Reviews of New CDs/Music

[jack's smirking revenge]

So, yeah, music is my thing. This thread is where we can review new music that has come out. We can all educate each other on what's worth buying for your CD player or IPOD or what's best left for the dollar shelf at CD Exchange.

Please feel free to post your thoughts on a recent music purchase. (This is not for "soon-to-be released stuff--this is for CDs that have been released and that you'd like to comment on. Please make them releases within the last few months).

tyler

[jack's smirking revenge]

Title: "Educated Horses"
Artist: Rob Zombie
Grade: B

Rob Zombie knows how to make good music. Plain and simple. At the core, he knows how to assemble a good song from the bottom up, starting with solid beats and keeping a song on a steady pace. He infuses his tunes with interesting clips from movies and TV to enhance the experience. "Educated Horses" is no different from anything Zombie has ever done, though it is not near as good as his last effort "The Sinister Urge".

Pluses: Very strong sing-along song "American Witch", "The Devil's Rejects" (see the movie), and "The Lords of Salem". Funky "17 Year Locust". A toned-down Rob Zombie image, minus all the freaky makeup and costumes.

Minuses: The rest of the album is somewhat weak. Zombie missed the mark with releasing "Foxy Foxy" as his leading single, a confused and plodding song that tries to echo great songs like "Never Gonna Stop" and "(go to) California". Unlike previous Zombie records, "Horses" seems to lack a cohesive theme, almost like Zombie is stuck in two different worlds--the horror market that he emerged from and a commercial rock market that he would like to be part of.

tyler

[jack's smirking revenge]

Title: "Karmacode"
Artist: Lacuna Coil
Category: Hard Rock
Grade: C

Italian rock band Lacuna Coil has raced up the metal charts in the last couple years off of the strength of their album "Comalies", slowly gaining acceptance and sales in the United States. 2005 saw them join Ozzfest, the highest honor a U.S. rock band can achieve these days. They will duplicate that effort in 2006. What is Lacuna Coil? If you merged Amy Lee from Evanescence, gave her voice a European tinge, and then partenered her vocals with Grover from the Muppets, you would have Lacuna Coil. That said, Lacuna Coil is strongest when lead singer Christina Scabbia is front-and-center in the music and in the band. Her beautiful voice and looks are really what have made Lacuna Coil what they are. With "Karmacode", Lacuna Coil return to their dual-vocalist formula.

Pluses: "Our Truth", featured on the "Underworld: Evolution" soundtrack. It is also their strongest song since "Heaven's A Lie" and showcases Christina Scabbia's impressive vocal range and diversity. Strong harmonies and composition.

Minuses: The whole rest of the album. I've listened to the album five or six times and no song even comes close to the power of "Our Truth". What's worse is that Lacuna Coil continues to attempt to showcase male-vocalist Andrea Ferro on certain songs. The presence of Ferro will continue to keep Lacuna Coil from soaring to the heights they could reach if they tried to compose without him. If you're interested in Lacuna Coil, check out "Unleashed Memories", which is an all-around better album than anything they're created since. Still, if you had to check out one Lacuna Coil song this year, give "Our Truth" a try.

tyler

[jack's smirking revenge]

Title: "Ghost Reveries"
Artist: Opeth
Category: Goth Metal
Grade: A

Opeth is the new face of progressive metal. While Dream Theater created some amazing material, they were often difficultly inaccessible (and, sometimes, relied too much on keyboards and techno). As they are from Sweden, they are most definitely European in sound and in nature, so many fans of metal in the United States will have trouble with their style and arrangement. But their talent and creativity is indisputable. Having mastered their death metal/goth acoustic mix over the last few albums, they have perfected it with "Ghost Reveries".

Pluses: A brilliant mix of death and beauty. The first time you listen to Opeth will be like taking your first shot of Jager. It will hurt and it may taste bitter, cause you to shake your head in convulsive rage, but the result will be well worth it and each succeeding sip will taste sweeter and sweeter. Opeth is a death metal band. But Opeth is more than the voice of death and decay. Intertwined within vocal the darkness of Opeth are angelic harmonies and peaceful acoustic interludes. Anyone that has checked out their companion albums "Deliverance" and "Damnation" know this very well. "Ghost Reveries" is a merging and balancing of both the ugliness of death and the beauty of darkness. To me, the last three songs of "Ghost Reveries" tell the story of Opeth--"Hours of Wealth", "The Grand Conjuration" and "Isolation Years" are a mix of beautiful acoustic vocals and string accompaniment, engaging and thought-provoking lyrics, and an a multi-tiered voice of rage. Another plus with Opeth is that they are grand storytellers. Each of the songs of "Ghost Reveries" carries on a story of loss and despair, twinged with hope, that I am still working to unwind.

Minuses: Depends on the listener. Their gritty and groaning vocals are not for everyone. But if you give Opeth a chance and listen past the growling, or try to listen deeper into the depths of the despair, you will be amazed at the diversity of Mikael Akerfeldt.

tyler

[Little Whiskey]

what no country reviews jack?? shocking

[jack's smirking revenge]

what no country reviews jack?? shocking

I'll let you be the country expert Whiskey. I don't want to be the only one posting on this thread.

tyler

[Anti-Polar Bear]

I know we're not supposed talk about soon to released albums, but I'm impatiently awaiting Snow Patrol's 4th album, "Eyes Open," which is scheduled to be out in the US on May 9th. I havent been this impatient since Coldplay's X&Y was coming out last year.

[jack's smirking revenge]

I know we're not supposed talk about soon to released albums, but I'm impatiently awaiting Snow Patrol's 4th album, "Eyes Open," which is scheduled to be out in the US on May 9th. I havent been this impatient since Coldplay's X&Y was coming out last year.

No worries. I'd rather not create rules. How about you update this post with a review once it comes out in a month?

tyler

[Anti-Polar Bear]

No problem, will do.

[Iron Mike]

I know we're not supposed talk about soon to released albums.

Who said??? I'll be all over this in a couple of weeks:

[Iron Mike]

How 'bout this one???

[GBRulz]

I was just browsing around on Itunes and it amazes me how so many artists think that by having one hit, they can put out a "greatest hits" album a year later.

An example "The very best of Aaron Carter". Um, ok. Sure. But did he even have ONE hit?? I think Hillary Duff is another one with a Greatest Hits album out now. What a joke.

Ok, an album that I highly recommend if you don't have it already is Jack Johnson !! He has such a unique sound. Makes me want to just sit on the beach with a drink in my hand.

and I know this won't be popular with the guys, but Madonna's latest is also very good. has a very disco/retro like feel to it.

[GoPackGo]

I have 3 Jack Johnson albums...recommended

[jack's smirking revenge]

Title: "Operation: Mindcrime II"
Artist: Queensryche
Category: Hard Rock
Grade: F

I'm going to skip the plus/minus assessment for the review of this album. If you don't know Queensryche, then its no big deal. You're going to skip picking up this CD. But, if you do know Queensryche, and track them back all the way to 1988 when they released their masterpiece "Operation: Mindcrime", then you DEFINITELY should skip picking up this CD. Bottom line: its one of the worst rock CDs that I've heard in a while.

I've listened to it once and I think I'm going to put it up for purchase on Amazon. Nothing about this CD is remotely as good as the worst parts of the original Mindcrime. And its not because its a sequel and following a sequel is difficult. O:M II is just a horrible CD. Geoff Tate's singing sounds strained. The music is uninsipred. Honestly, the return of Mary as a ghost in some songs is probably the highlight. Even the guest vocals of Ronnie James Dio can't help this trainwreck. I had hoped the presence of Jason Slater (Snake River Conspiracy) would put them on the right path, but his production sounds just as bad.

I knew I shouldn't have purchased it, but, as a Queensryche fan, I thought I should at least give it a chance. If you're a Queensryche fan and you're reading this, learn from my mistake. Pass on this sequel and hope this band gives up on trying to duplicate their success of the past.

Like a QB far past his prime, trying to get that one last ring, Queensryche needs to ride off into the sunset. Count their winnings and recall the good ol' days, because things will never be that good again for them. Their attempt at resurrecting the Mindcrime franchise is proof of that.

[jack's smirking revenge]

A gift for all of you who actually read this thread (and are fans of Tool). A link to the new Tool song "Vicarious"...

http://kate.circlestar.org/~mwt/tool-vicarious.mp3

DO NOT pass this link around. This is for my friends in the Packer Rats world only. The song is being released to radio today.

tyler

[MJZiggy]

Thanks for the link, but a little heavy for me. Those into that genre should really like it, though.

[billy_oliver880]

I have 3 Jack Johnson albums...recommended

Brushfire Fairtales is my Fav....highly recommended. :thumbs up:

[MJZiggy]

What genre is that?

[billy_oliver880]

What genre is that?

They call it adult alternative...I guess you could compare it to Dave Matthews?

[MJZiggy]

I like Dave Matthews. I'll have to take a listen to it.