This was Mudvayne’s follow-up to their multi-platinum “The End of All Things to Come.” I really enjoyed the previous album, yet I find that I just can’t get into this one.
To me, this album feels like a re-hash of the more angry, visceral bits of their previous album. Certainly, there are slower, more intricate passages, but these islands of lucidity arll too quickly degenerate into rage-fueled nu-metal.
I did, however, quite enjoy the last song, All That You Are. This particular song starts as a slow, melodic piece that then builds to a more frantic pace. Though it flirts with the visceral feel that dominated the remainder of the album, it never gets stuck there. This song, more than any other on this album, shows the musical versatility that I love from Mudvayne.

Rough day? Looking for something to put a smile on your face? Well, look no further than this collection of sixteen hits of the late 90s - swankified.
How about a smooth jazz version of Rage Against the Machine’s Guerilla Radio?
Maybe you’d enjoy Nine Inch Nails’ Closer performed as a children’s show theme, complete with classic Sesame Street riff?
This is probably Richard Cheese’s finest album to date - the music flows well, and it doesn’t really feel like he’s hamming it up. He toes the line very well on this album.

Originally intended to be a Dee Snider solo album, “Love is For Suckers” would be Twisted Sister’s final album until 2006’s “Twisted Christmas.”
Musically, this album is a little bit “lighter” than previous Twisted Sister albums. It’s still Twisted Sister, but the attitude is a bit muted. Despite damping the attitude for a few rockin’ love songs, Twisted Sister still pull of a good album.
One thing that really stood out for me was the tile track. There are a couple sections where lyrics are spoken, rather than sung. At first, I though that they had hired Alice Cooper to do additional vocals. Then I realized that I was indeed listening to Dee Snider. The light dawned - Dee Snider sounds an awful lot like Alice Cooper!
I have no idea why I never noticed that before.

Speaking of love songs…
I honestly know very little about HIM. I know that I like their music. I know that they’re quite popular with “kids these days.” I know that I often see a proliferation if HIM merchandise when I visit Hot Topic.
I’ll bet that the “true metal” fans don’t take too kindly to HIM referring to themselves as a metal band. True, they don’t have the in-your-face attitude that characterizes a lot of metal…then again, they do have the darkness and the scattered satanic overtones. My opinion? HIM is…let’s see…a hard rock band with heavy goth influences and a strong sentimental streak.
Then again, I’m not one to quibble about genre - I figure genre is only necessary to help describe music without actually playing it.

The beginning of this album is surprisingly energetic…for Swaying Smoke. An almost danceable beat greets the listener, but soon gives way to airy, very subtle drones. These softly flowing sounds are as soothing as the title implies, even when they are accented by, let’s say, the sound of an army marching in the distance (Lullaby). Well, that’s what I heard…
The song that really stood out for me on this album was Sultry. Before long, I decided that there must be some kind of joke behind the song title. To me, Sultry’s bright, cheeery chines evoke neither a sweltering summer day nor an “adventurous” night. Rather, this song takes my mind to a cool, breezy spring day. My wife and I are in the backyard, good books, and fresh iced tea close at hand…
I found out later that the title was indeed a joke, but not of the kind that I thought. It’s a pun - the song was played on a psaltry.

So, how about a little goth metal to wake you up after a few nice lullabies?
I’ve stated before that I never would have recognized that Poisonblack is a gothic metal band if Wikipedial hadn’t pointed it out to me. I’ve finally figured out the reason for this - it’s all to do with Poisonblack’s particular approach.
Most gothic metal bands tend to incorporate elements of power, black or death metal - the epic nature of these styles lends itself particularly well to gothic music. Poisonblack, however, have taken a slightly different path, in that they’ve incorporated the sounds of late 1980s metal. Take a close listen and tell me that you don’t hear echoes of Skid Row.

Thoughtful, sardonic, and poignant…is it any wonder that Bad Acid Trip caught the attention of System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian (this album was released by Serjical Strike records)?
In the world of experimental metal, Bad Acid Trip are definitely mad scientists. Their brief, furious bursts of manic energy hit your brain broadside, while the lyrics (“pop rock’s just a fashiuon rebellion”) burrow in and give you a little something to ponder.
It’s difficult to accurately describe this band, so…

This was Queen’s final album. Although released in 1995, this album makes use of vocal tracks recorded by Freddie Mercury prior to his death in 1991. Most of the vocals here were recorded by Freddie in the final months prior to his passing, although there are older bits (some unreleased, some familiar) as well.
Sad? Yes. Maudlin? Certainly. A fitting farewell to one of the greatest rock singers ever? There can be no doubt.

Now THIS is a good way to start a Friday morning - the loudest band in metal.
I honestly don’t think there’s a more over-the-top band than Manowar. They are the living embodiment of Nigel Tufnel’s “these go to eleven” theory of performance. Not only do Manowar play as loudly as they are legally able (could they possibly be the progenitors of Disaster Area?), but everything that they do is done on an epic scale…even the bass solos are insane. This album’s Sting of the Bumblebee is the classic piano piece Flight of the Bumblebee, played on an electric bass. Think about that for a moment. A song that’s generally used to show a high level of skill on the piano, performed on bass.
Like I said, Epic.

Troll Gnet El - Konung Hop

There’s something extremely right about going from the epic fantasy world of Manowar to the folk metal of Troll Gnet El. It’s also right to spend part of a Friday listening to a song called Folklore-Drinking Song.
Of course, it’d be even more right if I had a nice horn of mead…
I’ve heard a number of folk metal bands, but none that sounded quite like this. Most folk metal bands incorporate elements of folk music into their heavy metal. Troll Gnet El sounds more like they’re adding some metal to their folk music - It sounds like the folk comes first. Regardless of which comes first, it’s excellent music. Of course, I have absolutely no idea what they’re saying…

Continuing in the “What the heck is he saying” vein, we have Megaherz. Megaherz is a German industrial metal band, strongly reminiscent of Rammstein.
I know next to nothing about Megaherz. I bought this album from a (now defunct) Russian music site a few years ago. I bought it specifically for their cover of Falco’s Rock Me Amadeus - I listened to the brief sample, and absolutely loved what I’d heard. The album was quite cheap, so I sprang for the whole thing.

The irony continues (korn is a type of schnapps popular in Germany).
Korn’s first album is, overall, pretty good. Songs like Blind, Clown and Shoots and Ladders are excellent listens, and the album as a whole lays down the foundation for Korn’s unique sound. There are a couple rough spots, but that’s to be expected on a debut album.

How very fitting - Korn to Mudvayne. We seem to be in the middle of a Nu-Metal block.
Mudvayne is another of the bands that I discovered during the brief era of MTVX. The video for Digg was in regular rotation at the end of MTVX, and it really caught my eye - both the visuals and the song itself. At the time, I was unaware of the complexity of Mudvayne’s music - I just knew that there was something awesome about this song.
In addition to the album, I bought the DVD single for Digg. It includes a very interesting behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the video. It’s been a while since I last watched it, but there are a few things about it that still stand out.
I remember the genesis of the guitarist’s particularly interesting face paint. If you pay attention to the video, he appears to have little black spikes sticking out of his face. These spikes are actually Bugles corn snacks, painted black.
I remember seeing the drummer playing alone. For the scenes with the all-white background, each band member was filmed individually. One brief scene showed the drummer playing the verse… Wow. Just…wow.
I remember documentary footage of somebody slipping on a banana peel. One scene features the band outside of the building where the video was recorded. They had placed a banana peel, yellow side up, on the ground in the fence door. After a few people noticed it and tossed it in a nearby trashcan rather than step on it (the band put it back every time), one member of the band decided to “take one for the team.” apparently, those things are indeed quite slippery.

This is not where the funky groove metal beast that is White Zombie started. There were several EP’s released prior to this album, one of which (“Let them Die Slowly”) I owned a copy of way back. This was, however, their major label debut, and it was the album that launched White Zombie into popular culture.
Assisted by its appearance on “Beavis and Butthead,” the video for Thunder Kiss ‘65 established White Zombie as a band to pay attention to, with its bizarre mix of heavy metal, groove, and horror movie samples. This bizarre mix would define White Zombie’s sound for the entirety of their career.
I’ve noticed something interesting about White Zombie. Sometimes, I’ll forget about them for months at a time, then I’ll hear one of their songs and suddenly I’m seized by the desire to listen to ALL of my White Zombie.
Interesting fact: The demo that landed White Zombie their recording contract that led to this album was produced with the assistance of J. G. Thirlwell (Foetus).

Emigrate is a side project from Richard Kruspe (Rammstein’s lead guitarist). Less industrial than Rammstein, and with lyrics in English, this is definitely a little something different from an established artist.
He seems to take inspiration from everywhere. My World is reminiscent of the Butthole Surfers, while You Can’t Get Enough sounds a lot like Tiamat.

Ow. I think I just brained my damage.
In all seriousness, though, Eminem can be pretty damn interesting. His skill with lyrics is indisputable, despite his tendency to “regress” to either childish humor or to the violence and misogyny that characterize so much rap music. I quite enjoy The biting commentary of songs like White America…not so much the juvenile misogyny of songs like Superman. I think I’m going to have to “cut the fat” - the childish crap’s gotta go.

I first discovered God Lives Underwater via the Columbia House catalog (yeah, I got suckered in). I don’t remember the specifics, but something about the way they described this album really caught my eye. A few weeks later, I heard part of one of their songs (I believe it was All Wrong) in the store where I worked. About a week or so later, this CD arrived on my doorstep.
God Lives Underwater bridge the gap between rock and industrial. Imagine taking a good grunge rock band, and mixing in the kind of electronics one would find on a good industrial album. Kid of like Orgy, but not as highly polished.

Wow, back already. That was fast.
There’s really nothing more to say - “Encore” and “The Eminem Show” are like two halves of some double album. Everything I said up there applied here as well. Some good, some poor, need to cut.

If you don’t know of this album, what rock were you hiding under in 2002? I swear, it was impossible not to hear World So Cold then. Not that I’m complaining - it’s a damn fine song.
As far as describing Mudvayne goes, I’m going to have to describe them as “melting pot metal.” A little nu-metal, a little black metal, maybe a pinch of thrash…they seem to take influence from damn near anywhere, and mash it all together into a very complicated form of heavy metal.

What do you get if you combine punk rock, heavy metal, a touch of jazz, and a vocalist with a penchant for angry yet insightful rants? If the answer isn’t obvious…
“The End of the Silence” was the follow-up to “Weight” (the album you’ve most likely heard of). Unfortunately, the success previously achieves by Liar was not to be realized again - The Rollins Band just wasn’t something that “the mainstream” was prepared to deal with. Too bad - they missed out.
By the way, am I the only one who thought of Spinal Tap upon seeing a track titled Blues Jam?