On August 17, 1993, Pennywise released their second album, Unknown Road through Epitaph Records. I could not find a single for the album, and it appears as though it did not reach any charts, so we're just gonna discuss the songs themselves with no facts! I mean, its about the music anyway -right? First track I want to mention is actually the second track on the album. This track is "Homesick." This one is all about going back to where you once lived and seeing how much its changed, then missing what once was. Its a very sad thing that most of us have experienced at some point. Most people have moved away at some point, then came to revisit and realized all the life you once lived in that space is gone without a trace. This song is perfectly about that, and it expresses this feeling incredibly well. Another track I want to acknowledge is actually the last track on the album, which is "Clear Your Head." I feel like a lot of people could probably benefit from hearing this one, especially when you're feeling stressed out. The song says it best, "I know its a bitch, you gotta try. You lose control and would like to know the reason why." It doesn't really give you any advice, but just the fact that it on and off says "You gotta try" and "You'll feel much better" feels like it would be very helpful in times of stress. Over all, they did a great job on the album, and it helped set them up perfectly in their career. They've sort of always kept a similar vibe, from what I've heard. There's actually only three more albums in their discography let for me to review, and they will be coming very soon! Meanwhile, feel free to check out the ones already completed! The ones already on the website are About Time, Full Circle, Straight Ahead, Land Of The Free?, Reason To Believe, All Or Nothing, and Yesterdays! Pennywise is still active today, and will be performing at many festivals here very shortly! Festivals include Fort Rock,Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion and Rock On The Range!
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On June 17, 1997, Megadeth released their seventh album, Cryptic Writings. The album debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum the following year here in the US! The lead single, "Trust" was released on May 8 of the same year and actually was nominated for a Grammy in 1998 for the Best Metal Performance. They lost to Tool for their song "Ænema", but just to know you were nominated is one hell of an honor. The song tells the story of trusting someone in a relationship after things have been said, promises have been broken, and yet you're still trying. Its quite the deep, thought provoking track really. This album is a good mix of the themes I've heard from Megadeth thus far. There's still the stuff about "the man", government and all of that, but there's also talk of drugs, relationships, anger, ect. It covers a lot of bases, and that's something I honestly prefer. This whole album does make you stop and think quite a bit, which is nice. A couple tracks I would like to acknowledge are "I'll Get Even", and "Use The Man." "Use The Man" is actually more so talking about drug addicts and how it starts off with them using the drugs. Then it becomes an addiction, and really it becomes the drug using the man, sometimes all the way to death. This song expresses that, and while its incredibly dark, its very well done and does make you think. There's not a ton to say for "I'll Get Even", it sort of speaks for itself. Its about going crazy over something someone did to you. You want to get even, and that's what this song is about. Over all, they did a good job! Its not something I would turn on normally and just listen to while I do my normal daily things, but it definitely was nice to hear! Be sure to check this album out, along with everything else Megadeth have released. They remain completely active today, and are soon going to be performing at many festivals here in the US that are coming up very soon. Those festivals include Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Rock'n Derby,Rocklahoma, and River City Rockfest. Also be sure to check out the reviews I've done so far for Megadeth! I'm trying to complete reviews for all of their albums, along with the rest for Fort Rock artists as well! Below is all that have been completed so far and more will be coming shortly! Stay tuned! Risk- The World Needs A Hero -The System Has Failed - United Abominations - Thirteen -Super Collider -Dystopia Released just over 30 years ago was Anthrax's second album, Spreading The Disease. The album was originally released on October 30, 1985 and was the first album to feature current vocalist, Joey Belladonna. The first single, "Madhouse" was released nearly a whole year later. It was announced on October 7, 1986, and something tells me most people would find this song to be quite badass. As the title suggests, it is about going insane, or feeling like you're doing so. Its an interesting track really, so I can see why they chose it as a single. There actually