The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,500 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 42 trips to carry that many people.
In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into solo record from former lead singer of Pantera. I am talking about Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals and their record Walk Through Exits Only. We will get into the history of the band and then the music. Let us get into the history.
History:
Phil Anselmo joined Pantera in 1987. The rest is history for this great 1990’s power house. Pantera had several hits in mainstream and several in metal world. Towards the middle of 1990’s with Pantera, Phil joined a super group called Down in 1991. It was a side project but later become his main band. Down had a few hits in the metal world. In 2003, Pantera broke up and that led to the shooting and death of one of the founding members of Pantera, who was Dimebag Darrell in 2004. There has been rumors after rumors of reuniting of Pantera. It might never happen. Down was his main band until Superjoint Ritual was formed early 1990’s but did not release their records until early 2000’s. In 2011, Phil decided to work on a solo record and it was later released in 2013. Let us get into the music.
Song List:
Music Media Is My Whore
It has a nice heavy and fast pace guitar. Nice drumming with well written bass playing. I love the pace. It reminds me of a faster heavier Pantera. I love the lyrics and singing. I love the guitar solo towards the middle of the song. The singing and some of the music reminds more as his days in the band called Down. This is a great opening track.
Battalion Of Zero
The music from the second track is just as fast and heavy as the opening track. I love the pace and the singing. I love the touch of the effects on this vocals. I love the drumming and bass playing. The guitar playing sounds the same as the first track. Phil has written some nice lyrics on “Battalion Of Zero.” The ending is pretty interesting. It has a nice creepy piano playing. I like it.
Betrayed
“Betrayed” is slower than the first two songs. I love the pace. This song sounds different from the first two songs. I love the guitar playing. Phil singing great with some great lyrics. There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song. To me, it sounds like the guitar player is playing the same riff over and over again through the song. They could not write another few riffs to break it up.
Usurper Bastard’s Rant
This song is beyond fast. It is a little too fast for my taste. This song sounds like pure white noise. I love Phil’s singing and lyrics. The music is pretty good asides for the speed of the song. The guitar playing is off the charts. I love the short guitar solos. I love the music and singing towards the end of the song.
Walk Through Exits Only
I love the music and singing at the beginning of the title track. The drumming on this song is awesome. This song is short and to the point.
Bedroom Destroyer
Some of Phil’s singing does not really go well with the music. This has to me my favorite song off this record so far. It is hard to understand the singing on this song. I can not comment on the lyrics. There is some nice guitar playing towards the end. I am not liking the effects on the bass guitar at the end.
Bedridden
This is a fast and to the point song. I love the lyrics. The music is better than the rest of the songs. I love how they call on his punk influence. I love the guitar playing towards the of the song. I love the ending of this song.
Irrelevant Walls And Computer Screens
This is the longest song on the record. I love the beginning with the music and the singing. They put some thought into the guitar playing on this song. I love the drumming and bass playing. I love the guitar solo and dueling between the two guitars. Even though there is only one guitar player in this band. I love how Phil has taken some other song titles and threw them into this song’s lyrics. The music on this track gets better and better as the song goes deeper. The ending and the back half of the song is pretty interesting music. It is the same thing over and over but it works.
Line Up:
Here is his website and twitter addresses:
Website: www.philanselmo.com
Twitter: @philiphanselmo
In closing, I was pretty excited to see that Phil came out with some new music and I love the fact Phil is still out there making music. I was a pretty big fan of Pantera back in the early 1990’s. I love some of the songs off his first solo record. I just feel he could have done better than this record. I can see people enjoying this record. All the music from track to track sounds the same. It is like they took a few riffs and used them in all the songs. The last song was a little different. The guitar player put some thought and wrote some great riffs on it. This is not his finest work but it is not his worse. I love how the record is short and to the point. If you are a Pantera or just a Phil fan, I recommend you checking out this record. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Cheers!
Bill DJ Weiser
Email: djweiser13@comcast.net
Twitter: @djweiser
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,500 times in 2013. If it were a cable car, it would take about 42 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
Thanks For The Support!
Bill DJ Weiser
In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into an up and coming artist, which is The Ongoing Concept. Saloon is their first record and only studio recording from this young band. There is not much history on this band. They are signed to one of the biggest record labels, which is Solid State, in metalcore. Let us get into this record.
Song List:
Let’s Deal The Cards Again
There is some nice saloon sounds like back in the wild west times. There are people talking in the bar. It is a nice intro song for this record.
Saloon
The music is in your face and heavy. The piano is like wild west time sound. The singer is screaming and does get into some clear vocals. I love the bend of different types of music. This is a pretty good opening track for their first record. Ongoing Concept has written some nice lyrics and music. I love the ending of the song.
You Are The One
I love the singing and the beat at the beginning. The singing is like old church singing. I love the music and the singing. There is some nice lyrics on this song. This is a pretty good record so far into track number three. I love the guitar playing on “You Are The One.” I love the drumming towards the end of the song with some awesome singing. They put some thought behind this song.
Cover Girl
I love the drumming and the singing. It is just right into the main part of the song. It is straight up in your face. I love the guitar, drumming, and bass playing. The singing is very good with some well written lyrics. They wrote some nice music. I love how they used the banjo on “Cover Girl” during the main part of the song. It is not over the top and annoying but it is used just right. I love the singing towards the end of the song. It reminds me of the beginning of Van Halen’s “Ice Cream Man.” I love how they put the focus on the banjo at the end.
Little Situation
I love the acoustic at the beginning with some nice clean vocals. I love the beat of this song. There is some well written lyrics on this song too. This song is pretty heavy just like the first few songs. It is a nice break and change pace on this record. I love how they let the bass player loose on this song. The guitar and drumming are spot on and well written. There is some nice guitar work towards the middle of the song. I love how they came back to the acoustic guitar towards the end of the song. I love the build up in the last-minute of the song to end the song.
Sunday’s Revival
I love the classic hard rock sound on the guitar. There is a nice drum beat with a nice simple bass playing. I am not really a fan of the singing and the lyrics. I love the music. It reminds of something from the late 1980’s to the mid 1990’s. This is not my favorite song on this record it is still pretty good. It has a pretty good ending.
Sidelines
I love the singing and piano playing at the beginning of “Sidelines.” This song sounds like something in the mainstream music today. There is some well written lyrics and music. I really enjoyed listening to this song. He is pouring out his soul into this song. The mid part is where the rest of the band comes into play. I love drumming and bass playing. I am not a fan of the ending.
Failures And Fakes
I love the touch on the organ at the beginning and throughout the song. I love the music with some nice lyrics. I love the singing on this song. I love the melody on the singer. I love how he goes from clean to distorted singing. There is some nice guitar playing towards the end of this song. I love the build up to an awesome ending to the song.
Like Autumn
I love the piano but do not like the main part of the music. This song is pretty bad. It just seems this singer is just screaming. The bad 8-bit video game music during the main part of “Like Autumn.” I can not make out the lyrics. I do not like the back up singing. This is the worse song on this record by far and I cannot finish this song.
Class Of Twenty-Ten
This song is just like the last song. It just seems the deeper I get into this record. It keeps getting worse and worse. These last two songs are filler songs to complete this record. I cannot finish this song like the last.
Goodbye, So Long My Love
Oh, I love the music at the beginning of this song. I love the singing from the lead and the back up vocals. There is some nice lyrics and they put some thought behind it. At beginning, it seems like something you would hear in the mainstream music. The song went off the deep end and just gone bad at the midpoint of the song. This song had some much promise. The screaming over that awesome music just kills me. The middle part of the song there is some nice piano and singing. She has a very beautiful voice. This song has rebound. It was a nice ending to the song and the record.
Band Line Up:
Here is their website and twitter addresses:
Website: www.theongoingconcept.com
Twitter: @ongoingconcept
In the end, this is extremely talented band and I believe they could do better tan this record. This is a nice start. I came across this band and listen to samples of some of their songs. I loved how they used different types of music. I also love how they use different elements to give their sound a nice twisted. The beginning of this record was pretty good. I have to say the back half was a little rough. The one thing that is a plus for this record is the lengths of all the song. They are just right. I love the pace and speed of the songs. It has a nice balance. I am not much into Christian rock but I love the metal on this record and this band. I will check out their next record. I recommend any metal head to give this record a listen. I bet you will be shocked at how good it is. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Cheers!
