Dead Nation ~ The Best Of Dead Nation (hits comp) (album review) ... Enter the rock madhouse!

Style: industrial, heavy metal
Label: Fuck You Tour Records
Year: 2011
Home: Illinois

Members: John Balz ~ guitars/vocals/bass/keyboard programming/bullhorn

 

Culling together eleven tracks from DN's five albums this is a good starting point for a band that describes itself as a "rock madhouse of all original super-tunes led by the Madman John Balz." The madhouse fuck you attitude the pervades their promotional material might lead one to believe DN is a straight in your face thrashy heavy metal band ... the truth is far different & the music far more unpredictable & interesting. Think the soundtrack of The Matrix or the industrial edge of Rob Zombie & you'll have made a few good steps towards uncovering the general sound of DN. Synthesized talky/rap vocals cry out against an electronica industrial foundation with the hypnotically churning guitars varying from being upfront to tucked deep, surprisingly, in the mix. This is not a guitar driven industrial album. It is homespun instead of highly glossed pounding industrial metal, sounding shockingly original next to the typical bedroom thrash bands that one might take DN to be. "Balz Is Dead" is a particularly interesting track as it's an electrified zombie, as in walking dead not Rob, hoedown. Though pulled from numerous albums all the songs are generally in the same mold, sounding very cohesive together, with variations on how the guitar & electronica foundation mix & argue over who is going to get top-billing. The catch-22 is that it's always Balz's crooning. "Tripton" is the only track severely sounding out of place, thankfully also the closing track, as its super ethereal compared to its neighbors. One of the more interesting homespun industrial outings.

Rock Of Ages Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (album review) ... Rock stars need not apply!

Style: soundtrack, hard rock
Label: WaterTower Music
Year: 2012
Home: Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago

Members: Mary J. Blige, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman, Constantine Maroulis, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta ~ vocals
Adam Anders ~ bass/guitars/b. vocals
Peer Anstrom ~ bass/drums/keyboards
Josh Freese ~ drums
Kevin Randolph ~ keyboards
Michael Landau, Tim Pierce ~ guitar

Additional: Brandon Fields ~ saxophone Deyder Cintron, Kala Balch, Nikki Anders, Shelley Rosenberg, Colin Benward, Ravaughn Brown, Jimmy Burney, Alex Brown, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, Drew Ryan Scott, Missi Hale, Maxine Williard Waters, Oren Waters, Jeanette Olsson, Storm Lee, Chole Leighton, David Loucks, Angela Michael, Dorian Holley, Sean Holt, Jenny Karr, Amy Keys, Carmen Carter, Terrell Carter, JC Chasez, Alvin Chea, Kamari Copeland, Julia Tillman, Danny Wagner, Tim Davis, Luke Edgemon, Terry Wood, Gigi Worth, Kandace Ferrel, Onitsha Shaw, Ken Stacey, Matt Sullivan, Windy Wagner ~ b. vocals

The notes are all there in this soundtrack to the successful Broadway show turned all-star movie, albeit in sometimes abridged form during the instrumental sections to cut to the vocal chase. A vocal coach has turned a bunch of non-singers into note perfect crooners. Sadly they didn't bother to hire any coach to turn them into rockers or anything more than actors singing. Rock music is about soul, its about expression, its about angst, it's about vocal imperfections, its about a raspy voice, it's about a growl ... quite often it's about not being able to actually sing. This is a heavily polished soulless album where the vocal imperfections have been minimalized & the rasp completely removed. It's like a live album with no sounds of the audience where the band performs studio perfect versions. It's a tough listen. Yes, the movie paints the picture that 80's music verges on shallowness. But, they've demonstrated it musically a bit too perfect. Shallow songs have now gotten even worse. It may work on the screen, or stage, but not sans the visual context. What's worse is the instrumental element of 80's - & Slash is just as important as Axl & some have said maybe more so - has been pulled from the focus dampening even more of the spirit. It's like the Stones with Keith or Led Zeppelin without Jimmy or Deep Purple without Richie. In favor, I will say that I am impressed by actors who I never took for singers to hit notes far better than I ever expected. Tom Cruise, Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin & company are not embarrassing themselves in terms of ability. Though, Juilanne Hough turns in a few too many Barbie doll versions of Cyndi Lauper for my ears. But, to repeat, just hitting notes is half of the battle. Anyone can just about learn how to sing in key & push their range but it takes more than that to be a rock'n'roll singer ... if not a real singer in any genre. I would recommend Moulin Rouge as a far better soundtrack covers movie ... & that didn't always have the best singing. This verges on slap together mockery, particularly with some of the mash-ups. Moulin Rouge actually brought out new meaning with the old songs ... take for example "Roxette" or "Like A Virgin" which leave the Police & Madonna far behind. Part of me, enjoying the idea of a 80's rock movie long after the fact, doesn't want the soundtrack to reflect the film as on screen things might be better. I haven't seen the film, nor have I seen the Broadway show ... though I did know the original hairdresser for the run. I want to. I will. I'll just forget about what I've already heard. Actually, there's lots of soundtracks that don't work without the visuals. Though the song is always great, out of context most people have no clue what Sondheim's "Send In The Clowns" is remotely about. I do have to say I enjoyed Alec Baldwin few moments singing & its a shame they're but only a few. He doesn't have the most picture perfect voice but yet it shines because of that fact. He's also funny ... this album could use some humor. Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is" is one of the few songs that comes off as fresh. Now with a female voice, Malin Akerman, the change in gender brings new depth to the original, it might even be better. "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" with Catherine Zeta-Jones is one of the few authentic sounding rock songs & also is just as good as the original. Mary J. Blige shows up on a few songs & you can hear the difference between the singer & the actors. Her songs are the best by far. Blige's rendition of Journey's "Anyway You Want It" is the most vibrant song in the collection & sounds like Rent, which tried for a hard rock feel without imitating & succeeded because of it. "Undercover Love" is an 80's Sheila E type techno beat hip-hop/pop that comes out of nowhere. Nice to see they are talking about other parts of the 80's but this is just a bump on the road. What I'd like to see next is a compilation of all the songs in their original form, as this is obviously for people who don't like 80's music but to be trendy want to say they do. For those that feel I'm being harsh, just because these don't compare to the original versions that we all love, citing another movie is proof that this is not the case at all. I love interpretation as much as anyone. Further, to show I'm not alone I'd like to do something I rarely do & cite the music critic resource of the masses, allmusic.com, so one can compare two different critics: "That's kind of what squeaky clean Julianne Hough does here - she pretends she’s a rocker but never can disguise that she'd recoil in horror if a Tommy Lee crossed her path, let alone a Mick Mars. But that's who Rock Of Ages is for: the legions who want to pretend to rock, who laugh at the excesses of the past because they're loathe to engage with the present. On film or on-stage it might be easy to get wrapped up in the spectacle, but on record, the candied affectations are too much to bear. Apart from Alec Baldwin, that is. He's funny."

Xander Demos ~ Guitarcadia (album review) ... Woodshed Sonata!

Style: instrumental, heavy metal
Label: self-released
Year: 2012
Home: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Members: Xander Demos ~ guitars/vocals
Matt Williams ~ bass
Adam Heusey ~ keyboards
Chris Batton ~ drums

Additional: Dean Minerva ~ drums
Kevin Rasel, Mike Sciullo ~ vocals
Ben Bond ~ bass

 

  Breaking out on his own with his first full-release guitarist XD, pronounced /dee mos/ like something in a horror movie not /demos/ like a band's poorly recorded cassette, has fashioned ten very solid tracks of instrumental 80's influenced guitar rock. The result feels like Joe Satriani & Eric Johnson but without some of the personality crisis quirkiness their music has, plus a bit of Dream Theater in the ambiance without the heavy droning classical inflection & never ending songs &/or solos. Having already been caught as a supporting act for UFO, Lizzy Borden, Kip Winger, Neil Zaza & Dio Disciples, in 2009 XD released his solo debut, Road To Guitarcadia, from which part of that EP has been moved over here & given some new relatives. Part of the proceeds from that album, it deserves note, went to animal charities. Guitarcadia has driving guitar lines but without the reliance on highly repetitive riffing. It's straight out of the 80's school where there's a strong melody that actually can be followed ... versus some instrumental guitar albums that sound like one long solo going nowhere & getting nowhere. Keyboards tucked in the mix, occasionally coming up for a bit more air, also help tremendously to add texture to the songs, as this type of guitar album often suffers from a one-dimensional feeling. The linear approach of the guitar can often come out sounding very flat & the keyboards give Guitarcadia a pop ... so much so I'd recommend this album to other guitarists looking to create their own Guitarcadia. It's also helped that XD has not relied on electric drums or done all the guitar, vocal & bass parts himself, but brought in some friends. This not just opens the door to performing gigs, where a completely solo album doesn't as one needs either a band or to be transformed into a mystical musical octopus, but one person regardless of instrument has a particular feeling, many folks have many different feelings. Though it may not be so audibly apparent one can intuit the rich combining of the many into one. Also, guitarists seem to be under the assumption that they can move to any instrument & still be great. An amazing error. Bass & keyboard playing might be the same finger movements but its a different mindset, let alone a bassist just hears things different. Thank you XD for realizing what you do great & what others may do better. Plus, to quote Geezer Butler, once Ronnie James Dio showed up & took over lyric writing he was now free to fully focus on his main instrument. Guitarcadia's faces include members of XD's old bands Into the Arena & Stronghold, plus guys from the Chris Higbee's band & Downside, while the album was mixed & mastered by Firehouse frontman CJ Snare. Two of the standout tracks are the two vocal songs: "Under A Darkened Sky" & a cover of Don Henley's "Boys Of Summer". Both have a bit of a 80's hard rock feel with soaring vocals. "Under A Darkened Sky" has one of the most diverse arrangements on the entire album. The Henley track has found itself a bit of an controversial inclusion for XD. Reviewers have been split. I've seen one review that have called it a poor thrash moment of colliding parts that don't work, while the song isn't really built for a heavy metal interpretation. Personally, I love it. I find the fact that it's not a typical metal cover a reason to give XD bonus points. It's a challenging track given a whole new life & I think XD & company pull it off, even if it does sound more like Bonham than Don Henley. The album ends with an instrumental cover of Chris DeBurg's "Lady in Red" with an out of nowhere keyboard & drum beat. It's an interesting inclusion but ends up sounding out of place. Personally, I don't know if I would have recognized it, given that only the chorus is really memorable, in its instrumental form if I hadn't known it was there. If anything can be called a 'bonus track' this is it. My favorite instrumental track, utilizing voiceovers from Michael J. Fox & Butt-Head, is the quirkily titled "Woodshed Sonata". I like this for the same reason I like "Under A Darkened Sky" - it has a diverse arrangement with many parts versus just a guitar rolling on & on seemingly in the same key. Yes, a guitarist needs to have the chops, but in a world of chop-holding players one has to also catch potential listeners with other things. XD certainly can craft a good melody line but many of the songs suffer from not enough inner diversity. Yes, the melody is recognizable & repeats just enough to be distinctive, but the songs that work best are the ones that give the guitar a break & allow a little keyboard moment.

Airborne Toxic Event ~ All At Once (album review) ... Not very toxic!

Style: alt rock, pop
Label: Island Records
Year: 2011
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Mikel Jollett ~ vocals/rhythm guitar/keyboards
Steven Chen ~ lead guitar/keyboards
Anna Bulbrook ~ keyboards/viola/b. vocals
Noah Harmon ~ bass
Daren Taylor ~ drums

 

On one hand there's nothing particularly unique about the ATE, as one can clearly hear in them U2 meets something akin to the Arctic Monkeys meets some 80's New Wave a la Crowded House, on the other hand the rolling drums of opener "All At Once" & thumping bassline of "Numb" are hard not to immediately enjoy. It's just fun music in the realm of alt rock that goes for corners of rounded pop over rough punk. The problem is that this second album by ATE starts strong, it may not be original but it's interesting, then decides to go experimental by trying to cover too many bases with even less original success. The resulting songs not just go by too fast, but sound incomplete both lyrically & musically & thus never achieves any great highs beyond a few moments. One can find Bob Dylan-esque folk, country, a bit of the Cure & more than enough U2, but without the depth of any of them. By the time the band returns to the bumbling rhythms that open the album not just is the cohesiveness gone but so is the energy & the album ends with a whimper. Listen through & save the songs you like, which will probably be but a handful when you seriously consider what you'll like more than in this moment, & let the rest go back to the abyss. This is one of the few times I don't recommend experimentation & instead tell the band to stay with the sound they do well & leave the rest for a future EP.

Backhill Project ~ Tribute To Savatage (EP) (album review) ... Savatage ballet!

