cohesive as they could be. That's a shame, since the song is pretty good. Federica's voice isn't the most dynamic, but on this song she plays the hook straight, and it's a memorable little tune.

But the nature of the music, and Federica's voice, means that these songs need to be sharply written if they are going to work. Subtle melodies can absolutely work, but they have to be the right ones, and they need some help. That doesn't always happen with this record. It's constructed in a similar way to the recent album I talked about from The Birthday Massacre. Volturian is far more metallic, but they are both subtle records. The difference is that The Birthday Massacre has a unique sound and atmosphere even when the songs don't quite hit. Volturian's instrumentals sound enough like a generic modern metal band that the weaker songs don't have that something to make them stand out.

The good songs, like "In A Heartbeat", work really well. They're similar enough to the current pop metal trends that they sound fresh and hooky, but without the obvious pandering to the mainstream that some bands go through. The trick is repeating the feat, and that's where Volturian falls a bit short. With nine songs after the intro, they don't have enough of those great ones for me to say the album works as a whole. Half the record is obviously stronger, and the other half lacking a bit of spark. That's what I was expecting, given the difficulty of nailing subtle music song after song.

Ultimately, there are things to like about Volturian's record, but I don't see it being a record I will be returning to with regularity. They have potential, but there's some songwriting development that needs to happen before I can really recommend them.

Bloody Good News: Ticketmaster Screws Us... Again

Ticketmaster has once again set the music world on fire with their shady business practices, this time when they quietly altered their terms of service to eliminate the ability for ticket holders to get a refund when shows are postponed. The key to the change is that now, no matter how long a concert is scheduled, no refunds will ever be given. If a festival is postponed until the next year, you can't get your money back. If Ozzy continues to indulge the fantasy that he's going to tour again, and a date in your city doesn't get played for years on end, Ozzy, Sharon, and Ticketmaster get to use your money for as long as they want.

And therein is the rub; this has nothing to do with improved service, or even security for the artists to make sure revenue will be there when things return to normal. This is entirely about the ability for Ticketmaster to hold onto fans money, invest it, and keep the profits for themselves. If they gave refunds for all the shows canceled this year, the fans could put that money to use trying to survive, while Ticketmaster would have nothing and eventually slide towards bankruptcy. But with these changes, Ticketmaster can better endure the lack of income from nonexistent sales by accruing interest on the millions of dollars they are already holding. It's a horrible business practice, but exactly what you would expect from a heartless corporate entity.

The worst part of the whole deal is that these changes were made in the shadows, not publicized fairly, and it remains unclear whether these new rules apply just to any tickets purchased from now moving forward, or if Ticketmaster has retroactively decided to screw their customers. If the latter is indeed the case, we could be starting the process of one of the largest class-action lawsuits the industry has ever heard, which could also spell the end of Ticketmaster. It's not clear they can emerge from this pandemic without going bankrupt no matter which choice they make.

There's a saying about crisis revealing character. If that is indeed the case, we have seen the best and worst of humanity lately. Countless artists have stepped forward to talk to us and perform from home to give us something to look forward to, something to entertain us. Many have even put out special merchandise where the revenue will go to support their road crews who no longer have any income. These people are trying to bring us all together, to give us hope, and to keep depression from setting in.

But we have also seen the worst of ourselves, and that's where Ticketmaster comes in. To clutch money that people need to get through each day in the midst of the worst economic times we have ever seen is disgusting. If Ticketmaster goes under, they can file for bankruptcy protection, and the landing will be relatively soft. If the people they are now screwing over don't have their money, they move closer to losing everything. Yes, we're talking about concert tickets, which usually aren't astronomical sums of money, but right now every dollar counts. Getting that $50 ticket back could be the difference between someone being able to afford their medication or not, being able to make their rent this month or not.

I say this about bands all the time, and it applies to business; the one thing we are owed is honesty. Ticketmaster can be as money-hungry as they want, that's their right, but we should know what we're getting into. This incident is another case of the music industry trying to play three-card monte with fans money, treating customers as a commodity, cock-sure that no one can ever fight back or abandon them. It's sad that Ticketmaster has decided they want to be the villains of the story. If they had done the right thing now, plenty of their past sins would be forgiven. That's not the route they have taken, and if karma is real, it will come back to bite them in the ass.

We can only hope.

*Editor's Note* After this commentary was written, Ticketmaster released a statement 'clarifying' their policy.

