Album Review: Anakin- Celestial Frequency Shifter

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Putting aside genre defining, Anakin simply rocks. Their blend of space rock and hooky melodies carry the weight throughout their new album Celestial Frequency Shifter. There is so much space and ambience entangled with the subtle crunchy guitars. Their influences of Weezer, Failure, Hum and science fiction really shine on this release without overpowering the sound that the band has created. Anakin really took their time to craft songs that can stand out on their own or as an album (as it should be). “Astro(not)” is the perfect beginning to this album. The third song “Lucidity,”  really picks up the pace as as hard charging song complete with sultry hooks.  Songs like “Clairvoyanace,” “Ctrl.Alt.Del” and the closing song “Sunbeam,” really strike with the hooks and distorted guitars. There is also another element that this album has, and that is its ability to be uplifting. The way the vocal melodies are mixed with the synths, create this harmonious meditation while listening. Anakin have made an album that is perfect for the start of a new year. Their notions of hope and the thought of what is out there really comes into play.

On The 1-10 Scale: 9/10

 

Anakin- Celestial Frequency Shifter:

 

By: Brian Lacy

You Might Have Missed: Iommi
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Finally in 2000 after nearly 5 years in the making, Tony Iommi released the be all end all of solo albums featuring guest vocalists. All of the songs on the album were written by Tony Iommi, producer Bob Marlette and each of the vocalists that appear on the songs.The album features Phil Anselmo, Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins, Billy Corgan, Serj Tankian, Billy Idol, Ian Astbury, Peter Steele, Skin, and Ozzy. According to Tony Iommi, he and Phil Anselmo had recorded three tracks together for the album, but only one was put onto the album. Phil had later on said that there was a chance that they might have done a full album had time permitted amongst other things. The album peaked at number 129 on the Billboard charts and its only single released, “Goodbye Lament” featuring Dave Grohl reached number 10 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. This album is quite a remarkable album, as it shows what Tony Iommi’s playing sounds like with different types of singers. Slash tried to do something similar with his first “solo” album, but to me he failed miserably mainly because he is overrated and picked the wrong people to have on his album. Tony Iommi is a true legend and master of his craft, and this album is a testament to his legacy

 

Iommi- Album:

 

Tony Iommi and Phil Anselmo- Invasion Of The Saviours:

 

By: Brian Lacy

Album Rank: Cave In

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Cave In has been one of my favorite bands since i first heard them back in 1998. I thought today is the perfect day to rank their albums. So here they are in order of not their best to their best!

 

White Silence:

 

Tides Of Tomorrow:

 

Planets Of Old:

 

Antenna:

 

Perfect Pitch Black:

 

Jupiter:

 

Until Your Heart Stops:

 

Cover Thursday: Stone Temple Pilots (The Doors)- Break On Through [To The Other Side]

The Doors are huge part of my musical upbringing. Whenever I come across a band covering them, I am always compelled to check it out. Most of the time though it sucks. Though any time Scott Weiland puts his vocals on top of a Doors song, it sounds wonderful. Which brings me to this version of Break On Through. It’s got a different arrangement that helps make it a little more STP, while still keeping it classic Doors.

 

Stone Temple Pilots: Break On Through (To The Other Side)

List: Best Track 1’s

I was recently watching High Fidelity and one of the top five lists they were discussing was the top track one side ones of albums. So I thought to myself what are my favorites. Below is a list IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER of the best track ones side ones. I know there are plenty more, so add them in the comments!

Alice In Chains- Them Bones (Dirt)
Alice In Chains- We Die Young (Facelift)
Alice In Chains- Rotten Apple (Jar Of Flies)
Brand New- Sowing Season (The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me)
Guns N Roses- Welcome To The Jungle (Appetite For Destruction)
Guns N Roses- Civil War (Use Your Illusion II)
Led Zeppelin- Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin II)
Led Zeppelin- Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin III)
Led Zeppelin- Black Dog (Led Zeppelin IV)
Led Zeppelin- Achilles Last Stand (Presence)
The Doors- Break On Through (The Doors)
The Doors- Roadhouse Blues (Morrison Hotel)
Cream- White Room (Wheels Of Fire)
Tool- Stinkfist (Aenima)
Tool- Vicarious (10,000 Days)
Rage Against The Machine- Bombtrack (Rage Against The Machine)
Rage Against The Machine- People Of The Sun (Evil Empire)
Metallica- Hit The Lights (Kill Em All)
Metallica- Fight Fire With Fire (Ride The Lightning)
Metallica- Battery (Master Of Puppets)
Metallica- Blackened (…And Justice For All)
Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nevermind)
Nine Inch Nails- Head Like A Hole (Pretty Hate Machine)
Nine Inch Nails- Mr. Self Destruct (The Downward Spiral)
Nine Inch Nails- Somewhat Damaged (The Fragile)
The Velvet Underground- White Light White Heat (White Light/White Heat)
Failure- Saturday Saviour (Fantastic Planet)
Failure- Let It Drip (Magnified)
Stone Temple Pilots- Dead and Bloated (Core)
Smashing Pumpkins- Cherub Rock (Siamese Dream)
Black Sabbath- Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)
Black Sabbath- War Pigs (Paranoid)
Black Sabbath- Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath)
Black Sabbath- Neon Knights (Heaven and Hell)
Deftones- Bored (Adrenaline)
Deftones- My Own Summer {Shove It} (Around The Fur)
Deftones- Diamond Eyes (Diamond Eyes)
Foo Fighters- All My Life (One By One)
Bush- Everything Zen (Sixteen Stone)
Sunny Day Real Estate- Seven (Diary)
Korn- Blind (Korn)
Neurosis- Through Silver and Blood (Through Silver and Blood)
Neurosis- Burn (The Eye Of Every Storm)
Neurosis- We All Rage In Gold (Honor Found In Decay)
Down- Temptation’s Wings (Down I: NOLA)
Slayer- Angel Of Death (Reign In Blood)
Slayer- South Of Heaven (South Of Heaven)
Slayer- War Ensemble (Seasons In The Abyss)
Faith No More- From Out Of Nowhere (The Real Thing)
Faith No More- Land Of Sunshine (Angel Dust)
Silverchair- Israel’s Son (Frogstomp)
Silverchair- Emotion Sickness (Neon Ballroom)
Pearl Jam- Once (Ten)
Pearl Jam- Go (Vs)
Soundgarden- Rusty Cage (Bad Motor Finger)
Black Flag- Rise Above (Damaged)
At The Drive In- Arcarsenal (Relationship Of Command)
The National- Fake Empire (Boxer)
The National- Terrible Love (High Violet)
Filter- Hey Man Nice Shot (Short Bus)
Mad Season- Wake Up (Above)
Sparta- Cut Your Ribbon (Wiretap Scars)
Placebo- Meds (Meds)
Portishead- Mysterons (Dummy)
Incubus- Megalomanic (A Crow Left Of The Murder)
Quicksand- Fazer (Slip)
Far- Bury White (Water and Solutions)
Cave In- Jupiter (Jupiter)
Drive Like Jehu- Caress (Drive Like Jehu)

 

Bands That Should Come Back: Mudvayne

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Last week I made a post about Nothingface being a band that should come back. With that in mind I’m writing about Mudvayne this week. Mudvayne had a different approach to the music they put out. When their album LD 50 came out, it was met with high praise throughout the metal community. That album is still thought of as a quintessential album of the early 2000’s. Through their career, they started experimenting with melody and more straight forward styles of song writing. More often than not, it just didn’t work, but when they stuck to their guns, Mudvayne wrote some really great songs. Their final album, was a step back in the right direction, with riffs and rhythms that harked back to their LD 50 days. One thing with Mudvayne was that their live shows were always full of energy and excitement. Instead of coming back to the group and getting back to basics, Hellyeah became the main priority to singer Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbet (though Greg finally left the waste of time that Hellyeah is). I strongly think that if Mudvayne were to come back it would be with welcome arms and they would come back with a real sense of purpose to deliver the goods as they once could. 

 

Dig:

 

Death Blooms:

 

Not Falling:

 

World So Cold:

 

Determined:

 

Dull Boy:

 

Scream With Me:

 

Heard It All Before:

 

 

Album Rank: Silverchair

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Silverchair has long been one of my favorite bands. Neon Ballroom is in my top 50 albums of all time. So with that in mind I thought why not rank all of Silverchair’s albums. Here they are from not the best to their best.
Young Modern:

 

Freak Show:

 

Diorama:

 

Frogstomp:

 

Neon Ballroom:

 

By: Brian Lacy

Band Of The Week: Malaki

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Female fronted bands a lot of the times seem to be very gimmicky, but Malaki is a strong exception to the rule. This melodic metal 5 piece is leaving their mark all over Los Angeles. The band recently released their BLUE EP which is chock full of melody, heavy riffs, and soaring vocals. With an EP and live show as strong as they have, I’m sure they will fast become a must see.

https://www.facebook.com/Malakiband

Sunshine:

Full Live Show At The Troubadour:

 

By: Brian Lacy

 

Cover Comparison: Cave In & Year Of The Rabbit (The Cure)- Plainsong

For some reason I’ve been in the mood to listen to The Cure a lot as of late. Which got me thinking about all the covers of Cure songs out there. So why not see what version of “Plainsong” you all think is best.

Cave In: Plainsong

 

Year Of The Rabbit: Plainsong

 

The Cure: Plainsong

Great Guest Vocalists: Trent Reznor

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A most of you have probably assumed, I’m a huge Nine Inch Nails fan. So I thought why not share some songs that Trent has guested on that you might not have known he was on.

 

Queens Of The Stone Age: You Know What You Did

 

Tori Amos: Past The Mission

 

EL-P: Flyentology

 

Queens Of The Stone Age: Kalopsia