Thursday, April 11, 2013

Red Line Chemistry - Tug Of War




Red Line Chemistry
Tug Of War
©2013 Bulldog Productions
www.redlinechemistry.com

Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Alice In Chains, Foo Fighters, Stone Sour) this Kansas City, MO quintet has the successful gritty, post-grunge sound that lives in the land of hard rock radio. They truly sound like a hybrid blend of Alice In Chains, Seether, Chevelle, and fill in the blank. This is not a weak point, as the radio formula still works. The mix is heavy on the low end, laden with solid hooks, tasteful guitar solos, and melodically chunky.

“Tug Of War” is the band’s fifth release and second full length with Bulldog Productions. Andy Breit gives some insight into the reason for the title, “About half the songs are heavy and aggressive, while the others are more subdued and musical.” Singer Brett Ditgen adds, “We wrote this record as a democracy. We have a foundation to work through our differences when we are writing and recording. It’s about finding a balance and trying to make it come together in a way that makes all five of us happy with the result. If we can do that, we feel other people will be happy with the result as well.”

Strong tracks include “Eyes To The Sky”, “Unspoken”, “Through The Haze” and “What Do You Want From Me”. Though the song “Paralyzed” is one of the first singles to chart with radio, it didn’t stand out to this writer. There is a decent mix between heavy and aggressive acoustic on this release. Lyrically, I am unsure where these boys stand in regards to faith, but their positivity comes through.

8.5 of 10 clicks
thecannyshark
April 2013

Friday, March 15, 2013

Love and Death - Between Here and Lost




Love and Death
Between Here and Lost
©2013 Tooth & Nail Records
www.loveanddeathmusic.com

Essentially, this is Brian “Head” Welch’s touring band from the past four years, but gives a collective representation of the band rather than using Welch’s name as a trademark solely. As a vocalist, Welch has matured since leaving KoRn in 2005 and venturing into the solo arena with “Save Me From Myself” (2008), a profound testimony of God’s saving grace on his life.

The heaviness of Love and Death’s sound can be felt from the outset, “The Abandoning”. After auditioning through YouTube for a replacement guitarist a few years ago to fill out the band, 15 year old J.R. Bareis stood out. Now 17, his initial guitar riff at the time was the skeleton upon which the song formed. The next track, the Devo cover song, “Whip It”, is fleshed out and retooled in a melodic nu metal vein. After hearing The Used spin on the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House”, Welch was inspired to pull it off. Personally, I appreciate it when a band brings puts their own stamp on a cover song, plus the song just kicks butt! Throughout “Between Here and Lost”, KoRn fans will hear the familiar low-end guitar tuning and that particularly ominous sound. This time around, unlike Welch’s solo album, a collective songwriting effort went into this release. Produced by former Red guitarist, Jason Rauch, the final mix is dark, heavy, and ‘in your face’. All of the songs flow well together. The final track, “Bruises”, is a brooding ballad somewhat inspired by those in the Christian community who won’t identify with and accept rock music.

Stand out tracks include, “Chemicals”, a self-trapped song about drugs and the resulting depression, “I W8 4 U”, featuring For Today’s Mattie Montgomery, and the opening track, “The Abandoning”. This is a very strong release and highly recommended for fans of melodic Nu Metal.

9 of 10 clicks
thecannyshark
March 2013

thecannyshark
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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Pinnick Gales Pridgen





Pinnick Gales Pridgen
self-titled
(C)2013 Magna Carta Records
http://magnacarta.net/pinnickgalespridgen/index.html

Upon discovering that Dug Pinnick was involved in a project with Eric Gales, an automatic trigger with 'purchase' attached itself to my pointer finger. I've never been that enthralled with any of the King's X bass player/lead vocal's side projects, Poundhound in particular, though Tres Mts. has grown on me somewhat. However, contrary to other reviews for this African-American "power" trio (meant in the strongest sense possible), Eric Gales in the mix made this a "must have". Discovering the Eric Gales Band in the early 90's with his first two releases on Elektra Records (self-titled (1991) and Picture Of A Thousand Faces (1993)), the dirty blues rock guitarist reminded me of a cross between Hendrix and today's Lenny Kravitz. It seems most have never heard of the southpaw guitarist. Add to this mix Thomas Pridgen, former intense drummer of the Mars Volta, and you've got three what-appears-to-be 'alpha males' converging in a creative partnership destined to take the free world by storm.

The first track, "Collateral Damage", lays out the blueprint for this musical ménage a trios. They refuse to let up on the gas pedal, as "Angels and Aliens", a rather interesting spiritually charged perspective, follows. This is hard, groove-laden, semi-prog rock marrying the best of what you'd expect from King's X and Eric Gales. Other standout highlights of this 13-track disc are "Hang On, Big Brother", a much harder version of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love", and the blues-induced, nearly 10 1/2 minute long "Been So High (The Only Place To Go Is Down)".

Raucous, almost overbearing in its' power at points, and heart-on-sleeve lyrically, this collaboration comes across like a long overdue volcanic eruption.

10 of 10 clicks
thecannyshark
February 2013



thecannyshark
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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Tourniquet - Antiseptic Bloodbath




Tourniquet
Antiseptic Bloodbath
(c)2012 Independent
www.tourniquet.net
www.tourniquet.bandcamp.com

Ted Kirkpatrick's vision and metal love child, Tourniquet, has endured a number of lineup changes in their 20+ years of existence. The current lineup consists of Kirkpatrick on drums, Luke Easter handling main vocals, and Aaron Guerra on guitars and vocals. The latest installment, Antiseptic Bloodbath, was recently unleashed on the world independently after raising Kickstarter funds to make the project a reality. The quality of this release (I purchased through iTunes) is overwhelmingly tight in musicianship and production. I was a fan of them back in the early to late '90's, but had gotten out of touch after Carry The Wounded EP (1995). I knew they had been signed to Metal Blade Records for a significant period after that, but wasn't as deep in metal at that point. I digress.

Known for using uncharacteristic percussive rhythms and incorporating elements of classical music, Ted Kirkpatrick has made a powerful heavenly metal release that at times is somewhat dark, but is consistently in-your-face as far as progressive metal goes. A virtual smorgasbord of some of metal's finest guitarists lend their talents. Bruce Franklin, of Trouble fame lends his guitar to the first track, "Chart Of The Elements (Lincchostbllis)". As is characteristic of much of Kirkpatrick's lyrical content, where he ties in elements of medical terminology, he uses an imaginary classroom setting to point back to God rather than relying on science and the theories that many claim to be infallibly accurate:

"The chart, hung on the wall of the school - learn every element, the golden rule // Written in stone, we were told it was true – to question it would make you look like a fool // A shocking discovery was recently made, some facts were messed up on the chart we obeyed // An error was found in the weights of these ten, so tear down the chart – let’s start over again"
"God lives, God is truth, God breathes, God is truth // God loves, God is truth, God lives, God is truth // Lattice energy, orbital properties, allotropes, isotopes, vaporized particles // Lattice energy, orbital properties, allotropes, isotopes, covalent radius"

Pat Travers plays lead guitar on the title track, 'Antiseptic Bloodbath', a song that "...speaks of the way our society prefers to sanitize brutality. We can have our tidy Christian faith, or continue with no faith at all, as long as we don't consider the painful bloody price that was paid for us." (taken from Wikipedia). This song, like many of their songs throughout their extensive discography, speaks somewhat of animal rights, a consistently major social issue for Kirkpatrick. Taken from their own bio: "We use animals for our food, profit, and amusement, but would rather not know about the needless, often systematic suffering that is inflicted on them by a callous and greedy humanity. 'Don't upset my comfort zone — brutal truth, leave me alone.' The great news is that we have the ability to choose. This album encourages us to make good and humane choices in our daily lives that reflect these images."

Other notable guitarists lend their chops/riffs to individual tracks: Marty Friedman of Megadeth fame ("The Maiden Who Slept in the Glass Coffin"), Karl Sanders of the American Egyptian-themed death metal band Nile ("Chamunda Temple Stampede"), Santiago Dobles of the tech-prog-fusion metal band Aghora ("86 Bullets", "Lost Language of the Andamans"), as well as the fine chops of Tourniquet's own Aaron Guerra throughout. Of note too, Kirkpatrick uses cello, violin, trumpet, and spoken word (Pastor Bob Beeman on "Fed by Ravens" and "Eaten by Vultures" as an example) throughout this fluid release.

Not one track is weak in the whole batch. This metal stew serves up a chockfull righteous in-yer-face goodness that refuses to let up. Replay-ability is necessary. Listen if you dare. Be changed upon hearing it.

10 of 10 clicks
thecannyshark
August 2012

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Moritat - Clill Blanzin






Moritat
Clill Blanzin
(c)2012 Independent
Greeted by a cascading guitar that beckons fireworks, a retro indie beat kicks in and is pretty much embedded into the fabric of Moritat's project. The female vocals of mixed with the video game soundtrack effect/Casio keyboard over an indie rock rhythm section makes the DIY approach even stronger. Refreshing!
Moritat is a power trio from Chicago comprised of vocalist and keyboardist Venus Laurel, bassist Konstantin Jace and drummer Corey McCafferty. Her vocals remind me a little of Riki Michele, former background vocalist with Adam Again, yet the feel of the quirky actress Zoey Daschaenel with its playfulness. This is fun DJ-on-the-dance floor-ish indie pop, as in they could have easily been the opening band touring with Daniel Amos back in the 80's.
8.5 of 10 clicks
thecannyshark
July 2012
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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Zsa Zsa Ketner - Velocirapticopter




Zsa Zsa Ketner - Velocirapticopter (EP)
(c)2012 Independent
http://zsazsaketzner.bandcamp.com/

Much can be said about "music without words" if you are willing to think outside the box. In this genre of post rock, which can take on an Unwed Sailor sound, light and somewhat carefree, to the other extreme with the heaviness of Isis or Pelican, there are generally those bands that go for a sound they like, more akin to guitar-oriented melodic infrastructures. Zsa Zsa Ketzner fills the nuances quite well on this their second effort. Very intelligent song crafting makes this EP a welcome companion to post rock bands like Still Pioneers, Saxon Shore, Deadhorse, Moonlit Sailor, and Last Lungs.

8.5 of 10 clicks
thecannyshark
June 2012


thecannyshark
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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Daniel Band - Runnin' Out Of Time (Retroarchives Edition)




Daniel Band
Runnin' Out Of Time
1988/2012 Retroactive Records

The final studio release by Canadian hard rockers Daniel Band couldn't have been more aptly titled. Continuing in the same tradition that caused many headbangers whiplash with their heavy Triumph-flavored rock and roll, this would regrettably be their swan song in the 80's CCM machine. I still remember being so psyched when I heard "Hold On" on Q107 back when this first came out!

I'm totally digging the remastering by J Powell! It has brought new life to both this and "Rise Up" (1986 originally) to the point that I'm rediscovering and absorbing the aesthetics of each song. The first time was through Refuge Records, which, God love 'em, was one of the original indie labels. Like a double edged sword, before indie was the veritable cool thing, they also suffered from poor distribution then (cough...Christian bookstores) and generally poorer production of vinyl, and subsequently the first round of CD's in the market. Needless to say, rhythm and lead guitar solos are crisper and fuller, Dan McCabe and Toni Rossi's vocals aren't over-saturated, but they are prominent at the right level in the mix. At least this writer thinks it's right.

It's difficult to separate any song above the other, as they blend together. Not necessarily a good thing up against a full body of work, this is the weakest of their five studio releases. This is still good, but not as memorable. Now having said that, I've always liked the title song the most (mostly guitar solo), but the Maxell-in-armchair knock over is their new song. Unsure of how recently written, "One" almost doesn't sound like DB. Wolfmother is my closest thought. Regardless, it gives me hope that they are independently working on more material. Hint, hint?

7.5 of 10 clicks
thecannyshark
April 2012


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