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