N0t S0 Unluc5y Th1rt3en

     If you are a fan of Thrash titans Megadeth things have been looking very rosy as of late. After a short lived hiatus, main man Dave Mustaine brought them back to the fold and since which they have been on pretty fine form with The System Has Failed to United Abominations. This then led to 2009's excellent Endgame; an album which genuinely sits easily with the band's all time classics, and the finest albums of the 21st Century.

     Since the release of Endgame, original member David Ellefson returned to the fold, and the band have participated in the highly sought after and historical 'Big Four' shows across the globe, highlighting the band's impressive legacy, longevity and relevance. Megadeth are in one of the strongest positions of their careers, and with the release of a brand new album, the stage is set, are we about to have another classic?

    Th1rt3en (which rather cryptically, is the bands 13th studio album), unfortunately is not quite the triumph that Endgame was, but it is a great album none the less. Reverting back to the more mid pace efforts such as Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia (there are worse benchmarks to live up to) rather than the all out, in your face, 1.320mph shredding approach of earlier gems and Endgame, it is certainly more accessible than those efforts, but not quite as hard hitting as perhaps could have hoped. What is interesting about this album is how many of the featured tracks have either seen previous release or were recorded at differing periods of time: 'Millennium Of The Blind' for example was written in and recorded as a demo in 1991, 'Black Swan' was awarded to fans who pre-ordered United Abominations back in 2007 and 'New World Order' was written on the 1991 Clash Of The Titan's tour. This coupled with the fact that this is the band's final album in their Roadrunner Records contract and that the two parties, while not having a torrid time together have had previous disagreements; it is possible that this album was created in this way to finish the contract and to move on.

    Despite these negatives however, Th1rt3en is a very good album and is certainly worth checking out. It opens on a high with 'Sudden Death', a song initially recorded for inclusion on the latest Guitar Hero game, and contains the comforting opening of guitar shredding which we have come to expect from a Megadeth album, before moving into one of the album's true highlights and one of the albums faster songs. Otherwise much of the album (as mentioned before) has a more mild pace; following track 'Public Enemy No.1' a prime example. This is not necessarily a complaint at all however as this a collection of very stellar songs. The aforementioned two are very strong, 'Whose Life [Is It Anyway]' is an instant anthem to which many can relate, and 'Black Swan' is another song definitely worth checking out.

    What Th1rt3en also has going for it is that none of the songs are too long and taxing to endure. What has been too common as of late are albums that are far too long and needlessly long songs which do not grab your attention throughout. Th1rt3en on the other hand has only two songs above the 5 minute mark, whilst the rest sit around 4 minutes, and with only 13 (ho ho) tracks it definitely does not out stay it's welcome.

    After the grand release that was Endgame, and with big pluses happening for the band as of late, expectations were certainly high for another instant world beater, and while this is by no means a bad record, Megadeth have not quite delivered the true great we could have hoped for. Regardless, this is a great record  and very worthy of your time, and is much better than this years' output from a certain other 'Big Four' member.


[7/10]

Recommended: Sudden Death, Whose Life [Is It Anyway], Black Swan

   

"I'm a red blooded, red-neck son of a bitch."; well bully for you

    Five Finger Death Punch are one of those bands that either generate a large degree of love for, or are purely despised by others. Undoubtedly not a thinking man's metal band, they instead dwell in the 'simplistic but fun' territories with music built purely for mosh pits and nothing more. Some people deride them for this simplicity, others enjoy the band for their non thought provoking charms. I myself fall in the latter category to some extent.

    I myself became a fan upon buying their début album; 2008's The Way Of The Fist; it was as I expected, a very simple, no thrills collection of fast paced, shout along ditties; and it was good fun if not spectacular. The following years' War Is The Answer was much the same. It had stronger song writing, increased (marginally) maturity, much more memorable songs, and best of all a ballad that wasn't completely cringe-worthy (unlike TWOTF's 'The Bleeding'),  but was still not an amazing, awe inspiring record, merely a quick blast for amusement. Third album American Capitalist however is not fun, whatsoever.

