Music Review: Michale Graves - Supernatural

I cannot say exactly when it was that my love affair with Michale Graves began, but I can say that it is not showing any signs of slowing down or ending anywhere in the foreseeable future. This guy has become amazingly prolific over the past few years, and while each album seems to contain a mixture of new tunes and rearranged versions of prior cuts, he remains so damn intriguing. He has a voice that is just full of raw emotion. There is something about it that just captures my mind and just holds on for dear life.

Music Review: Witchcraft - Witchcraft

I am not sure I adequately explain just what it is about this band that hypnotizes me. There are times when I put their discography on a loop and just let it play for hours. I am not always listening to it attentively, but the rhythm and groove is always there. The band was formed back in 2000 and released this self titled debut in 2004. As soon as you hot play and the titular track begins to play, you will transported away from the mundane, into a melding of past and present powered by fuzzy guitar grooves and soaring vocals.

Music Review: Sugar Red Drive - A Story of Signs

I am kind of surprised I had not crossed paths with Sugar Red Drive before their label debut release arrived on my doorstep. Why, you ask? Well, the band hails from Poughkeepsie, NY, which is right in my neck of the woods and I have a bunch of friends in and around the local rock scene. Whatever, I guess it doesn't really matter much at this point. What really matters now is the music contained within A Story of Signs.

Sound Influence: INXS - Kick

As I think back on my youth, I was not someone you would have called a music fan. There were hints that I might be headed in the general direction, but nothing terribly solid to point to. Still, there were a few albums (or cassettes as the case may be) that made their way into my possession that really clicked with me and have remained important landmarks in my development as a music fan. One of those albums was Kick by INXS. If pressed, I could give you a quick reason, but there was something about it that spoke to me. It remains a favorite today.

Music Review: Feersum Ennjin - Feersum Ennjin

The band name is not unlike an illiterate person attempting to sound out the words he wants to spell. The thing of it is that thought is not terribly far off from the truth, you see, it takes its inspiration from the novel Feersum Enndjin from author Iain M. Banks. It is a science fiction story set in a future where ancients have left the Earth and those who remain are complacent and surrounded by technology they don't understand. One of the characters is written in phonetic English, leading to odd spellings such as the band name. What influence this has on the music, I am not sure, but it is an interesting basis for the band name (I may need to check out that book).

Music Review: A Lull - Confetti

A Lull. Taken on its own, that certainly sounds boring. Can you believe that is actually the name the band? Just when you thought all the good names may be taken, you find you just may be right. I kid. Seriously, it just strikes me as an uninspired name that is not likely to garner a lot of attention sitting on the shelf. Maybe I am wrong , anyway, what's in a name? It sort of reminds me of Lonely China Day, who I enjoy very much. As it turns out, A Lull's latest release, and my first exposure to the band, is actually quite interesting.

Sound Influence: Winger - In the Heart of the Young

Welcome to Sound Influence. This is a series of columns looking back on the albums that were instrumental in first making me a fan of music and second helped shape my listening tastes over the years. Many of the albums covered will be popular for one reason or another, but more than that they mean something to me. These are albums that have stories attached to them and are albums that are a big part of why I love music and will continue to love music. These are not so much reviews as they are my memories of my first exposure to them.

Music Review: Broadcast Sea - Lost Generation

With only six songs and failing to crack 23-minutes in length, Lost Generation from Broadcast Sea wastes little time getting in and getting out. They do not wear out their welcome nor do they bore you with lengthy introductions or overly long musical excursions. They bring the rock, they bring it big and they leave you wondering just what it was that ran you over.

Sound Influence: Def Leppard - Hysteria

Welcome to Sound Influence. This is a series of columns looking back on the albums that were instrumental in first making me a fan of music and second helped shape my listening tastes over the years. Many of the albums covered will be popular for one reason or another, but more than that they mean something to me. These are albums that have stories attached to them and are albums that are a big part of why I love music and will continue to love music. These are not so much reviews as they are my memories of my first exposure to them.

DVD Review: Mogwai - Burning

Mogwai is a band I know very little about. Blasphemy right? I really don't, but I want to find out more. Honestly, I do. I guess it is a little strange to be starting with their first ever concert video, I understand that. However, if you stop and think about it, what better way is there to getting intimate with a band other than to witness them live? I know this isn't quite the same as actually seeing them in a concert but it does go a long way to showing one what the band is really like, how they flow, how they fit together, and how proficient they are at presenting their compositions. It is the live setting that will expose the act for what they are, a studio only band or one that can bring it to the stage in compelling fashion.

Music Review: Thulium - 69

A quick search on the word Thulium turns up the fact that it is a metal on the periodic table of elements and has an atomic number of 69 (well, that explains the EP title and logo). It is expensive, rare, and is used in X-ray machines and solid state lasers. Aside from those two uses, the element does not seem to be all that impressive. Sure, it is rare, but it is never found alone or in any great quantities, it is, for the most part, non-toxic.

Influential Albums: Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

Welcome to the debut edition of Influential Albums. Influential to who you may ask. The answer is simple, me. This column will spotlight albums which have had an influence on me as a music fan, or stand out as classics and potential classics. You may agree, you may not agree, but that really isn't the point. The purpose is to share my thoughts on these albums that have shaped me through the years as my tastes have grown, expanded, and matured. I have gone through phases, some good, some bad, always for me. The first album is from 80's icons Bon Jovi, it is their breakthrough 1986 album Slippery When Wet, which has sold 12 million copies to date.

CD Review: Papa Roach: Getting Away With Murder

Papa Roach first came to my attention way back in 2000 when they released their debut Infest. I liked this album a lot. It leaned heavily towards radio friendly mainstream, but it still had a heavy quality all unto itself. It was full of heavy clipped riffs, clever lyrics, and an overall fun but serious attitude. When their second album dropped in 2002, Lovehatetragedy, I had more or less lost interest and skipped this release. Two more years pass and they have released this, heir third album, upon the masses and I decided to check it out and see if they were any different than when I first encountered them.