Don’t let the name fool you, Gladiators Eat Fire are a force to be reckoned with. They mix parts of post-hardcore, stoner rock, and old fashioned rock and roll to form a sound that doesn’t allow you to miss. Produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, The Sword, Botch) their newest EP Avant Garage is quite lethal and unrelenting. This four piece hailing from Seattle is well on it’s way to leaving a mark in the scene. One can tell that these gents put it all out there when performing live, and make sure you remember their name when they are done.
One of my favorite things to do is go back and listen to albums I haven’t heard in a long time. Sometimes I grab a CD at random other times I know exactly what I’m looking for. I woke up the other morning with a song stuck in my head and had to go put the album on. The album was Systematic’s Somewhere In Between and the song was “Beginning Of The End.” As I’m sitting in my spot listening to this album it made me think why isn’t this band still together? Systematic had all the makings of a great hard rock band. They have crunchy heavy riffs, thumping bass, pounding drums, great vocals and melodies. You know all the things that make up a great rock band. They even had the Metallica stamp of approval. Lars would go on to sign them to his imprint label. Systematic would go on to release two albums, Somewhere In Between and Pleasure To Burn. During the second album there was a lineup change and Paul Bostaph (who had played with Slayer) joined in on drums. Singer/guitarist Tim Narducci has one hell of a voice and partnered up with guitarist Adam Ruppel, made a very intriguing songwriting team. Songs like “Beginning Of The End,” “Dopesick,” “Deep Colors Bleed,” “Bedsores,” “Not Like You,” “Pleasure To Burn,” “Where We Live And Die,” and “Leaving Only Scars,” are quite compelling. Sadly in 2004 the band called it quits and moved on to other projects. Then in 2011 to celebrate the ten year anniversary of their debt album, Systematic reunited for a few shows only to call it a day soon after that. This band should have gone on to big things. The songs and albums still hold and their live shows were full of energy. So how about it Systematic!!!!
I can’t even begin to think about how many bands I’ve listened to in my life that are so good that many people missed out on. I’m sure there are plenty that I’ve missed out on too. There is one band that has been on my mind the past couple weeks that I feel never really got their due. That band is Hurt. In 2005 the released their major label debut entitled Volume I. That album is truly great, top to bottom from the vocals, music, lyrics and production. Songs like “Rapture,” “Overdose,” “Falls Apart,” “House Carpenter, and “Danse Russe,” show how powerful this band is. Volume II picked up where Volume I left off. Songs such as “Summer’s Lost,” “Ten Ton Brick,” “Talking To God,” “Loaded,” and “Assurance,” really stood out on the album and if anything got heavier in the music and lyrics. Their third album Goodbye To The Machine is a little bit of a let down especially with the first two albums being so good. Thankfully not too long after, Hurt got themselves back on track and released The Crux especially the song “How We End Up Alone.” This album to me summed up what the band is. It’s got all the greatness from Volumes I & II along with the more subtle simplicities of Goodbye To The Machine.
Hurt live is spectacular. I’ve seen them a few times and each time was even more powerful than the last. Singer J. Loren Wince is so intense with his vocal performances live, that it becomes hypnotic when you watch and listen to him. His general delivery and belief in each song comes through beautifully. The rest of the band has changed a lot over the years but, the songs seem to bring out the best in whomever is playing the songs.
Mike Patton has been one of the most consistently busy frontmen/singers in music for the past 15 years. His projects from Faith No More, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, Fantomas, etc have been fan favorites for many years. Now he has joined up with Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio and Anticon Records founder Adam “Doseone” Drucker in a very adventurous and experimental project called Nevermen. Shockingly the groundwork for this group was started over 7 years ago, when Adebimpe and Drucker would get together and ” crank space heaters in a cold warehouse that was marked for demolition, pour whiskey, run tape and beat on everything from doors, pipes, floors, and chests. They jammed on keyboards and drum machines, fashioned poems from tour memories and newspaper stories. The material would then be chopped up and made into songs then sent to Patton.” Each song has something different to offer listeners. The 3 gents of this group add their own flavor to the songs all the while trying out things that would normally be out of their comfort zones. The sheer amount of talent that each posses is astounding, yet the album doesn’t quite live up to their previous accomplishments. The end result is an album that was created by three very talented individuals that wanted to try something for themselves. While there are some moments that shine for example the song “Tough Towns” has a cool trip-hop vibe and the slow, dramatic swell that emerges from the quiet hum of closer “Fame II the Wreckoning, which contains some introspective as to what holds the group together, “One day might you get to the flame of what you are.”
Nevermen is a group that still has a way to go until they find their “sound.” The die hard fans of Mike Patton will probably enjoy this, while the casual listener might get lost in what this is all about. I can say this though, it’s very refreshing to have people like these 3 guys go out on a limb and try to create something that is drenched in the attitude of we are doing this for our love of music and art. Nevermen isn’t trying to be something that it’s not.
I really don’t feel the need to write a lengthy explanation of why this new Deftones album is very anticipated. The band just released the first single “Prayers/Triangles” from their forthcoming album GORE. This song is the first track on the album and it has a vibe that seems to set up a very adventurous yet very Deftones-esque album. Check it out!!!
I really like Sevendust. They have released some really great albums and songs. One thing I noticed throughout their career is that they hardly ever release covers. Back in the early 2000’s there was a compilation album of hard rock/metal bands covering hip hop songs. Sevendust would pick LL Cool J’s “Goin Back To Cali.” As much as I like Sevendust, I can’t help but think how bad this is.
Sevendust-Goin Back To Cali:
My brain works in strange ways at times. I think of silly lists in my mind then start to really analyze them. Earlier in the week I had an idea while gazing through my music collection at home about how many self titled albums there are. Which then made me think how many of those are really that good. Well here is a list of the best self titled albums. This list is in NO PARTICULAR ORDER.
Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath
Metallica- Metallica
Alice In Chains- Alice In Chains (Tripod)
Year Of The Rabbit- Year Of The Rabbit
Vision Of Disorder- Vision Of Disorder
The Velvet Underground & Nico- The Velvet Underground & Nico
Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin
The Doors- The Doors
System Of A Down- System Of A Down
Them Crooked Vultures- Them Crooked Vultures
Foo Fighters- Foo Fighters
Slipknot- Slipknot
Royal Blood- Royal Blood
Rage Against The Machine- Rage Against The Machine
Rancid- Rancid
Pearl Jam- Pearl Jam (Avocado)
Korn- Korn
Garbage- Garbage
Deftones- Deftones
The Cult- The Cult
311- 311
The early 2000’s actually brought out a lot of great bands. Sadly a slew of those got lumped into the Nu-Metal genre. Amongst those bands that got labeled as such that weren’t a part of it was Pulse Ultra. Their debut album Headspace is an album mixed with genuine alternative music, prog rock and a touch of metal. Pulse Ultra’s break came in 2000 when the band met the bands Taproot. Guitarist Dominic Cifarelli gave a demo of Pulse Ultra’s to guitarist Mike DeWolf of Taproot. DeWolf then passed the demo to their management team helping the band to sign with Atlantic Records. Pulse Ultra would go on to play on multiple tours including a stint on Ozzfest. Sadly though in 2004, band dynamics got in the way of another album. Pulse Ultra was a band that had they kept it together could have gone on to a really intriguing career. Their sole album is 14 songs of solid rock, catchy at times, and armed with riffs that get you jumping.
From the first time I heard the song Every You Every Me in 1997, I became a fan of Placebo. Their second album Without You I’m Nothing, would be a part of my constant playlist, especially on melancholia days. Which brings me to to today, when I woke up with the song “Meds” in my head, so naturally that got me thinking I should do an album rank of Placebo.
AUDIOECLECTICA 