INCOMING!!!

I've a feeling there'll be a new post soon. I've just found a new band that is, quite simply, ridiculous. They've been called Elvis Metal, if that gives you any idea. They go by the name of Volbeat.....and they're Danish.

Celled Behemoth

Three words. Cage the Elephant. The first sentence is only two words. Don't get confused. Ya with me? I'm not really sure what it is about this band that I enjoy. As said in my Mission Statement [or About Me] I prefer the heavier side of music. This typically applies to downtuned/distorted guitars. Metal or Hard Rock, to be more precise. This band has not heavily distorted guitars. No Metal appearance. Dare I say, they're an Indie band? I think I will. I believe that's what they're "labeled" as. Only they can truly say what they are. Record execs aren't going to listen to them, though. Why would they?

TOPIC! The first song I heard was Ain't No Rest For the Wicked. It was unlike anything I'd heard before. Which really isn't saying that much! I like to say I've a broad range, but it's actually quite narrow. I know what I like. This song..........I just can't put it into words. It's almost an experience. My first experience was with a trailer for the game Borderlands. It may have helped to tie it to something. Complete the "experience", if you know what I mean. Twangy guitars, good vibe, interesting vocals and a unique look. I saw the music video shortly after. I had to see what these guys looked like. I'm now reminded of Smash Mouth's Walkin' On the Sun. There's driving, a band, and the desert. There's also a prostitute, a thief, and some dazedly standing around. Wicked is a decidedly darker tale. Walkin' is just a feel good song. Straight and simple.

*EDIT! I just watched the video for Walkin'. It's nothing like Wicked. I don't know why I was reminded of it in the first place. Weird.

After that first song I needed to hear more! Almost to the point of salivation. Not really. I was just hungry as well. So, I looked 'em up on the YouTubes and Amazon. I went to Amazon first to hear their completely awesome [*sarcasm] 30 second snippets. I wasn't impressed. I went to YouTube and watched the one other video they had for their song Back Against the Wall. I still wasn't very impressed. I liked the chorus, but that was about it. At that point I had given up on them. Finito!

Something soon changed. The hype on this band was steamrolling! They were [and still are] playing on the radio frequently. Now, usually the radio doesn't mean shit to me. I couldn't care less what's hot for today. They were playing a different song than what I had heard. It's called In One Ear. This one I could dig. It definitely wasn't as unique a track as Wicked, but it is COMPLETELY different from what else is out there on the airwaves. This renewed my interest in them. Some faith was restored as well. For those keeping track.....on my faith.

Like Kingdom of Sorrow, I was at it again. Back to Amazon! Damn, those 30 second snippets don't do anything justice! They tend to pick the worst 30 seconds with which to give you an impression. Back to YouTube! At this point the whole album had been posted on Tube. I picked a couple other tracks and decided on a purchase. I don't remember the tracks selected, otherwise I'd post 'em here for your pleasure. I will share with you my favorite song of the album. Judas.

I now know what draws me to this band. They groove. They ARE quite heavy. Heavy in theme. They most assuredly groove, though. Their main component. I find myself looking forward to their next release. Regrettably, I know nothing of the when or how of it. Once it comes out, if you don't have it, I'll fill you in on it. They deserve it. You deserve to hear it.

Nothing to Do w/ Music....really

I just wanted to post this real quick! I was dinking around in Photoshop yesterday evening because I wanted to create a new profile pic for my Facebook account. I'm a bit tired of the standard "normal" picture posted. I had a picture in mind that I wanted to use as I liked it's appearance. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get the desired effect. Plus, the picture looks quite a bit different on my cell phone screen than it does all blown up. It's not as saturated on the big screen as it is on the little one. Whatevah! So, with that idea ditched I quickly came up with another. That almost never happens. This one worked out much better.

Now, it's time to tie it in to the music aspect. I have no new band to mention, for the time being. Once I finished the Photoshopness before you, I realized that it reminded me of a concert poster. One you might find hanging in the bathroom of your local sleazy venue. I really like how it turned out and may start working on another very shortly [I'm thinking a new banner design. The original creation doesn't fit the scheme here]. But for now I am content. My only gripe is that it's displayed really small on FB. I don't think everyone's gonna click on it to view it full size. Oh well. It was done for me anyway.

Miranda, if you read this, I've been using the USB cable from your Wacom tablet as I can't seem to locate mine. I know where my tablet and pen are, but I don't know what I did with the cable. This is concerning as I'm not usually one to misplace things.

COMING SOON! A band I haven't yet decided on! Stay tuned!   [<----This is sort of for Andrew. Sorry I let you down by not naming a band. NEXT TIME!]

Sorrow, apparently there's a Kingdom FULL of it!

All I know is that they have two albums out. I have no idea of their future. The two main components have other bands with which they divide their time. One of them has TWO other bands [at least] that he splits his time. The other has Hatebreed. These two men are Kirk Windstein [Crowbar, Down] and Jamey Jasta [Hatebreed].

I remember when I first heard this band. They only had the one album out at the time. I didn't like it once I heard what Amazon calls a "preview" of the album. 30 second snippets of each song is really just not enough to give it a fair chance. Nonetheless, I was not impressed. I enjoyed everything but the vocals. Jasta's to be exact. I've never been a fan of his larynx shredding. A friend of mine [quick shout out to Mr. Hyte!] describes his voice as "barking". To me, it's befitting.

Then something changed. I heard their song, God's Law in the Devil's Land, and it warped my perception of the band. It was like Down but it had more of a groove to it! And I LOVE Down! Now, I'm not saying they're better than Down. I'm just making a comparison. They much more akin to Down's first album NOLA than anything recent. Heavy and downtuned with some melody thrown in the mix. I can only imagine the crowd at their shows.

Back to what I was talking about! The opening riff on that track had me by the balls. I was in for a ride. Hammer ons and pull offs with some quick slides. JESUS! What an awesome riff! I WISH I could write stuff like that! Windstein has chops, everyone. Don't deny him that. I wouldn't call him a talented singer, but he gets the job done. Truthfully, the parts where he sings are my favorite parts of the album. Admittedly, Jasta does less barking on this album and even springs for some melody as well. Neither of them sing clean. There's always a touch of yelling/screaming to it. Quite like what Randy Blythe of Lamb of God does when he "sings" the chorus on some of their newer songs. No crooning. None whatsoever.

The picture you see up and to the right is for their 2nd album, Behind The Blackest Tears. I feel this album has more melody than their first. Hell, Kirk even sings all by his lonesome on From Heroes to Dust . I take my statements back about the lack of crooning on this album. Kirk is crooning. I would never tell him to his face, though. Have you seen this guy?! Not one to be trifled with. On topic! It seems that a lot of metal bands these days are afraid of showing a softer side. Even with the potential of coming in with a crushing chorus. It doesn't have to be an open E or D palm muted for it to be heavy. As long as it conveys the emotion of what he or she is going through. That's all that matters. I guess that's one thing true musicians are capable of over the guys cashing in on something while it's hot. Learn a couple scales, play 'em fast, and that's all you need!

I'm all over the place with this! Why can't I stay on topic? It's madness. Utterly comprised of madness. Truly. Faithfully. Undulatingly?

After COMPLETELY digging their 2nd release I decided to immediately give their initial effort another go. I'm glad I did. I find that it's a bit more straightforward than their sophomore release, but not at all a bad album. There's still plenty of melody to be had here. The standout tracks on this album are as follows: Hear This Prayer For Her, Begging For the Truth, & Buried In Black. If you're a fan of downtuned sludge metal with a hardcore twist then you can't go too wrong starting here. Give 'em a listen and make up your own mind. If you're still digging on Down and CoC but looking for something a bit heavier, than look no further. It's Kingdom of Sorrow.

One last track to leave you with! Along the Path to Ruin. The sound quality is shitty. So, do yourself a favor and just pick up the album already. You'll make Kirk happy 'cuz he can buy more beer!

These never turn out quite like I think they will. I apologize for that. There's no pre-planning going on. I just wing it and hope it sticks. All I ask is that if it's not entertaining in some form or another, then tell me. If I suck then let me know I suck! Nothin' worse than to keep on trucking when no one likes what you're puttin' out there!

The Conformity....it's Corroded.

Boy, this took me long enough to get to, huh? I also lied. I told you it was gonna be about Kingdom of Sorrow. It's not. COC here. KoS at some other point. Anyway, I know what you're all thinking, "GET ON WITH IT!", said like those cheeky chaps from Monty Python. :) I love those guys.

Corrosion of Conformity has quite a few albums out. I'm not going to be talking about all of them. Just the albums that have Pepper as lead. I think there's 3 or 4 out with him as just guitarist. Then there's 4 more with him playin' and singing! Lots of back catalogue there. Though, there's quite the shift in sound right about in the middle. Carrying on.

The starting point is going to be their album entitled Deliverance. This album was quite a big departure from their previous sound. With Pepper at the reins the band went in a Southern Rock/Metal almost Sludge Metal sound. Don't let that make you think there isn't some diversity in there. These guys are musicians through and through. It's not all downtuned guitars and open string chugging. That Sludge Metal tag is more of an afterthought than anything. While I do enjoy some open string chugging I definitely prefer some change. Hittin' some of the higher strings with a bit of twang from time to time can send shivers down your spine. When used right it's a thing of beauty. I don't really know what their sound is before this album as it was my introduction to them. I've heard a few select tracks but didn't think much of them. Does that make me a bad man? Possibly. Maybe I'll give them another try in the future, but right now, I just don't want to.

Following their strong debut [to me] is Wiseblood. You can see that their cover art kind of follows in the same vein as Deliverance. Cut and pasted together, if you will. Lots going on. I feel that this is the superior cover art of the two. Oddly enough, I also feel that this is the superior album. Great, great 2nd album! As with most bands, I feel this is really where they found their sound and ran with it. Some of the songs really remind me of Tom Petty. Okay, really only one that I can think of. ;) But still! This album just has a wide variety of tunes. A great ballad [I guess you'd call it that?] in Redemption City. A real sludgy track with Man or Ash [guest vox by James Hetfield!]. I mean, c'mon, if you've got Hetfield on your album...there's just nothin' else to be said. The rest are just hard rockers. God, I LOVE this album!

Up next is their "cleanest" album to date, America's Volume Dealer. What I mean by "cleanest" is that it's their most produced album. Higher production values. Still a damn fine album. Most people hate it when an album's too "clean". Me included. This just destroys bands that don't have any feeling behind their music. If you've got soul in there, it shines through regardless, I guess. Maybe it sounds cleaner 'cuz it was released 4 years after Wiseblood, in 2000. Yeah, that's probably it. This is definitely standard CoC fare. Don't take that the wrong way! So far they're batting 1000. Standard fare for them continues this trend. More rockin' songs to jam to. Alternatively, if you're seein' 'em live, then these will get ya jumpin'. No doubt about that. Bust out those lighters for their softer songs. Possibly a joint if you've got one. I'll just pass it down.

So far they've gone 3 for 3. Can they go 4 for 4 with In the Arms of God? I'll tell ya the truth. I used to not think so. I found this album to be their weakest. Many had touted it as a strong return from the absent band. It came out in '05 after 2000's Volume Dealer. For awhile I only really like the opening track Stone Breaker. This is even after having listened to the album a couple times! I just didn't really dig it. Here's the kicker. I've been listening to this album whilst typing all this gibberish. It ranks right up there with the rest. I don't know what that young buck was thinking before. This is another true ringer for them CoC boys. The production values on this album are high as well. Yet, somehow, it feels more akin to their album Deliverance. It doesn't sound like it, mind you, it just feels like it could have come out with it as some sort of double album. Similar but different. Arms definitely shows their growth as musicians. It's probably the most ornate album. Some beautiful songs on there.

What else can I say about this band? Probably a lot, actually. As I really haven't said all that much. I realize this. You realize this. This is just what you're gonna get. I'm a little out of practice. Sue me. No, don't. I need that money. Just bare with it as I get back in the swing of things. I need to find my words. There's a couple in there. I've got more on the oft forgotten back burner. See that? Oft. That's short for often. Another one of them words. Keep it swingin'!