poison

New Music Monday Blog Shinedown Amaryllis

In this Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into the latest from Shinedown.  It is Amaryllis.  We will get into the history and then the music from this new record.  Let us get into the history.

History:

Shinedown was formed in 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida with members, who are Brent Smith (Lead Singer), Brad Stewart (Bass), Jason Todd (Guitars), and Barry Kerch (Drums).  Shinedown’s first record, which was “Leave A Whisper,” was released in 2004 under Atlantic Records.  Shinedown’s second record, which was “Us And Them, was released in 2005.  Their third record was “The Sound Of Madness.”  This was their most successful record to date.  This is also the frist record without Brad Stewart on bass.   Eric Bass, who is bass player, replaced Brad Steward.  and Zach Myers, who is a guitar player, joins the band.  Shinedown’s fourth record, which is Amaryllis, marked the first time band history Zach Myers as the only guitar player and the new one in this band.    Let us get into the music.

Song List:

Adrenaline

There is some nice drumming at the beginning.  I am loving the music and drumming in this song.  The singing is pretty strong.  I love the pace of this song.  There is some awesome lyrics.  This is a great opening track.  The drummer is playing out of his mind.  I love the focus on him on this song.  I love the short and to the point guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Bully

This was the first single of this record.  I love the guitar work at the beginning.  I love the bass playing during the main part of the song.  There is a nice pace on “Bully.”  I am not really a fan of the lyrics but it is still a pretty good song.  I love the melody and the singing on this song.  There is some strong back up vocals on “Bully.”  I love the guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Amaryllis

This is the title track of this record.  I love the acoustic guitar at the beginning.  I have always loved his singing voice.  I love the backbone of the band.  The bass and drum playing is solid.  This song kind of reminds me of something that Goo Goo Dolls would have written.  I love the lyrics.  This is a pretty solid song.  There is a nice guitar break towards the back half of “Amaryllis.”

Unity

I love the keyboard playing at the beginning with a nice solid playing from the guitar, bass, and drumming over the top of it.  I love the singing and some pretty good lyrics.  I love how the mix a disturbed and acoustic guitar.  There is a nice melody.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I just wished it was a little bit longer.   I love the ending of “Unity.”

Enemies

I love the effects on the guitar at the beginning of “Enemies.”  I love the music and melody.  This is my favorite song on this record so far.  I love the lyrics.  I love the ending of “Enemies.”

I’m Not Alright

I love the music.  I am not really a fan of the lyrics but the singing on “I’m Not Alright.”  There is some playing from the drummer and bass player.  This song seems like it needs a guitar solo to break up the singing a bit.  I just feel this song could be a little bit longer.

Nowhere Kids

There is some solid music.  I love the singing and lyrics are average.  I love the melody from the singer.  I just feel the same way about this song to the last one.  I just feel it could use a guitar solo about the mid-point of the song to break up the singing a bit.  There is nothing wrong with the singing.  I just hearing too much of it.

Miracle

I love the guitar work at the beginning.  There is some nice simple drum beat.  I love the singing over the top of it.  I love the music.  I love the lyrics.  They put some thought on this song.  This is a great rebound song from the last two songs.  I just wished there was a guitar solo.  It is still a solid song.

I’ll Follow You

I love the piano playing on this song.  There is some solid singing and well written lyrics.  I love the music on the main part of the song.  I love the pace of this song.  Here is a song that does not need a guitar solo.  The guitar solo that is on this song is pretty good and well placed.  It did what I wanted in the last few songs.

For My Sake

I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  I love what they did in the main part of the song.  There is some nice lyrics and melody.  I love the pace of “For My Sake.”  This is one of my favorite songs off this record.  I love the guitar playing on this song.

My Name (Wearing Me Out)

There is some nice music at the beginning of this song.  I love heavy drumming on this song.  I love the pace of this song.  The bass playing is solid.  There is some nice lyrics with some feeling and soul to it.  This is a nice driving song.  I could get some speeding tickets with this song playing.

Through The Ghost

I love the acoustic guitar at the beginning.  There is some nice music on “Through The Ghost.”  I love the singing and the lyrics.  This is a nice song to finish “Amaryllis.”  The only problem I have with this song is that it is a little too long.  I love the ending of it.

Line Up:

  • Brent Smith – Vocals
  • Zach Myers -Lead And Rhythm Guitar and Backing Vocals
  • Barry Kerch – Drums and Percussion
  • Eric Bass – Bass, Piano, and Backing Vocals

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.shinedown.com

Twitter:  @Shinedown

Closing, I love Shinedown.  I do not understand why I did not get into them right away.  It took me a little time but I have been a pretty big fan since.  There are some pretty good songs off this record.  It is not like their last record, which was “Sound Of Madness.”  I still enjoyed it, however, I just feel there were too many filler songs to get the record out.   These are songs they put on the record to get it out to the market.  I just wished there were more guitar solos towards the end of the record.  There are songs that need solos and there are songs that do not need them.  There were a few songs screaming for guitar solos.  This band has not put out a band record and this one is not one.  They are working on their next one but I recommend you picking up this one to get yourself through until it comes out.  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 The Winery Dogs Self Titled

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:

  • Richie Kotzen – Lead Vocals, Guitars, and Keyboards
  • Mike Portnoy – Drums and Backing Vocals
  • Billy Sheehan – Bass and Backing Vocals

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

New Blog Kiss Monster

In this Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into the latest record from Kiss.  This is their 20th record in their career and it is called Monster.  This record is the follow-up record to Sonic Boom.  Here is a little history of this legendary band.  Kiss was founded in January 1973 in New York City.  This band has went through several line up changes but still found some success.  They have twenty studio records and ten live records, which they are best known for them.  They were one of the first bands in 1970’s to push the live records as a trend.  They have about thirteen greatest hits records.  Kiss also has five box sets in the market.  They had thirteen of their records from live and studio that went Gold in the United States.  Kiss has also had thirteen of their records from live and studio that went Platinum in the United States.  Kiss is pretty well-known for their live performance.  They are also known for their make up and their character that they dress up for their stage act.  Kiss was the first band to sell lunch boxes, action figures, etc.  Kiss was their marketing machine to drive their fame.  Kiss like most great bands are not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  Let us get into the music.

Hell Or Hallelujah

The opening track has a solid guitar work at the beginning of this song.  This is a classic Kiss song.  This song is a little be slower than the normal Kiss songs.  The lyrics are really bad but the music is great.  This is their first single from this record.  There is a great guitar solo towards the end of the song from Tommy.  This song finish pretty strong.

Wall Of Sound

I love the start of this song.  There is solid playing from all the members in the band.  Paul’s vocal has aged very well.  Most lead singers in the later part of their career cannot sing their old songs and some of their newer ones.  The lyrics are a little better on this song.  This is so far my favorite song from “Monster.”  The pace of this song is just right for Kiss.  The ending is about average for the song.

Freak

I love the music on “Freak.”  This is a great all around song but the lyrics are bad.  I could hear this song on their first few records.  There is a great guitar solo from Tommy.   It has a pretty solid ending.

Back To The Stone Age

There is a nice bass and drum work at the beginning of the song.  This is a nice driving music.  I love the music.  The lyrics once again is really bad.  It has a classic Kiss sound.  It is kind of sounds like “Love Gun” or “I Love It Loud.”  Back To The Stone Age has a solid finish.

Shout Mercy

There is a nice guitar riff with a good backbone from the bass and drums.  The lyrics are like classic Kiss lyrics.  I love the music.  Nice fitting guitar solo is well placed in the song.  Shout Mercy has a great finish.

Long Way Down

This song, which is Long Way Down, is the second single released from Monster.  It has a solid music with some good lyrics.  There is more singing from Paul on this record then Gene.  It just seems like it. There is a nice simple guitar solo and it is spot on in this song.  There is also a nice ending to the song.

