Dethcentrik ~ I Think You Got The Clean Version (album review) ... Its Dethcentrik, so there is no clean version!

Style: avant-garde, industrial, black metal, experimental, instrumental
Label: Dod Incarnate Records
Year: 2012
Home: Colorado

Members: Stefan Klein ~ all instruments
DJ Ribotic, Cold Metal Future ~ remixes

On this the final day of Pope Benedict XVI in office before becoming the first Pope Emeritus in hundreds of years it seems as good a time as any to share a review of Dethcentrik. I Think You Got The Clean Version brings up lots of assumptions even before the music spins. Some might be right. One assumption might be this is an album at one point so full of profanity that it would make a rapper blush. No, not really. There is no dirty-mouthed version & what's here I'd love to see if Tipper Gore called this is profanity. Is this profanity, Tipper, from "I Want To Kill Them All": "I want to kill them all/the rapists, dumb fucks/the rednecks, & their trucks/the idiots." It may not be Dylan-esque poetry but its straight from the gut feelings that many folks have & I don't call real feelings profanity. Okay, killing isn't good, but it doesn't take much to understand what the point is here. This is preening society of those who bring it down. Who has not wanted to do this? Even Tipper does. Or, even more so n "Realization Of Being In Hell": "Sometimes it feels like God hates me, like circumstances this bad can't be coincidence./The more I try to move past something/the more I'm reminded it's there./The further I look for the truth/more evidence for the lie I must bear./Why do I deserve to be here?" So, with these lyrics re-examine what you think the clean version might imply. Clean here might be a songwriter that's angry but by wiping away the lyrics that normally haunt his albums & leaving the anger to be interpreted with your own thoughts this really might be the clean version. Yes, there is anger, & often with a bit of a spiritual bend, as other songs include "Let Us Prey", "Scapes Of The Real", "A Quick Yet Painful Death" & "We Are Slaves To Machines". Dethcentrik has been called an industrial black metal band. Depending upon how you define industrial Dethcentrik still is or isn't. For those that see industrial in terms of Throbbing Gristle Dethcentrik has not gone anywhere else but only gotten more adventurous in the field. But, I believe most folks reading this blog aren't familiar with Throbbing Gristle & define industrial more in terms of Nine Inch Nails. For them I will say that Dethcentrik is still black but moving into a more avant-garde soundscape territory. The album that followed this one, The Fourth Reich goes even further with the soundscape idea & has all the angry lyrics this one doesn't have. Dethcentrik started out as a crashing drums, slashing guitars, shouted vocals & forever droning keyboards. Now there is more of a drone, less of a shout & more talking, less of the cacophonic disruptive crash. Now sounds are often distorted recordings of natural things. "Let Us Prey" sounds like heavily distorted guitars chugging through notes atonally, but knowing Dethcentrik it could be the changing of tv channels or a something else very common heavily electronically morphed. Against a fast drum beat & an eerie drone deep in the mix, probably also a non-instrument, Dethcentrik might still be difficult for some to listen to but has become fascinating because you probably have no idea what you're listening to. Dethcentrik becomes a band far more interesting than a one that says they have lots of emotion ... but the C chord however played is still the C chord. There's only so many sounds you can ring out of that before the word emotional or scary has no meaning has about as much shock value as Lady Gaga's new costume. Check out also "Realization Of Being In Hell" or the lengthy "A Quick Yet Painful Death" which is the drone of some distorted sound slowed down to unrecognizability. This is an Andy Warhol movie where anyone were anyone else would yell cut long before. Tolerance is key here, but Dethcentrik provides an interesting ride, with constant new output, for those interested in keeping track. Joining along for the ride is an addition to the Dethcentrik world via DJ Ribotic & Cold Metal Future. Each with their own track, I wouldn't call the songs remixes, but Dethcentrik has shared his music with others to great outcomes that are showing up more & more in the Dethcentrik catalog. The two guest artists take the simple lines of Dethcentrik, the simple droning, the single layers, & add to it quick beats, voices, quirky electronic lines & who knows what else for outcomes where it's hard to say what's Dethcentrik & what's the guest. I say this having heard a lot of Dethcentrik, too. Though, personally, the electronic quick beats lack variety & seem more just placed on the music than reflecting it. My suggestion would be beats that stop & start as the music takes a twist. There's a few moments of, I believe, real drums that do this.

System Of A Down ~ System Of A Down (aka debut) (album review) ... Tap into this system!

Style: alt metal, prog metal, heavy metal, experimental
Label: Sony
Year: 1998
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Serj Tankian ~ vocals/keyboards/samples
Daron Malakian ~ guitars/b. vocals
Shavo Odadjian ~ bass
John Dolmayan ~ drums

Additional: Rick Rubin ~ piano

I will confess that I have never listened to SOAD. There was something about their reputation that made me think that they weren't my time of metal, too modern for me or too alt rock-ish in their leanings. I'm also not a fan of bands like Korn or the Deftones who SOAD tends to be associated with. But, I have to say I was wrong. What surprised me listening to their self-titled album, which I grabbed to hear feeling it was about time I heard them, is the arrangements that have a boatload of heavy guitar crunch that's feels to me more akin to Slayer & the thrash than many of the nu-metal bands I was expecting to hear in SOAD musical land. They also have a variety in the internal movement of their compositions that reminds me of the greatly under-rated Faith No More or Jane's Addiction. The songs twist with unexpected excitement & crunch. So often I hear bands that have a dynamic singer but musically not so, or the opposite. Here everyone in the band is on the same page. Certainly the unorthodox singing is a crucial part of the experience but doesn't dominate the variety. I'm humbly declaring how I misjudged them & this is what happens when you don't do any research into a band. Party foul on me. This is not college beer drinking jock rock that just drones on. & it doesn't have the screaming, grunting & shouting I was expecting. Of course, this is their debut & obviously I don't know what direction their music later went to. From reviews I read elsewhere they may have changed but constantly put out strong albums. The storm out the door with a great debut & stay at that level. SOAD not just turn in some great dynamics but also have a strong set of songs to go with it. I now understand why SOAD have found themselves on the top of the musical heap, challenging as much as moshing with a fascinating listening experience. Now, I should mention that members are of Armenian descent, but to discuss how this is Armenian music versus American I feel would be foolish. While some of their songs may discuss some Armenian historical moments, they're just as likely to sing about such universal topics as terrorism or sex. Maybe their background makes them more open to experimenting with different instruments, styles & lyrically components, but I won't go any farther than that & get into the Armenianness of SOAD. While they are just as much artistic for the sake of it as political. What I will say is don't do what I did & ignore them.

