System Of A Down – Steal This Album

Review# 180

I actually don't know what to think of this album. It's bizarre, aggressive and highly political. On one hand it's catchy and you can almost get into it but on the other it's just such a barrage of extreme political babble that it's hard to take. The singing is often rather grating to the ear but the music is interesting. I don't know. I almost feel like they have tried to over do their quirkiness on this album and therefore it sounds completely blown out of proportion.

Boom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2r7r7VVic

Witchery - Dead, Hot and Ready

Review# 179

This morning I was especially on the lookout for an album that would distract me from the cold and rain on my walk to the train station. Scrolling through my iPod I see Witchery's Dead, Hot And Ready and I think to myself that this will be the perfect album to distract me from terrible weather. And to be honest it did a decent job (up till the point where it really started to pour and I got soaked through) of playing distraction. It will be a fantastic album in summer. It's fun and Thrashy with a bit of a good time feel. The lyrics are a bit silly but since you can easily tell the theme of the album from the cover then there really are no surprises. Not the most pioneering album certainly but one of good quality none less.

The Devil And The Damage Done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ag4U4eCW0
Dead, Hot and Ready: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETtsKHlnqkY&feature=related

Strapping Young Lad - City

I was pretty harsh on this when I first listened to it. Bits of it grew on me by the end so it wasn’t time completely wasted. The mastering however is really bad. Really, incredibly bad. I would however like to listen to the original CD sometime and see how that sounds by comparison. Who knows, I may even really like the album after that!

Trivium – Shogun

Review# 178

After the epic disappointment of The Crusade fans seemed to be split on Trivium. Some were eager to see if they could redeem themselves with an awesome new album and return to form. Others, myself included, threw up their hands and turned their backs. I have only had Shogun for a month or so now an am really kicking myself for not checking it out sooner. Shogun may not have the instant epic tracks like Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr but and on the whole is a little more of a grower but it is one of those albums where it is worth that time of growth and the discovery of new elements in each listen. Matt Heafy has re-introduced an element of screaming back to his vocals which help the overall texture, and the dual attack of Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu on guitars is great with the occasional venture off to experiment on different sounds through the track. I would definitely say that Trivium have redeemed them selves with Shogun and with the lead single to follow up album In Waves out now and sound great if again a grower then I see great things for Trivium in the future.

Torn Between Scylla And Charibdis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_nJ2vQg3EM
Kirisute Gomen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYKNm4qMJTc

Franz Liszt – Solo Works for Piano

I don’t know much about classical, but this is one of the first musical bits I’ve listened to where I’ve actually stopped and thought to myself, “how does anything think of that?” Well, first in a long time anyway. Most of the pieces are built on a ‘theme and variation’ framework where a given passage will go through all sorts of moods and sounds. Really incredible stuff.

Listen to this one thousand times.

Alexisonfire – Crisis

Review# 177

Crisis is the album that is a step in the more "mature" direction from earlier Alexis albums but still retains a tad more grit than the follow up Old Crows/Young Cardinals. While I personally prefer OC/YC I do still rate this album for it's honesty and grit as well as solid musicianship. There are some great sounds here with the tri-attack of vocals and often some good layering like in OC/YC. Good album, bleak but solid.

This Could Be Anywhere in the World: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPcds3jOhRQ
Boiled Frogs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJcZaS0JthA

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

I don’t even want to think about how many times I’ve listened to this album. It just came along at EXACTLY the right time for me. I was thirteen, I was getting into metal and I thought the Osbournes was the funniest thing in the world. I got into Ozzy’s solo work first and then moved back to the older stuff. There is a personal chemistry here that contributes to a certain sound, as I mentioned in my Technical Ecstasy review. The Beatles had it, Led Zeppelin had it, Pink Floyd had it for a bit as well, but it’s kind of a rare thing. Everything just works together, it’s tough to explain.

This is still very much a bluesy album, even the metal ‘anthems’ Iron Man and Electric Funeral have jam based instrumental breaks in them which provides a nice texture that was kind of absent in a lot of the later work. Even though I’m far less interested in metal now the jam touches add a certain spontaneity which colours the record nicely. Fact: It was the solo in Planet Caravan which first got me interested in jazz. Classic album.

Lacuna Coil – Karmacode

Review# 176

Karmacode is a decent album, I admitted I like it less now compared to when it was first released though. The are some great tracks on here such as Our Truth or Fragments Of Faith, yet I don't find it to be quite as enjoyable an album as Comalies. I think Karmacode is just a little too over produced for it's own good and could do with a little bit of a raw edge mixed in. so really it's far from being terrible like Shallow Life yet is lacking a certain something that was in predecessor Comalies to really make it an album of lasting quality.

Our Truth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCxFTh-XDy8
Fragments Of Faith: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgtCMMgtSaA

Old Man's Child – Vermin

Review# 175

Not knowing what to expect with this album I found myself pleasantly surprised. There is a great mixed dynamic musically in the album as well as a great sound. The pacing is often laid back but still full of subtlety not over the top theatrics to sell it. The album has a good sound overall with no need to struggle to hear the individual instruments. I also like how the vocal line weaves with the rest of the music, this had a great effect on the overall sound.

Lord of Command (Bringer of Hate): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdBE45p-ZTw
The Plague of Sorrow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xg9mIiGZLU

Slipknot – Iowa

Review# 174

The first Slipknot track I ever heard was People = Shit. And I honestly thought the line was "people eat horse shit" until I was told what the track was called! Bear in mind I was 15/16 and not quite as on to it! It took a little while for Iowa to grow on me bit after repeated plays of Left Behind slowly opened up the rest of the album I was sold for life. Iowa is a much more tidy and polished album than the self titled yet it still maintains the element of chaos and raw energy that sets Slipknot apart. This is one of those classic albums where it's difficult to pick a favourite track; there are stomping tracks like Left Behind, People = Shit and My Plague or dark doomy pieces like Gently or Skin Ticket face rippers like Heretic Anthem or Disasterpiece and not to mention the final epic sprawl of the title track itself. The album is long, Iowa is 15min on it's own and there are 13 other tracks to boot. But it is all rolled together nicely and with the aforementioned mix of sounds it definitely does not get boring.

People = Shit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFJIBtqunHY
Gently: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HFJ1gqu5Q8
Left Behind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1jQKpse7Yw
Skin Ticket: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_4iXx330zY

The Beatles - Rubber Soul

This is often regarded as the first ‘serious’ Beatles album. It’s probably the first to have any real experimental edge to it and does demonstrate a certain maturity missing from the earlier albums. First serious one though? No. That accolade goes to Revolver. For the most part most of the material here is fairly standard folk rock fare, the likes of which was becoming popular in the states, driven by Dylan’s Bringing it All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited, along with The Byrds and similar bands whose discography was 90% electric Dylan covers anyway.

The album is pretty light and easy to listen to. Honestly, I prefer most of the content on Help. It’s on the really great songs that the album shines a lot brighter, In My Life is one of the best songs the band ever put to disc and other standouts are Nowhere Man, Norwegian Wood and kind of a funny choice but I really like If I Needed Someone. The filler tracks really feel like filler though and had the best material from Help been saved and replaced the filler here then this would have been a stronger album. Which brings me to my next point.

I’m sure I whinged in an early review that the American configurations of the Beatles albums effectively ruined them. Turns out there are exceptions. The only reason I listen to the UK version is because it’s what I’m used to. The American version is basically what I outlined above and is the stronger, better focussed album.

Ihsahn – After

Review# 173

Ihsahn is such an amazing talent and After is just such a perfect example of why he is one of the most respected and revered names in Black Metal and beyond. Changing to a more progressive sound but still well rooted in Black Metal and also bringing on Shining saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby really took the album off in an amazing direction. While still dark it almost feels fantastic and the sudden intro of a sax really helps built the fantasy element and sound. This is hands down one of the best albums of 2010.

Frozen Lakes on Mars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpluTn_bPXI
Undercurrent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFv4QxXC3_E

Mastodon – Leviathan

Review# 172

Leviathan is still today one of Mastodon's best albums. The album is a concept based on the story of Moby Dick. I think that this is well portrayed through the music and lyrics. Musically it is very interesting and flows through a range of musical styles. The art work is amazing and works perfectly with the album theme.

Blood And Thunder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIhKRKSpvbI
Iron Tusk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3HVLyI-t3E
Seabeast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiTzJQE67FA

Iced Earth – Horror Show

Review# 171

An album themed around horror movies? Yes please. Horror Show is a great album, fantastic musically with great vocals. The tone of the tracks fit nicely with each film and idea adding to the over all feel. Horror Show is quite a bit of fun and a great theme for a concept album.

Jeckyl and Hyde: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2lZfp0kaRg
Wolf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i758tgh7J48

Dimmu Borgir – Abrahadabra

Review# 170

Abrahadabra is a new peak for Dimmu Borgir. They have refined the orchestral sound of their music and it is now perfectly fused with Black Metal. The sound of the choir and orchestra backing up Shagrath's vocal lines as well as the rest of the band is awesome. This time around the band worked with the orchestra as they wrote the album instead of sending the complete album through for it to be scored. This gives it a much more organic and natural flow. Dimmu recently performed this album in a special live show in Norway with a full orchestra, I am hoping that gets made into a dvd as that would be amazing to watch.

Gateways: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jw7yk8hm_0
Chess With The Abyss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-pHh3_HnY4
Dimmu Borgir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0mTkZyNwuY

Bob Dylan - Another Side of Bob Dylan

I’m going to be honest, I didn’t like this album when I first heard it. At all. It sounded slapped together and Bob’s voice sounded off. Then it grew on me. The slapped together approach kind of adds to its charm. The whole album was recorded in a single session and has a live feel to it which, like the debut, makes it sound like an outtakes collection.

By this stage it’s obvious that Dylan had moved on from the protest songs, which after The Times... it would surprise me if there was any protest left in him. He comes close with Chimes of Freedom but there is a good humour in I Shall Be Free No. 10 and Motopsycho Nitemare and even I Don’t Believe you that set a completely different tone for this record.

Of all the 3 CD versions I own I’m still leaning towards the Mono. The original cd has channel dropouts and is pretty close to mono anyway. The remaster is fine but still has some awkward placement in the mix.