Here are some short reviews of CDs I picked up in Boston the other day. Some have been reviewed on the main site already.
SLAVEMACHINE - SLAVEMACHINE (Industrial Nu-Metal)
As I've said before, in Boston there is a shop called Nuggets that has a kick ass $2 section. Occasionally when they find that room overflowing with CDs they will sell them at 50% off. It's not like $2 is much, but $1 is obviously even better. This CD cost me $1. I had no idea what to expect, I just bought it. Basically it's like a mix of White Zombie meets Static-X meets Alice In Chains. It's not amazing by any means, but there are a few really kick ass tunes, a couple of good songs and a few duds.
They had more, if anyone likes the songs below let me know and I'll snag a copy next time I'm in there (if they have any left).
Rating: 65/100
Website: Disbanded
Downloads: ANOTHER WAY TO DIE (01) and SHAMED (02) (yousendit)
THE SUICIDE MACHINES - WAR PROFITEERING IS KILLING US ALL (Punk/hardcore)
I absolutely love this band! They're always good. Each album finds them trying something a little new whether it's a more pop punk approach, more ska, traditional punk or, as with this album, hardcore. I was pretty shocked when I heard some of the really heavy songs. I don't own "A Match And Some Gasoline," I just never picked it up, so I don't know if that album was a prelude to this one, but I definitely didn't expect the hardcore aspect to some of these songs like the title track, "Rebellion Is On The Clearing Rack (And I Think I Like It)," "Red Flag" (the chorus), "All Systems Fail" and "Capsule"—which has some really heavy, almost metalcore moments towards the end.
Anyway, there are some more typical Suicide Machines tracks, traditional punk and ska punk, but the heavy songs do stand out and possibly detract from the overall flow of the album. Still very good, though, just unexpected I guess.
Rating: 75/100
Website: http://www.suicide-machines.com
Downloads: WAR PROFITEERING IS KILLING US ALL (Video) | ON MYSPACE
SEARING MEADOW - CORRODING FROM INSIDE (Melodic Death Metal)
Another unexpected find, I thought this was going to be metalcore emo-screamo shit, but they're actually a traditional melodic death metal band with vocals that lean more towards traditional death metal, more guttural than "screamy." NO CLEAN SINGING! The band members' short hair threw me off, but I'm glad this isn't what I expected. The songs are propelled by guitar leads instead of simply riffs, think Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery and The Mind's I. This one kicks ass. The vocals sounds a teeny-weeny bit too low in the mix, they're not the dominant sound, so that could have made it even better, but it's still a killer CD.
Rating: 87/100
Website: http://www.searingmeadow.com
Downloads: WASTED HEROES and THREE NAMES FOR DENIAL (Clips from their 2002 promo CD, Enduring Enchantment, both songs appear re-recorded in far superior form on Corroding From Inside)
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - ALASKA (Whatevercore)
People have suggested this band to me a million times and everything I'd heard from them failed to impress me. Well, last week or so I heard "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" and I thought the song kicked ass. I had a gift card to FYE with $11 still on it so I figured I'd go use it. I had the new Judas Priest in my hand for $11.99, but decided to get this album instead. I figured $4 (plus gift card) wasn't a bad price. Well, I can't help but be disappointed. I should have bought Angel Of Retribution.
I can appreciate what this band does with all the stylistic changes, but it sounds like they're doing it on purpose instead of naturally. I can imagine the band sitting around trying to figure out what style of music they could put in this part or that part instead of just letting it flow. And that's the problem with it, it doesn't flow. When they groove it's like technical-Kittie (that's right, vocals and all), when they go prog it's second rate and when they go death metal it's typical and generic. There are some great moments, and a few really good songs, "Selkies" being the best, in my opinion. I don't know, I'll give it more spins—maybe I don't get it yet?—but I really don't find this album to be special at the moment, not deserving of the hype. It's almost a chore to listen to. Oh well.
Rating: 55/100
Website: http://betweentheburiedandme.com
Downloads: MORDECAI and CAMILLA RHODES (from The Silent Circus, but you'll get the idea)
DARKBLACK - THE BARBARIAN'S HAMMER (EP) (Traditional Fantasy Metal)
Man, I saw the cover of this CD and thought, "This is going to kick all kinds of ass, or be so bad I'll have wished I bought a few tacos with this $4." Well, it's pretty bad, sort of in between what I was thinking, but more toward the suckage end of the scale. I did a little research on the band and this EP has actually gotten some good reviews saying things like "I’m betting we’ll be slathering over these guys a generation from now like we do unsung NWOBHM bands such as Arc, Requiem and Hell..." and "The US needs more bands of the genre DarkBlack have chosen - straight old-school, if you will, Metal...". Very strange. "Bracer's Of The Eagle's Talon" is actually pretty good once it gets going, best song on the EP.
The band is a three-piece, guitars, drums, bass/vocals, and they embrace the old school fashion of tight shirts and pants, sleeveless denim jackets, bandanas around the neck, porno-cop sunglasses and bullet belts with the feathered wolf hair styled haircut. While I won't completely slam this band, I did enjoy some parts, but overall they're not all that (though the EP does get better with more listens). And the vocalist/bassist is pretty inconsistent, and flat out terrible on "Wizardman," the first track, he's so out of tune and weak it's not even funny. SIKE! It is funny, actually. The production is lo-fi, the riffs are sloppy, the drumming is sloppy, and the lyrics are lame. I can't imagine myself listening to this often, but I can see the band improving with time and actually becoming a decent band, but if this is all they ever release I can't imagine this adding much of anything to the world of metal.
Rating: 45/100
Website: http://www.myspace.com/darkblack
Downloads: BRACER'S OF THE EAGLE'S TALON
STRATOVARIUS - STRATOVARIUS (Melodic Rock/Metal)
So I finally found this used ($8 ). It's not nearly as bad as I was expecting, in fact I find it to be quite good. Sure, it's not power metal or even close to that, but it is a solid melodic rock/metal album. "Maniac Dance" is still an OK song, and it still reminds me of Extreme, but it was definitely a bad choice for a single as there are far better tunes on the CD. "Fight!!!" totally sounds like Def Leppard's "Let's Get Rocked" at the beginning, hahaha, but it's a really good tune and would have been a better choice for a single.
Other standouts include "Just Carry On," "Back To Madness," "Leave The Tribe" and "United." The only song I didn't really care for was "Gypsy In Me"—the beginning of which totally reminds me of Helloween's "I Can" or "Mr. Torture," or maybe both. Anyway, this is definitely not a bad CD at all. It's amazing that after all the bullshit with the band they were able to churn out something even this good. It's on par with the same style change Edguy has shown us on Rocket Ride, more rock-oriented than power metal, but still very good. Rocket Ride is better, though.
Rating: 70/100
Website: http://www.stratovarius.com
Downloads: N/A
For a good laugh, check out the review of this album from allmusic.com:
It appears as though no matter what the "flavor of the month" may be on radio or MTV, there will always be a die-hard cult fan base for progressive metal. Popularized by the likes of Dream Theater, the style incorporates the tricky bits of such groups as Yes along with the metallic muscle of Iron Maiden. The top Finnish export is Stratovarius. 2005 saw the release of a self-titled studio album, which shows that the group is still following their original musical path. While the album will undoubtedly please those already converted, to others outside the group's fanatical circle, you can't help but smirk a bit at such Spinal Tap-worthy song titles as "Maniac Dance," "Fight!!!," and "The Land of Ice and Snow," or singer Timo Kotipelto's equal parts Bruce Dickinson and Sebastian Bach vocals. That said, Stratovarius is one of the few prog metal acts that actually puts songwriting ahead of mere shredding and noodling, as evidenced by quite a few tracks on Stratovarius — including "Just Carry On."
BWAHAHAPROGHAHAHAHAPROGHAHAHA!!
There's really no bad songs except "Gypsy In Me."