Eat Your Heart Out

There is a different pace of the song with just singing at the beginning of it.  There is some great music.  I love the guitar work.  This song sounds like Poison, who is a band from the glam rock days in 1980’s.  There has some thoughts that Poison has stolen music from Kiss.  I am not saying that Kiss is stealing music from Poison but it sounds like it.  Everything has been done in music.  There is only a few notes in music so there will be songs and music that might sound like another song or music.  In most cases, it might have one more note or one less that the general music ear might not pick up on it.  Anyways, the lyrics on this song are just bad but the song has a great finish.

The Devil Is Me

This song has a nice guitar, bass, and drums.  This is a nice in your face Kiss music.  The lyrics are bad.  There is a nice guitar break towards the middle of the song.  The song went from good to boring.  This song should be shorter.  It is a Kiss ending.

Outta This World

There is a solid start to the song.  It also has a nice pace to the song.  It is a simple and to the point to the music.  I am not a fan of the lyrics and this song is pretty boring.  The guitar work and solo is perfect.  This song just like some other songs towards the end of this record could be shorter.  There is some nice drumming on this song.  I could heard this song on one of their first few records.

All For The Love Of Rock And Roll

This song seems like it is too slow for Kiss.  However, I am really enjoying the lyrics,  I am also loving the theme of the lyrics.  I hear a little country music influence in this song.  It has a perfect ending and the song reached the point.  The length of the song is perfect.  It also has a perfect ending.

Take Me Down Below

I am loving the beginning of this song.  Gene has the thunder bass kicking in this song.  Take Me Down Below has great music.  It is a classic Kiss song from the music and lyrics.  I love the guitar solo.  It kind stays in the low-end but hits the mid notes with some high-end.  It is a party song from the music and the lyrics.  It has a nice ending.

Last Chance

There is a nice bass line at the beginning of the song.  This song has a nice fast pace to it.  It reminds me of old Kiss.  This is a classic Kiss song from the music and lyrics.  There is some good back up vocals.  I love the music.  This song comes into your house to have breakfast and then just leaves you without food.  It is gets to the point.  There is a nice guitar solo in the middle of the song.  Nice build up for the ending of the song.  It is just right for the end of the record.  Kiss leaves this record on a high note.

Here is the current line up for Kiss:

  • Gene Simmons – Bass guitar, vocals
  • Eric Singer – drums, vocals
  • Paul Stanley – rhythm guitar, vocals
  • Tommy Thayer – lead guitar, vocals

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website: www.kissonline.com

Twitter:  @kissonline

In closing, I am not a huge Kiss fan but I do enjoy listening to their music.  I am fan but not part of the Kiss Army.  I was stun that they came out with a follow-up to Sonic Boom.  I was also stun that they came out with Sonic Boom.  Most older bands do not like to put out new music because their fan base do not care about the new music.  I believe the only fans that care about the music is the hardcore ones or person that loves new music.  I feel that Monster from Kiss was rush to be pull out  for a reason to do a tour.  The music on this record is classic Kiss and is really solid.  They did a great job.  I do not know if they took old riffs that they wrote back in the day.  The lyrics I feel this band has run out of ideas.  There are some gems on this record.  I believe around those gems there are too many filler songs.  What I mean by that, it is a song that is there to fill up the record to get it out to the market.  There is nothing wrong doing that because some of those filler songs might become hits or just underground hit with hardcore fans.  There are three songs that I do really love from this record and they are “Wall Of Sound,” Take Me Down Below,” and “Last Chance.”  I just feel this record is a let down from Sonic Boom. I really enjoyed listening to Sonic Boom. If you are a hardcore fan of Kiss, check this record out and add it to your collection.  If you are a general fan of Kiss or just a hard rock or metal fan, I would see if you can find a place to preview it before buying it.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser