Hurt - Volume II

Blurb
Hurt are quickly developing into one of the best non-big-name rock bands on the block - now that's a misnomer, but another CD of this ilk and they are going to be huge. Comparisons to Tool will follow, but they are closer to post-grungers Days Of The New than anyone else, and hopefully unlike Travis Meek's lot they will turn into something more.

The first single off this album is 'Ten Ton Brick', a powerful thumper of a song and this is repeated often throughout on 'Summers Lost', 'Talking To God' and 'Loded'. They have gotten away from their penchant for one-word song titles somewhat, 'Aftermath' is a great ballad as is 'Alone With The Sea'. The latter part of the disc fades away slightly, but will grow on you and rounds off an excellent composition. 'On The Radio' and 'Thank You For Listening' are odes to their growing legion of fans, and will draw out the lighters when they go on tour in the new year. They aren't trying to reinvent modern rock, they don't sing about themes that haven't been tried before, and they don't use any instruments that haven't been played before, but are certainly doing a helluva job keeping it fresh.

It's difficult for me to be objective with this band as they happen to be one of my favorites, but this is a very good follow up to their first album. They have retained their soaring orchestral compositions, and J. Loren's vocals are excellent.

Track Listing
1. Summers Lost
2. Ten Ton Brick
3. Aftermath
4. Abuse of SID
5. Alone With The Sea
6. Talking To God
7. Loded
8. Better
9. Assurance
10. On The Radio
11. Et Al
12. Thank You For Listening

Overall Rating
I give this one a 9/10 not because this is better than Vol. I, but because I underrated their previous effort.

Puddle of Mudd - Famous

Blurb
My my, how the strong have succumbed to the powers of radioplay. PoM's earlier releases 'Life On Display' and 'Come Clean' were both pretty good, but this album has little going for it. Short of the title track, and a couple of other songs that distinctly remind you of older songs, you miss nothing here.

'Famous' sounds like a sped-up version of previous hits 'Control' or 'Away From Me'.. the rest of it just contains generic, radio-friendly tunes. 'It Was Faith', 'We Don't Have To Look Back Now' and 'Psycho' are decent ballads. They finally go back to their grunge-ish roots on 'Merry Go Round', which is what you always expected from PoM. 'Radiate' is good, but only because it sounds so much like the old classic 'Blurry' - if it were a song by another band they would definitely be looking at a plagiarism suit!.

I like Wes' voice, but it does get repetitively irritating - either they go back to the old stuff they did, or else he finds something more creative to do with his voice, and the band's sound.

Track Listing
1. Famous
2. Livin' On Borrowed Time
3. It Was Faith
4. Psycho
5. We Don't Have To Look Back Now
6. Moonshine
7. Thinking About You
8. Merry Go Round
9. I'm So Sure
10. Radiate
11. If I Could Love You

Overall Rating
I am very very disappointed by this. The lineup change has not added any value whatsoever to this band. If they don't tour extensively to support this album then I would expect this is it for PoM, the end might be blurrily near. This is only a 5.5/10.

Breaking Benjamin - Phobia

Blurb
They have an excellent live act, and do some good work on their albums. The first couple of times I went around this album it did little for me. However, beyond the mainstream singles 'The Diary Of Jane' and 'Breath', there are a couple of songs that dig deep into the BB sound - 'You' and 'Topless' are excellent tracks.

I hate saying the phrase "obligatory ballad", but since every band these days throws in a sprinkling of these I am left with little choice. In this album it's 'Here We Are'. I'm really glad leadman Ben now actually sings versus his previous mumbling and/or screaming. This shows up in 'Dance With The Devil'. 'Evil Angel' is a song that typifies BB's crunching guitar sound.

This is a good mid-career album, always looking forward to more from this band. They toured with Godsmack this last summer, which sounds like a big step-up for BB; along with Three Days Grace they remain one of my favorite radio-friendly unit-shifter nu-rock bands.

Track Listing
1. Intro
2. The Diary of Jane
3. Breath
4. You
5. Evil Angel
6. Until the End
7. Dance with the Devil
8. Topless
9. Here We Are
10. Unknown Soldier
11. Had Enough
12. You Fight Me
13. Outro

Overall Rating
They could always do worse, or better for that matter. This is a good listen, and for that they get a middle of the road 7.5/10.

Nickelback - All The Right Reasons

Blurb
It's fantastic how Nickelback churns out hit single after hit single. All it takes is a slight tweak on their signature sound, an interesting theme backed up by solid songwriting, and whoosh, there goes another song destined to be played to death on radio. The Brothers Kroeger still live up in Canada eh, and do what they started out doing a decade and four albums ago.. write great hooks with catchy riffs. And no matter how much rock purists will put them down, they have sold over 10 million records doing what they do. Oh yeah, they make some really good music videos too!

They have released four singles off this album, and you know they could probably put out a couple more if pushed. 'Photograph' is a nostalgic song about Chad's small town high-school; 'Animals' is a frolicky song about making out - it should be just as good to make out to. Then there's 'Someone That You're With' and 'Far Away', which are reasonably good ballads. 'If Everyone Cared' is a touching song, and rounds off the guilty pleasure, softie songs. 'Side Of A Bullet' is a tribute to slain rocker Dimebag Darrell, while 'Savin' Me' is as close as they'll come to Metallica. 'Next Contestant' and 'Rockstar' address standard rock song themes of jealousy and livin' it up, like a rockstar.

The next Nickelback album should be interesting - do they keep the same sound and find new things to write about, or do they move in another direction? If I had my way they would go back and listen to 'Leader Of Men' again, and do more of that.

Track Listing
1. Follow You Home
2. Fight For All The Wrong Reasons
3. Photograph
4. Animals
5. Savin' Me
6. Far Away
7. Next Contestant
8. Side Of A Bullet
9. If Everyone Cared
10. Someone That You're With
11. Rockstar

Overall Rating
This album will hang around your CD player for a while.. that should deserve about an 8/10.

Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May

Blurb
As a band, Stone Sour has existed since '92, but this is only their second full album. They were started by singer Corey Taylor way before he become a household name with crazy punk/rock band Slipknot. A lot of the Stone Sour music bears the Slipknot hallmarks as well, with one notable exception - the balladic nature of the slower songs. Funnily enough, Corey's bigger hits have been slower songs ('Bother', 'Inhale'), and it's the slower songs on this album where they leave a mark.

This album was recorded at Dave Grohl's (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) studio, who unfortunately had no creative input in this - shame, they could have used it. Stone Sour have toured extensively in the last couple of years, mostly festival tours like KoЯn's 'Family Values Tour', Disturbed's 'Music As A Weapon Tour' and the 'Jagermeister Music Tour'. A lot of their music does sound repetitive, and would probably sound better live too.

The two songs that stand out the most are the two more acoustic songs - 'Sillyworld' and 'Through Glass', both of which have received extensive radio play. Both are really good, excellently written and bear/bare depths of feeling. Both definitely rank as two of the best songs released in the last year or so. I wrote the first part of this review after one listen, and finished it after listening through again, and I'm pleased to say it did sound better the second time around. 'Socio' and 'Made Of Scars' are hard-driving numbers, with extended guitar solos and great rhythm. 'Zzyzx Rd.' has some guitars akin to what Slash (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver) played in his prime. Metal is alive and existent, and not via the nu-metal that so many bands resort to.

There is room for improvement - Corey still slips into Slipknot-esque screeching, the staccato drumming does get on your nerves after a time, and the ballads showcase Corey's voice, but gets too much as well. Just like listening to too much Aaron Lewis (Staind) is liable to make you do someone grievous bodily harm.

Track Listing
1. 30/30-150
2. Come What(ever) May
3. Hell & Consequences
4. Sillyworld
5. Made Of Scars
6. Reborn
7. Your God
8. Through Glass
9. Socio
10. 1st Person
11. Cardiff
12. Zzyzx Rd.

