On November 20, 2009, Avatar released their self titled third album. It peaked at number 36 on Swedish album charts, and not much other information could be found regarding this album. We couldn't even determine what the lead single was for the album, somehow nothing came up. Just looking at the titles though, some of them were rather attention grabbing. Namely the ninth track, "Pigfucker." Given the bizarre name, we had to look this one up. Interestingly enough, it seems like he's talking back to a voice in his head in this. We may be wrong, but that's what it seems through out the lyrics. Its an interesting way to go about things, so for that we do want to give credit but we hear anything that's being said. Everything feels drowned out, though if it was spaced out a bit better, it would honestly all sound very good. It all just sounds smashed together, if that makes sense sense to anyone. "Shattered Wings" is much better, because it all could be heard more. The vocals -and there for the lyrics were clear, all the instrumentals were their own thing. This one was done much better! The lyrics also tell quite the story that honestly would make a beautiful music video. We're picturing a lot of angels, falling down needing someone to catch them as the fall. The song points out that everyone needs someone, all while asking for someone to catch them as they fall. Its honestly rather beautiful. Avatar really isn't quite our taste, but they had some songs on this album that were more so up our alley. So good job! You impressed us this time around. Let us know what you think of this album, or just Avatar in general and then please head on over to their website to see everything they've got going on. They will be performing at many festivals coming up here very soon, such as Fort Rock, Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Rocklahoma, and more! Many more are in Europe, so be sure to check out their website for more details.
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We're shortly coming up on the third anniversary of Sevendust's ninth studio album, Black Out The Sun. The album came out on March 26, 2013, and peaked at number 18 on Billboard charts.
The first single was released on January 22, 2013 and was called "Decay." It didn't particularly speak to us, but it encourages you to not believe everything you've heard and not feed into the selfish minds. A track that did stand out to us though was "Dark AM", which reaches out to those who are feeling down, and tries to lift them up. The song says it best by saying, "Live until you die, just come alive. Its all you need to know." There's more to life than just to live, and if you're letting life tear you down, you're not really living. Take this life and make it yours. "Faithless" has a similar vibe, but you can tell it came from a very personal place. It tells his personal story of losing his way and finding it again. The strength it gives you is empowering, and anyone can find it, you just have to work with it and keep your eyes open. Over all, we didn't love the album. A few songs were really great, but not much jumped out at us. Did anyone else feel differently? Let us know in the comments below and then head on over to Sevendust's website to see everything they've got going on. They just wrapped up a tour in Australia, and in late April will be going out on tour with Trivium and Like A Storm. In the mist of the tour will be many festival performances, such as 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 more info, please visit the respective websites! We've Come For You All is the ninth studio album from thrash metal icons, Anthrax! The album was released on May 6, 2003 and it didn't actually do that great as far as chart ratings go. It only reached 122 of the Billboard 200, and only sold 10,000 copies in the first week alone. If the information we found is correct, it still has only sold 62,000 copies here in the US to date. So by far not their most successful album, but still important no less. The first single, "Safe Home" was released on January 27, 2003, and is actually rather positive. It points out that things really do get better, and that someone else can make you feel safe. "I've been places in my head behind me worse than what's ahead." And then later goes on to say "You have always been my safe home." That's incredibly beautiful, and sweet, so there for it had to get an honorable mention aside from it being the lead single. Another track I really wanted to mention was "Superhero", which actually is about counting on yourself. It sucks having people let you down, but sometimes you can't put all your faith in them. They can't always be your superhero, but you can be. This song expresses that perfectly and it also expresses that you cannot be there for someone who isn't there for you. As someone who has always given people far too many chances, I appreciate songs like this. Kudos to Anthrax, I'm impressed with this album. Its clearly very underrated, and more people should check it out. While you're at it, be sure to check out the rest of their discography. They've done much, much more since the release of this album, and are still very active today. Head on over to their official website to take a look at all the tour dates they've got going on. They are currently on tour in Brazil, but that ends in just a few more days. After that, they will be performing at several big festivals here in the US such as Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, and Rock N' Derby! They also are going to be making appearances at several festivals all around Europe in the summer! Lamb Of God released their fourth studio album, Sacrament on August 22, 2006. It debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 charts, selling 63,000 copies in the first week alone. By 2010, it had sold over 331,000 copies and was nominated for a Grammy in 2007 under the Best Metal Performance category. Sadly, it lost to Slayer's "Eyes of the Insane", but the fact that it was nominated it still incredible. The first single was released in June of the same year and was "Redneck." The music video for this is single is rather perfect really. Lamb Of God gets asked to play a little girl's birthday party, and the mother clearly thought they were something completely different. Its pretty awesome, honestly. The song isn't half bad either, it is definitely one of those songs to crank up when the world is pissing you off and you need something to fuel you. "This is a motherfucking invitation. You try me." What a great way to introduce your album to the world! That sounds completely sarcastic, but we honestly do mean that. Along with the debut single, a couple other tracks stood out to us. One of them being "Requiem" which is most definitely a cry for help. It clearly comes from a very dark, harmful place, and really shows you into the mind of someone who's at their lowest. Help people like this this, it will more than likely save their life. The last track we wish to mention is "Blacken The Cursed Sun", which is anti-religious and kind of awesome. There's not a ton to be said about it, rather than it questions all religion and is all worded very well. Over all, it is a decent album. Still a bit heavier than what we personally choose to listen to on a regular basis, but not bad in the slightest! Keep up with Lamb Of God and all they have going on by heading over to their official website. Over there you will find a bunch of tour dates and festival performances! They will be going out on tour with Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity May 3, through June 7, and will be performing at Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville,Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range,Northern Invasion, Rock'n Derby, and Bonnaroo. The fourteenth album from American heavy metal icons, Megadeth was released on June 4, 2013 and is called Super Collider. The album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, peaked at number three on the Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts, and sold over 80,000 copies in the US alone by March 2014. The only single to be released for this album was the title track, "Super Collider", which came out on April 23, 2013. The song is about him offering to help someone out of their own hell, before their world comes crashing down. It reminds people they're not alone. Especially on this one verse, "Just one thing that I want you to know, you don't need to be on your own. No more feelings left out in the cold. Take my hand and I'll take you home." Its extremely easy to get caught up in your own head, so its nice every now and then to have a reminder that you are not alone. Not to mention, it also sounds great with the tone and beat. Its been said that this album is about the end of the world, which we definitely hear in the lyrical content. Almost every track talks about things breaking down, whether its the world itself or your mental health, still the world is crumbling and you're trying to make it out alive. Honestly, I do think my favorite track on the album is "Super Collider", but "Burn" also stood out to me. In a way, it sounds like a cry for help, and a suicide note. Especially at the end. "I hear the darkness call, the sirens are growing near. Its time I make my great escape. The flames are getting tall, inside my rear view mirror. Just a spark is all it takes." They're acknowledging how easy it would be to just die, and its quite attention grabbing really. Its a very interesting album, and I do recommend you go check it out. While you're at it, please go over to Megadeth's official website to see everything they have going on. They are currently on tour with Suicidal Tendencies, Children Of Bodom and Havok through March 24, dates with Anthrax coming up after that, and then will be performing at Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Rock'n Derby, Rocklahoma, and River City Rockfest here in the US. Then in the summer, they will be performing at many European festivals, such as Gods Of Metal, FortaRock, the Power Festival, Sweden Rock Festival, Download Festival in Paris, France, then Download Festival in England, and many, many more. All the important information, such as exact dates and ticket information can be found on the respective festival websites or of course, Megadeth's official website. Trivium released their seventh, and currently most recent album, Silence In The Snow on October 2, 2015. This was actually the first Trivium album to ever reach the Top 10 on any chart, which is very exciting for them. It reached number three on the Top Rock album chart and the Top Hard Rock album charts here in the US. It also reached number 7 in Australia and number 8 in Canada! The title track, and first single for this album, "Silence In The Snow" came out on July 30, 2015, and honestly its pretty badass! It seems to be about fighting for your rights and against the wrong do'ers, which is something wonderful in and of itself. Plus, its done beautifully both in instrumentals and lyrics. There's just something very powerful about it, and that's something we absolutely love. Also wanted to throw it out there that the music video for it is incredibly artistic, and you can tell they really put a lot of thought into it. It even ties into the song, which is fairly rare as far as music videos go. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. Aside from that track, however, there wasn't a ton we wanted to point out. Its all very good, and all feels like it has an underlying meaning of life and its struggles. Wanting to give up, but knowing there's better out there so you keep going. It talks about up's and down's through out the album and they do it in a creative way that stayed true to Trivium's classic sound all at once. Definitely go check out Trivium's Silence In The Snow album, along with the rest of their discography. You can get it wherever music is sold. If you're interested, head on over to Trivium's official website to check out a full list of tour dates coming up. Starting on March 20, they will be performing all around the UK with Heart of a Coward and As Lions. They then have dates in Japan, and Australia before coming back to the US to play festivals such as Earth Day Birthday, Welcome To Rockville, Fort Rock, Carolina Rebellion, Northern Invasion, Rock On The Range and Rock N' Derby, and tour with Sevendust and Like A Storm. On August 14 of 2015, Welsh metalcore band, Bullet For My Valentine released their fifth studio album, Venom.
The album did very well in a few different countries. It hit number one here in the US, as well as Australia and Switzerland. It also broke the top ten in the UK, Austria, Finland, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand. They released the first single, "No Way Out" on May 30, 2015, and that started a long list of singles actually. Just over half of the album has been released as a single since the first one, and honestly, they did a decent job of choosing singles. We came to realize a lot of our favorite songs on the album were singles from the album. Songs like, "You Want A Battle? (Here's A War)", "Worthless", and "The Harder The Heart (The Harder It Breaks)" stood out to us a lot. Now the ladder is not a single but its really just raw emotions being poured out into lyrics. It tells the story of a broken heart, and looking back at bad times, but not regretting a second of it. It goes through the process of being able to let go, and its done in a beautiful way, and we just had to give it some credit. "Worthless", in a way, feels similar to "The Harder The Heart" in the lyrics. Except rather than being hurt, its the defensive possibly angry side of things. Its saying the words the other person are speaking mean absolutely nothing to you and you're just not going to take it any more. Then lastly there's "You Want A Battle? (Here's A War", which is actually rather empowering. Don't stay quiet, speak up and be heard, that seems to be the main point of the song and that is something we approve of. If we're honest though, we have not kept up with Bullet for quite some time. They were once one of our absolute favorite bands, but over the years we've moved away from them a bit, and just don't feel any sort of attachment to their new music. The last album we actually heard when it was brand new as the Fever album, which was released in 2010. After that, we just didn't really pay much attention to them. So listening to them again after so long was honestly a bit foreign to us but not necessarily in a bad way. That being said, would we listen to this album on repeat? Honestly, probably not. But, as someone who actually has a lot of memories attached to BFMV, we are very proud of them and congratulate them on all the success they've had over the years. That includes this album. Bullet For My Valentine is staying rather active this year, as they will be performing a few shows in Japan this April before coming to the US to do a second leg of the British Invasion tour with Asking Alexandria, and perform at many festivals. The festivals will include Welcome To Rockville, Fort Rock, Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Rocklahoma and the River City Rockfest. They also will be playing many European festivals this summer, but we suggest you check out BFMV's website to see those, and all of their tour dates that are coming up. Be sure to check out Venom which can be found anywhere music is sold. Throw back to November 13, 2012 when Issues made their debut with the Black Diamond EP. Their genre is a bit hard to decipher, you do pick up on some R&B under tones through the metalcore and electronics.
This EP features a couple of the songs that Issues seems to be most known for. Those songs include, "King Of Amarillo", which we usually accidentally read as "King Of Armadillo", and "Princeton Ave." Keep in mind that we have never seen Issues when we say this, but the opening track, "Black Diamonds" seems like the perfect hype up song for the crowd. It encourages clapping even right in the lyrics, so we imagine it would be great to play live. Hype songs are always a good thing to have on an EP or album. Another track I really want to mention is "The Worst Of Us." It speaks of a break up, and both parties trying to get okay. He's trying to stop feeling attached to them, but the other one is also struggling, which messes with you. Honestly, we're not doing a great job at explaining it, but they did such a good job on the wording that we had to mention it. What a great start that was! This EP was a decent start to Issues career, and they have been going strong ever since. They have since released a full length album and will be releasing another one sometime this year! So, what do you think of Issues' and their Black Diamonds EP? Let us know and then head on over to Issues' official website to see everything they have going on. They soon will be going out on tour with Crown The Empire and ONE OK ROCK, and will be performing at many festivals such as the Self Help Festival, Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, and Rock On The Range. The fun doesn't stop there! They have more tour dates coming up after all of that that are actually around the UK! All the needed information can be found on the respective festival websites or the official Issues website. Pennywise released their eleventh album, Yesterdays on July 15, 2014, and its actually slightly different from other albums they've released. It is its own studio album, but features some of their old work that they had never recorded but had laying around. Assumably that's where the name Yesterdays came about. One of the songs featured on this album date back to 1989, on the band's A Word From The Wise EP, and that one is "No Way Out." It also features, "Slowdown" which is on their second album, Unknown Road, which came out in 1993.
This album is also unique in the fact that their singer, Jim Linberg left the band in 2009, and returned for this album. So, this album all around was a throwback, all while being new to fans! Pretty awesome, if you ask me. We did over all really enjoy this album, especially tracks like, "Restless Time", and "Violence Never Ending." "Restless Time" is all about working for what you want, and doing your own thing rather than following someone else's footsteps. That's always a great message to portray and we like how they did it. "Its a restless time so don't fall behind. You must lead, don't you follow." "Violence Never Ending", is flat out pointing out that nothing is going to end if we don't put stand up to it. Its particuarly refering to all of the shootings that are happening around the world. They put it as bluntly as possible in this song, and that's something worth mentioning. Now onto a track that I don't exactly know how I feel about it. That is "Thanksgiving." Part of it is very good, and reminding people to be grateful for everything they have in their life. One lyric though really threw me off, and is honestly not okay. "If you don't feel good enough about life, you should be shot." Okay, I get that ungrateful people suck, but telling someone to kill themselves is never a good idea! NEVER! And they really should have thought of that seeing as their former bassist killed himself, or at least, that's what we found. Aside from that one lyric though, we enjoyed the album and think others may as well. Feel free to check it out, its all over the internet and assumably in some stores as well. While you're at it, go visit Pennywise's website to see everything they've got coming up. They have a tour in Mexico coming ip in early April, and then many festivals coming up in late April and in May. Their festival performances include Welcome To Rockville, Fort Rock, Carolina Rebellion, and Rock On The Range. All the information needed can be found on their official website or on the respective festival websites. In just over a month, Ghost's second full length album, Infestissumam will be turning 3 years old. We're still fairly new to Ghost, and actually only began hearing about Ghost late 2015, so it feels brand new to us, when it is not. It came out on April 10, 2013 and the name is used by the band as "most hositle", or "the biggest threat", and is thought to be a feminine phrase. Regardless of the name however, its clearly very well loved. The album hit number one in the US and Sweden, five in Finland, number 8 in Norway, and did fairly well in other countries as well. To top that, this album won a Grammi Award in Sweden in 2014! That alone should impress you. If it doesn't though, how about we talk about the lyrical content? Through out the album, there's a lot of talk about omnipresent beings, Satan, and generally questioning religion. It also does this partly in Latin for some tracks, such as the opening two, "Infestissumam", and "Per Aspera Ad Inferni." A track I particularly really liked was, "Per Aspera Ad Inferni." The phrase, while not quite grammatically correct means, "Through hardships into hell." Its said several times through out the song, along with "All your dreams will come true." The way I took it was that you can't get the good without the bad, and that's something I enjoyed. Whether that was the intended meaning or not, I'm not sure, but none the less, it sounded good. Over all, Ghost isn't exactly my cup of tea. I do appreciate their creativity and respect their differences but they're not something I would find myself singing along to absent mindedly or anything. That being said, I completely see their appeal. They're unique in every way, and that alone is something to admire. So, because of that, I do think this album is worth checking out. You never know, you may just love it. You can check out this Grammy Award winning band on tour next month starting on April 13. The tour goes through May 22, which is actually the Rock N' Derby. During this tour they will be performing at many different festivals, which include the 98 Rockfest, Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, 98.9 The Rock's Rockfest, Northern Invasion, Rock On The Range and Rock N' Derby. After all of that concludes, they will be doing a tour all around Europe, and will be performing in even more festivals as well. For further information, please visit Ghost's official website. |
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
February 2022
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