Remember the days when you’d be out shopping for music and an album cover and or a bands name would grab your attention compelling you to check it out? Then when you put it on you are completely blown away. I recently came across this weeks band of the week Bloody Knives, after seeing a poster for their upcoming tour, and it totally had the “I must check this band out” effect. Bloody Knives hail from Austin and mix parts electronic, post punk, shoegaze, rock, industrial and psychedelia. Think Death From Above 1979 slowed down just a tad and My Bloody Valentine. Their newest single “Reflection Lies” from their upcoming release is awe inspiring. Their use of psychedelia takes you on a journey while listening. The moody vibes they put out through their music are euphoric and have a power to put you in a musical trance. Their previous work, especially their releases Death and Disappear are raw and unrelenting. Bloody Knives are one hell of a band and deserve to be on your radar!
Oh jeez here we go again. What and Why? Not to mention they have a fiddle. I was laughing pretty hard when I found this version. The one positive thing I can say is, actually nothing. This is pretty bad.
The year is 1999, people are starting to get hysterical over Y2K and Rage Against The Machine are about to release their final album, the very underrated unsung masterpiece, The Battle Of Los Angeles. Debuting at number one on the billboard charts, the twelve songs on the album are armed with heavy influence from George Orwell’s 1984, making for some very eerie foreshadowing statements on what the future will bring us. Songs like “Testify,” Guerrilla Radio,” “Sleep Now In The Fire,” “Voice of the Voiceless,” and a few others have direct quotes from the book, and go on to mention more Orwellian terms. The album kicks off with 3 songs of explosive rage (pun intended haha) with “Testify,” “Guerrilla Radio,” and “Calm Like A Bomb.” Then the album shifts for a song with “Mic Check.” “Sleep Now In The Fire” takes the album back up a few notches with anger and fury, leading us into one of the best songs on the album “Born Of A Broken Man.” The next couple songs musically, tend to lean towards showing off Tom Morello’s talents with a whammy bar and a fuzz pedal. Lyrically though “Born As Ghosts” and “Maria” are strong and angry, showing off Zach De La Rocha’s venomous lyrics. “Voice Of The Voiceless” has strong connections to a favorite of the band in Mumia Abu Jamal, as well as 1984, as I mentioned above and has a bit of a funk vibe to the music. “New Millennium Homes” is a solid song, with a cool groove, that perfectly sets up my favorite Rage Against The Machine song appears on The Battle Of L.A., “Ashes In The Fall.” Lyrically and musically, Ashes brings something different to the table. This is along the same lines as how epic some songs on the first album were. The song also brings a brilliance to how tight and good Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford are together. Tom Morello’s guitar work especially in the bridge section and the ending highlight his talents even more. Closing out the album is “War Within A Breath” which picks up where Ashes leaves off, then finishes with a fury of signature Rage.
The Battle of Los Angeles to me is the second best album the band put out. In terms of songwriting and passion, this album soars above Evil Empire. Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford and Zach De La Rocha were magical together. They were able to create awareness and invoke the youth to open their eyes and stand up. Something that is missing from music today. Battle is an album that upped the game a bit more for the band. Their albums stand the test of time. Keeping in mind that the band hasn’t released anything new since 1999, not much has changed in the world, making their albums more relatable than ever.
Rage Against The Machine- The Battle Of Los Angeles:
Last year Poison The Well announced a few shows marking their return. Today they announced they are playing shows on the west coast during the summer. This news put me in a Poison The Well kind of mood. So here is a ranking of their albums from not their best to the best.
We’ve all heard bands that were so good, but it seemed they were ahead of the time. In 2000, long before bands got fully into the 80’s culture of glam and new wave again, The Start was THE band. The only problem is not many people knew who they were. All the bands that came out after them in their genre, were all bland, rehashed, and boring. The Start brought a new vibe to the 80’s new wave style, writing songs that were eye opening and full of emotion. You might know or not that the band was formed of the ashes of Human Waste Project and Snot. Aimee Echo’s voice is one of “the” most original I’ve ever heard and he lyrics were top notch. Musically, the band delivered a sound that mixed new wave, with punk and hard rock. Their debut album Shakedown is wonderful from start to finish. I’ll even put it out there that it’s one of the best debut albums I’ve ever heard. Their other albums are stellar and different, showing that the band can evolve. I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing The Start a bunch of times. Let me just tell you that, you missed out on one of the coolest, best live bands ever. So if you did miss out, now is your chance to begin!!
Sludge/Doom Metal is one of the many genres of heavy music I’ve grown to really enjoy over the years. There are bands out there that try to capture that element and fall short, and there are bands that really deliver the goods. Behold! The Monolith falls into the latter. With their blend of sludge/doom along with prog and thrash, not to mention influences ranging from The Melvins, Celtic Frost and High On Fire, Behold! The Monolith put themselves on the map. Their newest release Architects Of The Void, is an album with solid riffs, groovy drums and nice subtle bass that go perfectly well with the gruff vocals. Songs like “Philosopher’s Blade,” “The Mithridltist,” “Lord Of Bones,” and “Architects Of The Void,” are stellar tracks. Behold! The Monolith are for sure a band that should be on your radar if you are looking for a great new sludge/doom metal band.
This week I present you with another cover song that I’m torn on. Stone Sour put out a second covers EP and on it was their version of The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter.” On one hand there are moments that are really good. Then I think to myself am I hearing this right? I’m interested in what your take is on this classic song being covered.
Stone Sour w/Lzzy Hale of Halestorm- Gimme Shelter:
The new Killswitch Engage album is so damn good. Jesse Leach’s vocals, lyrics and melodies are exceptional throughout all the albums he’s put out. He’s one of the most underrated singers in the last 15 years. As one of my all time favorite vocalists, my curiosity was raised to find out what other songs Jesse has made a guest appearance on. So here you go!
Killswitch Engage- Take This Oath (From The End Of Heartache):
A few months back while scouring the music news sites I read, I came across a band that was starting to gain some traction. The band is Red Sun Rising. They are the type of modern day hard rock band that does more than follow the same pattern as most radio rock bands do. Many bands try to do the early 90’s style of music and fail miserably. Red Sun Rising, while very influenced by that era, brings in two other elements that separate them from the pack. They have a love for the 70’s, and a great sense of melody. Throughout their most recent album, Polyester Zeal, Red Sun Rising manages to blend the best of those three things along with really solid songwriting. Granted they are not reinventing the wheel in any way, this band is just doing this style a hell of a lot better than their peers. Currently they have two songs that are taking over the airwaves on terrestrial and satellite airwaves, “The Otherside” and “Emotionless.” The rest of the album is exceptional as well, especially the songs “Push,” “Amnesia,” “My Muse,” “World’s Away,” “Unnatural,” and “Awake.” Give Red Sun Rising a shot if you are looking for a jolt of really solid hard rock.
One band that I’ve been a huge fan of for many years is Radiohead. They just announced that they are playing a few shows later this year. So naturally, that had gotten me in a Radiohead frame of mind. Here is an album rank of their catalog from not their best to their best.
