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New Music Monday White Wizzard The Devil’s Cut

In this Music Monday blog, we are going to get into the latest record from White Wizzard.  It is called “The Devil’s Cut.”  We are going to get into the history and then the music off this new record.  Let us get into the history.

History:

White Wizzard was founded in 2007 by bass player, Jon Leon.  He was looking to bring back the classic hard rock and metal sound to fans looking for it.  The band released their first EP, which was called “White Wizzard,” in 2008.  Even with some success at first, the band loss three of their orignal members.  They went on to start a new band called Holy Grail that has similar music style.  Jon Leon signed a contract with Earache Records and then started to search for members for the second line up.  After filling the second line up, the band released their second EP, which is called “High Speed GTO,” in 2009.  In 2010, the band released their first full length record, which was called “Over The Top.”  White Wizzard was nominated for Best New Artist at Metal Hammer Golden Gods.  In 2011, the band released their second record, which was called “Flying Tigers.”  The band in 2013 released their third record, which was called  “The Devil’s Cut.”  White Wizzard put out their new single, which was called “Marathon Of Dreams,” on their new label White Wizzard Records.  This is first time in history of the band that features Jon Leon on lead singer and Devin Lebsack.  This band has went through several line up changes after the release of “The Devil’s Cut.”  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Forging The Steel

There is a nice classic hard rock driving music at the beginning of the song.  I love the guitar work at the beginning of the song.  This music sounds like something out of the late 1970’s to early 1980’s.  This is a nice intro song to the record.

Strike The Iron

I love the blend from the first track to the second track.  The music pace has picked up.  The singer sounds like someone from Riot or Saxon.  I love the lyrics and singing.  This song has a sound like it came right from Riot.  I love the short guitar solo.  They wrote a nice opening track for this record.  There is a nice expanded guitar solo towards the back half of the song.  I love the music towards the end of the music.  It sounds like two different songs on the back half of the song.

Kings Of The Highway

I love the slower pace of this song.  I love singing and lyrics.  I love the theme of this song.  Jon put some thought on the lyrics.  He did a great job on it.   This is a great song but I feel it should be a little faster.  I love the guitar solo towards the end of the song.  There is a guitar solo to take the song out.  It has a nice fade out.

Lightening In My Hands

The beginning of the song remains me some old school Iron Maiden music.  There is some nice guitar and bass playing.  Even the singing remains me of Bruce.  I love the lyrics.  I love the guitar solo towards the end.  I also love the bass playing.  There is another nice well written guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love the trade-off on the guitar solos.

Steal Your Mind

There is a nice slight dark tone guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  I love the slow down to bring the singer with some nice guitar work.  There is some nice singing and well written lyrics.  This is a great song but I just feel it is too slow for my taste.  I love the short guitar solos throughout the song.  It is becoming too much now.  This is too long but it is a great song.  I just wish it was a little faster.  I love how it the pace finally picks up towards the back half of the song.

The Devil’s Cut

I love the drumming and how the guitar playing is at the beginning.  The shinning light is the bass playing.  It is some awesome playing.  I am not too sure on how I feel about the singing from the singer.  I love the lyrics.  At the beginning, I just felt he was too low but as the song moves on it did get better.

Torpedo Of Truth

I love the pace and music at the beginning.  There is a some nice drumming on this track.  There is some nice guitar playing with some nice guitar solos.  I love the singing with the back up singing.  The lyrics are well written but I am not liking the title of the song that much along with the chorus.  I am really not liking this song so much.  I could do without it on this record.

Storm Chaser

I am loving the bass playing and drumming at the beginning.  I am not liking the guitar playing so far on this song.  The singing seems a little off and not really fitting with the song  The lyrics are really below average.  They could do so much better.  Some of these songs on this record are starting to sound the same.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It seems every song on this record does not need a guitar solo.  This song could live without a guitar solo.

The Sun Also Rises

I am loving the acoustic guitar at the beginning.  It is about time.  I have been waiting for one song like this.  I love the bass playing in the background.  I love the singing and lyrics.  The main part of the song sounds just like an old Iron Maiden song.  The singing like some from White Lion.  I am really liking this song.  It has a nice driving song.   This song is way too long unless.  I love change of the music at the half way point.  Oh!  Once again another guitar solo.  I love how they ended this record.

Original Line Up:

Wyatt Anderson – Lead Vocals

Jon Leon – Bass And Guitar

Erik Kluiber – Guitar

Jesse Appelhans- Drums

Current Line Up:

Joseph Michael – Vocals

Jon Leon – Guitar And Bass

Jake Dreyer – Lead Guitar

Will Wallner – Guitar

Giovanni Durst – Drums

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.facebook.com/WhiteWizzard

Twitter:  @whitewizzard

Closing, I have enjoyed this band since their start and I will always buy their music.  I have to say this record has some great songs but overall it is pretty disappointing.  I know in the past hard rock and metal music had guitar solos in their songs.  I just felt they went over the top on the guitar solos.  No to plug one of their songs.  The singer is spot on to the original singer.  I am pretty worried about this band and their future.  They only have two members in this band at this time.  I know this band went through several line up changes but I hope they can get it together again.  There is some well written songs on this record and there are songs you will be skipping.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Music Monday Blog Evile Skull

In this Music Monday blog, we are going to get into the latest record from Evile.  The record is Skull. We are going to get into the history and then into the music.  Let us get into the history.

History:

Exile was formed in 2004 as a cover band but behind the scenes, they started to write some orignal songs.  In 2004, the band released their first EP, which is called “All Hallows Eve.”  In 2006, they released their second EP, which is called “Hell Demo.”  Both of these EPs were limited runs of like 200 to 350 units each.  The band went on tour with Excodus in parts of Europe.  The band signed a contract with Earache in 2006.  In that same year, they changed their name from Exile to Evile.  In 2007, the band started to record their first full length record called “Enter The Grave.”  It received some great ratings from the media.  They toured with several different bands throughout 2007 to 2009.  I am talking main acts like Megadeth to Machinehead.  In 2009, the band began work on their second record, which was called “Infected Nation.”  The band’s record had a pretty successful first week of sales.  Later part of 2009, Mike Alexander, who was the bass player, was rushed to the hospital and later passed away.  The band did two tribute shows for their falling band mate.  They did cover songs of Mike’s favorite bands or songs.  The band picked Joel Graham as their new bass player in December of 2009.  They announced US tour for 2010.  They supported acts like Kreator and Overkill.  The Overkill tour is where I saw them and I have been a fan since.  I just wished they played longer.  After, they finished their set.  I went down to their merch stand and brought one of each of their CDs in their music career.  I know it was only two but that is saying something about the band.  The band started to headline some fests or on the main stage.  In 2010, the band started to work on their third record, which was called “Five Serpent’s Teeth.”  The record was released in later part of 2011.  There is one song, which is “In Memoriam,” on this record that is a tribute to their first and fallen bass player.   In 2013, the band began working on “Skull” and it would be their fourth record.  After the record was done, Ol Drake, who is their orignal lead guitar player, left the band.  He was replaced by Piers Donno-Fuller  in 2014.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Underworld