Overall Rating
I wouldn't play this end-to-end over and over again, but I would definitely put some of the tracks on my playlists - 7/10.

Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death

Blurb
This is the 14th studio offering from this legendary band, and like all other bands that have been around forever and ever, it becomes harder and harder to judge their work. One part of me wants to hear some of their more 'old school' stuff, another part wants to hear their '2 a.m.' sound, while yet another part wants to hear what new boundaries they can break.

At 72 mins, this is their longest album, filled with some epics - 'The Ghost Of Benjamin Breeg' is the lead single off, and you will want to hear it again and again while you try to find out who Benjamin Breeg really was. Is that who Eddie really was, or is he the real artist of all the Maiden sleeves, or is he a fictional, metaphorical character? Enjoy the search!

This album is a bit of a journey, because Maiden seem to enjoy the idea of making a conceptual album. AMOLAD is about war - any which war, but war none the less. 'These Colours Don't Run' starts as a army recruitment song, but kicks you in the nuts soon after as the grim reality is brought home. 'The Longest Day' typifies that, a song about the Normandy landings in WWII. If WWIII were to break out anytime soon, don't say that Iron Maiden hadn't warned you that the anarchy was about to break out!

Finally, the music? When you play it you know it's Maiden. That's all I'm gonna say, but you must give it time and airplay. Don't fly through it because this one will creep up on you, much like Eddie's bony gnarled fingers crawling up your spine and then grabbing the nape of your neck, scythe in other hand, shaking with laughter as you scream..

Track Listing
1. Different World
2. These Colours Don't Run
3. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
4. The Pilgrim
5. The Longest Day
6. Out Of The Shadows
7. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
8. For The Greater Good Of God
9. Lord Of Light
10.The Legacy

Overall Rating
Maiden are unmistakably back - I will still yearn for 'Wasted Years' and 'The Wicker Man', but I will appreciate this too - 8/10.

Seether - Karma & Effect

Blurb
Their first album 'Disclaimer' proposed, and this sophomore effort sealed the deal. Seether rock, and you better believe that. Shaun Morgan has great vocals, the band are melding their own sound with different rock genres, and they are definitely getting bigger and bigger.

Hailing from South Africa, they moved to the US and have since been busy wowing critics and fans alike. 'Remedy' was the first single off this album, and it's a punchy number, as are quite a few others - 'Because Of Me', 'Never Leave Me' and 'Burrito'. If they go on a summer tour they should go with Nickelback and Staind, two other very similar sounding bands. However, they get plagued by the same problem too, they have only two kinds of songs, the loud and angry-ish numbers, and the mellow vocal-acoustic combo types. This formula does get a bit worn after some time.

'Truth' and 'The Gift' are two of the better songs that are receiving massive airplay, and are more along the lines of 'Broken' and 'Driven Under' from the previous album. Maybe on their third effort they can explore their talents some more, write better lyrics and continue to grow. Their live show cannot be faulted however. Full of verve and energy, they are passionate performers and do not hesitate to play stuff from their fave bands too - Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails in particular!

Track Listing
1. Because of Me
2. Remedy
3. Truth
4. Gift
5. Burrito
6. Given
7. Never Leave
8. World Falls Away
9. Tongue
10. I’m The One
11. Simplest Mistake
12. Diseased
13. Plastic Man

Overall Rating
This is a solid effort from one of my favorite bands, nothing spectacular here though - 7.5/10 i'd say.

Godsmack - IV

Blurb
Critics of Godsmack often say that their material is too repetitive. To some extent that is true of this album too. But then how else does a band defines its 'sound'? Godsmack is Godsmack cos they sound like Godsmack, and they do a mighty fine job of doing it too! There is a but here, and it is this - they hold on to their roots too tightly to be able to grow their branches to cover a wider area.

This is a better album than the previous one 'Faceless', which was pretty sad for a third offering. It starts off with two high-energy tracks, trademark Godsmack. 'Speak' has been widely on the radio. The third song, 'The Enemy', is as close to a Metallica song that Godsmack can do, it just sounds like one! 'Shinedown' and 'Hollow' show them trying out a newer harmonic side, and they come off pretty good too. Lead singer Sully actually does get to flex his vocal chords with some real singing in this album.