    Five Finger Death Punch have not changed their formula whatsoever. Another personnel change with Matt Snell leaving his formidable bass position and replaced with Chris Kael has not affected the direction of the band musically whatsoever so there are no surprises here. What is quite shocking is how unmemorable and in most cases how plain boring the album actually is. Choosing any highlights from this album is quite a futile task as virtually none of the songs seem to stand out (other than 'The Pride' but purely for the wrong reasons). Musically the band is very talented, on previous albums we have seen how strong guitarists Zoltan Bathory and Jason Hook have been at writing catchy hooks and riffs, on American Capitalist however they sound like off cuts from the previous two albums, and not one solo grabs you like 'Hard To See' did on WITA. First single 'Over And Under It' should be making you want to get up and smash everything in sight, not feel just a bit 'meh'. The only worthwhile song for me is 'Generation Dead' with its low bass growling intro and nu-metal era verses.


    The biggest problem by far on the album however is vocalist Ivan Moody. I am quite a big fan of Ivan's vocals on the previous two albums. At times he has a ferocious growl and his clean vocals are particularly strong for this form of metal and that is once again the case here; but his talents here are vastly overshadowed by the terrible and at times embarrassing lyrics. Now these have never been the strongest part of FFDP's arsenal, not by a long shot, but here they reach all new lows. The opening lines to album opener and the title track made me feel ashamed as to what I was listening to: "I'm a red blooded, red-neck son of a bitch."; well bully for you. These kind of lines are simply un-relate able for much of their intended audiences, and they only manage to get worse. 'The Pride' see's Ivan apparently quick firing any words that spring to mind in an attempt to sound aggressive and menacing: "Disneyland, White House, JFK and Mickey Mouse. John Wayne, Springsteen, Eastwood, James Dean...." These lines could have been written by a child on a Cola high. At least Fred Durst we know not to take seriously.

    Admittedly I wasn't expecting a classic album from Five Finger Death Punch but another good fun album wouldn't have gone amiss. Instead they appear to have forgotten to put any memorable music in and couple these pedestrian songs with some of the worst lyrics I have ever heard. This is a poor showing, and next to some of the major quality albums we have seen this year, absolutely appalling.


[4/10]


Recommended:  Generation Dead...that's it.

Worship Joey

    It cannot be ignored that the coming to life of Worship Music has been dogged with several issues and problems which have brought into question whether the album would ever see the light of day at all. It has taken 8 years since 2003's release of We've Come For You All for Anthrax to release another studio album, in which time the band has had enough vocalist issues to make Velvet Revolver envious. New permanent vocalist Dan Nelson was initially brought in and was revealed on the festival tour circuit a couple of years ago, only for him to depart, then replaced on tour with John Bush only for him to leave quicker than you can say "Who goes there?". He was replaced with original vocalist Joey Belladonna (a somewhat less popular choice than John Bush).

With the vocalist issue, plus the length of time it had taken for the album to see release, there was genuine concern that the album in the end would not live up to expectations and be overshadowed by these problems (Chinese Democracy anyone?). Fortunately by the time you have listened to the opening trio (excluding the intro) of 'Earth On Hell', 'The Devil You Know' and teaser track 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't' there is no doubt that Anthrax are back and mean business.

Sonically this is undeniably an Anthrax style thrash album; old- school, pure and simple. There are precious few surprises here other than the slight Faith No More like tinge on 'Crawl' there is nothing unfamiliar, and to be honest that's what is preferable in this case. Lyrically Worship Music sits in the 'call to arms' variety rather than the quirkier, light hearted affairs of the earlier Belladonna albums, which suggests that these were made with Bush rather than Belladonna in mind, and many people will comment on whether Bush would have been more suitable, but Belladonna is not to be underestimated, as he does an admiral job, and his vocals and range are stronger than ever before, especially on the likes of 'Fight...'.

That's no to say the rest of the band should be ignored as the entire band is in full force here. Charlie Benante and Frank Bello are an ever formidable rhythm section, whilst Messrs Ian and Caggiano are writing some of the best and memorable riffs of their careers, such as the mighty 'In The End'.

There are precious few complaints here, but alas there are a couple. Firstly the interludes 'Hymn 1' and 'Hymn 2' seem rather pointless and add nothing to the album other than to break the flow of the album and so could have easily been done without. The other (albeit minor) complaint is that much of the album sounds very similar, with very little to differentiate with one another other, but when the songs on display are of such a high quality this is not a serious problem whatsoever.

This had a lot of weight upon its shoulders, but Worship Music is the finest Anthrax album in a long time and is pretty much essential listening. Hopefully this will see some more stability in the Anthrax camp and will see the band truly living up to its reputation as one of the most important bands in the Thrash genre.

[8/10]

Recommended: The Devil You Know, Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't, In The End

Shock Rock Meets Kermit The Frog

If you even claim to have a fleeting interest in metal or hard rock music, hell, even wider than that, you have to give a huge amount of respect to Alice Cooper. Without a shadow of a doubt this guy is one of the most influential musicians in recent history. With an excellent back catalogue bursting to the seems with classic albums and massive hits he is simply one of metal's greatest and beloved characters, and his infamous stage theatrics have been an influence to artists as wide as the likes of Twisted Sister, Rob Zombie, Slipknot, to even the likes of Lady Gaga. Frankly if you enjoy any musician who has a penchant for massive, eye catching stage craft, you owe old Vincent big time.

Alice Cooper himself is enjoying quite a ride at the moment with popularity seemingly at a greater high than it has been in years. Festival appearances as of late at Sonisphere and Download, hugely successful tours, even Johnny Depp getting up on stage and playing guitar with him, things are looking rosy in the Alice Cooper camp, and with a new album out, things are looking pretty perfect for him. It is such a shame that this highly anticipated album is a major disappointment.

Reverting back to his classic Welcome To My Nightmare solo début; name and cover wise, this was hailed by many as potentially his best album in years, especially with famed producer Bob Erzin at the helm. Welcome 2 My Nightmare however has not lived up to this hype whatsoever and for me is one of his least worthwhile works to date.

The biggest problem here is the personality of the album. Previous albums by Alice Cooper have not necessarily followed a strict routine nor have they always been the most serious. Often his works have had a sinister vibe as his character is that of a villain, but you have works such as The Last Temptation which dabbles in morality, even albums such as Hey Stoopid while by no means a stern faced example was at least believable. Welcome 2 My Nightmare is far too much like a cartoon for much of it and unconvincing at that. Obviously influenced by new best mate Rob Zombie and his more OTT, animated style to shock rock, W2MN sounds as if Alice Cooper has spent far too much time with The Muppets.

This isn't to say that W2MN is completely flawed, there are some real good moments here. W2MN is classic sounding Alice Cooper mostly but with some changes of pace and style which at times works a treat. Lead single 'I'll Bite Your Face Off' is the perfect Alice Cooper song; sharp and dirty and infectious as hell, it is a brilliant song and perfect for Cooper fans everywhere, 'Caffiene' similarly is very catchy. Rob Zombie pulls a decent cameo appearance in the eerie 'Congregation' which also sounds military and Marilyn Mansonesque.

However for me the flaws outweigh the positives. 'Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever' sounds like he has lost ideas and quickly becomes irritating as hell and is one of the examples of the album being too much like a cartoon ('Ghouls Gone Wild' has a similar effect but at least is a half decent song), whilst ballad 'Something To Remember Me By' and semi- ballad 'I Am Made For You' are simply dull with unconvincing attempts at emotion. There was a lot of hype surrounding this album and I for one was genuinely excited for it; it is such a shame that at much of the album, it sounds like Alice Cooper is making a parody of himself. There is no denying his influence or his legacy or ability, but Welcome 2 My Nightmare is a serious lull in his legendary back catalogue.

[4/10]

Recommended: Caffeine, The Congregation, I'll Bite Your Face Off

They Grow Up Too Fast

                                                     

Do you remember a band a few years ago by the name of Black Tide? Released a decent enough album back in 2007, did a lot of touring then seemed to fall off the radar completely? Well ladies and gentlemen, they are back! Sort of.

2007 saw the release of Black Tide's début album, Light From Above, which was far from flawless it has to be said, but was a very enjoyable effort and showed the band (who were merely in the teens upon its release, vocalist and guitarist Gabriel the youngest member at around 16 years of age) to have a lot of potential. It had moments of fantastic guitar work and some really catchy songs, which often came across sounding like Ratt being covered by Megadeth. So whilst not the finished article, it did guarantee that Black Tide would be on the right path towards bigger things, including places on the likes of The Warped Tour and support slots with Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine, to name a few. But then they seemingly disappeared until finally, 2011 saw the release of the follow up. Unfortunately it isn't as interesting as the début.

The swagger that the band showed on their first album has mostly diminished for a more generic sound. Now Black Tide have pushed into more commercial territory dominated by previous tour mates BFMV and A7X. Not that their début was not completely suited for radio play, but its obvious they have pushed into that direction considerably. In doing so there is nothing new or hugely interesting here.

That's not to say it is terrible though as it is enjoyable enough, and in some cases the band has improved. Gabe for example, was an incredibly shy front man live and his vocals maybe weren't the strongest, but on Post Mortem he has shown vast improvement and even widened his arsenal with the scattered use of harsh vocals.  They also show some greater maturity by some experimentation (Post Mortem includes a ballad, which I shall come on to again later). However it is obvious that they (at their or their record label's will) tried to push into more mainstream territory with some mixed results.

At times the album seems to have several personalities coming through. Opening track 'Ashes' is definite BFMV styled (and that's not just  because of the Matt Tuck cameo), then following track 'Bury Me' is more A7X sounding, and it doesn't just end here. 'Honest Eyes' initially sounds like it could have been taken from Trivium's Ascendency album, then 'Fight 'Til The Bitter End' tones down on the guitar work and has a Nu- Metal feel to it. That all being said all those mentioned songs are very enjoyable and should work wonders in rock and metal clubs. Curiously previously released songs 'That Fire' and 'Walking Dead Man' are some of the weakest songs on here.

Unexpected highlight is the stripped down ballad 'Into The Sky', partly in that it comes out of the blue against the fast pace of the rest of the album (although quite clichéd, it really works) and even has great use of an orchestra towards its end.

Post Mortem does suffer however from a lot of filler ('Take It Easy' and 'Alone' for example are very forgettable). Another problem is it's longevity; far too many songs over reach the four minute mark and creep to five minutes when there is simply no need to, these songs don't grab your attention for that long. Over all here, a change in musical direction, while not being catastrophic, has meant that Black Tide have become a far less interesting proposition, and Post Mortem is simply not as strong as the break taken to make it, or the change in direction has warranted. Black Tide seem to have become a metal band for people who maybe are just getting into metal, or maybe delve in every so often. This in itself is not a huge criticism as those bands are needed, but as a band that once incited a hell of a lot of interest, their second move is a big disappointment. 

[6/10]

Recommended: Ashes, Fight 'Til The Bitter End, Into The Sky

  

No School Like The Old School. Or Is It The New?

It is a simple fact of life that the best ideas come to you at unexpected times. The idea for this post for example first came to me at about 2am, drunk and watching High Voltage festival highlights last week when my mind is, of course, working at full functionality. After that opening statement I suspect you’re sat there thinking “right...where is this going exactly?” but trust me, some of it was relevant.

High Voltage festival was only into its second year when it managed to pull out big names such as headliners Judas Priest and Dream Theater, not to mention bands such as Queensryche, Jethro Tull and Slash. Up and down the line-up it is a band of classic rock and metal, bands new and old but a sound firmly rooted in the old school. Combine this with the popularity of not just established, legendary bands such as Iron Maiden, AC/DC, the aforementioned Priest and the ilk; but also newer bands who have an old school sound and feel to them such as super group Black Country Communion (who were also a big name on the HV lineup), Black Stone Cherry, Evile and Alter Bridge and it seems that classic rock is the most popular that it has been in a long time.

Of course musical tastes are constantly changing in this most fickle of times, with genres and bands coming into fashion only to be cast aside when the next big thing comes around, but also fashion occurs in cycles, as it looks is happening here with classic rock, maybe a few years ago not being a huge concern to many is now enjoying major attention once again. Just look at the popularity Saxon have enjoyed over the last couple of years, Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry are now playing arenas in the UK, and not only did you have High Voltage but even Download Festival was filled with classic sounding bands varying from Twisted Sister, Cheap Trick and Def Leppard to the stoner blues sounds of Clutch.  With this new found popularity, new bands are coming into the fray with an old school sound. A couple of years ago there was considerable hype about a new wave of trad metal bands (NWOTM), new bands with the spirit and sound of metal bands of yesteryear from NWOBHM to beyond, these are the main concern of this blog post.

A couple of years after this initial hype about this supposed new ‘wave’, how are these bands doing? Mostly these newer bands are still going strong and being received well, but they aren’t shaken the world by its foundations as such. 2011 has seen new releases from many of the leading lights in this new wave. Wolf, Cauldron, Enforcer and Rival Sons have released albums this year. Wolf are going quietly strong with well received performances at some of this year’s festivals such as Hammerfest, whilst Rival Sons, most impressively have performed at High Voltage and found themselves as opening band for Judas Priest’s Epitaph UK tour! Cauldron and Enforcer on the other hand (in the UK scene at least) have appeared very quiet, whilst White Wizzard appear to be changing its line-up more than a chameleon changes it’s colours, or an angry Dave Mustaine changes his bandmates. So despite some success, much of these new traditional bands aren’t looking like they are going to become spectacular, and there lies the problem with this new wave, do they have proper relevance? Or are they purely a fun dose of nostalgia?

By following a strictly old school rulebook of making metal music can the likes of Wolf, Enforcer and the rest reach the next level? There is quite a bit of buzz about Rival Sons and their Led Zeppelin esque blues rock/metal, and with the illusiveness of Led Zeppelin have maybe found a hole in the metal void to become truly grow in, but for the others it doesn’t seem as likely. Right now these bands, even with some great albums between them may only seem good and fun, not much more.

Can these bands do anything to become more relevant and then become great bands? Some other classic sounding new bands have arguably managed to do so by embracing elements of the new and contemporary into their old school sound. Black Stone Cherry have taken a southern rock imprint and embraced heavier almost contemporary metal style riffs to become a classic yet modern entity, Alter Bridge have a modern metallic edge to an arena rock sound that fits comfortably in older rock fans and modern metal kids, and even Volbeat have achieved huge success by combining metal and punk with elements of Elvis. So perhaps the NWOTM bands could become more relevant by doing something similar. Unfortunately it is difficult to think of how it could be done without becoming simply a different metal genre, and also it’s hard to imagine any of these bands wanting to do so. Therefore it is doubtful any of these bands will become truly great or leave their mark on the metal scene for generations to come. Mostly they are good fun and certainly worth checking out, but unfortunately not much more.

More A Tidal Wave Than Awoken Tides

    Without a doubt, Reading's Malefice are not only one of the leading lights in the countries wave of young metal bands, but also one of the most respected. Almost relentless touring, both as head-liners and as support to bands such as Arch Enemy and Devildriver and high profile festival slots has seen Malefice gain a great reputation in the UK metal scene. Awaken The Tides is their third album, and by far the strongest.

     Whilst there is no denying that 2009's Dawn Of Reprisal was a very good album, and it put Malefice firmly on the UK metal radar, it was a rather unspectacular affair. It was heavy, aggressive and had killer grooves but was unfortunately not a world beating record which we could have hoped for, but it showed definite signs of potential. Awaken The Tides is the sound of that potential fully realised and is a great evolution from Dawn Of Reprisal. DOR was Charmeleon, ATT is a Charizard.

    Whilst Dawn Of Reprisal was quite formulaic throughout, Awaken The Tides is much more experimental. Upon first listen you quickly realise that there is so much more going on than before. Firstly whilst DOR was clearly groove orientated with some death metal influences, ATT isn't so clear cut musically with a wider range of influences on display. Album opener and title track for example is more straight forward death metal than groove metal (other than the vocals which we will come to in a bit), Chris' drums sounding particularly vicious and strong here. 'Blessed Curse' shows some Arch Enemyesque shredding in the solos, whilst 'Dead In The Water' brings to mind Unearth at times. There is even use of string sections and pianos in places which would not have been thought of before of this band.

    The most noticeable change and improvement however is Dale Butler's vocals. With little variation on previous output, here Dale shows a much wider range of talents than just 'cookie monster' growls. There is a lot of more hardcore sounding vocals, much of the time Dale sounds to have been influenced by Trevor Phipps of Unearth, and blends this hardcore sound with his more familiar deeper growls very well throughout. Dale also, for the first time, tries out clean vocals which actually work extremely well, especially on the chorus of 'Minutes'. All these new styles Dale has incorporated into the sound and they all work surprisingly well.

    The songs on Awaken The Tides are a lot stronger than on previous output as well. 'Outnumbered, Outgunned' is a pit ready 'call to arms' anthem more of the ilk of Dawn Of Reprisal. 'The Day The Sky Fell' opens with a mellow and almost melancholic atmosphere, with the odd outburst of power coupled with Dale's almost pain ridden sounding shouting and emotive clean singing in the chorus'. The album closes curiously with  the near 10 minute 'The Haunting' which for the first 5 minutes is hard, heavy and fast as Malefice do best then suddenly slows before moving to almost acoustic sounding guitars and almost whispered clean singing. This song in particular shows how much Malefice are willing to add and develop to their sound to move forward.

    Awaken The Tides is not only a great improvement upon Malefice's previous material but is a strengthening and evolution of their sound. This is the sound of one of the UK's greatest potentials taking leaps into world beating material and it is a great thing to hear. This should see them becoming fully recognised as a world class metal band, and anything less for these guys will be criminal.

[8.5/10]

Listen to: Awaken The Tides, Minutes, The Day The Sky Fell