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Jorn – Symphonic [Review]

JORN Symph COVER

Jorn – Symphonic
2013, Frontiers Records

1. I Came To Rock
2. Rock And Roll Children
3. The World I See
4. Burn Your Flame
5. Man Of The Dark
6. My Road
7. Time To Be King
8. Black Morning
9. Like Stone In Water
10. Vision Eyes
11. War Of The World
12. Behind The Clown
13. A Thousand Cuts
14. The Mob Rules

Symphonic is a collection of Jorn’s songs, handpicked by Jorn Lande himself, that have been given a remix and orchestral makeover. Even dating back to when Metallica did it, adding orchestral arrangements on top of hard rock/heavy metal is a hit-or-miss affair. It’s hard to make a song work with an orchestra when they weren’t written with that in mind. Still, it can work depending on the song and as I mentioned, a number of these songs were actually remixed to better suit the orchestra element.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no expert when it comes to Jorn Lande or the various projects he’s been a part of. It’s only in the last few years I’ve begun to listen to his music but I do recognize some of the songs here like “A Thousand Cuts”, “Time To Be King”, “The World I See”, “Black Morning” and his Dio/Black Sabbath covers.

It’s no surprise that the more powerful numbers like “A Thousand Cuts”, “Time To Be King” and “The Mob Rules” are my favorite out of this bunch. There’s no tampering with those songs to make way for an orchestra. Get in where you can fit in. Mileage will vary on this album. I guess it really all comes down to ‘How much do you like symphonic rock?” Symphony isn’t a necessary release, there’s not one new song in the bunch, but it’s fine for what it is. It’s a satisfying placeholder until the next Jorn album comes along (which shouldn’t be long given this guy’s hectic schedule).

Highlights: ”Rock And Roll Children”, “The World I See”, “My Road”, “Time To Be King”, “Black Morning”, “A Thousand Cuts”, “The Mob Rules”

http://www.facebook.com/OFFICIALJORN
http://www.jornlande.com/

Buy the album at Amazon.com

Metal Excess Awards 2012

Despite 2012 being a year where a number of major classic rock acts reappeared with new albums (KISS, Van Halen, Aerosmith), I was slightly disappointed with the rock scene overall. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that I’ve listened to less music in 2012 than I have compared to the previous 5 years or so. Whether it’s because I’m getting too old or getting too busy, I didn’t sit down and listen to or write about as much music as I have since I started this blog a few years back. I haven’t been paying attention to the world of hard rock & heavy metal as I should have. Forgive me. Maybe I can make up for it in 2013.
Anyway, here’s my contribution to the millions of “Best of 2012″ lists that are already all over the internet!
Best Albums of 2012
As I said, 2012 didn’t seem like an incredibly bright year for rock releases but that doesn’t mean I’m knocking some of the cream of the crop. Rick Springfield (of all people!) delivered a classic album that I just had to give the #1 spot based on how much I played it. My Darkest Days had yet another incredibly strong release. Other than Hess at #7, the rest of the top 10 is made up of veteran artists who know how to get the job done.
1.Rick Springfield – Songs for the End of the World
2. My Darkest Days – Sick and Twisted Affair
3. KISS – Monster
4. Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth
5. Aerosmith – Songs from Another Dimension!
6. Adler – Back From The Dead
7. Mollo/Martin – The Third Cage
8. Hess – Living In Yesterday
9. Slash – Apocalyptic Love
10. Dokken – Broken Bones
11. Great White – Elation
12. Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown
13. Jorn – Bring Heavy Rock to the Land
14. Jack Blades – Rock ‘N’ Roll Ride
15. Trixter – New Audio Machine
16. Lita Ford – Living Like a Runaway
17. Crazy Lixx – Riot Avenue
18. Hinder – Welcome to the Freak Show
19. Million Dollar Reload – A Sinner’s Saint
20. The Morning After – Legacy
21. Heart – Fanatic
22. Accept – Stalingrad
23. Papa Roach – The Connection
23. Zerokings – Kings of Self Destruction
24. Primal Fear – Unbreakable
25. Fozzy – Sin and Bones

Missed Them in 2012…

These are releases from 2012 that I’ve heard some songs from but I haven’t listened to the entire album yet. I wouldn’t have felt right trying to place them on the list without having heard the complete album. Look for reviews of these albums soon.

* Danko Jones – Rock and Roll is Black and Blue
* Black Country Communion – Afterglow
* L.A. Guns – Hollywood Forever (from what I’ve heard, this probably would’ve made my Top 10)
* Jettblack – Raining Rock
* The Last Vegas – Bad Decisions
* Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares
* Overkill – The Electric Age
* T & N – Slave to the Empire
* Lynch Mob – Sound Mountain Session EP

Best EP/Compilation/Cover/Singles

The “everything else” category.

1. Richard Marx – Christmas Spirit
2. Dio – The Very Beast of Dio, Vol. 2
3. Rod Stewart – Merry Christmas, Baby
4. John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John – This Christmas
5. TSO – Dreams of Fireflies (On a Christmas Night) EP
6. Dee Snider – Dee Does Broadway
7. Buckcherry – “Gluttony” [single]
8. Motley Crue – “Sex” [single]
9. Wildstreet – “Easy Does It” [single]

Most Anticipated in 2013

Judas Priest:   Slated for sometime in 2013, this is easily the most anticipated album for me. I’m looking forward to and hoping Priest will deliver a classic sounding metal album and forget about overblown concept records. It’s just a shame KK Downing isn’t along for the ride but I think having some young blood in Priest might actually help push them to be heavier, harder and faster. The same thing happened when Scott Travis joined the band. I’d still love to see Downing come back at some point though. Why not have six members of Judas Priest?

Buckcherry – Confessions (Feb. 19): The lead single “Gluttony” has already been released and I’m really enjoying it. These guys do not disappoint.

My Darkest Days (fall): These guys have released two of my favorite albums from the last few years and are already writing for a follow up to last year’s Sick and Twisted Affair with a new studio album in the fall. I’m hoping the recent departure of guitarist Sal Costa wouldn’t delay the release.

Avenged Sevenfold: No timetable for a new album other than 2013. The band is supposedly going to begin recording this month.

Motley Crue: Another “sometime in 2013″ release. The question is — LP or EP? Vince Neil has mentioned it will be an EP and that’s more in line with what Tommy Lee has stated he’d like for the band to release from now on. Nikki Sixx has been referring to the next Crue release as an “album”, so I guess we’ll see. The single they released in the summer (“Sex”) was decent and seems to fit in with the modern rock turn Crue has taken since 2005.

Black Sabbath: Originally meant for 2012, all kinds of legal issues and drama have slowed this one down. Pretty stupid if they don’t end up pulling Bill Ward in but I’m interested just because I’m a fan of Iommi & Butler. In fact, bring back Ward and get rid of Ozzy and I’d feel even better about this reunion album. My preference is still for Iommi & Butler to form a new band with either Tony Martin (long shot), Jorn Lande, Ian Gillan or Glenn Hughes.

Megadeth: I dunno… Megadeth is one of my all-time favorite bands so I’m always interested but with each release I’m finding less and less to like. Yes, they are getting heavier and faster. Perhaps they are the heaviest and fastest they’ve ever been but Dave seems to be forsaking melody to do it. Seems like he’d rather go off on political rants and conspiracy theories than write memorable songs.

AC/DC: One of those bands that myself & radio have played out to the point where I’m kinda numb to them. But, Black Ice was far better than I ever imagined it could be so I’m definitely interested in new music. This past spring Malcolm Young said a new album would be out in a “year or two”. Here’s hoping it’ll be released in 2013.

Tom Keifer (spring) – I’m a big fan of Cinderella. People have been asking for a new Cinderella album for over 10 years now. I’m not sure why Tom would decide to a solo release instead but I’m not going to complain.

Deep Purple: Ian Gillan said they were planning a new release. Hopefully they follow through!

Anthrax: I think it was Joey Belladonna who stated in interview this past summer than they wanted to release something new in 2013.

Hardcore Superstar – C’mon Take On Me (March 1)

Black Veil Brides – Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones (January 8): I surprisingly enjoyed their last album. Looking forward to hearing whether they’ve kept the same sound or going even more glam/power metal than before.

Crashdiet – The Savage Playground (late January)

Bon Jovi – What About Now (March 26): I’m not a fan of the lead single, “Because We Can”. I actually haven’t been a fan of the last few albums either but I was optimistic because I liked all four new songs they released with the deluxe version of their latest greatest hits compilation. I can’t help but get excited when a new Bon Jovi album is coming out but I would not be surprised if this album was only good for a ballad or two.

Heart – Fanatic [Review]

Heart – Fanatic
(2012, Sony Music/Legacy Recordings)

1. Fanatic
2. Dear Old America
3. Walkin’ Good
4. Skin and Bones
5. Million Miles
6. Pennsylvania
7. Mashallah
8. Rock Deep (Vancouver)
9. 59 Crunch
10. Corduroy Road

Band:
Ann Wilson – Lead Vocals, Flute, Backing Vocals
Nancy Wilson – Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Ric Markmann – Bass
Ben Smith – Drums

Additional Musicians:
Sarah McLachlan – Vocals, Backing Vocals
Ben Mink – Banjo, Guitar, Keyboards, Mandolin, Organ, Strings, Viola, Violin, Backing Vocals

Producer: Ben Mink

When I first saw the album cover, I thought maybe this was some forgotten late ’80s/early ’90s release or at least a low budget compilation. It’s a very bland cover, from the font to the B&W photo of Ann & Nancy, but I’m just being nit-picky.

Heart has had sort of a mini-comeback in the last few years. They’ve been touring successfully, their live shows are very good, Red Velvet Car received good reviews and debuted in the Billboard Top 10 (and has gone on to sell something like 100k copies, I think), they released a four-disc box set earlier this year and have released a memoir called Kicking & Screaming: A Story of Heart. They are also getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Keeping up with this flurry of activity, it was natural that only two years after Red Velvet Car they’d release a follow-up. Fanatic is said to be somewhat of a companion piece to the Wilson’s memoir, with each song being inspired by their personal lives & experiences.

I’ve seen mixed reviews for this album but then again I saw that for Red Velvet Car as well. Heart keeps doing their own thing while the rest of the world either wants them to return to their ’70s hard rock roots or their ’80s pop/rock style. They continue to do their own thing, though they are closer to their ’70s material than their ’80s work. I highly doubt we’ll ever hear a big slick commercial power ballad from them ever again. Instead, they’d rather give us acoustic-based melancholy songs.

But as I said, they actually rock out when they want to. “Fanatic”, “Dear Old America” and “Mashallah” retain that classic Zep-influenced Heart sound while remaining modern just like the previous album’s “WTF”. And “59 Crunch” sounds downright grungy at times. Must be something in that Seattle water. Personally, there are too many slow moments on this album for me, something that Red Velvet Car had but they pulled it off better on that album.

Overall, there’s a handful of good tracks here but I’m disappointed in comparison to their last release.

Highlights: “Fanatic”, “Dear Old America”, “Mashallah”, “59 Crunch”

http://www.heart-music.com
http://www.facebook.com/heart

Buy the album at Amazon.com

Adler – Back From The Dead [Review]


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Adler – Back From The Dead
2012, New Ocean Media

1. Back From The Dead
2. Own Worst Enemy
3. Another Version of the Truth
4. The One That You Hated
5. Good to Be Bad
6. Just Don’t Ask
7. Blown Away
8. Waterfall
9. Habit
10. Your Diamonds
11. Dead Wrong

Band:
Jacob Bunton – Vocals
Lonny Paul – Guitar
Johnny Matrin – Bass
Steven Adler – Drums

Additional Musicians:
Slash – Guitar (“Just Don’t Ask)
John 5 – Guitar (“Good to Be Bad”)

Producer: Jeff Pilson

Well. After years of battling substance abuse, starring in reality TV shows and forming what was essentially a GNR cover band, Steven Adler has finally done it. He’s finally put together a band that has released an album of entirely original material. After the stop & go nature of his previous band (Adler’s Appetite), I had my doubts if Steven would ever do anything more than session work again. Not only am I surprised that new music from Alder is here, I’m even more surprised the entire album is actually very good and a Top 10 release for me for the year!

I had heard the handful of original songs Adler’s Appetite made and released as an EP a few years back and “The One That You Hated” earlier this year and I liked it all so I assumed there would be a few good tracks but nothing like this. This is no filler here. I’m not saying every song is a killer track but every song is certainly well-worth the time listening to.

Musically, this band fits right in with Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Velvet Revolver and Slash’s solo output. You can hear the GNR influence. I will say that not all of Back From The Dead is as modern sounding as Velvet Revolver or Slash’s recent albums but that’s not a bad thing. There are a few tracks that could easily pass as a song by Velvet Revolver or Slash but for the most part this album is just good ol’ straight up hard rock. The sound isn’t modern. It’s timeless. There’s a number of melodic moments like “Waterfall” and “Just Don’t Ask”. Either of which could easily be played on the radio. “Just Don’t Ask” could be a Shinedown/Daughtry kind of song.

I have to point out that frontman Jacob Bunton does a great job. Some maybe recognize him as the lead singer from Lynam and Mars Electric.

A lot people say the classic GNR line-up should reunite but I say WHY? By my count, we have now FIVE great bands going (GNR, Velvet Revolver, Slash, Adler, Loaded). Why kill off (or at least put on hold for a few years) four bands for a GNR reunion that probably wouldn’t get through one album and/or tour before imploding? Regardless of your feelings on that subject, fans of GNR and all of the various projects from ex-GNR members should pick this one up.

Highlights: “Back From The Dead”, “Own Worst Enemy”, “Another Version of the Truth”, “The One That You Hated”, “Just Don’t Ask”, “Blown Away”, “Waterfall”, “Dead Wrong”

http://www.adlerrocks.com/
http://www.facebook.com/adlermusic

Buy the album at Amazon.com

Sister Sin – Now and Forever [Review]

Sister Sin – Now and Forever
2012, Victory Records

1. MMXII
2. End of the Line
3. Fight Song
4. In It For Life
5. Hearts of Cold
6. The Chosen Few
7. Hang ‘Em High
8. I’m Not You
9. Shades of Black
10. Running Low
11. Morning After

Band:
Liv Jagrell
Jimmy Hiltula
Strandh
Dave Sundberg

Sister Sin have returned with Now and Forever and it’s a relentless old-school metal album with catchy choruses and sense of melody. Nothing hooked into my brain immediately like “Outrage” from True Sound of the Underground did but I’ve warmed up to the album after a few listens. It’s obvious the band is still delivering hard-crunching metal anthems with songs like “End of the Line”, “Fight Song” and “The Chosen Few”.

Despite some mainstream coverage that band has received and the various “Hot Women in Metal” lists Liv Jagrell has been included in, I’m happy to see the band isn’t selling out and creating a sound that’s more commercial. Sister Sin is still straight up hard-crunching, raw metal and they don’t attempt that rock/pop crossover like Halestorm (another band that features a hot female lead singer) sometimes does.

There is one ballad (“Morning After”) on the album but ballads aren’t anything new to metal bands. And it’s actually one of the better songs on the album. While I don’t want to ever see this band loading up their albums with ballads, I think they should definitely think about including one or two on the next release.

This is a solid album that will not disappoint fans of the band.

Highlights: “End of the Line”, “Fight Song”, “The Chosen Few”, “Hang ‘Em High”, “Morning After”

http://www.sistersin.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SisterSin/

Buy the album at Amazon.com

Rod Stewart – Merry Christmas, Baby [Review]

Rod Stewart – Merry Christmas, Baby (Deluxe Edition)
2012, Verve Music Group

1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
2. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
3. Winter Wonderland
4. White Christmas
5. Merry Christmas, Baby
6. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
7. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
8. Blue Christmas
9. Red-Suited Super Man
10. When You Wish Upon A Star
11. We Three Kings
12. Silent Night
13. Auld Lang Syne
Bonus Tracks
14. What Child Is This
15. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
16. Silver Bells

Producer: David Foster & Rod Stewart

For the past decade Rod Stewart has been content to become a crooner covering the “great American songbook” as well as Motown and rock ‘n’ roll staples. Despite having said in the past that he would never do a Christmas album, it was really only a matter of time before he did just that. Rod isn’t a rock star or a pop star anymore. He’s a crooner in the tradition of Crosby, Sinatra and Martin (just as Michael Buble is). You can’t be a crooner and not do a holiday album.

Rod has not been taking any chances in the past decade when covering the materials of others. The songs are played faithfully and in their traditional big-band fashion just with Rod’s raspy vocals laid over. A few exceptions would be songs like “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” or “Winter Wonderland” where the tempo is a bit slower. It’s easy listening background music at a Christmas party. Not that I’m complaining.

These songs are classics for a reason and in my opinion they don’t need to be remixed or refashioned into flamenco, country and dance songs. Just give someone with a great voice the mic and let’em sing. That’s exactly what’s been done with Merry Christmas, Baby.

As standard, there’s a few cameos on this album. Michael Buble appears on “Winter Wonderland”, Cee-Lo Green lends a hand on “Merry Christmas, Baby” and Mary J. Blige duets with Rod on “We Three Kings”.

While I can’t say I’ve ever really followed Rod’s career, he’s always had a great distinctive voice so it’s wonderful to hear to him put his vocal stamp on these timeless classics. There’s a couple of songs I didn’t really care for though. “Red-Suited Superman” being one and I felt the inclusion of “When You Wish Upon a Star” was out of place. Why not just save that for the next volume of his Great American Songbook series? That’s not really a Christmas song at all.

In any event, this is a good easy-listening Christmas album that’s well worth picking up for Chrirstmas traditionalists.

Highlights: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “Winter Wonderland”, “White Christmas”, “Silent Night”, “Auld Lang Syne”, “What Child Is This”

www.rodstewart.com
www.facebook.com/rodstewart

Buy the album at Amazon.com

Hinder – Welcome to the Freakshow [Review]

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Hinder – Welcome to the Freak Show
2012, Universal Republic Records

1. “Save Me”
2. “Ladies Come First”
3. “Shoulda Known Better”
4. “Freakshow”
5. “Talk to Me”
6. “Get Me Away From You”
7. “Is It Just Me”
8. “I Don’t Wanna Believe”
9. “See You In Hell”
10. “Anyone But You”
11. “Wanna Be Rich”

Band:
Austin Winkler – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Joe Garvey – Guitar
Mark King – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Mike Rodden – Bass, Backing Vocals
Cody Hanson – Drums

Producer: Kevin Churko & Cody Hanson

Hinder won me over with Take It to the Limit and I became a full-fledged fan after All-American Nightmare but after listening to Welcome to the Freak Show, it’s obvious the band is trying to reclaim the commercial success they had with Take It to the Limit and their debut Extreme Behavior.

This album is full of safe laid-back almost country-sounding pop ballads and “rock” songs that would sound better on a pop station than a rock radio (“Wanna Be Rich” is pretty much dance pop). It’s not that this is a bad album. Hinder is very good at writing slick commercial hard rock songs but this isn’t what I was hoping for after All-American Nightmare. I really thought the band was coming into their own with that release, sounding freer, more melodic and fun than most modern rock bands. I remember that with the past two releases, the band talked about how they were being more like themselves. Well, I guess that’s all out the window now because this is a cash-grab.

There are a number of songs here I enjoy but nothing here packs the same punch as previous songs like “Striptease”, “Use Me” or “Up All Night”. The evolution of this band has been interesting. They seemed like they were going from a generic post-grunge act to becoming more of a modern sleaze rock band than anything else but Welcome to the Freak Show sees them regressing back into post-grunge while throwing in some country/pop and rock/pop for good measure (the lead single “Save Me” even features some rapping). This album is the sound of a band trying to regain a following by any means necessary.

Though a shameless attempt at revitalizing the band’s career, it’s a decent album; just not a memorable one.

Highlights: “Save Me”, “Freakshow”, “Talk to Me”, “Anyone But You”

http://www.hindermusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/Hinder

Buy the album at Amazon

Richard Marx – Christmas Spirit [Review]

Richard Marx – Christmas Spirit
2012, Zanzibar Records/TourDeForce Productions

1. The Christmas Song
2. Christmas Spirit
3. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
4. Let There Be Peace On Earth
5. O Come All Ye Faithful
6. Little Drummer Boy
7. O Holy Night
8. What Child Is This
9. Silent Night
10. Christmas Mornings
11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
12. White Christmas
13. Alleluia

Musicians:
Richard Marx – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Piano, Backing Vocals
Jerry McPherson – Guitar
Matt Scannell – Guitar
Mark Hill – Bass
Steve Brewster – Drums
Will Sayles – Drums
Michael Omartian – Piano
Jason Webb – Piano
Kenny Loggins – Lead Vocals (“Let There Be Peace On Earth”)
Sara Watkins – Lead Vocals (“Silent Night”)
Sara Niemitz – Lead Vocals (“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”)

Producer: Richard Marx

I’m a sucker for Christmas albums and Christmas in general. I don’t care who knows it. I’m also a sucker for Richard Marx. Great voice, great songwriter, he’s written some of the greatest rock/pop songs of all time. Everyone should at least own one of his greatest hits compilations.

Anyway, when I found out Richard Marx was releasing a Christmas album, I knew I had to check this out. There are some artists that toss out a holiday album as a cheap & lazy way to cash in on the holiday cheer of an unsuspecting public but that’s not what we get with Christmas Spirit. To be fair though, “Christmas Spirit”, ”O Holy Night”, ”Silent Night”, ”I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day” & ”Alleluia” all appeared on Marx’s The Christmas EP in 2011.

The album is named after one of the album’s original Marx-penned songs. And it’s a good one. In fact, “Christmas Spirit” is one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s upbeat and sounds like something that could’ve come from Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas album. It’s a contemporary Christmas classic, in my opinion. The second original track, “Christmas Mornings”, sounds like a classic Marx ballad to me.

The rest of the album is full of holiday standards which are sometimes played traditionally and sometimes not. “I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day” becomes even more of a haunting ballad in the hands of Richard Marx. There are now two truly great versions of this song: Bing Crosby’s and now Richard Marx’s. “Little Drummer Boy” is another song that has received a soft rock/pop makeover. This is really the only song on the album I find myself skipping over. It’s way too “light” sounding for me (and, yes, I know I’m discussing Christmas songs here).

Other songs such as “The Christmas Song”, “White Christmas”, “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” are played pretty faithfully but still done quite well. I don’t mind hearing traditional Christmas songs played straight. For me, it has more to do with who is singing the song and it’s great hearing Richard Marx put his stamp on these timeless classics.

Christmas Spirit is a new holiday classic that is sure to get a lot more play in my house around the holidays as the years go on. Even radio seems to agree with me as I’ve already heard “Little Drummer Boy” numerous times on one of the local stations that is playing Christmas songs up until the New Year. I think they’ve played “Christmas Spirit” as well. The album is well worth picking up.

There is also an exclusive edition at Target that includes four bonus tracks: “Blue Christmas”, “Silver Bells”, “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”.

Highlights: “The Christmas Song”, “Christmas Spirit”, “I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day”, “O Come All Ye Faithful”, “O Holy Night”, “Silent Night”, “Christmas Mornings”, “White Christmas”

richardmarx.com
www.facebook.com/richardmarxmusic

Buy the album at Amazon.com

Papa Roach – The Connection [Review]

Papa Roach – The Connection
(2012, Eleven Seven Music)

1. “Engage”
2. “Still Swingin’”
3. “Where Did the Angels Go?”
4. “Silence is the Enemy”
5. “Before I Die”
6. “Wish You Never Met Me”
7. “Give Me Back My Life”
8. “Breathe You In”
9. “Leader of the Broken Hearts”
10. “Not That Beautiful”
11. “Walking Dead”
12. “Won’t Let Up”
13. “As Far as I Remember”

Band:
Jacoby Shaddix – Vocals
Jerry Horton – Guitar
Tobin Esperance – Bass
Tony Palermo – Drums

Producer: James Michael & John Feldmann

When Papa Roach crashed onto the scene with their nu-metal bandwagon Infest album, who would’ve thought they’d still be around 12 years later releasing new music? The Connection is the band’s 7th studio album and I have to admit Papa Roach have had quite a respectful career with hit singles, gold & platinum albums and energetic live shows.

The Connection is an appropriate album because even though the band has gone through changes in sound and style over the years (heck, the last album was called Metamorphosis) on this release they attempt to bring it all together. At various times, the band’s brand of rock has been alternative metal, nu metal, electronic rock, rock/pop, rap metal and even ’80s melodic hard rock. Papa Roach isn’t going for a cohesive sound on this album and I mean that in a good way. The band is bringing everything they’ve brought to the table in the past.

“Still Swingin’” is a perfect anthemic example of what Papa Roach has sounded like over the last few releases while “Where Did the Angels Go?” brings back the band’s nu metal/rap influences. “Before I Die” is pure radio ready infectious rock/pop ballad that will probably be released as a single.

Of course, some of the lyrics are overly dramatic and emo and just look at some of the song titles: “Before I Die”, “Wish You Never Met Me”, “Leader of the Broken Hearts”, etc. It’s like a gloomy 15 year old came up with this stuff. But for the most part, Papa Roach knows how to write a catchy melody and chorus.

I think this album compares favorably to the band’s previous efforts. There’s a bit of everything for everyone.

Highlights: ”Still Swingin’”, “Where Did the Angels Go?”, “Silence Is The Enemy”, “Before I Die”, “Wish You Never Met Me”, “Walking Dead”

www.paparoach.com
www.facebook.com/paparoach

Buy the album at Amazon.com

Aerosmith – Music from Another Dimension! [Review]

Aerosmith – Music From Another Dimension!
(2012, Columbia Records)

1. “LUV XXX”
2. “Oh Yeah”
3. “Beautiful”
4. “Tell Me”
5. “Out Go the Lights”
6. “Legendary Child”
7. “What Could Have Been Love”
8. “Street Jesus”
9. “Can’t Stop Loving You”
10. “Lover Alot”
11. “We All Fall Down”
12. “Freedom Fighter”
13. “Closer”
14. “Something”
15. “Another Last Goodbye”
Bonus Tracks:
16. “Up On the Mountain”
17. “Oasis in the Night”
18. “Sunny Side of Love”

Band:
Steven Tyler – Lead vocals, Harmonica, Piano, Drums, Mandolin
Joe Perry – Guitar, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals
Brad Whitford – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Tom Hamilton – Bass, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals
Joey Kramer – Drums, Backing Vocals

Producer: Jack Douglas, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Marti Frederiksen

Music From Another Dimension! is a good “comeback” album but a bit misleading if you were paying attention to the press leading up to its release. The band said they were going back to their ’70s blues-hard rock roots with this release and that’s true. On some of the songs. There’s still a lot here that can be compared to their last two original studio releases: 1997′s Nine Lives and 2001′s Just Push Play. Regardless, the album sounds like Aerosmith. It’s just a matter of which era.

And yes, I do liken Music From Another Dimension! to a comeback album (even if it seems like the band never went away… at least in terms of news). It’s been 11 years since their last original studio album and the band has broken up/nearly broken up/threatened replacing Tyler/battled so many addictions in that amount of time this really was a case of “Do they still have the magic after all of that?”