Bill DJ Weiser
Email: djweiser13@comcast.net
Twitter: @djweiser
In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into another band from the northwest part of Canada. I am talking about We Hunt Buffalo. This is their EP called “Blood From A Stone.” This band was founded before 2010 in the Burbs of Vancouver. I do know they have a few records out there already. “Blood From A Stone” is their second EP from this band. Let us get into the music.
Track List:
Blood From A Stone
I love the dark creepy guitar sound that dragged a bit at the beginning. The guitar playing reminds me of classic hard rock from the 1970’s and early 1980’s. The singing has a 1960’s and 1970’s feel. There is some solid lyrics. I love the pace of this song. I love the well placed back up vocals. The drumming and bass playing are pretty good.
Cobwebs
There is some nice guitar work at the beginning of “Cobwebs.” Ryan has some nice lyrics he is singing. His singing is pretty strong. I love the pace and the drumming on this song. I love his screaming singing in this song. The music and lyrics make sense. There is many bands that do not write the lyrics to match the music or the other way around. I love the effects they put on the guitar. There is a nice guitar solo or break towards the end of the song.
Hometown
The music on this song is pretty strong and solid. It has 1970’s and late 1990’s feel on the heaviest. The drumming and bass playing is pretty solid. I love how they put delay and reverb on Ryan’s vocals. There is pretty good lyrics. The one thing I do not like on this song is his vocals. There is slight feedback. I am not sure if that was planned. If it is, it is perfected.
Telepathic Eyes
I love the tones on Ryan’s guitar throughout this record. I love it even more on this song. The drumming and bass are solid and a perfect backbone for this band. I love the reverb on Ryan’s voice. There is some nice lyrics on this song. There is a nice guitar break towards the end of the song. There is some nice lyrics. I love the lyrics that band wrote for this song. This is a perfect ending to this record and song.
Here is their website and twitter addresses:
Website: www.wehuntbuffalo.com
Twitter: @WeHuntBuffalo
Line Up:
Ryan Forsythe – Guitar, Lead Vocals
Brendan Simpson – Vocals, Bass
Brandon Carter – Vocals, Drums
In closing, the one thing I love about this recording and band. It is raw. It is not perfect for radio. I could see them making the radio. This music is so different from the rest of the music on the radio that it will make the radio. Screw that, I want music to be pure and this band and producer found it. They hit a home run on this EP and I hope they use this to make full length record. This band is a little different from the rest of their peers from Vancouver, Canada. I know I how that sounds but it is true. They wrote some pretty good music and I am loving it. I have been listening to it ever since getting it in my email box. I will be buying copies to add to my CD collection. I highly recommend this group and EP record. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Cheers!
Bill DJ Weiser
Email: djweiser13@comcast.net
Twitter: @djweiser
In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into the latest super group that might be around a lot longer than most. You might know the names but not the band name. I am talking about The Winery Dogs and this is their first record, which is named after the record. The band is Richie Kotzen, who is Lead Singer, Keyboards, Guitars, and Percussion, Billy Sheehan, who is Bass and Back Up Vocals, and Mike Portnoy, who is Drums, Percussion and Back Up Vocals. Richie Kotzen was part of Poison for one record in the early 1990’s and put out several solo records. Billy Sheehan has been part of several bands like Mr. Big and Dave Lee Roth solo band. Mike Portnoy is best known for his time with his old band Dream Theater and was part of Avenged Sevenfold for one record. There is not much history on this band. They were formed in Brooklyn, New York in 2012. They were looking to a more of a classic hard rock sound for their music. Let us get into the music.
Track List:
Elevate
A classic hard rock start to the opening track. Richie is rocking it on the guitar while the bass and drums are solid. This is a solid song. I love the drumming and bass playing. I love Richie’s singing, which I have always loved it. This band wrote some nice lyrics to go along with the music. Mike is a mad man on the drums. I love the bass break that they gave Billy on this song. Mike is going nuts on the drums during the bass solo.
Desire
I love the guitar riff at the beginning of the song. Billy is dancing all over the place on bass. Richie’s singing is pretty strong with some really great lyrics. I love how everyone in this band is singing. It is a pretty rare situation. I am loving the music on this song. I love the bass break towards the middle of the song. There is a nice guitar break right after the bass solo.
