Today is another day where I feel like taking a few minutes to talk about some individual songs, since there might just be a lot to say about this crop.
Guns N Roses - Absurd
After nearly thirty years, we get the first Guns N Roses song with both Axl and Slash on board, and it.... absolutely sucks. Sure, it's a reworked version of a horrible "Chinese Democracy" era song, but that everyone involved in Guns as both a band and a business saw fit to make this the first new music we hear from the reunited lineup is a decision I cannot fathom. It's a song from the band's least popular period of time. It's a song that doesn't sound like anything Slash would have ever written himself. It's a song that doesn't even have a damn chorus. There's no knowing how old the vocal track is, but whenever it was recorded, Axl still sounds like the hollow voice that replaced his classic rasp. Slash is only there for a solo. The riff of the song is boring, the lyrics are Axl throwing around f-bombs because he still thinks 1992 edgy is going to get him attention, and there isn't a catchy bit to be found anywhere. This song isn't even bad in an interesting way. Maybe they shouldn't try to make a new record, after all. Not if they think this is good enough to release.
Soen – EMDR/Thurifer
This summer, Soen is releasing three tracks from the "Lotus" sessions as part of a special edition of the album, and the first two are now available online. That won Album Of The Year from me, and as great as it is, these songs could have made it even better. The ballads on the album are good, but perhaps slow things down a hair too much. These songs have a wonderful balance of their trademark riffing with slower and more dramatic moments. Even the material Soen was cutting from their recent albums is fantastic. I listened to a playlist of the best "Lotus" songs, paired with these tracks, and it's an epic experience that is almost without compare. And there's still another song yet to come.
Lucifer – Wild Hearses
I like Lucifer. I don't love them, but they have a unique sound that can do some amazing things. Lucifer III was their best album yet, because it dialed back on the doom elements, and instead focused on their stoner/occult melodic rock. This song feels like them trying to bridge their two sounds. The main riff is doomy, and the crawling verses could use more pep. When they hit the chorus, Johanna's vocals hit that detached tone that is perfect for Lucifer. The song is both proof Lucifer is great, but also a bit misguided. We'll have to wait and see which one wins out on the record.
Fozzy – Sane
Fozzy has had a few songs that are good, but let's be honest about them; if they weren't fronted by a 'celebrity', they wouldn't have the success they do. They've never made a great record, they only have one truly good single, and Jericho's voice leaves a whole world to be desired. This latest single is Fozzy doing the least they can, knowing it doesn't matter. They have enough of a name now that all their singles will get a certain amount of airplay, and this one will test that theory. It's a song, I suppose. I can't say any more than that.
Journey – The Way We Used To Be
For as much as we often complain that old bands often don't bother making new albums anymore, there are sometimes good reasons why they don't. That's what Journey is proving to us with their first new song in years. This doesn't even sound like the same band that gave us "Don't Stop Belivin'", "Faithfully", and "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)". Whatever songwriting magic created those gems is gone, and so too is their hearing if they thought this was the best thing they have written to put out as a single. It doesn't grab your attention, since there's almost nothing to the song. The melody barely exists, and it sticks in your mind even less than old AM radio static. Ten years, and this is the best Journey could come up with. Maybe they should just stay a nostalgia touring act. Yikes.
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