Singles Roundup: Halestorm's Big Mistake, & Katatonia's Return

Two songs give us plenty to talk about today:

Halestorm - Mine

This comes from the new 'deluxe edition' of "Back From The Dead", and I think it makes a pretty good case for why it didn't make the record proper. It's a decent enough song, but the extra layer of synths don't fit with the vibe of the album, and Lzzy doesn't deliver the chorus with the same fire and passion. Or perhaps there's just too much noise for her to fight through. Either way, it would be in the lesser half of the album if it had been included.

The bigger issue, for me, is the 'deluxe edition' existing at all. This song is pissing me off, because I own a copy of "Back From The Dead". I love Halestorm, and I was happy to be able to put a CD on my shelf, and support them (as much as a purchase does - admittedly, that's only so much). Just a couple months later, though, they're telling me I now have to buy another copy if I want these additional songs.

No.

This garbage has got to stop. Taking advantage of fans is not cool, no matter who is doing it. There's something dishonest about keeping silent about extra material you know you are going to release down the line, with the intent of getting the die-hard fans to buy the first version, and then the 'better' one as well. I know making money in the business is hard, but this is an ethical issue. It's one so many bands fail.

The deluxe edition should have been announced at the same time, and we should have had the option of choosing which one we wanted right then and there. I would have had no problem paying a couple extra dollars for the deluxe edition. That would have been more than fair. What isn't fair is trying to get me to buy the same thing twice. It feels cheap, it feels exploitative, and frankly, I expected better from them. Lzzy has always come across as both a cool person, and a big fan. It's disappointing to see her band embracing this bit of corporate wallet-raiding.

I will not be taking part. Not even if the next song is better.

Katatonia - Atrium

Since it's all doom-and-gloom, how about some Katatonia? They are consistently melancholy, which brings up interesting questions about whether it's the light or the dark that sticks in our minds more often. Their last album was an experiment, featuring some electronic elements I did not like at all, even if they album grew on me a bit. This song returns to Katatonia's usual fare, which is a beautiful yet sad tone. Their sound is haunting, but like a ghost, sometimes it's hard to get a grip on.

Katatonia's sound is beautiful, and I love the tones they conjure. Listening to this song is a lovely time, but I worry it is going to fade away from my memory, much like that ghost I mentioned. 

Singles Roundup: Blink 182, Dream State, Jimmy Eat World, & Powerwolf

It's once again time to look into the grab-bag and see what some recent singles have to tell us.

Blink-182 – Edging

After a decade, Blink 182 is back together in their classic form. I suppose I should be excited, but I'm really not. Aside from the band drifting away from anything I cared about even before Tom left, this song is everything I would be afraid of from a long-simmering reunion. Despite pushing fifty, they decided to make their entire comeback a drawn-out cum joke, which really isn't even a good one. Couple that with a mediocre song, and Tom's voice not sounding anything like it used to, and this barely registers as Blink 182 as I remember them. I'll still play "Enemy Of The State", but I don't think I want to hear what else they have in store for us. Not if this was the best they could muster.

Dream State – Taunt Me

I loved Dream State's album, and the EP that proceeded it. They were releases that caught my ear with a wonderful blend of accessible melodies and post-hardcore angst. This single opens a new chapter, as CJ has moved on from the band, and it feels to me like a lot of their personality disappeared with her now absent voice. I could feel everything she put into the songs, and the hints of her accent coming through when she screamed was charming. This new song is still good, but it's almost too perfectly played and sung. I'm missing the power and the passion. I don't feel this song like I did "Hand In Hand".

Jimmy Eat World – Place Your Debts

Originally, I was a bit put off by the band's decision to release a few singles instead of an album. I've changed my mind on that, both because I've spent a lot of the year diving deeper into their back catalog anyway, but also because these two singles they have put out this year sound like the start of one of those cycles where their orbit and mine are further away from each other. Their slow-burn songs are always a bit harder for me to swallow, and this one is no exception. It's got an appeal, but an entire album in the band's current mindset doesn't sound like it would be up my alley right now.

Powerwolf – My Will Be Done

The wolves are back with a one-off single, and they continue to be Powerwolf. There's nothing wrong with being true to your sound, and Powerwolf is certainly the best at dramatic power metal. This is one of their trademark up-tempo songs, with a staccato chorus that drills the rhythmic melody into your head by the third time it comes along. I'll be honest and say I prefer the band when they're playing their slower and more dramatic ballads, but these songs are plenty of fun as well. You can't go too wrong with Powerwolf.

Not Mended, Still "Torn, After Twenty Five Years

Mariah Carey had told us "it's just a sweet, sweet fantasy, baby." In 1997, I didn't really have fantasies. I was turning fourteen, and my mind had not made the shift into hormonal overdrive. I was aware of fantasy novels and movies, although they were a genre I would never get into, but the idea of a lustful fantasy was something I was not at all thinking about.

Watching MTV, a video came on that changed all of that. I heard the pulsating strums of an acoustic guitar, and then Natalie Imbruglia's breathy voice filled my ears. I would see that video countless times in the following weeks and months, and when she sang about "lying naked on the floor", I think I finally understood what the talk about fantasies was really all about.

When people talk about the sex appeal of music, they are usually talking about funk or soul, the kind of music that sounds like the sweaty aftermath of what, to paraphrase Elvis Costello, would be 'rhythmic admiration' for another person. We all know what is usually understood to be sexual music, and that is certainly not what this version of "Torn" is.

We do not all share the same experience, however, as we can hear the same thing in ways others will never be able to understand. When I listen to "Torn", I hear the embodiment of what I consider sex appeal. To me, "Torn" is one of the sexiest songs ever recorded, and no, that's not just because of the reference to nudity. That image can only accomplish so much on its own.

Natalie's voice has the airy quality of the shallow breaths that come from the first touch. They are restrained, almost coy, but aching with passion if you listen close enough. It is not the sound of an experience assholes will run to their friends to brag about, but rather the kind you hold close to your heart, because it represents something more than a mere release. Lust burns bright and burns out, but what "Torn" feels like is a sensation that runs down your nerves and never leaves. It will tingle every time you touch your fingers together, remembering the way skin feels on skin.

Of course I'm being overly dramatic, but only to make a point. I know "Torn" is not a sex song in any way, but my experience with it is different than probably everyone else's. Hearing her voice singing those words awakened something in me, and set a blueprint for my taste that has carried over through the years, even if I didn't realize it until I found myself writing these words. The breathy quality of her voice is something I find myself falling for with regularity, and her 90s slacker look in the video, complete with the short haircut, showed me I was not then, and never would be, a fan of the more traditional pop star image.

It's been twenty-five years since "Torn" was released, and I get the same electricity hearing it now, I find myself biting my lip the same way as the song reaches its climax. Other people have come along who captured my attention, and who better defined the idea of a fantasy, but they can never replace the first. Every other song that has had that kind of effect on me is living in the shadow of "Torn", because that song is the one that highlighted the path on the map, that told me there was somewhere I wanted to go.

None of this matters to anyone but me, and it might not even do that. In life, we trace pieces of ourselves back along the bread crumbs the past left us, and along the way we see the changes in ourselves, and we can hear in the background the music we distracted ourselves with at every step. When I follow this thread, it winds up being 'torn' from the very fabric of my taste.

It's interesting, odd, and maybe even a bit pathetic.

So it's perfect for me.

Album Review: Taylor Swift - Midnights

Taylor Swift is a chameleon, but the thing about having a rainbow of possibilities is that not everyone is going to be fond of every color. Just as there are people whose eyes don't like the sight of certain hues, Taylor's experimenting means there are a number of people who will find themselves disappointed when her latest endeavor goes in a direction they don't wish to traverse.

That is the experience I have had with Taylor. I own copies of "1989" and "Folklore", but I was not moved in any way by "Reputation" or "Lover" in between. Taylor is a bit of an enigma in that way, and with "Midnights" coming our way without a single being released to preview where Taylor's sights are set, it makes for a rather nervous listen. Without knowing if this record is more indie-folk, or a return to pop, or maybe dream pop instead, it feels like the needle on my anticipation gauge got rusted in place. The spring has tension, but nothing is moving. We're sort of stuck in place.

Taylor is not, however, as the late night meditations that led to the genesis of this album have brought her in yet another new direction. This record is a return to pop music, but not the bright and shiny kind that makes people feel good and dance. This is pop music filtered through the midnight moonlight, glimmering with a silvery hue that highlights the shadows and makes every shape look like a demon creeping in for your soul.

There's something fascinating about cold pop music. Taylor is merely the biggest name to venture down this path, but modern times have been filled with music that plays (hopefully) sticky hooks against the bleak cynicism of a hopeless generation. Every generation has its own sound, defined by the trials and tribulations that forge them. The 80s were the synth age, as the computing revolution brought synthetic reality into our consciousness. The 90s had teen-pop, because things were peaceful and happy, and we wanted to have a good time.

That isn't possible anymore. From economic crashes to the bubbling rise of fascism, the world is not a happy place. There is little reason to have hope in our fellow man, not when we see the ugly side not just being more obvious, but being a source of pride. There is so much cruelty now in the world, and it is being rewarded as we mistake it for strength.

Writing an album that is downbeat and dour fits that like an opera glove, but it's one we can't dramatically strip off to reveal porcelain skin and vividly painted nails. This feeling is one that burrows inside, infecting our hearts and lungs, billowing out like a cloud of poisoned air when we try to explain this all away as a phase.

"Midnights" fits the tone and tenor of the times, but there is something missing from it. When you're making darker music, you still need to find a connection to the audience. Whether that is an air of depression that makes people not feel so alone in their own, or a melancholy that focuses on those moonlit silver linings, it's an emotional sound at heart. That is what "Midnights" doesn't do for me. Between just how artificial the production is, and Taylor's strengths as a singer, the album doesn't sound sad enough for what I think it should be.

In a year where I have been attracted to music that can well be described as 'emo', Taylor Swift making an emo-pop album should be right up my alley. There are moments here and there she hits the mark, and I can't help but be won over, but it doesn't last long enough, or come as consistently as I need. The record is certainly growing on me, and I like it more with each passing listen, but it isn't in the visceral way where I feel my own black clouds as a climate Taylor and I are sharing.

Taylor Swift is still the most interesting figure in pop music right now, and she's too good a songwriter to not have a few gems on a record. "Anti-Hero" is glorious, "Snow On The Beach" is a sad bop, and I love the forlorn "Maroon". On the expanded edition, "The Great War" is maybe the best song of this whole style experiment. I'm not sure how this record is going to sit once the weather gets colder, and my mood turns even darker. Perhaps then it will hit me full-force in the chest. Right now, I'm intrigued and impressed, but not yet ready for all her "Vigilante Shit". Check in with my in December, and perhaps we'll see if a disappointment can still be one of the best albums of the year.

Album Review: Chez Kane - Powerzone

I don't care how often it comes up, I will continue to be baffled by the obsession culture has with the 80s. Whether we're talking about the bands who hadn't been heard of since that decade who are still out there doing their thing, or the new bands that want to sound like they were ripped from the days of the cheapest synths ever made, our backwards gaze has seldom found a worse target. I'll even say this; the very short swing revival made more sense to me than the duration of this 80s fad.

It was for that reason I wasn't totally won over by Chez Kane's debut album, even if she has the kind of voice that can do great things. It was essentially just another 80s nostalgia album, even written by one of the people already doing that sort of thing in underwhelming fashion, and it's hard for someone to sound natural making music from a time before they were even alive.

Her voice is pretty much the only reason I came back and gave this record a try. She has a tone that would have fit in perfectly alongside Ann Wilson, Pat Benatar, and some of the other rock divas of that time. The opening "I Just Want You" more than proves that, with a fantastic vocal performance propping up a classic sounding 80s pseudo-ballad. It's the right kind of cheese, where I can hear them leaning into the conceit of the record. It sounds like more of a nod-and-wink, as opposed to "Rock You Up", which comes across as a vapid yet serious statement. Intentional cheesiness is always better than when it's unintentional. We get them both here.

Sadly, after that first song, there aren't many moments where the overwhelming smell of the past can be ignored. The songwriting falls back into the fluffy variety, where whatever power the melodies have are subservient to the production. The dedication to replicating a sound has led to songs that aren't engaging enough on their own. Taking away many of the keyboard sounds would leave the record without many songs to grip our attention.

Should I have known better? Sure, I probably should have. But to be fair, the two songs that were released as singles are the two best on the record, so I had reason to think there might have been improvement made from the first one. So it really is like the 80s, where the singles give us a false impression of what the whole album is going to sound like. Congratulations?

Chez still has a great voice, and the two singles are well worth hearing, but I'm going to wait for her to get put in a better project before I get excited.

Album Review: Avatarium - Death, Where Is Your Sting?

When you come to a fork in the road, there are not just two options. There does exist a third option, which is to eschew choice altogether and simply barrel through and blame the power of momentum and inertia for the destruction it causes. I kind of feel that's where Avatarium has been, caught between their roots as a doom band, and their growing comfort as a classic/folk band. The two sides pull the wheel in opposite directions, and it evens out with the band going straight ahead, sometimes to their detriment.

I really loved their last album, "The Fire I Long For", because it felt like the band expanding their wings. The weakest moments on that album were when they fully embraced doom, and that is where this album cycle started. The first track that heralded this release, "God Is Silent", was the band at their most doom, and dare I say also their most boring. It's difficult to leave your roots, but sometimes they hold you down.

We see that on the opening "A Love Like Ours". There are beautiful strings dotting the song, and the tension built during the guitar solo is arresting, but the core of the song is a rather dull and slow slog that never gathers much momentum. It's all droning chords without a melodic movement to the tone, which doesn't give much contour for Jennie-Ann to weave her magic. There are some beautiful tones, but the doom holds the song back from fully developing into something special.

The title track is the magic Avatarium is capable of. There is still a hint of doom to the electric guitars that rumble in the background, but the strummed acoustics have just enough propulsion that Jennie-Ann's melody moves and sticks. It's a gorgeous, dark rock song, and the sort of thing Avatarium does as well as anyone. That's what makes it so disappointing that we only get one or two of those moments on any of their records.

The majority of this record falls into the doom trap, wherein each track becomes a mire to wade through for the brief moments that capture my attention. Their last record had a few more, and had me thinking the band's situation was moving in the right direction, but this album falls back into the darkness. Simply put, while the band's sound, and Jennie-Ann's voice, are absolutely lovely, the songs aren't there to properly showcase what they can do.

This record does give us one absolute classic, but I can't say I would ever reach for this album over "The Fire I Long For". Sometimes when we take a step forward, we discover we aren't on the right path. I'm feeling that way about Avatarium right now, since I know what they are capable of. I was expecting more.

Album Review: Avantasia - A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society

Creativity is an interesting, and unexplainable, phenomenon. For years, Tobias Sammet was cranking out albums with both Avantasia and Edguy at an amazing clip. Songs were pouring out of him, and it seemed like every year we were getting a new record that had plenty of amazing song on them. Tobi was the reason I came to melodic metal, and he was the center of that universe for several years. But as time has gone on, and Tobi has slowed his productivity to focus on Avantasia being the best it can be, I have actually been having a harder time staying interested. For every "Ghostlights", which felt like a return to the days when I was giddy over this stuff, there is a "The Mystery Of Time", which leaves me utterly cold.

With another three year build to this record, you would think all the time Tobi has spent in the studio hard at work at this record would ensure a nearly classic experience. That would surely be the hope.

The album follows familiar form with Tobi taking the opening song, full of dramatic swells and big choirs. The tone is a bit darker than something like "Mystery Of A Blood Red Rose", tamping down some of the scope and cheese factor that sometimes comes across, given Tobi's affection for Meat Loaf. It brings us back into the world of Avantasia. We are jarred from our comfort right after, as Ralf Sheepers is the guest on "The Wicked Rule The Night", shrieking his way through the verses in perhaps the single worst vocal performance on an Avantasia track over these twenty years. I absolutely hate everything about those vocals, and they completely ruin what would have been a solid, if unremarkable, song in the heavier style.

"Kill The Pain Away" features Floor Jansen delivering a rapid-fire hook that certainly picks up the energy. The only thing is that at less than four minutes, it almost feels as if the song is racing to the conclusion when there is more it still needs to say. I think there was room to expand it and make the track even more grand. Conversely, I'm glad "The Inmost Light" is kept to a minimum. A vehicle for Michael Kiske, it's Tobi's power metal by-the-numbers inclusion that seems to pop up once on every album. Given the stories and tones these albums take, they don't always fit in stylistically, but at least this one is short.

Pacing is the main theme of the album. With a ten minute closing track, everything else feels shorter than usual in order to fit into a reasonable running time. The aforementioned opener usually would have been another minute or two longer, as would the power metal outing. There are four tracks under four minutes on the record, and three more in the four minute slot. Tobi's vision is usually wider than that, and more time gives the guests more room to make their presence known. That struggles to happen here. On "Paper Plane", Ronnie Atkins barely gets two lines to himself before the song is thrown back into a shared chorus. It almost feels superfluous to have the song labelled as 'featuring Ronnie Atkins', when the song wouldn't have really been any different if Tobi took the whole thing to himself.

The other issue to talk about is that Tobi has been making these albums with Sascha Paeth long enough now, and has the same core of guests who appear on every album, that the spark of having all of these guests is getting lost. The original "Metal Opera" pair sounded nothing like "The Scarecrow" trilogy, which sounded nothing like "The Mystery Of Time". But this record makes four Avantasia albums in a row that have all been built from the same sound, so perhaps it's no wonder they are failing to excite me in the same manner. Even with Edguy, Tobi was always doing something that sounded a little bit different, setting each album apart from all the others. Avantasia is so much a brand now that he is adhering to the sounds and structures that work, sometimes to the detriment of malaise.

Look, I'm holding Tobi to a higher standard than most, because I know what he is capable of, and because of what his music has meant to me. In more objective terms, "A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society" is a darn good record. There are Tobi's trademark hooks all over the place, and few can write metal on a par with him. That being said, in his canon this doesn't rise to the top. A middle-of-the-road Avantasia album is still a highlight of the metal year, but it's also a bit of a disappointment. I know nothing is going to hit me the way "The Metal Opera Pt II" did when I was finding my way in this world, but "Ghostlights" showed Tobi can still hit that nerve. This record is more of a dull tingle running down my arm than a jolt of electricity.

I'm not sure any of this helps explain the record.

Album Review: Alter Bridge - Pawns & Kings

These days, it seems like every musician is involve in multiple bands or projects. I completely understand why, but there are downsides for us, as fans. I am firmly of the belief that our minds can only absorb so much music at a time, and only so much from the same people, before it all blends together into a mush. Release too much music, and none of it stands out. There's an old cliche that says, "How can I miss you when you won't go away?" It's a harsher way of saying what I'm getting at; without enough time between releases, it's hard to be as excited about the next one.

That's where I am with Myles Kennedy. Last year, he released his second solo album. This year, he already appeared on the latest record with Slash and his band. And now we have Myles popping up yet again with Alter Bridge. I was afraid, even before playing this new record, that I was worn out on Myles voice for the time being. The law of diminishing returns seemed likely, especially since I tend to prefer Myles with Slash to begin with.

The reason why is evident on songs like "Silver Tongue". It has a good riff and a solid chorus, but none of it really pops to my ears. The guitars are tuned down so low (as is the case with so much of modern rock/metal), the notes in the riff lack bite, sounding more like a blur of sound than something I can pick out and remember. I don't know if it's just my ears that struggle with such low frequencies, or if it really is that guitars are more articulate at higher tunings, but over the course of an entire album, it gets fatiguing to have the music sit in such an awkward sonic space.

This is where I say what a shame that is, since Alter Bridge has always been damn good at what they do. In the world of modern heavy rock, there really aren't any bands that do it better. They deliver songs with plenty of crushing guitar, and Myles rarely fails to bring soaring melodies that invite us in. They don't reinvent the formula, they just do it better than most everyone else.

That being said, I continue to maintain their high point was "III", where they found the perfect blend between the deep groove of Tremonti's riffs and Myles' hookiest melodies. Since then, with the addition of Tremonti's solo project, Alter Bridge has sometimes felt like they have been chasing heaviness, even though the solo escape was supposed to quench that thirst. Instead, it seems to have exerted an unintended gravity I don't think has quite worked out for the best.

The theme of this record is drama. Many of these songs are built on trying to up the stakes, sounding bigger and deeper than usual. There are times when that works well, as on the opening "This Is War", where the stabbing chords and the choral accents widen our horizon. But there are other times when reaching for something bigger stretches the notes past the point where the melody can handle. Myles has plenty of power, but pure belting isn't always as interesting as singers like to think it is. So yes, a couple of these songs try a bit too hard.

This is most evident on "Stay", where Mark takes the lead vocal, with Myles accompanying him for a majority of the track. It's the most unusual song on the album, as it's sunnier, and has more of a sense of fun to it. The brief levity is a reminder of how almost dour the tones can make the rest of the album sound. I know Alter Bridge is a serious band, and they want to sound like they're playing serious music, but a few more rays of light would only serve to give the albums diversity to make every color and tone stand apart and shine even more.

Ultimately, this new Alter Bridge album fits right in with the others. They continue to deliver good records that are sure to please their fans. While they haven't made that one record yet that has become vital to me, I appreciate them setting a bar for everyone else to reach for. Only a few have been able to, so let's give Alter Bridge their due.

Forty-Five Years Of "Bat Out Of Hell"

When you're a kid, you don't always understand what you're hearing. Topics go over your head, details can get lost in the manic rush of something new and exciting, and it can take time before you realize what has been right in front of you the whole time.

I was just a kid when I first heard "Bat Out Of Hell", so the reasons I loved the record early on were the reasons you would expect from a kid. It sounded pompous and ridiculous, it had a guitar that sounded like a motorcycle, and there were sex jokes scattered throughout the lyrics (even if I didn't grasp all of them at that age). It was probably the first time I had heard music blended with sarcastic humor, and it made me feel like part of a club who 'got it' to listen to something everyone knew wasn't cool, but yet couldn't turn away from. It was subversive to be a Meat Loaf fan while everyone else was listening to Nirvana, which was as yet above my understanding.

On the surface level, people heard the jokes about there being "no Coupe De Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box", and thought it was cute. It is, but they missed the deeper picture, the one about how we use cliches to cover up complex emotions, and the one about how promises are only for as long as we can keep them.

That last bit is what continues to haunt me about the record. It happens in the climax of "Paradise By The Dashboard Light", when Meat gets fed up and sings, "I'm praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you." It's one of those rare lines from a song I wish I had written myself. There is so much contained in that one sentence, it's a shame the song gets obscured by people remembering the baseball play-by-play as a narration of sexual frustration.

What is a promise? To boil it down, a promise is a way for us to say a feeling is immutable, that it will never change. But this is a foolish thing to do, because we can't guarantee any such thing. Our feelings are subject to the whims of chemistry, and to guarantee that a love with always burn as hot and as strong for all of time is to essentially brand yourself a liar. There is no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, the eternal flame needs a steady supply of fuel, and love is an active state of mind. Every moment we are in love, we are choosing to love that person. That is both the good and bad, because it might make love sound ephemeral, but it also means every day that person gets to know they have still been chosen to be showered with affection.

There is a dilemma in the line Meat sings. On the one hand, he doesn't want to break his promise, because promises are marks of character. If he doesn't follow through, he is revealing himself as a less than ideal person. If he does follow through, however, he would be making himself miserable solely to live up to an ethic. In that case, we can imagine she would know he didn't want to be with her, and wasn't in love with her anymore, so would she even be happy with that arrangement? I would think not.

But that isn't the only big question we tackle. In "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad", we're faced with this bit of realization; "I want you, I need you, but there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you". Now we're getting at the very heart of what love is. If you want and need someone, is that not a form of love? Or is passion the only thing we think of as love? It's a question without a true answer, as it will be up to us to determine whether that is enough. The song might sound like a joke on first glance, but we're being confronted with a true existential question.

That gets muddled later on, when the line "can't you see my faded Levis bursting apart" was used as Meat was singing about how obvious his love should be. It's a different angle, but the same issue we are addressing. Love and lust are two different feelings, and too often the fairy tale image we have of a relationship conflates them. Even in these songs, as we are asking ourselves what is really important, the talk confuses exactly what we're aiming for.

That confusion is normal, though. Words can't capture the full extent of an emotion, and even in our own minds the narration of our lives we hear is only a facsimile of what we are actually feeling. Jim Steinman wrote these songs to work through his own thoughts and feelings, and perhaps it was the frustration of trying to understand our emotions that led him to adopt his sarcastic persona. If he better knew how to explain himself, he might not have felt the need to make us laugh.

Or perhaps he merely realized how absurd love is. To think that one person can fulfill your every need and desire for the entirety of time is a belief in odds so long they can't be calculated. The music on "Bat Out Of Hell" is absurd, and it has to be. That's the only way subjects like love and death can ever make sense. When we take the little things, and blow them up to ridiculous proportions, we begin to understand that nothing is as important as we make it out to be.

And that includes music. For most of my life, I've been listening to "Bat Out Of Hell". It's absolutely one of the most important albums in my life, but when I stop and think about it, what's actually important is the way the album has made me think. It wasn't the music, no matter how many times the songs have run through my mind. "Bat Out Of Hell" was a learning experience, and I only learn more as time passes.

Then again, maybe I'm over-thinking all of this.

Album Review: Edward O'Connell - Feel Some Love

Last year, when I finally picked up a copy of Elvis Costello's "This Year's Model", I was surprised to see it was a newly remixed version of the record. It didn't sound exactly like I remembered, but there was something even more glaring about hearing it in this new context; it sounded.... weak? As one of the albums that set off a whole era of new-wave power-pop, hearing this cleaner version revealed just how little power the songs had when they were recorded. The limitations of the time gave us something we can't quite recreate now, even when we have more skill and talent available to us. It's just something interesting to think about.

I say this because Edward O'Connell's two albums have been akin to a continuation of that era of Elvis' career. Both records featured lovely power-pop with a similar tone of voice, and more than a little bit of sarcasm in the lyrics. There's something lush and soothing about the sound of them, something even Elvis himself was rarely able to achieve. So what does the third album bring us?

Starting off with "Golden Light", the album feels like an old friend coming back into your life. There's something soft and warm about this music, where it lopes along just enough to get your toe tapping, while the vocal harmonies echo the voice in your own head trying to sing along. Maybe it isn't 'cool' in whatever trend we're currently in, but it's the sound of a good time, which is rather timeless.

The layers of acoustic guitars and pianos give depth to the production, while the country-ish electric guitars alternate between extra texture and lyrical soloing. In that regard, there's an echo of The Jayhawks around the "Hollywood Town Hall" era, which is another of those sounds I've seldom heard replicated, let alone done well. It's nearly perfect on "I've Got A Million Of 'Em", where the weeping guitars nail the tone of the song, which also subverts expectations. The title implied to me a sarcastic kiss-off, having a million punch-lines, but it took things in the opposite direction instead. A little surprise is always a good thing.

The story of "Florida Man" dips into the age-old question about what motivates people to do stupid things, as exemplified by the meme. The answers are usually fairly simple, at least when sober, and get summed up by the line, "Was he distracted by love, or the tattoo on her birthday suit?" It also sort of ties into the theme of "All My Sins", where it's our faults and flaws that make us who we are, and things would be far too boring if we were always prim, proper, and well-behaved. We need some excitement, and someone else to laugh at.

All along, the album is a relaxing, feel-good experience. It's fifteen songs of charm, where you get sucked into the mood and tone. It's a syrupy record where the consistency is like having every bite of the waffle properly smothered, letting the sugar coat your palate. And then, when your senses might be a bit overloaded, it gives you a tart finish. In this case, that comes in the form of "MFC", which I won't spoil for you. Let's just say the acronym was exactly what I thought it would be after the first line of the song hit my ears. Certainly an unexpected way to cap things off.

I haven't listened to a lot of power-pop lately, because a lot of it doesn't sound like it understands at least one half of that term. Perhaps this record is a bit soft as well, but when it has so much effortless melody to it, that doesn't matter. Verses that could be choruses, choruses that up things even more, and a bit of whimsy to top it all off. This is the most laid-back of the three albums, but it still delivers. It's the sound of a wry smile.

Album Review: The Spider Accomplice - The Venomous Montage

The montage. A staple of 80s movies, what better way was there to condense time into a singular moment that told a lifetime's worth of story as fast as the frames of film could pass through the camera? The montage was an admission there is more to us and our stories than we can ever tell on our own. The details of life are what make us who we are, but they are too much for any other person to bear the full weight of. We abridge our stories so we can make ourselves known, always keenly aware that information will expand as soon as it hits the vibrating energy of our minds. Our stories are, in essence, like those old sponge toys that grew when you sprayed them with the garden hose.

The Spider Accomplice embrace the power of the montage for their first full-length album, as it does exactly what is promised (and what I had secretly thought possible - though without any foreknowledge); this collection of songs condenses the last few years of the band's whirling creativity into a single document of the past, present, and future, tied together.

Each song on this album takes us in a different direction, to a different point on the orbit we take around each other. Sometimes, we return to familiar territory, while at other times we find ourselves looking into the cosmos for the specks of star dust that will complete us.

In the opening "Breathing Daydreams", VK sings "there's no looking back anymore." The album starts with the end of the montage, where the band, glistening with the sweat of their heroic training, stands triumphant atop the stairs, their outline drawn in black against the golden glow of the sun. But how did they get there?

That is answered with the rest of the album, where we travel through their history to visit important moments, seeing how they echo through time. The album uses its scope to revisit several of the singles released in the time since the "Los Angeles" trilogy ended. "Crawl", "Keep", and "Clinging To Your Skin" appear again, showing the genesis of the band's current skin. "The Dichotomy" was, metaphorically, VK and Arno shedding their initial skin for something far brighter and more dazzling. These songs that came later were the pigment darkening, spotting that exterior with lines and brush strokes seemingly drawn by God herself.

"Crawl" remains one of the most remarkable examples of the modern power ballad, blending pounding drums and VK's immense vocal power into a force that can indeed scream across the landscape of nature as she does in the similarly remarkable video. That song, more than even the others, is where VK and Arno began to hit so hard the chain holding the heavy bag could no longer hold up against their power.

"Fight" is the natural follow-up to that idea, where our heroes are feeling invincible, and are ready to take on all comers. It's a spunky, cocky little song where VK belts and Arno shreds, showing off while the competition catches their breath off to the side. The camera pans over and sees narrow eyes glaring with jealousy as the hierarchy is revealed.

That is when we travel all the way back to the beginning, to see just how far our heroes have come. A new version of "Butterflies In A Beehive" is that fulcrum, taking a familiar favorite and adding in the sounds and textures the band has developed in the years since we first heard it. Arno's guitars have more texture, and crunch with a heavier tone that sets the strings as the subtle depth giving us a swell we don't always notice until we can feel it reverberating in our chests. Great songs are great songs, and seeing how this one has emerged from its chrysalis to spread its wings as an immense and dramatic number tells us just how far we have traveled together, even as the journey has felt so short.

On "Kaleidoscope", VK sings that "the Queen is out for blood," and indeed she is. The song is as sprawling as the fractals that determine our vision, deconstructing composition in an act of chaos not unlike the mad cackle she unleashes when the song is ready to explode. Their confidence seeps through, as it has grown track by track. And what would any proper montage be without an 80s soundtrack? That's what "Fire The Sorrow" provides, with synths that echo from that formative decade. The only difference between this song and "Blinding Lights" is the number of streams each one is going to get.

"Maybe I've forgotten where I was, or maybe I've never really known," VK says to open "Shards Collect". Our montage ends with our heroes reflecting on the journey that has taken them to this point, understanding every scene in between is important for forging us into the people we are. While some of those shards continue to stab at us, the wounds never fully healing, we would not be the same people without them. Pain guides us as much as a moral compass can, and it is harder to ignore. We do not have to be defined by those moments, but they are a source of fuel. The question is whether we drag the charcoal across our skin to trace our scars, or whether we burn it to light our path to a better place.

A montage takes those questions and boils them down to a reel of highlights, skipping over the existential crises and stop-and-start failures that litter the highway as the tires try to dig into the cold asphalt. There is a beginning and an end, and often we forget what comes in the middle, even though it is the hero's journey that defines the very nature of the epic story. What "The Venomous Montage" does so well is remind us of that fact, spending forty minutes taking us through every step of the journey, so we understand exactly what it took to achieve glory. In movies, montages condense the story so we don't have to face the immensity of the struggle head-on. Here, the montage condenses the story so we can measure the distance traveled more easily.

We've come a long way, and this venomous stop tastes pretty sweet.

Album Review: Queensryche - Digital Noise Alliance

I love when a band's press releases can't even get their own story straight. You would think someone should be reading these things over to make sure they aren't completely contradictory, and yet sometimes we get a situation like the one this new Queensryche album provides. In fact, it's the only reason I'm bothering to write about the new record at all.

In the press release, they say, "Queensryche has always been a forward-thinking band." Though they have been accused of going off the rails several times, I'll grant them it's probably fairly true. Or at least it was, because the description that came along with this record also says the band sat in the studio and pulled out the very same amps they used back on "Empire" and "Rage For Order". Pulling out your old gear to get the sounds you used to use is the very definition of not being forward-thinking. So which is it?

One could easily argue this whole chapter of the band's history with Todd La Torre fronting them has actually been an exercise in looking backwards, trying to recapture the band's signature sound at the expense of the very forward-thinking mentality they say was the core of their identity. It was the right business move, and it has certainly pleased enough of their fans, but it does make them a very different entity than they were, even at the worst moments of their previous incarnation.

As has often been the case, I am rather underwhelmed by what I'm hearing. Not only is there not a hint of the 'progressive metal' tag they were often hit with, incorrectly I would argue, but the echoes of the past do them no favors. The guitars might be pulling in old sounds, but when "Behind The Walls" finds La Torre's voice distorted in such an obvious and artificial way, it draws comparison to the days when Geoff Tate was considered one of the best singers in all of rock. The performance would have been clearer back then, and better for it.

I also hate the underwater, echoing effect put on his voice in "Nocturnal Light". Look, his tone is often difficult for me to listen to as it is, but piling effects on top of it just makes it insufferable to the point I'm not going to bother trying to look past it. I don't know why singers like to hide their voices like that, but I wish it would stop. I want to hear them, not a bunch of plug-ins from Pro Tools.

But all of that is needless nit-picking, since the songs themselves don't do enough to make the album worth listening to. They will probably please Queensryche fans, because they hit the right tones from the past, but I don't hear enough good melodies to carry through an entire album. For both the good and bad, it sounds like a metal album from the mid 80s. That's not my scene.

For this particular approach, I would say go listen to the recent A-Z album instead. Similar pedigree, similar sound, but that album sounded much more like they enjoyed what they were doing.

Album Review: Borealis - Illusions

Off the top of my head, I can't think of many cases where a band exists that sounds so much like a more famous group, but I like them better than their fore-bearers. I'm sure there are a couple, but it's the sort of thing that doesn't happen very often, because even when we claim originality isn't all that important, the first to do something get to occupy a different space in our minds. It might not be important to the quality of the music, but it's easier to remember something the first time you encounter it.

Borealis has, ever since I first heard them, existed mainly in my mind as a band that sounds nearly identical to Evergrey. Given what I have written about that band over the years, you would think that wouldn't be a good thing. Perhaps it isn't, but the times I have listened to Borealis have been far better than almost all of my experiences with Evergrey. They build from the same colors, but the end result looks completely different.

The core of Borealis' sound is found in the vocals, with a deep tone similar to that of Tom Englund. The band also plays the same semi-progressive brand of metal, with guitar tones borrowing from the same basic amp settings. If you played both bands on shuffle, it wouldn't always be obvious which you are listening to.

The different between the two is, at least to my ears, the way they build melodies. Other than the brief (and usually hated) period where Evergrey tried to be more modern and streamlined, they have relied more on Englund's charisma than hooky melodies. That works for the people who absolutlely love his voice, but I am not one of them, so I have often felt their music come off rather cold and impersonal. That's odd, since his emotion is what everyone loves about him.

Borealis doesn't try to wallow as deeply in their own tears, and I think that's what makes their music work. Rather than being heavy in an emotional sense, their music has enough energy to it to support the heavy guitars without them sagging into a sad mess. Borealis' music is big and powerful, with bellowing vocals that are necessary for the scope of what they are doing.

The only downside to all of this is that this album continues the story from their previous album, so if you're trying to pay attention to what these songs are about, you need to be fully versed in a different album to get the whole message. I hate that sort of thing, both because I have severe doubts this story is interesting enough to stretch over nearly two hours of music, but because it also keeps people from jumping on board. I am a writer, so I love lyrics, but when an album tells me right off the bat I need to do homework to understand it, I'm inclined to say 'forget this', and move on to something else. It's like Coheed & Cambria, where I know they do some cool stuff I would enjoy, but there isn't a chance in hell I'm going to sit through eight albums of storyline just to know what in the world they're singing about.

If you liked Evergrey's album from earlier in the year, I would tell you to listen to this one, because I think it's far better. If you've never gotten the hype for Evergrey, I would still say this one is worth a shot, because perhaps you will hear in Borealis what everyone else seems to hear in Evergrey.

And yes, I know I shouldn't spend so much time talking about another band, but when they sound almost like clones, it's hard not to. At least in this case, Borealis comes out the winner, so it's not such a bad thing.