NEWS: Palms Announce Release Date For Debut

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Calling all Deftones and Isis fans: Palms, made up by Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and ex-Isis members Jeff Caxide, Aaron Harris and Bryant Clifford Meyer, have finally announced a release date for their debut album!

The album is set to be unleashed on the world on 25th June, 2013. And if that’s not enough, the debut will be released via Mike Patton’s own Ipecac Recordings, which can only mean good things.

Aaron Harris explains the formation of the band:

“Clifford, Jeff and I started Palms a little over a year ago out of a desire to continue making music together after Isis ended. Chino joined shortly after and our sound took shape from there. We’ve worked really hard on this first release and are excited for people to hear it. It’s nice to be back behind the drum kit, and with this lineup.”

While a lot of us Deftones fans are still yearning for new Team Sleep material, or maybe a full-length Crosses album, this seems to be Moreno’s current focus. This time, if judging by the undeniably large Isis influence that will entail from this line-up, we may well hear Moreno experiment with the post-metal/sludge genres, which will be interesting to say the least. Or, the guys may well just catch us all by surprise by creating something completely unexpected.

Are you excited for this release? What are your predictions for the outcome of this meeting of minds? Let us know!

NEWS: Nine Inch Nails Return!

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You read it right! Trent Reznor announced yesterday that his legendary industrial-rock brainchild Nine Inch Nails would be reforming to tour again, starting this summer.

Trent Reznor decided to give the band a break in 2009 and proceeded through the following years by concentrating on How To Destroy Angels (with his wife Mariqueen Maandig) and producing award-winning soundtracks with Atticus Ross for The Social Network and the US/UK version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, as well as announcing a collaboration with Dr. Dre’s company Beats to work on a new music-streaming platform.

However, it’s 2013 and Nine Inch Nails are BACK. To confirm this, Reznor has even announced who will be within the band’s ranks:

“The band is reinventing itself from scratch and will be comprised of Eric Avery, Adrian Belew, Alessandro Cortini, Josh Eustis, Ilan Rubin, and me. The first shows will begin this summer, followed by a full-on arena tour of the US this fall, and lots of other dates worldwide to follow through 2014.”

Unfortunately, while it seems that guitarist Robin Finck, a favourite among many fans, won’t be appearing on this stretch of NIN’s history, it’s good to see that keybaordist Alessandro Cortini and drummer Ilan Rubin are returning to the fold again.

So does this mean a possible new album in the near future? Will it be another “Ghosts I-IV” project, or a more rock-orientated” The Slip”? Who knows, but this return to touring alone raises our spirits!

Live Review: Deftones – 19th February 2013 @ O2 Academy, Birmingham

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been around three years since Deftones last graced the UK with a tour (rather than lone festival appearances) and judging by the eager queue that forms outside the O2 Academy in Birmingham on that very cold night, it’s been long awaited by many fans.

The mixed crowd alone says a lot about Deftones: 40-year-old punks, young couples folded around each other, long-haired metal fans, a few indie kids sprinkled here and there – all show how diverse the Deftones crowd is and proves that the band doesn’t cater to any one stereotype alone. So then it’s no surprise that the support acts for the night represent the band’s range in both musical styles and tastes.

First up was London’s Three Trapped Tigers; a synth-heavy post-rock band who rely more on electronics than the regular band set-up, and are made up by Tom Rogerson on keyboards and vocals, Matt Calvert on guitar and synths/electronics and Adam Betts on drums. As the trio cover so much ground between them instrumentally, it became clear that they were practically glued to their positions because of it. Although completely understandable, it just didn’t bring the potentially excitable atmosphere as their music indicated at times, which was a shame. In fact, it was perhaps drummer Betts who was the most entertaining due to his frantic flurries during the up-tempo phases. While the set was enjoyable, it didn’t really leave much of an impact personally, yet it seemed that I was alone due to the positive cheers they had between songs.

Next up was California’s post-hardcore outfit letlive. If you’ve been paying any sort of attention to the band over the last year or two, you’ll know that letlive. have whipped up a dedicated cult-like following in the underground via their energetic and highly talked about shows – so much so that the band seem to be nearing mainstream success for it. Any negative connotations you might apply to that sentence would be ill-set however, because letlive. aren’t Mumford & Sons; but a raging beast frothing at the mouth for a feast.

‘Tired’ doesn’t seem to run in Jason Butler’s vocabulary as the frontman pounces across the stage, arms swinging, and apt to leave the microphone in his mouth as he screams to the ceiling. Guitarists Jeff Sahyoun and Jean Nascimento, along with bassist Ryan Johnson, aren’t far behind as they swing their axes while jumping around the stage without missing a note. The band proved that they were right for this tour and probably bagged themselves a bigger fanbase in Birmingham, which is well deserved after the performance they gave.

Finally, after several chants of increasing impatience and thirst, Deftones humbly straddled onstage to a roar of gleeful cheers and wasted little time before hammering into Diamond Eyes, the crowd instantly turning into one big a shuffling battlefield. Chino’s vocals held up remarkably well between the cleans and screams and the whole band were precise and executed it well, which went for the whole set.

The crowd was, to put it bluntly, fucking crazy throughout and only let up a little during the softer moments in the set (which were gifts after being almost crushed on more than one occasion) where the crowd sang in unison instead; which felt magical with the lightshow flowing over us. Chino was pretty fun inbetween songs too, casually interacting with the crowd and the rest of the band (particularly with bassist Sergio Vega, who had his name chanted a few times and looked like he was in his natural environment onstage). The band just seemed at their happiest and closest at this point in their history.

And despite supporting their latest release, “Koi No Yokan”, they only played a couple of tracks from the album (a ‘couple’ being Poltergeist, Rosemary, Entombed, Tempest and Swerve City) and featured a larger number of fan favourites from other albums: “White Pony” made its appearance through Passenger, Change (In The House Of Flies), Feiticeira; “Around The Fur” with Dai The Flu (dedicated to original bassist Chi Cheung), My Own Summer (Shove It), Headup and Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away); “Diamond Eyes” via Sextape, Rocket Skates and CMND/CTRL; the self-titled with Bloody Cape; and “Adrenaline” with Engine No.9 and 7 Words as the encore – the latter of the two being especially brutal to witness.

Needless to say (and unsurprisingly) Deftones killed it and gave more than what the ticket price was worth. By the amount of grinning, sweaty faces I saw once the lights came back on, I think you’d be lucky to find anyone who’d disagree.

Simply unmissable.

Review by Rich Reviewz

Album Review: Cult Of Luna ‘Vertikal’

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Cult Of Luna Vertikal reviewCult Of Luna – Vertikal
Genre: Post-metal/Doom metal
Label: Indie Recordings

Cult Of Luna are a septet from Sweden, who are known worldwide yet have a, dare I say it, cult-like following – not one of the first names you think of in post/doom metal, but definitely one of the most praised and respected in the genres. Generally slow-paced, the band never depend solely on their tempo and grumbling guitar tones alone, often bringing in the softer and ambient influences of post-rock into the mix.

So “Vertikal” is the follow-up to 2008’s mighty “Eternal Kingdom”, and is the first album without vocalist Klas Rydberg – however, this loss has definitely not broken Cult Of Luna by any means. “Vertikal” is a concept album (unlike the set-up for the press during “Eternal Kingdom”) and is based on Fritz Lang’s dystopian science fiction Metropolis, released in 1927, while the Weimar Republic was still in in power in post-WWI Germany. Although the film plot is far too detailed to talk about here, Metropolis focused on class differences and distance, featuring an industrial city suffering under a ruler obsessed with wealth.

So you can imagine with this theme in the members’ minds during the creation of this album that we can expect Cult Of Luna to darken their sound… which is exactly what they did. However, electronic influences appear more prominent than ever, contributing to both atmospheric and industrial sounds during parts of this album. There’s also less of the post-metal vibe here, and perhaps more of a progressive sludge sound – yes, the Isis and Mouth Of An Architect comparisons can still be made at times, but a Neurosis influence is far more obvious throughout the album.

The opening track The One is simply an ambient/electronic intro, starting with dull, echoed thuds before a throbbing drone accompanied by soft keys, rising and falling, join in the digital soundscape. Then I: The Weapon starts with roared vocals and mid-paced juttering guitars – the sound that is easily identified as Cult Of Luna’s signature sound. This continues for a while until the guitars fade away a bit, leaving the drums and bass pound along with synthy keys. The band plays with tension slightly, before hopping into a light groove. The electronics keep interjecting at moments, alternating with growling drone lines, the very proggy Isis keys or just a clean keyboard sound. It’s lovely.

Next is the longest track on the album at just under a staggering 19-minutes. Vicarious Redemption is an epic (in the true sense of the word) journey – going through more sections and changes than you care to count. The track opens with a haunting ambient drone while some percussion slips into it; this very sound is enough to send chills down your spine. This atmosphere proceeds to linger for the first 4-minutes or so, before morphing into a lighter tone when soft, reverbed guitars come in, creating the post-rock vibe. It then returns shortly to the darkness before, sludgier guitars coming in sparingly, almost as if Neurosis themselves are jamming with Luna.

This continues for the majority of the song, except for one spectacular moment just over the 11-minute mark that just jumps on you with no warning: ELECTRONIC WOBS. People may very well link it to dubstep (it’s inescapable these days), but it’s so dark and seething (and there’s no “drop” or anything like that). It’s just a wobbling bassline… and it sounds incredibly evil, especially as the vocals roar in some sort of warp. Then the rest of the band kicks back in, and continues as before, but still reminding you of that incredible moment you never saw coming.

The Sweep opens with zappy synths that sounds like something you’d expect from a nu-wave band; this might sound terrible in writing, but it’s actually pulled off well. The track features little to no of the whole band – at least to the point where it’s pretty hard recognise any guitars if there is any. The fifth track, Synchronicity, has a big Godflesh vibe to it with the ringing guitar and the mechanical-sounding drums, as well as injections of background effects and industrial quips – and that’s basically it.

Mute Departure takes a more standard Cult Of Luna approach but after the band has listened to Celtic Frost’s A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh a hundred times. It has the similar creeping, mournful guitars backed by a haunting piano as tribal-sounding drums pound in the background. Eventually the explosion of the band comes, but finishes pretty quickly, falling into a mellower section, and then returning to the same style as the “explosion” part. It is perhaps the most obvious track on the album, but it’s still really enjoyable.

Disharmonia is basically 45-second ambient interlude, very much along the lines of something you’d expect from Nine Inch Nails’ “Ghosts I-IV”; which brings the only complaint that this interlude could have been stretched a little longer, because it’s so soothing and lulls you. But perhaps this is meant to bring you into a false sense of security as In Awe Of suddenly interrupts with low chugging guitars, as louder layers are added quickly. You get these glittering echoed guitars at parts with the rhythm rolling onwards slowly, as well as some big luscious feedback play accompanied by electronics. The vocals are pretty sparse too, making it much easier to lose yourself in the whole thing.

Then we arrive at the last track Passing Through, which starts with the almost lazily picked guitars as clean vocals intertwine, with lines like “All is quiet, empty streets / All is quiet, the city sleeps / Close my eyes, on my knees / And time’s passing me by”; soon followed with twinkling glockenspiel. The atmosphere is just so heavy yet sounds so simple and innocent at the same time. Another guitar and the keyboard joins in, ever so subtly (and bringing a slight Isis feel again), as the vocals simple “ahhh” distantly to the end. A completely fulfilling and enlightening way to close the album.

It’s safe to say that Cult Of Luna have opened 2013 with an undeniable metal titan of an album; while showing no fear to experiment with their sound and to blur the boundaries. “Vertikal” will challenge any long standing Cult Of Luna fan, but not in an excluding way, but more as an eye-opener. The introduction or furthering of influences are far from offensive or distasteful: this is as smooth a change in sound as a slow bend is in a river.

There’s also one thing that’s to be said and that is the vocals are far better on this album than ever before, just sounding stronger and not so strained/raspy. The vocals are definitely an improvement here, and with the electronic influence, they make “Vertikal” a far more enjoyable album to sit through from beginning to end, which has personally been a problem with some previous releases. If you’re a Cult Of Luna fan, then this album should be no problem for you… it may just well be their best.

9/10
Favourite tracks: Vicarious Redemption, Passing Through, I: The Weapon.

Review by Rich Reviewz

BUY Cult Of Luna Merch HERE

Album Review: The Bronx ‘IV’

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The_Bronx_IVThe Bronx –  IV
Genre: Rock / Punk
Label: White Drugs/ATO Records.

Finally, after a long wait for a new The Bronx album (as good as their Mariachi project is, well… we need more of The Bronx!), their fourth release comes to light five years after their previous self-titled effort. The quintet are made up by energetic vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bassist Brad Magers and drummer Jorma Vik.

They originally started off as a hardcore punk band, with more emphasise on the punk part, but over time the guys have slowly moved away from the aggressive sound of their first two releases. This release sees another leap in the change of their style, not moving more towards punk, but past it, and further into straight forward rock’n’roll.

This is undeniably the catchiest and most accessible the band has ever sounded, but it’s far from a bad thing at all: they pull it off! Matt’s raspy vocals suit the style just as much as his mixture of screams and singing suited the punk style of their previous albums, and his focus on clean vocals here is nothing short of charming.

The album opens with The Unholy Hand at fast pace and the opening lyrics instantly grab your attention “They’ve got you working on the weekdays / They’ve got you working on the weekends too / I know you’re swallowing your paycheck / Like it’s what you always dreamed you’d do”. The instrumentation and structure of the song is pretty straightfoward, and this attribute rings through the following tracks for the most part of the album, but not in the predictably tiresome way.

Along For The Ride has an upbeat jittery riff and Matt sounds lighter, almost as if smooth-coating the overall sound. The chorus is just ridiculously catchy and unforgettable – something you could easily imagine as a soundtrack to a Jackass film trailer, or cruising along to in your car during the summer. Style Over Everything is perhaps the first track that doesn’t strike as a stand-out track despite having a fairly big sound for The Bronx, it just never really goes anywhere, despite being moderately enjoyable.

The fourth track Youth Wasted has a bit of a punk twang to it but stays so light, and with lyrics like “Youth is not wasted on the young”, it has a happy reminiscent feel to it. Too Many Devils sounds like The Bronx unifying the styles of Floor and Jucifer with it’s guitar and drumming, respectively. Again, the chorus is just very catchy. And then Pilot Light changes the pace, slowing it down slightly with it’s stomping verses, and is way catchier than the chorus, almost majestic and obnoxious in its own way that you can’t imagine Matt doing anything else but pulling some Freddy Mercury moves during it.

Dare it be said, seventh track Torches sounds incredibly Weezer-ish at parts due to its pop-sensibility, and while this might make long-term fans want to snort in disgust… well, The Bronx make it sound really good! The lead guitar with its semi-clean arpeggio and the bursting chorus really sounds like it’s The Bronx’s very own My Name Is Jonas.

Unfortunately, the following track is slightly forgettable as Under The Rabbit doesn’t really bring anything to the table, and feels a bit of a rehash of what you hear in some of the previous tracks. Ribcage is another track that has a slight punk feel to it, instrumentally and lyrically, but again feels so light-hearted that it doesn’t have you feeling like starting a riot but thinking about your best summer.

Valley Heat, while again covering the same ground as a few previous tracks, just has this infectious melody that sounds like a sped-up Sweet Child O’ Mine during the verses, without the sleaze. But then you’re given the only downright morose track on the album, Life Less Ordinary, and as odd as it may sound, is really refreshing at this point in the album. The sobering introspective lyrics “I’m not ashamed to say I’ve lost my mind /Been walking backwards my whole life / Some might say there’s a price I pay /For a life less ordinary” grab your full attention with raw beauty. Plus the coughs and low hums that you hear makes the track feel pure and authentic.

Following with the closer Last Revelation, with its up-beat instrumentation, feels slightly disjointed at first considering the nature of the previous track, but you soon forget about it with its carefree attitude and chorus-focused style.

While “IV” might edge close to being overly repetitive at times, it’s near impossible to feel cheated or claustrophobic, as such is the case with bands that fall into the habit of repetition. Considering most tracks on this album rarely reach the 3-minute mark either, you find yourself putting some songs on over and over again for that particular chorus or verse, as the album just flies by when you’re subjected to so many catchy moments with this.

As the aggression that seethed within The Bronx during their earlier releases shrinks further and further away, this is an equally enjoyable album to those efforts. Yes, the spiteful angst is something that made those albums great and addictive, but there’s no reason a long-term fan should find this hard to sit through. Plus if the band is as happy as the music suggests, then it seems like they’re not leaving us any time soon, and that’s something to take comfort in.

7.9/10
Favourite tracks: Life Less Ordinary, Torches, Along For The Ride.

Review by Rich Reviewz

The 1st Music Video: Commission to Completion

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What’s up friends. Thanks for giving me a few minutes of your time yet again. Today I want to talk about music videos. Aside from an album, they’re probably the most anticipated part of being in a band. Unfortunately, they’re also one of the harder things to pull off well. However, if you and your band are willing to work your ass off, you can create a nice product that doesn’t cost too much. Let’s start by talking about what you need to make one.

You’ve got a band, so we’ll skip that. Next you’ll need someone who can shoot (maybe more than one), someone to direct, someone to light the shoot and someone to edit. That’s the bare essentials. That list can be way bigger but if you’ve got at least that, you can pull this off. If you’re lucky, you might be able to find someone who can do all 4 of those, but you need someone who can do all 4 of those well. Lighting makes the difference between a good idea and a good idea that looks great, and in my opinion, there is no person more important than the editor. A good editor can work wonders on even the poorest film.

If you don’t know any of these people there are several ways to find them. First, look at other bands in your area who have music videos and ask them who shot theirs. If there are none (or they all look like crap) try posting an add in a classified. You’d be surprised how many young filmmakers will be interested in working cheap to build their portfolio. Lastly, find your local film school and reach out to the students there. You may find people there who are just learning but they will have access to all the equipment they need and will need to film projects for their class and future.

If you’re fortunate enough to have multiple options (who will work for the money you have) you can ask them to write treatments. You and your band will then be able to choose which story line you like best and of course work with that director to modify the idea if needed. It’s important to research the directors past work though. Many times directors will write a treatment for a video they’d like to make, but that doesn’t mean they can make it. If you have your own idea, or only one director to work with, you can develop the treatment together. It’s important to note that a music video is a work of art created with another artist so make sure that the directors ideas are part of the end product. If they are not excited about it, you won’t get the best product possible.

One important note about treatments. It is extremely important to make sure that any actors you want to hire for the video can actually act. Bad acting in a narrative scene will ruin an entire video. This also means that if none of the members of your band are also actors, then none of you should be acting in the video. You don’t have to make a movie. A well shot band performance makes a great video as well and in general, you’d rather have the end product look great than try to do too much and have it all look cheap. A good director will have ideas that can add to it as well. Ethereal film work can be done anywhere so it doesn’t have to cost much and it can add a lot to the finished product.

Once you have your treatment picked you and your band will likely need to do quite a bit of work helping find a location and of course getting gear to it. Be sure to be early and ready to work hard. The filming process will take longer than you expect and when you’re exchanging money for sweat, there is no such thing as being a rockstar. Get ready to work.

Of course, none of this matters if you don’t perform well, and this is going to be unlike any performance you’ve ever done. To begin with, you’re going to be acting like you’re playing while also trying to listen to a recording of your music being played back from the other side of a room. I can’t stress enough the importance of a playback system loud enough for all to hear. If you don’t have professional dead cymbals, you can double stack your cymbals which will deaden them considerably. You will probably still need to hide a monitor somewhere close to the drummer either way though. If you’re the singer, get ready for a hard day. Your mouth needs to match the lyrics perfectly and I’m betting you don’t sing along to your own album often. You don’t have to fake it if you’re not comfortable either. You can sing at full volume just be prepared that it’s going to make it that much harder for you to her playback.

The most important thing to tell your band is that every member needs to perform like the camera is on them 100% of the time. Chances are even if they’re not directly on camera, they’re in the background and if they’re just standing there, they’re ruining the shot. Bring it like it’s your last performance ever, and yes, you’ll need to film the whole song a bunch of times. It’s not unusual to do as many as 20 full passes plus closeups of individual members.

If you do all of that and have a good editor, you’ll be happy with the final product. One last piece of advice, if you have to make a choice between spending money on a location or props and spending money on a good camera and lights – choose the camera and lights. Best of luck and post your videos here! I’d love to see them!

Here is the music video for the song ‘… And Hell Followed With Him’. This is the 1st music video created for Jason’s band IKILLYA.

Best Of 2012: Our Top 10 Albums List

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So here we are. We have almost made it through 2012. Today could be our last day if the Mayan calendar is correct and the world is due to end tomorrow, 21st December but fingers crossed we still have a little more time to enjoy some more great music.

Way back in April we posted our first 4 month round-up of our favourite albums of the year to date. This was followed up 4 months later with another list in August and as promised, here we are 4 months later at the end of the year ready to share some more top picks of the past 4 months as well as our Top 10 albums of 2012 list.

So here we go!
First off, here is a selection of new releases that we have been enjoying since our last post in August:

ZZ Top – La Futura
Soundgarden – King Animal
Feed The Rhino – The Burning Sons
Bury Tomorrow – The Union Of Crowns
Katatonia – Dead End Kings
The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten
Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
While She Sleeps – This Is The Six
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Two Door Cinema Club – Beacon
NOFX – NOFX
The Killers – Battle Born
Mumford & Sons – Babel
Down – Down IV Part I
Devin Townsend – Epicloud
Muse – The 2nd Law
Lower Than Atlantis – Changing Tune
Bob Mould – Silver Age
Coheed And Cambria – The Afterman
Hooded Menace – Effigies Of Evil
Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind
Kiss – Monster
Anaal Nathrakh – Vanitas
Enslaved – RIITIIR
Pig Destroyer – Book Burner
Fear Factory – The Industrialist
Blood On The Dance Floor – Anthem Of The Outcast
Family – Portrait
Black Country Communion – Afterglow
And You Will Kow Us By The Trail Of Dead – Lost Songs
alt J – An Awesome Wave
Aerosmith – Music From Another Dimension
The Rolling Stones – GRRR
Rolo Tomassi – Astraea
Deftones – Koi No Yokan
Call Me No One – Last Parade
Focus – X

So after much deliberation and discussion we have managed to reach a decision on our top 10 albums of 2012. Take a look and leave a comment with your top 10 list.

(In no order)
Soundgarden – King Animal
Enslaved – RIITIIR
Black Country Communion – Afterglow
Rush – Clockwork Angels
Deftones – Koi No Yokan
Tank – War Nation
Gojira – L’Enfant Sauvage
Anathema – Weather Systems
Black Breath – Sentenced To Life
Bob Mould – Silver Age

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Album Review: Soundgarden ‘King Animal’

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king-animal

Soundgarden – King Animal
Genre: Rock
Label: Republic Records

Soundgarden, perhaps known as “that band that did Black Hole Sun”, left a big mark in rock music worldwide in the 90s in the rise and peak of grunge fascination. Although the band did get caught up in the whole Seattle grunge scene, along with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Screaming Trees, etc., Soundgarden had a big southern rock and metallic influence with their dirty approach to rock music.

Despite starting in 1984, it was only in 1991 that they experienced international success with undeniably great “Badmotorfinger”, and furthered that success with the fan favourite album “Superunknown” in 1994. Both albums launched the band to the front of music magazines around the globe, and gave the world rock anthems like Jesus Christ Pose, Rusty Cage, Spoonman and Fell On Black Days. However, the follow-up album, “Down On The Upside”, didn’t quite live up to the standards of the previous two albums, although achieving Platinum sales in the US, Canada and Australia. Tension in the band and clashes for future motives and directions of the music then culminated in their break-up in 1997.

This led to a series of new projects for each member; the most popular being vocalist Chris Cornell with Audioslave and his solo career. Guitarist Kim Thayil went an underground route, working with the likes of punk legend Jello Biafra, Dave Grohl’s collaborative project Probot and even featured on the Sunn O))) and Boris album “Altar”. Bassist Ben Shepard worked with another grunge idol Mark Lanegan and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, while drummer Matt Cameron momentarily joined The Smashing Pumpkins and eventually joining Pearl Jam full time.

Many years later, this leads us to now. In 2010, the guys decided to put past disputes aside and have reunited to give us their sixth album, finally releasing a new album “King Animal” in 2012. As expected, pressure is always on for a band that has built its own legacy and popularity worldwide, left and to return well over a decade with new material… and Soundgarden has done well.

The first track and single, Been Away Too Long, a title well chosen, starts the album in fourth gear and borrows a huge influence from Led Zeppelin with its guitar-driven sound and Chris Cornell’s signature raspy, old-school rock voice has aged a little, sounding a little coarser, but this only adds to the atmosphere. None-State Actor starts with a skipping and sliding bass, sounding a lot like something you might expect from a psychedelic stoner band, and is a lot more prominent in the overall mix than the guitar. There’s also the use of an organ keys and the good ol’ cowbell, furthering the old rock’n’roll vibes.

By Crooked Steps returns to a heavier sound that Soundgarden were known for before and features perhaps the most memorable riff; highlighting Thayil’s pretty intricate guitar within overlapping layers. It’s the nearest to their old song that you get on the album, and it’s great! On the other hand, the following track A Thousand Days Before is cleaner, and again its the skipping guitar lines that steal the show; however the rest of it can be a little forgettable.

Unfortunately this is the case for a few songs on the album, either due to forgettable lyrics/vocals and predictable song structures – something that Soundgarden had previously been known for being experimental in. Blood On The Valley turns out to be the prime example of this; just being a tad monotonous with its slow jam approach, and while it is relaxing it is ultimately skippable too. However, sixth track Bones Of Birds turns it around completely, despite being another slow song. The slightly distorted, lethargic guitars along with Cornell’s vocals creates a nice mellow yet thoughtful atmosphere that really grabs your attention without trying.

Taree continues the ballad section of the album, but dips back to the same dryness of  Blood On The Valley, which is disappointing considering the heavy feel of Bones Of Birds. Thankfully, Attrition picks up the pace of the album again with a seductive ZZ Top-like groove, Cornell’s vocals floating soothingly over the top of the driving instrumental. Black Saturday sees the band mostly acoustic, and it hooks you in with opening’s bongos and lines “Promise something / Kill me right away if I start to get slow / Don’t remember / How to separate the worm from the apple / Don’t wait ’til tomorrow”. Although the subject matter sounds dark, the delivery of it feels nothing but enlightening; easily making up for the previous dud tracks.

Then Halfway There is probably the most up-beat sounding song on the album, especially with lines like “Sometimes when you’re shooting an arrow it can fly across the sky so proud”. The guitar tone that appeared on their hit Black Hole Sun also emerges on this track, which works well with the reminiscent feel of the track. Tenth track Worse Dreams opens with low guitar sweeps as a lead drones on top; soon drums and the bass comes in with Cornell coming in last, slowly swelling into big rockin’ chorus. The track just has a real playful feel to it.

Eyelid’s Mouth starts off mellow with guitar effects and a jamming drum, before the the guitar settles into a lead groove backed by the bass, with backing vocals supporting Cornell on “Who let the water run down / Who let the river run dry” – making the track brooding yet enjoyable. The final track, Rowing, stands out in comparison with the rest of the album and an odd choice for a closer: the drums have an electronic yet live feel to them, with a low, fast-rolling bass (in very short bursts) but the vocal melody resonates the blues – it’s almost as if the band are prisoners working on building a railway in the warm sun. The track then fades out the same as it started, leaving you unsure of what you’ve just heard.