Style: tribute, prog-metal, hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Finland

Members: Kimmo Peramaki ~ vocals/guitars/keyboards/drum programming
Mikael Kontolampi ~ bass

This tribute to Florida prog-metal legends Savatage by the BP is not as bad as the Return Of The Mountain King compilation by an array of European underground prog-metal bands or the one copycat album by the Trans-Sylvanian Orchestra ... it also isn't the best, but getting far closer than probably any tribute before it. Albeit, really, nobody can do a Savatage song quite right with the same spirit ... even including off-shoots Jon Oliva's Pain, Circle II Circle & Savatage's later incarnation as Trans-Siberian Orchestra ... & that's why no Savatage tribute is a spotless affair. Criss Oliva was raw & rough with his Randy Rhoads licks flying, so raw it hurt at times, while later guitarists Alex Skolnick & Al Pitrelli had a long background of session & lead guitar work spanning the musical range that is hard to duplicate by a young player. Nobody has brother Jon Oliva's theatrical voice & few Zak Stevens deep nuanced deep croon. Then there's producer Paul O'Neill who brought prog-rock & classical music together in a fusion not heard by Dream Theater, Rainbow or Yngwie Malmsteen, ELP or any other classically infused musician. Maybe someone can imitate part of the equation, but there's so many variables that makes Savatage an enigmatic entity that it's impossible to truly imitate. One can get the notes right but the spirit lacks. While the songs loose everything when disassembled to become a new entity & so far no band has tried that approach. The problem is that imitation over recreation is a fine line to walk, whoever the band being imitated or doing the imitating. BP is the solo work of guitarist/vocalist Kimmo Peramaki of Finland's Masquerage plus bassist Mikael Kontolampi. Imitating Savatage puts a lot on Kimmo's shoulders & its a bit too much. It's not that he doesn't turn out four great songs, the problem is he falls under the weight. The songs are interesting, but don't quite hit the same emotional highs as the originals. He hits the notes, but doesn't get the soul inside the songs. It seems that the best tributes are when a band just does a song or two on an album, which has seen lots of successful outcomes, versus giving over an entire album to a single band. The biggest problem is that Kimmo is not the vocalist of either Oliva or Stevens. While Savatage is a prog-metal with not a hint of L.A. hair metal but in Kimmo's fingers it sounds like a hair metal band. There's a poseur show-off quality typical of that genre. But, it should be said in Kimmo's defense he knows the challenge of copying his favorite band. As he writes in the linear notes notes: "[Savatage's] music is not only energy, it's pure art! ... In my opinion, nobody can learn & play the guitar solos like Criss did." The album is offered free so there's no reason not to look for it & draw your own conclusion, but largely only fans of Savatage, BP or Masquerage will be interested. If nothing else its just nice seeing someone give tribute to Savatage, who greatly deserve more than they've received. Songs covered include: "Gutter Ballet", "Power Of The Night", "Edge Of Thorns" & "Strange Wings".

Billy Sheehan's Talas ~ Featuring Billy Sheehan (album view) ... Introducing the Van Halen of bass!

Style: hard rock
Label: Metal Blade
Year: 1980
Home: New York

Members: Billy Sheehan ~ bass/vocals
Dave Constantino ~ guitar/vocals
Paul Varga ~ drums/vocals

Some people know bassist Billy Sheehan from hair metal band Mr. Big. Some only know the band for a single MTV acoustic power ballad. If this is your knowledge of Sheehan you've got homework to do. Mr. Big is quite a fascinating prog meets L.A. hair metal band & should not be remembered via the sappy "To Be With You". Yet, for Sheehan Mr. Big is really but a footnote. He previously found his fame touring beside Steve Vai in David Lee Roth's first solo band. Coming right out of Van Halen, one of the most important bands, all eyes on where on Roth & company. It's funky & wild stuff worth checking out, particularly via old videos where the band is as crazy as Roth. It'll then become quickly obvious that Sheehan is one of the ones responsible for making the bass in the rock world than a rhythm instrument but a lead instrument in its own right. If you don't know any of this, let this review be your homework assignment leading to a wikipedia cruise. To really get a feel for Sheehan's musical catalog one needs to go back to 1971 when he formed the pre-hair but with lots of hairspray & spandex power trio Talas. They became known in upstate New York for extended bass solos that were as much performance art as anything. Sheehan's reputation would quickly eclipse the band, often taking him away for temporary gigs with such folks as UFO & the Michael Schenker Band. For one year Talas would even continue without him as a two guitar quartet. It wasn't until 1980 that Talas, with a couple year old solidified line-up, finally went into the studio. They put out two albums, Featuring Billy Sheehan being the first, before yet another complete line-up change & transition into a quartet that would come to feature future members of Danger Danger, Megadeth, Asia & Y&T. Sadly, Talas is a band that reads better on paper. The studio recordings don't fully paint the best picture. Talas is really a band that needs to be seen & thankfully bootleggers have done that with rough picture recordings floating around the internet. While the music is good some of the spark is missing in the studio where there's no audience to push the energy, the songs or the solos into the outer limits that made the group famous. It's a common problem of groups that make the transition from club to studio after making a name for themselves as a live band, particularly one a decade old. So often one speaks of 70's trios in light of Cream, particularly those trios with a heavier edge. But, Talas is much more in the hard rock 80's vein where the blues are but a building block, as would be the 80's hard rock style. Sheehan had already gained a reputation for being the bass playing version of Eddie Van Halen, & would help show how far one could take technical playing for a new generation of musicians that were moving against the excessive free form jamming of the 60's for more technically challenging jamming, or at least sounding more technical. "NV4 3345" is a bass solo that one would expect from the fingers of Eddie Van Halen & is everything but what the bass is expected to sound like in 1980, affirming Billy's role as a pioneer. Actually, its much closer to Jaco Pastorius & some of the jazz guys & the funk scene, but few were doing this in rock. It's not funk, it's not even rock, it's melodic in a way bass solos aren't. It's a bass solo in a way they come to be in the future. It's a bass solo that puts the traditional rhythm player to shame. It shouldn't, but it does. It's a highlight of the album as are all of Sheehan's spotlight moments. The problem is that the rest of the band is churning out un-inspired arrangements of 70's-esque hard rock riffs, nor rising to the technical level of Sheehan. It's not so much band interplay as a bassist & his backing band, however odd that sounds. But, one shouldn't really envision a bass-playing Joe Satriani & band as the arrangements are a fence keeping things too straight forward & safe. Randy Coven, another bassist with a similar feel who came about in the early 80's but would never get the mainstream recognition, attempted for instrumental duets with his guitarists & is worth checking out to see what Sheehan could have achieved if he'd broken from the traditional song structure approach. But, for all its faults, this first album is the best to delve into the Talas sound. The later quartet would tuck Sheehan into the mix & sound like a very bland early 80's Quiet Riot-esque hard rock band. What makes the trio different interesting is the shared vocals, the good singing balances the bad singing. Phil Naro would become the singer for the quartet, later to become the original though non-recorded frontman of Danger Danger which would include fellow Talas members Al Pitrelli & Bruno Ravel. Danger Danger being built from the ashes of Talas. But, Naro is not a distinctive singer. Also, none of the members, in any era of the band, show themselves as particularly good songwriters, relying too much on traditional song structures with weak lyrics. Again, check out Randy Coven for comparison of how a similar technique is taken in a new direction just via a different songwriting approach. There's a reason Sheehan's star shone over Talas's. It's all in the songs. But, in its favor, this early recording still has a lot of 70's influence on it, versus the 80's hard rock that would influence the later two albums. The irony is that Talas had an influence on the 80's sound, much like Hanoi Rocks had an influence, only to eventually be caught as an imitator of the imitator. This debut may not be the best representation of Talas, but there's a glimmer here & its better than nothing. Though, probably, in the end for Sheehan fans only & not going to convert anyone else who will wonder what the fuss around Sheehan is about. The fuss, like Hanoi Rocks, is the big picture. The fuss is doing the homework beyond just litening to the music. Though, for those just wanting a touch of Sheehan I recommend a compilation from Mr. Big.

Dethcentrik ~ The Dark Chronicles (EP) (album review) ... Enter dark, exit light!

Style: black metal, experimental
Label: Death Incarnate Records
Year: 2011
Home: Colorado

Members: Stefan Klein ~ all instruments

When I write about an album I may have heard it previously or I may not. I usually take a few days, sometimes up to a week, to listen to it repeatedly & scribble something out. Sometimes after many listens I realize it's not something I want to write about after all, or maybe I'm having trouble moving the music to the medium of blank verse. Sometimes down the road when I hear it again I wouldn't mind rewriting the review as I hear new things or maybe I know more about the band & have heard more of their music & see a bigger context. I've become fans of many bands via reviewing them. But, it's no easy task. & that's ignoring just the pressure to write an interesting review better than what's out there. The last thing I worry about is my actual writing style. If you want to know how I really write when given time read one of my books. These reviews aren't about me but introducing new music. Dethcentrik I came upon by chance & was immediately intrigued after seeing bad review after bad review. I reviewed an album, later interviewed the founder for my podcast & was asked by him to remix some tracks of his for a forthcoming compilation. I'd like to think I've gotten to know Dethcentrik's music quite well & certainly more than any other reviewer. I still stand by my initial review but at the same time I'll confess that in later listens I've found new perspectives to worth through. I've found the nuances in the musical experiment that is Dethcentrik. But, Dethcentrik is a hard band to take. It's not for every listener. I said that before & my view hasn't changed. Frontman Stefan Klein will not disagree either, though he'll also point out that Dethcentrik is not the Satanic industrial death metal band everyone seems to feel it is. The music does indeed have a violent sound but its inherently not violent. It's frustrated not destructive in its attitude. Though, the complete absence of normal melody, harmony & reliance on near droning gothic piano & random screeching vocals does lean into the stereotype. & getting on a church's public threat watch list doesn't help things, even if it's based on a letter Klein wrote to a newspaper decrying religious hypocrisy only casually mentioning he was in a band. But, as he said, that was certainly something interesting to find on a google search. For some listeners the opening number "Enter Dark, Exit Light" will recall prison era Burzum with its four minute keyboard wafting in a smoky atmosphere of distortion. The melody lines are simple - one note, a couple notes, moving seemingly at random yet keeping around a root. The melody repeats a dark motif feeling like its resisting straying too far from its origin. It's like this is a silent horror film & Dethcentrik is the music that's been layered over it by the live organist. Other albums by Dethcentrik have included flashes of distorted guitars interrupting the procession. It's that jarring competition of sounds that has driven many listeners away & led to bitter reviews. Here everything is trimmed down to just the basics, partly driven by the fact that the other instruments were played by members of the band now long gone. "Stalking Beast Of The Night" follows a similar music direction but jumps instead of staying on long notes, while the distortion has increased & a fast drum loop churns deep in the background. It also features Dethcentrik's alienating top of lungs screaming like a goose being strangled. But, the screaming does provide a break from the dominating keyboard lines, even if the lyrics are completely indecipherable. As the album progresses through its three tracks the music seems to move from simple to complicated. The final track "Going Into The Light" has the same keyboard but with heavier chords that appear & disappear. It goes on a bit too long with not enough variation. Dethcentrik have crafted some super minimalist death metal here. It won't be for everyone & some will still call it garbage & certainly for some other releases I would sympathize. But, here Klein has cut everything away to the basics & thus it comes across much different than other outings. But, like all music, it's all in how you hear it. Two people will never hear the same song in the same way. I don't know if that's good or bad! Some people say the same thing about Dethcentrik!

Savatage ~ Live Japan '94 (aka Live In Japan) (DVD review) ... The rising sun of Savatage!

Style: prog-rock, heavy metal
Label: SPV
Year: 1994
Home: Florida/New York

Concert location: Club Citta Kawasaki, Tokyo, Japan
Year Recorded: November 1994
Length: 95 minutes
Bonus Features: none

Members: Jon Oliva ~ lead vocals/piano/rhythm guitar
Zak Stevens ~ lead vocals
Alex Skolnick ~ guitar
Johnny Lee Middleton ~ bass
Jeff Plate ~ drums

Kicking off with the fierce "Taunting Cobras" followed by "Edge Of Thorns", from the albums Handful Of Rain & Edge Of Thorns respectively ... with those two songs one should not anymore wonder why Savatage is my favorite band. These two songs pretty much set out everything that is great about Savatage at this point in their career: non-typical lyrics that you can sing-along with, neo-classical prog-metal arrangements with not a whiff of hairspray pretentiousness, great guitar playing & strong singing that isn't the usual 80's screaming & an array of studio albums churning out cult hit after cult hit. At this point in their career Savatage had tragically lost their founding guitarist Criss Oliva in a car accident, his heart-broken brother Jon had handed over the reigns of the band to producer Paul O'Neil who turned it into a progressive rock opera beast, while all other original members had moved on to be replaced with very different rockers including a singer with the voice of Thor & a famed thrash guitarist. This concert finds the band on the last night of touring Handful Of Rain that features Savatage in their second or third era depending on how one wants to count transitions. Fronting the ensemble is still rookie singer Zak Stevens, who'd later form Circle II Circle. He sings with amazing vocal chops that are deep & powerful, yet nuanced, without following into any of the rock clichés of growls or screams. Original drummer Steve Wacholz was on the album but replaced before the tour by Jeff Plate. The rhythm section is rounded out by second bassist Johnny Lee Middleton. Both of these guys would follow Savatage's morph into the less venomous but more profitable Trans-Siberian Orchestra ... the metal band for grandparents & kids alike. On the album Oliva only contributes some keyboards & is the omni-present co-songwriter, having left in a alcoholic stupor & working on his Romanov opera & Doctor Butcher with former Savatage rhythm guitarist Chris Caffery. Oliva is not even given a photo in the linear notes & with him gone its hard to call this Savatage anymore as there's few obvious similiarities with the group that turned out the proto-black metal treasures Sirens & The Dungeons Are Calling. Though, really, what the band became, as can be seen on this tour in some of the classically-tinged piano interludes, with Paul O'Neill writing & producing is the vision Oliva had in the beginning but was unable to reach on his own ... it's just a shame that it had to happen through tragedy. Oliva returned for this tour, even singing lead vocals with Stevens after a 2 years absence from the role. Replacing the late Criss Oliva for the album & tour was top-notch thrash guitarist Alex Skolnick who'd recently left Testament. After this tour he'd move on, replaced by Al Pitrelli, though would return for Trans-Siberian Orchestra where his second hat as a jazz guitarist had a better fit. Here Skolnick is playing both his creations & those of Criss Oliva, but gives all of them his own touch. Criss was very much in the mold of Randy Rhoads with a bit too much energy, while Skolnick is more of a prog-metal guy & the distinction is obvious. But, Skolnick is nothing but a worthy successor & there is no disappointment. Because his time with Savatage was so brief Handful Of Rain sometimes gets lost in the shuffle between the multi-year terms of Oliva & Pitrelli. But, this might be their last in your face album & certainly their most progressive before going full on classical & commercial with the follow-up Dead Winter Dead. All but three songs from the album (i.e. "Visions", "Symmetry" & "Alone You Breathe") appear on this concert making this a great introduction to the brief Skolnick days that should be anything but the footnote it has become. One can only wonder what would have happened if he'd stayed & been given the chance to create an album with a more active Oliva plus Chris Caffery on rhythm. This video is the first official video release by Savatage ... it would also prove to be their only video release, ironically featuring a band that was essentially in line-up flux, & it is by the grace of bootleggers that the rest of Savatage's days have been preserved. It's a shame that this is their only official video as it's an outstanding performance. Though, honestly, this is not the most visually exciting band preferring the stand & sing approach over the go crazy & scream tactic. But, then, it's no different than Megadeth, Metallica or any thrash band, all who Savatage had opened for many times. L.A. hair metal gave standing still a bad name. But, one doesn't need physical distractions as the music is heavy, the band tight & the arrangements sounding amazing transferred to the stage, which isn't always the case. The only bad part is that Oliva, grown quite heavy, wanders the edge of the stage playing piano with but bad fingering & playing rhythm guitar on an upside down right handed guitar. He's a shadow of the man that was given the name the Mountain King & once strutted the stage like Meat Loaf meets Ozzy. But, Oliva only returned because Atlantic Records wouldn't support his new project Doctor Butcher & Savatage at the same time. As he's said repeatedly, with the death of his brother came the death of Savatage in anything but name only so there is a sense that he is a sideman in his own band. But, he gets a moment to shine with "Gutter Ballet" now turned into a duet, which would remain that way for ensuing tours featuring Damond Jinya taking over the lead role. The new arrangement far exceeds Oliva's sole vocals on the original & makes one wonder what if it had been like if more duets had been proposed. It's surprising that the band has never seen the magic in this set-up even through Trans-Siberian Orchestra where the array of great, if not as distinctive as Oliva, vocalists make this even more potentially powerful. No bonus features as it this released only on VHS, with the label sold before a re-released on DVD could happen. It would take a decade to be available on DVD & then as a bonus disc on the greatest hits compilation Still The Orchestra Plays: Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 

Ash The Sky ~ Ash The Sky (aka debut) (EP) (album review) ... Burn the ground!

Style: death metal, thrash
Label: self-released
Year: 2012
Home: Britain

Members: Michael J Felder ~ guitars/vocals
Chris Morgan ~ bass/drum programming

Hailing original from San Diego, guitarist Michael Felder built up a reputation with a handful of metal bands, particularly RDK, getting the chance to open for Death, Testament, Korn, Metallica, Exodus, Slaughter, Quiet Riot with the late Kevin DuBrow, Vince Neal, amongst others. But, recordings were few & struggled under the old story of limited funds & poor facilities, if not just lack of experience. While major name recognition regularly retreated back into the dream world. Relocating to Britain to start a new life & a family Felder now comes out of his self-imposed seclusion with his new outing ATS. Essentially a one man gig ATS features bassist/keyboard drum programmer Chris Morgan on their debut EP. Tired of dealing with unstable band line-ups Felder decided to now handle the vocal duties himself, alongside composing & churning out the riffs on his seven string guitar. Perhaps to Felder's surprise, the first thing I notice on his new musical black metal meets thrash journey is the lyrics ... which for such a thrashy onslaught are often the last thing I care about or can understand between the growls. Felder growls in "Let Freedom Ring": "I can't believe the lies/I can't believe my eyes ... let freedom ring." There's a socially conscious attitude that pulls the music up from just being generic thrash metal. I'm reminded of the similar sounding California outfit the Militants with vocalist Charlie Z who also aim for strong meaning over good rhymes &, like Felder, growls just enough to sound painful but not make it indecipherable. Not understanding what's being said is a great way for this reviewer to move on down he road. Though he might be alone Felder layers out the guitars making ATS sound like a full band. "No Mercy" goes for a more traditional Slayer approach with a more vibrant arrangement & the venom given an extra drip into the bite wound. While the simply named "Conflict" continues the social theme with some great distorted vocals at the beginning over a hypnotic guitar charge. Albeit, three songs just begin to scratch the surface of what a musician can do. I'd be interested in hearing Felder carry out his creativity in new directions in a full-blown release.

Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera (album review) ... A day at the races!

Style: power metal, symphonic metal, speed metal
Label: 2002
Year: Virgin
Home: Germany

Members: Hansi Kursch ~ vocals
Andre Olbrich ~ guitars
Marcus Siepen ~ rhythm guitar
Thomas Stauch ~ drums
Additional: Oliver Holzwarth ~ bass
Pad Bender, Boris Schmidt, Sascha Pierro, Michael Schuren, Matthias Wiesner ~ keyboards
Rolf Kohler, Thomas Hackmann, Olaf Senkbeil, Billy King ~ b. vocals

Anyone for a little Queen? Maybe a lightning fast power metal take on "Bohemian Rhapsody"? Well, I can't offer that - exactly - but borrowing an album title from Queen, German group BG answers the question of 'what if the symphonic sounds including chorus vocal parts of Queen were developed out by a speed power metal band'? The answer: Epic, upbeat versus dark metal, a nod to Dragonforce, over the top. On A Night At The Opera GB pulled all the stops out on their most ambitious release that moved away from straight prog-metal to something that is symphonic in every sense of the world, including the traditional classical & how Yes & Dream Theater define symphonic. I'll confess I originally bought this album because of the Queen title & I liked the album art, but knowing nothing about the band. I got what I paid for. The problem is Queen knew how to be complicated & over the top yet also subtle & soft. BG are complicated, busy, in your face, layer over layer. Subtle & soft is not in their palette for this album, thus while on one hand this show off their creative multi-layered world music influence at its best, yet at the same time may not show off BG at their representational best. I honestly don't know if I can tell you what BG sound like after listening to this & I've never felt compelled to find their other albums. This really must be taken at high volume or at least with good headphones as there are so many layers & so many things tucked into the mix that low volume a lot is lost. You miss their creativity ... but, for me, that's for me a sign that its time to pull back. At the end of the first song, a meager 6 minutes, I'd heard so many changes & ebbs & flows that I thought I'd heard numerous songs & the album was nearing completion. I've yet to be able to sit through the entire album in one go as halfway through my ears are exhausted & so is my mind. There's albums that are overly long but I should never have to cut an album up to listen by choice. It's one thing if I don't have the time to listen. But, creativity at its best never comes with the assurance that it will be completely accessible to the audience.

Journey ~ The Essential Journey (hits comp) (album review) ... A journey not to be forgotten!

Style: greatest hits, pop rock, hard rock
Label: Columbia
Year: 2001
Home: California

Members: Neal Schon ~ lead guitar/keyboard/guitar synth/vocals
Steve Perry ~ lead vocals
Gregg Rolie ~ lead vocals/keyboards/harmonica
Jonathan Cain ~ keyboards/rhythm guitar/b. vocals
Aynsley Dunbar, Steve Smith, Larrie Londin ~ drums
Ross Valory, Randy Jackson ~ bass/b. vocals
Bob Glaub ~ bass

Additional: Stevie Roseman ~ keyboards
Paulinho Da Costa, Steve Minkins ~ percussion

Journey is one of those bands folks like to make fun of, alongside Foreigner, Boston, The Doobie Brothers & numerous other radio friendly bands that came out of the 70's perfectly made for mass market consumerism, light on anything too experimental & heavy on sing-along love songs. The fact that Journey later featured the former power metal singer, Jeff Scott Soto, of Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, only to unceremoniously replace him with a tribute band singer didn't help the joke. The fact that the ensuing studio recordings with the later are some of the best music Journey has made in decades shows who is laughing last. Though, I feel sorry for JSS as he never got a chance to drop his mark with the band in the studio. He's a good guy & under-appreciated singer working hard & getting some new recognition with Trans-Siberian Orchestra & his group W.E.T., at least he got to contribute to the Journey biography. But, there's a reason joke bands like Journey have remained on the charts churning out memorable song after song (for example, "Wheel In The Sky", "Any Way You Want It", "Don't Stop Believin", "Who's Crying Now", "Lights", "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", "Faith In The Heartland", "Open Arms" & "I'll Be Alright Without You"). For whatever their radio friendly sheen the music is pretty much perfect. It's got everything mainstream music needs. Great singers & musicians, recognizable memorable songs & lyrics, variable catchy arrangements & most importantly we can all sing-along with abandon. It doesn't get too heavy or too experimental. It's safe. Elvis Presley was safe. The Beatles started as safe. With a shot of creativity safe is not a four letter word. The producers of TV's 'The Sopranos' probably weren't treating Journey as a joke when they decided to end the series with "Don't Stop Believin'" playing over a blank screen ... having already shown great taste in music throughout the season's ending credits including other songs from Journey. This 2 CD journey that arrived in time for their 30th anniversary features thirty-two tracks from the Steve Perry years, 1978-1996. It's not comprehensive & doesn't give any time to the albums before or after Perry but, honestly, all the recognizable hits came out of when Perry was frontman ... sorry Soto, George Tickner, Prairie Prince, Robert Fleischman, Steve Augeri, Arnel Pineda & Deen Castronovo. Though before him the band was more progressive & only had a few albums while after him the way the music industry & charting works changed. This album won't teach you about all the musical changes Journey went through on their journey, but if you want the hits & all of them this is this is the place to go. There's other greatest hits collections but this tops the batch. The first CD is all the greatest hits while the second one is more fan-favorites. There's a few duds in the batch, though duds is just a jerk-knee way of saying songs that are a little less memorable & a bit imitative. Yes, leaning heavily on love songs seemingly forsaking any other topic does produce a number of cliched duds ... let's be honest. 80's hair metal showed how limiting it can be. But, remove those few & there's still an album plus of music left that will delight the ears. Further, there's so many great songs this collection might inspire one to check out the full studio albums & the excluded years. I was shocked by how many songs were familiar that I grew up hearing on the radio & forgot were part of the Journey catalog. I don't even know if I knew they were all Journey. When I hear all the hits I suddenly realize what makes this band so great & more than a joke. Check it out & see what I mean. Once you hear the music you'll realize why I hold back in going into detail on exactly why they aren't a joke. The music speaks for itself. For those curious it songs are culled from the Vision Quest & Two Of A Kind soundtracks, plus the albums Escape, Infinity, Frontiers, Departure, Evolution, Captured, Raised On Radio & Trial By Fire. Only the Dream After Dream soundtrack is missing if one wants to be technical about the Perry studio output.

Sarcofago ~ Decade Of Decay (hits comp) (album review) ... Orgy of flies!

Style: thrash, black metal, death metal
Label: Greyhaze
Year: 2012
Home: Brazil

Members: Wagner "Antichrist" Lamounier ~ vocals/guitar
Geraldo "Gerald Incubus" Minelli ~ bass/b. vocals
Zeber "Butcher", Fabio "Jhasko" ~ guitar
Juninho "Pussy Fucker" ~ bass
Eduardo "D.D. Crazy", Armando "Leprous" Sampaio, Lucio Olliver ~ drums

Additional: Manoel "Joker" ~ drums/b. vocals
Vanir Jr. ~ keyboards
Eugenio "Dead Zone" ~ drum programming/keyboards
Claudio David ~ b. vocals

Sepultura might be the name everyone thinks of when talking about the Brazilian thrash/death metal scene ... the two scenes overlapping there venomously with profound influence on the rest of the world ... but Sarcofago is a name not to be ignored that helped put the death into South American thrash & would even inspire the Norwegian scene. All their albums are now being reissued for the first time in North America, overseen by frontman Wagner "Antichrist" Lamounier, the original singer of Sepultura though he never recorded with them. Decade Of Decay is a good introductory album as it collects twenty highlights from all their albums (i.e. INRI, Rotting, The Laws Of Scourge, The Worst & Hate) plus songs from the demos Satanic Lust, The Black Vomit & Christ's Death, so there's something for the fan who already has all the main releases or plans to get them. One gets a solid picture of the band's musical growth over numerous line-up changes & the later controversial introduction of a drum machine, though in the casual listen it all sounds like its crawling from the same mold of Metallica riffing (for example, "The God's Faeces") with the devilish influence of Slayer, Celtic Frost & Venom. Though listening carefully one will hear in the demos how under-developed & rough the music was compared to later days. Sarcofago is heavy, slow & gloomy & Satanic in a way that really only Slayer dared to be in the thrash scene. Sensitive ears be forewarned of such ghastly black metal beasts as "Orgy Of Flies", "Christ's Death", "Satanic Lust", "Song For My Death", "Desecration Of The Virgin", "Crush, Kill, Destroy" & "Rotting". Euronymous of Mayhem was a fan & would claim Sarcofago as a major influence on the Norwegian death metal scene, while Sarcofago's early use of corpse paint would help make the trend international. If only there were more church burnings in Brazil the Brazilian scene might have as much clout as Norway. Instead the originators, including also Sadistick-Exekution in Australia, are lost to time while the imitators get the spotlight for eternity. The luck of of the draw. Much like the Hanoi Rocks story in regards to the L.A. scene or all the blues guys that were ignored while the early Rolling Stones conquered the charts doing old blues covers. If there's any weaknesses in this comp it's the growled vocals of frontman Antichrist as one can imagine him actually drooling between words. For one used to the cleaner vocals of James Hetfield or Dave Mustaine it's a bit discerning. But, I would recommend "Midnight Queen" & "Screeches From The Silence" for those fans as these tracks come from their most mainstream album The Laws Of The Scourge. There's also a few ethereal keyboard heavy horror soundscapes included (i.e. "The Anal Rape Of God", "Recrucify", "The Lost Of Innocence") which are good in showing the range of the band but one just wants to get to the music. San Francisco might have given birth to thrash but to get a real picture of the scene there's so many other countries that deserve equal attention - Germany, Australia, Brazil & even the Florida swamplands. I mean, the first black metal album is considered by many to be the debut of prog-metal Florida outfit Savatage ... who now tour playing Christian-laced Christmas songs as Trans-Siberian Orchestra. 

Black Shape Of Nexus ~ Negative Black (album review) ... Positive music!

Style: sludge, experimental
Label: Exile On Mainstream
Year: 2012
Home: Germany

Members: Jan ~ electronics/keys
Geb, Ralf Bernhardt ~ guitars
Stefan Kuhn ~ bass
Malte Seidel ~ vocals
Marco Hauser ~ drums

Opening with a distorted & disjointed guitar sounding like its stumbling with feedback in hand out of a solo like something one might find at the end of a Sonic Youth or Smashing Pumpkins song one wonders what type of band this is. It's certainly not sludge as advertised. Just at that giving up hope moment the mix is interrupted by the sludge factor in all its hard to swallow glory riding on top of the mix. The guitar continues to squawk with disjointed noise like a Lou Reed experiment while the rhythm section & other band members create one of the heaviest sludgy rhythms I've had a chance to hear. It's masterful it's so heavy. It one big stone slab of pure low-end power riding against a very simple drum beat. I've reminded of Count Basie whose rhythm section was given the nickname of the 'Basie beat' because the idea was one big rhythm sound versus a bunch of little instruments. The idea is a unified sound & the BSON have hit that one on the head. The sludge style, for many of us, is distinctive for its feeling of mud rolling down the hill. BSON is the volcanic mudslide that buried Pompeii alive. One can imagine an artistic representation being a monster made out of mud, versus some sludge peers that are more like light streams. Here the distinctiveness of each instrument is completely gone, which is the way it should be. But, yet, with distorted guitars bubbling away now & then in the mix under the monolith one is prone to put this more in the experimental end of the genre. Near the end of the six minute opener "Illinois" comes a voiceover about the struggle of the working man, in English, probably from a movie. It's an interesting choice of vocal burst & left to the end of the song has a great impact & helps add to the experimental quality. Sadly, some of the other songs feature dueling heavily distorted & dampened screamed vocals both high & low of a traditional metal quality that provide variety but are anti-climactic after the voiceover. Luckily, movie or tv voiceovers return in the later song "10000 qF" including both sung lyrics & voiceover to great effect, before the album takes a more instrumental direction, except for some delightful mumbling & gasping in the final title track. With the voiceover mixed with the singing one suddenly gets the feeling that what came before was but a textural build-up, both lyrically & musically. The three preceding songs are laying out the paint on the palette to be then mixed & rediscovered in ways that are quite fascinating & unexpected. Further, at a lofty eighty minutes the music doesn't feel like it repeats itself. Not once does the listening experience feel like it went on to long. The crawling sludge of the first song gets a contrast with what can only be described as a more vibrant funky sludge sound on "400H" & "60WV". The fourth track, "10000 qF", starts off much more traditional metal sounding in its rhythm just sans any lead guitar lines. One can almost hear some Black Sabbath in it. It's almost like they started out at the extreme sludge end & moved center. But, where does the rest of the album go? Well, the first half is a must hear for sludge fans ... the second half doesn't disappoint either & I'll leave that for you to discover! But, I'll give you a hint - you never would believe sludge metal can develop so much over a single album even venturing into the atmospheric realm (i.e. "RMS") with shocking abandon before coming back to a thunderous crawl slower than ever (i.e. "Neg. Black"). I have a feeling BSON are aiming for an abrasive sound, to quote one reviewer's word, but I find the powerful low-end so fascinating, being a bassist myself, that it ends ups being an addictively interesting listening with its fangs drained of venom. I'm fascinated by how it's so unified in its sound becoming one monster of a instrument with its little dancing distorted guitar elf children running around its feet. Negative Black is the third release by this German outfit that is a ride sludge fans will certainly enjoy.

Peter Tinari - Embrace The Darkness (album review) ... Embrace the music!

Style: progressive, instrumental, heavy metal
Label: Architechtonic Machine
Year: 2011
Home: California

Members: Peter Tinari ~ guitars/bass

Guests: Derek Sherinian ~ keyboards
Enzo DiPaolo ~ drums
Matt 'Nino' Contino ~ guitar solo

I've always had a bit of an interest in prog-metal fusion keyboardist Derek Sherinian, formerly of Dream Theater, Alice Cooper & now trolling through the headlines with Black Country Communion. Successor in Dream Theater Jordan Rudess often gets top billing as king of the prog-metal keyboards but even though my spouse attended Juilliard with Rudess & with a few of his early solo albums sitting around the house ... I'll still say that Sherinian has a better more exciting solo output ... its at least more metal. The problem is so much of his output seems to be passed over with only occasional bursts in the spotlight ... & I'm not talking about the tour he did with Kiss playing behind the amp out of sight in what he's called the worst gig with the greatest band. Besides the aforementioned groups he's worked with Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, numerous guest spots while his solo work have had array of guests from the ranks of the metal world. But, until Black Country Communion for some reason his name doesn't always bring the accolades one would expect. I find myself inspired to find out about this under-dog who I first discovered playing behind Alice Cooper ... who Alice once told a reporter deserved a whole chapter in his future autobiography, if that doesn't say something about him & his playing ... he didn't get though. When PT sent his new album Embrace The Darkness to me I had no idea the trio included Sherinian, but it immediately caught my eye. This is not a band with Sherinian but guitarist PT including Sherinian as part of a trio that is featured on every track. Sherinian is a special guest but his role far outweighs the normal guest output. I'm willing to bet most of you reading this blog won't know PT, but you will know Sherinian, so hopefully PT will forgive me for immediately getting your interest with the most obvious selling point almost losing the idea that it's actually not a Sherinian album. My lifelong music theory for listeners that has shown to be successful - if Aaron Copland can tell how to listen to music so can Aaron Joy - is that you get people interested by building a bridge from what they know to what they don't, not from first handing them something they don't know. Sometimes this works, but it depends on the listener. To throw Ravi Shankar soloing away on sitar might be a bit alienating if you aren't used to its sound, but to give you George Harrison playing the instrument on a Beatles album is a good bridge. So, I had you the known entity of Sherinian with the footnote that if you enjoy him, well, he's got very good taste in who he works with so let me now introduce you to PT. But, before we leave Sherinian completely behind let me say that I would go on a limb & profess that this might be a better introduction to Sherinian's playing than some of his solo albums. In the trio format with no guests to take away the spotlight, an additional guitarist appears for a solo on only the opener, Sherinian is allowed to shine in all his fast finger glory. Further there's a cohesiveness to the whole here that some of his solo outings lack. PT is the sole credited composer handing tracks over to Sherinian to add to, versus Sherinian composing songs over a couple years while in that band or that tour. Though, for the host's part, PT chugs away on heavy metal guitar throwing down rhythms & solos, & bass duties, while Sherinian dances on the proggy edge. PT has chosen the perfect format for the vision. The piano/drums/guitar format allows the music to shine in extremely tight arrangements that are literally breath-taking in their scope & execution. The best metaphor I can think of is the acclaimed trio of jazz pianist Bill Evans with Scott LaFaro & Paul Motion. It was said that Evans brought the piano/bass/drums trio to a new level as it was no longer a pianist with rhythm section following, for example Nat King Cole for comparison or Marian McPartland, but three musicians playing as one weaving between each other in a thick sound. It's not rhythm & lead but one large duet .. or tri-et? This is the prog-metal version. It's almost impossible to pick out one instrument. Where PT leaves off Sherinian picks up while DiPaulo is more than just a drummer but providing important counter-point often missing in instrumental rock music. It's reactive. It's vibrant. PT has created a layered ear-fest that goes beyond normal instrumental rock guitar to instead careen, soar & light up the heavens If there's any complaint it's that it soars too much with too many notes for one listen & not enough slow time to build contrast. Even after a few listens, which is a double sided coin as its also a good thing, its impossible to hear all the lines moving in & out of each other & the band interplay. Though, today, I wonder if people still listen to a single album over & over like once upon a time when it was impossible to get a hundred new songs with the press of a button. There's no more bringing home a new album from the store, putting it on & listening to it over & over all night every night. If someone gives PT & company time this is an amazing tour-de-force but will he be able to find the audience that has time? Whether one listen or a hundreds the album undoubtedly throws everything into every song with slower parts being left to openings of songs & too brief moments (i.e. "Marked In Shame", "Now I Lay Me Down"), not giving some of the songs enough individual space to breath. Breath ... there's a good bit of advice for any musician. Beats versus verging on clutter. But, that's the only advice I can give, because really this is one of the better instrumental rock guitar albums I've heard in awhile. Fans of Sherinian will definitely want it in their collection. 

Unwom ~ Phase 1: Inner Earth Dimension (album review) ... Seismic musical p-waves!

Style: experimental, drone metal, instrumental
Label: self-released
Year: 2006
Home: n/a

Members: Sartyx, Dafÿdd ~ all instruments

In the 60's/70's prog & psych bands were looking to create more than just pop music but an audio experience where it was more than just melody & harmony but sound itself under the microphone. Krautrock is nothing but such an experience & Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music brought things to a staggering new low, while the Grateful Dead & Ya Ho Wa 13 were influenced by the same inspiration to spiritual highs. Sonic Youth would help bring it to a new generation. The entire minimalist classical scene was inspired with this same focus. Like most movements this one has returned, if it ever really went away, with the modern version going under such names as industrial & the Indian-esque drone metal. Drone metal might be the closest to an accurate description as one can get as droning notes are a key factor in the style. It's chaos yet also structure in the same song. It's improvisation with deliberate manipulation. Drone metal is actually far more organized than it lets on. Musicians spend a lot of time playing with sounds to generate new sounds & audio experiences. The days of just playing & whatever came out is what's on the tape have largely been lost due to the ease of remixing things on computer taking what might have started out very improvised & chaotic & organizing it into something that does have structure & without a doubt drone metal is not without its structure. But, whatever the approach the goal is essentially the same - the enjoyment of pure sound away from all the confines traditionally associated with song composition. Sunn 0))) might be the biggest name in the genre but it is a growing field & other bands, such as Black Cobra, are slowly coming to the fore through hypnotic live shows & experimental recordings. Personally, I find the genre fascinating & my own music, under the moniker of Black Faced Prophet, sits nicely into it. But, on the other hand, I'll also confess it's difficult to listen to & maybe at times a bit painful. The name I work under says it all. I, & others of the style, make music with a mood in mind but I know the listener may not be able to interpret the message I'm sending. I tend to have a spiritual slant so Prophet implies that a message does under the instrumentals. But, as you can't decipher the message & I know this I let my prophet's face be blank, essentially without any message, & I let you create the prophets face with whatever you see. As it is we tend to interpret things however we want. Yes, it's a bit narcissistic as I'm making music only truly understandable to myself, but in some ways so is the drone metal field on a whole. It is music made more for oneself & a private moment for someone else than sing-a-long anthems & MTV. Unwom's Phase 1: Inner Earth Dimension, such a great title, is the debut of a creative new in the genre who lay out sheets of highly distorted guitars slowed down so every nuance rises to the top. The worst drone metal is that which goes for clutter. The best is when there's only a few sounds. It's up to mainstream music to layer, it's up to this style of experimental music to clear out the clutter. Unwom keep it very clean, maybe even too much at times acting as a detriment to variety in the some of the longer arrangements & leading the songs to sound too much alike ... though the title belays a concept where sounding alike might be the goal. The five tracks start at fifteen minutes slowing working their way down to five, while each are named "Level" 1 through 5 with the subtitles: "Deep-Dark Magma", "Northern Entrance", "Onsets Of Core Implosions", "Seismic P-Waves," "Spheroidal Oscillations". The goal of similar sounding songs versus major tonal variations becomes more apparent with this additional information. This is more than just experiments in noise but a unified vision of the first part, or phase 1, of a journey into earth, presumably on a physical level. Whether you get the prophet's message or the blank face is debatable but certainly there's a prophet in the mists. A highly distorted guitar of subtle layers droning infinity on a single sound, like the best of minimalist music, forms the backbone for most of the songs while bubbling keyboards, strange sounds & shorter guitar bursts create forward movement. There's also undecipherable growled lyrics giving it a bit of a metal feel. It's hard to say if the vocals are a bonus or not, but they certainly are necessary as with just the foundation the songs have little movement & lots of repetition. Though, the vocals do put each song into the same mood, returning to the earlier mention of similarly sounding songs, which might be a bit to the detriment of some listeners. There's no beat or time keeping track as is normal for the style. This isn't as complex or experimentally layered as Sunn 0))) & might bore some fans of that band & the paths they've dug. On the other hand this might be a great introduction for some by the book drone metal for those curious of the style. The eleven minute "Level 2" features a break where everything goes down to a moan & then the guitars return for a bubbling ending. It has the best sound effects with what sounds like saws. "Level 3" aims for exploding guitars instead of drones over the 13 minute piece. Probably the best of all the songs. It's certainly the most interesting. Unwom started in 2005 by two musicians with a concept to create something that is not music but an experience with, as their website reads, "a dark & enigmatic blend of subsonic landscapes & surrounding mystic oscillations." The album is free on their website.