Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II (Lugwig)

Review# 348

While I appreciate Led Zeppelin, all of their influence and what they have done for music, they just do not resonate with me. This is one of Josh's recommendations for me and it isn't helping at all. Whole Lotta Love is the most interesting song on the album but I just find can't keep my interest up at all. This is just a personal thing though, I can hear that musically it is a well made album. Just not my cuppa.

Whole Lotta Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQmmM_qwG4k&ob=av2e

Meshuggah – Rare Trax

Review# 347

Lots of random, different sounding Meshuggah tracks. There are lots of different styles played with here, not 100% mad keen on it but it's not bad either.

Cadaverous Mastication: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6avlvchx060

Trivium – In Waves

Review# 346

In Waves is really a true return to form for Trivium. The title track itself is one of the biggest & catchiest tracks of the year. If you are thinking of buying the album and think to splash out on the special edition I can tell you now not to bother. The making of documentary, which I usually enjoy, is probably the worst I have ever seen from a band and is really just some pretentious footage and filming techniques and talking themselves up. I don't remember there being much about things like how they got the ideas for songs etc. But the album is really good and it's good to see that Trivium are back on form.

In Waves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xfvk028Kv0&ob=av2e
Black: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-heu7KxL5PQ

Sunn O))) – Black One

Review# 345

It's a bright beautiful sunny day, so I listen to doom lords Sunn O))) and an album called Black One. Good. The album is an amazing work of sludgy doom. Just maybe not on a bright sunny day!

Sin Nanna: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smwlb-N2BuE

Boris - Akuma No Uta

Review# 344

Another awesome work of static fuzzery from Boris. The album is fantastic and the sound coming through my headphones are marvellous.

Ano Onna No Onryou: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brDjOuqWel4

Venom – Black Metal

Review# 343

"Lay down your soul to the gods rock and roll!" - that is pretty much the essence of Venom's Black Metal. While it leans toward the cheesy/tongue and cheek side of things both the album and Venom are huge influences on thrash, metal and black metal (this is long held to be where the scene got the name). This is a highly enjoyable album, it's good fun and it doesn't just cover satanic and of out themes... There is also a song about having sex with his teacher.

Black Metal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHmzFVDjVnM
Teachers Pet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g27XSsxNRw

Dethklok – Dethalbum II

Review# 342

While not quite as good at Dethalbum 1 it is still a great listen. 2 is filled with a lot more groove and an easier pace but is still just as brutal and it is certainly not dildos.

Bloodlines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXWaVz4yogI
Dethsupport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOKbMW2uqs8

Tool – Lateralus

Review# 341

It's a Tool album, I have listened to it and it is good and Tooly.

Schism: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhjG47gtMCo

Opeth - Heritage

Review# 340

Even after a number of listens I still don't know what to make of this album. Heritage is very much an Opeth album in musical form, progressive theme musical technique and, with the exception of no growly vocals, vocal technique. But still I find that I don't follow the album all that much, I tend to find I get lost in my own thoughts as opposed to the music. I think that is really just something that comes down to the individual though. It is a great album but it just isn't sinking in all that rapidly for me. I daresay that I will come back to it in a few months or so and by then it would have sunk in enough to get the most out of it.

The Devils Orchard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1pi7Dn87mY&ob=av2e

Megadeth – Youthanasia

Review# 339

I know that Youthanasia isn't really a popular album. And from what I know of the Megadeth back catalogue I agree that it's not up there as such, but it's not really a bad album. I kinda like some of the riffs in the opening track, Reckoning Day, that are kind of industrial tinged and the rest is fine for a bit of background music.

Reckoning Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzVLBrxKesU

Dragonlord – Rapture

Review#338

Rapture was a good listen, it didn't really jump out at me but it wasn't unenjoyable.

Unholy Void: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNssp1UVIII

Gojira - Terra Incognita

Review# 337

A great debut from Gojira, the music is solid and shows a preview to all that is to come. It's not really an "immediate" album, but then I find that is always the case with Gojira - you don't get everything out of one listen, you need to give them a few spins to pick up on all of the subtleties within the album.

Lizard Skin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su0WdAcmnLM

Devildriver – The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand

Review# 336

The second Devildriver album is a good improvement on the debut self titled release. There are better hooks and songs overall and makes for a much more interesting listen.

Hold Back The Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp8sTQ9yIT8&ob=av2e

Days: Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists

Review# 335

Ten Thousand Fists, I have listened to it. It has monkey noises. That is all.

