Axenstar is a power metal band from Sweden, and they are definitely a solid act. However, while I like the album, it doesn't really rise to the next level of the genre, though I am glad to hear bands still playing the power metal style. It is a shame that the metal scene that gets an mainstream press in the US is such a narrow sampling of what is out there, what is available under the metal banner. Yes, I know there are bands out there, it is just sometimes hard to find them, which is why I like it when all these bands that I don't know, and there are a lot of them, arrive on my doorstep offering another taste. Anyway, back to Axenstar. They are a solid metal act that gets down to business and demonstrates the ability to hit the next level, yet there is something that I cannot quite put my finger on that does not allow me to register Final Requiem as anything more than good.
There is a great combination of melody and heaviness, driving drums, some nice solos, and an overall catchiness that will get your body in motion. You will find that you want to bang your head and raise the horns, but if you stop for a moment, you may find something lacking. I think it starts with the vocals of Magnus Winterwild, I am left underwhelmed. No, his voice is not bad, but at the same time I did not find a lot of variety to it, it was all down the middle and just did not really step to the front and hold my attention. On the otherhand, the guitar interplay between Winterwild and newcomer Joakim Jonsson is very good, the two are in synch and offer up some nice riffs and runs. Likewise, drummer Thomas Ohlsson is solid with quick, perfectly timed double bass and fills that will keep you coming back for more.This is the fourth release for the band, but this is my first experience with them, so I have no reference for comparing to their previous releases. I do know that in between Final Requiem and the last release, The Inquisition, there was a shakeup in the band which saw the departure of two guitatists, including founding member Peter Johansson, and I am not sure what affect that may have had on the group dynamic. Still, I am conflicted, as I want to like this, but there is a flatness to it, and it all comes back to the vocals which just seem to hold everything back.
Final Requiem gets off to a good start with the surging title track, a song driven forward by the incessant drums, and is a good introduction to what the rest of the album is to offer. That is followed by the strong guitar chugging of "Condemnation" and the strong "The Divine." Musically, it is hard to find any major fault with Axenstar, everything really fits together well, they are technically very precise, not a note out of place, and I can imagine how this might sound in the live environment.
Bottomline. This is not bad, not by a longshot, it strikes me more as a missed opportunity. The music is solid, but the vocals left me flat. Still, if you are a fan of power metal, you will no doubt find the good parts of this album and enjoy it, even look forward to what may be next, as I do.
Mildly Recommended.
If ever there was a pointless documentary made about an oddly obsessed individual and a quest that does not seem to have any real worth, or an end for that matter, this is it. I have to wonder what possessed this man to make him want to go on this particular journey. This is a a movie that I cannot really make a good argument to watch this movie, but if you happen to start watching it, there is a very good chance that you will not be able to look away. So, if you have ever wanted to know what it was like to drive around the country and drink gallons of coffee, Starbucking is the movie for you.
The movie does not go after the evils of corporate expansion, nor is it a study about the value of the food and drink offered by the chain. It is about a man who may, or may not, have some sort of mental issue. It is brought up that he may suffer from OCD, and it is even suggested that he may be bi-polar.
From what I'm told, mash-ups of songs from varying bands and varying styles are pretty popular. These combos pop up online and in clubs, and, from what I have heard, are curiopus oddities. I remember there was a mix combining Jay Z's Black Album with the Beatle's White Album that was making the rounds for awhile. Now here is a whole different take on the mash-up, a band that takes the songs of the Beatles and Metallica and rework them into something completely different. They became an internet phenomenon a few years back, but are now poised to make a run at a more mainstream audience as they have been signed to Oglio Records, distributed by Universal, and are fully authorized to create these mash-ups. Now the big question is if it works beyond the musical curiosity.
Some of the combinations work great, while others are a bit tedious, all working to the overall effect of fun curiosity that is good in small doses but little else. Musically, they are pretty good, though nothing that really steps up to stand next to the originals. The best way to consume Sgt. Hetfields Motorbreath Pub Band is to break into two or three song chunks, repeat as needed. Consumption of product as a whole is not recommended, as you will likely grow tired of the parody, thereby lessening the effect of the work, which is quite clever.
Chris Cornell is someone whose career can be broken down into chapters, where solo albums act as the chapter breaks. In the early 1990's he rose to fame as the great voice and charismatic frontman of Soundgarden, a band that I did not immediately take to, but found myself a fan of before long, what with the great songs on Badmotorfinger and Superunknown. Following the dissolution of that band, he released the excellent Euphoria Morning, a collection of more heartfelt voice oriented songs that was decidedly different from Soundgarden. That was followed by the formation of Audioslave with the instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine, and proceeded to create a solid style of hard rock. Now with Audioslave apparently finished in the wake of a Rage reunion (one show, anyway), he has returned to the singer/songwriter circuit with this second solo outing. Carry On may not be Euphoria Morning, but it is still a light, sometimes haunting change of pace for one of rocks best voices.
Les Claypool is an interesting character, he is the kind of guy that must be fun to hang around with, the stories he could probably tell. He is one of the few guys that could bring the rock crowd and the jam crowd together under one roof. That in itself is something to be proud of, well, that and being one of the greatest bassplayes to walk the Earth. This DVD chronicles the 2006 tour that was in support of his latest solo album, Of Whales and Woe. It is an excellent live album, even if I only recognize one song from the lot, watching him play is enough to keep me entertained. Yes, the music is good, I just need to get more of his non-Primus material.
July 14, 1966, Richard Speck entered a nurses dorm in Chicago. Once inside, he proceeded to torture, rape, and murder 8 young women in one of the bloodiest murders in history. Chicago Massacre is the second film I have watched in the past week to focus on this despicable excuse for a human being, the other one was called simply Speck. This one stars the unlikely candidate of Corin Nemec as our centerpiece killer, joining him in the cast are horror veterans Tony Todd (Candyman) and Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster, Lost). It is a low budget profile, but one that is not without its charms.
Speck is a movie that is interesting in how equally good and awful it is. It is a movie that when you watch it, you wonder think about how bad it is, but no matter what you do, you can't look away. Well, I couldn't but I am probably in the minority in that respect. It is another one of those "base on a true story" films, and I am sure that liberties were taken with the facts of the case. Of course, this is not a terribly deep film, no matter what the voiceover tells you, so whatever liberties it takes are probably on the minor side of things. Anyway, Speck is a movie that is all about atmosphere and on that level it delivers.
It's been two weeks since 24 completed its sixth season, are you going through withdrawal yet? I have to say that ever since 24 first hit the small screen, I have been hooked. Even when they weren't on their game, the show was always entertaining. I feel pretty safe in saying that a bad episode of 24 is better than a lot of what is out there on any given day. Anyway, the past couple of seasons have featured a season that started in January and runs straight through the end without a break or a repeat in the bunch. I love that, but it also leaves a big gap between the end of one season and the start of another. This year 20th Century Fox and Degree deoderant are teaming up to try and make the gap go down a little smoother by offering up some new original 24 themes content. It may not be the show, but it is pretty darn fun.
This week's top pick is Seinfeld: Season 8. Arguably the greatest sitcom ever. Yes, I know that is highly subjective, but that's how I feel about it. It does not matter just how many times I watch them, I will laugh, guaranteed. I know what lines are coming up, I still laugh. The show is eminently quotable and relatable. There are not many days that go by that a Seinfeld joke is not made, or referenced.
HORSE the Band is a curious oddity on the modern musical landscape. They do not have much in the way of mainstream name recognition, but they do have a highly dedicated following. Self-proclaimed practitioners of nintendo-core. Yes, you read that right. It is small, to my knowledge, sub-genre of post-hardcore/screamo that integrates 8 bit synthesizers that bring to memory the music to games from the original Nintendo system. Think Mastodon in a mash up with Metroid and Super Mario Brothers 2, odd to be sure, but definitely a step in the direction of originality. A Natural Death is their third full length release, and first since 2005's The Mechanical Hand. To my ears it is a step up from that earlier release, it features stronger songwriting but does not stray too far from the elements that make them stand out.
A Natural Death is a lot of fun. It is out on the fringe, but it is so damned intriguing. It is the kind of music that, when you first hear it, you will have one of two reactions. The first would be to just write it off as nonsensical bollocks, turn it off, never look back, and get on with someother music listening. The other would be to be curious, for good or bad, and continue listening to it. I fall into the latter category.
Hailing from Germany, Disbelief is a four piece band that has been firmly entrenched in the death metal scene for the past 15 years, spanning 7 albums. Of course, their seventh album is the first one that I have ever heard. Navigator is an album that is raw, heavy, and surprisingly original. I cannot say that I was expecting what I got from it. The opening down-tuned guitar riffs of the title track almost had me writing it off as just another death metal act without much to offer the genre. I was wrong. Do not mistake that for a glowing endorsement, but it is one worth listening to as Disbelief made a believer out of me with the song variety and intriguing approach to the sounds of death.
Navigator just continues building off of those first three tracks, continuing to expand their sound, bringing in a bit of a thrash influence, and just really expanding the boundaries of the standard death metal design. Disbelief mixes up tempos, offers a varied selection of vocal styles, and is much more experimental than I was willing to give them credit for. Though, if you are looking for shredding solos or the like, you would best go elsewhere, this album is all about skull crushing riffs.
From the moment I first saw a trailer for Knocked Up, I knew it was going to be one to watch. Frankly, I thought it looked hilarious, plus I am becoming a big fan of Judd Apatow's work, and have been looking forward to his follow up to the very funny 40 Year Old Virgin. There was definitely going to be some sort of comparison to his earlier film, and I am happy to say that this surpasses the Steve Carell vehicle. I found there to be a stronger sense of reality in this movie, and it really struck home.
Knocked Up has a strong sense of reality to it, that isn't to say that it is real. As I watched this I found that it had a very natural and organic flow to it. Still, there is a difference between real and reality. This has reality to it, not real. If I want to see real, I would just go out and people watch, and doing that it woiuld be quickly found that real is boring. What I like about this is that it has a reality to it. You may know people like those in the movie, you may identify with people in the movie or at least elements of those people, but the pieces are there to draw you in. It is something that Apatow has been doing his entire career, go back and watch 40 Year Old Virgin or his television projects Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared. Watch them and you will find a lot to laugh at, lots of comedy, but also a lot of truth. It is truth that is grounded in the real world, and delivered in a believable fashion, one that has a reality to it, just a slight step removed from the real.
A couple months out from that drunken night of bliss it is discovered that Allison is pregnant. This causes a crisis. What does she do? Her on camera career at E! is on the rise, and this could jeopardize all that she has worked for. Does she tell Ben? Does she have the baby? It is a big thing for a young woman to deal with. In the end, she decides to tell Ben, and together the two navigate the rough and choppy waters of preparing to have a child and at developing a relationship with each other.
In addition to the story of would be lovers Allison and Ben, we have a side story integrated to contrast their relationship. We get Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd) as a troubled married couple in love. It is a nice side story that fits in well with the larger picture. Also consider that the supporting cast is great, and there are some funny cameos sprinkled throughout.
There are so many bands out there that I have yet to discover, I have to wonder if it is ever going to be possible to cover just the bases, without even thinking of delving deeper into each genre's offerings. So far, it seems more likely that I will only ever be able to scratch the surface. Always in motion, always surveying the musical landscape for something different, something new, a wanderer without a home. And this is only in the world of metal, not even getting to other genres that I dabble in. Anyway, if you couldn't guess by the direction this is headed in, this is my first experience with purveyors of fine doom metal Solitude Aeturnus. I have just gotten a hold of thier latest release, Alone, and I have to say that it is an impressive piece of work. If you will forgive a perhaps clumsy analogy, the sound strikes me as a cross between the gothic darkness of Type O Negative and the progressive excess of Dream Theater. A joining of two disparate sounds creating technical dirges into doom and gloom.
Alone is not an album to approach lightly, while each track is distinctly different from the one before, the songs are long, following their own ebb and flow. The songs grow and bring you in, lulling you by their melodic nature. From the opening epic "Scent of Death" to "Sightless" to "Upon Within" to "Is There" there is a lot to absorb in their music. Their are crunchy passages, strong melodies, and everything between are intriguing.