Visited: No Fear Energy Tour w/ Lamb of God

T'was last Thursday, the 23rd of April, that my friend Jason and I embarked on a journey to Lafayette, Louisiana, to catch the No Fear Energy Tour. To put it simply, the show rocked!

First in line was Municipal Waste from glorious Richmond, Virginia. Their music was good and their antics on-stage were awesome. They yanked some crazy-as-hell lookin' beer bong from outta nowhere and the vocalist (Foresta) chugged a beer and, very eloquently, spat it out as a fine mist over the first few rows of people. What I remember from their performance: "This is a song about a dangerous shark... It's called... 'Terror Shark.'"

Next up was God Forbid. I must have forgot somewhere along the way that the vocalist was a big, dark-skinned bad-ass with dreds, but he led a kick-ass performance. I've barely listened to God Forbid, only jumping around their second-to-last release 'Constitution of Treason,' and even then, it's usually to listen to 'The Fallen Hero.' But now, I'm gonna have to run out and get their latest disc, 'Earthblood,' and maybe pick up a couple of their older releases. I almost had my picture taken with him. Almost...

Children of Bodom was number three and they kicked so much ass. From Finland, this quintet prompted many a crowd surfer to jump up and surf. They played a few tracks from their last release, 'Blooddrunk,' (review coming soon) and more noteworthy (to me, at least) they also played 'Living Dead Beat' from the album 'Are You Dead Yet?' But strangely, they didn't play that album's title track. Odd...

I had been witing all night for As I Lay Dying and I was not entirely disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the performance was off the charts. They opened with the album version of 'Separation' before playing 'Nothing Left,' 'Forever,' 'The Sound of Truth,' 'Comfort Betrays,' and a few others. I was dying to hear 'Forsaken,' but alas, maybe some other time.

By the time Lamb of God took the stage, Jason and I were fatigued. From nearly being swept into the maw of a circle pit to having to fight our way through mosh pits and support over a dozen crowd surfers, we retreated to the stands to watch Lamb of God play - and thank God we did.

Lamb of God opened with the studio version of their opening track 'The Passing' before destroying the crowd with 'In Your Words,' a bad-ass track from their latest album, 'Wrath,' (review coming soon). Much followed, with 'Hourglass,' 'Now You've Got Something to Die For,' and 'Laid To Rest' from their album 'Ashes of the Wake,' to 'Redneck' and 'Walk With Me in Hell' from 'Sacrament.' Off of 'Wrath,' they played 'Contractor' and another favourite of mine, 'Grace.' The show cost me $75 in tickets, $60 in merch and $22 when I had to fill up Jason's car on the way back home.

If you can catch this show, do what I did and go!

Municipal Waste: Homepage | MySpace
God Forbid: Hompage | MySpace
Children of Bodom: Homepage | MySpace
As I Lay Dying: Homepage | MySpace
Lamb of God: Homepage | MySpace
No Fear Energy: Homepage

Review: Agonist - Once Only Imagined (2007)

I've given female metal singers a few chances and I've mostly been met with crap, (Arch Enemy, Evanescence doesn't count and still sucks, Lacuna Coil, In This Moment). There's only a couple female-fronted acts I've come across that I actually like and one of them is the Agonist.

Led by the gorgeous Alissa White-Gluz, Agonist hails from Montreal and while the melodic death metal sound by itself might have been enough to make the band famous, it's White-Gluz's remarkable vocals that have propelled the band to the level it is at now. It's her ability to sing clean and growl deep and loud that sets her apart from not just any other female-fronted groups, but any other metalcore group in general.

My favourite track from the album is 'Take a Bow.' It has the perfect combination of Alissa's screams and her clean voice and the whole track rocks my face off. 'Business Suits and Combat Boots' kicks just as hard and 'Void of Sympathy' is worth mentioning, as well.

In it's entirety, 'Once Only Imagined' is a kick-ass CD. I still can't get over how White-Gluz can growl the way she does. Stuff like that sets her apart from crap like Lacuna Coil, where the male counterpart is usually the one belting out the screams. You can draw a comparison to Evanescence only through White-Gluz's clean singing; it's eloquent and beautiful - Amy Lee's singing ability times a thousand, mind you.

If you're going to draw any comparisons, though, go ahead with Otep Shamaya. Their voices are very different, but you should still get the idea: they both can sing (beautifully and hauntingly) and they can both growl and kick and scream your nards off.

Homepage | MySpace | Wikipedia

Review: Droid (2007)

I don't remember how I came across Droid, but I'm real fucking happy I did.

Droid debuted with their self-titled album two years ago and it is an unrelenting, unforgiving, almost vulgar display of power (name that reference!), and it is executed beautifully.

All in all, the whole album is a compilation of kick-ass groove and thrash metal. I really don't know how to explain it: this CD is just really, really good.

James Eason, the vocalist, screams and growls and everything, but he's coherent. Or should I say, intelligible. He's not belting out noises, he's screaming the words and you know he's screaming words cuz you can understand him. The first track, 'The Resurrection,' is a perfect example of this. It's brutal and unforgiving, with Eason's vocals matched up with hardcore guitar riffs, solid bass rhythms and simply bad-ass drum-work. ...Actually, the same can be said for just about every song on the album. The group nails every song every time.

'The Resurrection' is a brilliantly performed song. 'Fueled By Hate,' the disc's second track, outdoes what was set before it. 'God of Anger,' the third track, repeats this process (opening with a noteworthy performance by the lead guitarist), and this goes on for at least another ten minutes.

The album's seventh track features Chino Moreno of Deftones and he provides nothing more than high, anguished screams throughout the song. It's worth noting, but nothing too special.

All in all, Droid's self-titled debut album is a brutal, unyielding performance that deserves much more attention and praise than it's received.

Homepage | MySpace | Wikipedia

Review: Divine Heresy - Bleed the Fifth (2007)

Divine Heresy's debut album, 'Bleed the Fifth,' is a peerless display of brutal metal.

In the first minute of the first song, which so happens to be the title track, you'll meet an explosion; brutal drum work; Tommy Vext's deep, screaming vocals; and bad-ass guitar riffs. Now let me warn you: the whole CD is like this.

I have to give props to the drummer Tim Yeung first. Throughout the album, you'll hear his double bass pedals unrelentingly pounding your ears and, I'll be honest, it is fucking awesome.

'Bleed the Fifth' and 'Failed Creation,' the first single of the debut, are the highlights of the album. 'Bleed the Fifth' is composed of Vext belting out lyrics via screams and such, but in the second track, Vext changes it up and actually sings the chorus. Granted, there are still plenty of screams, and the drumwork (namely the double bass pedals) are everywhere, the portions of the song that are actually sung are far from out of place.

If you do what I did and listen to the disc from start to finish, you'll notice that after 'Failed Creation,' the intensity of the album flatlines a little. It's still good, but it peaked with the first two tracks. It isn't until I reached 'Rise of the Scorned' that I was jolted back to attention. Starting with a unique 40-second acoustic intro, the song becomes a full-on assault. Vext belts an incredible scream and it's then I realize I found a sequel, of sorts, to the title track: the song is insane with its intensity. An almost never-ending (and by now assumed) double bass attack yields to an unusually calm (and quick) interlude at the 2-minute mark. Immediately following, a similar change-up a la 'Failed Creation': melodic singing that Vext nails right on the head.

The album repeats itself with a flatline following 'Rise of the Scorned,' but the aforementioned line is much higher and shorter than the first. The finale, 'Closure,' distances itself from the rest of the CD by nearly containing no screaming, no growling, nothing really metal whatsoever. For the majority of the song, it's all clean, beautifully sung vocals, a much simpler drum track and traditional guitar work. But of course, it's awesome. The song is the perfect way to end a CD as bad-ass as this.

All in all, Divine Heresy's debut is killer and a must for anyone who listens to metal. It's unfortunate that the band had to fire Vext, due to an incident in NY one year ago, but the band has put its fate in the hands of Travis Neal, their new vocalist. It won't be long, though, till we see how the new partnership is going: Divine Heresy is expecting to put out their sophomore album, tentatively titled 'Bringer of Plagues,' sometime this summer.