Ticketmaster's new statement does nothing to address the concerns fans rightfully have. They try to pass the buck, and put the burden onto each band and ticket seller to set the policies regarding refunds of any individual event. That might be reasonable, but it doesn't explain why Ticketmaster felt the need to covertly change their policy in the middle of a public pandemic. If this is a continuation of their original policy, as they are implying, there would be no need for the new language. You don't alter something that doesn't need to be altered.

Furthermore,  it is incredibly weak to say that event organizers need more time to determine if refunds should be given out. This isn't that complicated. Since we don't know when events are going to be allowed to resume, therefore you can't accurately schedule a make-up date, no one should be on the hook for a ticket to an event that may never happen, that they might not be able to attend even if it does. Not giving out refunds to events that have been rescheduled for normal reasons is bad enough, but there is simply no excuse for it now.

It's shameful Ticketmaster is even allowing the possibility of this happening. As the broker, they can easily set rules for everyone using their service that refunds must be made available. They aren't doing that, and are instead trying to pass the blame. Look, blame is warranted in many places. Ticketmaster is right that the organizers of events who don't offer refunds deserve to be criticized, but that doesn't absolve them of their own responsibility. Ticketmaster has the power to put an end to this, but they won't, which is a tacit endorsement.

They can't argue that away.

Ten Years Of "Tonic", and Where Do We Go From Here?

It's a bit hard to believe so much time has passed, but soon will be the tenth anniversary of the release of Tonic's self-titled album. Considering that Tonic is my favorite band, and have been since the release of "Sugar" in 1999, that album was a big deal for me. Eight years had passed since "Head On Straight", and I had been reduced to thinking there would never be a fourth record. Sensing the end of your favorite band is not an easy thought for any music fan, let alone when that band hadn't given you a large catalog of music to hold dear when they were gone.

I didn't have to keep that thought in my head for too long after it dawned on me, as Tonic regrouped for their fourth album to be released in the summer of 2010. I remember the day I found the page on their label's site, complete with a player in the corner containing samples of every track. The record was still in the offing, and yet I was going to be given a sneak peak. What could be better?

When the record did finally arrive, I was both pleased and disappointed. It did not follow the direction of any of their previous records, but it did serve as a summation of everything Tonic had been up to that point. It was also their most streamlined and concise record, which continued the shift they had been making all along in their songwriting. I didn't see it that way at the time, but I have come to realize the evolutionary shift as a natural state of affairs.

Over time, that record has become as much a favorite as any of their others. Tonic remains my favorite band, and that self-titled album is loved just as much as their others, because they all form a tapestry that tells their story. It wouldn't be complete without all of them. And whether it's the perfect blend of acoustic and electric guitars in "Release Me", the angular riffs of "Bigger Than Both", or the powerfully simple melodies of songs like "Resolve", the record is chock full of great songs.

And now that I'm looking back at a decade spent with the record, I'm left with a rather uncomfortable question; do I want another one?

In the ten years since, there have been rumors and talk about Tonic working on new music, whether that takes the form of an album or not, but nothing has come to pass. A decade has elapsed without a single note of new Tonic music, and much like in the gap before the release of the self-titled record, I have come to terms with the idea that Tonic is never going to release another record. This, even as they still make the summer touring circuit, and play on music cruises. They seem happy not making music, so I'm left wondering if I'm happy with the same.

Of course I want there to be another Tonic record. It would be foolish to say I don't want more from my favorite band, wouldn't it? I don't think so. If you asked me this five years ago, of course I would want the next record. If you asked me three years ago, I probably would have said the same thing. But today, I'm not so sure. Enough time has passed that I'm not the same person I was when the last record came out, and neither are the members of the band. They have all grown older, their lives have gone in new directions. Does the music they would make today speak to me the same way it did then? Have we grown apart in the meantime?

It's not entirely a fair comparison, but these questions come to mind when I think about Emerson Hart's solo career. His record "32 Thousand Days" is very much a record dictated by his place in life, and while I appreciate it and enjoy it, Tonic it is not. I am in a very different place in my life than he is, and I'm not sure songs he writes now would have the same ability to connect with me. I don't see the world through the lens of a man approaching fifty, one trying to make a world for his daughter. That perspective would come through the music, even if he's trying to write Tonic songs and not Emerson Hart songs, otherwise they wouldn't be honest songs. I don't think he would try to play the part of Tonic.

We have to run risk assessment. Is it better to have the four records we do, and remember Tonic for their greatness, or take the risk of a fifth album not living up to those standards because of the flow of life? Look, I'm not discounting that it could be another great record that only adds to their legacy. That's what I'm hoping for, but I'm not holding out blind faith. Every year that has passed increases the chances of disappointment, and I would be foolish to ignore that reality.

So where do I come down on this? I'm not sure. As painful as it sounds to say I don't want my favorite band to make more music, I can see a lot of merit to it. But I'm also selfish, and I always want more. I suppose all of these words are a way for me to say I'm content whichever way things turn out.

EP Review: Nina Bergman - Resurrection

When I reviewed the second album by Letters From The Fire, the praise for the good the album did was always couched in the reality that they were a very different band than on the debut album I love so much. I'm not sure I ever heard it the way I should have, since there was a cognitive dissonance between the two albums. The biggest bright spot of the change was Nina Bergman, who capably filled the role of spunky bad-ass that was needed. The singer/actress/model delivered on her part, and for whatever reason I didn't get around to talking about this solo EP of hers when it was released. Since we have some time, let's rectify that now.

"Still Alive" opens with a marching drum-beat and soft vocals that have the cadence of a nursery rhyme, which gives way to a chorus with the guitar tone of mid-00s post-grunge. The bridge has a stomping rhythm, and there's a feeling of industrial metal to the guitars, which turns around again to the melodic chorus and Nina's voice. I can't escape the feeling of a bit of a time warp, but it's interesting.

"In My Blood" is more an an anthem, with overlapping vocals featuring Nina belting out the title, while the guitars try to provide a propulsive backing. It's the most arena-sized song of the bunch. Myself, I'm drawn to "Follow Me", the more balladic song where Nina's experience as an actress shows through, as she's able to use her voice in different tones and colors, telling the story with her performance. By going from her sultry early notes to her powerful belting in the bridge, she gives the song plenty of dynamics. That makes for a more nuanced and developed song.

"Something's Coming" is partly goth rock, partly dance rock, and something rather different from the other tracks on this EP. The beat is the main driver of the song, and I can certainly imagine a music video with dramatic lighting accenting the lines of hard bodies. It might be trying to be a bit too sexy for someone like me, but it works for Nina. Then we finish things off with "Come Find Me", a softer track built on a drum loop and piano line, where Nina gets to sound her most vulnerable.

These five songs make for a solid release, and they show Nina's ability to mold herself into what the song requires. Already multi-talented, these songs show there's more ability there than we might have been able to see as of yet. "Resurrection" is a quick listen with some upside easily seen.

Album Review: Nightwish - Human:II:Nature

Nightwish has always been self-indulgent, but it's been getting worse. The music has been getting longer-winded, less metallic, and just flat-out less memorable. Tuomas is now so full of ideas of being an auteur that he has forgotten what made Nightwish so popular, apparently thinking that having a singer as capable of Floor Jansen is enough to overcome the gaping flaws in his now atrophied songwriting. It's not, and there was never any excuse for a concept album about evolution that went so far as to include spoken word sections from a biologist. It wasn't musical, it wasn't interesting, and it sounded like hell.

This new record carries on that spirit, this time featuring an eight-part epic that is a story unto itself. But before we get to that, let's address the more 'normal' side of the record. The first single, "Noise", was met with a mixed reaction, and now that we have the rest of the record, it stands out as one of the better tracks. It may not be great, but it does feel like a symphonic metal band, which can't be said about everything here. Tuomas keeps taking Nightwish further and further from metal, like on "Harvest", which is mostly folk music, and barely features Floor. I truly don't understand how a band can have a great singer in their ranks and barely feature her on a song. It's criminal stupidity from Tuomas.

The softeness isn't the problem so much as it is the lack of hooks. Song after song, the music is pretty, but there just isn't anything to sink your teeth into. It doesn't sound grand, or epic, or powerful. It sounds very much like the product of a man who was struggling to write new songs, which Tumoas admitted to. He thought he found the fountain of Nightwish inspiration, but it sounds liek snake oil from here.

And then there's the epic.....

"All The Works Of Nature Which Adorn The World" is an eight-part track that is slow to develop, and a disappointment once it gets going. This long block of time is Nightwish at their worst, as Tuomas becomes his inner film composer, giving us fragmented bits of instrumental themes that are pretty, but don't hang together as a fully realized song, and barely sound like Nightwish. Floor is absent from nearly the entire track, and asking metal fans to sit through twenty-plus minutes of orchestral noodling is insanity. This track makes clear Tuomas has no idea what his fans want from Nightwish, nor does he particularly want to be Nightwish anymore. Giving this much of an album to a composition  that doesn't even feature his band on the vast majority is an insult to them, is intolerable for us, and should be taken as the death knell for this group. It's a half-hearted effort.