There is some sound effects at the beginning of the song.  The drums and guitars roll in with fast and impact to your speakers.  It is fast just like the old school Evile.  This is thrash metal at its finest.  Matt’s singing has always remind of James from Metallica.  This is what Metallica is supposed to sound like today.  I love the lyrics and they are well written.  There is a nice thrash metal guitar solo towards the back half of this song.  It is well written.  There is a nice finish to this song and the opening track.  This is a solid start to this record.

Skull

There is some nice heavy music at the beginning.  I am loving the drums and bass playing at the beginning of this song.  Matt has some nice in face singing.  I love the lyrics and some nice melody.  The music change in the midpoint of the song.  The guitar playing is pretty goof at this point of the song.  This band is living up to the old school thrash metal.  There is a nice guitar solo with some nice time and rhythm changes to it in the back half of the song.  I have always love when they put a ton of reverb on back up singers to give that strong sound to their vocals.

The Naked Sun

I love the guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  The music is pretty solid.  There is some nice lyrics and some great singing at points.  I love the length of these songs.  They are just about right for this style of music.  I love the start to the guitar solo.  It goes into a full force towards the end of the song.  Ol out did himself on this guitar solo.  The drumming is hard hitting.  These guys can sing and they are just screamers.

Head Of The Demon

I love the music at the beginning of this song.  The guitar playing on this record has been awesome.  I am glad to see a band take their time writing some good tunes.  I love the slower pace of this song compare to the beginning of this record.  Matt took his time and put down some well thought lyrics.  I am loving the back up singing on this record so far.  Nice and well written guitar solo is towards the end of the song.  I love double bass on the drums but that was a little out-of-place.  The double bass is so out-of-place and it over took the guitar solo to a point.

Tomb

I love the acoustic guitar at the beginning.  The drumming is well place and I love the style of it.  I love the singing from Matt and he wrote some nice lyrics.  I love how the music is taking shape.  I love the build up to the heavier part of the song.  I love how they returned to the acoustic guitar music towards the end of the song.  It turns into a nice guitar solo.

Words Of The Dead

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  There is some nice drumming and guitar playing.  I love the singing with multiple singers.  I love the bass breaks and the speed of the music.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  There is some nice lyrics and singing.

Outsider

There is some nice new school thrash metal style of music at the beginning.  There is some nice well written lyrics.  I am not sure I feel about the back up singing on this song.  Matt’s singing is solid but I just feel he could sing a little be more than his singing talking style.  There is a talking part that not go well with the song.  I love the scream of “Outsider” and then the guitar solo comes into full focus.  I love the music on this song.

What You Become

I love the music at the beginning.  I am loving the drumming on this song.  Matt’s singing fit nicely on this song.  There is some well written lyrics.  I love how the lead singer blends with the back up singers and back to the lead.  It has a nice touch.  It is hard to describe.  There is an awesome guitar solo towards the end of the song.

New Truth Old Lies

I love the short acoustic guitar and hard-hitting of the heavy music that came in afterwards.  I love the rhythm and melody from the singer.  There is some nice lyrics.  I love the guitar solo towards the middle of the song.   This is part where double bass makes a little bit more sense.  This is a great song to finish this great record.  Evile did a great job on the music and lyrics.

Orignal Line Up:

Matt Drake – Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar

Ol Drake – Lead Guitar

Mike Alexander – Bass Guitar

Ben Carter – Drums

Current Line Up:

Matt Drake – Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar

Ol Drake – Lead Guitar

Joel Graham -Bass Guitar

Ben Carter – Drums

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.evile.co.uk

Twitter:  @evileuk

Closing, I love this band and I am glad they brought back the old thrash metal sound and music.  Of course, they put their twisted on it.  Overall, this is a great record.  I love how they kept true to themselves.  Matt has done a great job on the lyrics.  Some of the singing was ok but very good overall. I will be adding this record to my line up of records to play once in a while.  There is some solid drums and guitar playing.  I love the guitar solo but with Ol leaving the group.  How will the music and sound along with guitar solos change?  Will this band change too much?  I hope Evile stays as close to what they were on all their records.  They will change a bit because of the different and new players in the group.  I am looking forward to their new music in future.  This is a great band and album.  I highly recommend it.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Music Monday The Black Dahlia Murder Everblack

In this Mondy Music blog, we are going to get into the latest record from The Black Dahlia Murder from Michigan.  The record is Everblack which is their sixth studio record in their music career.  We are going to get into the history and then the music.  Here is the history.

History

The Black Dahlia Murder was formed in late part of 2000 in Waterford, Michigan.  It was named after unsolved murders.  They were signed to Metal Blade Records in 2003.  Ryan Williams joined the band to replace David Lock just in time to record their first record, which is “Unhallowed.”  The band toured and then released their second record, which was “Miasma,” in 2005.  After the tour for Miasma, Zach Gibson, who was the drummer, and Pierre Langlois, who was drummer, left the band.  Pierre was on drums after Gibson.  The band replace Zach Gibson with Shannon Lucas.  In 2007, the band released their third record, which was “Nocturmal.”  The band went on a World Tour with Cannibal Corpse to support their new record and celebrate 25 years of Metal Blade Records.  In 2008, they joined tour with several different metal bands for Summer Slaughter Tour.  After the tour, John K guitarist left the band and was replaced with Ryan Knight in 2009.  In the later part of 2009, the band released their fourth record, which was “Deflorate.”  They tour to support the record.  In 2010, they kept on touring while writing their next record.  In 2011, they released their fifth record, which was “Ritual.”  In 2012, the band gets another line up changes.  Max Lavelle replaces Ryan Williams on bass.  Shannon Lucas steps down as the drummer and was replaced by Alan Cassidy.  In 2013, the band released their new record called “Everblack.”  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

In Hell is Where She Waits For Me

Heavy and hard-hitting music at the beginning from the drums, bass, and guitars.  There is some talking but I can not make it out because it is not loud enough. The lead singer comes in screaming.  The guitar playing on the main part is solid.  The singing is the type you can barely understand what he is saying.  The lyrics that I have picked are pretty solid.  There is some nice back up singing too.  I love time changes towards the middle part of the song.  There is some nice double bass from the drums about that time.  This is a pretty solid song.  I love slower guitar solo at the beginning of it and then it picks up towards the middle and end of the solo.

Goat Of Departure

I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  The drumming is good but it starting to sound the same from song to song.  I love the lyrics they wrote for this song.  I really not a fan of the back up singing on this song.  I love the guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Into The Everblack

I love the guitar work and the drums fit perfectly even though it is the same beat. It changes a bit when the singer comes into the song. I hate the chopping guitar playing. I get it fits but it sounds very messing during the main part of the song. I love the keyboard part in this song. It gives a break to the same old in the song and the record. The guitar playing coming out of it. It is some pretty impressive playing. It leads into a short guitar solo.

Raped in hatred By Vines of Thorn

I love the guitar playing at the beginning and the slower drum beat. This song has a nice pace and I love it. It gives you a different feeling unlike the rest of the record. I love double bass but this is a bit overkill. I love the lyrics and the singing. The listeners can understand the singers a bit. I do not know how I feel about the lyrics but it is what it is. There is a pretty well written guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Phantom Limb Masturbation

The song starts with the vocals in your face. This song echos the songs at the beginning. The drumming slight different but about the same. I love the lyrics they placed on this song. I love the chorus music. There is a nice short guitar solo at the quarter point of this song. There is another guitar solo towards the middle part of the song that is a little longer than the last one. This one is a little well thought about it. I love the pace of the music and solo itself.

Control

Just like the last song, the vocals start it out but the music is right there after the start of the song. I cannot pick up the lyrics. There is some well written guitar riffs on this song. The drums are pretty complex and well written. He has been kicking some serious ass throughout this record. This song is short and to the point. There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song and I love how the guitar solo keeps on going to the end of the song.

Blood Mine

I love the guitar playing and bass too. The drums can let off on the double bass at least one song please. Asides that, I have been loving the drums towards the end of this record. I cannot understand the vocals so I cannot pick up the lyrics. I love the title of the song. I am not sure on the duo singers at least on this song. There is a guitar solo towards the end of the song but it is short and sweet to the point.

Every Rope A Noose

Oh my God, I love the drumming at the beginning. It has pretty awesome beat. I love the guitar playing. I love the singing but I cannot understand the singers. This song has a nice fast pace and it is perfect towards the end of the record. The double bass makes so much sense at this point of the song. There is a well placed guitar solo towards the end of the song. There is a nice piano playing at the end that comes into full focus to end the song.

Their Beloved Absentee

I love the singing from the group of singers at the beginning but they were so far in the background and volume is to low. This is a straight driving song. It has a nice pace. This is a classic extreme metal song.  I love the pace. I love the music on this track. I love the guitar solo towards the end and it is well placed.

Map Of Scars

There is some nice well-written music from the drums and guitars. The bass playing is pretty simple but it is perfect. I cannot understand the singer so I cannot judge lyrics. I guess I could look up the lyrics on the net.  This is a perfect song to finish a great record from this Michigan band.   Great song and nice ending to this record.

Original Line Up:

Trevor Strnad – Vocals

Brian Eschbach – Guitar

John Kempainen – Guitar

David Lock – Bass

Cory Grady – Drums

Current Line Up:

Brian Eschbach – Guitars

Alan Cassidy – Drums

Max Lavelle – Bass

Ryan Knight – Guitars

Trevor Strnad – Vocals

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.facebook.com/theblackdahliamurderofficial

Twitter:  @bdmmetal

Closing, overall, this is a great record and I really enjoyed this song.  I wish I could understand the singers a bit more but I understand because it is the singing style.  There is some nice music on this great. I kind of wish drums were a little bit different from song to sing but that is hardest job in this band.  I get what he is trying to do and it is pretty limited.  They place guitar solos in the right spots to break up the song. I love how some times the guitar solos keep going during main part of the song at the end. It gives a nice and different sound. Great Job! It is a nice touch for someone that does not like this singing type but love the music. It seems every song of this type of metal needs a guitar solo to break up song.  If they do not put the guitar solos in the songs, the songs will become white noise.  I love this band and I cannot wait to hear their next record.  I highly recommend this band and this record.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser16@gmail.com

Twitter:  @djweiser

Instagram:  @djweiser13

New Music Monday Avenged Sevenfold Hail To The King

In this Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into the latest studio record from Avenged Sevenfold.  “Hail To The King” is their sixth studio record from this band.  We are going to get into the history of this band and then the music.  Let us get into the history.

History

The band was formed in 1999 at Huntington Beach, California.  The founding members of this band are M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, The Rev, and Matt Wendt.  M. Shadows came up with the band name from the Bible’s story Cain And Adel.  Justin Sane replace Matt Wendt before they record their first record.  Dameon Ash replace Justin Sane around 2001.  Justin was checked into the hospital because of drinking too much cough syrup and try to commit suicide.  The band recorded their first record, which was “Sounding The Seventh Trumpet” in 2001.  Most of the members were around eighteen and still in high school.  Johnny Christ replaced Dameon Ash and release their second record, which was “Walking The Fallen.”  In 2004, the band after touring several times on the Vans Warped Tour signed with Warner Bros. Records.  In 2005, the band released their third studio record and their first under a major label.  The record was called “City Of Evil.”  They played on Ozzfest in 2006 and also won Best New Artist at the MTV Music Awards.  They returned to the Van’s Warped Tour.  “City Of Evil” gave them a few hits on the modern rock charts.  In 2007, the band released their fourth studio record, which was self-titled.  Two years later, their drummer “The Rev” was found dead.  At this time, band members in several interviews thought about disbanding and breaking up.  However, Mike Portnoy, who was with Dream Theater at time and now with Winery Dogs, stepped up to record the drum tracks for “Nightmare,” the band and the music community loved the fact the music sounded like The Rev was playing drums.  “Nightmare” was released in 2010 and it was their fifth record.  Mike was not the replacement of “The Rev” and the band found a new drummer, who was Arin Ilejay.   In 2013, the band release “Hail To The King,” which was the first record with Arin Ilejay on drums.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Shepherd Of Fire

There is some sound effects of rain and a bell to start the song.  The guitar comes in with the drums.  This is pretty good beginning to the record and this song.  The bass playing is pretty good.  M Shadows has a nice melody and lyrics.  I have to be honest.  I kept on hearing how this record is supposed to be different from the rest of their records.  To me, it sounds like all their old music.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  Their new drummer has about the same drumming style as their old drummer.  I love how they ended this song with a nice fade out.

