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Category Archives: Music Review

Music Review Tuesday – Dragonforce

In a world where speed metal, blazing fingers, and even faster picks, Dragonforce is near the top of the power metal pile. I was first introduced to this band by my son Corey. He also shares my taste for head-banging, smash-mouth, guitar oriented music. After listening to the first song I was impressed by the skillful, yet lightning fast, guitar playing. This extreme power metal band formed in 1999 hails from London, England. Dragonforce will draw on influences by all forms of metal, melodic metal, and speed metal, but also video games. Their lyrics are definitely influenced by the themes present in games such as Final Fantasy. To quote Herman Li (one of the lead guitarists) from Guitar World on a description of the band’s style: “Nintendo Metal, or Bon Jovi on speed”. I would have to agree. After hearing my first few songs from Dragonforce, my first thoughts were, “these guys have to be doing major finger callesthenics in order to maintain that speed live.” This is a definite deviation from my last review, but one I have enjoyed. Dragonforce gets my axe playing juices flowing much like the bands Dream Theater, and Symphony X do.

The latest album release from Dragonforce is called “Inhuman Rampage” It is their third album. It was released on January 9th, 2006, and their first with Road Runner Records. The album title alone depicts their musical style. The first track “Through the Fire and Flames” blazes into the auditory canal with inhuman thrash. This song is the most successful single by Dragonforce. It is also used as the unlockable final encore song in the popular video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Track two, “Revolution Deathsquad”, slows things down from 200mph to 100mph. This toned down pace (not really) allows you to enjoy a nice mixture of palm muted and loud crunching guitar rhythms, along with some keyboards, and video gaming sounds. The mid-point of the song sounds similar to older Metallica. The next song is called “Storming the Burning Fields”. It begins with the patented blazing solo guitar but later incorporates a well mixed combination of keyboards and rhythm guitars. The typical lyrics say:

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Posted by barrydean on April 8, 2008 in Dragonforce, Inhuman Rampage, Music Review

Music review Tuesday – Shawn McDonald

25 Mar

This week I am deviating from my normal musical interests and reviewing an album from a musician I have never listened to before this past week. Shawn McDonald is a Christian artist and has been recording with Sparrow Records since August of 2004. I did some research for some bio info, which can be found at Wikipedia, and found that his life has had an amazing turn. Shawn grew up in Eugene, Oregon. He had been abandoned by his natural parents and raised by his grandparents. He grew up too quickly and roughly ten years ago or so, he found himself in a real mess. He says “name a drug, he was either selling it or using it.” Then one day as a young man he found himself facing several drug charges. He says in desperation he cried out to God. He attributes his transformation totally as a work of God. He says that “the way I am now and the way I was then is like night and day. I was a closed shell and now God has created in me a transparency.” I found this transparency and passion for God evident in his song writing.

The album by Shawn McDonald is “Roots“. It was released on March 11th, 2008. The album begins with “Clarity”, a gentle acoustic jazz styled ear candy experience. The song has a nice slide guitar solo close to the end of the track. This is a very cool song. The next track is called “Captivated”. It is a beautiful song of worship and expression for the Creator of all. The bridge verse sweetly sings:

The blood in my veins and my heart you invade
The plants how they grow and the tree and their shade
The way that I feel and love in my soul
I thank you my God for letting me know

Track number three, “Wash Me Clean”, starts off with a neat nylon stringed riff that blends into a nicely mixed orchestral piece. The song has a great flow and Shawn’s vocals are well produced into the acoustic blend. The next song, “Shadowlands”, contains lyrics from the 23rd Psalm. The reggae influenced musical style, including the hip hop vocal style, is reminiscent of Paul Wright, another unique Christian artist.

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Posted by barrydean on March 25, 2008 in Music Review, Roots, Shawn McDonald

Music review Tuesday – Pillar

18 Mar

My first introduction to Pillar. It was in 2001 when their video for “Open Your Eyes” debuted on TVU’s Ten Most Wanted. The video was only the studio version of the song played under live concert footage. The song was kind of interesting in that it was a mixture of rap and hard rock guitars, currently known as the genre of RapCore. What struck me the most about the video was their energy. They flew around on the stage and jumped into the audience for some body surfing. I later learned that Rob Beckley, the lead singer, was also serving in the Army reserves. I thought that was pretty cool. What a role model to the teenagers who look up to rock stars. The band was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album for their previous release “The Reckoning” earlier this year. You can read about their adventures at the awards show here.

Pillar has changed their style quite a bit over the last three albums. Their style is solid in the modern hard rock genre. Rob Beckley has gone away from the rapping he used to do and honed his vocal talents as a rock singer. He does more screaming now than rapping. Their new release “For the Love of the Game” was released on February 26th, 2008. The title track is the first song up. “For the Love of the Game” has been used by ESPN’s Baseball Tonight program, and it was used during montages hightlighting the 2007 World Series. The song itself crunches out with Noah Henson’s patented driving riffs and Lester Estelle’s pounding drums with Rob loudly proclaiming:

Count me in, but don’t count me out,
You can’t shut me up, you can’t shut me down,
Fight through the hurt,
Fight through the pain,
Without the ache there is no gain,
We live our lives for the love of the game

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Music review Tuesday – The Black Crowes

11 Mar

Who would you consider to be the most “rock n’ roll” rock band in the world? Your short list might contain Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, or The Who, but would it contain The Black Crowes? It would, according to Melody Maker magazine. In fact The Black Crowes would top their list as the most “rock n’ roll” Rock n’ Roll band in the world. In 1990 Rolling Stone magazine readers voted The Black Crowes “Best New American Band” These are just some of the accolades The Black Crowes have received since the release of their debut album “Shake Your Money Maker” in 1990. Their multi-platinum debut album saw the release of six singles and sales of over 3 million copies. Pretty good for a 1970’s revivalist band from Atlanta, Georgia.

The new album is called “Warpaint” and was released March 4th, 2008. This is their first studio album in almost seven years. The album also introduces new band members Luther Dickinson, a blues-rock guitarist from Memphis (ya gotta love that), and keyboardist Adam McDougall. The band gets it’s blues mojo on right from the start with the first track “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution”. I think Dickinson is picking a fender telecaster with a bone slide on this one. With the typical Crowes lyrics:

Cut a rusty engine outta sawdust town
Better deal with the man who shook ’em all down so
Put a little grease on my axle now, yeah

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Posted by barrydean on March 11, 2008 in Music Review, The Black Crowes, Warpaint

Music Review Tuesday – Black Stone Cherry

04 Mar

In a state more known for it’s famous horse race, baseball bats, and Blue Grass music comes a band that is blazing it’s own trail in rock music. Black Stone Cherry is from Edmonton, Kentucky and was formed in June of 2001. Edmonton is also home of the country music group Kentucky Headhunters who have more in common with the band than just sharing the same hometown. The band’s drummer John Fred Young’s father and uncle are members of the country rock band. Other Black Stone Cherry band members include Chris Robertson (vocals/guitar), Ben Wells (guitar/vocals), Jon Lawhon (bass/vocals). Their musical style is reminiscent of Southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Blackfoot with a heavier sound more like Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society. Their song writing tells tales of moonshiners, rain wizards, and families dealing with loved ones who go off to war. The band sounds familiar to some degree and yet it is hard to pigeon-hole them into a single genre. I would call it Southern, hard rock, butt kickin’ , alternative, anti-grunge. Let’s give it a listen.

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Posted by barrydean on March 4, 2008 in Black Stone Cherry, Music Review

Music Review Tuesday – Chevelle

26 Feb

Do you remember where you were when you first heard the song “Point #1” by Chevelle, this weeks highlight band for Music Review Tuesday? I remember where I was. I was sitting in our living room with our kids watching “Ten Most Wanted“, a video request program on TVU. TVU is a 24 hour Christian music video channel on Sky Angel satellite. The song was debuting on “Ten Most Wanted”. My boys and I like their kind of music, so when the song had finished we all looked at each other and kind of head banged and smiled in approval. Chevelle was originally formed in 1995 by three brothers, Pete, Sam, and Joe Loeffler from Grayslake, Illinois. Their musical genre vacillates between alternative metal, hard rock, and post-grunge. The band name was conceived from the name of the boys’ father’s favorite automobile, the Chevrolet Chevelle.

The album I am reviewing is “Vena Sera” which was released on April 3rd of 2007. The album title is latin amd translates to “vein liquid” which, according to Pete Loeffler, represents the blood Chevelle put into making this album. This album is the first one recorded with new bassist and brother-law Dean Bernardini. (For more on the departure of the youngest Loeffler, go to the Wikipedia site.) The album debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200, and sold 62,000 copies in the first week of release. The first track “Antisaint” roars out of the headphones with some neat minor chords, and has a really cool guitar riff with a nice, hard driving bass presence. This bass sound is pronounced throughout the album. The next track is “Brainiac”. This song has a nice, pure driving snare drum beat that drives the song with the signature guitar rhythms of Pete Loeffler. Track number three is “Saferwaters” and the most melodic song on the record which is saying quite a lot because most of the Chevelle songs have an impressive melodic tone. The chorus sings:

That world is calling
So I’m crawling back to sea
Against the surge of waves that
Held us in that ancient grip beneath
Retreat to safer waters

The next song is called “Well Enough Alone“. It is about the events surrounding the departure of former bassist and brother Joe Loeffler. The song begins with a heavy sigh which I believe signifies the frustration experienced by the band through the ordeal. The song is very well done and is your typical hard, melodic Chevelle staple song. It rocks!!

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Posted by barrydean on February 26, 2008 in Chevelle, Music Review, Ten Most Wanted, TVU, Vena Sera

Music Review Tuesday – Matchbox Twenty

18 Feb

Much like the song title to their new single “How Far We’ve Come”, Matchbox Twenty has been through it’s share of changes and highs and lows. From the release of it’s debut album that sold more than 12 million copies in the U.S. alone to losing friendships and band mates to creative differences. The band has been resilient over the 12 years they have been recording. They have amassed many dedicated fans and wooed many musical critics with their musical diversity. Only the band members themselves know if the band will continue. Two of it’s original members Rob Thomas and Paul Doucette are basically responsible for the making of the first CD and six new original songs on the two CD release that I am reviewing today. Thomas and Doucette got together in New York to iron out how to fix their friendship and not so much worry about the band. About this same time their record label Atlantic Records asked for a greatest hits record. The combination of the friendship reunion and the greatest hits birthed the newest album from Matchbox Twenty.

“Exile On Mainstream” is the name of their new album. It was released on October 7th, 2007. The album is a two CD set with CD one containing six new original songs and CD two containing 11 of their greatest hits. The six new songs kind of vacillate between rock and folk as you progress through them. The band has sort of reinvented themselves with this new release. The first song “How Far We’ve Come” has been getting quite a lot of air play on college and modern hit radio stations. It is definitely a recognizable Matchbox Twenty song. The lyrics to the song are quite reflective:

I think it turned ten o’clock but I don’t really know
And I can’t remember caring for an hour or so
Started crying and I couldn’t stop myself
I started running but there’s no where to run to
I sat down on the street took a look at myself
Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell
Say your goodbyes if you’ve got someone you can say goodbye to

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Music Review Tuesday – Airbourne

05 Feb

It is once again Tuesday and time for another music review. Today I will be reviewing an album from a band who is “down under”. That’s right, they are from Melbourne, Australia but originally moved from Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. The band is Airbourne. They are a fairly new band. They released an eight track (visions of square plastic cartridges) EP in 2004 but, the album I am reviewing is their first full length album. The genre of Airbourne is categorized as pub-rock. I can summarize them down to one word, “attitude”, rock n’ roll attitude. They epitomize the attitude of the early to mid 1980’s arena rock bands. It has been said that Australia is a few years behind in pop-culture. But with this band, it’s almost as if they ignored the grunge rock phase America went through in the 1990’s. That grunge phase has effected many hard rock bands of today. The effect has made the lyrics and music darker and more moody. With Airborne, the classic “in your face” rock n’ roll attitude is back, alive and well.

The album title is “Runnin’ Wild” and was released to the U.S. on January 29th, 2008. “Alright people! Welcome to the show!” These are the first words heard as album starts with a guitar explosion in “Stand Up For Rock N’ Roll”. The music and sound are reminiscent of early AC/DC, as it is with many of the tracks on the album. “Runnin’ Wild” is the next track and is the also the album title. The song is definitely about young man angst about breaking up. The following song is the epitome of the “attitude” I spoke of earlier. It is called “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast”. The chorus lyrics say it all:

Too much, Too young, Too fast
I’m gonna drink it up while it lasts
Too much, Too young, Too fast
I’m gonna tear it up so fill my glass

The next track “Diamond In the Rough” is such a simple rock song with some real good old rock n’ roll guitar. This is followed by “Fat City” which is “juiced up and ready” for a night of rock n’ roll.

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Posted by barrydean on February 5, 2008 in Airbourne, Music Review, Runnin' Wild

Music Review Tuesday – Foo Fighters

29 Jan

This week I going to review another album by a band I had only heard about but have not actually listened to. Now I love to listen to new bands and new music so why would I not listen to a rock band as popular as the Foo Fighters? Frankly I couldn’t get past their name. I mean what is a Foo and why would you want to fight it? So, again, after hearing one of their new songs on the local college radio station I had to research the origination of their name. The second sentence in Wikipedia for Foo Fighters states that the group is named after the World War II term used to refer to mysterious aerial phenomena. Ok, that sounds pretty cool. I like WWII stuff and phenomena is even better. The genre of their music is listed as alternative, post-grunge, hard rock. The Foo Fighters were formed by Dave Grohl who was the drummer for the Seattle grunge band Nirvana. Now that is not something I knew. Now onto the album.

The new album by the Foo Fighters is called “Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace” is their sixth studio album. It was released September 25th, 2007. The album entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #3, selling over 168,000 copies in it’s first week of release. Dave Grohl noted in an interview that the band was eager to expand on their signature sound:

So the album we’re making sounds like a Foo Fighters album, but it’s definitely moving in a few different directions. It’s cool man, I love it.

The first single released from the new album is called “The Pretender” and starts things off with a very cool song with many different guitar sounds and an exciting rhythm and chorus.

What if I say I’m not like the others?
What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays
You’re the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

What if I say I’m not like the others?
What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays
You’re the pretender
What if I say that I’ll never surrender?

The next track “Let It Die” about love lost starts out slow and mellow and builds to a crushing crescendo. Like Grohl said, “cool man”. The next song on the album is called “Erase Replace” it has a very cool drum beat and rhythm. It makes the song sound a little heavier than the previous songs on the album. But in the middle of the song it gets downright pensive and dreamlike. The next track is “Long Road To Ruin” and is the second single released for the album. It is definitely a different song from anything else I have heard from this band. The sound is very familiar but I can’t put my finger on it. The vocals are excellent.

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Music Review Tuesday – Ozzy

16 Jan

I got caught in a bit of a pinch today. I wasn’t totally prepared to do a Music Review Tuesday. But as I was going through my mp3 player I discovered I did have an album on it that I have been meaning to review since it was released earlier this year. Who was the lead singer for seemingly the first heavy metal rock band? Who’s name is synonymous with bats and Satan? Who is the self-proclaimed “Prince of Darkness”? Who has abused themselves on drugs and alcohol so much over the years they are almost unintelligible? Who had their own reality TV show that introduced millions of new fans to his family? That’s right the King of “most everything wrong” with heavy metal music, the artist known as Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy will be sixty years old this year. After over ten years of singing and writing for Black Sabbath, He became a solo performer in 1980. In doing so he took the heavy metal genre to new heights with the legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads. He has worked with many great musicians over the years including Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)Jake E. Lee, Brad Gillis (Night Ranger), and current guitarist and bandmate Zakk Wylde. But would this new album come close to some of the heavy metal genius we have pummeled our cranium too in the past?

Enter “Black Rain” the new release from Ozzy Osbourne. The album was released on May 22nd, 2007. The band lineup is Zakk Wylde on guitars, Mike Bordin on drums, and Rob Nicholson on bass guitar. The album slams my head with the opening track “Not Going Away”. The combination of Zakk Wylde and Nichols’ bass is so heavy, it reminds me of Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi in their Black Sabbath heyday. Ozzy actually tries his hand, or voice as it were, with some screaming on this track. The next track “I Don’t Wanna Stop” comes screaming out of the gate into a head crushing rhythm that is a killer. There are plenty of patented Zakk pinch harmonics to go ’round on this track. It definitely rawks your face off. Part of the chorus goes:

All fired up, I’m gonna go till I drop
You’re either in or in the way, don’t make me,
I don’t wanna stop

The album title “Black Rain” is the next song on the album. It slow things down a bit. But the same heavy pounding guitar and bass is very evident. The next four tracks are pretty lame for a hard rock album and do not even compare to the given title “King of Heavy Metal”.

Album hightlights are “Not Going Away”, “I Don’t Wanna Stop” hey can someone find my face for me, “Black Rain”, “Countdown’s Begun” with it’s full force guitar driven crunch riff, “Trap Door” starts out with the typical Ozzy filler formula but builds to a very cool rockin’ song.

This Ozzy album as a whole does not compare very well to some of my past favorites. But this sixty year old burn out can still put together some heavy songs. The songs in the middle are downright lame in comparison. I give this album a BarryDean three and a half stars out of five.