A few songs are actually an amalgamation of… well, everything. “Out Got The Lights” sounds like a culmination of the band’s various eras. It’s no surprise. Aerosmith really does seem to be embracing their entire history on this release despite the lip service to longtime fans. Jack Douglas is back producing (well, co-producing), which is good but other frequent Aerosmith collaborators are here as well. Diane Warren (offering up a ballad, of course), Desmond Child, Jim Vallance and Marti Frederiksen all contribute to varying degrees. This is slightly disappointing because I’m pretty sure at one point either Steven or Joe said the album was going to be a stripped down affair ala KISS and there would be no outside collaborations. To be fair, 7 of the 15 tracks were written exclusively by members of the band (and they tend to be the better songs!).

Let’s go over a few tracks. “Legendary Child” was the album’s lead single and I loved this one as soon as I heard it. It has that old school Aerosmith swagger but doesn’t sound retro at all even though the lyrics are a nod to their past. “Street Jesus” is completely old-school Aerosmith. Written by Steven, Joe and Brad. This is great hard rockin’ Aerosmith. One of the best pure hard rock tunes they’ve written in a looooong time, sure to please old Aerosmith fans. “Lover Alot” is another fun rocker that I would already put up there as a classic Aerosmith song. “What Could Have Been Love” is a decent but typical Aerosmith ballad. It sound likes what you’d expect from them. I like it but it doesn’t compare to previous ballads the band has done. I’m actually surprised they released that as a single and didn’t run with Diane Warren’s “We All Fall Down” or the Carrie Underwood duet “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”. ”Beautiful” is the most modern sounding rock song on the album. Could’ve been on Just Push Play. I like it but it’ll probably not become a favorite with the Aerosmith faithful. I would’ve run with this as a single or tried to get it onto a soundtrack.

Joe Perry of course gets a few tracks to shine on vocals. “Freedom Fighter” sounds like Neil Young and features Johnny Depp on backing vocals. “Something” is a slow-moving bluesy number that would’ve fit right at home on Honkin’ On Bobo. Perry also shared vocals with Tyler on “Oh Yeah” and takes lead on the bonus track “Oasis in the Night”.

I have a few minor complaints. The opener “LUV XXX” gives you the idea that this is going to be another Just Push Play or Nine Lives. It isn’t terrible but I certainly wouldn’t have started the album off with it. Luckily, the next track “Oh Yeah” offers up a much more typical Aerosmith style song. My other complaint: there’s too many ballads! “Tell Me”, “What Could’ve Been Love”, “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”, “We All Fall Down”, “Closer”, “Another Last Goodbye”… Geez! There’s nothing wrong with these songs. There’s just too many of them! This is a rock band, right? Some of these songs should’ve been saved as bonus tracks for the various special editions. This is just too much to process. None of these ballads really get a chance to shine because two tracks later, here comes another one.

There are a total of 5 bonus tracks. Have fun buying all the editions to collect them all. At least you can buy the deluxe edition and get “Up on the Mountain”, “Oasis in the Night” and “Sunny Side of Love” on Disc 2. The remaining two bonus tracks are cover songs (The Temptations’ “Shakey Ground” and Mose Allison’s “I’m Not Talkin’”) and you’ll have to track down a Japanese edition to own both of those. Or settle for a Walmart edition where you can get “Shakey Ground” (which features ex-Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay). Luckily, all three bonus tracks from the deluxe edition are good.

I definitely think Aerosmith has succeeded and validated themselves. I think I would take Music From Another Dimension! over Nine Lives and Just Push Play any day. The band has done a great job bringing together the last 40 years of their music onto one album. It’s not what I was expecting. I was expecting a very old-school ’70s sounding album but let’s face it, Aerosmith is a mainstream brand and that’s not going to change now. Regardless, this is very good album and I’m happy to see despite all the band’s troubles that they could still come together and put out great music like this.

Highlights: ”Beautiful”, “Out Go The Lights”, “Legendary Child”, “What Could Have Been Love”, “Street Jesus”, “Lover Alot”, “We All Fall Down”, “Freedom Fighter”, “Another Last Goodbye”, “Up On the Mountain”, “Oasis in the Night”, “Sunny Side of Love”

http://www.aerosmith.com/
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Buy the album at Amazon.com

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