Label: Vagrant Records Released: February 11, 2008 There is a musical gray area that exists between good bands that live within their limitations and great bands that have no limitations. Bands in that gray area are clearly very, very good and deserve credit for their willingness to push the envelope of their sound. At the same time, they get dinged… Read more »
Label: Acerbic Noise Development Released: January 29, 2008 When an album runs wild, there’s not usually a whole lot of middle ground. It’s either on the verge of brilliance or on the verge of disaster. The Devil and the Sea are certainly wild. Like Black Flag before them, they take the spirit of free jazz (call it free punk, if… Read more »
Label: Epic Released: June 17, 2008 By basing their latest album on the life of the famous 16th Century French clairvoyant, Judas Priest opened themselves up to a wide variety of clever (and not-so-clever) quips. In anticipation of the release, I think I’ve gotten most of that out of my system over the last few months. Nonetheless, I will do… Read more »
Label: Voice Music Released: 2007 The 70s seem to be a bottomless well of influence, particularly in the realm of hard rock and metal. Cavalar don’t break any barriers on As a Metal of Fact, but they do a good job rehashing a slightly different past. Twitch nails his take on Ozzy, but unlike so many bands, the primary influence… Read more »
Label: self-released Released: 2007 These kids can play. There’s no doubt about that. They’re outstanding technicians and, at their age (all 18 and 19 years old), almost unparalleled. Beyond the technical though, they really struggle. Their sound eases its layers back and forth between airy and heavy, but neither conveys anything meaningful other than that they’ve practiced. Hints of life… Read more »
Label: Metal God Entertainment Released: January 8, 2008 At the time, Judas Priest’s Painkiller seemed like a breath of fresh air. Ram It Down was a decent album, but not enough to assure metalheads that Turbo was a mistake Priest wouldn’t make again. Painkiller, on the other hand, seemed like Priest had not only abandoned their pop metal ambitions, but… Read more »
This one’s over-the-top, but we expect no less from Lizzy and company.
w/Protest The Hero, ChiodosApr 11 Vancouver, BC Croatian Cultural CentreApr 13 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall BallroomApr 14 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Events CentreApr 15 Saskatoon, SK The OdeonApr 16 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theater w/The Dear Hunter, Foxy Shazam, Tera MelosApr 19 Lawrence, KS The BottleneckApr 20 Minneapolis, MN Triple RockApr 22 Chicago, IL Reggie’s LiveApr 23 Detroit, MI Magic StickApr… Read more »
Label: self-released CD Baby Released: March 4, 2008 Okay, I’ll admit White Zombie was kinda fun…for about ten minutes. I don’t know that I could ever take them in album-length doses. When the first track of A Single Drop of Red was nothing short of an homage to White Zombie, it was already off on the wrong foot. Unfortunately, it… Read more »
Label: Universal Music Released: February 5, 2008 The fact that this DVD flat out rules is no surprise. Iron Maiden is one of metal’s most technical and most literate bands and, as if that’s not enough, they’re a blast live. Other than a few foggy Spinal Tap-esque moments during the epic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Maiden never comes across… Read more »