As the years go by, songs, like a fine wine or whiskey get better with age. One song I’ve noticed over the years that has gotten better and better is “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent. Though every time I listen to it, I just can’t help but think of how big of an asshole he is. How can this guy write such a great song, yet be such a douche? This song gets me every time it’s on the radio or in a movie. That riff is just so damn good. It’s got such an awesome groove, and is the perfect driving song. Someone please tell me how these two can make sense.
The resurgence of the “space rock” genre is ever growing and full of very talented bands. Florida’s Digicide is part of that pack. Having been included on a recent Hum tribute album, their debut album Far From Home stretches past their influences of Hum, Failure but also Deftones, Quicksand and Autolux. Jonathan Whittaker’s voice has the same charm as Ken Andrews, while at the same time a voice all his own. Larry Suglio does a tremendous job on the music. The riffs, are heavy yet full of melody and fits the space rock mold perfectly. Songs like “Anchors & Astronauts,” “Confines,” “Gated,” and “Hypothesis” are epic in nature. Currently they are putting the pieces together for a live band.
Every band has their entire life to write their first album. The one after that can be the hardest. You don’t want to repeat what you just did, and you want to grow as a band. The 90’s were a great time for this and one album in particular managed to do just that. Stone Temple Pilots album Purple. This album pushed the band away from the “grungier” sound of their debut Core and brought in more of a southern rock and psychedelic rock feel to the way they wrote. The use of slide guitar throughout the album really adds another dimension to the tone of the guitars. Scott Weiland’s vocals and lyrics stepped up leaps and bounds. First track “Meatplow” is bluesy complimented with a laid back feel. “Vasoline” is a grooving hard rocking song with great melody. It’s also the only song on the album that drummer Eric Kretz got writing credit on. “Lounge Fly” really evokes the psychedelic feel. This is one of my favorite STP songs. “Interstate Love Song” is the one of the bands most popular songs. It also has a great video to accompany it. The southern rock vibe is very present on this song. The vocal melody is one of the best they’ve ever created. “Still Remains” is a great song to follow “Interstate.” It also shows a more vulnerable side of Scott Weiland. “Pretty Penny” takes it down further, stripping it down. “Silvergun Superman” brings the album back up to the rocking side of things. The chorus melody of this song stays with you for a lifetime. The guitar riff is chunky and heavy but mixed in perfectly not to cause a rumble. “Big Empty” which was actually first heard on STP’s MTV Unplugged, utilizes the slide guitar perfectly and the guitar solo, oh my. I still remember this song best from The Crow (RIP Brandon Lee). “Unglued” is another strong rock song that gets your head bopping and it also has a slight tinge to it that can make you dance. ” Army Ants” goes back to that psychedelic sound in the intro then kicks into high rock gear. Closing out the album is “Kitchenware and Candybars” which again strips the band down and puts Weiland back in the vulnerable state which he embraces. The subtle nature of this song has lots of introspective components foreshadowing a bit in to the future of the band.
Brendan O’Brien’s production and mixing on the album is absolutely flawless. the arrangements of the songs and flow of the album have yet to be duplicated by the band. Scott Weiland cemented himself as a great lyricist and singer on this album. Dean De Leo’s guitar work and tone is unrivaled. Take a listen to Slash try to play STP songs, it just doesn’t sound right at all. Robert De Leo is a fantastic bass player and his ability to harmonize with Scott is tremendous. Eric Kretz is a seriously underrated drummer. This also marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Purple. And in the 20 years it sure does hold up.
Emperor is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They are regarded as highly influential by critics and emerging black metal bands. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited from 2005 to 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours, and will once reuniting in 2014. Ihsahn and Samoth met as youngsters and the two young men began playing together under various names; first Dark Device, then Xerasia, then Embryonic. The group soon evolved into the now well-known band Thou Shalt Suffer. Soon, however, Samoth began to write music outside of Thou Shalt Suffer, and together with Ihsahn and a new bass player called Mortiis (later of his own eponymous band Mortiis), Emperor was formed. After a short while together, the band released a demo entitled Wrath Of The Tyrant. After a record contract was signed, Samoth moved to rhythm guitar, Ihsahn continued the vocal duties and lead guitars, and Faust was recruited as a drummer. In the summer of 1993, the band began working on their first full-length album. Emperor ceased wearing corpse paint, they stated that it was becoming a trend and losing its original significance and symbolism. In 1994, Samoth was sentenced to 16 months in prison for burning the Skjold Church in Vindafjord, together with Varg Vikernes. . In 1994, In The Nightside Eclipse was released, earning Emperor more notoriety. After Samoth’s parole, the band was joined by Trym and Alver on drums and bass respectively, and at the end of 1996, Emperor entered the studio to record Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk. Featuring a much more progressive sound than their earlier works, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk won the ‘album of the year’ by a lots of European magazines and critics. Continuing their career as a trio, with Ihsahn handling keyboards , vocals, guitars and bass, the band recorded their third album IX Equilibrium and toured Europe and the United States. It was around 2000 when Samoth and Trym started to gravitate more towards more of the death metal style, while Ihsahn directed his musical exploration towards the more artistic and progressive side of extreme metal. In 2001, Emperor decided to disband after releasing one final album, Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise which was composed entirely by Ihsahn. Emperor would go on to reunite in 2005 for a slew of shows up till their break up again in 2007. Now in 2014 Emperor is headlining all sorts of European festivals.
The amount of influence Emperor has spread over the years and across the many sub genres of metal is exponential. The mere greatness they exhibit in their playing and songwriting is fantastic. While not for everyone Emperor are pioneers and took it to the next level for extreme music.
There are certain bands that are a must see live. The albums they create have the ability to transcend reality and their live shows take that reality even further. Mastodon have been doing just that for me since I saw them back when their album Remission was released. Every album they upped their game and pushed the limits of what they can do in the studio and in a live setting. May 2nd was no different. Mastodon wasted no time during their 90 minute set to deliver one of the strongest live shows they’ve done since Crack The Skye was released. Their 17 song set was highlighted by the inclusion of songs such as opening with “Hearts Alive,” “Crusher Destroyer,” “Naked Burn,” “Aqua Dementia,” and “Oblivion.” The two new songs they played “Chimes At Midnight” and “High Road” sounded great, especially “High Road.” Instead of banter between songs, they let the music do the talking. The light show they has while they played had a bit of a psychedelic vibe to it and it matched perfectly with their set. Vocally, their past shows have been underwhelming, but it seems that with the proper vocal training, they have managed to pull off these songs in a much better light.
Also playing this fine evening was Gojira. Their loud bombastic assault has been talked about for years. As a live band they have the ability to steal the show away from the headliner (recently on their tour with Slayer, they did just that). Gojira’s set went by fast but was a great and fulfilled all that the mid opener slot is meant to be. Certain tracks played like “The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe,” “Oroborus,” and “Vacuity” got the crowd banging their heads. Their sound from album to live sounds identical, and all in a good way. Opening the entire show was Kvelertak. They are the perfect opening energy type band. Armed with three guitars and vocals only sung in their native Norwegian language, it’s hard not to be captivated by them.
Mastodon truly owned the night. The diverse set list that was played really balanced out a great evening. Their new album Once More Round The Sun comes out in June. Club Nokia on the other hand isn’t the greatest place to see a show. The layout and design puts a bit of a hinderance on viewing and listening. But I refused to let that get in the way of enjoying the show.
The 90’s sound of quiet to loud has always played a large role in rock music. The ability to take a delicate melodic part and transition it to a loud and heavy part takes the right amount of patience and creativity. Machines Learning have honed their craft of being able to do just that. Hailing from San Diego, California, this three piece band has taken their influences of Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Hum, and Sunny Day Real Estate and blended them into a powerful sound. Singer/Guitarist Paul William Balmer has a very subtle yet very textured voice that compliments the loud dirty guitars. The bass sound that Bradley Botbyl has borders on the 90’s sound and the more modern sludge of heavier bands. The drums are thunderous when it needs to be and understated when those softer parts come in. Machines Learning have released 2 exquisite EP’s, and from the sound of them , they are surely headed on the right path.
When I first heard Pearl Jam’s version of this song I got severe goosebumps. Eddie takes it to another level on this version. This is one of those instances when another band completely owns the songs and makes it theirs.
Instead of finding the best cover songs I thought it would be fun to make a list of the worst ones ever.
Limp Bizkit- Faith, Behind Blue Eyes
Korn- Word Up, Another Brick In The Wall
Nonpoint- In The Air Tonight
311- Love Song
Six Feet Under- their AC/DC album
Megadeth- Anarchy In The UK
Guns N Roses- Sympathy For The Devil
Rob Zombie- Brick House
Seether- Careless Whisper
Sevendust- Hurt
Alien Ant Farm- Smooth Criminal
A Perfect Circle- Gimme Gimme Gimme
Sheryl Crow- Sweet Child O’Mine
U2- Fortunate Son
The Ataris- Boys Of Summer
The Cure- Purple Haze
Celine Dion- You Shook Me All Night Long
Eric Clapton- I Shot The Sheriff
Madonna- American Pie
Five Finger Death Punch- House Of The Rising Sun, Bad Company
Asking Alexandria- Closer
Tori Amos- Raining Blood, Smells Like Teen Spirit
When creating an album, a lot of bands have a thought in their mind while writing that certain songs would sound great if they could get someone from one of their main influences to sing on that song. Mastodon has done that constantly. One of their big influences is Neurosis and they have managed to get Scott Kelly to sing on 5 of their albums and songs (Leviathan, Blood Mountain, Crack The Skye, The Hunter, Once More Round The Sun, and Emperor Of Sand. Scott’s vocals are very prominent in the mix and it fits so well with the music that the guys in Mastodon have created. It seems as though Scott is the unofficial fifth member of the band. Perhaps one day Scott will just do an entire album with Mastodon. Below are the songs in which they have collaborated on. Enjoy!!!
Aqua Dementia from Leviathan:
Crystal Skull from Blood Mountain:
Crack The Skye from Crack The Skye:
Spectrelight from The Hunter:
Diamond In The Witch House from Once More Round The Sun:
