Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 28 , 2010. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Abigail Williams – In the Absence of Light (Candlelight/Lumberjack)
August Burns Red – Home [Live CD/DVD] (Solid State Records)
Bad Religion – The Dissent Of Man (Epitaph Records)
Kenny Chesney – Hemingway’s Whiskey (Sony Nashville)
Eric Clapton – Clapton (Reprise)
Phil Collins – Going Back (Atlantic)
Combichrist – Making Monsters (Metropolis Records) Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest(4AD Records)
Dimmu Borgir – Abrahadabra {EU} (Nuclear Blast)
Doobie Brothers – World Gone Crazy (HOR Records)
Electric Six – Zodiac (Metropolis Records) Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini(Nuclear Blast) – Adam Thomas
Gin Blossoms – No Chocolate Cake (429 Records) Glasser – Ring(True Panther Sounds)– Kiran Soderqvist
Halford – Made of Metal (Metal God Ent)
Ingram Hill – Look Your Best (Rock Ridge Music)
InMe – Phoenix: The Very Best of InMe (Indie Europe)
Ice Cube – I Am The West (Lench Mob) Jimmy Eat World – Invented(David Geffen Company)
KMFDM – Greatest Sh*t (Metropolis Records)
James LaBrie – Static Impulse (Inside Out U.S.)
Lazerbeak – Legend Recognize Legend (Doomtree)
Mark Ronson And The Business International – Record Collection (RCA)
Nellie McKay – Home Sweet Mobile Home (Verve Forecast)
MSWhite – Squares (Rise Records)
Mushroomhead – Beautiful Stories for…
To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets, email your full name along with confirmation that you’ll be available to attend to sputnikreviews@gmail.com.
OK, this is pretty old (witness the 9.6 million plays), but it really needs to be seen to be believed. You’ll never listen to ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ the same way again, and if you’re anything like me it’s a life-altering event on the scale of losing the use of one’s legs. But in a good way.
International woman of mystery and self-appointed spokesperson for all gay people in the world ever Lady Gaga has recorded a message (not actually an “address” – shoot me) aimed at the United States Senate, appealing for the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy to be abolished.
Stefani’s speaking voice makes her seem kind of slow, and there’s the most awkward phone ringing sequence ever in the middle, but it’s still worth watching whether you agree or disagree with the central premise.
Over the last decade metal has made a huge resurgence. This popularity has inspired a lot of bands to make a deliberate return to their roots (Metallica, Megadeth, etc). It has also prompted the reformation of quite a few long-defunct bands from the past (Believer, Anacrusis, etc). You can now add Connecticut’s Indestructible Noise Command (aka I.N.C.) to that list.
I.N.C. formed in 1985 and quickly recorded their first album, Razorback. The album was quirky but heavy with an underlying sense of humor that was missing from most thrash at the time. It was enough to allow them to play with bands such as Megadeth, Exodus and King Diamond. Their second album, The Visitors, built on everything that fans loved about Razorback and garnered even more attention for the band – Pantera, in their infancy, even opened for I.N.C. at one time. One of the more unique elements that I.N.C. had going for them was the vocals of Dennis Gergely. His voice provided a bit of a hardcore/metal crossover vibe at a time when only a few bands were doing it (most notably D.R.I.). Due to a lack of solid label support and funding, the band took an indefinite hiatus shortly after the release of their second album, and that was the end of the story – until now.
I.N.C. are back with a fresh set of songs that are heavier and darker than anything they did in…
With the events of last week still fresh in my mind, I’ve been able to reflect on the contrasting Guns N’ Roses-related experiences the past couple of months have thrown my way.
Last Wednesday, I was treated to the most bizarre concert-going experience of my life, as Axl Rose showed up an hour late for the fourth show running, got pissy with the audience for booing him and subsequently left the stage when a water bottle was thrown limply in his general direction from the crowd. A third of the crowd had left by the time he returned, 45 minutes later, to sleepwalk through his contractually obligated set. I’m still not entirely sure what to think of it all.
Compared with my experience when Slash came to town in June… well, there is no comparison. The man took to the stage on time and blasted through a mix of cuts from his recent solo CD, old Guns and Velvet Revolver hits and even a couple of Snakepit songs for the diehards. Frontman Myles Kennedy (better known for his work with Creed offshoot Alter Bridge) was a bit of a let-down… at least, it seemed that way, until Slash belatedly revealed that Kennedy had been suffering from flu and had barely been able to speak all day.
It’s an interesting contrast: the self-absorbed rock star who can’t even bring himself to show up for a $10 million-dollar gig on time, and a true professional who will play…
After watching a number of reality television shows, specifically Survivor, the music tends to be a dead giveaway in challenges. Often, you will find a climax or crescendo for any attempt, such as shooting coconuts in a basket. Along with that, you will hear a triumphant crescendo as a team is about to win. Here is an example of the music in reality television shows, in this upcoming years The Amazing Race. I will let the video speak for itself, but listen to the music as the events unfold as this contestant tries to hurl a watermelon at a knight in shining armor.
Yes, I just wrote a blog about reality television so I could show Sputnikmusic’s readers the most incredible moment of reality television challenge.
On Sunday, the biggest clouds in the sky were those made of dirt and dust kicked up at every stage from dancing. Unlike Saturday, Sunday brought fewer early birds, likely because of the exhaustion from the day before, and a slightly weaker initial line-up. The weather was once again picturesque. When I arrived, I really had no set plan of who I would see until Laidback Luke. Therefore, I started the day the Red Bull Music Academy Riverside Stage where XXXChange was playing to a pintsize crowd of about 50 to 100 people while there had to have been over 750 people at the time and stage the day before. There simply was not much of a buzz at any tent early on, even if XXXChange was dropping mixes of DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat.” However, D. Ramirez was slowly sucking everyone to the Hilltop Arena where all of the local house favorites were blasting while Jon Hopkins was luring a more IDM crowd with his haunting beats, something that was out of the ordinary at Electric Zoo, in a good way.
Trying to find some shade in the afternoon sun.
On a side note, the tents set up at the Red Bull Music Academy Riverside Stage and Hilltop Area were perfectly sized and positioned, especially if it had rained. Unfortunately, a few feet outside of the tent and the sound quality was unbearable. In…
This past Labor Day weekend brought magnificent weather to the New York City area, as Hurricane Earl bypassed the area completely, allowing the second edition of the Electric Zoo festival to thrive. For a total of 24 hours split between Saturday and Sunday, Randall’s Island was New York City’s hottest club, and potentially a newfound earthquake hotspot. Booming beats resonating from four precisely placed stages likely sent the rest of the island humming.
Festival goers dressed in green latex suits, deer costumes, and tiger body paint, among other bizarre outfits littered the grounds, provided a unique flavor of diversity. While the average stereotype of dance music and the New York area would assume that it would be thousands of juicehead guidos with blowouts, it was hardly the case, in fact quite the opposite. The mix of concert goers among the 25,000 plus each day was welcoming to all sorts of characters geared with pacifiers and surgical masks.
Starting off on Saturday, LA Riots brought early excitement, mixing Estelle’s “Freak” with distorted beats while catching onto the infectious “Pon de Floor” by Major Lazer in what proved to be a house filled weekend. Forty minutes felt like five minutes during LA Riots set as climaxes and crescendos came at perfectly timed moments. After a glorious start, I quickly made the rash and hasty decision of watching Boris (not to be confused with Japanese noise-rockers Boris) at the Main Stage, whose set was slightly disappointing and underwhelming. Coupled with…
As part of my ongoing efforts to educate the masses about an archaic musical genre that nobody really liked in the first place, I’ll be highlighting some of the forgotten classics (i.e. all of them) of the hair metal era. Anybody who had harboured any lingering respect for me up to this point will soon see the error of his ways.
George Lynch formed Lynch Mob after the original line-up of Dokken disintegrated in 1989.
Their one and only hit album, Wicked Sensation, was released in 1990. Singer Oni Logan left soon afterward, and the band flagged badly as grunge trounced hair metal in everything but the style stakes. The band endured a volatile ’90s, breaking up and reforming regularly, though 1998 proved a particular low point as they attempted to capitalise upon the popularity of rap-rock with Smoke This – think Tommy Lee’s Methods of Mayhem but way, way shitter.
‘Wicked Sensation’ is the opening track, the title track and the best track on their debut album. Vocalist Oni Logan isn’t particularly distinctive a singer, but Lynch found him nigh-on-impossible to replace, and it’s not hard to work out why on this impossibly catchy pop-metal number.
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‘We Used To Wait’ is one of the more interesting tracks on Arcade Fire’s third album, the Suburbs, both from a musical and lyrical perspective.
Here, Brooklyn indie rockers the Drums take the song on a completely different course. The cover, recorded for BBC’s Live Lounge with Huw Stephens, resembles more closely a less jangly version of the Cure, in stark contrast to the original’s glossy barrelhouse piano-led arrangement.
MP3: The Drums – ‘We Used To Wait’ (Arcade Fire cover)
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As part of my ongoing efforts to educate the masses about an archaic musical genre that nobody really liked in the first place, I’ll be highlighting some of the forgotten classics (i.e. all of them) of the hair metal era. Anybody who had harboured any lingering respect for me up to this point will soon see the error of his ways.
#1: Tigertailz – ‘Love Bomb Baby’
Spare a thought for Tigertailz – not alone did the group’s breakthrough album Bezerk unfortunately coincide with the popping of the hair metal bubble, but they’ve also been forced to deal with the eternal indignity of being Welsh. They never stood a chance.
Having said that, Tigertailz can always console themselves with the dubious honour of being the UK’s most successful hair metal act… ever! (Def Leppard notwithstanding, the Sheffield quartet being of an earlier vintage). Bezerk was released in 1990 to mild applause, with infectious lead single ‘Love Bomb Baby’ and obligatory power ballad ‘Heaven’ (not a patch on the Warrant track of the same name) driving album sales above a respectable quarter of a million.
Musically, Tigertailz were always more Motley Crue and Accept than Poison or Pretty Boy Floyd, but ‘Love Bomb Baby’ is the exact opposite: pure bubblegum pop wrapped in a driving, hard rock shell. Remarkably, given the genre’s track record, the “love bomb” in question does not, in fact, refer to the singer’s penis (or anyone else’s).
Dimmu Borgir released “Gateways (Edit)” from their upcoming album, Abrahadabra, last Tuesday through iTunes (and probably other digital retailers). On a whim, I decided to buy the track to see if I should be looking forward to the whole CD or not – it didn’t really help. It doesn’t help because “Gateways” is different enough from their previous releases that it’s hard to tell if it is a one-off or if it is representative of the whole album.
For one, there are two different sections that contain female vocals and neither of them turns out to be cheesy. The first section with female vocals is shouted in an almost punk-like manner, and the second section is more of a choir effect (think Therion not Cradle of Filth). Both sections were surprising because it’s a new direction for the band, and also because it actually worked. Another thing about the song is that it is much slower and more melodic than what is typical of a Dimmu Borgir track. I’m not trying to say that it’s pop or anything, but it’s definitely much more accessible. Those that actually care about the band have probably read that the album features another full orchestra, but unlike Death Cult Armageddon, “Gateways” isn’t overpowered by it. The song is more of an equal partnership between the riffs and the orchestral parts.
So, this song didn’t really help at all. If the whole album pushes the band’s sound like this song did then things might…
A couple of weeks ago Sputnikmusic’s own Ryan Flatleyinterviewed DJ Pretty Lights in preparation for his performance this upcoming weekend at the massive NYC dance festival Electric Zoo. Headlining that festival is Dutch trance DJ/producer/radio show host Armin van Buuren, who’s gearing up for his fourth album release in September by playing nearly nonstop this past year. And when DJ Magazine has voted you the #1 DJ in the world for three straight years, gigs aren’t exactly in short supply. We were lucky enough to catch up with Armin before his headlining appearance at the UK’s definitive dance festival Creamfields this past weekend.
Rudy Klapper: Being the number one DJ in the world is a pretty demanding job, particularly when you’ve been voted the best multiple years as you have. How has 2010 been turning out so far as you gear up for your album release?
Armin van Buuren: Well, it’s been really, really phenomenal. I thought last year was sort of the peak for myself but this year I’m releasing my new album, I’ve been doing a little less DJing in general because I want to focus on that. But I still toured South America and North America, some stuff in Asia. But yeah, in the summer though I’ve just been full on doing a gig almost every day and it’s been really fantastic. Now I have 21 new tracks finished and I’m very proud.