Bleed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elNeQjTTnVo&ob=av2n

Black Sabbath – Dehumanizer

Review# 334

Future Doom Metal, that's what Dehumanizer sounds like to me. The lyrical content deals a lot with ideas like computers worshipped as gods, tv etc, even the more social situation songs have a feel of doom to technology. And the music is Doomy and Metal. I quite like this album, Dio's pipes are great and the music is well done.

Computer God: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5c81wsjmFs

Iced Earth – The Dark Saga

Review# 333

Dark Saga is a decent album, I'm not mad keen on the vocals but the music is good especially as background music.

Dark Saga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if1ZIthQ9OM

Roadrunner United – The All Star Sessions

Review# 332

The Roadrunner United All Star Sessions is a collaborative effort from past and present artists on Roadrunner Records for their 25th anniversary. Looking through the line up it is pretty damn stella; there are members of Slipknot, Cradle Of Filth, Fear Factory, Sepultura, King Diamond, Misfits, Teatament etc etc.
The label picked Trivium's Matt Heafy, Slipknot's Joey Jordison, Fear Factory's Dino Cazares and Machine Head's Rob Flynn to be team leaders of a sort as well as producers. They helped contact and pick those they wanted for each track as well as assisting with song writing.
I absolutely thrashed this when it first came out, it had a huge appeal to the younger kids I noticed. While I don't really think the album is particularly pioneering sound wise it really does a great job showcasing the label as well as the great range of sub genre's under the Metal umbrella. For anyone wanting to get a taste on this album you can hear some Death, Black and Classic Metal as well as shock rock in the awesome King Diamond lead track In The Fire, there are also bits of punk and most other genre's tucked in too.
It is an interesting and rather impressive collaboration and definitely a better way to celebrate Roadrunners anniversary than a best of compilation.

In The Fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdNi0K2FLek
I Don't Want To Be A Super Hero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5plfOdDE2U
Annihilation By The Hands Of God: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT5Ktwccnt8

Kiling Joke - what's THIS for...!

Review# 231

What's THIS For...! Is a great album, it has a great sound and is energetic yet not in your face so you can just be a bit laid back while listening to it.

Follow The Leaders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPWQfAv_qBQ

Slipknot – All Hope Is Gone

Review 330

All Hope Is Gone is an awesome album. It is packed with some great tracks filled with great hooks. It has songs like Sulfur and Psycosocial which are the big anthemic tracks that Slipknot specialise in. Then there is Snuff which is the Slipknot equivalent of a ballad. Essentially it is another awesome album in their discography.

Sulfur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAAvNmoqDq0&ob=av2n
Psycosocial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wws7mnMewPw&ob=av2n

Dir En Grey – The Marrow Of A Bone

Review# 329

The Marrow Of A Bone is a dark twisted and tortured sounding album. It is bizarre and is an interesting listen to be sure. I quite enjoy it, it's a weird mix of rock, punk and metal all with an experimental twist. I know for a fact that Dir En Grey are a band that more people dislike than like but if you like weird music and are all for giving things a go then check them out.

Ryojoku no Ame: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvOBmSTodOM
Agitated Screams Of Maggots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-wVe6HzNG4

Bloodbath - Resurrection Through Carnage

Review# 328

The debut album from Bloodbath is appropriately grimy and sludgy with a fantastic vocal performance by Mikael Akerfeldt. Overall it is just a great album with a great sound from a group of amazing musicians.

Soulcollector: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy555ZSRz_E
Mass Strangulation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy_0ETfAyMo

Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Review# 327

It's an album that starts with promise, The Pretender is a belter of a tune. It's just a shame that after that the album descends into average mediocrity and just left me with a sense that it just could be so much better.

The Pretender: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjQ9tuuTJQ&ob=av2e

Rob Zombie – The Sinister Urge

Review# 326

Good ol Rob Zombie. The Sinister Urge is a great album, it's heaps of fun and full of catchy hooks (I will probably have Feels So Numb stuck in my head the rest of the day now). If you want some good party tracks look no further than Rob Zombie.

Feels So Numb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK16w_Esrno&ob=av2e
Scum Of The Earth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5JDeuDinxI

Old Man's Child - Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion

Review# 325

This is a listenable album, nothing really jumps out at me as such but it is not unpleasant to have on in the background. Maybe if I gave it a few more spins it would grow on me some more. So kinda like the last Old Man's Child Album I reviewed.

The Dream Ghost: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A06IMxv481A

The Nefilim – Zoon

Review# 324

After Carl McCoy let Fields Of The Nephilim, taking the name with him, he went about doing his own thing and eventually released Zoon under The Nefilim. Due to Carl's vocal style, themes and musical leanings it essentially sounds like a darker heavier progression on previous FOTN offerings. Zoon is just as amazing an album as anything from Fields and still fits in to the FOTN discography.

Penetration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3hIr2K9PHQ
Venus Decomposing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5xkzzQTWCE
Zoon (parts 1 & 2) Saturation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgd2sgN_RbU&feature=related

Clutch - Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes & Undeniable Truths

Review# 323

This is a decent debut album, it's a good platform that’s show cased the band and what they could do. It's not really as power packed as a lot of the the following albums but it does a good job of setting up expectations.

A Shogun Named Marcus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tIzP3Te05E

Einherjer - Odin Owns Ye All

Review# 322

If you like viking-esk music then this could be the album for you. Personally I just found it a bit boring. Some of it's not bad and it will probably be one of those albums that comes out after one too many beers when everyone is pretending to be Vikings. In fact it is the perfect album for that. So if you like Viking music and getting drunk then this album is for you!

Out Of Ginnungagap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDOMQtDQvYw

Dimmu Borgir – In Sorte Diaboli

Review# 321

In Sorte Diaboli, all of the song tracks start with "The". The Fallen Scorn, The Serpentine Offering, The Heretic Hammer etc. The album is a concept album set in medieval times and it follows a priest who starts to realise he doesn't believe in Christianity and you follow as he goes over to the dark side and replaces the Antichrist. It is a very good album, obviously very dark and sinister but there is nothing wrong with that.

The Serpentine Offering: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58GtYMsF3tU&ob=av2n
The Heretic Hammer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX_0lHjyo0I

Meshuggah – Nothing

Review# 320

There are two versions of Nothing; the original was recorded in 2002 but was mixed in two days and mastered in one due to a last minute decision to join the Ozzfest lineup. In 2006 it was re-mastered and the guitars were re-done and re-released. I like both versions myself, the original is a bit grimier due to it's rapid mixing where the 2006 release does feel a lot tidier and clearer. Either way it is another great Meshuggah album so check it out.

Straws Pulled At Random: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmVzqjycA-o
Perpetual Black Second: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7quzcdVTpEM

Led Zeppelin – How The West Was Won

This is actually pretty good. Robert Plant seems like kind of an awkward live performer but the band is in their element on this record, lots of quality improvisation and interplay between the members that you just can’t get on the solo albums. For a long time I heard people say ‘Zepp are more of a live band.’ I didn’t get it. I thought The Song Remains the Same was kind of average. I finally understand now though and to be honest I kind of want to give Song another go to see how it compares.

Rammstein - Herzeleid

The one Rammstein album title I can spell without looking. I don’t speak German, and going to the translation of some of the Rammstein singles I’ve seen this is probably in the album’s favour. It’s alright, normally I don’t like music that I can’t intellectualise because I’m a prick, but this is actually kind of fun. The production isn’t too shabby either. I think I like it because it sounds kind of like the music from Doom. Probably the only thing I don’t like about it is it doesn’t feel like any of the musicians have much a voice, it sounds more mechanical than it does organic but for all I know that was exactly what they were going for.

Pink Floyd – Obscured By Clouds

This one is a difficult one to place. It came out in between Meddle and Dark Side, two of the most revered Pink Floyd albums ever. It’s a soundtrack to some hippy movie, kind of like More or Zabriskie Point. Some people say it’s a hidden gem, others say there’s a reason it’s basically ignored. While it is a great folk/rock album and has some great tracks on it the lack of a grandiose feel works against it somewhat. It is a fine collection of songs, but coming from a band who significantly changed the way the album as a work of art was viewed for a large portion of the mainstream audience it’s almost like it’s not enough.

Free Four is most certainly good enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0gEa20Wsqg

Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother

This is kind of the first ‘real’ Pink Floyd albums. It tidies up some of the loose ends in the band’s sound and moves towards the cohesion of their later period. The album is kind of split into two halves, the first half is the Atom Heart Mother suite which is a rock/orchestral instrumental piece which stands as one of my favourite things the band has done. Apparently on a couple of live dates this one was expanded into a full hour performance. What’s interesting is it still sounds like a distinctive Pink Floyd record, even with the orchestra, as each musicians ‘voice’ is still an integral part of the piece.

The second side is reminiscent of the second LP of Ummagumma in that it’s built around solo compositions. If is the Waters tune, Fat Old Sun is Gilmour and Summer ’68 is Wright’s piece. The songwriting here is intentionally more polished than it was on Ummagumma (with the exception of Grantchester Meadows being better than If). Fat Old Sun became a concert staple and Summer ’68 is criminally overlooked. The piece which on paper should be my favourite thing is Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast. I just can’t get into it. And I’ve tried for years.

Overall this is a great album, even if contrary to most other Floyd records the whole is most definitely not greater than the sum of it’s parts.

The Beatles - A Hard Days Night

A Hard Day’s Night was the soundtrack to the movie of the same name and the movie’s good and awkward J. The album was the first one they made which was all Lennon/McCartney originals, remember this is at a time where pop musicians would rarely compose. Of course I prefer the later stuff like The White Album, but this is a great pop record, probably one of the best ever made, and certainly the most consistent of the early Beatles albums.

Metallica - Load

So in the past review I mentioned that Load was the first album I ever bought with my own money. I donated it to charity, along with most of my metal collection when I went through my prog phase at about 18 and I hadn’t really listened to it for years by that point anyway. When I first got it however it must have been about all I listened to for about a year. Isn’t it funny, when you’re a kid you value your music so much more when you don’t have as much of it.

By the time I got this one I’d heard the Black Album so many times I could sing it backwards. Even when I got it I could kind of tell that this wasn’t quite as good as black but it was something new and it was Metallica and I didn’t really care about anything else. And even though it wasn’t as good as Black there was some great material on there. One thing worth mentioning is this album is long. In fact everything Metallica have done since Black has been long. This CD allegedly had stickers on it advertising that it contained 78:59 worth of music, the most they could put on a CD at that time without it causing any problems. The follow up to Black was supposed to be a double album but there were a lot of unfinished tracks and underdeveloped ideas. So they recorded them and did it again the following year.

The album has a slightly poppier/radio hard rock feel to it, resulting in the band being referred to as Alternitallica. There were serious allegations of the band selling out at this point. I can kind of sympathise with that view but I’m not as critical of it now as I was as a 15 year old male who only listened to metal. The album works for me now because I’m used to it rather than because it’s an incredible album. Virtually all the songs go on for way too long and half of them should have been dumped anyway. In fact the really surprising thing is exactly how long some of these tracks are. I remember The Outlaw Torn was a mammoth but Bleeding Me is over 8 minutes long as well, no wonder I usually lost interest at about this point when listening to the album. This track actually stands out musically but it’s tough to ignore the fact that the lyrics sound like they were made up on the spot.

Overall the tracks I like the most are the tracks that were probably written with radio in mind. My teenage self is shaking his head in disgust but those are the tracks that don’t stretch too long, they’re catchy and easy to listen to. They also have the best energy to them, all of this is a pretty tough combination to beat.

Ornette Coleman Double Quartet - Free Jazz; A Collective Improvisation

Review# 319

Jazz, weird jazz. And it's free, as free as jazz can get. It's not a bad bit of jazz... it's jazz weird.

Yoko Ono – Plastic Ono Band

Review# 318

(Yoko) Oh-no. As usual Joshs's picks for me make for interesting listening. I was a little prepared for this from routine fun making of Yoko saying “why” at work, but this is my first listen to her in all her... glory?

The first 14:92 min is in deed Yoko warbling “Why” over and over... written phonetically it would be “Whhhyyyyyiiiiiiiwwwhhyyiiyi whhiii whyyiiiyyiiy whyyyyywhhhhyyiwwwhyyy”. Its bollocks. And also imaginatively titled Why and Why Not.

AOS sounds far to close to a Yoko climax... although when she starts screeching “Ack” over and over again... well it's more than a little disturbing and more information than I care to know.

Overall, the music is boring and the vocals are irritating and sometimes sound like a boiling kettle. The best thing about the album is the reinforced desire to make fun of Yoko's vocal style. But the album itself is fucken terrible.

Bleed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elNeQjTTnVo&ob=av2n

Michael Jackson – Thriller

Review# 317

Of the four Michael Jackson albums I have now waffled on about Thriller is the only one that still seems to stack up sound wise. Musically its still not very exciting but vocally its good. But then anything can stand up to the turgid tripe of History. Growing up I preferred both Bad and Dangerous to Thriller, they had more of a rock flavour where Thriller leans a bit toward funk etc. So not surprisingly my favourite tracks have always been Beat It and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'. It is a good album as far as pop goes, though if I think about it too much then I can't take seriously a virgin singing about being a lover etc, its just weird.

Beat It: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym0hZG-zNOk&ob=av2n
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPTsmswQVwg