Album Vs Album: Badmotorfinger Vs Nevermind

For as much as grunge was about darkness and misery, at least anecdotally, few genres have burned brighter than it did for that brief period in the 90s. Grunge did not last long, but its influence continues to be felt to this very day. The mainstay grunge bands have become treasured members of the classic rock fraternity, while their progeny dominate the charts still. It's hard to turn on modern rock radio without hearing songs imbued with the sound and spirit of Seattle.

But for all that grunge is perceived to be, the actual grunge bands were not those things. Alice In Chains was a metal version of CSNY, Pearl Jam was a dirty classic rock band, Soundgarden was a group of bluesy oddballs, and Nirvana was a pop band filtered through punk angst. To find the actual 'grunge' sound, you need to look to the bands that took influence from the originators, because it's in them you will hear the sound of flannel pouring through your speakers. It would later get corrupted by bands like Nickelback and the entire 'post-grunge' wave, but given how amorphis grunge really was, the inverted course of evolution is an intriguing bit of metal biology.

Grunge had two men who could be called the voice of their generation. In the literal sense of the term, that was Chris Cornell, the superbly talented singer whose voice could shatter glass as well as break hearts. His influence is harder to hear because of the difficulty in taking up his style, but his legacy endures as one of the most talented belters of his generation. In the metaphorical sense of the term, it was Kurt Cobain, the tortured soul whose non-sensical poetry and raspy yelling was the very embodiment of disaffected youth. It didn't matter if "Smells Like Teen Spirit" said nothing, because to millions it said everything.

Badmotorfinger: Soundgarden's third album broke them into the public consciousness. Quickly going platinum, Soundgarden not only helped push the grunge movement forward, but expanded its possibilities. Playing with altered tunings, advanced chords, and unusual time signatures, Soundgarden were a band of artists always looking for a new twist on how to spread their message. Going off the beaten path did not stop the album from success, as both "Rusty Cage" and "Jesus Christ Pose" became hits, and have been added to the rotation of classic rock radio. Soundgarden's appeal and legacy have endured, rising in esteem as both the thinking-man's grunge band, but also the most underrated of the big names at the time. History is correcting the record.

Nevermind: The album that launched grunge as a phenomenon, "Nevermind" is one of those albums that defines time itself. For rock fans, there was before "Nevermind" and after it. The album's impact was immediate, and immense. As "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Lithium", "Come As You Are", and "In Bloom" became massive hits, Nirvana's popularity swept aside an entire generation of stale and played-out 80s rock. Hair bands were suddenly gone, instead chasing the trend of flannel and grime. A new paradigm for a new age was written, and their influence has been readily apparent in a wave of singers who tried (and failed) to master the art of screaming in key. They either lacked the skill, or the genuine anguish, to do what Kurt Cobain had done. Instead, we got bands like Puddle Of Mudd, who blended all the grunge bands together, showing that a rainbow when condensed turns into soupy, brown mud.

D.M's Pick: What we've stumbled into here is one of the great musical "what ifs?" of our generation.  Originally slated to be released the same day as "Nevermind" on September 24th, 1991, "Badmotorfinger" was slid back two weeks to October 8th due to what A&M Records called 'production issues.'  In the intervening period, Nirvana conquered the world, and oh, by the way, Red Hot Chili Peppers released "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" on the 24th, mopping up anybody that Nirvana had left behind.  "Badmotorfinger" was so badly overrun in the tidal wave of Nirvana's arrival on the main stage that Soundgarden wouldn't truly become household names until they made a second definitive statement with "Superunknown."

And so one can't help but wonder what could have been - what if A&M had stuck to the original release date and "Badmotorfinger" had been given an equal shot to make its mark?  In the aftermath of both albums, musicians, both casual and professional, will generally cede that Soundgarden is the artistically superior band, and that "Badmotorfinger" is, musically, a better album.  

Therefore, I'm backing "Badmotorfinger" here.  And now I'm going to spend a paragraph where it seems like I'm making the case for Nirvana.  Bear with me.

Ultimately, the benefit of "Badmotorfinger" keeping its original release date would have allowed that album to not start with such an obvious handicap, but I don't know that the outcome would have been appreciably altered.  "Nevermind" had captured the spirit of disaffected youth that was exploding as the Cold War closed, and having contained that particular caustic lightning in a bottle, exploded into the hearts and minds of listeners everywhere in a way that Soundgarden never truly would.  Nirvana spoke in plain English, without metaphor or riddle, and that meant something to a generation that was exhausted with double talk both from immediate authority figures and from their elected (or appointed) leaders.  By contrast, the first single off of "Badmotorfinger" was "Jesus Christ Pose," a song that Soundgarden admitted was purposefully ambiguous.  Not to mention that there's a musical density to that song which defies the convention of the era.  Plus, I offer this as empirical evidence - Pearl Jam's "Ten" was released roughly a month before "Nevermind," and while no one would call "Ten" a flop, it was also buried under the avalanche of "Nevermind."  "Nevermind" became the popular epithet for grunge music as a whole.

But the question is not about which is the more popular record - for Nirvana wins that argument with ease.  After all, they dethroned Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" as the #1 album on the charts, which is unthinkable in retrospect.  We are talking about which is the best record.  And there, my friend, "Badmotorfinger" shines.  Or sludges, as the case may be.

You mentioned the voices in the interim.  Ask yourself the question - could Kurt Cobain hold a candle to Chris Cornell?  The question should always be asked thusly; could Cornell have done vocals for "Smells Like Teen Spirit?" He would have had to adjust his style, but the answer is yes.  Cornell's vocal understanding and musical knowledge would have made for a fairly easy transition (one need only listen to his cover of "Billie Jean" for a rough approximation of what it might have sounded like.)  Now, could Cobain have replicated the necessary range and pained vitriol of "Slaves & Bulldozers"?  I say no.  "Slaves & Bulldozers" can in many ways be regarded as his pinnacle performance, the most consistently powerful delivery he ever mustered.  It is, essentially, Soundgarden's "Man in the Box," a song that could not be replicated properly by any contemporary vocalist, and Cornell, unlike that seminal Alice in Chains single, performed the entire thing as one man.  No one, be it Cobain or Staley or Vedder or that too-often overlooked grunge crooner, Mark Lanegan, could have performed the song with the same aplomb.

And it's going to sound like I'm bagging Cobain here, and I don't mean to, but it must be said for the purpose of the conversation - Kim Thayil is the superior guitar player.  As a youth, I remember thinking that his guitar sounded anguished, as though it were being strangled, or run past its limits.  Which doesn't sound like a complement, but speaks to the ability of Thayil to work unorthodox sounds and styles into music that was destined to still be popular enough to certify platinum.  As a music listening public, that wouldn't really happen again until Tom Morello with Rage Against the Machine.  Thayil sets so much of the pace of "Badmotorfinger," from the opening, probing strains of "Rusty Cage," to the tortured, full-bore opening of "New Damage."  Thayil would usher us into a Drop D paradise from which whole genres would be born.

Lastly, I want to address the album's tone - as I mentioned above, Nirvana captured the spirit of a moment, and I have some inkling that you may talk about them writing catchier, more accessible, pop-bred songs.  Which is all true.  Pop music has a tendency to fade, however.  What Soundgarden created, with depth and harmony and a brooding, shambling pace, still lives at the roots of many bands active in the modern era.  Those (fresh) tendrils still grip the core of heavy music that they helped shape.  Nirvana raged brightly against ennui, and Alice in Chains took us through the hell of addiction, but Soundgarden explored the unclean corners of an unquiet mind, which would become the raison d'etre for alternative and heavy music for the next three decades.  From a mainstream standpoint, that began with "Badmotorfinger."

"Badmotorfinger" remains a staple of musicians around the globe.  Buzz Osbourne continues to cite it as one of his favorites.  While the sales numbers may not match, "Badmotorfinger" retains every bit the legacy of "Nevermind."  And there's not one bad song on it.

Chris C's Pick: I hate to be a basic kind of guy, but I have to go with "Nevermind", despite your extolling the virtues of Soundgarden to me. I will preface my comments with this; I will not contest that Soundgarden is the more influential band. Because they did something that was not just unique, but multi-faceted, they gave more opportunities for followers to pick up their mantle. Practically every rock band who isn't tracing their direct sound to the 70s or 80s is derived from Soundgarden directly. Their impact is as much about the ripples as it is the stone breaking the water's surface. Their ability to blend metallic heaviness, bluesy groove, and Cornell's wailing vocals transcends time.

Nirvana was a simpler band, and that is both why their influence doesn't reach as deep, but also why I end up siding with them in this instance. Kurt Cobain wrote pop songs that he then gussied up with ugly distortion and a self-destructive attitude. He used earworms as a vehicle to infect the listeners, to try to point them toward music he himself would have said was better than his own. Writing those kinds of irresistible songs is so hard, it's not a mystery why few bands have ever sounded like Nirvana and become big.

So what we have here is, in essence, a choice between skin and bone. Nirvana's music isn't as deep, but it spreads out further. Nirvana's music isn't as strong, but we can write our own stories upon it. I completely understand why people would prefer Soundgarden, and there's part of me that would like to go down that road as well, but at heart I am a lapsed pop fan. My entire approach to music starts with pop, and adds in rock, metal, and whatever else. That's exactly what Cobain did, dissecting pop hits to turn his songs into a formula destined to work on people like me. I was not, and still am not, cool enough to match Cornell's swagger or confidence. Cobain was a dweeb, and his songs express the reality of being a music nerd who wanted to be cooler than he really was. I admire the way he used the limitations of the band, both the three-piece nature and his own skills, to focus on making the most of every element. The riff of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is as simple as it gets, which is the entire point. You could feel everything he sang because there wasn't as much surrounding him to get in the way.

When I listen to music, I want to hear songs that resonate with me, of course, but whether they do or not they must hook me. Not just the singles, but also "Breed", "On A Plane", and even "Polly" do that more than any Soundgarden song does. That doesn't make them better, just easier to digest. Soundgarden is a band you need to love before you understand everything they do. Nirvana is a band you understand long before you love, if you love them. They are the entry point to a whole movement, and perhaps the entirety of this comes down to the fact I was not a disaffected youth of that kind when either of these albums came out. I was more melancholy than angry, more reflective than angsty. I did not need the power of Soundgarden to disperse the ugly energy inside me. I did, however, need the shiny overtones of Nirvana learn how to seem like everyone else.

For all of that, my pick is "Nevermind".

Verdict: Even though we are split on the decision, I feel like we're actually agreeing on the verdict. Soundgarden was by far the more accomplished band, and they are the one who falls into that discsussion we usually hear about The Velvet Underground; fewer people heard them, but all of them started bands of their own. Anyone who wants to find out what musical talent was hidden under the aesthetic of grunge would be best served to explore Soundgarden's catalog. They, of the bands, were the closest to carrying on the power of Led Zeppelin into their generation.

Nirvana's music spoke to people at a certain time, but of course as we have moved beyond our youths that music has become less relevant to our own lives. Nirvana was who we were, while Soundgarden was who we were trying to become. Perhaps the only difference here is how close we have come to making it there.

Album Review: Serious Black - Vengeance Is Mine

I shouldn't be reviewing this album. I told myself I wasn't going to, because of how much the pre-release machinations pissed me off, but sometimes a good rant is just what we need. I think it might be cathartic for me to get some of this out, since I don't know if I will ever again give enough of a damn about this band to talk about them.

Serious Black not only lost their singer between their last album and this one, they've completely lost their way. Urban Breed can be a handful to work with, it appears by his track record of leaving bands, but he's not an idiot when it comes to songwriting. The rest of this band still needs to prove that of themselves. If you heard the singles leading up to the release of this album, you know what I'm talking about, but I'll explain it anyway. The first single to tease this new era of Serious Black.... was a cover. Not just a cover, but a cover of the Brandi Carlisle pop/rock song "The Story". Nothing says you're a creatively viable band like playing someone else's song a lot of your audience would never want to listen to in the first place.

It got worse when they finally released "Out Of The Ashes". That was the moment I told myself I wasn't going to talk about this album, because they didn't deserve the attention. But since I don't believe that 'all publicity is good publicity' talk, I'll throw my negativity into the mix. This song is utterly pathetic, and a disgusting illustration of what's wrong with metal culture. In it, the narrator of the song makes himself out to be a hero for 'saving' the woman from the life she was leading. When she leaves, he then calls her a drugged-out whore who isn't pretty without makeup. And since I can find no trace of irony or judgment against him, I can only assume whichever member of the band wrote those words believes in them.

But the worst part isn't that this group of middle-aged men hold backwards and demeaning attitudes toward women. No, the worst part is that at every step of the process, no one stopped this. Writing, recording, mixing, manufacturing, promotion; everyone who had a part in putting this record out heard this song and thought it was cool enough to write, record, put on the album, and MAKE A DAMN SINGLE. And this comes from the same label who not long ago had a band singing a song about being attracted to women who would be the same age as his own daughter. What the hell is going on? It's one step above the creepy incestuous undertones of that country song where the guy sings about hoping his daughter looks just like her mother, the person he's sexually attracted to, but being better than that isn't something you get a cookie for.

Elsewhere, we get an album opener dedicated to rocking, which fits into my rules that 99% of songs that have to tell us how much either we or they rock, do not, in fact rock. The song should prove its rock cred on its own, and you've utterly failed if it doesn't. More laughable is the song "Album Of Our Life" near the end of the record. In this song, the narrator is again mad at a woman, this time threatening to hunt her down for the rest of her life. Real mature there, dude. I prefer to think of the song's title as being more literal, as if it's about the album that defines the narrator's life, because that would be a prompt to go listen to something better than this.

I think I've made my point. Serious Black have become more generic than ever, and the few good melodies they came up with are ruined by an album with several pathetic lyrics I wouldn't have wasted my ink on when I was starting out in high school. I'm sick and tired of middle-aged men who speak like bratty teenagers, and Serious Black is just the latest band to be so embarrassing I'm sorry I've spent the time it took to write this review. Sure, I feel better getting this out of my system, but I'm afraid someone else is going to read this and want to listen to the album for themselves. Please don't.

Album Review: Scorpions - Rock Believer

Stop me if I've said this before.... this band RETIRED. Yes, just like Candlemass, who retired only to give us the finger and go back on their word, Scorpions have done the same thing. They claim it was their manager's idea, but let's be real about this; they were men in their 60s when that announcement was made. Your management works for you, so if you didn't want to announce your retirement, you wouldn't have done it. But with the blame shifted, Scorpions have come back to.... put out more generic rock music.

I know I'm the oddball for thinking "Humanity: Hour 1", the album they made with a bunch of pro songwriters, is their best, but everything they've done since has been so bare-bones and generic I just don't see the appeal at all. Yes, Klaus still sounds great for his age, but the band hasn't put together a great riff in years, and they've given up on writing songs with true melodies. It's 80s stadium rock, but with all the energy sucked right out.

At least that's true of the singles. The three released in the lead-up to this record did not paint a very rosy picture. "Peacemaker" is the sort of dumb chant-along that went down well before rock music figured out it could have melodies, and "Seventh Sun" plods along showing every year and mile on the band's odometer. They sound old, tired, and not at all like a band that can still rock.

But "Gas In The Tank" leads off the album by showing exactly that. Klaus has a strong melody, and the song bounces along quick enough to feel peppy. Frankly, that should have been a single over "Peacemaker", no questions about it. "Rock Believer" wasn't a great single either, but if there's one thing rockers love, it's songs about how much rockers love to rock. I don't get the need for the constant justification for their rocking-ness, but the canon has way too many songs of the ilk for me to say the audience doesn't eat them up. I hate them, but a lot of people need them, it seems.

The other issue with the record is that it has fifteen tracks to get through. A lot of the album is actually far better than I thought it was going to be, but trimming it down to 10-12 songs could have made it even better. There are a few obvious songs that don't add enough to the proceedings to not be missed if we left them off the track listing. "When I Lay My Bones To Rest" is inconsequential, as is the aforementioned "Peacemaker". I get the inclination to want to give the fans more, but more isn't always more. A shorter album of just the best songs would not only be better, but it would have higher replay value, than bloating things with a couple extras.

"Call Of The Wild" is over five minutes, and feels every second of it with the overly repetitive lyrics. It's another song that could have either been left off, or cut down, or better yet rewritten to have more lyrics than the chorus currently does. It's little things like this that don't seem that big of a deal, but when you add up a bunch of them across an entire album, it's enough to shift the way we think about it. Every little demerit compounds, and when you reach enough of them, it's harder to see the gold stars on the other side.

As I said, there's a lot of this album that's better than I was expecting. "Gas In The Tank" is great, and "Hot And Cold" is 80s rock done right. The ballad "When You Know" is also a strong outing. There's plenty of good here, more than the last time I heard a Scorpions record, but all the good things are pulled down by the nits I've been picking. Not enough to say this is a bad record, but enough to say it isn't a great one. Scorpions have done well for themselves here, but it could be even better with a few different decisions. The 'what if' is the biggest takeaway I have.

Album Review: D'Virgilio, Morse, & Jennings - Troika

Has there ever been an album that, as soon as you heard about it, you thought would be absolutely perfect for you? I had that feeling when this album was announced. I went through a period where I was deep into Neal Morse's music, but that has since faded. The albums of his I still go back to most are his song-oriented ones, so getting this album that is softer and song focused is just what I would want. At the same time, I also spent a good bit of time last year listening to The Jayhawks period where the two singers shared lead on much of every song, so an album filled to the brim with vocal harmonies is also right in line with what I was listening to recently. Put the two of those together, and this became one of those albums I was very much looking forward to.

Primarily an acoustic album, the centerpiece is the interplay between the vocals of Morse, Nick D'Virgilio, and Ross Jennings. The cascading harmonies are what these songs are built around, and that blend is what makes the record feel timeless. If you took an old Crosby, Stills, & Nash album, but gave it hints of prog here and there, this is the end result. It's a record for a laid-back lazy day, when you would rather hear something beautiful than something heavy.

The opening "Everything I Am" sets the tone for all of this. Neal plays a guitar figure with just enough flurries of notes to remind us of his prog roots, Nick taps out a proggy rhythm with his percussion, and Ross joins in for some wonderfully layered harmonies. There's something magical about voices that fit together, and these three absolutely do. The distinct qualities when they sing lead give added depth and space to their harmonies. It's a lush sound that caresses the ears like few other things can.

As the album unfolds, and each gets their chance to sing lead, it's the vocal interplay that remains the most appealing part of the music. Also, sharing duties can mask if there is a voice you aren't as fond of than the others. In this case, that would be Ross for me. The song he leads, "Another Trip Around The Sun", is the weakest effort because of how the other two are used. It isn't just that they are primarily backup duties, but when the song moves into a counterpoint section, all the voices have so much reverb put on them, the ways they weave and interact get blurred. It sounds rather hollow and difficult to hear. I've had that same issue with vocals on Morse albums for many years now.

But that's only one song. The rest of the album paints with the wide brush of their three voices, making something special out of these songs. It strikes me more as an album of feeling than one of songs, by which I mean the sensation I get from listening to the record is a stronger pull than any of the songs on their own. I don't know if any of these songs would earn a place on a list of my favorites Neal has been a part of, but the record as a whole exceeds that judgment.

"Troika" is the sort of charming little record we don't always get enough of. It isn't trying to do anything but have a little fun, and the cheery disposition brought out by the vocal harmonies will be a wonderful soundtrack once the warm Spring weather comes along. I may have had qualms about several of the albums all three of these guys have made recently, but this one is a strong reset. I needed something like this, and D'Virgilio, Morse, and Jennings came through for me.

Album Review: Spirits Of Fire - Embrace The Unknown

What does a band do when they lose one of the generic, man-in-every-band singers in Ripper Owens? They replace him with his European counterpart, Fabio Leone, who has been in more bands at this point than I can count. Music has become increasingly incestuous in recent years, as the same people keep coming together in new combinations to make the same boring music. I get why they feel like they need to do this, but at a certain point it becomes too much for us, the listeners. There's only so much we can take of the same thing again and again. I'm tired of a lot of it.

Fabio is truly a gun-for-hire here, changing his whole delivery to more or less sound exactly like Ripper. He growls and shrieks his way through these songs in quite the mimicry job, to the point where he barely sounds like himself. Credit is due for the skill, but immediately taken away for the cynicism of the whole thing.

The song "Resurrection" drove me absolutely nuts. Chris Caffery's riff in the verse uses a harmonic in such a repetitive way it almost made me dizzy, and it certainly made me not care about anything else the song had to offer. That wasn't much, but still. "Wildest Dreams" is much better, since it actually has a melody, and Fabio sings it in a voice that doesn't sound like an act. If they decided to go down that route, rather than trying to prove how heavy and metal they are, this would be a far better album.

Too much of the album feels like the band going through the motions, ticking off the boxes of what a metal album is supposed to be. Caffery is best known for playing in Savatage, but don't expect any of that band's personality to come through here. Everything anyone loved about that band came from other people, and Caffery doesn't seem to have absorbed any of it through osmosis, other than the very scooped 80s guitar tone.

We still have Judas Priest making this kind of metal, and we have KK's Priest joining the fray, and Ripper gets hired to do the same quite often. With so much already being put out that has a true connection to the history of the sound, this second-rate version doesn't even have a pedigree to fall back on. It's a band of people who have never been great songwriters trying to find their way without anyone to point them in the right direction. There are a couple of spots where they get it right, but too many where they play dull riffs and sing bland melodies.

You don't need to look much further than the album cover. It's a cheesy looking take on what was cool in the 80s. This album is still living in those days, and rather than being a fun throwback, it sounds like people unable to move on once that time passed by. It's been done far worse, but that doesn't mean being better than that is the same thing as being good.

Album Review: Star One - Revel In Time

Among the long list of bands/artists I don't get the appeal of is Arjen Lucassen. I have seen his name praised for as long as I've been at this as being a genius of the prog and metal world, but I'm sorry, I just don't hear it. I've listened to some of his Ayreon work, and a bit of his previous Star One material, and none of it has left any impression on me whatsoever. The guy is a fine player, and he has been able to assemble casts of amazing talent, but I have never heard a single song from him that spoke to me as a songwriter. He writes 'nice' things, but they lack much of anything to make them memorable. If he is a genius, my ears only hear him as a genius of PR for garnering so much attention with so little great music.

But I like to be fair, so here I am to talk about his newest Star One album. This is his more metal, less prog project, so the hope is it will have less time to meander, and more time to focus on songwriting.

Focus, of course, is a hard thing to maintain when the vocals are coming from someone different on every track, and the promo you receive doesn't tell you who is who. Rather than sinking into the experience of the album, every song that comes along is its own little universe, and I'm constantly adjusting my ears to a new sound. That's why I often complain about these kinds of records. They don't feel like albums at all, and it's harder to enjoy them in full, because there's no way this many singers will all hold the same appeal to a listener.

It doesn't take long before Arjen loses the plot. The opening "Fate Of Man" is a solid metal song, but then "28 Days (Till The End Of Time)" wastes Russell Allen on a song more preoccupied with its doomy breakdown than giving us any sort of hook. If even Russell can't make the repetitive 'chorus' sound good, it's pretty clearly a weak composition. It's the sort of song that can get by as 'prog', because it shifts tones and tempos a couple of times, but who gives a damn about how many sections there are to a song if none of them are interesting?

"Prescient" is even worse, serving as more than six minutes of tuneless exposition. The lyrics, when they aren't delivered in such shrill tones to be incoherent, appear to be advancing a sci-fi story, but very little of it comes through the poor performances, overlapping singers, and sub-par mixing. It's a boring song relying on an intricate interplay, but the production flattens it into a mess of ink lines bleeding together. I can hardly call it a song, let alone one worth listening to.

As more songs pass by, the album grows more and more frustrating. One song that thinks being heavy makes up for not having a hook is one thing, but when it's every song, the album turns into an hour-long slog through Arjen noodling around on a guitar turned up way too loud. Being prolific and being good are not the same thing, and Arjen continues to remind me of that point. He has made a lot of albums, a lot of very long albums, and yet he is a thoroughly mediocre songwriter who actually drags down most of the singers on this record, all of whom have done so much better than this.

Talent is what we often get dazzled by, but songwriting is the only thing that truly matters. Arjen has brought together an unfathomable amount of talented singers and musicians to make this album, and it all goes for naught, because the songs just aren't any good. No matter how good these singers are, or the guitar solos, or any other aspect, boring songs are going to make anyone sound boring. This album is boring.

So I'm not going to look for any silver linings this time, or try to be generous to the positive bits. With this album demanding so much of my time, and giving me so little in return, it isn't worth my effort to sound like any bit of it can excuse the rest. This album bored me, frustrated me, and disappointed even my lowest expectations.

Album Review: Ten - Here Be Monsters

Gary Hughes keeps pumping out albums of melodic rock, but I feel like the returns have been diminishing with each one. Or perhaps they were never that high, and I was tricked years ago by the albums he made for Bob Catley, which feel like the exist in another reality. I love much of those albums, but as for Ten, they seldom do much to get my blood pumping. In fact, their last few albums about monsters and the Illuminati have not only been mediocre, but often annoying with their lyrical themes.

"Here Be Monsters" is thankfully not a record obviously about a collection of fictional beasts. It does, however, have enough religious overtones running through the track listing that it might be better off if it was. Poor writing is bad enough, but poor writing that tries to preach is even worse. One of the many things I grow less patient with as I get older is evangelical promotion. If you love God, that's great, but why do you think I need to hear all about it? Rather than you expressing your love, it sounds like insecurity.

Ten has always relied on smooth tones and the heart of old soft-rock to win us over. Even when you can tell they're trying to play a heavy riff, their music is bred from the DNA of softness,and Gary's voice is like marshmallows taped to a fist. Everything is cushioned in velvet, which might look cheesy in certain situations, but can be soothing in others.

Compared to some of the less interesting Ten albums of recent years, this one sounds like a definite improvement. The melodies are heaped with backing vocals that turn them into lovely washes of voices. Every chorus goes down smooth, but perhaps a bit too smooth. The album lacks a little bit of bite to make it sound like the band is passionate about what they're doing. Gary's delivery is calm and laid-back, and it's hard to hear whether he believe in these songs or not. His personality doesn't shine through, which is something that can be said about the album as a whole. It's very clean and polished, but also somewhat anonymous.

This is the sort of album that is enjoyable, but won't make much of an impact. It's happy to get a participation trophy, but there doesn't sound like much grabbing for the brass ring. I heard enough to be entertained, but not enough to make me want to make these songs a part of myself.

Album Review: Slash - 4

With the three albums Slash has made with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, one thing has been made very clear to me; Guns N Roses was a unique happenstance that can't be replicated. Axl couldn't do it with his band of replacements, and Slash couldn't do it either. Now, that is only a preface for the real heart of the matter; Slash has been making great records. Guns N Roses was a blip on the radar, with only the one truly excellent album, while this older version of Slash has put together three records with this group that are everything an old-school rock fan could want, other than being 'dangerous'. That's always been a code word for either sloppy or unprofessional, so I'm not going to use it as a criticism. Slash found himself a writing partner who makes the most of his guitar work, and together they bring out the best in one another.

For this new record, things are a little bit different. They obviously didn't use any energy coming up with a title, and they also made this record faster, cutting it essentially live on the floor of the studio. That results in a record that has more humanity and imperfection, but it also results in an album with a major setback compared to the others.

Let's start with the good news. Slash and Myles have come up with another album that gives us the gritty riffs, melodic leads, and soaring vocals we're used to. One listen to the first single, "The River Is Rising", and you know everything you need to know about the record. Slash still plays like only Slash can, and Myles hasn't run out of great melodies, even with as many albums as he has made in the last ten years. Rock music is really pretty simple when we think about it, and by not thinking so much about it, they get it just right.

There's nothing flashy about this record, which is exactly as it should be. These guys are writing and recording for the fun of it, and these are the sorts of songs you come up with when that's the goal. No one is trying to impress anyone by breaking the mold, or showing off new techniques. They want to write good songs that they want to play live, and the audience will want to hear. On that front, they accomplish their goal.

Now for the bad news. By cutting the record live, and by wanting a more organic sound, the production of the record suffers. The previous records sound amazing, with some of the best guitar tones I've ever heard. This record is buzzy, messy, and sometimes hard to pick out the details. It's raw, sure, but what it brings in energy I feel it loses in power. The rhythm guitars, in particular, don't have the crunch and heaviness I was expecting. Instead, the distortion is harsher, and often conflicts with the space Myles' voice needs to sit. Even when the record is good, it's less enjoyable to listen to than the previous ones, for that very reason.

There's also more of the old Snakepit blues creeping in on this record. While the previous ones have had some of that, but largely as a flavor among the crunching hard rock, this one puts it much more to the forefront. That gives the record a bit more swagger, but the blues also puts cuffs on some of the vocals. On both "Whatever Gets You By" and "Actions Speak Louder Than Words", Myles follows the bluesy riff in the chorus, which keeps his vocal lower and more predictable.

That leads me to this conclusion; "4" is probably my least favorite of the albums Slash and Myles Kennedy have made together. It's still a good album, but the highs aren't as high, and it's harder on the ears than I would prefer. Both by style and sound, I don't see myself returning to this record as often as I do the others. It's a mild disappointment.

Singles Roundup: Halestorm, RHCP, Arch Enemy, & Black Swan

We just received the confirmation of my most anticipated album of the year, which means of course I want to talk about the single that accompanied that announcement. Fortunately, it was a week with several big names releasing new songs, so let's see what goodies we can now listen to.

Halestorm - The Steeple

With Lzzy being one of my favorite voices ever, they wouldn't even need to be coming off an Album Of The Year winner to be my most anticipated album of the year. They are, so getting a firm release date now gives me something to look forward to. "Back From The Dead" wound up on my best songs list last year, so we have a lot to live up to here. This song keeps expectations high, but also introduces a bit of worry. Let me explain that. Between the two songs we have now hears, it sounds like Halestorm has made a heavy and aggressive album that tries to capture more of the sound of their live show. While I like the gloss of their early stuff too, that decision is fine. This song does rock, and this approach fits the way Lzzy has been using her voice. It's also a catchy and easily memorable song. So why the worry? That's because it's catchy in a way, like the lyrics, that almost has a bit of nursery rhyme to it. I'm worried that particular repetition is going to get old the more I play the song. I'm not sure it will have the same kind of enduring legs songs like "Innocence" or "Vicious" have. I'm excited to hear what else they have in store for us, but I'm going to be careful not to expect too much.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Black Summer

Lots of people will be making a big deal about John Fruscianti returning to the band yet again, but it doesn't really mean much to me. My experiences with the band don't go any further than their singles, even if I do like a fair number of them. Listening to this song, I get why people are excited, but I also hear why I'm not one of them. Frusciante is a unique player, and his playing dances around the song in a way most guitarists wouldn't think of. He's essentially another vocalist with the way he plays. Combined with the main hook of the song, there's something very appealing to latch onto. However, my frustration will come from the lyrics, which on first listen struck me as so nonsensical I wasn't sure if it was worth getting invested in such a song. Poetry is subjective, but when I hear "platypus are a few, the secret life of Roo", I'm tuning out, because it doesn't sound like any effort at all was put in. Too bad, since it's a solid song.

Arch Enemy - Handshake With Hell

We all knew this had to be coming; Arch Enemy has clean vocals now. It is the logical endpoint for a melodic death metal band, and with a vocalist who can actually sing, I would have been surprised if this didn't happen. What I find more interesting than the decision is my reaction.... which is that I don't think it really makes much of a difference. Whether it's the way they wrote the melody, or the extra power when the growls kick in, I'm not feeling anything more about the song for having the clean vocals than if it didn't. It's a good song, but for what should be a chapter in the band's history more aimed at me, I feel the same way about the band I always have. That's interesting.

Black Swan - Generation Mind

Here's this week's oddball, since they are not a big name like the other three. That said, I wanted to mention this song because for as played out and stale as the melodic rock scene has felt to me, this one stands out a bit. Their first album was solid, but for at least one track they have tapped into something. While I refuse to call them a 'supergroup', their experience does come through here. It's a hooky and catchy song that clearly outshines anything their main bands (MSG, Whitesnake, etc) have done in a long time. I'm not sure where this one came from, but it's a damn good single. I don't know if it will carry over to a full album, but hey, getting this is more than I might have expected.

Album Review: Amorphis - Halo

For as much as we talk about how things haven't changed much at all over the last twenty years, there are a few places where it absolutely has. In recent years, the wave of bands who were mixing death metal and clean singing has faded away. Some of them have slowed down, while others have abandoned one side of their initial mix, and the new bands replacing them sound much more modern. So when we're talking about the classic brand of the sound, we should be thankful Amorphis is still doing their thing, since they not only have done it as well as anyone, but they are also the classiest of them all. Their recent output has been a mature and nuanced sound that mines both death metal and prog, building something quite interesting.

I was rather fond of "Under The Red Cloud", but I was mildly disappointed "Queen Of Time" tilted a bit in a direction I didn't particularly want to go. It was expertly done, I won't deny, but I came into this album hoping for something that would lean a bit more into the somber beauty of their sound.

Finishing the trilogy with those albums I just mentioned, "Halo" strips the production back a bit for a rougher, more aggressive sound. The guitars buzz with hints of the original Swedish death metal tone, giving the album a nervous energy that smears a layer of makeup over the most beautiful moments in the songs. Compared to the previous records, this one comes across colder, dirtier, and a bit more alive because of it.

"On The Dark Water" is everything great about Amorphis, blending harsh death metal verses with a propulsive chorus that serves as the light casting that darkness, much as the album cover is a clash of those two sides. In both cases, they come together to highlight the strengths of each side, knowing they are more effective for having the other. The sweeping melody of "The Moon" is beautiful, and it hits harder coming out of death metal sections that sound like old Edge Of Sanity. Tomi Joutsen's vocal cords have to open up to make that shift, and that mirrors the song itself. It's fantastic stuff, and no one else in music is doing this style better than Amorphis, when they hit their marks. "The Moon" is so good, it could easily end up one of the best songs of the year.

About hitting those marks; after those two standout tracks, you might think the rest of the album can't measure up. That was my impression on my first listen, but I absorbed more and more of the songs with each pass through them. The singles are the immediate songs that grab your attention, and the rest of the album requires a bit more patience to fully unfurl. When it does, you realize the benefits of patience, as the album develops layers that pay off in different ways.

Even if the album never again reaches the heights of it's opening salvo, by the time "Seven Roads Come Together" and "War" arrive, the record has settled into a comfortable groove. The band doesn't push the boundaries as much, but they deliver song after song that do exactly what they need to. If I thought "Queen Of Time" sometimes veered a bit too far from their melodic strengths, "Halo" pulls the wheel back to the center, and has the band pointed straight ahead.

"Halo" is the album I wanted Amorphis to make, the album that finds the right balance between the light and dark, the angry and emotional, the ugly and beautiful. Amorphis are as respected as anyone, and an album like this explains why. Amorphis are still at the top of their game, and "Halo" is as good as they get. We have our first true contender to be the album of the year.

Album Review: Saxon - Carpe Diem

You have to be dedicated to be putting out your 23rd record, or to still be at it after nearly fifty years. Rocking takes a toll on the body, and writing songs takes a toll on the mind. It's not easy to keep plugging away, to keep being creative, year after year and decade after decade. Saxon have been doing just that, and doing it as one of the most underappreciated bands in heavy metal. They have always been repsected, but have never achieved the same level of success as many of their peers. They may well outlast a lot of them, as they have less drama in their ranks than some... *cough*Judas Priest*cough*.

Coming out of the gates, the band is trying to do exactly what the album's title suggests. There isn't time to waste, and they get right to rocking. There's a driving riff, Biff Byford's ageless voice, and a solid solo too. It's all the pieces that make classic heavy metal work, as long as you're not asking for a lot of melodic factor. The hook of the song is a simple chant of the title, and it's the sort of thing that worked in the 80s, but I don't think is enough anymore. Or if it's going to, it needs to sound bigger.

The same is true of "Age Of Steam", where the grinding gears of the song build to a chorus that doesn't have nearly the power necessary. It sounds a bit like a steam engine trying to compete against modern technology. The song is written in the old-fashioned way, and while the band themselves sound younger than their years, they can't transfer that energy into a song that is struggling to get up to speed. It satisfies the basics, and if you're happy with music that delivers just that, then by all means disregard what I'm saying.

I happen to be looking for a bit more spark, something in the songwriting that grips me, or moves me, and that's lacking through this album. I like the mood "The Pilgrimage" sets, where the guitars sound a bit like an old AC/DC ballad, but it doesn't really go anywhere. It's another case where the song starts strong, and then the chorus comes and it's a flat recitation of the title. Biff isn't giving it his all singing the words, and the writing in those parts sounds even weaker. What is supposed to be the best part of the songs is instead where they falter the most.

Saxon is a classic band, and this album lives in the sweet spot of the classics. If that's what you grew up listening to, and you're fine with that old style of metal, you're going to find a lot to enjoy in what they're doing now. Myself, I came around well after that period, and I prefer a sound (even in metal) with a lot more hook and melody to it. Saxon doesn't deliver on that front, so I'm not won over the way I'm sure many other critics will be. It's a difference in taste, and I can't sit here and tell you something I don't believe.

So that's what there is to say about "Carpe Diem". Saxon is going to appeal to their fans, and to fans of the old days of heavy metal. If that's you, by all means give the album a chance. If you're looking for something that can speak to you beyond metal cliches, this won't be for you. I'm in the middle, where I can see the quality, but it's in a different lane than I am traveling.

Singles Roundup: Ghost, Neal Morse's trio, Michael Romeo, & Serious Black

January was an incredibly busy month, so let's take a moment to look ahead at what the future has in store for us with these recent singles.

Ghost - Call Me Little Sunshine

The new Ghost album is one of the most anticipated releases of the year, and so far, I can't say I'm very excited. I was not a fan of "Hunter's Moon", and this second single isn't pointing in a better direction. Ghost, at their best, are able to blend cheesy levels of darkness with pop songwriting. This song is lacking the latter part. The whole appeal of Ghost is their sing-along choruses that make you laugh when you realize most of the songs are supposedly about disease and the devil. This song, however, falls flat when it comes to that hook. The last album was their most pop yet, and I can understand the desire to correct course so the more 'true' rock fans won't be upset, but this goes too far in the other direction. It will still be a hit just based on their name, but the song itself is weaker than anything on "Prequelle", and I'm afraid the album will follow suit.

D'Virgilio, Morse, & Jennings - Everything I Am

The second single from this intriguing side-project, this song delivers everything I could want from it. Gentle acoustic guitar and warm vocal harmonies abound, giving the song a wonderfully inviting tone. It's a beautiful little song, one that cleanses the palate from the usual prog these three engage in. There is a beauty in simplicity, and that shines through when you get a song that makes the most of it. Making music can sometimes be easy, and that's what this song sounds like. It's easy listening for times when life is easy.

Michael Romeo - Divide & Conquer

This song confuses me a bit. It's melodic, technical heavy/power metal, and it's got all the guitar wizardry and vocal power you could want, but there's a question lingering over it. Dino Jelusick is a hell of a singer, and he does a fantastic job delivering a strong melodic chorus. He fills the role Russell Allen fills in Symphony X admirably. The question is why? This could easily be a Symphony X song, and I would presume such an album would have more hype behind it than a solo album, so I'm a bit curious why songs that could easily belong to the main band are being used for this purpose. That's not important, mind you. The song is great, so it doesn't really matter what format it is coming out in.

Serious Black - Out Of The Ashes

This band can do no right in this album cycle. Starting off with a cover, they now move to this pathetic song. As a song, I guess it's fine. What has my ire up are the lyrics to this thing, wherein the singer is telling off a woman who has left. He called her a drugged-up whore, then says she isn't pretty without makeup, and of course he blames her for everything. Considering the band has said this new album is 'deeply personal', it makes me want to smack them with a heavy object. Rock and metal have long been filled with misogyny, but in this day and age someone along the line should have thought better of this stupid song. Even if the woman is what they claim, it's probably because like this song, Serious Black can't satisfy anyone.