Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny (2006)

For those of you who haven't heard of Tenacious D, they are a 2 piece Hard Rock/Heavy Metal/Acoustic Rock/Comedy Rock band who formed in 1993 in Los Angeles, California. They consist of Jack Black (Guitar & Vocals) and Kyle Gass (Guitar & Vocals). The band got their starts initally in 1989 at the Edinburgh Fringe festival as both members were part of the Los Angeles Theater Groupe "The Actors' Gang". Kyle taught Jack how to play guitar in exchange for Jack helping Kyle with his acting skills. They are currently signed to Sony BMG and Epic Records. While touring, they include John Konesky (Electric Guitar, dresses as the Anti-Christ during performances), John Spiker (Bass, dresses as Charlie Chaplin during performances), and Brooks Wackerman (Drums, dresses as Colonel Sanders during performances). They currently have two albums, a 6 episode TV Show, and a full length movie entitled The Pick of Destiny.

The Pick of Destiny, released in 2006, was Tenacious D's second album, following their 2001 self-titled release. The album was also the soundtrack to the movie of the same name. The album consists of fifteen tracks which include "Kickapoo", "Classico", "Baby", "Destiny", "History", "The Government Totally Sucks", "Master Exploder", "The Divide", "Papagenu (He's My Sassafrass)", "Dude (I Totally Miss You)", "Break In-City (Storm the Gate!)", "Car Chase City", "Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)", "POD", and "The Metal". The album was an interesting to listen to. As some of you may know, this is the second soundtrack I've done. Overall, the album was inconsistent, it jumped around from song style to song style, there was the upbeat one, the classic sounding one, several slow ones, and on others they threw in the electric guitar and full band. Now don't get me wrong, Tenacious D is a pretty damn good band, this just didn't have the same feel. Sure, their first album wasn't a soundtrack, but they could have at least kept the consistency of the album to say the least. There was really nothing wrong with the album at all, nothing lacked, just was a bit out of order.

Overall, the album was pretty damn good. I can't really think of other musicians that are like Tenacious D, except maybe Stephen Lynch, or even Bo Burnham, but if you like acoustic rock as well then you should check it out. The album was released on November 14, 2006 and is available on amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0

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Tenacious D's Website

Hatebreed - The Rise of Brutality (2003)

Hatebreed, for those of you who haven't heard of them before, are a 5 piece Metalcore/Hardcore band from New Haven, Connecticut who formed in 1994. They consist of Jamey Jasta (Vocals), Wayne Lozinak (Guitar), Frank Novinec (Guitar), Chris Beattie (Bass), and Matt Byrne (Drums). They are currently signed to E1 Records.

The Rise of Brutality, is Hatebreed's 3rd full-length album, following 2 other full-length albums and 3 EP's. When it was released it reached #30 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album consists of 12 tracks (the U.K. version has 13), which include "Tear it Down", "Straight to Your Face", "Facing What Consumes You", "Live for This", "Doomsayer", "Another Day, Another Vendetta", "A Lesson Lived is a Lesson Learned", "Beholder of Justice", "This is Now", "Voice of Contention", "Choose or Be Chosen", and "Confide in No One". The album as a whole was really kick ass. Each song makes you feel as though you just want to beat the shit out of somebody, while the lyrics are kind of upbeat (mostly positive outlooks throughout the lyrics). It's the guitar riffs that really drive this album, at points simplistic, but they work, the tracks mostly don't need solo's as it wouldn't really fit with the rest of it. If I had to reccommend some choice tracks out of the album, you should definitely listen to "Straight to Your Face", "Live for This", and "This is Now". The three of those tracks really drive the album, they hit you with a blast of sound which actually works, unlike some other bands (examples: iwrestledabearonce and Preschool Tea Party Massacre). If there is a downside to the album, it would be that most of the tracks sound just like breakdowns, which in turn, make the breakdowns sound even more breakdown-y, you'll know what I mean when you listen to it.

Overall, the album is perfect for moshing to. If you're into Throwdown, Walls of Jericho, DevilDriver, Madball, Agnostic Front (Madball is actually a side project of Agnostic Front), Icepick (Jamey Jasta's side project), Heaven Shall Burn, Bury Your Dead, Unearth, or Parkway Drive, then you should check out Hatebreed. The album was released on October 28, 2003 and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

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Hatebreed's Website

Bolt Thrower - In Battle There Is No Law (1988)

For those of you who haven't heard of Bolt Thrower, they are a 5 piece Death Metal/Grindcore band from Coventry, England who formed in 1986. They consist of Karl Willetts (Vocals), Barry Thompson (Guitar), Gavin Ward (Guitar), Jo-Anne Bench (Bass), and Martin "Kiddie" Kearns (Drums). They originally got their name from a weapon used in the tabletop strategy game of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. They are currently signed to Metal Blade Records.

In Battle There Is No Law is Bolt Thrower's first album, which was preceded by 4 demo albums and 1 EP. The album consists of 9 tracks which include "In Battle There Is No Law", "Challenge for Power", "Forgotten Existence", "Denial of Destiny", "Blind to Defeat", "Concession of Pain", "Attack in the Aftermath", "Psychological Warfare", and "Nuclear Annihilation". The album was recorded with most of their current line-up, except instead of Martin Kearns, they had Andrew Whale on the drums. The album overall is quite different from other Grindcore albums around this time (mainly, Napalm Death's album Scum), in that while Napalm Death was (and still is) fast paced and constantly spitting out the vocals at you, Bolt Thrower takes a slower approach to their tracks. They start slow and then progressively speed up (this is more evident on their later albums, mainly 1992's album "The IVth Crusade"). I'm still surprised that this album was released in 1988, as Karl sounds more and more like the modern day Death Metal bands, his growl is low and purposeful (if a growl can be that). The guitars on the album mix so well together as well. The drums were really loud (mainly the bass drum) but they didn't overpower the mix. The bass is extremely well done, and (little bit of a fact here) Jo-Anne Bench is one of the first female Death Metal musicians (not a screamer, but still a part of the Death Metal scene). The album just kicked ass.

Overall, an extremely well done first album in a time when the genre was first emerging. If you're into Napalm Death, Obituary, Unleashed, Benediction, Dismember, Grave, or Hail of Bullets, you should check out Bolt Thrower. The album was released on June 12, 1988 and is available on amazon (although not currently available) and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.4 out of 5.0

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Bolt Thrower's Website

Powerglove - Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man (2007)

Powerglove, for those of you who haven't heard of them yet, are a 4 piece Instrumental Power Metal band (that's the best way I could describe it) from Boston, Massachusetts. They consist of Alex Berkson (Guitar), Chris Marchiel (Guitar), Nick Avila (Bass), and Bassil Silver-Hajo (Drums). They are currently Unsigned.

Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man is Powerglove's first full-length release following their 2005 EP release Total Pwnage. Their album consists of 11 tracks which include "So Sexy Robotnik", "Mario Minor", "Fight On", "Vanquish the Horrible Night", "Blasting the Hornet", "The Duck Grinder", "Power, Wisdom, Courage", "Omnishred (We're Gonna Need a Bigger Sword)", "Holy Orders (Be Quick and Just Shred)", "Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man", and "Red Wings Over Baron". The album was quite interesting to say the least, I haven't really listened to a fully instrumental metal album before, so it was quite a ride. Where to begin, it just sounded awesome. Normally, I look to lyrics to tell a story, but there really isn't need for a story with this album. The guitar work is insane and really well refined, as is with the bass and the drums. It can go from slow and relaxing, to blast beats, normally I wouldn't like this, but since there aren't vocals attached to them, it flows nicely. There are technically vocals on two songs "Mario Minor" where they shout the words Super Mario, and on "Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man" where they should Mortal Kombat.

Overall, the album was really good. It flowed seamlessly and really defined the band. If you're into Malice Mizer, X Japan, Dream Theater, Blind Guardian, or Sonata Arctica, you should check out Powerglove, and in case you haven't guessed it by now, they took their name from the NES attachment of the same name. The album was released in 2007 (can't find the exact date) and is currently not available on Amazon (but it is on amazon), and is not available on iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5.0

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Powerglove's Website

iwrestledabearonce - It's All Happening (2009)

iwrestledabearonce (yes, it's all lowercase), is a 5 piece Grindcore/Metalcore/Jazz/Disco/Electronica/Swing/Avant-Garde Metal band from Shreveport, Louisiana. They formed in 2007 and consist of Krysta Cameron (Vocals), Steven Bradley (Guitar, Programming, Keys & Sampling), John Ganey (Guitar, Programming, Keys & Sampling), Mike "Rickshaw" Martin (Bass), and Mikey Montgomery (Drums & Backup Vocals). They are currently signed to Century Media.

It's All Happening, iwrestledabearonce's debut full-length album reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers, and #122 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It has 11 tracks which consist of "You Ain't No Family", "White Water in the Morning", "Danger in the Manger", "I'm Cold and There Are Wolves After Me", "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon", "The Cat's Pajamas", "Pazuzu For the Win", "Black-Eyed Bush", "Eli Cash Vs. the Godless Savages", "See You in Shell", and "Danger in the Manger (Jimmy Urine Mix)" which is the bonus track. The album itself was decent, but not all that good. Not going to lie though, I was impressed that a girl could do the screams like Krysta does, and she changes between that and a soothing clean vocal. The artistry of the guitar was well done, there were extremely complex parts and well played riffs. The drums were intense, and would tend to go to blast beats more often than anything else. Bass was really hard to hear, and at points, I thought they didn't even have a bass player. That being said, the keys, programming, and sampling done just didn't fit, neither did the genre changes. They'd be in the middle of screaming and all brutal, and then it'd go to Jazz, it just didn't sound good on the ears.

Overall, the album was decent, theorettically, it'd be a great album, and when you listen to each instrument individually, it is, it's when you put them all together with the constantly changing genre's that it just turns into chaos and doesn't work. If you're into Winds of Plague, August Burns Red, Blessthefall, The Human Abstract, Fact, Greeley Estates, Sea of Treachery, Enter Shikari, All Shall Perish, Vanna, The Dillinger Escape Plan, or HORSE the Band, then you should check them out. Or, as I've said in a previous article, if you hate them, listen to Preschool Tea Party Massacre, and then you should be able to at least stand them. The album was released June 2, 2009 and is available on amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 3.9 out of 5.0

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iwrestledabearonce's Website

Feed Her to the Sharks - The Beauty of Falling (2010)

For those of you who haven't heard (and that's probably a lot of you as this band is still unsigned), Feed Her to the Sharks is a 5 piece Metalcore band from Melbourne, Australia. They formed in 2008 and consist of Andrew (Vocals), Chewy (Guitar), Jono (Guitar), Aldy (Bass & Vocals), and Christian (Drums). As I mentioned before, they are Unsigned and this is their first album.

The Beauty of Falling is Feed Her to the Sharks' first album (no EPs, Demos or Singles that I can find of them). The album consists of 12 tracks which include "Extinction/Resurrection", "Dead by Dawn", "Fear of Failure", "With the Change of Seasons", "Misery", "Murder Monogamy", "Digital Breakdown", "Neptune Does Not Have a Trident", "My Bleeding Heart Swims in a Sea of Darkness", "Outta My Way Satan... GARD!", "Tragedy, Tears and Sorrow", and "The Beauty of Falling". To be honest, this album is probably one of the best Metalcore albums that I've heard in quite a long time. The guitar riffs are intense, the drums are blasting, the bass line is fluid, the screams are to perfection, and the clean vocals are just plain sweet (some actually sound like they're auto-tuned). The album starts with a massive snare fill before everyone else kicks in and it works excelently. There's even a slow paced interlude of sorts which oddly fits (like I've said in previous reviews, been seeing instrumentals as a trend in Metalcore nowadays). This album just kicked ass, and it's a pity that they haven't been signed to a label yet, because this is so much better than some other bands on label's material. I cannot find anything wrong with the album at all, it just works.

Overall, the album kicked ass. Check them out if you're into The Black Dahlia Murder, Killswitch Engage, early Avenged Sevenfold, Whitechapel, or August Burns Red. The album was released March 16, 2010 (think this is the quickest I've reviewed a new album), I currently can't find it on Amazon or iTunes, but according to their Myspace page, the album will be on there for free listening within the next few days.

Overall Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0

Feed Her to the Sharks' Website

Born of Osiris - The New Reign (2007)

Born of Osiris, for those of you who haven't heard of them as of yet, are a 6 piece Metalcore/Deathcore/Technical Death Metal band from Palatine, Illinois. They formed in 2003 and have released 2 full length albums. They currently consist of Ronnie Canizaro (Vocals), Lee McKinney (Guitar), Jason Richardson (Guitar), Joe Buras (Keyboards & Backing Vocals), David Darocha (Bass), and Cameron Losch (Drums). They are currently signed to Sumerian Records.

The New Reign, Born of Osiris' first full length album after 4 demos, 2 singles, and 1 EP. It didn't chart on the Billboard 200, but their next full length album, 2009's A Higher Place, reached #73. The album consists of 8 tracks, those being "Rosecrance", "Empires Erased", "Open Arms To Damnation", "Abstract Art", "The New Reign", "Brace Legs", "Bow Down", "The Takeover". This album felt incredibly short, and it was (only 21:31 in length). The screams sounded like your typical metalcore screams, at times there were gang vocals, but overall it felt rather generic. The stand out track for the album, in my opinion, was the track "Bow Down", mainly for the way that it starts. Incase you haven't heard it, the track starts with four double bass blasts, a snare hit, goes silent for a split second before Ronnie Canizaro screams "Fucking Bow Down" and then the track kicks it into high gear. The other tracks I actually found hard to listen to, it just felt so generic, like I've heard this album done before by so many other bands. It was a moderate listen to say the least.

Overall, the album was decent, but not near spectacular. If you're into Veil of Maya, The Faceless, Oceano, Despised Icon, Emmure, Whitechapel, ABACABB, Texas in July, The Acacia Strain, or Hester Prynne then you should check out Born of Osiris. The album was released on October 2, 2007 and is available on amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 5.0

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Born of Osiris' Website

Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold (2007)

Avenged Sevenfold is a Heavy Metal/Metalcore (early works)/Hard Rock band from Huntington Beach, California. They formed in 1999 and consisted of M. Shadows (Vocals, real name is Matthew Sanders), Synyster Gates (Lead Guitar, real name is Brian Haner Jr.), Zacky Vengeance (Rhythm Guitar, real name is Zachary Baker), Johnny Christ (Bass, real name is Jonathan Seward), and until December 28, 2009, The Rev (Drums, real name James Sullivan). They are currently signed to Warner Brothers Records and are working on their fifth album, with Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy as their drummer, as he was The Rev's favorite drummer.

Avenged Sevenfold's fourth full length album "Avenged Sevenfold" was the last album to feature The Rev. It debuted at #4 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album consists of ten tracks which include "Critical Acclaim", "Almost Easy", "Scream", "Afterlife", "Gunslinger", "Unbound (The Wild Ride)", "Brompton Cocktail", "Lost", "A Little Piece of Heaven", and "Dear God". The album has also had three tracks released through the game Rock Band (those being "Almost Easy" as an on disc song for Rock Band 2, and "Critical Acclaim" and "Afterlife" available as downloads). The album starts off with a heavy hitter, that being "Critical Acclaim". It starts with, of all things, and Organ solo (played by M. Shadows) before Synyster comes in with short guitar introduction before Zacky Vengance comes in and harmonizes with him. The tracks themselves vary, some are slow, others fast paced, one has M. Shadows being auto-tuned (the track "Lost"), a few have orchestra sections, others have female vocals, and some sound like a country song. The album overall was quite good, not as good as Waking the Fallen or City of Evil, but still good.

Overall, the album was good from start to finish, but some of the songs seemed out of place, and the auto-tuning of M. Shadows seemed unnecessary. If you're into Guns n Roses, Pantera, Metallica, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine, 36 Crazy Fists, and Atreyu, you should check the album out. The album was released on October 30, 2007 and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5.0

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Avenged Sevenfold's Website

Beck - Guero (2005)

Beck (born Bek David Campbell), is an Alternive Rock/Anti-Folk musician from Los Angeles, California. He first began his career in 1988 and has been active ever since. He is best known for his songs "Loser", "E-Pro", and "Girl" among other songs. He currently is focusing on his side project called "Record Club". He is currently signed to Interscope Records.

Beck's 2005 album "Guero" was his ninth full-length release overall. The album debut at #2 on the U.S. Billboard 200, and at #15 on the UK charts. "E-Pro" was Beck's first #1 hit since his song "Loser. The album contains 13 tracks (up to 20 if you get the special edition ones) and consists of "E-Pro", "Qué Onda Guero", "Girl", "Missing", "Black Tambourine", "Earthquake Weather", "Hell Yes", "Broken Drum", "Scarecrow", "Go it Alone", "Farewell Ride", "Rental Car", and "Emergency Exit". The version that I am reviewing today is the UK release and contained the bonus tracks "Send a Message to Her", and "Chain Reaction". The album also had collaborations with The Beastie Boys and Jack White. The album has a much more mellow feel than any of the albums that I've reviewed. It's the type of album which you would listen to after a long and tiring day just to feel good. The only problem I had with the album was one of the bonus tracks (yes, only one problem). The song "Chain Reaction" felt as though it didn't belong on the album. All of the other songs are calm, relaxing, and soothing to a point, whereas "Chain Reaction" is fast, hyper, and just unpleasant on the ears (mostly a fast guitar riff with Beck shouting CHAIN REACTION!!!!). Other than the one track, it's a great album.

Overall, it's an album that you should at least rent or borrow from a friend. If you're into Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, The White Stripes, Sonic Youth, Eels, Blur, Ween, Soul Coughlin, or Gorillaz, then you should be listening to Beck. The album was released on March 29, 2005 and is available on iTunes and Amazon.

Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0

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Beck's Website

The Devil Wears Prada - Plagues (2007)

For those of you who haven't heard of The Devil Wears Prada, they are a 6 piece Metalcore band that formed in Dayton, Ohio in 2005. They consist of Mike Hranica (Lead Vocals), Jeremy DePoyster (Rhythm Guitar & Clean Vocals), Chris Rubey (Lead Guitar), Andy Trick (Bass), Daniel Williams (Drums), and James Baney (Keyboard, Synthesizer, and Piano). They have three albums released, their first two were released on Rise Records, while their latest album was released on Ferret Music.

The album Plagues is The Devil Wears Prada's second full-length album, following their 2006 release "Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord" and precedeing their 2009 released "With Roots Above and Branches Below". It peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard Indipendent Albums and #57 on the U.S. Billboard top 200. The album consists of 10 tracks which include "Goats on a Boat", "Number Three, Never Forget", "HTML Rulez d00d", "Hey John, What's Your Name?", "Don't Dink and Drance", "You Can't Spell Crap Without "C"" (Featuring Craig Owens, former vocalist of Davison, Michigan Post-Hardcore band Choidos), "This Song Is Called", "Reptar, King of the Ozone", "The Scorpion Deathlock", and "Nickels is Money Too". The album, as a whole, was a decent album. At points, the album decided to get a bit redundant with the overall tone. At points it felt as though James Baney's role in the band wasn't needed as the Keyboards just hindered some of the songs. However, the guitar work was excellent throughout the album, complex solos and rhythms that held up throughout the album. TDWP also made some culture references throughout the album, "Goats on a Boat" is a play off of the movie "Snakes on a Plane", "Number Three, Never Forget" is a reference to Dale Earnhardt, "Reptar, King of the Ozone" is from an episode of Rugrats, "Nickels is Money Too" references an episode of Metalocalypse, and "The Scorpion Deathlock" is from a finishing move of the wrestler Sting.

Overall, the album had a few hiccups, but flowed decently. Check this out if you're into Choidos, Killswitch Engage, Miss May I, Underoath, Atreyu, Haste the Day, Demon Hunter, or August Burns Red. The album was released on August 21, 2007 and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.3 out of 5.0

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The Devil Wears Prada's Website

Maximum the Hormone - Bu-ikikaesu (2007)

For those of you who haven't heard of Maximum the Hormone, they are a 4 piece Metalcore/Nu Metal band from Hachiōji, Japan. They consist of Daisuke "Daisuke-han" Tsuda (Vocals), Ryo "Maximum the Ryo-kun" Kawakita (Guitar & Vocals), Futoshi Uehara (Bass & Backing Vocals), and Nao Kawakita (Drums & Vocals). Daisuke and Nao are the original members, Ryo was suggested to replace Sugi by his sister Nao, and Futoshi joined soon after replacing Key. They are currently signed to VAP Records. And now for the review thingy.

Maximum the Hormone's sixth full-length release, Bu-ikikaesu, reached #5 on the Oricon album charts and is certified Gold in Japan. The album consists of 13 tracks which include "Bu-ikikaesu!!", "Zetsubō Billy", "Kuso Breakin Nō Breakin Lily", "Louisiana Bob", "Policeman Benz", "Black Yen Power G-Men Spy", "Akagi", "Kyoukatsu", "Bikini Sports Ponchin", "What's Up, People?!", "Chu Chu Lovely Muni Muni Mura Mura Purin Purin Boron Nurururerorero", "Shimi", and "Koi no Mega Lover". If you're a fan of the anime "Death Note", you'll recognize "What's Up, People?!" and "Zetsubō Billy" as it's opening and closing themes for the second season. Also, if you're a fan of the anime "Akagi", the song "Akagi" is featured in that series as well. This album was one of the more unique listening experiences I've had in a while. It's a mixture of Ryo singing cleanly and really fastly, Daisuke either doing screams or scream-rapping, and the occasional occurence of Nao singing as well. Futoshi rarely sings, but can be heard in the group vocals for some of the tracks. It's brutal at points, and upbeat and happy at others. In some songs, it kind of sounds ska/reggae like with the guitars, while Nao sings peacefully, and then out of nowhere Daisuke comes in with a brutal scream at first which leads into a scream-rap. Ryo wrote and composed all of the songs for the album, and it sounds kick ass from start to finish.

Overall, the album was really good. Check them out if you're into Dir en Grey, Distrubed, System of a Down, Korn, The Fall of Troy, or even old school Slipknot. The album was released on March 14, 2007 and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.7 out of 5.0

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Maximum the Hormone's Website

Electric Six - Fire (2003)

Well that took a while to get back on track, been busy for the past week filming, so I bring you an epic review today. For those of you who don't know Electric Six (and if you don't then shame on you), they are a 6 piece Alternative Rock band from Detroit, Michigan. They formed in 1996 as The Wildbunch and currently consist of Dick Valentine (Vocals, real name is Tyler Spencer, only original member of the group), The Colonel (Guitar, real name is Zach Shipps), Johnny Na$hinal (Guitar, real name is John Nash), Smorgasbord! (Bass, real name is Keith Thompson), Tait Nucleus? (Keyboards, real name is Christopher Tait), and Percussion World (Drums, real name is Mike Alonso). They are currently signed to XL Recordings, WEA, and Metropolis Records.

Electric Six's debut album was 2003's Fire. The album #5 on the U.S. Billboard Top Electronic Albums, #38 on the U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums, and #7 on the UK Albums Chart. The album contains 13 tracks that include "Dance Commander", "Electric Demons in Love", "Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)", "Danger! High Voltage", "She's White", "I Invented the Night", "Improper Dancing", "Gay Bar", "Nuclear War (On the Dance Floor)", "Getting Into the Jam", "Vengeance and Fashion", "I'm the Bomb", and "Synthesizer". The album released three singles, those being Danger! High Voltage, Gay Bar, and Dance Commander. This album is sex for your ears. Every song is extremely well written, catchy, and memorable. Almost everyone has heard either of the three singles from this album. Dick Valentine soars as a vocalist and moves you through his lyrics. There have even been rumors that the song "Danger! High Voltage" had Jack White of the White Stripes as a guest vocalist. The album officially credits John S. O'Leary as the guest vocalist for the song, former Guitarist Surge Joebot (Joe Frezza) has confirmed this, while Dick Valentine has, in a radio interview, confirmed that it was Jack White.

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Overall, this album rocked from start to finish. This is where I'd give you other bands that sound like them to give you a feel for this, but you should have this album already. It was released on May 20, 2003 and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 6.0 out of 5.0, yeah, it's that good

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Electric Six's Website

Dir en Grey - Withering to Death (2006)

For most of you who haven't heard of Dir en Grey, they are a 5 piece J-Rock, J-Metal, Metal, Alternative Rock, well, let's just go with Various Rock band from Osaka, Japan. They formed in 1997 and have had the same line-up of Kyo (Vocals), Kaoru (Guitar), Die (Guitar), Toshiya (Bass), and Shinya (Drums). Their first recognization outside of Japan into the US market of music was their 2006 release Withering to Death (other albums were released only in Asia while some were released in Asia and Europe). They are currently signed to Free-Will Records, which is a division of Sony Music.

Withering to Death is Dir en Grey's fifth studio album and was Dir en Grey's first official album released in Europe and North America (their previous album "Vulgar" was originally released in 2003 in Asia, but was released in Europe 3 months after Withering to Death). The album consists of fourteen tracks which include "Merciless Cult", "C", "Saku", "Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku", "Itoshisa Ha Fuhai ni Tsuki", "Jesus Christ R 'n R", "Garbage", "Machiavellism", "Dead Tree", "The Final", "Beautiful Dirt", "Spilled Milk", "Higeki wa Mabuta wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu", and "Kodou". Upon my first listening to the album (about 2 or 3 years ago now), I could only listen to the first three songs, which on my first listening, were amazing. Now that I have finally listened to the full album (I've listened to the track "The Final" in between those times), I can see how this got Dir en Grey onto the North American market. This album shows how talented Kyo is as a singer, at one point he can be singing so sincerely while in the next few seconds he can change to a death growl and back again to the nice side of his vocals. This is shown in depth in the songs "Merciless Cult" and "Saku" and is apparent in other songs as well. Saku was the album's second single and was voted as MTV2's Headbanger's Ball #1 Video of 2006, and it is a damn good song, it encompases screams, mid-tone vocals, fast paced growls, and even falsettos. All of that is over an already amazing band. To get a feeling for most of Dir en Grey's songs, if the guitars sound darker, it typically means that Kaoru wrote the song, while the more upbeat songs are usually written by Die.

Overall, the album was incredible, I honestly could not find anything wrong with it at all. Though not the band's best seller, it is their breakthrough album into North America and Europe. If you're into Maximum the Hormone, J-Metal, or even Metalcore to an extent, you should check them out. The album was released on May 16, 2006 in the US and is available on Amazon and itunes.

Overall Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0

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Dir en Grey's Website

Danny Elfman - Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

"Great, now we gotta finish the movie with Danny Elfman..." - Seth Green as Chris Griffin. Yes indeedy, today we're gonna be reviewing an album by a composer. For those of you who haven't heard of Danny Elfman, he was the vocalist/songwriter for Oingo Boingo from 1976 til their breakup in 1995, and he is also a composer. He has worked on many films, including Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mission: Impossible, Men in Black, Good Will Hunting, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Spider-Man, Red Dragon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Nacho Libre, Wanted, Corpse Bride, Terminator Salvation, The Wolfman, and most recently, Alice in Wonderland. In addition, he has sung as Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas, was the voice for Bonejangles in Corpse Bride, and has written the theme songs for Desperate Housewives, Dilbert, and his most famous one, The Simpsons.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure is Danny Elfman's third movie that he has composed. The tracks that he wrote were "Overture/The Big Race", "Breakfast Machine", "Park Ride", "Stolen Bike", "Hitchhike", "Dinosaur Dream", "Simone's Theme", "Clown Dream", "Studio Chase", "The Drive-In", and "Finale". The score mainly draws it's musical themes from the second track "Breakfast Machine" (which you may have heard in Family Guy, or even in Team Fortress 2 as the Heavy character sings it from time to time). You can see "Breakfast Machine" repeated in almost all of the songs, although when it gets to the track "Clown Dream", the album takes on a darker feeling, as if it's sad and depressing. The "Breakfast Machine" theme then finishes the score as it comprimises more than half of the Finale.

Overall, this was a good album, a bit repetitive at times, but still a good album. This is normally where I'd be recommending other bands to listen to if you liked this, but since Danny Elfman is a composer, I'm going to skip that this time. The album was re-released with the Back to School soundtrack as well and can be found on Amazon and itunes.

Overall Rating: 4.2 out of 5

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Danny Elfman's Website

Placebo - Without You I'm Nothing (1998)

And so we do another non-metal album. For those of you who haven't heard of Placebo, they are a 3 piece Alternative Rock band from London, England. They currently consist of Brian Molko (Vocals & Guitar), Stefan Olsdal (Guitar & Bass), and Steve Forrest (Drums). They are currently signed to PIAS and Vagrant Records, and formed in 1994. Stefan Olsdal is openly gay, and Brian Molko is openly bisexual and has a sort of androgynous image, but that shouldn't effect the music for you. Now for the review.

Without You I'm Nothing is Placebo's second album (the first being their 1996 self-titled debut album), had a slightly different line-up from their current one, in that Steven Hewitt was the drummer for this album. The album consists of 12 tracks which include "Pure Morning", "Brick Shithouse", "You Don't Care About Us", "Ask For Answers", "Without You I'm Nothing", "Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)", "The Crawl", "Every You Every Me", "My Sweet Prince", "Summer's Gone", "Scared of Girls", and "Burger Queen" (which contains the hidden track "Evil Dildo"). With this album, you can just put it on and relax. It's got a calm vibe to it, even though some of the songs have a bit more kick to them. It has a rock tone to most of the album with a couple of slow songs here and there. The album's longest song "Burger Queen" is 22:39 long and has almost 8 minutes of dead air in the song before the hidden track kicks in. They could have just saved the time and cut it into two tracks instead of having the listener wait all that time. Also with Burger Queen, it starts off really mellow and relaxing, and then when the hidden track starts, it's fast paced and hyper sounding, which kind of threw me off guard. I'm normally a fan of geting caught off guard with albums, but this wasn't one of those times, mainly because of the drawn out waiting. So in a sense, the only flaw to the album is the track Burger Queen, where the rest of the album is extremely well done. "Pure Morning" was the first single from the album, they made a video for it as well (depicting someone about to jump off a building while people gather around to see if they will jump). Also. if you've ever seen the movie "Cruel Intentions" then you'll know the track "Every You Every Me" as it was the opening track in the movie.

Overall, the album flowed very well, with the only hiccup being at the very end of it. You should get this album if you're into A Perfect Circle, Muse, Silversun Pickups, Blur, Radiohead, or Keane. The album was released on October 12, 1998 and is available on amazon and itunes.

Overall Rating: 4.7 out of 5

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Placebo's Website

Beneath the Sky - More Than You Can Handle... (2006)

Beneath the Sky, for those of you who haven't heard of them, are a 5 piece (formerly 6 piece) Metalcore band from Cincinnati, Ohio who formed in 2004. The band consists of Joey Nelson (Vocals), Kevin Stafford (Guitar & Vocals), Jeff Nelson (Guitar), Nick Scarberry (Bass), and Bryan Cash (Drums). They are currently signed to Victory Records and have released 1 demo, 1 EP, and 2 full length albums. Now for the review thingy.

More Than You Can Handle..., Beneath the Sky's first EP, consisted of a different version of the band. They were a 6 piece when this was released. The Nelson brothers and Scarberry were still with the band, it also consisted of Chris Profitt (Guitar), Brandon Sowder (Drums), and Matt Jones (Keytar). The album consists of 5 tracks, those being "A Gunsmoke Kiss", "7861", "Miss Misery With a Delicate Voice", "Our Last Road", and "Being In A Coma Is Hell Carried On". When the album starts off, you hear something that you don't typically hear, an old vinyl record skipping, this is also at the end of the last song on the album. I personally liked it cause it gave it continuity and vaguely reminded me of how Dream Theater started and ended a few of their albums. In the track "Our Last Road", Joey Nelson did something that impressed me vocally, he changed his scream 5 times within just a few seconds. He went from a high pitched scream, to a slightly lower growl, to a mid-tone growl, to a low scream, to what seemed like an extremely low inhale vocal, but I doubt that. The album also marks the first appearance of the track "7861". They re-recorded it and put it on their first full-length album "What Demons Do to Saints". I personally like the EP version better, as they layered the vocals, had a lower guitar tone, and it was overall just better. I'll let you decide though, here's the EP version, and the full-length version.

Overall, this is an album that defines Metalcore, and I hardly even like the genre, but love this album. Definitely pick this up if you're into Underoath, The Devil Wears Prada, August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. The album was released on May 13, 2006, but is hard to come by as it was self-released. I personally can't find it on amazon or itunes, however, both of their full length albums are on there.

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Beneath The Sky's Website

Quiet Riot - Metal Health (1983)

Most of you have probably heard of Quiet Riot, but incase you haven't, they were a 4 piece Heavy Metal band that formed in 1973. Their last line-up consisted of Kevin DuBrow (Vocals), Carlos Cavazo (Guitar), Rudy Sarzo (Bass), and Frankie Banali (Drums). Their most famous guitarist, Randy Rhoads, died in 1982 in a plane crash, while their founding vocalist, Kevin DuBrow, died in 2007 as a result of a Cocaine overdose, the band then spilt in 2008 as a result of his death. Their last album was signed to Chavis Records, while their album Metal Health was signed to Epic Records. And now to the review.

Metal Health was Quiet Riot's first album not to feature Randy Rhoads. After their album Quiet Riot II, he left to go join Ozzy Osbourne's band, and as mentioned before, died in a plane crash in 1982. The album consists of 10 tracks including "Metal Health", "Cum on Feel the Noize", "Don't Wanna Let You Go", "Slick Black Cadillac", "Love's a Bitch", "Breathless", "Run For Cover", "Battle Axe", "Let's Get Crazy", and "Thunderbird", which was a tribute song to Randy Rhoads. As I listened to this album, the first two tracks themselves, everyone has listened to these at some point, while the rest of the album I hardly ever heard of before. After the first two tracks, the quality of the tracks began to fade. It almost got hard to listen to after the first two tracks. (mind you, this is an album that has gone 6 times Platinum, and is one of the reasons that Metal went main stream). But some of the tracks stuck out as more arena rock type songs, those being Slick Black Cadillac, Run for Cover, and Let's Get Crazy. The one ballad on the album, Thunderbird, actually makes sense when you think about it, as it was about Randy Rhoads. There was also an instrumental track on the album, that being Battle Axe, which consisted of a bunch of scales and arpeggios. It was a great album in the beginning, a semi-decent album in the middle, and an okay album by the end.

Overall, this is one of Quiet Riot's most famous albums with two of their most famous songs on it. If you've ever heard Metal Health or Cum on Feel the Noize, then you should have this album. I'd recommend it to you if you're into Hair Metal more than Heavy Metal, cause it takes on a Hair Metal feel, also if you're into Arena Rock, you should check this out. It was released on February 8, 1983, and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Cannabis Corpse - Blunted at Birth (2006)

Cannabis Corpse, in case you haven't guessed already, is a 4 piece Death Metal band, that takes their name as a spoof off of Cannibal Corpse, though singing about marijuana. They formed in 2006 in Richmond, Virginia and are currently signed to Forcefield Records. Their current line-up is Andy "Weedgrinder" Horn (Vocals), Philip "Landphil" Hall (Guitar & Bass), Nick "Nikropolis" Poulos (Guitar), and Josh "HallHammer" Hall (Drums).

Cannabis Corpse's first album, 2006's Blunted at Birth (taking it's name as a spoof of Cannibal Corpse's 1991 album Butchered at Birth), consists of 7 tracks (all taking spoofs of Cannibal Corpse song names) which include "Blunted at Birth", "Staring Through My Eyes That Are Red", "Reefer Stashed Place", "Force Fed Shitty Grass", "I Cum Bud", "I Will Smoke You", and "When Weed Replaces Life". As a death metal album, this honestly was really well done. It had the good old deep growling sounds like the early works of Death, Cannibal Corpse, and even some sounding like Matt Heafy's screams from Trivium. The guitar work was excellently done, mainly because of Philip Hall (this is his side project, his original band is Municipal Waste). The sound quality on the record was poor, sounded badly recorded, then I read a little into it and found this quote "This recording was done entirely on a Boss BR 900 digital 8 track. I am definitely not a pro engineer, so if you don't like how it sounds, FUCK YOU!" LandPhil, Fall 2006. Other than the sound quality, not that bad of a record, was a bit on the shorter side of albums, but still a good album nonetheless.

Overall, this was an interesting album to listen to. At first, I thought it was going to be Stoner Metal (just by the name of the band, the album, the songs, you get the idea), and was expecting it to have long, kind of mellow tempos. Instead it hit me with blast beats from nowhere and caught me off guard, and I would recommend this album for people who are fans of Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, Immolation, Incantation, Grave, Monstrosity, Death, and old school Death Metal in general. The album was released on December 19, 2006 and is available on amazon and itunes, so go and pick it up.

Overall Rating 4.0 out of 5

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Cannabis Corpse's Website

Napalm Death - Scum (1987)

Napalm Death, for those of you who haven't listened to them before, is a four piece Grindcore band from Birmingham, England. They formed in 1981 and are considered to be the creators of Grindcore by mixing Crust Punk with Death Metal. They are currently signed to Century Media and consist of Mark "Barney" Greenway (Vocals), Mitch Harris (Guitar & Backing Vocals), Shane Embury (Bass), and Danny Herrera (Drums).