Queensryche ~ The Warning (album review) ... The warning is not to judge an album on a few tracks!

Style: heavy metal, prog rock
Label: EMI
Year: 1984
Home: Washington

Members: Geoff Tate ~ vocals
Chris DeGarmo, Michael Wilton ~ guitar/b. vocals
Eddie Jackson ~ bass/b. vocals
Scott Rockenfield ~ drums


Do not judge an album on the first few tracks! Or, do not judge this particular album on the first few tracks & toss it away away as uninteresting. I did & began to scribble notes for this review with the first song only to find myself walking away from the album with opposite feelings. Queensryche have two sides: a straight rock side with a NWOBHM feel & a very ambitious experimental side. Some fans prefer the rock, which was apparent in their four song indie debut. Others prefer the experimentalism which came forward in their third album Rage For Order & would be fully born with "Silent Lucidity". This album, while not truly their debut it's their first major label release & full length & many call this their debut & the four song EP a demo, but its a matter of interpretation, tries to find a middle ground & does so successfully. Many critics criticize the unfocused nature of what would follow this, Rage For Order, due to the experimental nature of many of the songs that hurt the cohesiveness of that album. They rate this earlier album far better. Listening to the first few songs I had the opposite view. This album opens with some straight ahead rock, akin to their debut/demo EP, that does little for me. No bite or individuality. Too safe after the shocks of Rage For Order. Geoff Tate is the miracle worker with his voice, but the material just isn't that interesting. I could not understand how this gets rated higher. Rage For Order has the rockers but it also has some amazing experimentalism ... so obviously, it just comes down to what the critic wants to hear. I don't want the old rabbit out of the hat trick but the new dragon out of the hat nobody has seen before & can't even imagine. I will agree that Rage For Order has a lack of focus, but entering into this album ... well, it might be called a warning but I didn't see anything to be warned about. How wrong I was. Or, how sweet it is? It's interesting to note that "Silent Lucidity" was not a fluke but was being developed through much trial & error from day one. So many bands have a unique hit song that comes out of nowhere & vanishes to nowhere, a fluke moment of creativity. Queensryche have shown a sustainment of their creativity that makes "Silent Lucidity" only a stop on the timeline not a bump in the road to live up to. Queensryche understood the game. They new they needed a certain sound to get listeners. That's what opens the albums. But, they also had a bigger vision. So, as the album progresses ... or once they've hopefully got your attention ... they start to really play the game & bring out the big hitters. & what hitters they are. It kicks into high gear with some wonderfully crafted songs including the ballad "Child Of Fire". Textures! Great lyrics! Now I know what I'm being warned against. "NM 156" foreshadows what would come next with distorted vocals singing a song about computers, much like "Gonna Get Close to You" on Rage For Order but not as ambitiously experimental. "Take Hold Of The Flame" is undoubtedly the highlight here, though its not really anything but metal with a NWOBHM feel, but it does it so well. "Before The Storm" & "Deliverance" come in second & third place. "Before The Storm" should be given a second chance by all listeners. The nine minute "Road To Madness" is Tate's vocal show-off moment. It holds together incredibly well. A nine minute song like this, at this point in time on the heavy metal timeline, plus on a debut, is a risk. It pays off & it shows the fans that this is not a band that is going to be predictable. When given a bigger budget, a moment to shine, they have a lot up their sleeve. They know their roots & they know where they'd like to go. They're going to give you rock that you know & then take you someplace you don't. When I first began listening to this album, as I said, I couldn't fathom why it rated higher than Rage For Order. I know understand. While that one has the flashy experimentalism it's almost too much. The Warning still plays it safe, the band is getting their footing. Then, they'd start galloping. Or, they'd take the approach of let's do it because we can, why not? Rage For Order shows the conflict between the two sides. Listening to the albums out of historical order was interesting. I heard creativity & got worried when it wasn't immediately apparent. Listening the other way one hears the creativity from day one then on day two get carried away. Thus, Rage For Order now indeed sounds like the transitional album that other music critics label it as. Though, it shows the band willing to take risks & see what pays off. Their future success would show the result & maybe if it wasn't for the gallop they might not have reached "Silent Lucidity" or Empire. Though, certainly, I now I prefer the experimental side of Queensryche over the straight ahead heavy metal side. If that was the only side they'd have I would be digging more & more into their catalog with interest. My appreciation of Queensryche keeps going up a notch.

The Militants ~ Fuel The Aggression (album review) ... The band of tomorrow's revolution!

Style: heavy metal, black metal, death metal
Label: self-released
Year: 2012
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Charlie Zeigler ~ vocals/drum programming/keyboards
Horace Miller ~ guitars/bass

A band called the Militants, with an album named Fuel The Aggression & song titles of "Echoes Of Evil", "Deadly As The Webs Spins", "Ethnic Cleansing", "Smoking Gun" & "Born Under A Bad Sign" ... what image are you getting into your head about the music? Satanic? Dark? Well, let me offer two other song titles as influential variables - "Rise Against Oppression" & "Empty Inside". There's more here than meets the eye ... or the ear. Yes, there's all the double bass drumming & churning guitars one might expect, & though check out the guitar playing on "Ethnic Cleansing", against a throaty holler, but the Militants are metal with a message of social awareness. Is that an oxymoron? Not in the least. A lot of metal is just as much about spreading an idea as having a headbanging good time. "We are the people of tomorrow's revolution" is called out in "Rise Against Oppression" & the Militants see themselves facing the oncoming social revolution head-on. As "Rise Against The Oppression" furthers shouts "The revolution isn't over/don't you know its just beginning." The title is deceptive. Aggression here is not Satanic & not angry, but the aggression fueled from sadness at seeing the state of the world & where it potentially is going. Some of us say a civil war, but other argue we've become too 'empty inside' to put down our iphones to change the world for better. Musically the Militants aren't braving new ground, they're not feeding the revolution from outside with strange new musical ideas, but using the standard form to feed the revolution from the inside. I've been listening to the Militants for a few years. They've put out two very good albums - strong on a message & strong on dedication to making good reliable metal with killer sweep-picking riffs. Killing two birds with one stone, you could say. I'll also say that Charlie Zieger is one of the better throat/guttural singers out there, versus so much of the screaming or glorified gargling I hear.

Tesla ~ The Great Radio Controversy (album review) ... Tuning into a good station!

Style: hard rock, blues rock
Label: Geffen
Year: 1989
Home: California

Members: Frank Hannon ~ guitar/gong/keyboards/tremolo/b. vocals
Tommy Skeoch ~ guitar/strings/b. vocals
Jeff Keith ~ vocals
Troy Luccketta ~ drums/cymbals/pedals/stick/tama
Brian Wheat ~ bass/strings/b. vocals


Tesla, for me, are one of the bands that haven't really gotten their shake, either at the time of their commercial peak or later in reunion form. Their most recognizable effort for many is their acoustic rendition of the classic "Signs" & its acoustic live album Five Man Acoustical Jam. As their third album it was a risk. Today it might not appear that way, but at the time there was no MTV Unplugged & hard rock bands didn't do acoustic albums of their songs. But, its not really a great representation of Tesla. It's a low-key fun concert but some of the songs lose their tight feeling & edge at times. When I first heard it I thought it was good but not great. It took looking into the rest of the catalog to hear the great. Sadly, I think many might have had the same response, but didn't listen any further & take the risk as I did. It's a shame, as both during their heyday & the reunion Tesla has a very solid catalog amongst fans & critics. Most bands have a career high & a brief but eventually bored reunion output. Not here. The least liked albums they've done are a pair of 70's covers & if that's it that's not much to worry about. Covers albums are a risk as it is. The problem with those who may have given Telsa a cursory listen is, besides the point their biggest hit is completely the opposite musically of everything else, on one hand they sound like just one more 80's hard rock band with the girl lyrics, screaming vocals & by the book guitar solos. That's true. They are of their time. But, give them a few more listens & something else appears & this is what makes Tesla special ... though it takes that extra listen which few make, so the band never gets its kudos. To do an album of 70's rock classics might be seen as gimmicky but it's more than that. Thread through their hard rock from the arrangements, the groove to the vocals is a 70's feeling & a deep love of the blues. Badlands had it & even Pearl Jam had it & even the Black Crowes. But, these bands were all a step away from the 80's hard rock & Tesla didn't take that step as much as they could have. It's the fine line of being different versus not so much & getting radio play. They play it safe, maybe a bit too much in retrospect, but its hard not to fault a decision that at the time seems the right one. Their albums though don't really suffer, even the average 80's rock is acceptable, but their reputation does & at points their career did. But, trying not to dwell on the what if's of the past there's so many good starting places with Tesla. Their debut or even their second album The Great Radio Controversy, which is a great name for an album. Fans often recommend this album over others. It has the big production of the day & the 80's hooks & adequate songwriting ... great songwriting is not their forte. At the same time it's also got lots of blues (i.e. slide guitar on "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)", "Be A Man", "The Way It Is", "Love Song", "Paradise") is a little more focused than their debut, includes more acoustic instruments & thus texture. It has has some great twin guitar moments, check out "Flight To Nowhere". While check out "Love Song" for a bluesy take on the obligatory power ballad. The album also spun out numerous fan favorites including "Hang Tough", "Lady Luck", "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" & "Love Song". Tesla never really ventured too far from the template presented here, with later albums varying the focus on the blues or the hard rock aspect, usually more the former which is the better thing to emphasize. If you like this I would highly recommend you digging up the Tesla catalog. Their latest album came out in 2008 & personally I have no hesitance recommending anything between their 1986 debut & their latest release. Few bands of Tesla's tier have been able to succeed. The secret is they never changed their sound. Sadly, alongside Pearl Jam & the Black Crowes they should have soared with a second coming success, but as all hair metal fell to grunge & Tesla was never that big they fell too. It doesn't matter that theirs was a different type of rock.

Yngwie Malmsteen & Rising Force ~ Perpetual Flame (album review) ... Perpetual enjoyment!

Style: power metal, heavy metal, blues-rock, progressive
Label: Rising Force Records
Year: 2008
Home: n/a

Members: Yngwie Malmsteen ~ guitars/bass/keyboards/sitar/b. vocals
Patrick Johansson ~ drums
Tim "Ripper" Owens ~ vocals
Derek Sherinian ~ keyboards

It's taken me a long time, lots of listens & albums, & past reviews here will contest to some of that search, but I can say I have finally found a YM album where from start to finish I enjoyed nearly every song & more importantly wasn't walking away bored & overdosed. Excluding his first album with Rising Force, & stuff with Alcatrazz, everything that has come later from him has done nothing but disappointment me except for random tracks. & usually I'm interested primarily because of the vocalist ... though bad lyrics do just as much as bad over-playing. Yes, YM was & is a pioneer guitarist doing something no one else does & really remains unmatched. But, bad lyrics, break from the speed onslaught, lack of contribution from his band & a general lack of soul or variation I have found to haunt all his work. One guitar solo at breakneck speed spread out for countless years is how I categorize YM's career. Then comes Perpetual Flame. I can't explicitly say what makes this album great, though others have verified it as his one of his best. It's the same guitar riffs as always with the same epic lyrics. Though, maybe this time the formerly missing secret ingredient is in the singer. YM always chooses top notch musicians & singers, without a doubt, to counter his guitar attack, but this time this frontman might have had just enough input to make a stronger impact than normal, though no writing credits exist ... or maybe he didn't & YM was just inspired like never before. Or, maybe the singing is a step above what other frontmen have done & really does intertwine in a way that YM has not been able to do with anyone else except for Jeff Scott Soto. The singer in question is Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Iced Earth & Judas Priest, now the ninth singer YM has had leading his band. But, is Owens the secret? Also in the band is former Alice Cooper & Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian who has a colorful range of music at his fingers & might have something to do with it. But, it's hard to say exactly what makes this album stand out from the rest. Honestly, the template is no different than any other album. The songs really don't vary that much, in that predictably YM way where each song generally sounds the same & each album like the last. Maybe it's because the weaker songs aren't too bad & beside the stronger songs end up sounding better than they really are. The one weakness is the obligatory instrumental "Caprici Di Diablo". I don't understand the desire of guitarists to show off with instrumentals when that's what they do usually just with vocals. For me few really imitate a vocalist in such a way that the song is just as good without a singer. Van Halen has done this too & those instrumental tracks I usually throw out. The guitar is melodic like a vocalist, but its not no matter how it's played. The only guitarists I know who really sing like an vocalist are in the jazz field or rock guys with a strong horn sensibility. Though "Caprici Di Diablo" is also YM's classical metal moment that he can't leave out. It's excusable, though is made less so by being followed by the instrumental "Lament". "Lament" is the better of the two & YM doing the blues is a good & too rare thing, & far more interesting than the classical thing, but I would have preferred to hear the instrumentals laced through the album & not clumped together. I understand that YM's Rising Force was originally both instrumental & vocal tracks, but I feel YM had moved beyond that into including more vocals. But, maybe that's why this album sounds good - it brings back something from the gold old days when the music was still vibrant & new. Including the Rising Force name on the album also helps, but this is not the same band so it's just a name. "Magic City" is a particular highlight that sounds like Whitesnake though a shorter solo would be better, but slow YM might be something not wish away too fast. If you want to get into YM Perpetual Flame might be the first & last place to turn to. It's the best.

Christina Aguilera & Cher's Burlesque Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (album review) ... A Cher album in name only!

Style: soundtrack, techno, classical, jazz
Label: RCA
Year: 2010
Home: n/a

Members: Cher, Christina Aguilera ~ lead vocals
Stevie Blacke, Lauren Chipman, Charlie Bisharat, Daphne Chen, Eric Gorfain, Oliver Kraus, Richard Dodd, The Section Quartet ~ strings
Alejandro Carballo, Roy Weigand, Geoff Nudell, Arturo Solar, Jim McMillen, Andy Martin, Gene Cipriano, James King, Ben Wendell, Ian Walker, Ron Dziubla, Rick Keller, Alan Kaplan, Mark Hollingsworth, Dan Higgins ~ horns
Robert Bacon, George Doering, John Salvatore Scaglione, Joel Shearer, Ray Parker, Jr. ~ guitar
Peter Erskine, Michael Neuble, Felix Bloxsom, Josh Freese, James Gadson, Gordon Peeke ~ drums
Samuel Dixon, Frank Capp, Pablo Correa, Juan Manuel Leguizamon ~ percussion
Jebin Bruni, Jim Cox, Jamie Muhoberac, Eddie Brown, Greg Kurstin ~ keyboards
Phantom Boyz, Matt Serletic ~ keyboards/programming
Alex Al, Paul III, Chris Chaney, Trey Henry ~ bass
Gus Seyffert – bass/guitar
Jess Collins ~ b. vocals


The pairing up of Christina Aquilera & Cher in a musical film looks good on paper, despite any criticism against either ... well, maybe against one more than the other. Certainly Xtina's deep voice owes something, if not intentionally, to Cher, & thus together they should be great. & by the mood of my writing you can already predict what happened to that paper ... thrown in the garbage. Well, not really. The movie is far better than I expected, but without the visuals & just the soundtrack album in hand ... a situation of lost in translation? But, I'm going to ignore the movie as I actually rough drafted this review before seeing the movie & I believe a good soundtrack album does not need the movie to be good. Music, essentially, should not require visuals. But, no matter what, I mean, it is Cher we're talking about with Xtina - it should not fail. I mostly have always enjoyed Xtina ... mostly as in not the last few albums but when she was still drrrty & beautiful with short dark hair. Then there's Cher. A legend that needs no introduction who at her worst is still great. So, back to that paper. Xtina & Cher together should sound like what? I would guess a mix of musical styles while the two trade off via duets & have some songs on their own. It's a rich cornucopia of old & new. But, as I said ... the paper went into the garbage. Ten songs total with one featuring a third singer from the movie, two featuring Cher & the rest with Xtina. There's no duets or even any backing vocals. The fact that Cher is only on two songs makes this essentially a new Xtina album & to put Cher's face on the cover is nothing more than a weak selling point. It should read soundtrack by Xtina with Cher. For those who haven't seen the movie she actually is the co-star in a good chunk of the film ... though why not in the soundtrack is another comeback moment she's losing out on. Or maybe she's tired of comeback moments? One of the best voices in rock & she's no more than a guest on her own album. I understand if she doesn't want to do a new album after seven years away from recording, but after hearing her two tracks I think she'll be the only one not wanting a new album. "Welcome To Burlesque" puts Cher against a seductive gypsy rhythm that's made for the stage such as Cabaret, Chicago or Moulan Rouge & hearkens back to her "Half-Breed" days with delight ... after years of techno Cher it's wonderful to hear this classic style music again. Yes, there's a hint of computer fun happening with her voice, but she always did it well not embarrassingly as it became after her lead. Then there's the piano ballad with a symphonic background "You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me". Cher's voice is wonderful & the songs fit her snuggly. & that's it. That's all you get of a woman whose face graces half the cover of the album & for me it's all I really wanted to listen to twice. & that just makes me sad as so much potential but so little effort. The rest is a typical Xtina album except for the one throwaway obvious dance number by some other girl singer whose not that distinctive. It makes since to include the song in terms of the movie, but without the visual is a chapter in a story on a non-story album. As for Xtina, the songs range from flashback R&B with a Funk Brothers groove (i.e. "Something's Got A Hold On Me") to some big band to a new song that swings into a bit of the classic "Blue Suede Shoes" for a bridge (i.e. "Tough Lover"). The history is there ... though we expect Cher to be singing over this music. Yes, the music is well done & perfect for the cinema & is far better than the weak Rock Of Ages. There's the ballad with strings that Xtina always likes to include, though there's only one "Beautiful" in her career (i.e. "Bound To You"). & lots of dance techno numbers more familiar to Xtina than not. The only interesting tracks are "Express" & a very elaborated take on Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" that's more Xtina than Marilyn. Whatever the song Xtina shows off the annoy habit she's picked up, & why I stopped being a fan, of over singing everything, trying to throw out all her range in one song & it does nothing for the song, not even impress. It's the Mariah Carey approach to singing. Here's an album that could combine the classic rock of early Cher with the dance floor of Xtina & later Cher. It could bring together Cher's manly croon with Xtina showing off her high notes in duets that would be a highlight of both their careers. An album of the young & old & baton passing. How sweet it looks on paper. How even beyond comeback. Somebody buy these two women a notebook. The movie might make up for the album with the visuals ... but musically it's got a lot to make up for & I'm surprised even Cher didn't look at the big picture & see how sad musically it looks from the outside. The focus here should be on the two stars, not a great & diverse band doing Xtina's new solo album with a couple friends stopping by. Nobody really listens to Xtina's albums for the musicians, if they did this review would read completely different. As for this being seen as a new Xtina solo album ... I'd to treat it as it is - not a solo album. This album might be better than Xtina's Bionic but the emotion continues to come & go in her music.

Tune In To Mind Radio: A Tribute To Multi-Talented Vocalist Kelly Keeling (album review) ... Such a perfect day!

Style: rock, country, classical, funk, instrumental
Label: Surgeland Records
Year: 2012
Home: n/a

Members: Anthony Z'sler, Steve Goatley ~ vocals/acoustic guitar
Charlie Gilbert ~ electric guitar
Tony Franklin, Mike Qualls ~ bass
Carmine Appice, Dallas Holder ~ drums
Greg "Cos" Cerenzia ~ guitars/bass/drums
Dominic Gaudious ~ didjeridoo/guitars/bass/drums
Park Sipes ~ vocals/guitars/synth/bass
Marty Paris ~ acoustic guitars
Jeffrey Michael ~ piano/synth

I originally discovered him through Trans-Siberian Orchestra & later Paris Keeling. My spouse met him via O'2L, which features more TSO members than any other side project. But, you might know him through MTV videos of Baton Rouge, or perhaps Blue Murder with John Sykes or his work with both Don Dokken & George Lynch, or maybe his time with Michael Schenker Group or even Carmine Appice's King Kobra. He also sang on Appice's multi-album Guitar Zeus project. There's also his time with the lesser known but the must be heard Heaven & Hell with prog keyboard whiz Erik Norlander now of Asia Featuring John Payne. Who am I talking about? Only a Louisiana born rock singer with Roger Daltrey-esque pipes, a songwriting sensibility with classic rock inklings & under-recognized guitar skills, that goes by the name of Kelly Keeling. Sadly, or that's the way of the music business, due to lacking that Top 10 make or break single the name of Kelly Keeling might not be as relevant to you as some other name whose done far less & is far less interesting. But, Keeling has been nothing but prolific & its hard not to stumble across him, particularly if you're one of those people that still reads liner notes or cares a little about who you are listening to. So, if you don't know Kelly Keeling then start reading some liner notes & let this 2012 tribute EP, the first such tribute to him, lead the way to his vast & still expanding musical catalog. All but one song of the six are from Keeling's pen & all the songs make their debut here. The album interestingly includes quite an array of artists, both musically & career-wise, who take various insightful editorial pens to Keeling's manuscript that brings out feelings not apparent previously in Keeling's original recordings. Thus, Keeling's strength as a songwriter comes through as his songs are engaging as ever, if not more, in the hands of strangers & friends. Among these new renditions its interesting to note that there's folks that have worked with Keeling & others that were only cursory familiar with him before contributing, there's folks who have immediately recognized names, others known regionally & some still working on getting their reputation off the ground. This diversity gives this small package some big surprises. The EP opens with "Perfect Day" by "Carmine Appice & Friends featuring Anthony Z'sler". I must confess I heard "Perfect Day" when it was released as the lead-off single a year before the EP dropped, plus in numerous versions by Keeling on past albums. Multiple listens over time is where the real proof happens if a song is good or bad & I think this new version is the best ever ... & I say that quite honestly. I actually never gravitated to the song before, but do so now with this new arrangement. If Keeling ever reads this I'm sure he'll cringe seeing that last sentence. He might have a distinguishing voice that gives his work a classic rock feel, but reputation says he's also a perfectionist, which isn't bad in itself, but he has a tendency to clutter his albums with too many guitars, throwing it all out there. He wants to impress when really he should lay back & chill. He clutters up his own songwriting with unnecessarily affectation. I'm directly here talking about "Perfect Day", but this observation applies to this whole tribute EP. Through all the songs here we have the songwriting of Keeling uncluttered by his own worst enemy ... but aren't we all our own worst enemies at times? & when the outcome is a collection of songs that actually sing with their own individual flavors, well, for me that shows just how good a songwriter Keeling actually is & how's he is impressive by what he's already doing, not by what he's trying to do with one more layer or guitar. As already mentioned, this album includes known & unknown names & "Perfect Day" is the perfect example of this. It features former Keeling bandmates Carmine Appice & Tony Franklin, famous for The Firm with Jimmy Page & Paul Rodgers, who also provides the real key to the song with a melodic bass line with his distinctive fretless bass playing. I don't think I ever heard what a distinctive style he has like I do here now. I, of course, remember him from the Firm, but he's come so far since then & honed in the rough edges. Also on this song are new faces Anthony Z'sler on acoustic guitar & vocals, whose a voice is one to pay attention to in the future, & as arranger deserves special kudos, while guitarist Charlie Gilbert lays down some great lead lines & a strong but uncluttered rythm throughout all the whole thing intertwining, in trademark Kelling compositional style, with Z'sler's guitar. Next comes "In & Out Of Time" with Greg "Cos" Cerenzia on all instruments. Cos might be most recently known for Permanent Reverse featuring Keeling's TSO mate Maxx Mann, his former Baton Rouge drummer Corky McClellan & Paris Keeling partner Marty Paris. A change from "Perfect Day" Cos has turned in an instrumental on acoustic guitar with electric lines fading in. Keeling doesn't write for solo rock guitar & this hasn't become that in Cos's hands. More than one track on the album looks at Keeling the composer of music, not just the songwriter. Many instrumentals like this feel like vocals are missing from the equation or like they're unfinished songs, or they become a guitar solo onslaught. This isn't any of the above. Actually, this is the type of song I picture running over credits or in a commercial. It's got a recognizable & memorable riff but not too in your face as it lays back with a couple guitars ringing out. It's provides a nice foil to the intricately layered "Perfect Day." "Park Sipes & Friends" turn in "Rising Of The Snake", a good song from Keeling's 2005 solo album Giving Sight To The Eye but routinely criticized for being severely cluttered by too many guitars. Snake should be plural in Keeling's hands. Here the streamlined feel of this tribute EP comes fully into play. "Rising Of The Snake" is turned into an AOR rock ballad that reminds me of Bon Jovi, particularly in Sipes' vocals. This also has a groove that's missing in Keeling's solo album version. Sipes is the rising star voice of cover band Sunset Strip featuring guitarist Chris Taylor who plays routinely with Carmine & Vinny Appice. Sipes is joined on the next track by Marty Paris for the song "Free", under the name of "Marty Paris & Friends." Paris originally produced this song when he & Keeling did it as Paris Keeling & it only made sense to return to it years later. "Free" features Steve Goatley on lead vocals & guitar, Paris on the lead lines against the rhythm & synth lines by Sipes. It's the first real shocking turn of the EP as it's a country song, or perhaps more properly Americana, & shows just how much diversity can be brought to Keeling's work depending on who the players are. It's a simple song after so much complex from the gut rock music. It's also a bit of a surprise inclusion as it is one of the few tracks that reaches out to a non-rock audience, something Keeling has rarely done on his own. Paris & Park in the last year have put together the Christian rock band Barbarian Way. Jeffrey Michael does the Cos thing by handling all the instruments on "Morning Song", though here's its acoustic piano with some light string sounding synth in the background. It's soft, tender, anything but the rock proceeding it & even a further step away from the foundation than "Free" was. If I was Keeling I'd be inspired by this interpretation as its so different than the rock he's most known for ... & its not a given that rock songs will work on piano without losing something in the translation. The album concludes with a track inspired by Keeling performed by Dominic Gaudious, also on all instruments though now a didgeridoo is added to the textures for subtle effect. But, no, this is not Australian aboriginal folk but "Hombre Salvaje" is a funky little piece of acoustic guitar against funk bass that captures the feeling of Keeling's career & provides a nice closing moment. In the end, this is an interesting EP as its not too hard or classic-tinged rock, which is where many of Keeling's fans are or what folks might expect to hear in a tribute to him, but appeals to a wide range of listeners. This is an album you'd be safe playing at a dinner party as nobody is going to get tired of it & its diversity appeals to a large group. One person will perk up at one song, while another will have their own favorite. Though, it is a bit on the short side, but one problem with tribute albums like this is they are so long & so diverse that they fall into personality crisis land where they're are an overdose more than an enjoyment. So, playing it short is the safe route & makes this worth checking out as a project all involved can be proud of.

The Smashing Pumpkins ~ Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness (album review) ... Want a tissue?

Style: alt rock
Label: Virgin
Year: 1995
Home: Chicago, Illinois

Members: Billy Corgan ~ vocals/lead guitar/
Jimmy Chamberlin ~ drums/vocals
James Iha ~ rhythm guitar/b. vocals
D'arcy Wretzky ~ bass/b. vocals

Additional: Chicago Symphony Orchestra ~ n/a
Greg Leisz ~ pedal steel guitar/lap steel guitar

"Tonight, Tonight" & "1979" need no introduction as two of the best songs to come not just from the SP but also the era of grunge. There's a few more hits off this double album including "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", "Thirty-Three" & "Zero". Then there is the rest of this monstrosity that leaves one wondering ... typical of double albums, actually, which often sink or at least struggle to stay afloat. The ambition of the double album is a noble but flawed one. Few bands have been able to get it right. In its favor, SP's attempt doesn't sound gluttonous or overdose the listener with their double album attempt. It has its weak tracks & does feel a bit long, but for those interested in the unique SP sound it doesn't drone on & on monotonously. But, I need to back up a minute. Those last few sentences are only partially true. Let me review the album this way ... I listened to the first CD, which includes all the above mentioned songs sans "1979" & "Thirty-Three", plus the great Soundgarden-esque gurgling "Jellybelly" & the under-rated "Muzzle", while "Love" may not be a highlight but it interestingly foreshadows Machina/The Machines Of God. The ballads on this first CD aren't so bad, though the James Iha penned ballad that ends the CD should stay on his solo album as its tenderness feels out of place. He gets a track ending the second CD. I ignore them both. His solo album isn't bad but his sound clashes in this context. This first CD on its own might not be the greatest SP album, or not even close, but its got some decent moments walking a tightrope between creativity, experimentalism & excess. Then, there's the second CD. Everything I previously wrote? Forget it. Suddenly what I had enjoyed seemed to fall apart at my feet in an embarrassing mess of excess, unfriendly music & experimentalism gone haywire. The songs are cold, distant, but not in the interesting way I think the overly layered Machina is. It's almost like there is two SP creating one album here. On one hand there is the intricately layered "1979" SP, the band most of us gravitate to, while on the other hand there is the monotonous guitar churning distortion laden SP that is more interested in the drive of the music than the softer layers of a womb. One is creative, again, if you know "1979" you know what I'm talking about, while the other stuff is creative in a different way & some of the twisted guitar solos are fascinating ... but the songs here are too droning, too angry, sometimes too unfocused in that anger & never climax but tease. The second CD seems to fall where the first stands. But, the first takes the whole project down with it making this a hard sell in total. Yes, it has some moments that beg listening (for example "In The Arms Of Sleep"), but it doesn't feel like there's enough of those moment ... particularly when sitting next to the torturous Machina wannabe "Tales Of A Scorched Earth" that makes you wonder if you're listening to the same band, a horrible track to follow "1979" too. Or, the experiment is so over the top that while there might be value in the idea the outcome I have trouble recommending. If the album is about shocking than goal achieved. If it's about making a great SP album, I think my goals for the band are different than founder Billy Corgan's. I know, before you say it, everyone raves about this album. I listened to it over & over & over & felt the lyrics bad & there was nothing that I liked about SP from either before or after remaining here except in glimmers. But, that's what you get in these reviews - my opinion based on my ears & not what others say. I happen to really like the SP. Other reviews here will vouch for that, so I'm not trying to be trendy or arrogant not liking the album. It's not until editing this review I wiki'd the album & saw how different my review was compared to others. I honestly thought it only was successful because of its singles.

Mercyful Fate ~ In The Shadows (album review) ... Presenting his royal highness King Diamond!

Style: black metal, heavy metal
Label: Metald Blade
Year: 1993
Home: Denmark

Members: King Diamond ~ vocals
Michael Denner, Hank Shermann ~ guitars
Timi Hansen ~ bass
Morten Nielsen ~ drums

Additional: John Marshall ~ harpsichord/drums

For however big their reputation it was shocking to find out that MF only made two albums before breaking up. In reunion mode they've now ironically put out far more albums than their classic years. In The Shadows is their third album & obviously first reunion album, a reunion that includes all but the drummer. It's also really the best of the reunion era. It's not that it gets bad after this, but the music loses some of its spark, faces a changing line-up & soon comes to compete with frontman King Diamond's solo career. Personally, I was never much of a MF fan based on their first two albums. I found it somewhat generic guitar heavy metal with vocals that got annoying & more songs I forgot then remembered. Yes, take away my metal membership badge & secret lyric decoder ring. But, I have an explanation of this point of view that might allow you to excuse me. MF was in the first wave of black metal, while King Diamond was amongst the first to use corpse paint. I wasn't old enough to hear the first wave of black metal. Well, actually, I was, but I was too young to be tape or magazine trading to discover many of these pioneer bands & that was really the only way their reputations spread. It's only in hindsight that they've come into the mainstream, more known than obscure. But, the problem is that all the second third & fourth waves have also flooded the musical landscape. So, at the time MF might have been doing things nobody else was & thus their music was shocking to hear, but now I've heard their style of music so much by the imitators, sometimes more creatively too, that they don't sound original or necessarily more interesting out of context of the time. While their reunion albums certainly are not first wave but now copying the second wave that copied their first wave. So, I have trouble bowing down to MF as this great band when I can't hear it. Yes, it's sad. In hindsight they don't sound so creative, so thus I just have whether the songs are good or bad on their own to base my judgment on. I'll take the charge that I'm out of touch with the music, though hopefully my explanation makes sense why. & if I'm out of touch, what about the generations after me? If music can only be enjoyed by the first generation of listeners ... Houston, we have a problem. Though, knowing something about the early era of black metal & having heard those bands I struggle to fit MF into the mold that has come to wrap those early bands. To me this is more Metallica than what would come to be known as black metal. Lyrically black, definitely, but musically not so dark or typical black metal. Though, I will give King Diamond credit for actually following the LaVeyan Satanism he professes musically, versus so many bands where it's just a cheap gimmick. & no, he's not a baby killing Satanist. That is not LaVeyan Satanism but a Middle Age mythological anti-Christian Satanism, as real as in Christians are cannibals because they drink the blood of a dead man. While I love to discuss religion, this is not the forum, so back to the music. I actually find this first reunion album the best album of MF. It excites me where the earlier classic albums bore me. In many ways the music hasn't changed. I still find it more generic than not, but with definite better production. I think these songs have stronger & tighter arrangements less relying on raw energy & more on nuance. Though, I never found the music particularly dark & I still don't. MF has always had a prog-metal slant & I think that gets pushed further here, as previously the prog-metal scene was undeveloped but now they have that influence to draw from & work with. Actually, at times I'm reminded of early Savatage (for example, "The Bell Witch"). There's also another difference that marks this album from earlier releases. The songwriting has moved beyond just Satanic themes into more story formats of a diverse array of dark topics. Themes now include the Ancient Egyptian gods of the dead (i.e. "Egypt"), witches (i.e. "The Bell Witch), a hanging tree (i.e. "The Old Oak"), bad thoughts (i.e. "A Gruesome Time"), eternal life in a very Ingmar Bergman setting (i.e. "Thirteen Invitations") & even a headless rider (i.e. "Legend Of The Headless Rider"). The instrumental "Room Of Golden Air" is thrown in, but you're just waiting for the vocals as its more of the same generic guitar riffing. Personally, the story form of the songs is the best part of the album & some of the lyrics are great. I even say the songwriting is better than King Diamond's own distinct falsetto vocals which is musically the most distinguishing mark of MF since day one. Though, after a solo career I think his vocals are stronger here than on earlier releases. He has more control over what he does with his voice & more creative in what he does or doesn't do which adds to the tighter & more interesting arrangements. MF has currently disbanded with only periodic one-off performances.

Allan Holdsworth With I.O.U. ~ Metal Fatigue (album review) ... Does Holdsworth invent his own guitar chords?

Style: rock, jazz-rock
Label: Enigma Records
Year: 1985
Home: California

Members: Allen Holdworth ~ guitar
Gary Willis, Jimmy Johnson ~ bass
Paul Korda, Paul Williams ~ vocals
Alan Paqua ~ keyboards
Chad Wackerman, Mac Hive, Gary Husband ~ drums

