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Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/21/131307.php Chris AkinWhile not a fan of what the music of Nirvana did to my favorite era of music, the 80s hard rock/metal scene, there's no denying that they were indeed a great, legendary band who's style, angst and disdain for everything the 80s represented was genuine. And while Kurt Cobain's ultimate decision to end his life was pathetic and a totally lame way out of dealing with his problems, you have to admire the fact that he was completely against the success his music brought him and did everything he could to end it. In Utero took all the building blocks achieved from the unbelievable success of their Nevermind album and pushed it all away. At the time of it's release in 1993, people were completely put off by the stark sound, the punk themes, and the absolute defiance of success the band decided to take. In Utero: Classic Album Under Review revisits not only the recording of this release, but the transition of this band from a garage entity to superstars to, ultimately, legends through disaster. Most interesting in this DVD is the constant, seemingly endless footage of Cobain simply pissing on the success the band achieved with Nevermind. With almost every interview, Cobain is highlighted showing his disgust for the fame, the fortune, and the intrusion it took into his life. As the DVD shows, this completely infiltrated the band's writing and recording sessions for In Utero. Instead of making another album full of slick, radio ready hits, the band hired legendary punk producer Steve Albini to record a thinned down, stark release that did everything it could to avoid being a radio success. When the music was radio-ready, the themes were outside the scope of traditional airplay. Songs like “Rape Me” actually had decent runs at radio in spite of their message. The album took shots at their success (“All Apologies”), the record industry (“Serve The Servants”, “Milk It”, “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter”) and even Cobain's wife Courtney Love (“Heart Shaped Box”). Throughout the disc, you got the sense this was a band that was ready to implode. It's just too bad no one fully understood what that meant. RATING – 8/10 - I've watched most of the Nirvana documentaries out there as I was, like most 20-somethings in the 90s, a huge fan of Nirvana. In Utero: Classic Album Under Review really paints the best picture of Nirvana's historic rise and tragic fall with a clarity and lack of bias that most of the others can't seem to muster. It's interesting to think that a self-inflicted bullet to Cobain's head actually guaranteed him the eternal success that he seemingly never wanted in the first place. After watching In Utero: Classic Album Under Review, it leaves you wondering if he would simply have walked away or just continued to try to avoid his musical gift. We'll never know for sure. Music56112@blogcritics.org Tue, 21 Nov 2006 13:13:07 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/11/092917.php Chris AkinIt pains me to say this, but eight albums in eight years have finally taken its toll on Zakk Wylde and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. I feel the cracks started to show last year on Mafia. It was a solid album, but was not the match of past BLS albums like Stronger Than Death, The Blessed Hellride or Hangover Music. Shot To Hell though, represents a widening of those cracks. There are too many Alice In Chains moments, too many ballads, and way too many repetitive lyrics. In short it is the first album that Zakk has ever made that left me flat.The album gets off to a good start with "Concrete Jungle", a song that would have fit nicely on any of the past three albums, at least style-wise. Possibly one of Zakk's most melodic tunes yet. From there though it immediately start to go sideways in a flat spin. The album has 13 tracks and at least half of them are simply filler. Sorry, there is just no better way to say it than that. The effort is still there in the form of amazing guitar playing and Zakk's unmistakable voice, but the song writing falls far short of what we have come to expect. Songs seem to just float by, melding one into another. If not for the occasional ballad thrown into the mix I think I would have lost all sense of where I was in the album. The ballads come too often, but I'll be damned if I don't like them. It is that singer/songwriter inside Zakk that keeps coming out over the last few releases. Sure I would have much rather he saved them up for future volumes of Hangover Music, but on Shot To Hell they are with rare exception the highlights of the album.Too often the lyrics spiral into repeating "oh oh oh oh" over and over again on the faster tracks. If you take what amounts to the best three tracks from this album "Concrete Jungle" "New Religion" and "Devil's Dime", you realize that none of them would have made The Blessed Hellride, hell they may not have made the cut for Mafia. The rawness, the piss and vinegar are just lacking throughout the album.RATING - 5/10 - I can't do anything but assume this is just a bump in the path for BLS. Zakk Wylde has provided us with too many great albums to think he has just lost his touch overnight. I truly feel this is more or less a case of burn out, trying to do too much. Zakk will be coming back soon with a double album with Ozzy that I will assume will be followed by a lengthy tour. If that is indeed the case it might provide him with some time away from BLS. Ideally I wouldn't expect to see a new album from them until sometime in 2008. This, not coincidentally, might be the next time I listen to Shot To Hell. Music51424@blogcritics.org Fri, 11 Aug 2006 09:29:17 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/08/05/190919.php Chris AkinLet’s get a few things out in the open prior to beginning to craft a review of the latest release from Mushroomhead, entitled Savior Sorrow. First of all, it’s been years since the whole “Mushroomhead-Slipknot” argument was relevant in any way, so haters of either band can stop reading now if they are looking for the revitalizing of that quarrel. Secondly, those that know my personal history with the band and are looking for that whole mess to stir back up also need to look elsewhere. The past is the past, and for the most part both sides of that debate have just decided to leave each other alone. ‘Nuff said about that. What you are going to get here is a straight-up review that’s not based in anything from the past other than some basic comparisons to their past recorded work, to which I’ll admit to being a fan of on a basic level.Mushroomhead are back after a fairly long, yet busy, time away from the recording scene. Since their XIII album was released, they’ve changed labels, vocalists and have released a DVD while redefining themselves live. Now on Megaforce, Mushroomhead’s sound is a redefined as well. The core sound is there, but the direction seems to have shifted with the departure of Jason Popson from the band. Much of Savior Sorrow is a bit less abrasive as on past releases; not that Mushroomhead has been an overly heavy band in the last few years (specifically on XIII). Interestingly, the change from Popson to newest member Waylon really hasn’t made a difference to the sound that much. Most of the vocals sound surprisingly similar to what Popson was doing. It’s definitely not a case of the band having a completely new sound due to the new singer. The style itself has definitely changed, or grown depending on how you look at it. Many of the songs have some very “Corrosion Of Conformity”-like riffs on them. Songs like “Tattoo” feature a grittier, almost stoner-type vibe to them. Other songs, like “The Doubt”, sound more like Dope than past Mushroomhead, only with a gravelly doom metal growl mixed into the chorus. No matter what these guys do, they will never get away from the Faith No More comparisons, and the overall vibe of the first half of the song “Save Us” will reaffirm that claim. An interesting change in the direction from XIII is that while there were some definite songs that were ready for radio on the last release (“Sun Doesn’t Rise”), this one doesn’t seem to have a clear-cut radio single on it. While the overall material is a bit lighter than XIII or XX, almost all of the songs don’t lend themselves to commercial radio airplay. The only song that might fall into that category is “Pretending”, but that doesn’t even seem like a clear-cut choice for the radio. If it does become a radio hit, it could become something that changes the formulaic, cookie-cutter garbage that plagues commercial active rock. We won’t look for that to happen though, as most of the suits at radio don’t get the fact that music fans are tired of being force fed Nickelback and their clones. The bottom line here is that Savior Sorrow is much more of a release that’s going to please fans of this band while redefining Mushroomhead’s direction once again. RATING – 7/10 - This is a very solid effort from Mushroomhead, that only loses points for being a little slower than you might expect from these guys. Sure there’s been a lot of change and turmoil in this band, and yes they’ve shuffled their sound around yet again, but Mushroomhead continue to evolve with each passing record. A solid effort from these guys. Music51201@blogcritics.org Sat, 5 Aug 2006 19:09:19 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/07/01/185913.php Chris Akin"The Classic Metal Show", a melodic hard rock radio program heard weekly on Saturday nights between 9:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. EST, will have a very special four-hour broadcast on July 4 to say "Happy Birthday" to America...as well as listeners from any country who might be looking for some good time fun! From noon to 4:00 p.m. EST exclusively at The Classic Metal Show, weekly hosts Neeley and Chris Akin will team up to present the "sexually explicit" version of the program, which will feature four hours of songs dealing with - directly or indirectly - the main topic of sex. Deemed "Sexual Healing", THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW has chosen four hours of material which is sure to titillate listeners, ranging from '80s metal diehards to July 4th barbequers looking for some good time background music. The show will be hosted by regular hosts Neeley and Chris Akin, as well as Dave Henzerling (ex-KING KOBRA, LIZZY BORDEN) and Robert Mason (ex-LYNCH MOB, CRY OF LOVE). Henzerling and Mason, along with drummer John Covington and bassist Cody, make up the double-entendre band Big Cock. Throughout the show, fans will also get their first chance to hear the sophomore release from BIG COCK, which officially hits stores on Tuesday, July 4th. For more information on this showcase, check in at The Classic Metal Show. To find out more about BIG COCK or to hear sound samples, go to their website.Check in on the following online stations to hear the broadcast:Stickman Radio - 8p-Midnight ESTMegarock Radio - Noon - 4pm ESTKWTF Worldwide - Noon - 4pm ESTWykkyd Bru Radio - Noon - 4pm ESTPure Rock Radio - Noon - 4pm ESTHard Rockin '80s - Noon - 4pm EST Music49866@blogcritics.org Sat, 1 Jul 2006 18:59:13 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/06/03/121030.php Chris AkinThere's a whole collection of guys out there who live off their past fame. Guys like Dave Evans, Neil Turbin, Charlie Dominici and, of course, Paul Di'Anno have all been advertised as "The Original Vocalist For" their respective bands. In the case of Dominici and Dave Evans, it really is a crock of shit, since NO ONE thinks of them when they think of Dream Theater or AC/DC.For Neil Turbin, eh... People think of him from time to time when an Anthrax conversation comes up, but clearly that band made its international mark with Joey Belladonna. But with Iron Maiden, there's always a more rigorous debate amongst the hardcore fans. Sure, no one denies that their most dominant timeframe was with Bruce Dickinson, but there's a large contingent that feel like the best work Iron Maiden has ever done came on the first two records - records that were fronted by Paul Di'Anno. Di'Anno has done nothing to separate himself from their legacy either - continually doing Maiden songs on his solo work, tribute CDs, etc. While that may seem a little lame, there is NO denying those first two Maiden CDs.Di'Anno is back with a new solo album, and it's actually really good. I say this because there wasn't a lot of expectation after the slew of Iron Maiden tributes he's been on year after year, as well as a less than stellar DVD from a few years back. For The Living Dead, Di'Anno and band seemingly have stepped away from being a Maiden clone with their original and have created a powerful, old-school metal record that just flat out rocks.For his part, Di'Anno still has that patented snarly sound that can go low or high with the same power and ferocity as only metal's elite singers can even attempt. He rages aggressively on tracks like "S.A.T.A.N.," while on other songs like "Brothers Of The Tomb," he goes up into the King Diamond-esque territory. The piss and vinegar Di'Anno spews on tunes like "War Machine" is excellent as well. This has always been the hallmark of Di'Anno's sound. This is a guy with a tremendous metal voice.With all the praise laid on Di'Anno's talent here, the strength of this CD is the songwriting. Gone are the attempts to sound like Iron Maiden from the past. Replacing it is a collection of well-written, powerful metal that won't remind you at all of his past life in Eddie's band. You get a dose of it right away on the opening track, "The Living Dead." A slow, grinding number, this is a song that will satisfy both old-schoolers and the Shadows Fall Hot Topic shopping kids.Another great song on this CD is "Nomad"; a song Di'Anno really uses to showcase the brilliance of his voice. The opening prologue into the bridge is reminiscent of a building Queensryche song, and throughout the entire song, he stays disciplined and lets his voice carry this rollicking classic tune.The only area where this one really loses points is because Di'Anno went back to the well once again. Two live performances of Iron Maiden tunes ("Wrathchild" and "Phantom Of The Opera") close the CD, and there's also a bonus DVD with the Iron Maiden (79-81) Story that's totally unnecessary here. With such a great album in its own right, there really was no need for any of these "reminders."RATING - 8/10 By all accounts, this is the best work Paul Di'Anno has done since his departure from Iron Maiden over 20 years ago. More metal than Maiden, you realize that Di'Anno is more than just Iron Maiden's ex-vocalist. He's a damn talented metal singer. Hopefully people outside the Maiden camp will take notice. Music48710@blogcritics.org Sat, 3 Jun 2006 12:10:30 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/29/113823.php Chris AkinThere's an interview out there on the internet from some years ago in which Def Leppard Joe Elliott states that bands doing covers albums have lost their creative juices. You just have to love the irony of a statement like that coming back to bite a band in the ass like that. As has been clear for years now, that has long since happened to Def Leppard. Their continual downward spiral from greatness through mediocrity to downright awful seems complete with the release of Yeah! After several listens, it is apparent that the band that made such killer albums as High & Dry and Pyromania no longer exists. In its place is a shell band with a bad singer that would never have gotten big if they had come out with anything they have released after 1988. Yeah! is crap, plain and simple. Elliott, for his part, proves yet again that his voice is shot from years of touring. He's lifeless as Hell, and for the first time, he's just completely abandoned the idea of shifting outside of his speaking voice at all. Gone is all the attitude and all the energy, replaced by dull, standard presentation of a bunch of cover songs. As for the band, well... there isn't much to say. These are fairly standard covers of songs that are not overly musical in the first place. Songs like Blondie's "Hanging On The Telephone" or T Rex's "20th Century Boy" are very standard, simple songs where the Leps really didn't have to do a whole lot to spit them out. The only credit worthwhile of giving this band this time out is that, as always, their vocal harmonies are beyond reproach. The amazing thing about Yeah! is how tepid and stale this actually comes off. It's so simplistic that you have to wonder if there was ever any thought other than "cash grab" when this band was spitting this out. Sure, it's understandable to reach out and pay tribute to your favorite bands. Wouldn't it be more admirable for Def Leppard to skip this though, and concentrate on putting out a good album for the first time in 20 years? RATING - 2/10 - The only one saying "yeah" to this piece of garbage is the Def Leppard accounting team. Dull, uninspired and smelling of a cash grab, Yeah! fails to make anyone think this band is back in any way, shape or form. R.I.P. Def Leppard! Music48464@blogcritics.org Mon, 29 May 2006 11:38:23 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/19/002753.php Chris AkinI'm sure all the black metal faithful will be up in arms by the statement that follows next, but Zyklon is a far better musical unit than Emperor ever was. Sure, that's huge praise and probably somewhat hard to believe, but Zyklon is back for a third time with an even stronger dose of anger than when we last left the band. Emperor founder Samoth has found a creative zone with Zyklon that he was unable to capture with Emperor ... more than likely because that band became so violated with opinions on direction from multiple layers of personnel in the band. As this band continues, you can't help but see the growth from album to album. Their 2001 debut, World Ov Worms, made a statement that they were hear and ready to make noise. By 2003, they had evolved away from the overwhelming black metal references you could put on Samoth and company, as Aeon showed a brutalizing band that was far beyond 95% of the bands out there. This year Zyklon seems to have finally started to hit on all cylinders. Disintegrate is a technically brilliant, amazingly fast, and furious collection of thrashing death like nothing else out there today. Vocalist Secthdamon (who is also in the band Myrkskog) just destroys every note of every song. Beyond brutal on menacing tracks like "Ways Of The World," this brutality veteran proves that he's every bit the vocal assassin that Daemon was before him when the band first started up. Add to that his hammer-dropping basslines, and you'll understand why he's such an important part of Disintegrate. Secthdamon teams up with drummer Trym (Emporer/Enslaved) to create one of the most lethal backends in the history of extreme metal. Without question though, the strength of Zyklon continues to be the blitzing, maniacal guitar work of Samoth and lead guitarist Destructhor. Also a member of Myrkskog, Destructhor seemingly saves up his best playing to share in Zyklon. He's a brilliant extreme soloist, as is evident on moody, yet speed tracks like "Subversive Faith." While the soloing is good, it's the crushing rhythms he and Samoth come up with that makes each and every song enticing. The intentionally odd-key of "A Cold Grave" or the thrashing vibe of "In Hindsight" proves time and time again just how ridiculously talented these guys are. From start to finish, Disintegrate is an extreme metal masterpiece. RATING - 9/10. A must have release for any fans of extreme and death ... as well as some of you more liberal black metal fans out there. Samoth may have made his name in black metal, but he's clearly got more to offer than overly keyboard driven metal. Zyklon is one of the best bands out there, and they get stronger with each release. Get this now! Music47969@blogcritics.org Fri, 19 May 2006 00:27:53 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/04/30/124805.php Chris AkinTed Poley is the definition of a rock warrior. He's been around for years and years. He's had some hits, but never really broke through in any big way. Most people from the 80s generally remember a Danger Danger song or two, but rarely when people talk about their favorite bands from that era is that band mentioned. Being completely honest I don't even own a Danger Danger release. It's not that I didn't like songs like "Naughty Naughty" or "Bang Bang". It's more a numbers thing - there were just a lot of other options going on in 1989. After listening to Ted Poley's latest release, Collateral Damage, I can't help but think that maybe I missed something.Simply put, Collateral Damage is a throwback record. This music would have been huge sitting next to Warrant's Cherry Pie and Poison's Flesh & Blood releases. This is simple, effective verse-chorus-verse-chorus rock and roll. It features solid musicianship, excellent production, and the effectively alluring voice of Ted Poley. He's an effective hair-metal styled crooner who uses a touch of edge on his otherwise soulful voice to grab the listener in as hard as any hook in any song. He shines on songs like the soft "Curtain Call", while featuring a bit of grit on songs like "Yeah, U Want It" (a very Danger Danger-like tune) and the mid-tempo rocker "Endgame". From start to finish, Poley delivers the goods.Interestingly though, this really isn't as much of a "solo" project as you would think. Even though this is monikered as "Ted Poley", it should more appropriately be called "Poley/Rivera". Vic Rivera, known for his work with Adriangale, does everything on Collateral Damage. Playing guitar, bass, drums and co-writing many of the songs on the album, Rivera puts his stamp all over this release. It shows too. The aforementioned "Endgame" sounds very much like something off of Adriangale's Crunch release, and "Hero Falling" hints toward Rivera's past band as well. He won't get the credit he deserves for this release, but Vic Rivera is a major part of this release. RATING - 8/10 - Very solid first ever offering under the "Ted Poley" name. The ex-Danger Danger vocalist has found the right writing and performing partner in ex-Adriangale mastermind Vic Rivera. This duo has created something really solid, and something I'd like to hear more from. If you liked that late 80s sound, but with a bit more punch and a bit less silliness, you will love the new Ted Poley release. Music47060@blogcritics.org Sun, 30 Apr 2006 12:48:05 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/04/28/050348.php Chris AkinRight now, there are piles and piles of CDs sitting on my desk to be reviewed. Seriously, probably 60 or more at this point. When this happens, I generally go through the CDs, drop them in the player, and give them 30 seconds to impress me...or at least give me a reason to give a shit what else is on them. They are broken into down into piles - one that is considered "important to review" and another that becomes the "when I have time" pile (a pile that still has CDs in it from 2002). Luckily for me, Benedictum did just enough to grab me with the beginning of their title track. The CD, though, has remained in my player since that first listen for about three weeks now.Benedictum is metal, plain and simple. The power of bands like Dio or Metal Church drives this band, with other influences from Doro, King Diamond and lots of Black Sabbath for good measure. Uncreation finds a new band with an old-school cause, but they are as good as anyone making "real" metal today. Without question, the focal point and driving force behind Uncreation is vocalist Veronica Freeman. Where most female singers are caricatures of metal vocalists who feign toughness in order to prove their worth in their band, Freeman appears to be the real deal. I could be way off, but from the sound and the real metal aura she presents, you just know this lady was raised on Sabbath, Priest and Iron Maiden by the crateful. She's got a smoky-sounding metal voice that really doesn't come off as gender specific as much as pure metal. She brings the rage on rockers like "#4" and the smoking cover of Black Sabbath's classic "The Mob Rules". There's hints of Dio throughout her vocal presentation, and a lot more of the rough-edged Doro sound, but the reality here is that she's got a unique, real voice that is compelling and rugged.When Freeman isn't stealing the show, the guitars of Pete Wells are excellent. With solos, blazing riffs and raucous fills, Wells delivers the goods on Uncreation. On songs like "Misogyny", there's a big KK Downing-Glenn Tipton thing going on that's an obvious influence. There's no denying that Wells can play and adds the perfect accompaniment to Freeman. The same can be said for the rest of the band. The bottom end of each song is created by bassist Jesse Wright and drummer Blackie Sanchez. Both are solid. They create a very thick base that will rattle the speakers in the door of your car when turned up to 11. (Trust me on this... I tried it.) There are few weaknesses on this album, but there are one or two things. First of all, the keyboards have got to go. Chris Morgan lays them in and does a fine job. That being said though, they are unnecessary and take a little away from the power of the band. Secondly, there's the standard issue that a lot of female-fronted metal bands have where they overcompensate their toughness in some effort to prove their metal toughness. On "Them", Freeman has the single dumbest lyrical point-prover ever when she spouts off, "They tell me I can't because I'm a chick / I tell them you'd better suck my dick". Um... either that's a horrible attempt at proving how metal she is, or the tranny-police need to be alerted immediately! Either way, not necessary. The music speaks so loudly for this band, they don't need to fake credibility. It's there.RATING - 9/10 - I can't think of anything really more I could ask for from a band. They are proud of their old school sound, pay mass tribute to their heroes with two blazing Black Sabbath covers, and in between create some brilliant new metal that isn't lame, trendy or useless cookie-cutter shit. Winner all the way around. Music46963@blogcritics.org Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:03:48 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/04/21/095926.php Chris AkinYes, you all know that Chrissie Hynde was the driving force behind The Pretenders. She was the "face" of the band, and was the one who was featured in the videos. In fact, can you even name any other members of the band? Hmmm... interesting.Pirate Radio is a 4-CD box set that really is designed for those who are not necessarily diehard fans. It's one of the few box sets that acts as a true retrospective of the band, and not just the hits, or just the obscure stuff. All the favorites are definitely here - the groove of "Brass In Pocket," the roar of "Middle Of The Road," and the ultra-catchy hook of "Back On The Chain Gang."Without question, there's plenty of music here that any fan of classic hard rock in the '80s will remember. Mixed around it are a lot of cool album tracks. Most surprising to me was the inclusion of songs like "Night In My Veins"; a song that sounds almost nothing like most of their catalog. Pirate Radio is broken down into two distinct parts. The first 2 CDs cover what most people would call the "classic" era for The Pretenders. Full of oddities, rare tracks, live tracks and hits, this is the era of The Pretenders that most people will probably remember. Discs 3 and 4 cover the more recent era of their material, and being honest, not a whole lot of it was recognizable to me. It wasn't brilliant either. RATING - 7/10 - Calling a spade a spade, no box set is ever that good unless you are the most loyal diehard listener ever. This one is no exception, but it's much better than the average box set is. Full of hits, rarities, demos and more, Pirate Radio is good for both the diehards, and good for a fan of a song or two who wants to hear more. Music46679@blogcritics.org Fri, 21 Apr 2006 09:59:26 EDT