Month: May 2018

Bands That Should Return: Rollins Band

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Recently I had a song stuck in my head for a while and needed to listen to it. So I went to my CD shelves and grabbed the album, put it on my stereo and let the music overtake me. The album was Rollins Band’s Come In and Burn and the song was Starve. While listening to the album I had the feeling of needing more from Rollins. So naturally I went and grabbed all the other albums and put them on and my listening experience was fulfilled. But it really wasn’t. I wanted and still want more. Henry Rollins is one of the most prolific lyricists of the last 30 years. His words are poetic and have stories to tell. He’s always seemed to have something interesting and poignant to say from his time in Black Flag, Rollins Band, and his spoken word. There really is something missing from music world without Rollins behind the mic and on stage fronting a band. The guys that made up Rollins Band, Chris Haskett (guitar), Sim Cain (drums), Melvin Gibbs (bass) and Theo Van Rock (live sound engineer), really were a force to be reckoned with. These guys could flat out play. Their music backing Rollins vocals and words made something explosive and needed. And now more than ever, their style and abilities are much needed to help break this stagnant music that is happening right now.

 

Rollins Band- Come In and Burn:

 

Rollins Band- Weight:

 

Rollins Band- The End Of Silence:

Against The Grain: Destrage

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I love when bands combine genres and the end result is something that kicks ass. Not a lot of bands are able to pull it off especially when mixing progressive music with extreme metal but, Italy’s Destrage have become masters at it. The band formed in 2002 and have been making a name for themselves in the underground since their 2007 debut album Urban Being. The follow up The King Is Fat n Old further cemented Destrage as a force within the metal community. Their 2014 album Are You Kidding Me No was my first introduction to the band and from that point I’ve been hooked. This album saw the band really define their sound and take the heavy up a few notches while at the same time adding a bit of melody to separate themselves from the pack. The most recent album A Means To No End builds on what their previous album started. Destrage are bold and pummeling without losing their focus on the music. Do yourself a favor and delve into this great band.

 

A Means To No End:

 

Are You Kidding Me, No:

 
The King Is Fat N Old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvHKbvSAinw&list=PLv7wVAefClEIIxZor2sYLzS5gLfX4nqGl

 

 

Urban Being:

Album Review: Bad Wolves- Disobey

 

 

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There are people out there that want to say rock is dead. Well it’s not and never will be. In this day and age you just have to search for it since the radio waves are pretty much all crappy pop and wannabe hip hop. Thankfully there are a few bands that are making an impact at radio and making people wake up to the fact that rock music is still alive and well. Bad Wolves are one of those bands and they have really taken the music world by storm. Back in 2017 they released their first song “Learn To Live” and that created a strong buzz about the band. Then in early 2018 they released their cover of The Cranberries classic “Zombie” and from that point they have been on fire.

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End Of Album Songs: Deftones

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I’m sure a lot of you have noticed through your music listening experiencing how impactful some bands end of album songs are. Certain bands really have a knack of putting “that” song as the last song and creating a visceral experience. One band I’ve noticed over the years that have really embraced the end of album song is Deftones. Not so much on Adrenaline but from Around The Fur onwards they really know how to end their albums.

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What Happened: In Flames
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In Flames, where do I even begin with them? Well, let’s start from when I first heard them. I was in high school and a friend had a copy of the album Colony and he told me to check it out because he thought I’d dig it and I sure did. I went after school to go buy the CD and cranked that one for a long while till In Flames released Clayman, which to me is their best album.

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Soundtrack Only Songs: Jon Bon Jovi- Blaze Of Glory (Young Guns II)

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Let’s take a trip back to 1990 and the movie Young Guns II. The story goes, Emilio Estevez had asked Jon to use “Wanted Dead or Alive” as the main song for the film but instead, Jon wrote a new song and an albums worth of material. Kiefer Sutherland mentioned in an interview many years ago, “When Jon (Bon Jovi) joined the team for Young Guns 2, we were all eating hamburgers in a diner and Jon was scribbling on this napkin for, say, six minutes. He declared he’d written ‘Blaze of Glory’, which of course then went through the roof in the States. He later gave Emilio Estevez the napkin. We were munching burgers while he wrote a No. 1 song… Made us feel stupid.” The song later won the Golden Globe for best original song and received an Oscar nomination (but lost to Stephen Sondheim’s “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man) from Dick Tracy… Talk about a robbery).

 

Jon Bon Jovi- Blaze Of Glory:

Great Music Videos: Guns N Roses- Estranged

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I will never forget seeing the video for “Estranged” which is my favorite Guns N Roses song. First I wanted a pair of shoes like Axl had, and second I wanted to jump off an aircraft carrier (even though it’s an oil tanker) into the ocean and swim with dolphins. Yes, we all know the video is a bit far fetched but you can’t deny how awesome it really is. They don’t make videos like this anymore. If I’m not mistaken the cost of this video was in the millions too. Anyways enjoy this great video!

 

Guns N Roses- Estranged:

Cover Song: Metallica (Queen)- Stone Cold Crazy

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I was listening back to the Garage Inc Metallica album the other day on my way home from work. While listening it got me thinking about how many great covers Metallica did on that album. There are quite a few songs they covered that in my opinion are better than the original. For example their version of Bob Seger’s “Turn The Page,” as well as their version of Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy” is quite possibly better than the original.

 

Metallica- Stone Cold Crazy:

 

Queen- Stone Cold Crazy: