Album Review

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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Album Review: A Perfect Circle- Eat The Elephant

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It’s been 15 years since A Perfect Circle has released an album of new original material. I don’t count their covers/remix album. That was absolutely unnecessary to even be released in the first place (but that’s for another day and debate). Enter 2018 and the release of Eat The Elephant. Despite being back in a live setting for one off shows since 2010, the groundwork for this album only started to come to fruition a couple years back. This project has always been mainly Maynard and Billy with the occasional input from other members of the band way back when (mainly Josh Freese). This new one is purely Billy and Maynard with the help of producer David Sardy (Far, Oasis and so many other bands he’s worked with). The sad part is the end result of their work.

This is not the A Perfect Circle you enjoyed when they first came out with Mer De Noms or The Thirteenth Step. What you have instead is a strange grandiose album that is at times pretentious and seems like one giant inside joke. The album’s lyrical content is very topical to the times we live in giving the album a very NOW feel. Musically though gone are the riffs and drums which are replaced with dramatic layers upon layers of keys and electronic elements. The only song on the album with that similar “classic” is “The Doomed” and even that song is very flat in terms of dynamics. That’s not to say that there aren’t moments throughout the rest of the album that have a presensce but that mainly comes from Maynard’s lyrics and delivery. Songs like “TalkTalk,” “Feathers” and “Hourglass” certainly have spots that shine. One song you might recognize a bit is “By and Down The River” which was released a few years back on a sort of best of/live album. The song has been reworked a bit but it’s still that song you heard. “Disillusioned” has a very lullaby feel. Actually the majority of the album feels like one big lullaby. The song “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish” sounds like it could be on a Coldplay or Imagine Dragons album. I could go on and on about this album but I’m not going to.

Needless to say as a fan of the band, this is a let down. After 15 years without new music from A Perfect Circle and this being the end result is not worth it. Something else that the album lacks is the performances musically. Newer members Jeff Friedl and Matt McJunkins, while they are solid musicians they just lack the “feel” and “vibe” that made A Perfect Circle so impactful. This doesn’t feel like an A Perfect Circle album after listening to it a few times. Some of you out there might really love this new side of the band, which is perfectly fine. There are also those out there that will just eat up what ever Maynard serves and hold it as gospel. Put it this way, this album isn’t for everyone. Instead I’ll wait patiently for the new Tool album, which after almost 13 years, better not be a let down like this is.

 

Overall Rating: C-

 

A Perfect Circle- Eat The Elephant:

Album Review: Failure- In The Future

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In a surprise move a couple weeks back, Failure released a new EP called In The Future. This is the first part of three releases that will culminate into a full length at years end. In The Future features 3 songs and a segue that sees the band exploring a bit of a different territory musically. Well it’s actually not that different, if you are a fan of Greg’s other band Autolux, there are shades of that band bleeding through into Failure on this new material.

Opening the EP is “Dark Speed” an almost throwback track to the bands early days a la Comfort. The vocals are spaced out in the perfect Failure way but also take turn with its more spoken word style. “Paralytic Flow” is what you’d expect from Failure. This song is a perfect example of what Failure does best. The drums on this song in particular, courtesy of the great Kellii Scott are thunderous yet reserved, exploding at the right times to push the song along. The other new song “Pennies” is actually an older song that the band reworked for this new release. If you have the rarities album Golden, you can find the original version of “Pennies” on there. This is the second time Failure has reached back into the vault and redid a song. On The Heart Is A Monster, the song “Petting The Carpet” is also from the Golden album. And then there is the Segue, this one is Segue 10. It wouldn’t be a Failure release without a Segue.

As an EP this release seems a bit disjointed but, knowing that this is just the first part of something a lot bigger, it gives you just the right amount of a taste to tide you over till the next part comes. Failure are true artists in every aspect. They have always played by their own rules and the results have never disappointed. Ken, Greg and Kellii as a unit are unstoppable and this release is just the tip!

Dark Speed:

Paralytic Flow:

Pennies:

Segue 10:

Band Of The Week: HIDE

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Over the last few years, as I’ve mentioned before, there is a resurgence of the post-punk sound. Some bands have been able to do it really well like GLAARE and The Black Mare. Those bands and a few others have not only taken that sound to new heights but, have added something else to that sound to make it their own. Which brings me to the band of the week, HIDE. This Chicago based duo led by visual artist/vocalist Heather Gabel and percussionist Seth Sher, has taken elements of post-punk and added a huge industrial twist to their music. HIDE’s debut full length CASTRATION ANXIETY is eerie and dark yet it’s full of the traditional sense of what an industrial band should be. In particular the song “Wildfire” (which is my favorite off the album) is much more than a thunderous industrial song. Lyrically it delves much deeper into psychological ideals. The album as a whole is quite a listen. There is a lot going on that will make you want to dance a little but also smash a wall with a sledgehammer. You can tell listening to HIDE, that in order to fully get what they are all about, you need to see them live. And from their live videos online, that is absolutely true.

 

Hide- Wildfire:

 

Hide- Castration Anxiety:

 

Album Review: Will Haven- Muerte

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Back in the mid 90’s, Sacramento, California had a very artistic music scene. Bands like Far and Deftones were starting to leave their mark not only in their area but everywhere. During this time though, there was another band that would take a slightly different turn from what their friends in Far and Deftones were doing. Instead of taking the melodic plunge, Will Haven opted for more of a dissidence approach with churning riffs and pummeling rhythms. Through the 20 years the band has been together, even with different line ups, one thing that can’t be mistaken is the impact Will Haven has left in heavy music.

Now in 2018, Will Haven are about to release their (final?) album Muerte (via MinusHEAD records). This album is a complete encapsulation of everything that the band has put into their music and albums. The heavy is still heavy only this time, they have added a bit more atmosphere to their sound. In 2001, Will Haven released an album called Carpe Diem that truly cemented the bands place in heavy music circles. Muerte seems like it’s the album that would have followed that one up. Beginning with the smack in the face of “Hewed With The Brand” and “Winds Of Change” you can tell that this album is not going to let up. In fact the unrelenting nature of Muerte carries through with songs like “43,” Unit K,” “The Son,” “Bootstraps,” and “Now In The Ashes.”  The songs “No Escape” featuring Mike Schiedt of YOB and “El Sol” which features Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter, really take the album to another level from all their others.

Vocalist Grady Avenell sounds as good if not better than he did at the height of the band way back when. Jeff Irwin (guitar), Adrien Contreras (bass) and Mitch Wheeler (drums) have crafted riffs and rhythms that will draw you in and then attack with a ferocious thunder. If Muerte is Will Haven’s final album, then they really are going out with a bang. The only thing left would be for Deftones to go out on tour and bring Will Haven along (like they did way back when) and let Will Haven destroy the audience. (I’m just putting that out in the aether).

Overall Rating: 9/10

 

Winds Of Change:

 

El Sol- Featuring Stephen Carpenter:

 

Pre-Order HERE:

 

Review By: Brian Lacy

Album Review: The Sword- Used Future

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Back in 2006 a band from Austin, Texas called The Sword, unleashed their Sabbath drenched, stoner rock epic debut Age Of Winters. I remember the first time I heard it and was immediately lost in the smoke of how dank it was. The Sword had made a statement that they were here with that debut. Their follow up Gods Of The Earth continued on that path. It wasn’t until their third album Warp Riders, that The Sword really found their own sound (also with the help of producer/engineer Matt Bayles). Fast forward a few albums till now and The Sword are about to release a new opus called Used Future on us all.

Instead of harking back to their early days, The Sword has evolved their sound from album to album to create a lush wealth of rock on this new album. Used Future is an album that could have come out in the 1970’s. It has this really sweet mix of Thin Lizzy meets The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Used Future is an album that has ways to expand your mind based solely on the music. Some songs like “Nocturne,” “Come and Gone,” and “Brown Mountain,” have an almost cinematic effect, drawing you in slowly until the climax of the song. There are still elements of where the band first drew influence from on tracks like  “Twilight Sunrise” and “Deadly Nightshade.” My absolute favorite song on the album is “Sea Of Green.” This song is quite different and a welcome entry from the heavy stoner rock band that I dug many years back. It’s a mid tempo jam that really shows the bands growth as songwriters but might also be one of the best songs they have ever written.

With Used Future, The Sword have created an album that steps outside the box. Their last album High Country was ambitious and very experimental. This new album is experimental as well but it fully encapsulates what the band was and has become. The Sword are here to stay, and as long as they keep making “albums” (yes albums. The kind that you put on and let play), they will continue to have a lasting effect on their fans and those who listen.

 

The Sword- Twilight Sunrise:

 

The Sword- Deadly Nightshade:

Album Review: Dead Empires- Designed To Disappear

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It’s always a pleasure to see and hear a band evolve in the right direction. A couple years back I featured the band Dead Empires as Band Of The Week, and now they have come roaring back with a new album, Designed To Disappear, and it is absolutely crushing. From the time the opening song, “Spectacular Ruin” kicks in, you the listener know you that Dead Empires are coming to take over. The progressive nature of the Designed To Disappear not only lets the songs stand alone, they are have a perfect ebb and flow to create an album. There are parts that are reminiscent of The Dillinger Escape Plan which makes for some really cool jazzy breaks. Songs like “The Form,” “Reverse Speak,” “A Summertime Song,” and the closing title track “Designed To Disappear,” all have a sense of urgency and depth that a lot of instrumental bands seem to lack. Now armed with a vocalist, Dead Empires are about to cause some serious damage to stages and speakers. Something else about this album that stands out is the production. There is a crisp and heavy feeling about these songs that helps to resonate what the true nature of their playing feels like. Dead Empires are alive and well, and are ready to take over.

 

Dead Empires- Designed To Disappear:

Band Of The Week: Fucked and Bound

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When I first heard that members of He Whose Ox Is Gored were involved in a side project my curiosity was perked. Then when I heard that it was going to be a hardcore/punk band, I was ecstatic. Fucked and Bound is the name of the band and it delivers a righteous slab of unrelenting and ferocious hardcore. Their debut album Suffrage (released by Atomic Action Records) is 13 songs of pure heaviness, attitude, and anger. Fronted by Lisa Mungo, she screams her heart out and it’s furious and in your face. Her conviction of the lyrics as she spits them out in the mic are some of the most honest I’ve heard in a long time. The band themselves comprised of Brian McClelland (Guitar), Curtis Parker (Bass) and Matt Chandler (Drums) blast through riffs and beats that pummel and run you over with the right amount of brutality. Fucked and Bound is just what is needed in today’s political and social climate. Do yourselves a favor and throw this album on and unleash the inner beast inside you.

 

Fucked and Bound- Suffrage:

 

Fucked and Bound Tour Dates:

3/17 Seattle, WA @ Black Lodge
3/20 Portland, OR @ Fixin’ To Bar
3/21  Chico, CA @ Naked Lounge
3/22 Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
3/23 Oakland, CA @ Golden Bull
3/24 Los Angeles, CA @ 3PM MATINEE at Redwood Bar
3/25 San Diego, CA @ Space Bar
3/27 Mesa, Az @ Nile Underground
3/28 Tuscon, AZ @ Flycatcher
3/29 Las Vegas, NV @ The Garth
3/30 Reno, NV @ Jub Jub’s Days of the Loud Fest
By: Brian Lacy