Yes, this is actually yesterday’s post, It’s a day late because, well, yesterday sucked, and I was in no mood to try and craft a cheerful music blog.
Of course, the upside to this is that you get a double dose today! First, we will finish the “Live” section of our trip, and then we’ll make a brief foray back into the more “standard” albums. Why brief? Read Day Seventy Two and find out!

Cradle of Filth - Live Bait for the Dead

This 2-disc set is actually more than just a live album. Disc 1 is the concert, while disc 2 is stuffed with extras: remixes, soundcheck recordings, and two entirely new songs, Deleted Scenes of a Snuff Princess and a cover of Twisted Sister’s The Fire Still Burns.
The concert itself is a blast to listen to. Cradle of Filth appears to have taken a “warts and all” approach here, as this is nowhere near the best performance that they’re capable of (I’ve seen them twice; they really are great live). Of sourse, with the myriad mistakes, failed jokes, etc, Dani Filt was inspired to utter some truly insane things between dongs. For example:
“Let me just re-ingest my vocal tract.” (after a song with a particularly harsh ending)
“Remember, drink bleach.” (after screwing up)
There were others, but they simply don’t work out of context.

Sumphony X - Live On The Edge Of Forever

I seem to have mis-labeled this album. My iPod thinks that its title is “Live in Europe.” I’ll have to fix that.
Symphony X is an excellent progressive rock band, and they really do live up to their name. Their songs have a very symphonic feel to them. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t come across on this live album.
The instruments all sound muted - only the vocals are really clear. The only time that the instruments have the opportunity to shine is during passages with no singing. Not to knock Russell Allen’s vocals, but I don’t think that the mix was handled very well.
If you really want to get a good Symphony X experience, your best bet is to pick up one of their many studio albums.

The Tiger Lillies - Live in Russia 2001-2002

I only have one track from this album, (it’s currently my only Tiger Lillies track, an oversight that I intend to correct post-haste). That song is Gin, and it’s the song that made me pay attention to the Tiger Lillies in the first place.
Rather than so on and on about how great the song is, I’ll just let it speak for itself.

Queen - Live Killers

Queen - Live Magic

I’m grouping these two albums together for two reasons. First, they happened to play back-to-back, and second, I’m rather disappointed with both.
Both of these albums are cobbled together from multiple concerts on the same tour, which leads to fade out/fade in pauses that take one out of the concert mindset. Combine this with the fact that some of the songs on “Live Magic” are actually truncated (Worst. Bohemian Rhapsody. Ever.), you can see why I’m disappointed with the overall quality of these albums. The performances themselves were good, don’t get me wrong. However, if you really want a good Queen live album, you need “Live at Wembely ‘86.” There is none better.

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

This takes me back to the time that I spent in college. I was a DJ on the radio station, and one of our morning show staples was Big Balls - a rather nice song about especially extravagant parties.
Wait, its about what? No…can’t be. I don’t believe it. AC/DC wouldn’t sink to that level of childishness, would they?

Collective Soul - Disciplined Breakdown

Speaking of bands that take me back to college… Collective Soul was another that I played rather regularly (nothing from this album, though - it didn’t exist yet).
I think I’ve listened to this album once. It’s a perfect example of why I came up with the “Around the ‘Pod” project - due to the colossal size of my music collection, I never really heard these songs, and they’re quite good. This album has a similar sound to their second (eponymous) album. I’d describe it as groove-rock.

Live - The Distance to Here

So far, Live is a difficult band for me to discuss. I don’t dislike them, but oth of the albums that I’ve hit on so far have simply, to quote the vernacular, “gone in one ear and out the other.” The songs leave no real impression on me, and they serve as little more than background music.
I think this is because I essentially stopped paying attention to Live after “Secret Samadhi.” At that time, my musical taste veered rather sharply in an entirely different direction. Live’s first three albums have a certain sentimental value, the others don’t.

Android Lust - The Dividing

Here’s a rather difficult to describe artist. Android Lust is a sort of gothic-industrial act…very electronic, and very, very dark. Insistent and slightly unsettling, the music burrows deep into the darkest corners of your brain and makes itself at home.

Slayer - Divine Intervention

How amusing that this album should come up today. I just picked up the newest Slayer album, “World Painted Blood,” Over the weekend. I haven’t listened yet, but soon…alphabetical order be damned!
This album, simply put, is brutal. Especially Dittohead; the intro always leaves my head spinning. If you’re not already a Slayer fan, this probably isn’t the album for you to start with. If, however, you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you can probably handle this one.
You know, I think Slayer is one of the few bands that can pack this much rage into a song and still have it remain listenable. This is at least partly due to Kerry King’s ability to churn out blindingly fast palm muted riffs.

Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy

From the brutal thrash of Slayer to the soaring power metal of Symphony X. That’s quite a switch, but a refreshing one.
True to their name, Symphony X continues to produce metal with a very symphonic sound. Sweeping, grandiose, and epic, this is an excellent album, even the intimidatingly lengthy (over 20 minutes) title track.

DJ Ferret’s Underground Club Mix #2 (Compilation)

Similar to the “Asleep By Dawn” and “Dancing in the Dark” compilations, this CD is full of modern music from the darker side, although this particular compilation focuses on “danceable” tracks. Everything on these two discs has a beat that you can move to, be it new wave, industrial, or salsa (Can somebody please explain why there is a subgenre named after a condiment?).