Not that long ago, Vesuvius made their debut to the world with their first full length album, My Place Of Solace And Rest! The album came out on May 6 of this year, and it has a very intriguing theme behind it. They said that each song has an emotional crux to it that dwells within each piece. That makes it sound a bit like a Horcrux from Harry Potter, but instead of needing to be destroyed, this needs to be cherished and enjoyed. Their sound is heavy and strong, and honestly reminds me a lot of Asking Alexandria in their early days or Of Mice And Men in some spots. Something I noticed right away was they're quite dark, and clearly use their music as a way to release negative feelings. Its a great thing, horrible times in an artist's life, tend to lead to the deepest songs, that touch people's souls. Two songs instantly jumped out at me the second I saw their titles, and I absolutely had to check them out. Those two songs were, "This House Is Not A Home" and "Dear Death." "This House Is Not A Home", title wise made me think of "Home" from Three Days Grace, but sound wise, was vastly different. From what I was watching, lyrically, it was about searching for something more in life, and hoping for relief. I particularly liked the clean vocals in the song, which sung a monologue geared toward his mother. "Dear mother, where has the sun gone?" Its not a question someone can answer, but its definitely attention grabbing and thought provoking. As for "Dear Death", it honestly is completely different from all the other tracks. Its a ballad, and almost haunting in a way. It sort of makes you worry about Ben, and just makes you hope he realizes nothing is worth taking your life over. It sounds entirely heart breaking, but its beautiful. I recommend checking this one out, for sure. This album goes through a lot of emotions and sounds, in a great way. I see Vesuvius going very far. Be sure to check them out on Facebook, and get the album on iTunes! You can catch them on their first US tour right now, and once again I would like to direct you to their Facebook page for tour dates. Also while you're checking them out, you can check out the interview I did with their frontman, Ben Cooligan!
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Somehow, I over looked doing a review for Falling In Reverse's second album, Fashionably Late. I've listened to the album since it was posted on Epitpah Record's YouTube Channel almost a week before it was released, but somehow I completely over looked doing a sit down review. So, I'm fixing that now. The album was officially released on June 18, 2013, so it just passed its three year anniversary. At the time, the album topped four different charts here in the US, and one in the UK. It hit number two on the US Top Hard Rock Album charts, three on the Top Independent Albums and four on the Top Rock and top Modern Rock albums. It also broke the top twenty of the Billboard 200, and in Australia. So, it didn't do bad by any means. However, I honestly was not a massive fan of this album. I think the albums that came before and after this were a thousand times better. That being said, it did grow on me, and there were a couple tracks that I enjoyed right away. Those tracks were "Game Over" and "Keep Holding On." "Game Over" is honestly a fun track. It incorporates very iconic video game sounds and themes, like Mario Brothers. Its actually sort of about moving up in life, when you stop to think about it, but at a glance its just a lot of fun. "Keep Holding On" is the exact opposite of that and is meant to speak for anyone who is struggling with anything in life. Whether its bullying, or just life struggles, this song just encourages you to keep holding on. Honestly, I'm kind of a sucker for songs like that, so its not surprising that I like this track. Now one that I honestly thought was absolutely terrible at first was, "Bad Girls Club." I just thought it was cheesy and stupid at first. I still think that, but its fun and catchy as well, so my opinion on that song has changed now. Its actually one of the tracks I find myself turning on semi frequently. So over all, would I say this album is amazing? No, but I also wouldn't say it sucks either. Its alright, and is worth giving a chance if you haven't already but I would say don't judge them on it. I would say listen to their first or third albums to get a fair judgement of their true potential. Falling In Reverse is still doing great things to this day! They are going on the 2016 Vans Warped tour which just kicked off the other day! For the full lineup head on over to the Vans Warped tour website and be sure to stay up to date with Falling In Reverse on their website as well! Dragonforce has been a leading name in power metal for years -since 1999 to be exact. Given they started under the name Dragon Heart and went by that until 2002, but none the less, they are known legends in the genre. They've released six full length albums, and have had sixteen singles over the years. This year, to reflect and celebrate all the success they've had, they're releasing a Greatest Hits album. This album is called Killer Elite and will be out officially on July 23, and features twenty two songs from their discography. This does include some live material, and there's a deluxe digital edition with a DVD that includes all of the band's promo clips (Hits, Highs and videos.) This is exciting for fans, because they can have many of their absolute favorites from Dragonforce all in one place, and due to their popularity, this would be a bit hard to review. All the songs have been out for years. Some have been out since 2003 even, while others are only a couple years old. As someone who has never really listened to Dragonforce before, but has known their name for years, a Greatest Hits album seemed like a great way to learn what they're all about, and see how much they've changed and grown over the years. Now obviously they included, "Through The Fire And Flames" on this, which everyone knows for the badass guitar riffs that are in it, so of course that one was important to mention. This may sound bad, but that was the only song I had knowingly heard from Dragonforce, I'm postive there's been many others I've heard, just I didn't know them by name. So, I went into this completely blind, or in this case -deaf. What I discovered was a few tracks that I wish I had known before. Those tracks include, "Holding On", "Reasons To Live" and "Heart Of A Dragon." "Holding On" is from their 2012 album, The Power Within, and not only is it incredibly well done musically, but its one of those 'feel good' tracks. It encourages people to fight til the end, and keep going, even when it feels like you're alone and all is lost. I'm a sucker for tracks like that, and then to have it heavy and badass all at once? You have to love it. "Reason To Live" has a similar vibe to it, lyrically but is a bit more personal. Its a cry for help, and it is asking someone to give him a reason to live, or die. Reason To Live is from their 2008 album, Ultra Beatdown. Lastly, there's "Heart Of A Dragon", which appears to reference their original band name, Dragonheart. That was the biggest reason I wanted to acknowledge this song, but it also tells quite the story. When you listen to it, you picture an epic, mythical and medieval battle. It not only tells that story, but does encourage people to stand together, and ride on. Its pretty fantastic, and is from their first album as Dragonforce, Valley of The Damned from 2003. Something I thought was really interesting about Dragonforce is every aspect of the song is present. Sometimes, when there's heavy, fast paced music, I sometimes feel that the vocals can be drowned out. They don't have that, you hear everything very well, and that's something I appreciated a lot. All in all, I think Dragonforce is very smart to release a greatest hits album. More bands should do it, because as I said, its great for all. Those who are new, can use is to get a full taste of what the band has to offer, and fans can have all of their favorites on just one album. Killer Elite comes out on July 23, and is available for pre-order right now through Dragonforce's official website, iTunes or Amazon. Unfortunately, this is only for those in the UK, but perhaps it will expand to other countries in the future, or another one will be released. You can also get excited because Dragonforce will be performing at many festivals all over Europe this summer! For more information head on over to their official website. The Browning is a metal/ electronica band that formed in 2005 out of Kansas City, and is about to release their third studio album, Isolation! The album comes out tomorrow -June 24 and thanks to Spinefarm Records, we were granted the chance to review this album. For this album, frontman, Jonny McBee wanted to change up the band's sound once again, and has been working on this album as far back as 2014. Along the way, some things began to develop. He was quoted saying, "Over the course of the last three years, rock music is primarily all I’ve listened to. I’ve been ingesting bands like Rammstein, Disturbed, and Three Days Grace. My writing swung towards that. I knew this album was going to have more of a rock vibe. Obviously, there’s still metal, but the scope has expanded. The electronics remain a big part of it. Since day one, the whole point was to not only be the heaviest electronic band, but the band with by far the most electronics.” Enter in what I assume was the first single, "Dragon" which apparently is based off a book Jonny is writing! I know absolutely nothing about the book, but the song seems to be about feeling numb to everything. I'm not sure why its called dragon then, because as far as I know dragons do feel things, but then again, I've never met a dragon, so who knows! Something I discovered very quickly with this album was how well the EDM elements meshed with the metal instrumentals. It all flowed very nicely, and surprisingly didn't drown out the lyrics at all. That tends to be something I notice with this genre a lot, and yet, The Browning managed to do it seamlessly. So kudos on that. I'm not a massive fan of this genre, so I don't have a lot to base it off of but I can say I liked what I heard. A track I would like to highlight is "Disconnect" which actually features Emmure's Frankie Palmeri. This is another song about how the internet is destroying human connection, and while I don't exactly agree with it, I see the point and think they did a good job on the track. It stands out because of the rapping Frankie offered, and is just very well done. I don't know if The Browning hit their goal of being the heaviest electronic band, or the one with the most electronics, but I can say they're one of the better ones I've heard. Anyone who's into this sort of metalcore meets EDM style is highly encouraged to give them a list. Perhaps start with this album even, since it does come out tomorrow anyways. You can get it online now or in FYE stores across the US. Use it, and the rest of their music to get excited because they are currently on tour with Bermuda and Fire From The Gods. The tour goes through June 30, and then in August they head on over to Europe to perform in Germany, the UK and France. For further information, please head on over to their official Facebook page. Exactly one year ago, Lindemann of Rammstein and Peter Tägtgren founder of Hypocrisy, and PAIN, shocked their fans with the release of their first album, “Skills In Pills”. The new supergroup known as Lindemann, employs the bass vocal range of metal god Till Lindemann and the sounds of industrial metal master Peter Tägtgren to make possibly the most unique metal album of 2015. While the average metalhead is familiar with Till’s work in Rammstein, few are aware of the musical prowess that Peter boasts, to name a few bands he has worked with as a producer: Sabaton, Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, Amon Amarth, Skyfire, Children of Bodom, Amorphis and Celtic Frost. He also belongs to the aforementioned bands Hypocrisy and PAIN both of which he founded. It’s only natural that two men as talented as these two would wind up working together. Of the 11 songs on the album, three of them stood out to me the most: Cowboy, Skills In Pills, and Yukon. While several other songs caught my attention (it is pretty hard to ignore songs with names like Golden Shower or Ladyboy which are exactly like you’d think) I felt these deserved to be spotlighted the most as they felt like the true heart and soul of the album. As the album goes, I’ll start with the title track, Skills In Pills. Telling a story of an addicts daily pill consumption, Till speaks of taking different color pills for different effects, “Grey one for my perfect sleep. Yellow for my need for pure. The blue one keeps my boner steep, I take two, just to be sure.” While delivered in Till’s traditional heavy driving delivery, one can’t help but notice the lyrics tell a rather bleak story, in the chorus he states how several things are the opposite of what they should be “All the left is right. All the black is white… All in all the rain is sun” as is life while being constantly high. As the song progresses further towards the end we hear about more kinds of pills and a repeat of the chorus with a dubstep breakdown beforehand. The final verse starts with a choir in the background while Till, instead of singing, speaks the final words “The white one, for my, whatever pain. In the end I start to cry. So I take the first again. I have a last one and I hope to die.” In an interview with Rolling Stone Till explained how the title track came to be. “In East Germany, we had no access to drugs at all. It was the socialist thing; it was totally forbidden. And even if you wanted some and you had the money, there was no access at all. So we made ourselves cocktails from pills and medications. You need skills to prepare the right cocktail” said Lindemann. Growing up in East Germany was awful, as most people would imagine, and being a creative mind like Till it’s not shocking that he would have spent most of his time cooked while living under such oppressive rule. Many people lived with severe depression during the Russian occupation of Germany and this song perfectly captures the feelings of that. Perhaps the most unique in composition is the song Cowboy. It begins with a horse neigh (similar to that of Rammstein’s song Te Quiero Puta!) and starts right into a industrial metal synthesizer riff, accompanied by a driving guitar riff and drum beat. The song tells: “Since I was a kid I had this dream I want to be a tough guy, wide and mean Flying bullets, flying fists Born to ride and to be kissed” The cowboy was heavily glamorized in the years of Till’s youth, having grown up mostly in the 60’s and 70’s, it was our modern day equivalent of being a rockstar. Every boy wished for the freedom they had, to do as they wish, to do who they wish and go where they wish. In an interview Till said how the song came to him about how everyone wants to be a tough guy but we all grow old. Growing up in East Germany however he had a rather interesting perspective and was anti-Cowboy, seeing them for what they actually were. “Cowboy, cowboy, this is sad. Vomit in your cowboy hat. Cowboy, cowboy, what a prick. Drunken horse and shrunken dick.” The song holds a rather tinge of irony, in the respect of how Till and Peter both grew up to be ‘Cowboys’ of modern society, and how it ends with him saying “I never joined the cowboy scene, I just ride my rocking chair, hide my teeth in Tupperware.” Possibly the most beautiful song that Till has put his hand to, Yukon is incredibly different from his normal work, with piano and an orchestra throughout, musically it stands out as the most well crafted song on the album. Rather than giving my own interpretation, here is Till’s explanation of the song from an interview with Maniacs: “I was with a close friend, I was on a canoeing trip in southern Canada and we passing the border to Alaska and we canoeing down the Yukon last summer, it was an amazing experience. In the middle of nowhere, if something was happen there is no help their passing you, you’re going to die in seconds, it was kind of dangerous but kind of really, really exciting for me so I had to write about it. It was neat.” Basically the song is a love song to the great majesty of the Yukon River, how it can be both beautiful and deadly at the same time. While they never toured in support of the album it did incredibly well with fans of both Rammstein and Peter’s projects. Charting at number 1 in Finland and Germany, number 2 in Hungry, Sweden, the UK and the US. In Germany it has already gone Gold, having sold over 100,000 copies. While another Lindemann album or tour is long into the future, Rammstein are currently on tour, and are making one, and only one, stop into America to play Chicago Open Air. Be sure to check them out and hopefully more music will be coming soon. Written by Coby Andrews. Nonpoint has always enjoyed giving their fans some variety and have been doing so since the release of their first album, Separate Yourself in late 1998. Fast forward eighteen years later, and they're getting ready to release their 10th studio album! The Poison Red will be coming out on July 8, and thanks to their record label, Spinefarm Records, I got to do a review before its release! They released the first single, "Generation Idiot" came out in May of this year, and left fans curious for more. The song empowers people to stop and think about the deeper meanings in communication and human connection. We live in a world where the internet rules us, and many think that phones and technology are what slowly is distancing the world. This song shakes the minds of people and gets them to stop and think while being very catchy. At the risk of giving something away for this album, I'm going to refrain from talking about more than a couple songs. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but encourage you to check the album out for yourself. You don't have a long wait, only about two more weeks, so I'm hoping maybe this will simply just tide you over until then. That being said, I think fans are going to enjoy this album a lot. It seems to cover a lot of topics, the music is borderline heavy, and very catchy. The lyrics are thought provoking, as well, so what's not to love? With all albums though, some stood out more than others. For me, one of the tracks that stood out the most was, "Standing In The Flesh." My take on the song could be wrong, but it seemed to be about owning up to your mistakes and being present no matter what the curcumstances. Its your life, and nobody can live it for you, even when things aren't going fantastic. Its better for you to take control of your own life, rather than just ride along and let someone else assume and try to do it for you. I also wanted to draw attention to "Rabbit Hole" and "Chasing White Rabbits." Both songs have an Alice In Wonderland feel to it, and "Rabbit Hole" was down right creepy. For only being about thirty seconds, it gave me a shiver -which says something. They're creative tracks that were just worth mentioning really. Something else I wanted to bring up was actually not about the album at all. Instead its the way their front man, Elias Soriano talked about their music was something simply just beautiful. “Not everybody wants to go see a shrink and not everybody wants to sit around and wallow,” Soriano observes. “Our music can be therapy. It is what helps someone get through something. I attest all of our success to keeping three things important: the music, the show, and the fans.” Music is immortal, and I have no doubt that if Nonpoint holds to that attitude and keeps their hearts in the music, they will be thought of for decades to come. Pre-order bundles for The Poison Red are still going on, but hurry! It comes out July 8, and then you will be able to find it in stores, but for now you can pre-order it through Nonpoint themselves, iTunes or Amazon. Also keep in mind that you can catch Nonpoint live on tour starting on June 30 with Buckcherry and Failure Anthem, and after that with In This Moment until the middle of August. Head on over to their website to see all of the tour dates, and stay tuned for some awesome things from Nonpoint. Its quite baffling that we somehow have not reviewed one of the most iconic My Chemical Romance albums. This album was released as a rock opera, about a character who was dying from cancer that is known as "The Paitent." It tells the concept of his death, afterlife and reflections upon his life. This is The Black Parade. This was the band's third studio album, and was released through Reprise Records on October 23, 2006. The album hit number one on the US Rock Charts, as well as in New Zealand. It also peaked the top ten in Japan, Swedish, Ireland, Austria, Australia, Sweden, and more. Its gone double platinum in the UK, and has platinum certifications in the US, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Canada and Australia. So clearly, its been a massive success and is entirely creative. The first single, "Welcome To The Black Parade" was released on September 12, 2006 and is definitely an iconic song for a certain community of people. Its a reflection of his life, and looking back at memories he had as a kid with his father, and how you carry on with life, even when you aren't certain on how. Its a beautiful song really, but frankly, my favorite on the album was actually another single. "Famous Last Words" was the album's second single, and its incredibly powerful and catchy, Just the chorus alone, I think is very inspiring and may give some people the courage to keep going, and do their own thing. "I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone. Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven. Nothing you can say can stop me going home." Sometimes, you just have to know when to fold, and when to stand on your own, and this song is the perfect thing to inspire you to take a stand. This album is an icon among the 'emo' community and MCR did a lot of great things. Here is where I would normally plug upcoming tours but they haven't had anything in three years -and people need to let it go! Individually they are all doing their own things so be sure to look into that! You can see Gerard Way and Frank Iero And The Celebration on tour on their own. Further information can be found on their official websites, and please stay tuned for more content. I recently realized I somehow had only previously reviewed one MCR album, so the other two will be completed soon! Another massive throwback coming your way! This one goes all the way back to April 2000, and was the 20th best selling album of the year! This is Papa Roach's second studio album, Infest! The album has gone triple platinum and has a Grammy Award! While this was Papa Roach's second full length album, this is really the one that put them on the map, and lead them to where they are today. That being said, the sound that was showcased on this album varies greatly from the sound they have today. Back in the day they were considered 'nu metal' and had a lot of rapping in their songs. This album is so massively popular, that it features a song that has spread world wide. "Last Resort" was the first single off this album and honestly is one of the most well known songs to come out of the 2000's. Its been featured everywhere, including on the second episode of Smallville, and many other shows and movies. You can even get the demo version of the song on Rock Band. Its one of those songs that you have most definitely heard, even if you don't realize it. I'm so confident that everyone has heard it that I'm not even going to describe the song for you. If you really don't think you've heard it, then girl, welcome to the world! It must be really bright, considering you've clearly been living under a rock for your entire life. That was very sassy, and I apologize, but seriously -go look it up, because I bet you will hear only one line and instantly realize you've heard it before. I actually can remember seeing this album when It was new, as my dad bought it, and refusing to touch it because it had a roach on the cover. I was only seven when it came out, and little did I know, they would become one of my absolute favorite bands. That being said, this is far from my favorite album from them. I don't care for the rap or hip hop aspects, but given how much success it brought them, I definitely have to appreciate it. How could you not, really? Some tracks do stand out more than others to me, aside from "Last Resort", that is. There's "Never Enough", which honestly seems like he's talking to himself. Questioning if everything is okay, and sort of feeling like you're running place. Its a really good song, and very through provoking and that's something I really enjoy. The last track I want to talk about is another that's grown to be quite the massive song. That one is "Between Angels And Insects." Its kind of about life, and calling the shots when you have to. Its a classic in its own right, and I think most would appreciate it. Papa Roach has done so much more since the release of this album, and we highly recommend you check out all of their work. Its available wherever music is sold, and you can also catch them live this fall with Five Finger Death Punch in Canada! Dates are still being determined, but they will be coming soon. A couple other dates are already set, and we recommend you check out Papa Roach's website for that. Doing quite the throwback here to October 2007, when Seether released their fourth studio album, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces. The album came out world wide on October 23, 2007 and features three of the most iconic Seether songs to be releases thus far. Those songs include, "Fake It", "Rise Above This" and "Breakdown." All three have broken into the top ten of the Billboard 200, and were released in that order as singles. Even if you don't realize it, chances are, you've heard those songs because that's how popular they got. Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces reached number nine in the US and New Zealand, and number ten in Canada. It also has gold certifications in South Africa, the US, and New Zealand, Canada! So, for obvious reasons, this album did fantastic. I would dare to say its the most successful Seether album to date. Now, obviously, the three singles stand out, that goes without saying. I mean, hello...there's now an annual festival every year headlined by Seether that's called the Rise Above festival. Surely that's inspired by the incredibly powerful, "Rise Above This." For the most part, the album is quite heavy hearted, but you definitely can appreciate all of the raw emotions that are in the album. However, not every song is like that, as there is one song that's just for fun. Everyone likes a good ol' sex song, right? They decided to release one called "Fuck Me Like You Hate Me", which does sort of feel like its about someone who was once really close to you, but now is just someone to sleep with. Its a really fun, catchy song, and there for, it stands out. The entire album does though, and if you somehow haven't heard it, you either are not a Seether fan or have been living under a rock. Please be sure to check it out, and everything else Seether has done so far! Since this album came out, they've released two more albums and done a ton of touring. Speaking of touring, head on over to Seether's official website to see all they have going on. August 6 is the third annual one, and this year will be headlined by Disturbed, Volbeat and of course Seether. Prior to that, they have a few shows around the US in early and late July. Come see and stay tune for more Seether content! Somehow, despite being a big fan of Papa Roach, and having a tattoo referencing a song from this album, I discovered I have yet to review their classic Getting Away With Murder album. The album was released on August 31, 2004, and features some of the most iconic Papa Roach songs. Those songs are the title track, "Getting Away With Murder" and "Scars." Since I said I have a tattoo referencing one of the songs on this album, it goes without saying that I do enjoy this album a lot. Which admittedly, probably makes this review a bit redundant, but oh well! I'm doing it anyways. The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200, and is certified Platinum here in the US, Gold in Canada, and Silver in the UK, selling over a million copies in just the US alone. This album was also very different from some of their earlier work, and is what introduced the sound Papa Roach has held onto to this day. This was the first album to feature no rapping whatsoever, and instead had a hard rock vibe. This album also features my all time favorite song, and the one I have referenced in ink on my arm. That song is "Scars", which surely everyone knows, but if you somehow don't, I will explain it really quickly. Its a song about caring too much, and always being there for people and trying to help. Even when they don't deserve it and it does no good. Also in the song is that breaking point, and its all just so beautiful and something I personally relate to very well. Sometimes you just wear yourself very thin trying to help people, and you don't exactly know when to stop because you just care about them. Even the nicest people though come to that realization that sometimes you're working on something that's going to go no where. You can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves. My weakness is that I care too much, and its fantastic to have a song say exactly what you feel. Its just a beautiful song, and if you somehow haven't heard it, go look it up. That goes for the entire album, of course but I cannot speak more highly of "Scars" if I tried. Anyways, moving on now. Other songs on the album I personally want to talk about are obviously the title track, "Getting Away With Murder", and the last song on the album, "Do Or Die." "Getting Away With Murder" doesn't have a lot of meaning to me personally, but it sort of seems to be about dealing with mental issues, and struggling a bit with life in general. I'm not sure if that's what was intended, but that's kind of how I take it. It stands out though because obviously its extremely iconic at this point, and its very catchy as well. Also, "It is impossible to never tell the truth" is such a great lyric, I'm just saying. Even compulsive liars are honest some times. As for "Do Or Die", its a very inspiring track, that honestly I encourage everyone to check out. In the case of this song, the lyrics speak for themselves on how inspiring it is. "Its never too late to live your life. The time is now, its do or die. Its never too late to live your life. The time is now, its yours and mine." Just go out and live your life! That's all this song is about, and its pretty wonderful. This album is so worth your time, and really is what set Papa Roach on the genre path they're on today. If you somehow, magically haven't heard it yet, be sure to go check it out and everything else they've released. I've been a big fan of their work for a long time now, and that's not changing. You can get this album, along with all of their other works wherever music is sold and use it to get excited because Papa Roach is working on new music. |
InformationAll reviews have the date they were written, the album title, and the band's name, with the exception of Life Starts Now by Three Days Grace and Dear Agony by Breaking Benjamin. Those dates were guessed at, as they were written well before the website began. Archives
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