We Are one
I love the heaviest on the bass and drums at the beginning of the song. The guitar riff is simple but bends nicely with bass, drums and the singing. I love how Mike and Billy sing with Richie on this song. I love the lyrics and he is singing is pretty strong. I love Richie guitar breaks between the singing. There is some pretty solid playing towards the end of this song. I am enjoying the music middle point and at the end.
I’m No Angel
I love the guitar playing at the beginning with some solid drums and bass playing that comes in seconds after the guitar playing. The slower is perfect at the point of this record. There is some solid lyrics. There is some really nice music on “I’m No Angel.” I really like the back up singing on this song. The guitar playing is pretty good with those short guitar solos.
The Other Side
I love the drumming at the beginning and the bass player enters with a nice riff. Richie comes in with a nice high-end guitar riff to float over the top. Richie’s singing is solid on this song. I love the lyrics. The music is pretty solid on this song. The guitar break brings on some nice fast pace drumming from Mike. It turns into a nice guitar solo at the midway point of the song. I love the trade-off from the drums and bass in the last two minutes of the song. The guitar solo over the top is just right and perfect.
You Saved Me
I love the fast pace acoustic guitar with the echo from the bass in the background. The drums are calm and fade which makes it just right. I love the layers on the guitars. I am not going to say this much but multiple guitars are just right for this song. It sounds good and right. I love Richie’s singing and there is some nice lyrics. There is some well placed back up singing. I am really loving the music on this song. I love the ending of this song.
Not Hopeless
I love the solid start of this song on a music stand point. Richie’s singing is solid with some nice back up singing. Winery Dogs wrote some nice music on this song. I love the trade-off on the solos from the guitar and bass player. There is some solid lyrics and music on “Not Hopeless.” I love the meaning and theme behind this song. There is a nice exiting guitar solo at the end.
One More Time
I love the guitar playing at the beginning of the song. Billy comes in dancing all over the bass with some solid drumming from Mike. I love Richie’s singing. There is some well written lyrics on “One More Time.” There is a solid ending.
Damaged
I love the music and the pace of this song. I love the lyrics and how Richie’s singing is calm and relax. This is a nice relaxing song. He has a nice melody on “Damaged.” I love drums and bass playing on this song. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.
Six Feet Deeper
I love the music at the beginning. It has a nice pace to it. Billy has some nice movement on the bass guitar. There is some nice lyrics and the lead singer singing is solid. I love the well placed back up singing. There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle part of the song. I love how they ended the song.
Time Machine
I love the guitar playing at the beginning. It reminds me of something you would hear from Soundgarden or Alice In Chains. This whole song sounds like something from the Grunge era of metal in the early to mid 1990’s. They did a great job on the writing between the lyrics and music. I believe this is my favorite song on this record. I love bass break at the end of the song. I love the ending of “Time Machine.” There is a nice guitar solos towards the end.
The Dying
“The Dying” starts off slow with some nice guitar playing. The singer has some solid singing. There is some nice lyrics. I love drumming from Mike. I love distorted guitar effected. It is not over the top but it is just right. He has a nice overdrive pedal to make that nice powerful warm sound. I love the how they are using the back up singing on this song. There is a nice build up to a guitar solo towards the middle part of the song. I love how they ended this song.
Regret
I love the drumming and the keyboard playing on “Regret.” They twisted some piano and organ playing. I love melody and lyrics from the singer. I could see Bruno Mars singing on this song and writing it. Richie and Bruno has some nice soulful singing voices. I love the music on this song. They put some thought behind this song. There is some nice guitar and piano action towards the middle of the song. It turns into a nice guitar solo. This is a perfect ending to this song and this great first record for this band.
Line Up:
Here is their website and twitter addresses:
Website: www.thewinerydogs.com
Twitter: @TheWineryDogs
In closing, when I heard this band was happening, I was pretty excited to hear the music. I have always been a huge fan of Richie Kotzen and Mike Portnoy. This is pretty much what I thought the record would sound like. It reminds of a Richie Kotzen solo record. I mean that in a good way since I am a huge fan of this guitar playing and singing. Richie writes some great tunes and put Mike behind some of the songs to help write them. It is something else. The lengths of these songs are just right. They are not too long but not too short. Some I do feel need to be a little bit longer. The music on this record is off the charts good. I hope they have success with this record and tour. I would love to hear more tunes from this group. I highly recommend this band and record if you are a fan of the classic hard rock sound. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Cheers!
Bill DJ Weiser
Email: djweiser13@comcast.net
Twitter: @djweiser
In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into and upcoming band called Hell’s Addiction. They just released their first record this year which is called “Raise Your Glass.” There is not too much history or information from this young band. Here is some information I found off their website.
Here is their bio from their website (www.hellsaddiction.com):
Hell’s Addiction deliver classic no-bullshit Rock and Roll in a style that draws comparison with the likes of AC/DC, Guns ‘n Roses, Skid Row and Mötley Crüe.
The band came together in 2010 in Leicester, born of a mutual passion for the hard-hitting rock of the great 70s and 80s bands. Before long they were supporting bands such as Heaven’s Basement, Voodoo Six, Fury UK, The Heavy Metal Kids and Zodiac Mindwarp around the country.
Over the following months the band wrote and recorded their debut album Raise Your Glass. With crowd-pleasers like Let The Good Times Roll, Feels like Rock ‘n Roll and the debut single Alcohol you’re left under no illusion as to where the band’s passions lie.
Now in 2013, the band have unleashed the album and will be bringing the rock to a venue near you soon.
I wrote a review on their single, which is “Alochol” in one of my earlier blog posts. We will review that song and the rest of their songs in this post. Let us get into the music.
Track List:
Feel The Fire
I love the guitar playing at the beginning. The drumming and bass playing are simple but solid for the backbone for this band. The singing is really solid with some really good lyrics. His singing brings back the metal singers of late 1970’s and 1980’s. There is a nice guitar break that turns into a pretty good guitar solo towards the end of the song. The music on this song reminds me of something that Ratt or early Saxon would have written. This is a great beginning to their frist record.
Brand New Story
I love the beginning of this song. There is a nice short guitar solo. There is some great playing from drummer and bass player. I love his clean vocals at this point of the song. I love his melody he wrote for his vocals. There is solid lyrics. The music kind of reminds me little bit of early Whitesnake at least during the main part of the music. There is a nice guitar solo towards the mid-point of the song. There is an extended guitar solo towards the end of the song. There is a nice ending to this song.
Feels Like Rock And Roll
There is a nice classic hard rock guitar sound and playing at the beginning. The simple music from the bass and drums gives you a little feel like this could have been a Kiss song. It is not but it is pretty solid. The singing and the lyrics are solid. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song. You can feel the guitar solo coming and it just fit perfectly where they placed it. I love the ending with the screaming vocals over the top of the music.
Breaking Free
I love the start of “Breaking Free.” There is some awesome music. I am loving the lyrics. This song reminds me a little bit like Motorhead. There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song. This song is solid and short to the point. I love the guitar solo exiting the song.
Big Bitch
I love classic sound on the guitars. I love the bass playing on this song. I love how the bass is equal to the rest of the band. I love the lyrics. This band has some punk influence. This song has elements from the New Jersey rockers known as Skid Row. I am talking off their first record. There is a nice and solid guitar break towards the middle of the song. It turns into to a short guitar solo. They put some thought behind the writing of the music on “Big Bitch.”
Heaven Sent Me
I love the drumming and the guitar solo at the beginning of “Heaven Sent Me.” I love the music and the guitar riff that is over the top good. There is some nice vocal singing with some great lyrics. I love the guitar solo at the mid-point of the song. I love how the singer hits the some of the notes during the solo. I love the ending to it.
Raise Your Glass
This is the title track off this record. The beginning is something you would heard from 1980’s metal band. I love the music. The lyrics and singing are pretty solid. This band has written a nice anthem for today’s rocking youth. I love the stops in the music and the start back up. There is a pretty solid and well placed guitar solo towards the end. I love the stops from the bass and drumming. It gives the music another element. The guitar work on this song reminds of fast Whitesnake.
Let The Good Times Roll
I love the music at the beginning of this song. This singer sounds like younger Lemmy but not as deep as him. There is some pretty solid lyrics and music on “Let The Good Times Roll.” I love the guitar break and solo towards the end of the song. There is a solid ending to “Let The Good Times Roll.”
Wings Of An Angel
The start of “Wings Of An Angel” has the classic 1980’s metal pop sound. I am talking like Ratt and WASP. The singing and lyrics remind me of something from those bands. Even the back up singing is solid. I love the drumming and bass playing. It fills the music up. There is no holes in this song. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song. I feel at the end the singer needs some back up vocals.
Alochol
The first single of this record is “Alochol.” I love the pace of this song. It is fast and in your face metal music. There is some great singing and lyrics. This is one of my favorite songs off “Raise Your Glass.” I love the music break that enters into a well written guitar solo. The drumming towards the end is awesome. This is a perfect ending to this song and the record.
Line Up:
Here is their website and twitter addresses:
Website: www.hellsaddiction.com
Twitter: @Hells_Addiction
Closing, Hell’s Addiction has put together a pretty solid first record. This is a band that is on the raise in the hard rock and metal world. This band has taken elements of the classic rockers of the past. I am talking like Whitesnake, Ratt, and WASP. The more and more I listen to this band’s music. It reminds me of Motorhead. The lyrics, song titles, and how the singer sings. There is more from the sound of the bass and the guitar playing. It reminds me a little Fast Eddie’s sound. I am not saying they sound totally like Motorhead. They brought back classic hard rock and metal sound from the late 1970’s and 1980’s. The singer has a little punk influence to today’s Lemmy, who is the lead singer and bass player of Motorhead. He has brought back this singing style and put his own twist on it. Along with the lead singer, Hell’s Addiction has some punk influence and mixed it with some hard rock and metal. They put their own twist on their music. They took a page out of American rockers Skid Row and many of those bands from 1980’s. If you are classic hard rock and metal fan, you will love this band. I believe any metal fan will fall in love with Hell’s Addiction. If you do not, please, tell me why. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Go get some “Alochol” and “Let The Good Times Row.” Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Cheers!
Bill DJ Weiser
Email: djweiser13@comcast.net
Twitter: @djweiser
In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into a band that comes out of the northern part of Canada. The band is called First Reign and the record is “As The Dead Lead The Dead.” I have played their songs when I had a radio show on www.stfu.fm before the station shut down. I have talked to these guys from their twitter feed and they are really nice and down to earth dudes. I have been wanting to do a review on their record on my blog but I have been so far behind. I now have a chance to do it and I am going to write it. There is not much history on this death metal from Canada. I know they are working on their second record. Let us get into the first record.
Track List:
Inception
The opening track is “Inception.” This track is intro to the real opening track. I have to say I love the music from the guitars. The drumming is pretty good. I love how they are using the bass on this song. It is a nice build up song. I feel this song is great display of an opening song. Most bands should take some notes from this song and band on how to write a good opening track.
This Ghost Of Ours
I love the insane and in your face drumming. It is a nice step up for the fast pace music. The guitar and bass playing is really good. I really love the singing on this song. They have written some nice lyrics. There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song. I love the lead singer’s death metal vocals. It is pretty than most death metal singers. There is another pretty good short guitar solo almost to the half way point of the song. There is a nice groove to this song. I love the music change in the back half of the song. I love the singers screaming. There is a nice long extended guitar solos towards the end. I love the trade-off from the two players.
Where The Ocean Meets The Sky
I love the drumming and bass playing at the beginning. I love the nice guitar riff with the guitar solo over the top. This is some awesome music. I love the singing from the singer. I love the switch off from clean to death metal singing. There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song. The drumming so far on this record is off the charts. I would put him in the same class as Richard Christy of Charred Walls Of The Damn and Iced Earth. I love the music change in about the half way point. Nice touch on the acoustic guitar with some nice singing over the top. This music on this song is mind-blowing. First Reign took the idea of Opeth to the next level. I love the guitar works towards the end of the song. There is some nice exiting guitar solos at the end.
Wretched Flesh
I love the drumming and guitar work at the beginning. The bass playing is simple and there is nothing wrong with that writing. I love the singing and the lyrics. There is a nice pace on this song. There is a nice guitar solo in the first quarter of the song. I love the change in the music about the half way point of the song. There is some awesome singing about this point of the song. I love how they pick up the heaviest of the music after that point. I love how they are ending this song. It is a very good ending.
Thistle
Here is another intro song to the ending track of this great record. I love the acoustic guitars. The drumming is calming but still heavy enough to be a metal song. I love the dancing bass line with an awesome acoustic guitar solo over the top of the music.
As The Dead Lead The Dead
I love how the acoustic guitar playing at the beginning of the song but yet echoes the intro song. I love the heavy guitar and the screaming vocals in the main part of the song. I love the melody and the singing on this song. There is a some insane drumming on this song. I love the music on this record. I love the guitar solo towards the mid-point of the song. The drumming in the last-minute of the song is off the charts. I love the distance effects on the music at the end of the song. This is a perfect ending to the song and the record.
Line Up:
Here is their website and twitter addresses:
Website: www.firstreign.com
Twitter: @firstreignband
In closing, I enjoyed the music on this record and I find myself going back and re-listening to this record at least every two weeks. I love the length of these songs. They are long and have a ton of thought behind them. The drumming from Sean is off the charts. This guy practiced a ton and he is extremely talented drummer. I love the bass playing from Russ. I am a bass player and I could not picture myself playing that fast. I would have to work myself up to it. This rhythm selection makes this band what it is as far as music side. The guitar playing is off the charts from Chris and Ryan. The guitar solos are well written. The singing from Dallas is really good. I love his death metal vocals and his clean vocals. First Reign taken the idea of Opeth and took it to the next level. I really love this band and I cannot wait to see what their next record is going to be like. I highly recommend you checking out this band. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Cheers!
Bill DJ Weiser
Email: djweiser13@comcast.net
Twitter: @djweiser
In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into a local Detroit base hard rock band. The band was started around 2010 with Brian Thomas, who is the lead vocals of Halloween. I am talking about Halloween not Helloween. Halloween is hard rock and metal group based in Detroit in the 1970’s to now. There is not much history on this band. They are having fun with this band and trying not to take it too serious. The band on their Facebook page says anyone from the 1970’s hard rock to today’s metal will like their band. Let us get into the music.
Track List:
Sabbwacwij
The song starts out with a nice piano music. I love the guitar playing that echoes the piano music. I love the guitar work on the main part of the song. There is a nice pace to this song. I love the screaming from the lead singer before he sings the main part of the song. There is some good music and lyrics. There is a well placed and good guitar solo towards the middle of the song. I love how they used the back up vocals towards the end of the song.
The Machine
I love the drumming at the beginning of “The Machine.” The simple but perfect guitar and bass riff. I love how they shaped the music around the lyrics. I love the lyrics. There is some well placed sound effects. This song sounds like something that Anvil would have written as far as music and lyrics wise. I love the guitar break towards the middle of the song. I love the ending.
I’ve Always Hated You
I love the speed on this song. The drumming is insane. I love how they let the bass player free and he dances around. I love the lyrics. There is some really good music on this song. I love the guitar solo at end of the song. This is classic speed metal song.
Marching On
There is a killer guitar riff. I love the drums. There is some killer metal music on this song. There is some nice acoustic guitar work during the versus. Ass has written some awesome music on this track. I love how they build up to the guitar solo towards the end of the song. They know how to use the back up vocals.
Falling Angel
There is a pretty good guitar riff at the beginning. The singing is solid with some great lyrics. I love the groove and pace on this song. The drummer is really good along with the bass player. Ass has a great rhythm selection and that is key to a successful band. I love the guitar playing on this song.
The Running Of The Bull
Hola! I love the start of this song. There is some nice acoustic guitar and a nice dancing bass playing. There is some nice music on this song. It is Mexican Metal music. This is a pretty fun song. Si! The singer has written some great lyrics and the singer is a pretty solid. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.
I Am A Warrior
I love the guitar playing on this song. There is some nice lyrics and singing from the lead singer. I love the drumming and bass playing. I love the groove on this song. There is a guitar solo that is well placed half way point of the song. I feel they need to turn up the lead singer on this song. He just seems like he is singing in the background along with the rest of the band.
Line Up:
Here is their website and twitter addresses:
Website: Facebook Page
Twitter: No Twitter account
In closing, this record was passed to me by a friend and co-worker, who is Ed Harker. We love our music and we are always trading and leaning out our music. He told me to check out this band for two reason. One I am from the Detroit area and two this is some good metal music. I have to say I was pretty impressed. I know Brian’s singing from his Helloween years. I have a few of their records. I love the pace of all these songs. They know slow but their fast is over the top good. The lyrics are funny but really good. Brian’s singing is really good and strong. The guitar playing is really good. The drumming and bass playing is awesome. I will be looking for this band when I come back to visit Michigan. Go get some Ass! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into another newer and upcoming band. The band is called Black Wizard and the record is their self titled. There is not much on the history of this band. They were formed before 2009 or 2010 because of their Facebook joining date. I do not know about you but I am looking forward to get into this music. I love how they label themselves. Let us get into the music.
Track List:
Spacer
There is a nice acoustic guitar at the beginning of the opening track. There is some nice drumming and bass playing. It is pretty calming at first. I love how they worked the second guitar playing over the top of everything. I love the effects on the guitar. The music is pretty strong so far on this song. The singing is pretty good and it fits the music. The effects on his vocals are perfect mix and haunting. I love the back up vocals. There is some pretty good lyrics on “Spacer.” I love the guitar break and time changes about the mid-point of the song. It sounds like time changes. There is a pretty solid guitar solo but short towards the end of the song. I love the ending.
Young Wisdom
I love the music at the beginning. The singer is singing pretty good. There is some pretty good lyrics too. I love the drumming on this song. The bass playing has been pretty solid so far on this record. I love the guitar playing on this song. I love music change half way through with the acoustic guitar and then enters a short guitar solo. It enters a slower part of the song. This is a pretty dark song. There is a nice guitar break towards the end of the song that turns into a pretty good guitar solo.
Midnight
I love the drumming and guitar playing. The singer is singing like all the rest of the tracks and it is pretty good. I love how they used the back up vocals on this song. This song has a nice pace to it and a little different from the rest of the songs thus far. There is some nice music on this song. I have to say this is one of my favorite songs so far on this record.
H.U.G.H
This song might come off being heavy but it has some weird influence in it that I cannot figure out. I love the singing and the music is pretty good. I love faster pace towards the back half of the song. The drumming and bass playing is solid for being the backbone of this band. They have a really good rhythm selection. I love the guitar solo that is short and to the point. I love how they are using the back up vocals on this song. I love the ending to this song.
Danger Dances
I love the acoustic guitar and the slightly distorted guitar at the beginning. I can hear some Radiohead influence on this song. This might be the shortest song on the record, however, it is one of the best songs as far as it comes to the music side. They wrote some great music on “Danger Dances.”
Somethin’ Sweet
I love the classic hard rock sounding guitar at the beginning. The drumming and bass playing are pretty solid. I love the bass playing in the main part of the song. I really not a fan of bass players playing with a pick. The drumming is pretty crazy on this song. The lead singer is singing is solid with some great lyrics. The lead singer’s screaming singing is well placed and not over the top. I love the guitar players trading off on the guitar break.
Appetite
I love the guitar playing along with the bass and drumming. I love the singing on this song. I am not a fan of all the effects on his vocals in some parts. I love the guitar playing at the mid-point of the song. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.
Wicked Wanderer
The last song on this record is “Wicked Wanderer.” The guitars remind me of something that Megadeth would do on their songs. The drumming and bass playing is solid. I love the bass playing before the singer starts to sing. I love the build up to the main part of the song. This is a pretty solid ending track to this record. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song. I love how the guitar players are playing the same riff to give that double-sided sound. I love the ending to this song.
Line Up:
Here is their website and twitter addresses:
Website: www.blackwizard.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Wizard/97722554850
Twitter: no address
Closing, this is a pretty good band with a heavier side that you do not want to mess with anytime. I love the music and the singing. There are some parts of the singing that I just feel the band needs to get away from with the effects on the vocals. Overall, the music is pretty solid and lyrics are pretty good. They wrote a nice first record and I highly recommend you to check this band out. You will not be disappointed. Go get some! Drink it! Enjoy it! Metal it! \m/
Cheers!
Bill DJ Weiser
Email: djwieser13@comcast.net
Twitter: @djweiser
DJ Weiser 