Friday, June 3, 2011

Session 5

Today I am current with everything that is out as of right now. It's always nice to be caught up and on top of things. Any way I found a few good tunes for you to check out.

Vampires Everywhere: Kiss the Sun Goodbye - I stumbled upon this album in Hot Topic and being the big vampire fan I am bought it on a whim. I was glad to find a pretty cool album. There is a good mix of metal and goth influence going on with Vampires. The vocals vary between two vocalists that go between singing and screaming. The screaming is right on the edge of what I would normally pass on but the music makes it worth figuring out the lyrics in my opinion. There are no real standout tracks on this album but I have enjoyed the whole album. Look forward to seeing what comes next from Vampires. Overall I give it a 3/5.

Flogging Molly: Speed of Darkness - Flogging Molly is a group I more recently started listening to in the past year or so. I picked up Speed of Darkness with some high expectations and was a little let down with this one. A well rounded album that keeps up the signature sound the group has but just didn't seem as good as previous albums that I have enjoyed. There are no tracks that really seem to stand out on this one. Overall I give it a 2.5/5.

Egypt Central: White Rabbit - This is the big winner this week in my book. I first heard Egypt Central years ago but never picked up their first album after only hearing one single from it. This will be their second album and I have to say it's a really good one. There are four tracks that really jumped out at me from the first listen through. Ghost Town, White Rabbit, Kick Ass and Change are the track names to know from this album. Overall I'm giving this one a 4/5.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Session 4

I've decided that I am going to start buying more of my music digitally. Like most people I have Itunes and I have learned that this is not the easiest way to search for new music unless you are just going to mindlessly get all the stuff that they say is new and worth getting. I also found that finding a comprehensive list of new releases on the web is about as easy. In the end though digital music will save me a lot of space and money. Ultimately its all for the love of the music. Ok enough rambling. Here's what I found from the last week and the week before. Not much but it's quality.

Seether Holding onto String Better Left to Fray - Seether makes another great Seether album. All the feel, sound and angst that they are known for comes on just as strong as ever on this one. What impresses me about Seether is they continue to capture genuine emotion in these songs after so many years unlike most bands that would have faltered and burnt out on trying to continue to capture the same feelings over many albums over many years. If your a Seether fan or a rock fan in general you'll find this one worth grabbing if you haven't yet. Best track on here is Country Song and is bolstered by Fur Cue, No Resolution and Tonight. Overall I give it a 3.5/5.

Angel Vivaldi Universal Language - This is a four track EP that I happened upon and was really impressed by. All four tracks are instrumental metal pieces. I say pieces because they come across like a metal version of a symphony. This album seems to be based on their remake of Vivaldi's violin concertos The Four Seasons and even has it's tracks listed in the same order as the original master composer's. If you like metal of any kind this is something you should really have for you collection. Overall I give it a 4/5.

Verismo Falling Up the Stairs - Another four track EP that I came up was this one. I don't like to compare groups if I can avoid it but Verismo with a a little polishing could become the next Godsmack in my opinion. The sound between the two is very similar but Verismo comes across with slightly more metal influence. If you can find this EP get it. When the it's all said and done the tracks Unholy and A Manner Darkly were the gems on this one. Overall I give it a 3.5/5

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Session 3

So this one comes way late and will have me playing catch up for next week as well. There is a however quite a few albums in this one. I'll be keeping these short so as not to bog the post down. In the long run your opinion of the music is what matters these are just my thoughts on it.

Rise Against End Game - Rise Against makes another solid album with End Game. The sound they are known for continues on allowing them to still standout well from other similar bands and would be imitators. While there are a couple stand out tracks on this album I don't feel they are much stronger they the majority of the album itself though. Listen in for the first two tracks Architects and Help is on the Way. Overall I give it a 3/5.

A Skylit Drive Identity on Fire - Not a lot of changes to note with the newest album from A Skylit Drive. They continue to pump out some good songs but turn up the intensity with some more aggressive vocals which was a cool to hear. A good album overall though I didn't really find any real gems on this one. Overall I give it a 3/5.

Sleeping with Sirens Let's Cheers to This - This album ends up being a hit or miss depending on if you like similar groups like A Skylit Drive. Sirens is not as intense as similar bands but still has some good songs to offer such as Who Are You Now and Fire. Others seem to be over done ideas like A Trophy Father's Trophy Son or a little cheesy like Your Nickle Ain't Like My Dime. It is still worth giving a good chance to and I think will grow on me with time like a lot of albums do. Overall I give it a 3/5.

The Downtown Fiction Let's Be Animals -  This is just a fun album. The music is light and not fraught with tons emotion. For me it has been a refreshing revival of earlier fun groups from the 90's like Eve 6 and Third Eye Blind but with their own style of doing it. Three great tracks that come off this one are Thanks for Nothing, Animals and I Just Wanna Run. Overall this one gets a 3.5/5.

D.R.U.G.S. Self Titled - Standing for Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows is a great new band to hit the scene. They have a good style that follows current rock/metal trends while still being separate enough for them to stand out in the crowd of similar artists. Tracks to listen for on this album are If You Think This Song is about You it is, The Only Thing You Talk About, Graveyard Dancing and I'm the Rehab Your the Drugs. Overall I give it 3.5/5.

I See Stars The End of the World Party - I can't figure out ultimately what this group is. After listening through the album a few times all I can come up with is Pop rock Electronic Metal. The sound blends well actually with the exception of the screaming vocalist who seems out of place at almost all the points where he's in. There are no real stand out tracks but I think this group has potential to be much better once they figure out their sound and mature a little more a group. Overall a 2.5/5.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Session 2

So a busy work schedule is great for two things. One: an awesome pay check. Two: killing time for everything else that you want to do. So this one is coming in late but, I have a group of four more albums to cover for yall.

Silverstein Rescue - Silverstein has dropped their fourth album. Where a lot of the lyric themes are still the same they have stepped up their game with edgier vocals from previous albums. They also top this album off with a few accoustic, demo and b-side versions which are always fun to get. Intervention, Burning Hearts and In Memory Of... are the tracks to keep an ear open for on this one. Overall I give it a 3.5/5.

Goo Goo Dolls Something For The Rest Of Us - The Goo Goo Dolls hit the scene once again and prove they still have the stuff. Keeping up their style of fun music with heartfelt lyrics. While you won't find another amazing album here like back in the days of Dizzy Up The Girl, The Goo Goo Dolls always have songs that will grow on you over time. Ultimately it is a good solid album and worth the pick up by any fan. Overall I give it a 3/5.

Cake Showroom of Compassion -  This album for me was an upset. I was very excited to see a new album out from Cake but, once I put it in it went down hill. Musically it is about what you would expect to from them but, the whole thing just didn't feel like there was a lot of effort behind it and some of the lyrics were strange even for Cake. A really hardcore fan might find something they like in here but, for the rest of us it's just not there. My copy is going to the local music store in the hopes for a new home. Overall I give it a 1.5/5.

Red Until We Have Faces - The epic sound of Red rises once again. Red keeps their sound going on this album with huge chords and symphonic accompaniments that fill your speakers now matter how big they are. If you are looking for a great hard rock album to fill the gaps in your play list then this album is just what you need. If you don't know Red yet then I suggest picking this up next time you treat yourself to some new music. Tracks to listen for on this one are Faceless, Lie to Me, The Best is Yet to Come and Hymn for the Missing. Overall I give it a 4/5.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

First Session

So the first post is always the toughest one because you have to dig for things to talk about. My aim here is to do a review and rate new music as it comes out mainly focusing in the Rock genre. I'm sure there are a lot of similar blogs already out there so I will do things to try and keep this fresh. The reviews will be based on what comes out each week and what rocks in my world. Hence the title.

Here is a quick run down of some albums that I have picked up more recently. Let me know what you think.

Sum 41 Screaming Bloody Murder - Was glad to see some new stuff come out of Sum 41 after so many years. The album itself is a decent album that has all the elements that you would want out  the band. Sadly it lacks any tracks that really stick out. Overall I give it a 3/5.


Hollywood Undead American Tragedy - This album was worth the wait and is a great follow up to Swan Songs. Hollywood Undead loses nothing with their blend of Rock/Rap keeping the great bass and guitar riffs going strong in each track. Track 3 Comin' in Hot is my personal favorite off this album with Hear Me Now, Levitate and Been to Hell as other note worthy tracks. Overall I give it 4/5.

Panic at the Disco Vices and Virtues - For their third album Panic brings things back to their first album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out and leaves some of the weirdness of Pretty, Odd behind. Ballad of Mona Lisa is the stand out song of this album and is a great one at that. The rest of the tracks on this album are solid and hold true to Panic's sound but, not others really stick out like Ballad of Mona Lisa. If you are a fan of Panic then you'll be pleased with this album. Overall I give it a 3.5/5.

Foo Fighters Wasting Light - Foo Fighters return with a new album after releasing a greatest hits a few years back. Recorded in Dave Grohl's garage, the Foo Fighters prove you don't necessarily need a mad expensive studio to make a great sounding rock album. The whole thing was also originally recorded on analog making it that much more impressive. As a neat extra a snippet of the analog recording is placed in each album produced. As for the album itself the Foo Fighters have another success to add to their collection. The forth track, White Limo, is a mess of a song and just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the album. Arlandria is my favorite track off this album with Rope and Walk as two other note worthy tracks. Overall I give it a 4/5.