Hail To The King

“Hail To The King” is the first single off this record and is the name of the record.  The guitar solo at the beginning is like something off this first few records.  The second guitar comes in but it is a little different.  I love that guitar riff.  The second guitar riff reminds me of something that Metallica would have written.  I do not like the fact that the other guitar player is playing a guitar solo throughout this song.  That is a little too much.  I love the lyrics on this song.  M Shadows has melody like something off Metallica’s Load and Re-Load.  There is a extended guitar solo towards the back half off the song.  I love the back up singing.

Doing Time

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  I am really not a fan of M Shadows singing.  Hello, you are not Axel Rose and please, stop thinking you are.  I love the lyrics.    I love the pace of this song.  There is a pretty good guitar solo in the last-minute of the song.

This Means War

I love the guitar work at the beginning.  I love how the drums and bass are playing at the beginning of the song.  I love the sound effect on the nuclear bomb blowing up.  The music is really good on this song.  M Shadows has pretty good singing and lyrics.  I just feel they are listening to way too much 1980’s and early 1990’s metal.  They are starting to sound like a cheap version of those bands.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  This is a really good song but I just feel this song is way too long.

Requiem

There is worship singing like church singing at the beginning.  The music is pretty solid.  I just feel lead singer’s singing is a little loss in the music.  I just feel they are running apart.  This is just a mess of music and white noise.  It kind of came together just before the guitar solo.  The guitar solo is pretty good in the mid-point of the song.

Crimson Day

There is some nice acoustic guitar work at the beginning of “Crimson Day.”  I love the singing from M Shadows.  I love the heavy guitar playing on the main part of the song.  The acoustic guitar stays in the background.  Mr. Shadows has put some thought behind these lyrics.  This is a pretty solid song and by far the best one so far on this record.  There is some nice guitar solos towards the end of the song.

Heretic

Here is some old school Avenged Sevenfold fade in guitar riffs at the beginning of the song.  I am not a fan of the main part of the song from a music stand point.  Mr. Shadows’ singing is not up to his standards.  I love how they are using the keyboard in the background.  I do not like how they shaped the music around his singing or how he is singing with the music.  It does bend good.  I love how they pushed the keyboard playing to the front in the back half of the song.  There is a well placed and written guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Coming Home

The start of this song reminds me of something from Iron Maiden.  The singing is something off Iron Maiden’s first two records with their original singer.  The main part of the song is like themselves.  The lyrics are good, however, I just feel they do not fit well on this song.  There is a pretty good guitar solo half way through the song.  I love how they build up the ending as it fades out.  I love the double bass action at the end from the drummer.

Planets

I love the build up to the start of this song.  The drumming and bass playing are insane.  The guitar playing I believe are step down to the rest of the record.  The singing is pretty solid with some below average lyrics.    This song has loss me over the half way point of the song.  I love the music but the singing and lyrics are making my mind wander in a bad way.  There is an average guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Acid Rain

I love how they started the song with the music.  Nice touch on the piano.  I love the guitar solo over the top of the music.  This is a pretty solid song to end this record.  M Shadows has some good singing and nice lyrics.  There is a pretty good guitar solo in the first quarter of the song.  I love the sound effects of rain falling at the end of the song.

Original Line Up:

  • M. Shadows – Lead Singer, Acoustic Guitar, and Keyboards
  • Zacky Vengeance – Guitars
  • The Rev – Drums, Back Up Vocals, and Piano
  • Dameon Ash – Bass

Current Line Up: 

  • M. Shadows – Lead Vocals
  • Zacky Vengeance – Guitars And Back Up Vocals
  • Synyster Gates – Guitars and Back Up Vocals
  • Johnny Christ – Bass Guitar and Back Up Vocals
  • Arin Ilejay – Drums

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.avengedsevenfold.com

Twitter:  @TheOfficialA7X

Closing, I am happy for any band that gets back on the iron horse and makes new music after a death of band member or a key member leaving a band.  I give them a ton of credit and I know how hard it might be to do that again without a brother.  However, the member they loss in this band was a key song writer, they wanted to do something different but keep true their sound.  I just feel this band has loss too much and they are living on their past success right now.  I hope they find it soon because I do love their style.  It took me half way through my radio DJ career to really love what this band was doing in the past.  I am not saying this is a bad record because it is not.  It is a solid record but for Avenged Sevenfold this is not up to their standards.  The band came out before this release saying this record will be different from the rest of their music.  I do agree to some point but it still sounds like their old music.  I just feel the loss of their old drummer made them change their sound.  I still recommend checking out his record and let me know what you think of it.  Go get some!  Drink it! Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:   djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Music Monday Blog Five Finger Death Punch The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1

In this New Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into their fourth studio record, which his called “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1.”  There will be a volume 2 release in the later part of 2013 and that will their fifth studio record.  We are going to get into the history of this band and then the music.  Let us get into the history.

History:

Five Finger Death Punch was formed in 2005 by Zoltan Bathory, who is the guitar player, and Jeremy Spencer, who is the drummer.  Zoltan Bathory was a bassist in his old band which was called U.P.O.  Matt Snell joins the band in 2006.  The band recorded music and then send it to Ivan Moody in Denver.  The band named themselves after some classic martial arts movies.  Ivan later that year flew out to Los Angeles.  They began to record their first studio record, which was called “The Way Of The Fist.”  The band did not have a second guitar player, however, Stevo “Shotgun” Bruno and Mike Sarkisyan recorded parts on the record while being mixed by guitarist Logan Mader.  Caleb Andrew Bingham joined the band for a few shows as their second guitar player.  He was later replaced by Darrell Roberts.  During this time, the band signed with the record company, which was “The Firm.”  In 2007, the band released their first EP, which was called Pre-Emptive Strike through American Itunes.  “The Way Of The Fist” was released in 2007 and enter the Billboard Charts Top 200 at #199.  They went on several major tours to support their first record.  They were on the Maythm Festival and Korn’s Family Values Tour.  They supported Disturbed during this time too.  The band re-release “The Way Of The Fist” in 2008 with few bonus tracks.  “Never Enough” was added on to the record and became the band’s second single off the record.  Darrell Roberts was asked to leave and was replaced by Jason Hook in 2009.  The band stop touring and supporting their first record at this time too.  “War Is The Answer” which is their second studio record was release in 2009.  It entered the Billboard Charts at #7.  The record had several singles including the cover of Bad Company’s song, which was “Bad Company.”  This is one of my favorite cover songs from a hard rock and metal band.  The band went into the studio to work on their third record, which was called “American Capitalist.”  The record was released in the later part of 2011.  The band brought in bassist Chris Kael to replace Matt Snell, who departed from the band.  The band had some success with this record but like their first two studio records.  They had several singles off “American Capitalist.”  Early part of 2013, the band began to work on their fourth record.  By May of 2013, the band announced they will be putting out two records.  “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1,” which is their fourth record and the one that will be review on this posted, and later in the year Volume 2 will be released.  The band realize they were writing some good tunes and they did not want to stop writing.  They dropped some tunes for a double studio record.  The band brought in several special guests and one was Rob Halford from Judas Priest.  They performed this song with Rob at 5th Annual Golden God Awards.  The second volume will be released in November, however, they just release the first single off that record called “Battle Born.”  Let us get into Volume One.

Track List:

Lift Me Up (Featuring Rob Halford Of Judas Priest)

There is some nice heavy guitars with the drums and bass.  The drums have a nice beat to it.  Ivan has a nice melody to his singing.  I am loving the lyrics.  I love how they are using Rob Halford on this song.  Their voices match really well.  This is a great opening track to this song.  Metal God still sounds great when he is singing.  I love the pace of this song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love the ending of this opening track.

Watch You Bleed

I love the reverb on the singer’s voice and the nice acoustic guitar at the beginning.  I love the heavy guitars and the drums during the main part of the song.  Ivan wrote some nice lyrics on this song.  I love the fact that the drummer is using double bass during the main part of the song.  There is a nice guitar break that turns into a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  Nice touch on the ending of this song.

You

There is some nice music at the beginning.  I love the melody of this song.  Ivan wrote some nice lyrics on “You.”  I love the slower pace on this song.  It gives this record a different element.  This band reminds of Pantera back in the day.  I have to say they are today’s Pantera.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It kind of feels forced into the song.  I am not a fan of the ending.

Wrong Side Of Heaven

I love the acoustic guitar with the second over the top of it in a semi guitar solo.  I love how they had the drums in the distance and it comes front.  I love Ivan’s clean vocals.  I love the lyrics.  They wrote some nice music on this title track.  There is a pretty good guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I love how Ivan sings over the top of the back half of the guitar solo.

Burn MF

I love the heavy guitars and the drums highlighting parts at the beginning.  There is some solid bass playing on this song.  I am not fan of Ivan’s singing, however, the lyrics are solid.  The drums are insane on this song.  This song is straight to the point.  I love the ending.

I.M.SIN

I love the music at the beginning of this song.  I love  singing and lyrics on this song.  It fits the song and the theme.  Ivan wrote a nice melody to this song.  They pull a page out of Pantera’s music book and did the spoken words before a nice guitar solo.  I love the ending of this song.

Anywhere But Here (Featuring Maria Brink)

I love the heavy guitars at the beginning with a nice backing from the drums and bass.  I love the acoustic guitar with the heavy guitar at the front.  I love the melody and lyrics from Ivan.  I love the guitar solo at the back half of the song.  I wish they would use Maria more on this song.  There is another version of this song towards the end of this record.  It is part of the bonus tracks.  Why even have her on this song if you are not going to use her.

Dot Your Eyes

I love the drums and the guitar playing is pretty good at the beginning.  There is a simple but to the point bass playing.  This song reminds of “When Worlds Collide” from Powerman 5000.  The rhythm and melody from the singer and how the music is playing.  You can see that this band was influenced from the bands from the 1990’s.  I love how they are using the back up singers.  There is a nice guitar break at the end of the song.

M.I.N.E (End This Way)

There is some nice acoustic guitar playing at the beginning of this song.  I wish they used it more and more.  Ivan’s singing is good with some good lyrics.  I love how the bass and drums calm to fit theme of this song.  This song has a nice pace to it.  There is another forced guitar solo towards the middle of this song.  Can this band go one song on this record without a guitar solo?  They are well written but some are just forced into the song.

Mama Said Knock You Out (Featuring Tech N9Ne)

I love the guitar and drums at the beginning of this song.  This is the first cover on this record.  It seems like they always has a cover on all their records.  This is really bad.  I wish they did not do this song.  Are you kidding?  Really?!?!?!?!  This is the worse cover I have heard in a very long time.  I am good.  I cannot finish this song.

Diary Of A Deadman

I love the music at the beginning.  I am really not a fan of the spoken words on this song.  I love the guitar break.  These last two songs at the end of this record have been really disappointing.  I feel this is a bad way to end this great record.

I.M.SIN (Featuring Max Cavalra)

This is the first of three bonus tracks with guest singers.  “I.M.SIN” has lead singer from Soulfly, who is Max Cavalra.  I love the music as I said above.  I want to see how they work Max into this song.  They did a great job working him into this song.  I love this version better than the regular record one.

Anywhere But Here (Duet With Maria Brink)

This song features Maria Brink, who is the lead singer of In This Moment.  I love how they are using her on this version.  This is a better version.  They should have used this version on the main record not the other one.  There voices work well together.

Dot Your Eyes (Featuring Jamey Jasta Of Hatebreed)

“Dot Your Eyes” features Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed.  I love this version like the rest of the bonus tracks.  The second lead singer gives another element to the songs and music from this band.  This is a great song to end this record with the bonus tracks.

Orinigal Line Up:

  • Ivan L. Moody – Lead Vocals
  • Zoltan Bathory – Guitars
  • Darrell Roberts – Guitars
  • Matt Snell – Bass and Backing Vocals
  • Jeremy Spencer – Drums

Current Line Up: 

  • Ivan Moody – Lead Vocals
  • Zoltan Bathory – Guitars
  • Jason Hook – Guitars
  • Jeremy Spencer – Drums
  • Chris Kael – Bass

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.fivefingerdeathpunch.com

Twitter:  @FFDP

Closing, this record is by far their best work to date.  I am pretty impressed because I thought their last two records were their best.  This band is at the top of metal world right now and I do not see them going away anytime soon.  They remind me of a modern-day Pantera.  Is this what Pantera would be doing today if they were still around?  It is a great question.  There were only two songs on this great that I would do without.  It was the last two songs before the bonus tracks.  This is a solid record and I can see them doing really well with it along with their Volume 2.  Volume 2 will be out later part of 2013.  I highly recommend you checking out this great record.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday First Reign As The Dead Lead The Dead

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:

  • Russ O’Shea – Bass
  • Sean Lang – Drums
  • Dallas Erickson – Lead Vocals
  • Chris Holtz – Guitar
  • Ryan Macdonald – Guitar

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

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog Ass Kick Ass Kick Ass

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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:

  • Brian Thomas – Lead Vocals And Bullhorn
  • Chris Taylor – Bass And Back Up Vocals
  • T.J. – Lead Guitars And Back Up Vocals
  • Foot – Drums And Back Up Vocals
  • Brandon Richardson – Guitars And Back Up Vocals

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/

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog My Enemyz Blood And Now Welcome…Pain

CD-Cover

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into a new and unknown band, which is My Enemyz Blood.  This is their first record and it is called “And Now Welcome…Pain.”  There is not much history on this because it is a young and upcoming band.  This band was formed in the summer of 2012. This record, which is their first one, was release this year. Their second guitar, who is Rudy, joined in June the same year. They mix a few different styles of Metal.  They talk about it on their Bio on ReverbNation.com which is Groove Metal and Thrash Metal.  I cannot see Lamb Of God and Zakk Wylde sound.  I hear more Pantera type of style with heavier feel that we received in the 2000’s.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

And Now Welcome…Pain

I love the sampling and the heavy guitar with some solid drumming at the beginning of the song.  The singer is classic in your face extreme metal vocals.  He does more singing than the old school guys.  He is more like Shadowfalls and Pantera.  I love his singing and the lyrics.  The guitar playing is heavy and solid.  The drumming and bass are a perfect support to this band.  I love the guitar break and into a nice solo towards the end of the song.  This is a great opening track.  I love the ending of this song.

Sick

I love the guitar work at the beginning.  I love the singer’s singing at the start of the song.  It is perfect for the song.  I love the lyrics on this song.  There is some solid drumming and bass playing on it.  I love the guitar playing.   Damn that is one awesome drum beat with some sick playing on guitar.  I love the guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I love the in the face that this song gives the listener.

Eternal Hell

I love the start of this song with a nice church bells.  This reminds me a classic Slayer song called “Rain Of Blood” with that guitar riff.  I love screaming from the singer and the singing.  There is some solid lyrics and drumming with support from the bass player.  The guitar playing has a nice grove to it.  I love the guitar breaks between the singing.  There are parts of this song reminds me of old school Pantera.  I love the ending.

Face Your Fears

I love the sampling of the guitar and drumming.  It just snaps forward with the lead singer right in your face.  I love the pace of this song.  He has written some nice lyrics.  He is the modern-day Phil Anselmo of Pantera.  There is some solid music from the bass, guitar and drums.  My Enemyz Blood did a great job writing some killer music on this song.  I love the guitar work.  Holy shit!   I do not say that too much about guitar players work since I am a bass player.  I love the ending of this song.

Oblivious

I love the guitars, bass and drumming right in your face at the beginning of “Oblivious.”  I love the classic Megadeth break and the guitar playing and right into the main riff with the singer singing over the top.  I am not much a fan of this singing I have to say he has put his twisted on it that I like.  There is some over the top guitar playing on this song.  I will have to say these two guitar players have taken this band’s music to the next level.

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I love the screaming and drumming to guitar work.  I love how they have two guitar players that give a solid and thick sound to all their songs.  I love his singing but I am having a hard time understanding what he is singing.  I love the sample from the news and there is a killer bass playing.  This band needs to bring him out more often.  I love the build up to the end of the song.

Ultimate Revenge

I love the drumming at the beginning of the song.  There is a killer riff on the guitars.  I love the guitar break before the singer comes into the song.  There is some solid singing from the singer.  I love the lyrics.  They wrote some awesome music on this song.  I love the music towards the end of the song.  They did a great job on the back up vocals and they are well placed.

When I Leave Here

I love the fade into the song.  I love the music and the pace of this song.  I love drumming and the bass playing.  There is some sick guitar riffs on this song.  I love the rhythm on the singing and the melody from him.  I love the lyrics he is singing on “When I Leave Here.”  This is a nice driving song from start to finish.  I love the guitar break to a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Flowz Like Blood

I love the drumming and guitar playing on this song.  The bass playing is pretty solid and the singer seems like he is loss on this song.  I am not fan of the melody and rhythm of his singing that is what I mean loss.  I love the music on this song.  Singer has written some solid lyrics.  I love the well placed back up vocals.  I love the guitar break between the singing.  There is some nice time changes on this song.  There is sick guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love how they ended that song and the record.

Line Up:

  • Richie Z – Lead Vocals
  • Kevin Mendenhall – Lead Guitar
  • Allen Blackwood – Drums
  • Mike Zimmerman – Bass
  • Rudy Gutierrez – Rythm Guitar

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.myenemyzblood.com

Twitter:  @MyEnemyzBlood and my guys @myenemyrudy and @MyEnemyMike

In closing, I have to say this is a pretty solid record from start to finish. The drummer and the guitar playing made this record the way it is from start to finish.  I love the pace of all the songs.  They are in your face and they will not let up.  They are killing your ass from the start of the record to the end.  I am not a fan of this kind of singing but the singer is pretty good.  They have master the art of writing some nice driving songs.  My Enemyz Blood is great at starting out all their songs.  There are not many bands that can get that right.  This band has found a way to do a good job on that part of song writing.  The only knock I have towards this band.  There is really no ending to any of their songs.  They just stop.  There is nothing wrong with that but the record sounds like one big song.  I know there is not what they are trying to get at because they are not like Mastodon or Rush.  Overall, this is a band is growing into their selves.  I believe adding the second guitar player and another mind to this mix.  I believe they will solve problems and come out with new ideas.  I pretty excited to see how this band turns out in the future.  I am hoping to see and meet these guys in person one day.  It was an honor to listen and write to this review.  Thanks My Enemyz Blood and Rudy for sharing this with me.  I recommend you checking their music out if you are a metal person.  Go get some and pass the word around!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Music Monday Blog Drowning Pool Resilence

In this Music Monday blog, we are going to get into the new release from a 2000’s hard rock and metal band, who is Drowning Pool.  The record is called “Resilience.”  We are going to get into the history of the band and then into the music.  Let us get into the history of Drowning Pool.

History

Drowning Pool was founded in 1996 in Dallas, Texas founded by C.J. Pierce, who is the guitar player, and Mike Luce, who is drummer.  They met Stevie Benton, who is the bass player, and then Dave Williams, who is the original lead singer.  Their first record, which is “Sinner” was released in 2001 and band went into the mainstream when they played Ozzfest. Dave Williams was founded dead in his tour bus.  He had some heart problem that he did not know about.  In 2003, Drowning Pool replace Dave Williams with Jason Jones.  They shift the music style from the dark to more of mainstream sound.  They band release their second record called Desensitized in 2004.  They band had success with a single called “Step Up” however, the record did not do that well.  Jones band left the band in 2005.  Ryan McCombs, who is the former ex singer of Soil at the time, replace Jones on vocals in 2005.  In 2006, the band recorded a new song for The Saw movie.  The band then signed a record contract with Nikki Sixx’s new record label, which is Eleven Seven Music.  Drowning Pool released their third record called “Full Circle” in 2007.  In 2009, the band released their first live record called “Loudest Common Denominator.”  The band started working on their fourth record which would be self-titled.  The record was released in 2010.  This mark a first in the band’s history that the band had the same lead singer on two records in a roll.  The band started working on their fifth record, however, Ryan McCombs left the band to reunite with his former band, who is Soil, in 2011.  Drowning Pool replaced McCombs with Jasen Moreno in 2012.  That same year, they released their first single, which was called “In Memory Of,” for their up coming record on the ten anniversary of their original lead singer’s death.  It was a tribute song for Dave Williams.  “Resilience” was released in 2013.  This is the record that will be featured on this blog.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Anytime Anyplace

The opening track is in your face and driving music.  There is some nice heavy guitar, drums and bass.  I love the singing from the singer.  It kind of reminds me of their first lead singer.  The drumming is pretty solid.  This is a pretty heavy song and reminds me of the music from their first record.  Jasen singing is solid and lyrics are very good.  This is a great opening song to “Resilence.”

Die For Nothing

I love the beginning for the music.  There is some soild guitar, bass, and drumming playing here.  I love Jasen’s singing on “Die For Nothing.”  He wrote some solid lyrics.  This is a pretty solid song and straight in your face.  I love the guitar break towards the end of the song.

One Finger and a Fist

I love the start to the song.  It is just Jasen singing.  I love the pace of this record and song.  I love the drumming, bass and guitar playing on this song.  This song is clearly going around the singer which was the case on most of their songs on the first record.  I love they have gone back to that for their roots.  This is Drowning Pool music.  Jasen has written some nice lyrics and his singing is pretty solid.  There is a quick guitar solo towards the end of the song.  This is song is in your face from the start to the finish of the song.  I can understand why this was a single off this record.

Digging These Holes

I love the guitar riff at the beginning of the song.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  The singer is singing is spot on with some great lyrics.  I love the guitar and bass playing towards the end of the song that lead into a pretty good guitar solo.  This is a pretty solid song.  It is in your face but in a nice way.  The ending could have been better.

Saturday Night

This is another single off this record.  I love the music at the beginning of the song.  I love the singing from the lead and back up singers.  I love the lyrics  on “Saturday Night.”  I love the guitar break between the singing.  The drummer is playing his ass off on this song.  What was that?  That was a great guitar riff that should have been explored at the end of the song.

Low Crawl

I love the music at the beginning.  The drumming is off the charts with some nice support from the bass player.  I love the singing from Jasen with some great lyrics.  I love the pace of the guitar playing.  There was some great guitar work at the middle part of the song.  I love the drop off on the heaviest of the song to a nice calming music just to be built back up to main riff.  I love the ending to this song with some music in your face with the singer screaming.

Life Of Misery

I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  I love the drumming and bass playing.  I am not fan of Jasen’s singing at the beginning of the song.  It does not fit but it starts to fit deeper in the song.  There is some solid music and great lyrics.  I love this song but I did not like the beginning on the singing side.  I guess it is one of those songs that needs to grow on me.   There is an awesome guitar solo with some awesome hard-hitting drumming at the end of the song.  I love how the guitar player echos the singer.   The bass player is right in your face.  This is a great song.  I am glad Drowning Pool is back.

Broken Again

This is classic Drowning Pool guitar riff at the beginning with the effects on it.  The drumming and bass playing is solid.  During the main riff it drops off but the singing puts it in your face in a nice way.  Jasen wrote some nice lyrics on this song.  I love the pace of this song.  He has a pretty good range on this song.  I am glad they let the bass go to front line at the end of the song.  I love the well placed back up vocals on this song.

Understand

I love the sound sample that they use with a nice drum intro.  The guitar playing is solid.  The music drops off into versus.  I just do not like all the effects on the singer vocals.  They put it off pretty quickly to some nice singing over some heavy music.  They wrote some awesome music on “Understand.”  Jasen wrote some great lyrics on this song.  I am glad they let the bassist run front before it was covered back up by the guitar player.  I love the ending.

Bleed With You

I love the nice heavy gutiar riff to a nice acoustic guitar riff.  The music is pretty solid on this song.  There is some nice music and great lyrics.  I love pace and theme of this song.  This song, which is “Bleed With You”, should be their next single off this song.  I love the meaning of this song.  I love the singing towards the end of the song.  This band knows they have a great singer and they are using him in all the right ways.  This song is a great example.

Skip To The End

I love the guitar and drumming work with the bass echoing at the beginning.  I hate all that reverb on the singer’s vocals.  The music is OK.  It is kind of let down for being the last song.  Jasen wrote some great lyrics on this song.  I am not a fan of this song. It is kind of disappointing song before the bonus tracks.

In Memory Of

This song is memory of their first lead singer, who was Dave Williams.  It is first song they record with Jasen.  I have to say  they put some thought behind this song.  The music is pretty solid.  I love the lyrics.  I love the guitar work on this song.  The semi guitar solo throughout the song.  Drowning Pool did a great job on this tribute to their first singer and long time friend and music brother.

Blindfold

I love the Black Sabbathish guitar riff with effect at the beginning.  I love the drumming and bass playing on this song.  The drumming is off the charts.  I love the singing and lyrics.  For being a bonus track, “Blindfold” shows the world that this band has some great unreleased songs.  I love the ending of this song.