Napalm Death's 1987 album Scum was the first full length release for the band after seven demo tapes. The original founders of the band had all left the band before this release and the lineup on the album consisted of Nik Bullen (Vocals & Bass for tracks 1-12), Justin Broadrick (Guitar for tracks 1-12), Lee Dorian (Vocals for tracks 13-28), Bill Steer (Guitar for tracks 13-28), Jim Whitley (Bass for tracks 13-28), and Mick Harris (Drums). The album consists of 28 tracks that include "Multinational Corporations", "Instinct of Survival", "The Kill", "Scum", "Caught in a Dream", "Polluted Minds", "Sacrificed", "Siege of Power", "Control", "Born on Your Knees", "Human Garbage", "You Suffer" (the current Guiness Book of World Records holder for shortest song ever recorded, at 1.316 seconds), "Life?", "Prison Without Walls", "Point of No Return", "Negative Approach", "Success?", "Deceiver", "C.S. (Conservative Shithead)", "Parasites", "Pseudo Youth", "Divine Death", "As the Machine Rolls On", "Common Enemy", "Moral Crusade", "Stigmatized", "M.A.D.", "Dragnet". When I first listened to this album, it didn't really go over so well with me. I was accustomed to the typical Barney Greenway vocals of Napalm Death and not the Nik Bullen and Lee Dorian vocals, which is why I was thrown off at first. The album is hard hitting and grows on you. Lots of blast beats and fast paced tempos, which slowed down at odd points throughout the songs. The album almost takes on a different feel after "You Suffer", mainly cause of the different lineup. Nik Bullen's vocals on the album are more of him just shouting as fast as he can, where as Lee Dorian's vocals on it are more growl like and fast paced.

Overall, the album was okay the second time around. It takes a few times listening through to fully get the feel of the album. If you're a fan of Death, Obituary, Carcass, or Grindcore in general, you should have the album in your collection. It's well done for their first release. The album was released on May 6, 1987, and you can get the album on itunes and amazon.

Overall Rating: 4.1 out of 5

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Napalm Death's Website

The Birthday Massacre - Violet (2005)

This shall be one of those times where I don't review a Metal album, but something that's good nonetheless. For those of you who haven't heard of The Birthday Massacre, they are a 6 piece Goth Rock/Synthrock/Alternative Rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They used to be called Imagica, and got the name from a Clive Barker novel. They formed in 1999, have 3 albums, 1 live album, 2 ep's, and are in the works of their fourth album. They are currently signed to Metropolis Records. They consist of Chibi (Vocals), Rainbow (Guitar, Programming, & Vocals), Michael Falcore (Guitar & Programming), O.E. (Bass & Vocals), Owen (Keyboards), and Rhim (Drums). And now for the review.

Violet is The Birthday Massacre's second album (Nothing and Nowhere being their first release). It was originally released as an EP in 2004, but was re-worked, had tracks added, and was re-released in 2005 as a full length album. The album consits of 13 tracks (originally it had 9 on the EP), which are "Prologue", "Lovers End", "Happy Birthday", "Horror Show", "Violet", "Red", "Play Dead", "Blue", "Video Kid", "The Dream", "Black", "Holiday", and "Nevermind". The album was recorded with their current line-up, but without Owen, and O.E. (the original bassist, J. Aslan, played on this album). This album has a sort of mellow feeling when you listen to it. It's one of those albums you can kick back, put it on, and relax. It does have it's heavy moments though, mainly in the first single released from the album "Blue". You've probably seen the video on YouTube, and if not, click here to watch it. It's got a killer guitar riff that's simple yet profound, and the keyboards throw it over the top. Even Chibi, who normally sings in the higher tones, gets into the lower darker parts of the song, and she even growls the vocals at some points. The album, in my opinion, is one of the best (if not the best) album that the group has put out.

Overall, the album just kicked ass, sure it's Goth Rock and has Keyboards in it, but that just adds to the overall tone of the album. If you're into bands like Mindless Self Indulgence, VNV Nation, Jack off Jill, Zeromancer, Collide, Ayria, Cruxshadows, or Deadstar Assembly, then you'll want to pick this album up, it was released on August 9, 2005 and is on itunes and amazon.

Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5

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The Birthday Massacre's Website

Anthrax - Among the Living (1987)

Anthrax, for those who don't know, is a 5 piece Speed Metal/Thrash Metal group formed in 1981 in Yonkers, New York. They are one of the "big four", consisting of Metallica, Megadeth, SLAYER!!!, and Anthrax. The current line up includes John Bush (Vocals), Rob Caggiano (Lead Guitar), Scott Ian Rosenfeld (Rhythm Guitar & Vocals), Frank Bello (Bass), and Charlie Benante (Drums). They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast Records while the album in review was on Island Records. And now for the review portion.

Among the Living is Anthrax's third full length album consisting of nine tracks. The line up on this album differs from the current line up in that Joey Belladonna is the singer and Dan Spitz is on Lead Guitar, other than that, the line up is the same. The tracks include "Among the Living", "Caught in a Mosh", "I Am the Law", "Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)", "A Skeleton in the Closet", "Indians", "One World", "A.D.I./Horror of It All", and "Imitation of Life". This album is one of the truly definitive Speed/Thrash Metal albums of all time. It starts out big and fast, going through hit after hit. Joey's vocals soar over the thunderous drums, bass, and guitars, while Scott Ian's vocals almost seem gang like even though it's just him. I couldn't find anything wrong with the album at all. It's just that good, it starts to get a little repetitive, but it just adds to the sound of the album.

Overall, if you're a fan of Thrash Metal, the big four, or just plain out Metal in general, if you don't already have this album, go out and get it now. It was released on March 22, 1987, so pick it up on itunes or on amazon. Definitely a must have album.

Overall Rating: 4.9 out of 5

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Anthrax's Website

Ed Gein - It's a Shame that a Family Can be Torn Apart by Something as Simple as a Pack of Wild Dogs (2003)

Ed Gein is a three piece Grindcore group from Syracuse, New York. They formed in 2002. have released 2 full length albums, and consist of Graham Reynolds (Guitar & Vocals), Aaron Jenkins (Bass & Vocals), and Jesse Daino (Drums & Vocals). Their current label is Black Marked Activities which has their album "Judas Goats and Dieseleaters" and their single "Robert Flaig" on it. The album that I'm going to be reviewing was released through their old label Hex Records. And now for the review.

The album consists of eight tracks with a hidden bonus track at the end of the eigth. The tracks are "You Suck at Life...and I'm Not Talking About The Board Game", "The Marlboro Man is a Douche Bag", "A Way to Kill Old People", "Nice Shoes...Wanna Fuck?", "I Wish You The Best...", "...and by Best I Mean Worst.", "Beating a Dead Horse", and "What is This Monstrosity?!". At the end of "What is This Monstrosity?!" there is a cover of Nirvana's song "Very Ape". The album itself was really fast paced throughout it's entirety. The band just kept going at 110% of their capabilities throughout it all, wether it was the drumming, bass, or the guitar work, it was just going at full speed. The screaming though, sounded a bit like Every Time I Die. Now I'm somewhat of a fan of Every Time I Die, but only in small doses. The same with the screaming with Ed Gein, it got kind of annoying at times. And like with some of the other albums I've reviews, the album has a bunch of sound bytes from other movies, tv shows, or just random things in general. Luckily, they put them in appropriate places (unlike the PTPM album I reviewed), and it works with the album.

Overall, the album was a good production instrument wise, just could have done better with the screaming. If you're a fan of Every Time I Die, Beneath The Sky, All That Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder (earlier works though), or just Grindcore in general, I'd recommend it, but I'm not giving it my full backing. If you're interested in picking up the album, it was released on June 2, 2003, and you can get it on itunes and on amazon.

Overall Rating: 3.9 out of 5

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Ed Gein's Website

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - Danza II: The Electric Boogallo (2007)

Figure I'll give this band a different introduction than the other ones. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is currently a 3 piece Experimental Metal/Grindcore band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They formed in 2004 and have released 3 albums, two of which are on their current label "Black Marked Activites" (the albums being 2007's Danza II: The Electric Boogallo, and 2010's Danza III: The Series of Unfortunate Events) and one was on their old label "Corrosive Recordings" (the album being their self-titled release in 2005). The band consists of Jessie Freeland (Vocals), Josh Travis (Guitar and Bass), and Mike Bradley (Drums). And now we shall pass from this segment into the review portion.

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza's second full-length album "Danza II: The Electric Boogallo" consists of 13 tracks. Those tracks include "T.R.O.U.B.L.E.", "You Gonna Buy The Beers Or The Whole Damn Bar", "I Don't Mean To Impose, But I Am The Ocean", "Go Greyhound", "Top English", "The Electric Boogaloo", "Crunchy Black Did Me In At Midnight Madness", "Mad Max Beyond Superdome", "Carroll 14 Wossman 7", "Nobody Eats BBQ Two Days In A Row", "Shot Of Whiskey", "Rollin' And Tumblin' On Satan's Rotisserie", and "The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre". The album consists of 4 tracks that are either the intro track (T.R.O.U.B.L.E.), an outro track (The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre), or just a short skit (both Top English and Shot of Whiskey). Those four tracks somehow manage to hold the album together and almost tell the story of a man walking into a bar trying to mind his own business (T.R.O.U.B.L.E.). That man then goes to play pool, says that the ball isn't getting enough spin and that it's English (Top English). Later the man sits down at the bar and keeps trying to order a shot of whiskey before grabbing the bartender and the bouncers and beating the living hell out of them (Shot of Whiskey). Then finally he gets a chainsaw, kills everybody in the joint and then cracks open a beer, drinks it, and walks out (The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre). The songs that aren't skits are unique in their own ways. On a whole, Jessie Freeland's screams sound like the earlier works that Matt Heafy did with Trivium (where it was mostly screams). The guitar work is fast and brutal, and I couldn't really find any negatives with the album, I especially enjoyed the last track (The Louisiana Dive Bar Massacre) because after the skit in the beginning, there's a sort of acoustic/blues jam at the end which oddly enough fit with the album.

Overall, this album was kick ass from start to end. If you're looking to pick up the album, it was released October 16, 2007, you can get it on amazon and on itunes. Definitely pick this up if you're into Trivium, Machine Head, (just because I forgot to in the last two reviews) SLAYER!!!, if you're into Grindcore or the whole Experimental Metal genre, hell, pick this up even if you're a fan of Tony Danza. Why? Cause who's the boss? TONY DANZA'S THE BOSS BITCH!

Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5

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The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza's Website

Chelsea Grin - Desolation of Eden (2010)

For anyone who hasn't heard of Chelsea Grin, they are a 5 piece Grindcore/Deathcore band from Salt Lake City, Utah that formed in 2007. They consist of Alex (Vocals), Chris (Guitar), Mike (Guitar), Austin (Bass), and Andrew (Drums). They are currently signed to Statik Factory Records. And now for the review.

Chelsea Grin's first full-length "Desolation of Eden" consists of 11 tracks. The album starts off with "Judgement", "Desolation of Eden", "False Sense of Sanity", "Sonnet of the Wretched", "Cheyne Stokes", "The Human Condition", "Elysium", "Recreant", "Cast from Perfection", "Revenant", and "Wasteland". The album starts off with a brief roll of a crash cymbal only to have all the instruments kick in at once with almost a breakdown riff to start things off. This goes on for about 30-40 seconds and then a high pitched shriek comes in and makes it all fit together. As the track fades into the next track, you hear, what I can best describe as the drum intro to Ozzy Osbourne's "Over the Mountain" only played slower, but with more bass drum. Right after the quick drum solo, it changes up from the first track, and instead of a slow paced breakdown, it is filled with high speed guitar riffs and blast beats. The vocal stylings on the album only vary between three to four distinct tones that Alex (the singer) hits. There's the high pitched Suicide Silence type of scream, the low growl almost sounding like Whitechapel, the hardly distinguishible inhale vocals sounding similar to either Here Comes the Kraken or even Job for a Cowboy, and finally, the layered vocals, which just sound brutal as hell. I couldn't find anything I didn't like in the album, but was moderately surprised by the track "Elysium", mainly because it was an instrumental track. I wonder if this is starting to become a trend now a days with Death Metal in general (as the Annotations of an Autopsy album I reviewed earlier also had an instrumental track).

Overall, the album, as I described to a friend of mine, and I quote "it's like Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, and Job for a Cowboy had a baby, named it Steve, gave it a razor to play with, and it gave itself a glasgow smile, so brutal as fuck basically". Definitely pick this up if you're a fan of the aforementioned bands, The Black Dahlia Murder, or Deathcore in general. If you're looking to pick up the album, it was released on February 16, 2010, so it's out now on amazon and itunes.

Overall Rating: 4.1 out of 5

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Chelsea Grin's Website

Preschool Tea Party Massacre - Hardcore Died with Hitler (2006)

For those of you who haven't heard of PTPM (which I'm guessing is a large chunk of you), they are a nine piece Grindcore band (yes, nine), that formed in 2002 in Newark, New Jersey. According to their myspace page, they consist of Supreme Allah (Vocals), Concubine (Drum Programming, Effects), Easy Money (Vocals, Guitar, Drum Programming), Don Carnage (Over the Top Cookie Monster Vocals), DJ RUFFneck (Vocals), Stumpy (Weird Noises, Laughing, Fights Fires), The Edge (Vocals), Shan Bone (Will Contribute Soon), and Joey Wallz (All instruments). They are currently signed to no label, and all of their cd's are self produced. And now onto the review.

Preschool Tea Party Massacre's fifth album release, entitled "Hardcore Died with Hitler" consits of 26 (yes, twenty six) tracks. The tracks in order are "Caveman Dildo", "Fuck Her and Kill Her But Not in That Order", "Charles Lindbergh was a Fuck Machine", "Say Cheese and Get Raped", "Pope-Mobile Drive By", "Sand Burial Fuckfest", "No Viewing Octopus Porno on Company Time", "I Swerved to Miss a Cat and Hit 36 Kids", "Climbing The Ladder of Exhibitionism At The Old Folks Home", "Dead Baby Eaten by Dogs", "Doggie Style Cyber Sex With Marilyn Monrobot", "Best Things In Life Are Free, Then Why Did I Pay To Get AIDS", "Beaten With Your Own Cowboy Boots", "Malibu Is For Gay Guidos and Women", "I Don't Just Develop Film, I Develop Families", "Black Girlfriend Killed Grandma", "Sausage King Shooting Spree", "The Story of the Lonely Giraffe Who Fucked a Tree, a Fence, and a Shed", "Breastfeeding A Boozed Whore", "If You Got The HIV. Holla At Us (Cause We Never Rock Jimmy Hats)", "It Fucking Hurts When I Piss", "Since When Is Caging a Child Illegal", "Of Course I'm Not a Real Person. I'm a Big Piece of Poop", "Managing To Fuck A 16-Year-Old", "You Would Rise To The Occasion In A Room Full of Guys", and "Cape + Mask + Gun = Neighborhood Shooting Rampage". Oh so many ways to describe this album, I'm going to start with the easiest one, no wonder it was self-produced, it's hard to listen to. I'm not joking, this is one of the few albums that I forced myself to listen to. The guitar was soooooooooo very simplistic that I got tired of the repetition. The drumming just got annoying after a while. It was quite literally just the snare drum for a good half of the album, it sounded worse than Metallica's Saint Anger album (and I had a really hard time getting through that one). There was hardly any "singing" on the album at all. It was unintelligible growls, high pitched black metalesque screams, and then randomly throughout the album was a guy acting all gangster. There was also the annoyance of the random techno aspect throughout most of the songs. The last track on the album, "Cape + Mask + Gun = Neighborhood Shooting Rampage" is 13:36 long, it should only be 3:00 long. Why you might ask, mainly because the first 10:30 of the song is nothing, quite literally nothing, just dead air, and then it's just a random conversation between two people while a keyboard plays quietly in the background. That's not even the worst part of it. The album is riddled with soundbytes and clips from movies. All of the tracks have them, some even have multpile ones.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this album to anyone. The only way I'd recommend this is if you hate iwrestledabearonce, and I'd only recommend this if you wanted to start to like iwrestledabearonce. The only thing I liked about the album were three of the soundbytes and nothing else.

Overall score: 0.8 out of 5

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Preschool Tea Party Massacre's Website

Testament - The Legacy (1987)

Testament, for those of you who haven't heard of them before, is a 5 piece Speed/Thrash Metal band formed in 1983 in Oakland, California under the name "Legacy". They consist of Chuck Billy (Vocals), Eric Peterson (Guitar), Alex Skolnick (Guitar), Greg Christian (Bass), and Paul Bostaph (Drums). They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast Records (The Formation of Damnation), but have been signed to Atlantic Records (The Legacy, The New Order, Practice What You Preach, Souls of Black, The Ritual, and Low), Megaforce Records (The New Order, Practice What You Preach, and Souls of Black), Burnt Offerings Records (Demonic), and Spitfire Records (The Gathering). And now to the review part.

Testament's first full length release, 1987's "The Legacy", was recorded with the current lineup of Testament, except the drummer position was held by Louie Clemente. The album was recorded in Ithica, New York at Pyramid Sounds Studios, and released on July 7, 1987. The album contains 9 tracks, those being "Over the Wall", "The Haunting", "Burnt Offerings", "Raging Waters", "C.O.T.L.O.D." (Curse of the Legions of Death), "First Strike is Deadly", "Do or Die", "Alone in the Dark", and "Apocalyptic City". The album starts off with a quick guitar riff and then goes right into full gear with all members playing at what seems like their top speed. Chuck then comes in with his piercing lyrics hitting you as if being fired at you, even hitting high pitched falsettos at times, which I found a little bit odd, cause in some of the other tracks, he starts at an almost death metal growl, goes to his normal singing tone, and then hits the really high vocals (at times sounding like Rob Halford). This continues throughout the album, with the begining of "Burnt Offerings" sounding almost like a string quartet, only to hit you with a solid slow riff, only then to have both guitars doing a scale down the fretboard kicking off the main riff which is sped up significantly compared to the beginning riff. The lyrical stylings throughout the album seem to deal with Religion and Society in general. For the first release of Testament, it's one of the band's best albums, but wasn't enough to break them into mainstream media, which came later in the band's history.

Overall, it's a great album, if you're a fan of Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, or just Metal in general, you should have this album. Get this if you're into the classics, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, SLAYER!!!, Exodus, Over Kill, and Iron Maiden. Like mentioned before, the album was released on July 7, 1987, so it's in stores, or you can pick it up on itunes or amazon (link at the end)

Overall Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Buy the Album Here
Testament's Website

Annotations of an Autopsy - II: The Reign of Darkness (2010)

For those of you who haven't heard of AOAA, they're a 5 piece death metal band (earlier works could be considered more deathcore than anything else) from Lowestoft, England which formed in 2006. They consist of Steve "Sewer Mouth" Regan (Vocals), Jamie "Chinstrap" Sweeney (Guitar), Sam Dawkins (Guitar), Nath Applegate (Bass), and Brad Merry (Drums). They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast and Siege of Amida, previous works were signed to This City is Burning Records (2007's Welcome to Sludge City EP, currently out of print), and Ferret Records (2008's Before the Throne of Infection, their first full-length album). And now onto the review.

II: The Reign of Darkness contains 11 tracks. The album starts off with the intro track "And So It Begins...", which starts off with what appears to be a beating heart and other ambient noises. As the track progresses, it gets, what can best be described as metal being sharpened, while a recording of a broadcast message plays and an air raid siren goes off. This begins to set the mood of the album as sort of a post-apocalyptic take over (thus the album title "The Reign of Darkness"). The track then goes silent for a split second before the broadcasted message states "We're Doomed!" and then kicks off into the cd with a quick 2 second blast of drums starting off the track "In Snakes I Bathe", which leads to "Born Dead", "Bone Crown" (Featuring guest vocalist Erik Rutan, most famous for his work with Morbid Angel), "Emptiness", "Catastrophic Hybridization", "VII: The Horror, The Destruction...", "Impale the Sun", "Portrait of Souls", "Cryogenica", and ends with "Into the Black Slumber". Throughout the album, the tracks vary from subject to subject, as AOAA's lyrical styles mostly deal with subjects such as Gore, Death, and Sodomy, but it all holds together throughly. Certain tracks stick out as almost anthems, mainly "Bone Crown" as it starts and ends with Steve Regan chanting "I Am Hell" with the feeling that there is a large mob chanting with him. The album also contains what is rarely seen in death metal, that being the instrumental track, in this case it being "VII: The Horror, The Destruction..." which feels as though it's been influenced by Mastodon (mainly the song "Battle at Sea" from their EP "Lifesblood"), and it really holds up with the rest of the album. There was only one thing I didn't like about the album and that was the track "Into the Black Slumber". The track starts off sounding like there's a rain storm taking place. Normally I would start to think of Raining Blood and automatically go "SLAYER!!!!!" but alas, it was not so. After the raining, the track gets a sort of groove going, with the effect of thunder in the background. There's some pretty fast and technical drumming throughout the track, which I love in a song, the downside of the song for myself is in the ending. The track itself is 8:26 in length, yet the song itself starts at 20 seconds and ends at 6:24, you might be wondering at this point "what about the other 2:30?", like I said before, all omnious rain effects, it just seems drawn out.

Overall though, a solid performance throughout, would definitely reccommend it. If you're a fan of bands such as Whitechapel, Between the Buried and Me (Steve Regan's growls sound like a combination of Phil Bozeman and Tommy Giles Rogers), Job for a Cowboy, Suicide Silence, and even Cannibal Corpse, you might want to check Annotations of an Autopsy out. If you're looking for a copy of the album, it was released on January 18th, 2010 in the UK and was released worldwide on February 9, 2010, you can purchase the album on amazon (link at the end) or check out itunes as they're on there as well.

Overall rating: 4.2 out of 5

Buy the Album Here
Annotation of an Autopsy's Website

Introduction and What's to Come

In case this is your first time to the site, then welcome. This is where I plan on reviewing at least one album (mostly metal, but might change between other genres) a day for the next long period of time. Most postings will be done in the evening, so check back around midnight or so if you'd like to read the next album review. To start things off this week, I'm gonna cover a wide range of the genre's of metal as well as other genre's. Anything from Power Metal, Death Metal, Folk Metal, Viking Metal, Black Metal, Goth Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, Noise Metal, Grindcore, Deathcore, Mathcore, Unblack Metal, Hair Metal, Doom Metal, Drone Metal, Thrash Metal, Extreme Metal, Groove Metal, Metalcore, Industrial Metal, Alternative Metal, Nu-Metal, Symphonic Metal, Traditional Heavy Metal, and as the Monarch demands, 80's Speed Metal. There's also going to be time where I'll go off the beaten path and review something that's not metal. Those will range from Trance, to Reggae, to Blues, to anything else, endless possibilities there. Again, these will be my own viewpoints, feel free to comment about these, everyone has their own opinion. So enjoy the music. Gonna start things off this blog with two reviews, look for them at midnight