Amazon | MySpace | Wikipedia

Review: Finger Eleven - Them Vs. You Vs. Me (2007)

I'm gonna come right out and say this: I hate this CD.

Now don't confuse me with someone who only listens to metal, because that isn't true. I listen to modern rock, classic rock, alternative, religious (metal), apparently rap & hip-hop (Gorillaz)... I try to keep an open-mind when it comes to music, but sometimes, I'll come across something that... sucks.

Finger Eleven's second CD, 'Them Vs. You Vs. Me,' sucks. ...Well, kinda, but enough to where I didn't really want to listen to it again as I jotted this entry down. Now I'm not a professional critic or anything, so you can call my opinions into question, but remember that all my reviews are my opinion. Also, remember that I have a pretty fuckin' good ear. But seriously, moving on...

The one single I've heard over and over and over on the radio from these guys is 'Paralyzer.' One word sums this song up: GAY. It has the classic "#1 Radio Single" formula: catchy riffs, simple drum work, and apparently, stupid-ass lyrics. I thought your generic rock song talked about emotions and all that stuff metaphorically, comparing angst to tidal waves or something. Well, not in this case. Apparently, our lead singer is in some lame ass club that he hopes gets shut down and while he orders one drink after another, he stares at some bitch that's probably way out of his league. How can I discern this message? Look to the lyrics:

"This club will hopefully Be closed in three weeks, That would be cool with me."

I don't know why I hate this song so much. I know it got played out on the radio really, really fast, but I don't listen to the radio anymore. Not since I got my mp3 CD deck for my car, (the '97 Soop!). I just can't stand this song... at all.

In the middle of the CD, though, is a song that I can't help but like, even though it suffers the same radio-single ailment as 'Paralyzer': some simple lyrics, a catchy pace, but a sweet bridge/solo. Actually, the song has this solo sample played behind the vocals the whole time, but I like it. It's fun, Scott Anderson doesn't sing like an idiot like he does in 'Falling On' or 'Window Song,' and it's quick: 3 minutes, sixteen seconds.

Maybe if you want something that is light on the rock side, maybe if you can't find anything 'rock' to play at the club cuz you're afraid everyone won't like your other stuff, maybe if you're a fifteen-to-nineteen year old girl that can't find her Killers CD, then this could be for you. Otherwise, spend your money on something else - like three gallons of gasoline.

Homepage | MySpace | Wikipedia

Review: Scar Symmetry - Pitch Black Progress (2006)

Scar Symmetry hails from Sweden and I don't know what it is, but Norway, Sweden and Finland are a power trio when it comes to bad-ass metal bands, (Soilwork, Children of Bodom, etc.).

'Pitch Black Progress' is actually Scar's second outing. Their debut CD, 'Symmetric in Design,' was released only a year before 'Pitch Black Progress' but the sound is amazing. Maybe that's the key when it comes to releasing a successful sophomore album: do it within a year of your debut release. At any rate, 'Pitch Black' ranks above 'Symmetric' and it's one of my favourite CDs.

The album starts with 'The Illusionist,' simply a bad-ass song with the perfect mixture of clean vocals and growling. If you exercise or run at all, you'll find you can easily set a pace to this track.

Now, the song itself can be viewed as the perfect representative for the CD as a whole. The music is never dull, the guitar solos would humble any axe player, and the coupling of clean and unclean vocals is transcendent.

When I first listened to this CD, though, I was still fresh when it came to metal music. The (sometimes incoherent) growls would keep me from fully enjoying the music and in the beginning, I was stuck listening to the same two or three songs:

• Mind Machine
• Dreaming 24/7
• Carved in Stone

Listen to 'Mind Machine' and you'll see why: it's all clean vocals. Well, sort of. The second verse is screaming whereas the first was all clean. The chorus is clean and the double bass pedals and the head-banging pace takes a backseat to an almost more traditional set-up - like a radio single. And of course, there's a good (but short) solo two-thirds in. 'Dreaming 24/7' is along the same lines. Clean vocals to start off, with growls and screams interspersed throughout.

'Carved in Stone,' one of two bonus tracks, was for the longest time, my favourite song from this release. Play it loud and you are punished: the intro itself is monstrous. The opening gives way to a dreamy, clean verse before a deep growl and unclean verse is spit out next. The whole song goes back and forth, clean and unclean, between verse and chorus for two minutes or so before giving way to a solo, a bridge, and then another solo! The closing minute, though, is like a reward for surviving the assault that the song is: one last refrain, giving way to an outro (the intro extended and upgraded in bad-assness).

Don't go into this CD wanting to skip around and selectively listen to their work, because you'd be robbing yourself of some of the best metal the world has to offer. The three tracks above are great, but not the best. Like I said, 'Carved in Stone' was my favourite track for a long while. Once my tastes had evolved, I went back and listened to 'Pitch Black Progress' from start to finish and I absolutely love it.

The second bonus track, 'Deviate from the Form,' is even more bad-ass than 'Carved in Stone.' 'Calculate the Apocalypse' starts off with the most bad-ass growl/scream I have ever heard and 'Oscillation Point' is my new favourite track.

I can't easily compare Scar Symmetry to another act I know of. Whenever I finish listening to them, I usually go and do it again. I just can't find someone as heavy as them.

Hompage | MySpace | Wikipedia

Review: Psychostick - Sandwich (2009)

Psychostick is the shit.

I'm going to try and deflect bias as best I can here, but I can't help but remember how fantastic 'We Couldn't Think of a Title' was. As a man of twenty-three, I couldn't help but relate to how embarrassing (and necessary) it is to have to scratch my balls in public. It's also not hard to relate to 'Two Ton Paperweight.' If you haven't noticed, this blog is titled '97 Supreme - after my current vehicle, a varicose-vein blue 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. To put it plainly, the car sucks, but I digress.

Psychostick's debut album was the shit. Out of the album's 20 tracks, I won't skip one. With Psychostick's sophomore outing, 'Sandwich,' I again find myself unable to skip ahead.

Unable, unwilling - what have you, I can't find a reason.

The CD is great. What was great about their first disc has returned in their second: these guys can play really, really well and the shit they sing about is awesome and funny. I can't help but want to make a YouTube video for 'Shower' and 'Minimum Rage' makes me laugh every time, (it's gotta be the way Rob says "But I have to pay the rent or I am gonna get evicted!").

From start to finish, you'll hear real hard rock/metal music paired together with actual singing and screaming. The lyrics are genuinely humorous and sometimes baffling. I don't mean it in a bad way, not at all. But I'll be cruising along (in my shitty car) listening to this CD and my mouth will hang open in a half-smile, half-gasp as I slowly interpret the lyrics to songs like 'Don't Eat My Food,' ("That's my frozen pizza, those are my burritos, too; don't you fucking touch them or you'll be eating from a tube).

My favourite song from the CD has got to be 'Orange.' Simply, it's a song about an orange, (they're full of vitamin C) and it's god-damned hilarious. Apparently, oranges are full of natural supplements and magnesium and all V8 is is liquid pizza. Lyrics aside, the guitar work is bad-ass and the double-bass pedals actually jacked up my car speakers.

Props to Psychostick for fulfilling their promise to the fans that donated to Sandwich's production costs, (I'm unfortunately one of the dicks that didn't donate). '373 Thank Yous' is a reading/singing/screaming of the names of their donatees to the melody of an assortment of Psychostick's songs and other riffs and it's simply amazing how well it worked out. If it wasn't 14 minutes long, I'd put it on the radio.

There's actually another song that ranks up as high as 'Orange' in my book, and that's the final track, 'We Ran Out of CD Space.' An acoustic track, it's a song about what the world would be like if:

- the world was made out of glazed donuts
- your butt was on your chest
- your hands were made of Hot-Pockets
- your dad was made of rainbows
- your face was shaped like Mexico, or trapezoids, or Texas or Hawaii

The song is hilarious and it's earned a spot on 'Big Joe Mix 2009,' (we'll get into that later). It's a prime example of how Psychostick can make real, good music and write real, funny lyrics and still be funny when they sing them.

Now re-read that last line and tell me why the fuck you wouldn't go out and buy (or steal) this CD?

Homepage |MySpace | Wikipedia