Original Line Up:

  • Dave Willians – Lead Vocals
  • Mike Luce – Drums
  • C. J. Pierce – Guitar
  • Stevie Benton – Bass

Current Line Up:

  • Jasen Moreno – Lead Vocals
  • C.J. Pierce – Guitar
  • Stevie Benton – Bass
  • Mike Luce – Drums

Former Lead Singers:

  • Jason Jones (2003 to 2005)
  • Ryan McCombs (2005 to 2011)

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.drowningpool.com

Twitter:  @DrowningPool

Closing, I am glad this band has went back to their roots.  I love the last two records with Ryan McCombs of Soil.  Jasen Moreno has taken to band back to their roots and to another level.  I also love the record they did Jason Jones and I understand why he was let go from singing.  This record from start to finish ids solid from the music, lyrics, and singing.  They have a great singer and I hope he is around for a while.  I am really looking to seeing this band live.  I grew up listening to this band when they had Dave Williams.  I love their performance on WWE or WWF Summerslam PPV.  I was sad to hear of his death.  I thought it was death of the band too.  I loved their next record but it was not Drowning Pool.  I came back to the band on Ryan’s second record and loved it.  I was pretty upset when he left for his crappy band called SOiL.  I love this record and I love Jasen’s singing which is better than Ryan.  The music is Drowning Pool and they found ways to work with their new singer.  This is a solid record and I believe this record is just the start for this great band to return to the mainstream.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog Mad Architect Journey To Madness

In this Unknown Music Thursday blog, we are going to get into some music that most of the readers on this blog have never heard of before.  The band is a Swedish Dark Power Metal band called Mad Architect.  Their new record called “Journey To Madness” with their new singer Snowy Shaw.  After a ton of research on the internet, I can not find too much information on this band.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Echoes From Beyond

The keyboards and guitars start the song.  It is slow and mystery.  The guitar riff is pretty good.  Nice intro to the record.

Dreamworld

The opening track has some killer drumming and guitar work.  I love the singers vocals.  I am not really a fan of the back up vocals.  I believe it will grow on me.  I love the movement on the guitar playing.  Snowy wrote some solid lyrics on this song.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.

Universal Law

I love the guitar playing at the beginning of the song.  I love the melody from the singer.  This song has a nice pace to it.  The keyboards are simple but it fits this song.  I have to say this is my favorite song off this record so far.  I believe this song should be their first single.  I love the singing between the lead and back up vocals.  The drums have a good beat and bass playing is perfect.  I love the acoustic guitar about quarter into the song.  I really do not like the singing over the acoustic guitars.  The drums are calming with a nice simple bassline.  The pick up after the acoustic part.  It comes with a nice guitar break.  I am not a fan of the singing at this part of the song.  To me, it does not really fit the music, however, it is still good and this is their music style.  The back half of the song has some really killer guitar work along with some solid drumming.  I love the guitar solo towards the end with some great singing over the top.  The drummer really made this song great.  I love the ending to “Universal Law.”

Mad Architect

I love the driving pace of this next song.  The drums and guitars are solid.  Bass player has a nice, simple but perfect bass line.  The singing on this song fits the theme and the music.  I love the time changes on this song.  There is some nice lyrics on “Mad Architect.”  I love the keyboard playing.  It really adds a nice element to this band’s sound and style.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song but I just felt it was too short.  Nice touch on the ending.

Transitions – Part 1

Here is another instrumental song on this record.  I love the guitar work and keyboard playing.  It sounds full not like most instrumental songs without the drums and bass.

Sailing Away

I love the guitar, drums, and bass playing at the beginning.  I can barely hear the keyboards.  I love the singing and the lyrics on “Sailing Away.”  Snowy’s singing is extremely strong on this song.  The music is awesome.  The drumming is off the charts.  Snowy’s singing style is starting to grow on me.  I can now hear the keyboards on this song.  I just feel at the beginning they turn it down.  There is a nice guitar break towards the middle of the song.  It turns into a nice guitar solo.  This is one of their best songs off this record.  “Sailing Away” needs to be one of the singles off this record.  Damn!   I love the drumming at the end of the song.

Floating

There is some good acoustic guitar work with some nice effects on the guitar.  I love simple drum beat when Snowy comes in singing.  Snowy’s singing is by far the best on this record.  I love the lyrics.  “Floating” has some great music on it.   This song might be the slowest song on this record but it is pretty powerful one on this record.  They did a great job on the music and how they used the keyboards to push the limits of the song.

Strange Machine

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  I love the pick up on this song.  I love the singing with some great back up vocals.  They put some thought behind this song.  There is some nice lyrics on “Strange Machine.”  There is an awesome guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It is the best solo off this record.  There is a nice ending to this song.

Altered States

This is the bonus song off the CD version. I love the music at the beginning of the song.  There is some great guitar work with some nice support from the bass playing.  The drums have been off the charts throughout this record.  There is some great singing and well written lyrics on “Altered States.”  Snowy has a nice melody.  This song has a nice pace to it.  There is a nice guitar break towards the end that turns into a nice guitar solo.  This solo fits and flows nicely in and out of the song.  I love the acoustic guitar exiting and ending of the song and the record.  The keyboards and distorted guitar fading in and out.   Nice ending!

Current Line Up:

  • Snowy Shaw – Vocals
  • Magnus Daun – Guitars
  • Erik Ferentinos – Bass
  • Zven Lindsten – Drums
  • Jorgen Oscarsson – Keyboards

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.madarchitectofficial.com

Twitter:  @MadArchitect777

Here is their management team:

Website:  www.metalrevelation.com

Twitter:  @metalrevelation

In closing, I do not get into too much of the dark, extreme, or death metal.  However, I will listen to it, I love the music these bands come up with but I can do without the singing.  I do love some of the singing from these bands.  I am not saying that about Mad Architect is in any sub genre of the metal universe.  They put out a great record that will have me listen to more these styles. Snowy’s singing comes close to that area of the metal world.  As I listen to “Journey To Madness” more and more, I found myself loving his singing and style.  He has a different pace and sound to other singers.  The guitar playing is really good on this record and Magnus wrote some great guitar solos on this record.  I love the work from the bassist and the keyboard player.  The drumming is off the charts from Zven.  This drummer makes this record from good to great.  I was pretty impressed with his playing.  I recommend you checking this band’s music out and let me know what you think of it.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser