Saturday, November 13, 2010

Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God

Twilight of the Thunder God is the seventh album by Swedish melodic death metal band, Amon Amarth. It's one my favorite metal albums. I'd recommend it for any metal fans. My favoite song off the album is "No Fear For The Setting Sun". It's heavy and has darker lyrics, but is still pretty melodic and too monotonous like typical death metal.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists

Ten Thousand Fists is probably Disturbed's best, at least in my opinion. I do like The Sickness quite a bit, but Ten Thousand Fists shows a more mature and talented side of Disturbed. It's hard for me to pick a favorite song off the album, but I'll say "Stricken". Most of the songs would appeal to a general audience. It's an all-around good hard rock album.

Tankard - The Beauty and the Beer

The Beauty and the Beer is a great album by the German thrash metal band, Tankard. It's their twelfth album and one of their better ones. Most bands start to lower in quality after a few albums, but apparently not Tankard. My favorite song off the album is "Metaltometal". It's fast, heavy, and just a great metal album. I'd recommend this album to any thrash metal fans.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Bright Eyes

Is it just me or is Bright Eyes a pretty overrated band? I like some of their stuff, but to be honest they aren't that great, yet there are quite a few people who just love this band so much. I guess I just don't see the appeal... I mean, there's nothing special about them instrumentally, and and the singer's voice is way too whiny sounding in most of their songs. The good thing I can say is that their front-man/founder, Conor Oberst, is an exceptional lyricist. Maybe I just need to listen to more of their stuff.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of those bands that pretty much everybody likes. I can't say I've ever heard a song by them I can't stand. Not only that, but they have some great songs too. Though, I would say they've gotten a bit stale. Their earlier stuff had a more diverse sound, while a lot of their more recent stuff kind of sounds the same, though that does tend to happen when a band goes mainstream. Though I'm not saying their recent stuff is bad. Stadium Arcadium is a great album. Also, their bassist, Flea, is pretty damn good. Anyways, yeah they're a great band.

A quick post about Ice-T

I don't have much to say at the moment, but I thought I'd put out a short post. Also, this marks my first rap related post.

I just thought I'd give one the better rappers out there a mention. Though, his rap career is pretty much done, he put out some good albums in the early nineties and one or two in the late eighties. Rap's not really my thing most of the time, but Ice-T is pretty good. The guy can tell a story. He put most of, if not all of, today's popular rappers to shame.

It's not music related, but Ice-T is one of the stars of Law & Order: SVU, which is a pretty good TV show, and I must admit he's an alright actor. 

The Pink Spiders - Teenage Graffiti

I've been listening to this album quite a bit recently so I thought I'd give it a review. It's their third release and their major label debut. It put them out in more into the mainstream and introduced them to a lot of people, including me.

The only single released off the album, "Little Razorblade" was the first song I heard by them. I know I stated this in the blog I wrote about them last week, but this song didn't really give me the best first impression of them. As time passed I started to like it, and I'll admit it's a decent song, but definitely not their best.

Anyways, later on I would actually listen to the whole album and I was pretty impressed. There's some great songs on the album like, "Modern Swinger", "Hollywood Fix", "Easy Way Out", and "Pretend That This Is Fiction". I kinda thought, "Woah, the same guys who made that mediocre pop song made a great rock album?". It's a pretty impressive album, in my opinion.

I give it a 4 out of 5!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, is the debut album by the Arctic Monkeys, and was released back in early 2006. It's one of the fastest selling debut albums of all time in the UK.

I was introduced to them and this album probably about a year ago. My friend would constantly be playing this album and a Bright Eyes' album, while we were in his car. I quickly took a liking to the Arctic Monkeys. Not only is it great music, but when I listen to it, it also reminds me of some fun days and nights spent with friends.

This is an excellent album in my opinion. These guys are great musicians and they put together a great album. My favorite song on the album is a tie between, "Riot Van", "When the Sun Goes Down", & "From Ritz to Rubble". All three are excellent songs. I would honestly recommend you listen to the whole album if you've never heard them before.

Rating: 5 out of 5

"From The Ritz to The Rubble"


Track Listing

1. The View From The Afternoon
2. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
3. Fake Tales Of San Francisco
4. Dancing Shoes
5. You Probably Couldn't; See For The Lights But You Were Looking Straight At Me
6. Still Take You Home
7. Riot Van
8. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured
9. Mardy Bum
10. Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But...
11. When The Sun Goes Down
12. From The Ritz To The Rubble
13. A Certain Romance

The Pink Spiders

The Pink Spiders are a garage rock/pop punk band from Tennessee. I discovered them through a friend a couple years ago, though I didn't really get into them until earlier this year. The first song I heard by them was "Little Razorblade", which is much more poppy than most their songs. So, my first impression of them wasn't that great. I eventually started to hear some more of their stuff and decided that they were actually pretty good. I feel like they could easily attract fans of mainstream music, while also getting some people that generally stay away from it. My favorite song by them at the moment and one I'd recommend listening to if you'd like is, "Falling with Every Step".

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Alter Bridge - Blackbird

Blackbird is the second studio album by the hard rock band Alter Bridge. It was released on October 9, 2007. It peaked at 13 on the Billboard 200 charts.

This is, in my opinion, their best album. It's pretty heavy and the songs are well written. There's some soft songs on there that are good too. The guitar riffs are pretty awesome. This album shows what a talented hard rock band Alter Bridge are. The first single I heard from them was "Rise Today. It's a great song and it introduced me to them. This whole album is excellent in my opinion. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

The single for "Rise Today", the first single off the album.

Track Listing

1. "Ties That Bind"
2. "Come to Life"
3. "Brand New Start"
4. "Buried Alive"
5. "Coming Home"
6. "Before Tomorrow Comes"
7. "Rise Today"
8. "Blackbird" 
9. "One by One"  
10. "Watch Over You"
11. "Break Me Down"
12. "White Knuckles"
13. "Wayward One"


The Birthday Massacre

The Birthday Massacre is a synthrock band from Canada. They've got quite a unique sound. The best attempt I can give at describing it would be electronica mixed with metal-ish hard rock. You'd really have to listen to a song by them to understand. I'd recommended you check them out only if you're pretty open minded when it comes to music. I don't have much to say about them at the moment but I'll probably post a review of one of their albums in the future.

The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs, fronted by Jack White (also of The White Stripes and The Dead Weather), are one of my favorite bands. They're a (somewhat) bluesy alternative rock band. Jack White, their lead singer/guitarist is a pretty talented musician and in my opinion a pretty good guitar player. Their last album, Consolers of the Lonely, is my favorite (though at the moment they've only released two). If you haven't heard them and are interested, I'd recommended you give their song "Consoler of the Lonely" a listen.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

MGMT

A band I've pretty recently discovered is MGMT. One of my friends showed them to me earlier this year. I gave them a listen and was pretty impressed. They have a really distinct sound and seem pretty talented. They've been gaining a lot of popularity in the last year and are a good band to check out if you haven't already. 


Here's the video for "Time to Pretend" off their first album "Oracular Spectacular".

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Minor Threat

Minor Threat was a short lived hardcore punk from Washington DC. They were only around for about 3 years, and only released 22 original songs, but they left a huge impact on the hardcore punk scene. Their groundbreaking and iconic style set the standard for hardcore punk bands. They're one of the best hardcore punk bands, in my opinion.

Minor threat coined the term "straight edge". Straight edge, a subculture of hardcore punk, is philosophy of refraining from recreational drug use and promiscuous sex, which was popular in the hard rock scene at the time. Some of their songs revolve around the topic of straight edge such as, "Out of Step", "In My Eyes", and obviously "Straight Edge". They helped start the movement which quickly spread through the US and Canada.

Though they were only together for about 3 years, they influenced many bands and the straight edge scene. They're one of the more important bands in the history of punk rock being pioneers of hardcore punk.

Rating: 4 out of 5


Friday, September 24, 2010

Tony Hawk's Underground

So, I've been playing Tony Hawk's Underground quite a bit the past few days. Not only is it a great game, but it has a pretty awesome soundtrack, which is why I'm bringing it up. It features some great bands and rappers, most of which aren't very well known. The only really well known band on the game would probably be Kiss.

This game introduced me to the bands, Rise Against, Dropkick Murphys, NOFX, and Alkaline Trio, which I still listen to quite frequently to this day. I really wish they had released the soundtrack. I've found a lot of the songs online, but I've had a pretty hard time finding some of the songs, and there's still some I haven't found.

It has a good storyline, great game-play, and a great soundtrack, which makes it a great game all-around. It's more targeted towards casual gamers, but I feel hardcore gamers can enjoy it too. I'd recommend it checking it out if you've never played it before.

Soundtrack Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Here's a few of my favorite songs from the game



For a full list of the songs in the game, go here: http://06f744d3.urlpulse.net

Thursday, September 23, 2010

System of a Down - Toxicity

Toxicity, the album which made System of a Down a big name in the hard rock genre. It was their first album to go platinum, in fact, it went multi-platinum. It was pretty well received by critics. Their first single from the album, "Chop Suey!", was nominated for Grammy, and is arguably their most well-known song.


I first listened to the whole album a couple years ago. I had heard them quite a bit on the radio before this though, which is what made me want to hear a whole album of their's. I was not disappointed. If you've only heard the songs that are played on the radio and you enjoy them, then I'd recommend you listen to this.
In my best opinion it's their best album. It's fast, heavy, and melodic. My favorite song on the album would probably have to be either "Prison Song" or "Toxicity". I can't say there's a song on the album I don't like.


Rating: 4 out of 5


Track Listing

1. Prison Song
2. Needles
3. Deer Dance
4. Jet Pilot
5. X
6. Chop Suey!
7. Bounce
8. Forest
9. Atwa
10. Science
11. Shimmy
12. Toxicity
13. Psycho
14. Aerials

The video for their second single off the album, "Toxicity".

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Disturbed - Asylum

A couple weeks ago (August 27th to be exact), Disturbed released a new album called "Asylum". I heard about the album from a friend of mine who's a big Disturbed fan. I'm somewhat of a Disturbed fan myself, they have a couple of decent albums and some pretty good songs.

I got the CD and started listening to it and all I can say is this is a crappy album, even for Disturbed. There are no songs on it that I can say I truly enjoyed. My friend, the big fan of Disturbed, didn't even like this album that much. Only about half the songs were even decent. Again, I am a fan of Disturbed, and I'm not one of those people who goes out of their way to express their hate for bands like Disturbed. I want to see them be successful and make more good music, but with a record like this, it isn't going to happen. I feel like they're past their prime...

If you have to listen to any of the songs on this album, I'd recommend: "The Infection", "Serpentine", or "Leave It Alone".


Rating: 2/5

Classic Album: Primus - Tales from the Punchbowl

Today on my blog I'll be taking a look back on one of Primus' best and most successful albums: Tales from the Punchbowl. It was released in 1995, and is their fourth album. It contains their most successful single, "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver". If I had to classify it, I would have to say it fits in the alternative rock genre, but also has some funk rock, southern rock and even metal elements to it. About half the songs on there are instrumental and the other half has songs with mostly nonsensical lyrics. 


I like this album quite a bit. Primus definitely has a distinct sound. This album is different from anything I've ever heard. It has four of Primus' best songs and is excellent instrumental wise, IMO. It's definitely worth a listen, though it may not be for people who prefer more "serious" music. The lyrics are very out there.

My favorite songs, which also happen to be the first four on the album, are: "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats", "Mrs. Blaileen", "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver", and "Southbound Pachyderm".  The rest of the songs are good, but not quite as good as the first four songs. The album overall is great, and if you've never heard Primus before I would definitely recommend this album.

Rating: 4/5


Here's the music video for one the aforementioned songs, "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver".