Video Killed the Radio Star: Thank God it wasn't a terrorist attack...

This is just too perfect. Wolf Blitzer is interviewing a man right after the earthquake from last week and ... just watch.


classic

Tirades of Truth: Lacuna Coil - Comalies

ok a couple weeks ago, I talked about some new classic albums (Nevermore, Into Eternity, and Killswitch Engage). Well I can't believe I missed one, actually I am sure I missed more than one, but this one is a glaring omission...

Lacuna Coil - Comalies

So where do I start? Well for those who don't know of this band, Lacuna Coil is a gothic metal band. The whole male/female vocal exchange wasn't started by Lacuna Coil, but they perfected it. Alot of people want to compare L.C. to Evanescence, but truth of the matter is that L.C. has been around longer and play traditional goth metal, not too much on the pop rock.

Alright so like I have said I always try to compare bands to Metallica, why? because they are pretty well known and it is easier to relate to them. So how can I compare a goth band to Metallica? Easy...like RTL before MOP, Lacuna Coil put out an album called Unleashed Memories. It really brought in and developed the male/female vocal dynamics. On earlier albums, they used more of the beauty and the beast approach...here they used more male clean singing. A quick note, Lacuna Coil, was never huge on the death male vocals, but the screams really went away after Unleashed Memories.

So what is Comalies like? In a word...perfection. The music is heavy...really heavy. I am talking classic head banging...not fast/thrashy, but heavy. There are no solos, but plenty of instrumental breakdowns (not metalcore breakdowns) and drum fills. One another note would have to be the "size" of the music, it feels and sounds so grand. This was the album that got me into the symphonic metal scene, although it doesn't overpower the rest of the band. The one thing I must say about this album is the singing performances by both Cristina and Andrea are so perfect. Her voice is so enchanting and intoxicating...and Andrea's is the perfect balance to it.

Song choices? All of them, this is a no filler album. All of the songs have great versus and great sing-a-long choruses. I can't praise this album enough.

samples: http://www.myspace.com/lacunacoil (Heaven's a Lie...classic a good feel for the album) & at Amazon

Some great albums....

ok, well today is the mathematics part of the state testing...I don't know why I am nervous, but I worked really hard this year so maybe I am expecting a huge payoff. Like I said I won't find out until next year....oh well.

So yesterday I told you how I got into heavy metal, today I will tell you about some albums that are just flat out masterpieces. These are the albums that when you hear them for the 1st time you are blown away because you have never heard anything like that before.

Ok obviously there are the classics of Megadeth's Rust in Piece or Metallica's Master of Puppets (or And Justice for All, Ride the Lightning) But how about some recent albums that are already classics.

Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor

Now this was Nevermore's 6th album and you could tell this band was onto something. They took that old school thrash style and made it just about as heavy as possbile. You could hear it coming in Dead Heart in a Dead World and Dreaming Neon Black, but This Godless Endeavor just clicks. Take the opener Born; killer riffs and drums come out of nowhere and there is sort of some harsh vocals (something Nevermore doesn't do), then this sort of catchy sing along chorus. Now if you like guitar solos, then Nevermore is your band. Trade off solos are the norm here...some solid examples of this are Psalm of Lydia, Medicated Nation, and Bittersweet Feast. The title track is a whole post by itself clocking in at 9 minutes, it feels like a journey and they do an excellent job of keeping the time changes fresh so you don't feel like it's a 9 minute song. Do yourself a favor and go get this album. I don't have much to say about it because if you like thrash metal then this is for you.

Samples can be found here http://www.centurymedia.com/us/single_artist.php?ID=38
and here http://www.amazon.com/This-Godless-Endeavor-Nevermore/dp/B0009YNSG0

Into Eternity - Buried in Oblivion

Into Eternity is a hard band to categorize. Some call them death metal others power metal and yet others still call them progressive. Well they are actually all of that... and more. Buried in Oblivion is their 3rd album, and like Nevermore, you could see the writing on the wall after their previous album Dead or Dreaming. The main difference is that while Nevermore's line-up remained somewhat constant, Into Eternity changed vocalists every album. Now their latest Scattering of Ashes is a solid album as well, but this is where it started. the opener starts off with this guitar intro that makes your head spin as you listen to it. Now like Nevermore, the guitar solos are awesome. Layered solos, quick time changes, and insane drumming are just the tip for this band. What makes this album so different is the 3 different vocalists...yeah I said 3. There is a clean vocalist, a screamer, and a death metal growler...and they make it work. The vocal harmonies in this album are something to be heard. Three Dimensional Aperture is the first song you really hear all of the vocals working together. There are no bad songs on this album...Isolation, Beginning of the End, Spiralling into Depression...all classics. Just when you thought you have heard it all something new comes out, whether it is a breakdown or another time change that you didn't see coming. After 8 songs of straight up metal, then out of nowhere the title track is one of the most beautiful song by any metal band...imagine after all of those electric guitars you go into a song with a classic guitar...solo included, something I had never heard before or since. It flows into Black Sea of Agony, which then goes classic progressive and plays back some of the title track in that song...classic. Then the last song is another beautiful song...seriously think Chicago vocals hear people. The lyrics are still dark and depressing, but the music...amazing.

Samples can be found here http://www.centurymedia.com/us/single_artist.php?ID=27
and here http://www.amazon.com/Buried-Oblivion-Into-Eternity/dp/B00018U9NE

Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing

Now this album is alot different from the others and I will get to that in a second. From yesterday's post you read how I found Shadows Fall and then I went onto to find out about Killswitch Engage and thought "well if Shadows Fall is classic thrash with a modern twist then KsE is gonna be solid as well." I had also seen their video for Last Serenade on Fuse TV and enjoyed it alot. So I pick up this album (their 2nd album), put it in a listen to the first songs Numbered Days and was kind of taken aback by the vocals...more screaming then singing, but then I quickly found myself giving the classic head nod because the music had that feel to it to make you do the head bang. This is the first band I heard that used the screaming versus that led to the clean singing choruses. Now on this album KsE perfected it. Now if you were to have picked up their debut, you wouldn't have expected this. Their debut was solid, but they didn't use the clean singing as much. So this came out of nowhere. By the time you get the first chorus you are surprised how a vocalist can sound so brutal and beautiful at the same time. So I listen to the album and find myself loving all of the songs...great choruses, heavy gutiar riffs, tight drumming, everything that makes an album a classic for me. Once again this classic guitar intro comes on and to this day this is the most beautiful instrumental song I have ever heard is played...Without a Name. From start to finish I love it, I find myself singing along with the chorus, air drumming, and head banging. Then I am reading a review on the album, and they mention there are no guitar solos...huh? How could I miss that? I listen to the album one more time and yep no solos. I am floored, I love solos, but yet I listened to an album 3 times loving every second and never notice the lack of solos...that very reason made me realize how special this album is. One other thing I noticed was the lyrics. Metal is known for it's dark, depressing, and evil lyrics. With KsE all you get is positive messages of hope and love. Another first for me. KsE lost the vocalist from this album shortly after it was released, he was replaced by another guys, but this album will always be their best for me.
Samples can be found here http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/KillswitchEngage/music.aspx and here http://www.amazon.com/Alive-Just-Breathing-Killswitch-Engage/dp/B000065894

So there you go 3 newer albums, that are all classics for me. If you haven't heard any of them pick them up you won't be disappointed.