What bigger insult could I throw at it?

Bloody Good News: God & Coronavirus, Kerry King, and Zeppelin's Plagiarism

Our Top Story: As the Coronavirus epidemic continues to spread, we are inundated with stories of grief, heroism, and in the case of Ted Nugent, outright stupidity. I told myself I wasn't going to talk about this peice of crap again, but he made a comment about the situation that leads me to something I would like to talk about, so he's only tangentially important to this discussion. If I ran across anyone else saying the same thing, I would have started with them rather than Nugent.

His number one advice for dealing with the crisis is, "remember that prayer does get us through some of the most tragic and trying times in human history."

I suppose it's a nice though, but it's utterly incomprehensible. If you are a devout Christian of the self-righteous sort that Nugent is, the core belief is that God created this world, and everything in it. That means, logically, that God also created the virus that is now shutting down the entire world. God created a disease that indiscriminately infects and kills the very same people Jesus died to save. How does that make any sense? Furthermore, if prayer is the answer, and will get us through this ordeal, how is it justifiable or right that those who already pray still get sick, still die? Prayer hasn't stopped the virus from emerging, nor spreading, so what reason do any of us have to think prayer will now get us, and us alone, through this?

Nugent is one of those people who believe in a God of convenience. When something good happens, it was God's will. When something bad happens, it just happens. It's a short-sighted, illogical cop-out of a belief system. You have to take everything, all or nothing, if you're going to be taken seriously. Obviously, no one should ever take Nugent seriously, but him expressing this kind of opinion pisses me off. When so many are suffering, to imply they weren't praying hard enough, or the right way, is beyond insulting. If we are all made in God's image, Ted Nugent is obviously his asshole.

In Other News: Rumors are now spreading that Kerry King's next musical venture, after the end of Slayer, will be a new band featuring him and his recent cohorts Gary Holt and Paul Bostaph, along with former Pantera singer Phil Anselmo. It's only fitting that someone from a band once lambasted (incorrectly) for a song about the Holocaust may not be in a band with a guy who has been accused of using white power slogans and symbols.

Kerry has long been the worst part of Slayer, writing songs that have gotten dumber and dumber over the years, and adding in the 'intellect' of Anselmo isn't going to help matters. Phil has spent recent years getting himself in trouble, and alienating people who used to like him, which means this new band would be taking the worst period of Slayer, and adding in a vocalist plenty of people are sick of. That doesn't sound like a recipe for success to me, and I don't know what any of these guys has left in the tank. It sounds to me like Kerry never wanted Slayer to end, and he's going to put together a band that more or less carries on with exactly what he was doing, using Phil's name to try to keep the band from having to start at the bottom. I'm not excited.

In Addition: An appeals curt has ruled in Led Zeppelin's favor, once again declaring that "Stairway To Heaven" is not plagiarized. Or at least it isn't a severe enough case for there to be any merit to a lawsuit. Let's be clear about this; Led Zeppelin stole plenty of material from blues artists (some of which they have been forced to admit over the years), and "Stairway To Heaven" absolutely knicks the opening chords from Taurus' "Spirit" (whom Zeppelin toured with, meaning Page probably heard the song), but it's only a couple chords at the beginning of a seven minute rock epic, and the meat of the song is Page's work entirely (we assume - maybe someone will find a tape of it being played by someone else earlier).

Copyright and plagiarism cases are tough, because while we do want to protect the creativity and intellectual property of artists, the fact is there are only so many chords and notes, and sometimes songs are going to sound like other songs. In this case, it's hard to argue that Zeppelin didn't do what they were accused of, but it's hard to see such a small part of a song being enough to claim ownership of it. I don't know what the precise amount of theft is before a song becomes plagiarized, but this doesn't clear that bar. "Stairway To Heaven" can have an asterisk, and we can acknowledge what happened, but it doesn't stop being their song.

Album Review: Testament - Titans Of Creation

Testament can be taken one of two ways. You can see their wandering evolution as the natural process of a band exploring their ever-shifting taste, or you can see their changes in style as attempts to pander to whatever they thought the masses wanted from them at any given moment. They essentially became a death metal band when thrash was at its lowest, then went back to old-school thrashing when nostalgia for that genre was rising. It could have been natural, but man does that timing look too coincidental. So that leaves me wondering where they go now that the thrash revival is slowing down, and there isn't really any big trend to hop on.

Out of the gates, the band comes out with plenty of anger and aggression. "Children Of The Next Level" has the old thrash bounce to it, with nary an ounce of melody, as Chuck Billy goes from aggressive to even more aggressive with his vocals. It's six minutes of pounding, yelling, without a lot beyond heaviness to say for it. "WW III" is even faster-paced, trying to blitzkrieg us. There's an odd bit where the riff starts with just one guitar, and before the second one comes in, the tone is so washed out I couldn't even make out what was being played. That was weird, but not as annoying as their syntax. I'm not sure why, but not spelling out 'world war' bothers me.

Moving deeper into the record, the band doesn't let up one bit. "Dream Deceiver" and "Night Of The Witch" continue pile-driving thrash riffs into our heads, while Chuck runs the gamut of what he can do vocally. The thing is that it becomes less effective the more they do it. One ripping thrasher makes a statement, but a string of them in a row dilutes the impact as they blend together. The only real difference between the songs is whether Chuck throws in a deep growl or a high scream as coloring. That's not very interesting to me.

"City Of Angels" is another puzzling song. The soft intro is a needed break, but it goes through a heavy verse as expected, which is fine. Then the chorus hits, and Chuck is whispering his way through it. There's no power to it, and any melody is ruined by the weak delivery that could be interpreted as them not caring about the subject matter of the song. Chuck's a good enough clean singer that he could have easily crooned something that would have still been softer than his usual delivery, but not so flaccid.

And then there's the elephant in the room. This record is nearly an hour long, which given their focus on being aggressive, grows old very quickly. Not only were thrash albums shorter in the classic days, but they quite often weren't even what we would call thrash today. Almost no one was putting out solid hours of pure aggression, and for good reason. It's too much, and few of the songs are unique enough to stand out from the others. I can only be yelled at by Chuck for so long before I'm ready to give up.

"Titans Of Creation" is a very trying album, unless you're already a thrash die-hard. You could describe it as punishing, because I did feel like I was being punished having to sit through the whole thing. I am not an angry enough person to enjoy being pummeled like this for so long, and I honestly feel a bit worried for the people who are.

Album Review: Dynazty - The Dark Delight

There are two ways to think about the term 'pop metal'. There is the version of it where bands are essentially taking pop music and injecting metal elements to try to earn themselves some credibility. We can think of Poppy in this area, who this year put out an album that is essentially a pop record with a bunch of guitars on it. Thankfully, not all of that kind of music is as bad as hers. The other version of pop metal is when metal bands try to inject pop catchiness into their vocal hooks. That style has become increasingly popular, with Amaranthe finding huge success doing it, and Within Temptation and Delain recently tryig to jump on the bandwagon. Dynazty is along for the ride as well, but they were one of the early riders. They have been making sticky, heavy, pop-tastic power metal for a while now.

The earliest I can recall this particular sound was on Bloodbound's "Tabula Rasa", which holds up to this day as the cutting edge of what modern power metal can do in merging mechanically heavy music and soaring hooks. I have been waiting and waiting for more records to approach that angle, and that quality, but so far there have been very few contenders for that crown (James LaBrie's "Impermanent Resonance" being the strongest). Dynazty has the right elements to do it, but so far they just haven't connected with me, and I can't quite put my finger on why.

This record gets off to a great start, with "Presence Of Mind" giving us a bouncing hook, heavy guitars, and some hints of organ in the background, all of which adds up to a track that does everything this style of metal is supposed to. It makes no apologies for being metal through-and-through, but has crossover appeal in the melodies. That's perfect, if you ask me.

"The Black" shows how Dynazty fuses pop and metal, which a chugging rhythm leading into a high-register chorus that plays off the stabbing guitar chords, all capped off with a metallic scream. But unlike some artists who can't figure out how to bring these elements together in a cohesive way *cough*Devin Townsend*cough*, Dynazty's sound is seamless. This is metal that is naturally infectious, not something cobbled together from the lost-and-found bin in someone's studio. There's a big difference between the two, trust me.

My favorite track might just be "Hologram", which is a quasi-ballad that uses the extra space in the mix to build drama. There's some ebb and flow to the track that the heavier numbers aren't capable of, which I think not only helps with the album's pacing, but also gives the band a chance to let their songwriting breathe a bit more. Songs like "Waterfall" are great, but an entire album of everything being at full-blast without pause would be too much. Dynazty throwing some dynamics into the mix is quite helpful for me.

There are great songs on this album, and there are also some that don't quite hit the mark. "The Man And The Elements" sounds like everything else, but the melody isn't as captivating as some of the others. And as the album progresses, the instrumental breaks seem to get longer, when I feel like this kind of metal needs to be rather concise to be its most effective. There's a bit of a lull two-thirds of the way through where the momentum started to stall out.

Overall, "The Dark Delight" is a very good example of the proper kind of pop metal. It isn't perfect, but the majority of the record is the blend of heavy and catchy we don't get nearly enough of. Dynazty still hasn't made that career-defining record I've been waiting for, but they do keep making records that are plenty of fun to listen to.

Album Review: The Heavy Eyes - "Love Like Machines"

To recap from yesterday - 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.  Master Boot Record was the first of these, and so consider this the second part of what is a two part review.

Where the joy in discovering MBR came in the unveiling of something novel and different, there is also a profound joy in finding an artist who understands the conventions of a genre with such genius as to render the familiar new all over again.

So, The Heavy Eyes.  A band based deep in the blues of Memphis and fully capable of brewing that inexorable heritage into their particular backyard moonshine blend of rock and metal. 

At first blush, the combination of fuzzed-out, yowling guitars and Tripp Shumake’s measured and monotone vocal delivery bring to mind the image of Everlast performing a set with Kyuss.  That might be an oversimplification, but it’s perhaps the most efficient way to describe the rolling blues vibes of this colorful and vibrant record.

This new record “Love Like Machines,” because it displays such mastery of the best aspects of the genre, begets automatic comparisons to the heavyweights and boutique acts that have come before.  If you’ve ever listened to Clutch, Mothership, Scissorfight, Sundrifter, Shawn James & The Shapeshifters, Devil to Pay, Screaming Trees, Graveyard, The Blue Van, Midnight Ghost Train, or yes, even Black Sabbath, and thought ‘yep,’ then you’ll instantly fall in love with The Heavy Eyes.  To steal from the sampled phone call at the beginning of Anthrax’s “Cadillac Rock Box,” there’s some mighty fine groovin’ goin' on on this record here.

“Love Like Machines” delivers throughout its brisk thirty-four minutes, and the length itself is worth noting.  For the ocean of immersive blues possibilities that this kind of metal offers, The Heavy Eyes show no proclivity for meandering down lengthy paths.  The riffs, albeit it customarily tuned to be round and warm at the edges, are punctual and efficient, which lends the album some immediacy in a genre that so often gets lost.  Only once does the band adventure past the four minute mark, making for bite-sized blues bullets that shoot straight to the heart of the matter.

The brevity does not listen the impact.  The album shines brightest beginning with “Bright Light,” an airy, haunting piece that resonates with a stop and go riff and a lot of empty space, which allows the vocal tone of Shumake to set the tone and pace.  His is a voice that one wouldn’t expect to be able to effect that kind of momentum, but there’s something magnetic in his delivery that makes the song seem more direct, more dire.

Part of the genius of “Love Like Machines” is that while it was clearly concocted in a blues metal mold, there’s a healthy streak of grunge in the alloy that lends just enough luster to make the record seem both familiar and cutting edge.  The back half “A Cat Named Haku,” doesn’t work without the idiomatic guitar bending and out and out note strangulation of grunge.  And perhaps it’s all cyclical – blues metal begat grunge which begat blues metal, but the two are intertwined and both necessary to make this record a success.

The record hits more highlights on the back end with “The Profession,” which moves with a White Stripes beat and an infectious insistence.  The drums of Eric Garcia, while not overwhelming, craft a delectable beat that helps float a riff honed over fifty years of blues metal knowledge and distilled into a deceptively simple but no less effective mix.  It’s the album’s best track, a rolling good time that could raise the mood of a social gathering, or raise your own spirits during social distancing.

You’ve heard “Love Like Machines” before.  You’ve heard it a thousand times, in steamy, swampy clubs, emanating from beer-addled dive bars, hanging out with your friends in a basement, whatever the case may be.  Yet you’ve never heard this before.  It’s a real skill when a band can make the old new again, and the reinvention of the familiar is always a good day at a time when there are thousands of also-ran bands copying a template without really innovating on it.

If Master Boot Record is laudable because it is the celebration of something new and different, than The Heavy Eyes are laudable because they remind us how fulfilling it is to be greeted by an old friend.  It’s a pleasant reminder that every now and again, just for a while, you can go home again.