Sometimes I feel like punk rock in the 2000's is futile. Not to say that's bad, just extremely irrelevant. Green Day's modern success is attributed to their willingness to change musical directions. I'm interested in seeing what pop punk darlings Blink 182 deliver on their reunion album (hopefully nothing like their terrible self-titled last album). Their aren't many new punk bands hitting the scene today as the early 2000's emo boom for or less killed what little was left of punk rock in the mainstream.
Thankfully the punk bands of old haven't called it quits. Bad Religion's latest, The Dissent of Man, is a reminder that punk never dies. The bands 15th full-length is a testament to a band who's steadily continued to write great punk songs. The Dissent of Man is another good record from Bad Religion. Every song is good. If you're looking to get into Bad Religion there are better albums to start with but The Dissent of Man isn't a terrible one to pick up. If you're looking for a good punk record, get The Dissent of Man.
I don't cover a whole lot of hip-hop. I'd love to review more hip-hop records but there isn't a whole lot that impresses me. When something catches my ear I try to give it a shout out. Lecrae released Rehab this week and my twitter feed has been full of people saying it's a great record and it did well on iTunes (#3) so I picked it up.
I have mixed feelings on Rehab and part of that is my hip-hop likes. As far as MCs go, Lecrae is one of the best new voices in christian hip-hop. His rhymes are solid and his delivery is nice. Production wise is where the album and me have issues. Half the beats are nice and really enjoyable. A couple of great head bobbers. But then you get too many modern, cheap sounding beats. I can't say too much autotune because any autotune is too much and there is some on Rehab.
The album is just too modern for me and it's not catchy enough. While I really like Children of Light (ft Sonny Sandavol), Just Like You, and Gotta Know, the rest of the album falls short. It's not my style of hip-hop. I'm too old school and Rehab just isn't catchy enough for me.
I feel like there are two types of Jimmy Eat World fans. Fans who love Clarity and fans who love Bleed American. Both will agree that the band's best work is behind them. And while both Futures and Chase the Light weren't on par with either Clarity or Bleed American, Jimmy Eat World hasn't lost the ability to write a great song. Futures is full of fantastic song after fantastic song and minus 2 or 3 tracks that record is near perfect. Chase The Light was more under my radar but I loved both singles from that album.
For the bands 6th full-length, Invented, they worked with former Drive Like Jehu drummer Mark Trombino, who produced the band's first three records (Static Prevails, Clarity, and Bleed American). And while the album isn't the next Clarity, it is a solid record full of great songs.
Invented doesn't start off on the strongest foot. Heart Is Hard To Find, while a good song, isn't the best choice for an album opener. It's an acoustic track, that is a slightly new direction for JEW but reminds me of some of the weaker moments from Futures and not the ballads on Bleed American. Things do pick up as the albums lead single, My Best Theory, kicks in. Fans of Futures will enjoy this track. It's more danceable than any song JEW has ever put out. Higher Devotion also has this weird 80's dance vibe, that works really well.
Invented takes the elements that worked best on Futures (Evidence, Coffee and Cigarettes, Action Needs An Audience) and combines that with the best moments from Bleed American (Movielike, Stop, Littlething). Two tracks, Cut and Mixtape, feel like throwbacks to Clarity. and while it's subtle, it's there.
Invented doesn't reinvent the wheel but it's full of great songs and it's easily Jimmy Eat World's best album since Bleed American. This is one to pick up.
Brand new this week is the Tuesday Top 10. My 10 favorite (or least favorite) whatever I decided to write about. And of course the best place to start is with my favorite metal records.
10. Seventh Angel – The Torment The Torment is Seventh Angel’s debut record. The British were doing thrash metal just fine. For their debut Arkley wasn’t pulling any punches lyrically. The lyrics are dark and violent, and although Arkley has admitted he regrets the lyrical themes of The Torment (as Lament for the Weary would be more subtle), the aggressive and violent nature or The Torment, create a great metal record. Although vocally it’s a little redundant, it is a thrash album and the music more then makes up for it.
9. Trouble – Psalm 9 Trouble has been credited as christian metal’s first doom metal band. Although Psalm 9 has a lot of biblical and spiritual themes, my first hint that maybe Trouble isn’t a christian band comes from when I hear the f-word dropped. While it might not have been a triumph for Christian metal, Psalm nine is a landmark album in the doom metal genre. Drawing from the likes of Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, Psalm 9 is a metal playground. It’s almost operatic at times. A fantastic record with some great spiritual themes.
8. Vengeance Rising – Human Sacrifice Vengeance Rising has become known more for Roger Martinez’s leaving his faith then for creating killer metal records. Their debut record, Human Sacrifice, is an amazing metal record. This wasn’t your mainstream christian music in 1988. At the time it was the heaviest, most intense Christian metal record to date. It gave credibility to a genre that was lacking. It led the way for many bands to come and still holds and just an amazing metal record.
7. Mortification – Hammer of God It might come as a shock that Hammer of God is the Mortification record on this list but I’m not a huge death metal fan and their thrash/power metal records always appealed to me more. Hammer of God works for me. Metal Crusade is a fantastic opener and has a great hook and a solid bite to it. The guitar solo is tasteful and the harmonic opener is great. While there isn’t a lot of diversity between songs, it’s a metal record. It’s got some really good fast songs, the guitar solos are nice. God Rulz has some classic death metal vocals in there. I know it’s not fans favorite Mortification album but it’s mine.
6. Extol – Undeceived I’m not a huge death/black metal fan. But Extol has always been the one exception. The first time I heard Inferno, the lead track on Undeceived, I fell in love. The strings mixing with the guitar riffs were so different to my ears at the time that it hit me. The strings on Undeceived before the vocals kick in, always wrench at my heart. It’s really the only black metal influenced album to really capture my enjoyment.
5. Black Sabbath – Paranoid Of course Sabbath was going to be on this list. Yes Paranoid seems like an obvious choice but it’s their best. From Tony Iommi’s great guitar work to Ozzy’s vocals, Paranoid is groundbreaking, genre starting record. This is where metal started. War Pigs, Paranoid, Iron Man, Hand of Doom, Fairies Wear Boots: all incredible songs. A great album from the Godfathers of metal.
4. Tourniquet – Psycho Surgery While Stop the Bleeding was a very nice technical metal record, vocally it was a huge miss. Psycho Surgery left the high-pitched vocals behind and most of the speed metal elements. Ted Kirkpatrick’s drum work, as always, is outstanding. Tourniquet has always been one of metals most talented and technical bands. The approach of writing metal like your composing a symphony has turned out some of the most consistent metal records.
3. Metallica – Ride the Lightning With their second record Metallica stepped up their game. While keeping some of the thrash elements from Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning provides far more memorable riffs. The title track’s opening riff is one I find myself humming all the time. For Whom the Bells Tolls rivals Master of Puppets as Metallica’s best song. The opening riff to Creeping Death is so good that the OC Supertones would use it. And Call of Ktulu is one of metals best instrumentals (the version on S&M is out of this world). While I love Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning takes the cake as my favorite Metallica album.
2. The Crucified – Pillars of Humanity Pillars of Humanity is a band defining record. The Crucified were already a good hardcore/punk band. But their transformation into a thrash metal band was great. Pillars of Humanity cemented The Crucified into Christian metal history. The record isn’t the most technical metal record you’ll hear but Jeff Bellow brought some great bass riffs and Greg Minier’s solos are thrash perfection. It’s not just a great Christian record but it’s one of the best thrash records period.
1. Living Sacrifice – The Hammering Process The Hammering Process is Living Sacrifice’s crowning jewel. Reborn set a new chapter in Living Sacrifice’s book and The Hammering Process took them to another level. The first time I heard Bloodwork I was in love. I didn’t care for Reborn at the time and hadn’t heard early LS yet. The Hammering Process is a falling in love moment. Rocky’s solos were great. The added percussion to compliment Lance’s drum work fit so nicely. It’s been 10 years since the album was released and it’s still as great a listen now as it was then.
I'm back in action this week. I haven't seen a whole lot in the next couple of weeks (or from last week) as far as new music is concerned. Hopefully I'll find some albums that spark my interest and review them. I'm working on a new Meltdown for you guys and working on a couple other things for this blog to spice things up a little.
Before Hopesfall signed to Trustkill and before A Types and Magnetic North, Hopesfall was really, REALLY good. The first time I heard Frailty of Words I wasn't super impressed until The Broken Heart of Traitor came on. The song kindled an instant love for Hopesfall. And then they released No Wings to Speak Of. 4 songs of perfection.
While Trustkill later rereleased the album when they signed Hopesfall, No Wings was originally released on Takehold Records (The greatest christian indie label ever! Seriously, these guys signed Underoath, TwoThiryEight, Few Left Standing). No Wings To Speak Of is the first time I heard the term screamo used (although in a different context then it's used today). It's a furiously passionate hardcore record that really holds the true essence of what emo used to be.
The opening track, Open Hands to The Winds, kicks off with a vengeance. A stealler guitar riffs, right into Doug's piercing scream. A minute in, the guitar line cuts in with a sweet melody the cuts the furry so nicely, the song takes on a new direction and the passion comes oozing through your stereo. When the emo breakdown comes into the song it takes you off guard at first but the guitar work is so nice that you find yourself just enjoying the riff. Your enjoyment is rudely taken away when the bands rips right back into the song.
April Left With Silence is really where the records takes flight. A clean vocals and almost subdued intro are a different take for Hopesfall, but then the music kicks it up and Doug comes in screaming "Silence was the last word we spoke. It filled the air heavy with forevers, and the failing smells of yesterday." As the song moves forward you forget about the intro being so emo because the raw passion coming through your speakers, the mix of really great metal riffs intertwined with the sweet picking and simple melodies really paint the song nicely as it ends with Doug screaming silence.
The End of an Era is one of the greatest guitar songs ever. Ryan Parrish and Joshua Brigham's guitar play was so perfect and fitting at every moment that even to this day I'm captivated by their work. As the furry gives way to the breakdown, you're lost in the song. A guitar work has you entranced in it's beauty that when the vocals come back in, the emotion be screamed is so much more significant and powerful then just a straight forward hardcore song.
The Far Pavilions closes the ep out and it's intro is a fake setup to a song that doesn't kick in, as Doug's vocals kick you in the gut when he screams "How could i endure one more sunrise in this cold and unfamiliar place?" Again the guitar work is so beautiful and transforming and gives so many layers and dimensions to the songs. You never know where it's going next. The songs ending leaves you feeling almost helpless as the lyrics go "So here i stand on this hill alone, never turning back, in hopes that the past will fade."
While Hopesfall did give us one more emocore styled record, The Satellite Years didn't have anywhere near the passion that No Wings To Speak Of had. I think part of the reason Jay and the band moved away from that style of music is because the new members were never going to touch No Wings To Speak Of. Doug was no longer on vocals, Jay kicked Ryan out of the band after The Satellite Years sessions and Hopesfall was never the same.
Hopesfall doesn't get the credit or recognition they deserve and it's sad. No Wings to Speak is a gem.
Interpol has evolved a lot since the release of Turn On The Bright Lights. Most people would agree it's a bad evolution. Their latest self-titled offering puts them back at Matador but not back into old form. There's nothing interesting on this album. It's pretty generic and boring indie rock. And I can't say a lot else about this. While there a handful of catchy tunes (Summer Well and Barricade) the album doesn't really offer anything worth while for the listener. I wasn't impressed.
New Surrender was really a disappointing album for Anberlin. The band has admitted it wasn't there strongest output and fans weren't super thrilled with the album. Anberlin's second major label release, Dark Was The Way, Light Is a Place, is a much stronger record then New Surrender.
Dark Was The Way starts off really strong. The opener We Owe This To Ourselves is a strong rock song with a great singable, catchy hook. Impossible, the album's lead single, is so infectious and memorable that you really can't help but fall in love with the song. From that moment on the album is a little hit or miss. Take Me (As You Found Me) is very similar to The Unwinding Cable Car (from Cities). The Middle section of the album is not very memorable. Closer, You Belong Here, and Pray Tell are all nice songs but nothing about them is amazing. Art of War has a nice hook and To the Wolves has a great sing-a-long chorus. Down is an acoustic song. It's fine. The closer, Depraved has great energy and is just a nice anthemic way to end the album.
The album is polished and the songs are well written. You can tell production and the recording budget was more for this album but I don't know if that's working in Anberlin's favor. Their first three records have a nice raw intensity to them that's missing from this record. While it's a solid record, I foound myself tuning out at moments. You can put the record on and kind of forget about it after the first two tracks. It's good, but only a 4 out 5.
I picked up The Devil Wears Prada latest ep after I saw that it was number 10 on the billboard charts. That's pretty impressive for a metal band of any subgenre that's not named Metallica. The mall kids love this record and so it deserves a listen.
I will say that Zombie is by and far so much better then anything TDWP has released to date. Mike Hranica's screams and growls are top notch and actually really good on this ep. Musically, I'm impressed too. Although it's pretty typical metalcore, there are a handful of really interesting guitar riffs that are pretty catchy. Plus it's an ep about Zombies... That's cool.
But what kills this ep for me is your standard new wave metalcore nonsense. I was really digging the opening track Escape until 2 and half minutes in I heard the keyboards. The keyboards aren't used in any way, shape, or form that's good. It's just bad filler int he background. And then just before the 3 minute mark of the song the clean vocals come in. Clean vocals can be alright... but these clean vocals have a vocoder. Autotune and vocoders on clean vocals in metal make me ill. The computer glithces in the songs I can get over because that's TDWP's thing. But the vocoded vocals and the poorly placed keyboards in the mix are a deal breaker.
It's a decent ep and it's a good next step for The Devil Wears Prada... but it's not my thing.