I'm not a great guitar player by any means ... I can hold down a basic rhythm though ... but I know enough to have an understand of what a guitarist is doing. Which is why I have often enjoyed Steve Howe's playing particularly in Yes. I don't know what he's always doing & it's certainly not predictable. I feel the same with Steve Vai. What is he doing? What's going on here? Where are those notes coming from? Now comes AH. I have no clue here. This guitarist is out there. & it's not like he's a speed freak whose just playing faster than my ears can catch it all, far from it. I remember reading interviews with guitarist Rev. Kriss Hades of Australia's Sadistik Exekution, a true speed freak who is the bridge between Venom & the Norwegian death metal scene, whose always citing AH as an inspiration. I know what some of you reading might be saying: you mean that guy in Bruford? Is that who AH is? If all you know is Bruford, & I'll confess that's what I knew AH through first, then do yourself a favor & pick up Metal Fatigue. You will drop everything once you hit play. Trust me ... I did, actually, I was in the kitchen eating but luckily not cooking. Is this what they call art rock or math metal? No, but AH is a grandfather with his palette of unorthodox & seldom heard scales. Actually, in some ways I'm reminded of Gabriel era Genesis, particularly on the few vocal tracks. Early Genesis also had experimental guitar voicings but this is far more rock than 70's prog. There's also an almost synth sounding bass creating a Dire Staits-esque 80's foundation by AH's plethora of awkward chord voicings. It's got the prog roots but isn't prog. This is like no guitar album you may have heard. Air guitar to this album brings the art of invisible six strings to a new level. I found myself imagining what his hands were looking like as they moved across the fretboard. It's a mere six songs, but the creativity more than makes up for the small number & the songs are on the longer side. At times this sounds more like a soundtrack, other times it's a guitarist's album. For fans of Bill Frisell, Steve Hackett, Jeff Beck & Steve Howe, & others that don't immediately come to mind, as these are very individual players who craft similar genre sounding & note bending albums that don't fall into a neat little commercial rock or a in your face guitar rock mold. But, one thing is clear - it's sad that AH doesn't get more recognition. You really need to check this album out & change this trend. I've not listened to any other solo albums, so I can't speak about them in comparison. But, if this is all I or you ever hear it will be enough. As it is, it's known as a landmark release for AH, so my audio instincts are correct as how great this is. There's only two weak parts that need mentioning. The vocals are fine but not that interesting. They provide texture but one wonders if maybe just an instrumental album would be a better route, considering half the songs already are. While "The Un-Merry-Go-Round" is a overly lengthy ballad of fourteen minutes, in cassette form this is one of two songs on Side B for those in the musical nostalgia group, & is slow & obviously long & not lacking the diversity you might expect from such a long piece ... but every album needs a ballad, at least there's just one of them here. In closing, I have to do something I never do, or with great infrequently, & that is quote wikipedia. It's description of AH playing, if I haven't sold you yet, should seal the deal on what make AH's sound a must hear: "He has a distinctive playing style that involves a strong scalar sense, combining elements of jazz & progressive rock. The harmonic structure of his pieces can be highly abstruse, with frequently shifting tonal centers, & his soloing follows from a self-taught advanced modal framework derived directly from his unusually voiced chords. His phrasing almost always features striking yet subtle transitions between notes that often work contrary to the listener's expectations of consonance & dissonance, with wide & unpredictable intervallic leaps. In his solos he predominantly uses various legato techniques such as slides, hammer-ons & pull-offs (the latter being a personalized method which works more akin to a 'reversed' hammer-on); all of which result in an extremely fluid lead sound."

Vince Neil ~ Carved In Stone (album review) ... Where is Steve Stevens when you miss him?

Style: hard rock, industrial, electronica
Label: Beyond Records
Year: 1995
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Vince Neil ~ vocals
Brent Woods ~ guitars
Robbie Crane ~ bass
Vik Foxx ~ drums

I find there's nothing worse than seeing a musician jettison the one thing they had going for them. VN joined that club with his
second solo album Carved In Stone. His first album only swam ashore safely because it had the great guitarist Steve Stevens motoring riff & intricate riff. What a great captain to the ship ... oh, wait, he's only the second mate. The problem was the songs weren't as great as the one playing them so all the focus went on Stevens. VN was a second class citizen on his debut album, a captain who couldn't get the respect of his crew. But, it's his debut. We can forgive a first misstep, right? No surprise, the album soon sunk with all hands aboard. So, VN updated his sound with a more electronic industrial flavor outing, motor instead of sails, with loops, hip-hop scratches & beats & bursts of guitars. It could work. It has potential. It's paying more attention to the scene than what the scene was or even the music VN is famous for via Motley Crue. Opener "Breakin' In The Gun" sounds like VN grabbed from what was popular in Brooklyn & introduced it to L.A.. It's not so bad, not really ... then there's the rest of the album. & you thought he couldn't do worse than his solo debut? Where have you been hiding? VN is out to prove you wrong! That was just a trial run! When the songs work VN's voice is good but predictable, honestly once you've got VN's voice in your ear there's not much variation, & his creativity is interesting & certainly there's tracks here I'd return to for later listens. But, the others get deleted from my hard drive. As for keeping the full CD it's not really worth it unless you're a collector. It's one of those select the songs you like albums. The songs aren't any better than his debut, but the samples keep it interesting like Stevens did to the first. But, its sad that the reason we come to the album is to hear the singer & that's the last thing you ended up listening to. I do appreciate VN trying to update his sound, though really all he needed to do was fine tune the debut as that at its worst is better than this. Compared to some rockers who have gone into the sampling world this is one of the better outcomes. It does have potential & doesn't overdose the beats with the rock. & VN kept some of the sleaze (i.e. "The Crawl") & the rock guitars he's known for, not abandoning all. But, really, VN's solo outings have been the weakest out of everyone in Motley Crue. The worst moments, or those I'd recommend you to avoid, include" the industrial loops of "One Way" that could be better utilized by Marilyn Manson or NIN on a bad day; the horrible piano ballad "Skylar's Song"; "Make U Feel" which borrows without shame a riff from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", but actually has a good chorus); "Find A Dream" what I call aka 'Find A Sample' & you'll see what I mean when you listen to it; "One Less Mouth To Feed" is a ramshackle hard rock affair; while the alt rock ballad "The Rift" must have been one of those last minute writing affairs so nobody realizes how bad it is. After such a list I almost feel bad ... knowing you're probably going to go to those tracks first & be so horrified you won't get to the good ones which I haven't mentioned. I love Motley Crue ... where the best songs are penned not by VN. While, as I said, other musicians have experiment with far worse outcomes, but also far better. But, the difference is they knew what their sound was to be able to move away from it. VN has no sound outside of Motley Crue & thus his solo albums are always trying to fly before they know which direction to fly in, or in the middle of the ocean without a compass ... but you can follow the little Stevens bird, he'll get you somewhere. Okay, I give VN credit for a cohesive vision for the over-all project. It's not a disjointed affair of many styles ... it is disjointed, though, in the fact of many bad songs & some good ones.