Things start petering out into a ballady ending, which again demonstrate that they are trying out new things. 'Bleeding Me' is a good song buried in the middle of this record; this is one band not scared to play guitar solos when everyone has abandoned them. The riffs on this are not as hard hitting, and the last few tracks are forgettable. However, the record closes out with an ode to the band who inspired them, and from whose single Godsmack take their name - Alice In Chains. 'One Rainy Day' is a dreamy, drawn-out journey, and Sully really does sound like Layne, so much so that if Godsmack break up then the reunited AiC should not even think twice about snapping him up!

Track Listing
1. Livin In Sin
2. Speak
3. The Enemy
4. Shine Down
5. Hollow
6. No Rest For The Wicked
7. Bleeding Me
8. Voodoo Too
9. Temptation
10. Mama
11. One Rainy Day

Overall Rating
I expect more from a band of their pedigree and talent, this is a 7.5/10.

Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam

Blurb
If Pearl Jam's gradual mellowing over the last few years worried you as it worried me, then this is the time to cast away any aspersions. The PJ of the 'Vs.', 'Yield' and 'Vitalogy' era is back! This is a loud record, loud in the PJ way, full of powerful riffs and Eddie's trademark growls and screeches. 15 years down the line, they have rediscovered their energy and freshness.

It bolts out of the blocks like a startled racehorse, only taking a breath after half the record is done! The thing I felt about this CD is that it doesn't contain any one particularly memorable song, but the whole album in its entirety sounds really good. After 'Riot Act', I had expected further maturing, more mellow stuff. This self-titled album is more like a man hitting his 40s and celebrating by buying a convertible!

'Severed Hand' and 'Unemployable' are two of my favorite tracks, though both have a bit of a haunting note to them. 'Worldwide Suicide' is already getting wide airplay. This is just one of those records where everyone will find something to like in it, and it may not be a very common or popular choice.

Track Listing
1. Life Wasted
2. World Wide Suicide
3. Comatose
4. Severed Hand
5. Marker In The Sand
6. Parachutes
7. Unemployable
8. Big Wave
9. Gone
10. Wasted Reprise
11. Army Reserve
12. Come Back
13. Inside Job

Overall Rating
This is Pearl Jam as we know and love them. 8/10 for not carrying any milestone tracks though.

Tool - 10 000 Days

Blurb
I have said it before, and will again - in Tool we trust. One of the most anticipated albums in modern rock, this does not disappoint at all. It has everything you know and love about Tool, and yet that elusive little bit more that keeps you coming back for more. But at the same time I will go out on a limb and say this is not one of their better albums. For a band that releases an album every five years, I had really expected more.

The album is a bit of a rollercoaster, starting with some crunch, and then levelling out into a mellow phase, a sudden bump, some more mellowness and then leading up to a climactic ending. There are too many 'filler'-type songs in this album, and I don't get most of them. 'Vicarious' and 'Jambi' start it off with a bang, and bear all the Tool hallmarks of melody and heavy riffs. the two parts of 'Wings For Marie' are contemplative, and then follow up with an ode to marijuana, 'The Pot', which is a delightful song!

Tool's fascination with Aloke Dutta's tabla rhythms continue in this offering too, with 'Right In Two' easily being the best song on this record. In fact, it would easily vault into a greatest hit collection too! 'Rosetta Stoned' is an interesting play on words, and all about the conspiracy theories MJK loves to expound. But with lyrics about human monkeys and loose bladders working, one does wonder what happened to the song writing quality!

The short club tour they start off on next week got sold out in under a minute thanks to fucking scalpers, but they will be back in the end of summer for arena concerts. I really hope to see if this album sounds better live. I also hope the next album doesn't take another five years to come out!

Track Listing
1. Vicarious
2. Jambi
3. Wings For Marie (Pt 1)
4. 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)
5. The Pot
6. Lipan Conjuring
7. Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)
8. Rosetta Stoned
9. Intension
10. Right In Two
11. Viginti Tres

Overall Rating
This is an awesome album for any other band, but for Tool, it's okay - 8.5/10

System Of A Down - Mezmerize + Hypnotize

Blurb
System Of A Down have been around for a while now, and they know they've reached a level where they can experiment and try out stuff without worrying about accusations of selling out, or having the record companies breathing down their necks for sales. This double-album is their fifth production to date, and quite possibly the most diverse and the best too. One thing rankles though, they could have fitted the two albums into one CD and saved the kids some money, the same kids they wanna rally together.

They have been one of the outspoken bands of the generation, with their political commentary carried by jarring harmonies and operatic vocals. How do you categorise SOAD? War, politicians, corporations, celebs, television, everyone has been parodied here. The rhythms are catchy for the most part, and this is a very polished product. 'BYOB' starts it off with a bang, managing to deride boyband choruses too in the song. 'Lost In Hollywood' brings you the emotional tinge 'Californication' (by Red Hot Chilli Peppers) did. There is more vocal mobility on this album as shown in 'Cigaro' and 'Question', and they sound more rueful than anything as to how things have turned out, case in point 'Sad Statue'.

The second instalment is a speed-overdosed yang to the first part's mellower yin. 'Attack' and 'Kill Rock n' Roll' are simply brutal for want of a better word, while the title track 'Hypnotize' is still on radio play rotations everywhere. Again this half of the album closes out as if drifting off to an uneasy sleep, with 'Lonely Day', and the second half of the outro 'Soldier Side' bringing to full circle the intro from the first CD.

SOAD are headliners at OzzFest this summer, which is a due and deserving recognition of how big they have become. As one of their previous albums was aptly titled 'Steal This Album', find a way to beg, borrow or steal this double album, it's worth the listen.

Track Listing

1. Soldier Side - Intro 2. B.Y.O.B. 3. Revenga 4. Cigaro 5. Radio/Video 6. This Cocaine Makes Me Crazy 7. Violent Pornography 8. Question! 9. Sad Statue 10. Old School Hollywood 11. Lost in Hollywood

1. Attack 2. Dreaming 3. Kill Rock N' Roll 4. Hypnotize 5. Stealing Society 6. Tentative 7. U-Fig 8. Holy Mountains 9. Vicinity Of Obscenity 10. She's Like Heroin 11. Lonely Day 12. Soldier Side

Overall Rating
Definitely one of the albums of the year, 9/10 in my book.

Hurt - Volume I

Blurb
Hurt are so new on the scene that the ink on their record contract hasn't dried yet. It's amazing that two pretty similar sounding bands come out so quickly, first 10 Years and now Hurt. If 10 Years are the new Tool, then Hurt are the new Opeth, pardon the sacrilege. The album is beautifully made, with orchestral symphonies, bleeding guitars and haunting vocals sharing disc time seamlessly.

'Rapture' has been on the airwaves for months now, but other tracks that deserve mention are 'Shallow', 'Overdose' and 'Unkind'. They are definitely different from your regular run of the mill nu-rock bands, and deserve a listen. And if their stage act is half as good as this album is, then this is a band that can go really far. 'Losing' and 'Forever' don't score high purely because they sound too repetitive, and 'Cold Inside' is a ballad, which seems to have found its place on the album more by formula than anything else.

I am very impressed by the winter crop of bands, and Hurt are definitely one of the highlights of this group, and bode well for the years ahead. They need to stick to their style, and find a way of growing in their own shells, without becoming too repetitive and choking themselves, like Creed did.

Track Listing
1. Shallow
2. Rapture
3. Overdose
4. Falls Apart
5. Forever
6. Losing
7. Unkind
8. Danse Russe
9. Dirty
10. Cold Inside
11. House Carpenter

Overall Rating
Excellent effort, grows on you with further listening, deserves an 8.5/10.

Shinedown - Us And Them

Blurb
Shinedown are the best new-gen rock band out there today. Take my word for it. No band has the complete vocals-lyrics-guitars-drums package that they have. If you expected this album to be a reworking of their first album 'Leave A Whisper', that it is not. What it is though is a peek into the soul of a band that is not afraid to grow and learn. Some songs on this second album show the cost of this development; after all, to appreciate the sweet we must taste the sour too.

Some songs on this album jump out at you. 'Beyond The Sun' and 'I Dare You' are the radio-ready ballads while 'Trade Yourself In' has the staccato vocals that have become a Shinedown trademark. 'Beyond The Sun' and 'Lady So Divine' are slower, but easily my favourite songs on this record. They have the depth of feeling that the first album made you perceive. Somehow you wish this album was recorded as part of the first, like a double album, to give it a more well-rounded feeling.

I am so glad they are trying new things, attempting to explore and not put out records which sound like rehashes of their previous work. That alone makes this album worth listening to. I cannot wait to see them on April 15th, I have a gut feeling about these guys that should be vindicated then.

Track Listing
1. The Dream
2. Heroes
3. Save Me
4. I Dare You
5. Yer Majesty
6. Beyond The Sun
7. Trade Yourself In
8. Lady So Divine
9. Shed Some Light
10. Begin Again
11. Atmosphere
12. Fake
13. Some Day

Overall Rating
Was wishing for something more, but 8/10 is a good rating for this album.

10 Years - The Autumn Effect

Blurb
10 Years are new kids on the block, but their music hs a maturity that far belies their novice standing. Here is an album that is about the music, pure and simple - no howling alt metal, no sing-along riffs. Their lyrics are poetic and spacey, and touch a nerve. The word you want to use is feeling, because their music has feeling. In fact, the band break all the traditional rockstar norms, comfortable being misfits and working with Amnesty International.

The album has been put together excellently, and the Tool/Deftones influence is highly noticeable. 'Wasteland' has already been making waves for the last few months, and 'Half Life' is another powerful song. Beautiful melody is woven with excellent instrumentals, soaring vocals and jarring bass all come together to create the perfect album, that does not get stale even after constant replaying. 'Through The Iris' and 'Faultline' are emblematic of this.

One thing they might be faulted on is that there is a note of repetitiveness in the album, but for a debut effort that can be forgiven. This is a band that will go really far, watch out for them.

Track Listing
1. Waking Up
2. Fault Line
3. The Recipe
4. Cast It Out
5. Wasteland
6. Seasons To Cycles
7. Half Life
8. Through The Iris
9. Empires
10. Prey
11. Insecsts
12. Paralyzing Kings
13. The Autumn Effect

Overall Rating
This CD has not left the music system since I got it, a 9/10.

Disturbed - 10,000 Fists

Blurb

10,000 Fists is Disturbed's third album, and after the monster success of the first two The Sickness and Believe, they had quite some boots to fill. The bad news is that they probably haven't lived up to their hard-hitting billing. There is good news however, as you can definitely see some development in the construction of songs. You know they are capable of more, hence it can be doubly frustrating. A powerful epic along the lines of earlier-Metallica will be seen soon from them, what with better crafted guitar solos, and more depth to the vocal range.

The album bursts right out of the blocks; the title track has you pumping your fist in the air, and with 'Guarded' and 'Stricken' definitely two of the highlights of this album. 'Stricken' has some complex melodies in it, and let's you know about the magic word about Disturbed - potential. The halfway mark is a turning point in that it signifies the onset of a series good songs, but nothing great. 'Land Of Confusion' is a remake of the Genesis original, a good touch that.

They will be touring on OzzFest '06 with System Of A Down this summer, let's hope they can pick up something to show on their next album.

Track Listing
1. 10,000 Fists
2. Just Stop
3. Guarded
4. Deify
5. Stricken
6. I'm Alive
7. Sons of Plunder
8. Overburdened
9. Decadence
10. Forgiven
11. Land of Confusion
12. Sacred Lie
13. Pain Redefined
14. Avarice

Overall Rating
I give this a 7/10. I expected more from them.