Psychostick - Revenge Of The Vengeance
My Top 10 of 2014:
10. Devin Townsend - Z2 (Dark Matters & Sky Blue)
My Top 10 of 2014:
10. Devin Townsend - Z2 (Dark Matters & Sky Blue)
Thursday, January 1, 2015
31 Album Reviews from 2014
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
2014 Album Reviews: Nobis - Confession
There is one question I ask myself when choosing my album of the year: "what band occupied my iPod the longest?". This year, Cloudkicker came very close, but I had to give it up to Nobis and their album 'Confession'. There's a good chance you are unfamiliar with this band as they are unsigned and have been M.I.A. since 2007. Hailing from northern Maine, these guys lead the local metal scene back in the day and it looks like they are back to prove they have far from lost their touch. With the addition of two former members of another Maine metal band, Donnybrook, they have managed to create an amazing album from start to finish that kept their original badass sound and threw in some new influences that they have acquired throughout the years. The stand-out track for me, if I had to choose one, would be "House of Cards", but other than the instrumental filler track "Gehalgod", there isn't a weak track on the album. I urge you to head over to their Bandcamp page and give 'Confession' a download. You'll thank me.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
2014 Album Reviews: Cloudkicker - Live With Intronaut
For those not familiar, Cloudkicker is not a band but one person, Ben Sharp. He writes, performs and records everything himself and releases all of his albums independently through Bandcamp. Ben has gone on record in the past to say that he never intended on performing live. Well, something big changed that this year: he met Intronaut! They graciously offered to learn his songs and be his backup band for a tour and luckily for all of us, he took them up on that offer.
I was able to attend one of these performances, but before I tell you what I thought, I must mention that I had an absolutely horrible time getting to the show. I'm not a big fan of driving in Boston at all. Those damn one-way streets! I got lost as I usually do in Boston, but with traveling alone I struggled a bit more to navigate my way through the hellish roads than usual and got into my first ever fender bender with a cabbie. No one got hurt, but it was still incredibly disappointing for me. I was already running late and now this. Cloudkicker was the opener and the whole reason I was going to the show and now I'm going to miss it. Things got settled and my buddy who I was meeting up with told me they haven't hit the stage yet so there was still a glimmer of hope!
The next challenge was finding a parking spot which I quickly learned is nearly an impossible mission is Allston, the section of Boston where the club was located. After driving in circles for twenty minutes, I was forced to park a mile away and walk, which made the little bit of hope I had left disappear with every step I took. Finally, I arrived at the club. Expecting to have completely miss them, I entered just as the lights were dimmed. I made it in time! Hooray!
As soon as they started playing, all of my trouble went away. It was easily one of the best live performances I have ever seen and they absolutely stole the show. As awful of a time I had getting there, it was 100% worth it just for the chance to see this amazing group of musicians playing songs that were never meant to be played live.
As for the album (I know, I know, it's about damn time!), I had no idea this was even being released and turned into a giddy little school girl when I found out about it. There aren't any new songs on it, just a playlist of his strongest material that all translated perfectly in the live setting. I have lost count of how many times I have listened to this already and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon! If you haven't listened to Cloudkicker before, this album is a great place to start.
I should also mention Ben did release an album of new material this year, Little Histories. It's more of a rock album that, dare I say, sounds like it was written with the intention of being played live. One can hope anyway! Although I prefer the live album, this is still a great addition to his resume. He truly has a way with creating atmospheric tunes that transport you to a place I would much rather be.
Monday, December 29, 2014
2014 Album Reviews: Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed
When I caught wind that vocalist Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) and Max Cavalera (Sepultura/Soulfly/Cavalera Conspiracy/Nailbomb) was working on a side project together, I was intrigued. They mentioned they were going for a thrashy, Nailbomb type of sound which could have gone either way, but I held on to hope. Then I heard that bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders (Mastodon) and drummer Dave Elitch (ex-The Mars Volta) jumped on board, I knew the sound was going to change dramatically and that excited the hell out of me. Supergroups are almost never what they should be, being a muted version of each band that just never come together well. Killer Be Killed is exactly what a supergroup should be. Each member brings their own element to the group without being too overpowering to create songs that fans of each individual band can be proud of. I really hope we hear more from these guys in the near future.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
2014 Album Reviews: Whitechapel - Our Endless War
Whitechapel has been evolving their sound for the past few albums which have been dividing their fans: it's now the "original" fans that prefer their more "brutal" deathcore/death metal sound that they started with against the fans who have embraced their exploration of other styles yet still remaining heavy as hell. I not only welcome this change, I prefer it. It's no secret that groove metal is my preference over blast beats, so seeing these guys move more in that direction little by little is fine by me! The song "The Saw Is The Law" certainly fulfills all my groove metal requirements, but the winner on 'Our Endless War' for me is definitely "Digg's Road" which I believe is the best song they have written to date. This has been my go-to angry album I blast in my car on the way home from a bad day at work.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
2014 Album Reviews: Monuments - The Amanuensis
Monuments, among similar bands like Tesseract and Periphery, seemed to have contracted the "can't-hang-on-to-a-singer" virus that has plagued them for years. With the loss of three vocalists, their second album has introduced number four: Chris Baretto. If you are a fan of Periphery, that name may sound familiar as Chris was in the group for a short period of time before being fired for not giving it his all. It seems that battling through so many struggles has at least paid off for both Monuments and Chris as their meeting has made for an incredible album. Chris had a lot to prove to doubting fans but he obviously took that as a challenge and crushed it to pieces by giving one of the best vocal performances of the year. He even brought a little Michael Jackson flair at times which works surprisingly well! I just hope that the curse has been lifted and we see these guys working together from now on.
Friday, December 26, 2014
2014 Album Reviews: Trioscapes - Digital Dream Sequence
When bassist Dan Briggs from Between The Buried And Me announced the release of a jazz side project in 2012, Trioscapes, I got really excited and immediately fell in love with the project at first listen. I didn't expect another album from this group anytime soon. When I saw that a sophomore album was being released this year, I squealed with joy! Just like my excitement for their first album, I was not disappointed in the least by the final product. In fact, this time around there is much more chemistry between the three members who work as a single unit to create some of the best avant-garde jazz I've ever heard. Do yourself a favor and listen to this immediately!
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