In only a few more days as of this writing, Mastodon will be releasing their long awaited new album, Marrow Deep. Already two stellar songs have been released from the album in “Your Ghost Again” and “Snakes For Dinner.”
Now, “In The Ruins” has been let out of the gate and it’s definitely a deep one! The song is inspired by the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene and the havoc it wreaked upon Troy and his family. The catastrophic storm severely flooded their home and destroyed personal belongings, leading to a nearly two year period of displacement that coincided with the whole band navigating the passings of Brent and Brann’s mother Michele. Talk about inspiration. Jeez!
Here’s a use of song in film that even I forgot about. Back in 1990 Gremlins 2: The New Batch was released. It was definitely a bit different than the original but, still a fun watch. So much so that when it came to the use of songs in the movie, they definitely went for it. Towards the end of the movie, Slayer’s “Angel Of Death” comes on during a hilarious yet chaotic scene in the movie. While it’s short, the use of the song during a campy moment really brings it all together! Enjoy!
Thirty years ago an album came out that not only flipped hip hop on its side but, also pioneered a whole new wave of influence and inspiration in all of music. Entroducing…. by DJ Shadow is an absolute game changing masterpiece that stretches the bounds of all genes.
Released September 16, 1996, DJ Shadow aka Josh Davis, Entroducing, intrigued and introduced legions of people and new fans to the world of making music based on samples. While sampling isn’t new, as it’s been done forever, this was however a new way to create whole songs and albums. So much so in fact that Entroducing would go on in 2001 to be recognized in the Guinness Book Of Records as “the first completely sampled album.” The only pieces of equipment Shadow used to produce the album were the AKAI MPC60 II 12-bit sampling drum machine, a pair of turntables and a copy of Pro-Tools given to him by Dan The Automator. DJ Shadow would edit and layer samples to create new beats and tracks of varying moods and tempos.
Mixing hip hop, soul, r&b, funk, jazz, rock ambience and more created the perfect blend. Across an hour plus, the way Entroducing captures your attention needs to be studied. It doesn’t matter what you mainly listen to, once you are in the midst of listening. The inception of this album idea began in 1994. Spending hours at a time digging for records and singles, the samples struck a chord.
Each song has its own vibe and will evoke different feelings. A track by track run down doesn’t do this album or its songs justice. The ones most recognizable like “Organ Donor,” “Midnight In A Perfect World” and “Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt” have become classic and timeless. While others like “Mutual Step,” which samples Bjork, “Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain,” “The Number Song” which contains samples of Metallica’s “Orion,” and Changeling/Transmission 1” which samples Tangerine Dream, have long been fan favorites and have amassed a cult like reputation. No matter what you’re listening to on here you’ll be in audio heaven.
To this day, I still love putting this album on during a nice drive or even to go to bed too. There’s so many different things and sounds to explore with each listen. That repeat factor has played a big part as to why Entroducing is an absolute classic masterpiece. The entire DJ Shadow catalog is a gem with more styles and vibes to explore.
It happens all the time. You come across a band that on the surface doesn’t really peak your interest for whatever reason. It could be a song, the band name, their style and more. The fun part of it all is over time, your previous expectations begin to dissipate and you give that band a chance and the end result is quite surprising.
Only a few weeks back I was out driving and put on one of those similar artists stations on Apple Music. While winding through canyon roads, a song came on that struck me. I didn’t have the who’s playing screen on so I didn’t know who it was. But this song was quite the heavy melodic treat. When I got to a place to stop, I went back to check who it was and to my absolute surprise it was a band I was not expecting. The song was “Sun Doesn’t Rise” by Mushroomhead. Yes, I was that surprised too. It’s been years since I heard this song and probably the same amount of time since I actually last listened to Mushroomhead. Needless to say, what came next was listening to the album XIII which the song is from. The end result led to…
“Wait?! This is Mushroomhead?!! Oh damn, maybe it’s time to give them a second look.” Before I went into this album, I made sure to put aside any pre conceived notions I had about the band and went in with fresh ears. The end result is that XIII is a really really good melodic heavy album. There are elements of the time with some “nu-metal” styles but, there is way more to take away from this album and band. Throughout the album, piano is a vital and prominent instrument that propels certain songs and moments in a delicate but menacing nature. The down-tuned riffs, while they do have some nu-metal flair, you’d be surprised to hear that it’s actually more in line with Meshuggah style djent-y guitar riffs and rhythms. The album itself is hyper-focused and you hear the amount of effort being poured into XIII. As this is the bands “major label debut” the need to go full on here paid off quite well.
The way the album plays out feels very cohesive with each part being there on purpose. The 13 tracks on this album bring about a variety of styles fused together, different moods and interesting arrangements and structures. Without giving the albums away, this track by track rundown will guide you to listen to the album!
Starting XIII is “Kill Tomorrow” which out of the gate kicks things off in a great way. Then “Sun Doesn’t Rise” really takes it to another level. Really this is one of those songs that makes this an underrated record. “Mother Machine Gun” is one of the standout songs on here. The intro blends so well into how the songs continues. The melding of styles on this song is a good idea of the progressive nature of where things are headed. “Nowhere To Go” has a ballad sensibility and a great push and pull aspect. “Becoming Cold” is a track that feels like a throwback to some of the bands earlier material in the M3 era.
“One More Day” is another treat of a piano driven song. “The Dream Is Over” is a heavy stellar track that has a very deep sludgy style. “The War Inside” is the companion of the previous. Rght in the middle of the record is a left and right hook to the head. “Almost Gone” goes further into the sludge territory and gives the album a song that is a true deep cut. The last three songs “Eternal,” “Our Own Way,” and “Destroy The World Around Me” play out like three chapters of a book that you are eager to get to so you know how things are going to end and what possible direction will come next. Closing out the album is “Thirteen” an instrumental track continues on that leads to a secret song, a cover of “Crazy” by Seal.
The band themselves have chops and write good songs. The vocal combination of Jason “J Mann” Popson and Jeffrey “Nothing” Hatrix sounds stellar. Each have their own style and character in their voice which makes their back and forth and chemistry really be present. Drummer Steve “Skinny” Felton propels the songs with an ignited spirit. As the bands main producer too, Skinny knows the band inside and out. Jack Kilcoyne aka Pig Benis, has a mighty bass tone that feels like it could have been a part of Crowbar. Dave Felton aka Gravy, like Benis, has a great sludge style of guitar playing as does other guitarist Bronson. And Stitch on turntables/samples giving the songs an added texture.
At the end of the day, when you take away the gimmick aspect, the band name, the stage names, you have a really quite good band. Mushroomhead really are a solid band. To be an entity back from 1993 till now, shows there is something here. Each of their albums has it’s own moment. XIII just had something else to it that makes it what it is. This is a really great example of an underrated album that got the brush off just because of some silly media crap. Listen to what you want and like. And while you are at it, give Mushroomhead’s XIII a spin!
The way the younger generation has been inspired and influenced by what came about during the previous generation has been very interesting to see come to life. The bands that have been able to create music that feels like a throwback but, also put the right spin on it, are the ones to watch. Which brings us to the band of the week.
A few weeks ago at part three of The Cobalt Presents 5 Year Anniversary show, there was a band that played and really turned up the volume and that band is Gerbil. Don’t let the name fool you, this band has teeth. While the 90’s alternative/indie rock is prevalent, the way Gerbil injects a bit of funk, rock, pop and a scoop of ska into their songs is the part that gets you.
The youthful fun energy Gerbil has is infectious when you see them live. Each member brings their own influence to the fold and its plays out in such a great way.
Scoring films and John Carpenter are a match made in film and scoring delight. For years now, John has not only written and directed some of the coolest and best horror and Sci-fi films. His score work has long been regarded and influential to so many.
Currently, John Carpenter is releasing his first original graphic novel entitled, Cathedral. And since it’s John Carpenter it’s more than just that, it’s an audio/visual companion project. The album’s soundtrack finds John Carpenter and longtime band mates Cody Carpenter (synths) and Daniel Davies (guitar) providing the soundtrack for an elevated, spine tingling, dark and ominous experience. Each track on the album aligns with a chapter of the graphic novel, with liner notes guiding listeners through the story.
The soundtrack is signature Carpenter with a more metal leaning sound and tone. “Revenge” hits at both and includes a few fun twists that peaks your interest.
Cathedral is out now and the soundtrack is out on August 07, 2026!
Discovering a new band that you don’t expect is one of the best things. It could be a riff, melody, lyric, or random part that connects. No matter what it is, the feeling of finding a new band to enjoy is something else. With that in mind let me introduce you to, Ocean Sleeper.
Hailing from Australia, the home of the one and only Silverchair (yes, I know there are plenty of other Aussie bands. Silverchair was fucking awesome)! Ocean Sleeper formed in 2016 and have been honing their metalcore meets post-hardcore sound since. Now on their second album, Peace When I’m Dead, Ocean Sleeper have upped the stakes.
Armed with songs that evoke emotion, a heaviness that makes you bang your head and a crisp melodic sensibility, Ocean Sleeper will keep you awake and demand your attention. The most recent single “My Forever Drug” is addictive as it’s catchy but deep. When the chorus hits, it soars. You just have to listen. The title track “Peace When I’m Dead” screams urgency right out of the gate. “Break The Cycle” hits like broken glass against the wall. The impact of this song really gets your blood pumping.
Peace When I’m Dead arrives August 21 via Rise Records. Be on the lookout for Ocean Sleeper!
The thought of experimentation and exploration within music swings like a pendulum. Each side has its own distinct sound and feel just like Machinekit’s new EP, Body Without Organs. In a fun metaphorical sense, perhaps each organ that is missing represents the style of the music.
Across five intense and almost primitive songs, Machinekit mastermind, John Rojas, emits a mixture of electro-punk, jazz, industrial, doom, and darkwave all in a raw nature. This is where the primitive sense comes in. The vocals tear through skin and pull at your own organs. The way the songs have a visual impact gives the EP an even darker and tortured feel. The instrumentation here is direct and given a clear mission to teeter the line of precision and avant-garde.
When a release like Body Without Organs arrives, it might take a minute to fully grasp what is happening. Go with it! As each song pulls you in a twist, there’s more to uncover with each listen.
For quite a while now, The Pretty Reckless have been a really great rock band. One of those bands that has not gotten the due they deserve. Now five albums deep and showing all the signs of a well oiled rock band, they arrived in Los Angeles on sizzling Friday July 31, 2006 to a sold out Wiltern Theater.
At 9:00 the lights went down and a roaring crowd got louder and louder as Logan Nickolic (guitar), Jaime Perkins (drums), Mark Damon (bass) and the absolutely underrated Ben Phillips (lead guitar) took the stage. Then one of the loudest indoor audience pops I’ve heard in a long time exploded as singer Taylor Momsen hit the stage. Without a second more to wait, The Pretty Reckless stormed into a stirring performance of “Death By Rock And Roll.” The next batch of songs went back to their first two albums and upped the stakes of the evening. Just as you thought it was going to hit a more mellow tone in the set, the fantastic and heavy “For I Am Death” made the walls of the Wiltern seem like they were shaking. The onslaught of great rock continued with bangers “When I Wake Up” and Love Me” both and the former from the new album, Dear God.
Then came the moment when the show went for a more solemn tone as “Devil In Disguise (Michelle’s Song)” was played. It’s one of those songs that when you know what it’s about, really hits different. Then the vibe picked up with the title track off the record as well as two more songs from the new album. Then came a trifecta of absolute unbridled rock with “Make Me Wanna Die,” Heaven Knows,” and “Going To Hell.” Each of these songs had the crowd eating out of the bands hands. The fun jamming during the songs really helped to showcase the band as great players and how damn good they are. The way the crowd sang back at the right moments was astounding. For the encore the very melodic rocking song “About You” was played with special guest guitarist Pat Smear.
The Pretty Reckless are truly a great band that deserve more recognition for being a great rock band. They have a no frills approach to their music and songs that makes the music speak for itself. Taylor Momsen has a terrific rock n roll voice and can wail like the best of them! The band definitely needs more recognition as well. One of the tightest bands I’ve heard and seen. Each plays with a vigor that emits heavy rock. Ben Phillips especially needs to be on the lists for rock guitar players!! The Pretty Reckless are here and are guaranteed to put on one hell of a great rock show!
Overall Rating: 9/10
Review and Photos By: Brian Lacy
The Pretty Reckless Setlist:
01) Death By Rock And Roll 02) Since You’re Gone 03) Follow Me Down 04) Miss Nothing 05) For I Am Death 06) When I Wake Up 07) Love Me 08) Devil In Disguise (Michelle’s Song) 09) Dear God 10) Dark Days 11) Spell On You 12) Make Me Wanna Die 13) Heaven Knows 14) Going To Hell ENCORE: 15) About You (with Pat Smear on Guitar)
The evolution of electronic music has made for some truly intriguing and interesting music. When you hear an artist of band in this genre that really hits you, it’s a different feeling than that of a metal or rock band. It’s filled more with a pulsating and ethereal vibe. And on the latest release from Justin Hanson aka LVX, is just that and more.
“Supplicant” is a track that explores a haunting cinematic universe mixed with a prog sense that has tinges of post punk and goth. The real drums give it a very human feeling that strikes at the right chords to make a very intimate and intense track. The additional guitar parts courtesy of Paul D’Amour adds an extra layer of depth to “Supplicant.”
LVX is one to keep your ears and eyes on! I know I am!!