Overall, this seems like the lighter direction that Cornell had been fighting for towards their break-up all those years ago, because this album in comparison to the likes of “Badmotorfinger” and “Superunknown” is a big shift to a more mainstream sound; but it isn’t the bad thing. Yes, Soundgarden seem to have lost the grit and edge that made their music so impossible to turn down on “King Animal”, but they’ve proven that they can master the the more softer aesthetics of rock music just as well. Perhaps this is just a sign of the band warming up and cracking their knuckles for the future.

As I said, some tracks do come across as a bit linear and boring, but overall the album is pretty good as a whole. The experimental side is lacking, and again, it isn’t as heavy as some of their earlier material, but it’s a promising return for Soundgarden and certain tracks more than make up for the forgettable. For 13 years of being apart, this is a pretty solid release.

6.5/10
Favourite tracks: Black Saturday, By Crooked Steps, Bones Of Birds.

Review by Rich Reviewz

Grammy Nominations – The Expected and the Unexpected

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The nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards are officially in, and although most of the names on the various lists were already seen as shoe-ins, there were a few surprises here and there.  Taylor Swift and LL Cool J delivered the news via a series of awkwardly staged dialogues, but in the end we got the information we needed… though some of it was better news than others.

Perhaps no one was surprised that Justin Bieber didn’t get any nominations – no one but his manager, that is.  Scooter Braun took to Twitter after the ceremony was over, saying that he felt his client deserved to be recognized, and that he thought the Grammy board “blew it on this one.”

Nicki Minaj was likely also shocked that her album didn’t get any Grammy love this year.  It was a huge commercial success and full of catchy singles, but for some reason it just didn’t grab the attention of the voting committee.

Some, though, have commented that the exclusion of the darlings of cheap radio pop indicates that the music industry is finally waking up and seeing where the real talent is.  The nominee lists in many of the categories were rock– and alternative-heavy, with a strong leaning toward the folk and Americana side of the spectrum.  Gotye, Ed Sheeran, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Jack White all got nominations, and even Bjork managed to pick up a nod in the Alternative Music category.

Others, however, raked in nomination after nomination.  Six seemed to be the number of the night, with Frank Ocean, Fun. Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and Kanye West all pulling in six nominations each.  Fun. seemed particularly surprised by their success, even though they were told ahead of time that they were strong favorites to get nominated in several categories.  They weren’t sure whether to believe the hype, so they stopped listening to any rumors about the Grammys weeks ago, and described their reaction to the news as “emotional.”

Of course those who were surprised by the nominations should know by now that this is only the beginning – the 2013 Grammy Awards will air on February 10, and there are sure to be some upsets and triumphs on the night.

Are Gig & Concert Ticket Prices Becoming Too High?

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Tickets for the Rolling Stones’ 50th Anniversary concert at the O2 Arena last night (25th November 2012) were going for £1000+ for the best seats in the house and no less than £100 for anyone else.That’s huge money, but putting it into perspective, The Rolling Stones are a huge band that people are seriously excited to see.

Mick Jager had this to say at the show last night:

“It’s amazing that we’re still doing this, and it’s amazing that you’re still buying our records and coming to our shows,” Jagger said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

He also joked about the controversial price of the concert’s tickets:

“How are you doing up in the cheap seats?” he asked fans in the upper rows. “Except they’re not cheap seats, that’s the problem.”

Well here is something pretty cool! We can show you a big selection of some more reasonably priced gig tickets for the greatest acts of all time that we had the fortune of seeing back in their heyday. Check out Black Sabbath for £0.75, Rolling Stones £3, Pink Floyd £1.40.

View a Slide Show HERE: Concert Tickets – The Rolling Stones

I suppose one thing you need to remember is that in 1974 I was quite well paid on £18 a week! Are ticket prices too high now? Leave a comment with your thoughts and tell us about the prices that you have to pay to see your favourite bands & artists.