seems to be a bit of an insanity theme to the album, as we heard clips of it in not only "Madhouse", but also "Armed And Dangerous", and "A.I.R." Other tracks don't exactly speak of that, but things that could lead to insanity, like genocide, fighting for yourself, ect. Each song tells its own story, so its hard to pick one that stands out more than another. If pressed to choose, I think I would have to say "S.S.C./ Stand Or Fall", which is just about standing up for yourself and fighting for the life you want. "Looking deep inside myself to change my world around. Never find an answer, but I will stand my ground." Its very well written, and empowering. You have to love that! Its a wonderful debut for Joey, and a refreshing twist compared to their actual debut album! Anthrax has remained extremely active to this day, and aren't slowing down. They actually just released a brand new album called For All Kings earlier this year and will be performing at many festivals coming up very soon! Those festivals include Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, and the Rock N' Derby. Also, while you're looking up all Anthrax is up to, be sure to check out the reviews for Anthrax here on Immortal Music! I'm hoping to complete reviews for every single one of Anthrax's albums before Fort Rock. Its coming up quickly but progress is still being made! Stay tuned to see what all is going on, and to find out if we do manage to catch and cover their performance at Fort Rock! Reviews so far: Fistful Of Metal, Stomp 442, Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, We've Come For You All, Worship Music and For All Kings. On October 7, 2003, Sevendust released their fourth studio album, Seasons. This one was dedicated to Reginald Witherspoon, younger brother of frontman Lajon Witherspoon, and Dave Williams, the original singer of Drowning Pool. Reginald was unfortunately murdered in November 2002, and Dave passed away from a heart condition in August 2002. When asked about the album, guitarist, John Connolly had this to say in regards of this album's particular sound. "It’s really heavy and just tons of melody. We’re real big fans of melody and there’s no reason that a heavy band can’t have something to sing over, and we just really pushed it a lot farther then we had a chance to on the last few records." He also went on to say this album was a lot more mature and a lot more focused. Some said this album was too "commercial", and blamed it on their record label at the time, TVT Records. Its been said they lost complete creative control, and clearly they felt the same way because once they completed a touring cycle in support of this album, they parted ways with TVT Records. The album did do very well on charts, debuting at number 14 here in the US and sold over 68.000 copies in the first week alone. The lead single, "Enemy" came out on September 25, 2003, and hit number 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Its honestly a pretty decent way to introduce fans to your new album, and I imagine this would be a great one live as well. Something about calling someone out in the way they did just screams "mosh pit" to me. While I would avoid the pit entirely personally, I can see why that would be a good thing to hype some others up. A song I really wanted to shed light on though is "Skeleton Song." Because its a song about losing yourself in music when things aren't going well, and that's just a beautiful thing! "And there's nothing wrong in being far from right. Another skeleton song stuck in my head all night. And there's something wrong when everything goes right. Another skeleton song will save my life tonight." Go listen to it, its beautiful! While you're at it, you may as well listen to the rest of the album too because its great and you're already on that track anyways! If you're interested, you can also catch Sevendust on tour here very shortly with Trivium and Like A Storm! During this tour, and just after it, they will also be making many festival appearances. Festivals include Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Lunatic Luau '16,Carolina Rebellion, 98.9 The Rock's Rockfest, Northern Invasion, Rock On The Range, Rock N Derby,Rocklahoma, and River City Rockfest. For further information, please head on over to the respective festival websites or Sevendust's official website! We personally are hoping to catch their set at Fort Rock 2016, so please stay tuned for photographs of their performance! If we manage to get any, those will be up in early May. We also are working on reviewing all of the albums for Fort Rock artists and below are all we have done for Sevendust so far! Next -Alpha- Chapter Vii: Hope & Sorrow -Cold Day Memory -Black Out The Sun -Time Travelers & Bonfires -Kill The Flaw On June 13, 1995, Pennywise released their third studio album, About Time. This album did not do well on charts, as it only reached 96 on the Billboard 200, and 55 in Australia. While that may be the case, this actually features several fan favorites that they do play live. Those songs include "Peaceful Day", "Every Single Day", "Perfect People" and "Same Old Story." This is also the final album to feature the now late Jason Thirsk on bass, as he sadly committed suicide the following year. We could find find any singles for this album, so we went into this completely blind. The album starts off with "Peaceful Day", which actually is a bit of a misnomer. The title leads you to believe it was about a relaxing day, but its actually about life and questioning how you're going to make it through. You find yourself asking all of the "how's" and "Whys" and honestly because this song does just that, its definitely something most people can relate to. We don't always know how we got through the day, but yet, we somehow do make it through. Another track I would like to highlight is "Try." All you have to do is try in life, and you only get today once. Tomorrow is its own thing, so you're never going to get that again. The song says it best, "Try, don't choose to walk away. There's a part within your soul , it just takes time to find it. When you try take time and seize the day. 'Cause after today's gone, you'll never have the chance again. So try." It also says the sweetest thing later on in the song, "I'm just hoping someday soon all the unhappy people find solace in sound." Hope the music soothes you! Its a beautiful album, so I can definitely see why it holds so many tracks that fans love to hear live. Speaking of live, we will hopefully be seeing them at day 2 of Fort Rock 2016! If we do manage to catch their performance, there will be pictures going up on our Facebook page soon afterward! If you can't make it to Fort Rock, don't fret! They're also performing at Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion and Rock On The Range! Risk, which was released on August 31, 1999 is the eighth studio album from Megadeth. This as the first album in nine years to feature a lineup change. This was the debut of Jimmy Degrasso , who was with them until 2002, playing drums. He also worked with bands like Suicidal Tendencies, Ministry, and Alice Cooper. This is also the last album to feature their guitarist Marty Friedman, as he decided to depart from the band a year later. The first single came out sometime before the album's release and was, "Crush Em." This is one of those tracks that's absolutely made to hype up a crowd. I mean, any song that starts off by saying "Enter the arena and hit the lights" is sure to excite fans at a concert. Plus, the song steadily picks up and gets faster through out the song, which is also great to keep energy up. The opening track, "Insomina" actually is more about insanity than not being able to sleep at night. Its very well done though, I must say. "My head is talking to me. I don't lnow what it needs, but the loudest voice is the one I heed." His insanity is all very well worded, which is what made this track worth mentioning. Another track I thought was well worth mentioning was, "I'll Be There." There's not a lot of tracks out there that are incredibly dark, yet at the same time very sweet. This one fits that definition though by clearly telling the story of a near death experience. His life was at risk, but the entire time he's telling someone he's going to be there for them always, even when he's the one that really needs the help. Guess his weakness is that he cares too much too, huh? Over all, this is a very good, very deep album. Its honestly one of the best ones from Megadeth I've heard thus far because it had meaning! I've found a lot of their songs are more political and that's just not my cup of tea. This album was so much more than that, so good job, Megadeth! Since then, Megadeth have released seven more albums! One of which just came out earlier this year, and they are currently supporting that album! Coming up here in just a couple weeks, they will begin playing almost all of the massive music festivals here in the US. Those festivals include Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville,Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Rock'n Derby,Rocklahoma, and River City Rockfest. We're hoping to catch Megadeth's performance at Fort Rock this year, so please stay tuned for pictures! We also wanted to bring it to your attention that we have reviewed several of the albums released after this and are working on completing reviews for all of their albums very soon! So keep your eye out for that, and check out what we have done so far below. The World Needs A Hero -The System Has Failed - United Abominations - Thirteen -Super Collider -Dystopia What is now the iconic thrash metal band, Anthrax made their debut to the world in Janaury 1984 with Fistful of Metal. There's a couple interesting things about this album, starting with its the only one to ever feature the original vocalist, Neil Turbin. He wrote all of the songs on the album, and contributed to writing credits on one of their later EPs, but this was the only time we heard his vocals. He left for creative differences, from the sounds of it. As someone who's only heard the other two singers Anthrax has had over the last 30+ years, I found this rather interesting to discover. The only single for the album, "Soldiers of Metal" was released in November 1983, which in a way sounds a bit like a war song, but also seems to be empowering metal music. Which is cool, but honestly I wasn't that impressed with the way it was stylized or anything. Though they did a good job on their cover with "I'm Eighteen", which was originally by Alice Cooper. That's honestly probably the best sounding track on this album. All I have to say is they definitely have improved over the years. Apparently around the time of Neil's departure, some critics stated that they actually didn't like Anthrax because of Neil Turbin's vocals. I don't mean to put anyone down....but I think they made a good choice splitting away from him. Not that there's anything wrong with him, just the path Anthrax is on today is much better than what I'm hearing on this album. Its far too shrill in the vocal style, and for the most part, all I am hearing is the drums, and the occasion guitar drowning out everything. Either the 80's were not kind to Anthrax, or they've grown immensely over the decades. Probably both actually. They sound like a completely different band! Clearly others did feel differently though, considering how popular they are now. What did you think of the album? Please let me know! If you want to see what Anthrax is up to these days, head on over to their official website to see all of their tour dates. They very soon will be performing at many festivals such as Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, and the Rock N' Derby.They also have released eleven studio albums, five of which we have reviewed! The rest are coming soon, but feel free to check out the ones we have already done. So far we have done; Stomp 442, Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, We've Come For You All, Worship Music and For All Kings. The other five that remain will be coming soon so stay tuned! On October 11, 2005, Sevendust released their fifth studio album, Next! The album hit number one here in the US on the Top Independent Albums charts! The first single, "Ugly" came out on October 17, 2005. The song is actually the second song on the album, and it seems a little bit like self hatred, but at the same time seems to be calling a person out for being an "ugly person." Not in a superficial manner, but on the inside. Its an interesting track that may get some people to stop and think about their actions but I wouldn't go as far as to say it really stands out at all. A track that does stand out though is "This Life", which is the fifth track on the album. Its most definitely about an unborn child. While I didn't read that anywhere so I technically have no proof, the lyrics speak for themselves. Its incredibly sweet and beautiful, and I hope one day the child its about really appreciate it. Over all, it seems like the album was written as a outlet, or a release if you will. A release for anxiety, depression, anger, ect. It all sounds incredibly personal, and you have to admire it when artists truly pour their hearts into their music. Its just something beautiful, and helpful to all. It makes the artist feel better, and chances are someone out there can relate to every track. Its a great album, and I highly recommend you check it out, along with all of Sevendust's discography. This includes their latest album, Kill The Flaw! In support of that album, they are very soon going to be going out on tour with Trivium and Like A Storm. During this tour and just after it are many festivals! Festivals include Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Lunatic Luau '16,Carolina Rebellion, 98.9 The Rock's Rockfest, Northern Invasion, Rock On The Range, Rock N Derby,Rocklahoma, and River City Rockfest. For further information, please head on over to the respective festival websites or Sevendust's official website! Also be sure to check out all of the reviews we have done for Sevendust so far! We are currently working on completing reviews for all of their albums and have already done several. More are still coming, but all we've done thus far are below! Alpha- Chapter Vii: Hope & Sorrow -Cold Day Memory -Black Out The Sun -Time Travelers & Bonfires -Kill The Flaw Be sure to stay tuned too because we just may manage to catch their set at Fort Rock this year, so there will be a ton of pictures coming up in early May from the festival! Throwback to May 15, 2001 when Megadeth released their ninth studio album, The World Needs A Hero. This particular album did alright compared to their previous album, Risk. Which is apparently considered to be a commercial failure because of its chart ratings. This one went as high as number 16, which was here in the US and as low as 94, which was in Switzerland. The first single, "Moto Psycho" came out a month before the album's release and its kind of about following your own path, while completely acknowledging that others want you to follow their ideal path. A couple of tracks that actually stood out to me was "Disconnect" and "Burning Bridges." "Disconnect" is true to its title. Its talking people through the process of disconnecting from the hurt and the pain in life, to make your mind clear and anything seem possible. This is easily one of the best tracks I've ever heard from Megadeth. "Burning Bridges" has a similar vibe, but also has a twist. "If you took your own direction, if only you practice what you preach. if you follow your advice -you wouldn't be burning bridges all of the time." If you be yourself, you'll find yourself in a direction you enjoy over time, with people who love you for who you are. That's quite beautiful, if you ask me. Honestly, while critics back in the day said this album was a bit of a flop, and was "lacking the menace of the band's earlier work", I liked this album way more than I've liked any other album from Megadeth I've heard so far. Its not all bitching about the government and the way the world works. I've honestly questioned how a band can manage to have so much to say about one topic. While they do it well, frankly, I find it it a bit boring, so this was quite refreshing to discover! Others will definitely disagree but I think it would be interesting to hear them revisit the ideas of this album in future works. Speaking of future works, Megadeth have released six more albums since this one was released, and we have reviewed five out of those six! Be sure to check them all out, they are all linked below! Also make it a point to check out Megadeth's website to take a look at all of their upcoming tour dates. They have many festivals coming up shortly such as Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville,Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Rock'n Derby,Rocklahoma, and River City Rockfest. They also will be doing many European festivals over the summer, but we encourage you to go to their website to see all of those. The System Has Failed - United Abominations - Thirteen -Super Collider -Dystopia On September 30, 2008 Trivium released their fourth studio album, Shogun! The album was released through Roadrunner Records, and is thought to be a bit of a look back sort of album. When asked about it at some point, Corey Beaulieu, the band's guitarist and unclean backing vocalist said the following regarding this particular work. "We want to capture the best ingredients of everything we've done. Each song has a little bit of everything, going between something heavy and then melodic, and then back to something heavy. So it has a really interesting balance. On The Crusade, Matt did almost all singing, so this time we're bringing back some of the screaming that's on Ascendancy." The album sold 24,000 copies in its first week alone, and reached the top 50 in fourteen different countries. It even hit number one in the UK, and four in both Canada and Australia! The title of the over all album dates back to ancient Japan. It was a title samurais would earn ater seizing power around the year 1274. They very clearly put a lot of thought into this album, as there's a lot of history to back it up. The first single, "Kirisute Gomen" came out on August 11, 2008. The title references an old Japanese expression, which dates back to the feudal era. "Kirisute Gomen", much like Shogun, dates back to ancient Japan. It roughly means "authorization to cut and leave", or really its expressing the right to strike at any time. This applied to samurais , giving them the right to kill commoners who comprised their honor. Sounds a bit intense if you ask me, but yet some how this song goes perfectly with that. It speaks of fighting mostly for rights to be yourself. "I will never be what they want me to be. I live by my path in life. No turning back now, I won't be held down." What a hard hitting way to introduce your album! The album over all has a similar vibe, speaking of destiny, self worth, life, and so much more! Honestly, its rather hard to pick out a track that stands out because the whole album stands out. The ideals in this album are strong and we highly recommend you check it out. Also be sure to keep up to date with Trivium! Since the release of this album, they have released three more albums and actually have a lot coming up here shortly. Very soon they will be going out on tour with Sevendust and Like A Storm, and will be performing at many festivals such as Earth Day Birthday, Welcome To Rockville, Fort Rock, Carolina Rebellion, Northern Invasion, Rock On The Range and Rock N' Derby! Further information can be found on Trivium's official website. We also just wanted to let you know we have now completed reviews for all of Trivium's albums! All of which are linked below, if you want to see what we said about any of Trivium's work. Also stay tuned because we very well may be able to cover their performance at Fort Rock this year, so pictures will be coming in early May! Reviews: Ember To Inferno -Ascendancy -The Crusade -In Waves -Vengeance Falls -Silence In The Snow |
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