Hope you all had a good 4th of July week with lots of hot dogs and fireworks. We got a bit of an eclectic mix this week ranging from new country to prog to straight ahead in-your-face death metal.
CD Reviews
Behemoth: Chaotica
This is an extensive two-CD set of the Polish black metal master’s best stuff to date (greatest hits probably not), together with some covers, and some live stuff. Behemoth, one of Poland’s most extreme exports, started out as pure black metal, complete with the corpse paint, then evolved into some more deathy. The intensity and aggression of this lot cannot be underestimated.
Tracks like “Pure Evil and Hate” very much set the stage for what you are about to hear. Twenty-nine tracks of the blackest and most deathly stuff you can imagine. If you want an introduction to extreme metal of the best sort, as well as a taster of what this band can do, then this CD is for sure.
Bon Jovi: Lost Highway
Pomp rockers of the 80s Bon Jovi have finally ended up in Nashville and fallen for the new country hook, line, and sinker. This is a not a pure country album by any means but it means country, pop, and hard rock half way for one of the best releases this lot have done for quite a long time. There are no serious stinkers on here like on their last few. I came into this album with fairly low expectations and was rather impressed.
The duets LeAnn Rimes, “Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore” and “We Got it Going On" are quality tracks of country-tinged AOR. The stand out up tempo track has got to be “Summertime” with its nod to the anthemia rocks of Bon Jovi’s past. It took Bon Jovi long enough but they finally followed rockers like the guys in Giant (the Huff brothers) and Ron Keel to Nashville, the new home of American AOR. It is bizarre they left off the big hit "Who Says You Can't Go Home," though.
Civilization One: Revolution Rising
This lot are a truly international group of musicians (Italy, France, Sri Lanka, and Brazil) who play progressive power metal of the European variety with quite a bit of aplomb. Unlike some bands of this sort, they do have a decent set of songs on here and its not just musicians showing off. As with many of this sort of album, it's not really about catchiness per se, but “Dream On” is quite a good AOR power ballad. It's competent power prog with feeling and talent.
Article comments
1 - Chris Beaumont
Gotta get me a copy of the new VR.
Porcupine Tree sound interesting too, I've heard off them, but never heard them.
The new DT is awesome, their best release in years.
2 - Paul Roy
Alex Lifeson, not Neil Peart, of Rush, does the guitar solo on "Anesthetize" from Fear of a Blank Planet, which is easily one of the best albums of the year.
3 - Andy
I don't know about the US versions of the albums, but Bon Jovi's "Who Says you can't go home" is on their last album - "Have A Nice Day"