I give this EP a 1 out of 5 stars.

Veterans in the music industry can still bust out an album and have it just as good as their first one. Example: the finnish band HIM. It’s almost been a decade since their first record came out in 1991, and now in 2010 they come out with their seventh album. Count it: seven! Most artists only dream of recording their seventh cd, but HIM has actually done it and that is a victory in itself. The album starts off with “In Venere Veritas”, which is a great opener. From what I can find, that Italian phrase means “Venus in Veritas”. Nonetheless the song starts off deep and slow but leads up to the fast and upbeat chorus, which continues throughout the entire song. This was a really good introduction song to begin the album with as it reels you in, just like a story does. Another song that’s towards the beginning of the record is “Heartkiller”. It’s a little more edgier than the first two and shows the band’s talent in creating alternative music. It has awesome guitar riffs that are clearly heard throughout the song. Next up is “Dying Song” which is one of the softer songs in the cd. The drum beats are still as hard as they are in the other songs but the overall mood and tone are much more solemn. The following two songs are two of my favorites in the whole album: “Love, the Hardest Way” and “Katherine Wheel”. Both are more pop-like with a fun feel to the song. Personally, I could see these songs on the radio easily. The songs before the closer are a mixture between hard rock songs and upbeat tracks with lots of keyboard. That really is how much of the whole album is formatted. I think it’s a wonderful combination that more artists should try. It gives fans of music, like myself, fantastic songs that can be danced to, yet leaves the ‘inner rocker’ satisfied. Anyway, the closer, which is called “The Foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness”, was pretty well done. It’s not set up like a regular song. The two verses are only one line and I think HIM were really showcasing their instrumental talents in this track. They include a lot of unusual beats but somehow it all comes together so well that it has a very unique tone to the song overall. It has an accomplished and completed feel, which is how an artist should feel after finishing a record, and they were able to show their emotions through the song. HIM is definitely a band to check out, with their unique style of music and extraordinary talent. I can’t wait to see what they put out over the next few years. I give this album a 4 out of 5 stars.

After a drastic change in the key members of the band, the Austalian band, Wolfmother, come out with a new album to celebrate the change. In this record, the band uses the ‘roller coaster’ technique, where tracks go from a fast to slow tempo very quickly. To me, this is not a very impressive record, maybe because I’m not a big fan of their music. I find them to be a little repetitive and the album to have way too many dramatic changes in beat throughout the whole thing.

The opening song, “California Queen”, is an overview of pretty much the whole record. It starts off up tempo and very energetic, then turns slow around the second verse and towards the chorus. Then it drags on for a couple seconds and ends with a fast paced guitar solo. That is how the whole cd is composed. I do like “White Feather” though. It has a fun 80′s feel to it and I would actually listen to it on the beach. The  ’dip’ in the roller coaster starts with “In the Morning”. It’s a very mellow and calm song that to me, seems to connect the band to its fans. And just like that, Wolfmother picks up the beat again with its next song.

After every two songs, they insert a slow song and it really ruins the balance of the album. If they hadn’t have done that, I think I would’ve actually enjoyed the record. It at least has a strong finish with “Violence of the Sun”. It’s quite possibly my favorite song off the whole cd, even though it is also the longest one too. It has the perfect classy tempo with the drums and is a good combo of mellow and rock. This song, and a few other ones, saved this whole record I believe. I wasn’t a major fan of Wolfmother before this, and frankly this album didn’t help my judgement of them. Overall, I would give “Cosmic Egg” a 2 1/2 stars.

After the death of one of their band member, Casey Calvert, Hawthorne Heights set out to continue making music and let their friend’s spirit live on with them. This is now their fourth album and second one without Casey. They have, however, found someone to replace Casey’s vocals with and that is their very own lead guitar player, . The sound on this new album is different for them, especially from “The Silence in Black and White”, their first record. Some songs seem like they don’t even fit in with the album just to give an example of how diverse this record really is. There are some songs that show their true hard core rock roots and those are probably my favorites.

“Skeletons” starts off with “Bring You Back” which is extremely pop-ish and, to me, does not seem like a good way to start off this record. The only reason I state that is cause Hawthorne Heights isn’t known for this type of sound. It gives more of a Boys Like Girls feel and these two are two completely different bands. I’m kind of disappointed in this song but at least they bring back the rock in “Drive”, one of my favorites in the whole album. It starts off low and slowly builds up the tension to a powerful and fun chorus. The chorus itself is leaning to the pop side but the drums and guitar riffs just bring the sound all back.

The next few songs are also my favorites. Both “Broken Man” and “Last Few Words” have an amazing beat to  them and beautiful lyrics. I have to give them credit that these songs are absolutely wonderful and remind me of those days of teen angst and their second album, “If Only You Were Lonely”. “Abandoned Driveways” is another song that seems that it could belong to their second album. In this song, you also get a taste of Micah in the background unclean vocals even though it is hard to detect.

One thing I didn’t like was how towards the end, in about four songs, they did a roller coaster technique, where a couple songs are slow and then the following songs are fast paced. I didn’t like how they tried to include that in the end as it should be a process during the whole album or just not included at all. The closer is an average one, but in my opinion is a little too cliche. It’s one of those slow songs where the lead singer would save it as their last song at a concert and he would start waving his hands and the audience would all join in. It also sounds a little too alike with “Picket Fences”. I expected a bit more from Hawthorne Heights, a band I truly respect and admire for all they went through. They were an instant favorite when I heard them way back when and I hoped that they would bring that sound back in this record. It isn’t all back but the rock songs that they did make are spectacular.

Krishna core legends 108 have been the talk of the internet of late partly due to the recent announcement of vocalist Rob Fish’s departure from the band, and partly due to the release of their latest album 18.61. Regardless of the current turmoil involved with the band, they were able to record and release their best effort since Three Fold Misery. 18.61 is the follow up to A New Beat from a Dead Heart, released in 2007. 18.61 features all the hallmarks of a 108 release: agonized outraged cries, extremely slinky distorted bass tones, and the other worldly guitar work of Vic Dicara. What sets 18.61 apart however, is the dynamics and structure of the songs. The songs have a loose, tribal, cathartic feel, which is a slight change from older songs in their catalog. A lot of the tracks even have a slight Jesus Lizard feel to them, what with all the loud-soft dynamics 18.61 possesses. This loud-soft dynamic is the driving force behind 18.61, and what makes it such a killer record. Opening track, “God Talk”, sets the tone by starting with some frantic trademark Dicara riffage. “God Talk” is one of the more powerful tracks on the album, mainly due to the emotional vocal, which is magnified by the loud/soft dynamic of the song, and the extremely affecting lyric “She feared her God, like she feared her Parents.” Standout track “Reduced” throbs and writhes with great intensity and features another caustic vocal delivery from Mr. Fish. “Fallen Angel” is another rhythmic burner that features some syncopated tom-tom fills in between the driving verses, giving it the tribal feel. “Forever Is Destroyed” was the first track fans heard via the Deathwish sampler that was released last year, and was a very promising sign of things to come. This is another song that features the soft-loud dynamic, with syncopated tom-tom fills during the verse, then erupting into chaotic distortion and 108’s signature agonized vocals. Album closer, “Early Funeral” hits the listener as quite a surprise, but it is a welcome one. It’s a slower acoustic number, with what sounds like Vic Dicara on vocals. Vic handles the vocals terrifically, and makes me crave a Vic Dicara solo acoustic project. Overall 18.61 could be the most cohesive 108 album to date, and could be Rob Fish’s swan song (only time will tell).

9/10

With the way the music industry is going, bands have to keep releasing new material for them to be relevant in the business. The Audition clearly have understood that since they have so far been producing one album per year. This new one is called Great Danger. With a new haircut comes a new sound as far as I’m concerned. Nothing bad just different. Fans of The Audition will be slightly puzzled as to what changed, but pleased without a doubt.

The album starts off with “Let Me Know” which is a great example of how to begin a cd. It’s such a catchy song especially the chorus. There are so many parts that are easy to remember and it’s one of the songs I find myself randomly singing. If an album starts off like this, it keeps the listener interested in the rest of it. The next song is one of my absolute favorites off the whole record. It’s called “The Art of Living”. I love this song to pieces because it is just so original. The beats are ever so changing yet simple. It’s also one of the songs that show off Danny’s amazing vocals. He can hit the low notes and go falsetto with such ease. Pretty much every song off this album is catchy so listener beware. “You Ruined This” is probably the catchest and after the first few lyrics, you’ll find why. It’s mainly because of the lyrics in this song but the rest have a combination of reasons.

The Audition do put an interlude in the record, which is highly uncommon these days. Bands usually save short instrumental songs like this for the beginning or the ending. This one leads up to “Honest Mistake”, which also shows off the lead vocals. During the break in the song is when you really understand how well he can control his voice. He holds a note out in a very rough kind of voice, which is not easy to do at all. The closer is “Stand Up and Fight.” This turns into a very powerful song at the end when the whole band joins in on the vocals and they all yell out the song title. Usually bands close out albums with a softer song or a ‘wrap it up’ track, but I like what the band did with going in a different direction and going for a ‘statement’ song. It gives the album an overall uplifting and strong feeling.

Great Danger is a decent record if looked by in a whole. Most of the songs have about the same fast beat and stunning vocals and I must say that they’re commitment and hard work really shows through. This will be a stepping stone for the band to keep rising up in the music world and I truly think that they will get to one of the top levels one day. Their sound is something that is definitely different from what is produced by regular alternative bands these days and that’ll put them out from the rest.

Nails  – Unsilent Death

Unsilent Death, Nails’ second full-length release is a testament to great powerful hardcore/grindcore. Coming in at just under 15 minutes, Unsilent Death, grabs the listener by the jugular and pummels from start to finish. Produced by Kurt Ballou at God City studios, the crunchy guitars and production qualities hark back to the old Earache catalogue. Songs like “Suffering Soul” and the opener “Conform” blaze with blast beat fury, accompanied by some caustic throat shredding vocals. Unsilent Death is not completely a tale of balls to the wall grindcore. It also has some of the heaviest groove laden mid-tempo riffs this side of Entombed. The last minute of title track “Unsilent Death” is a heavy, crunchy, dirge into oblivion. Album closer, “Depths”, finishes off in a similar way with pounding debilitating riffage (which almost sounds a tad Converge-esque). Lyrically you can expect the same scathing subjects such as isolation, hate, and disgust. Nothing new there. Overall if you are a fan of blast beats, Entombed, and fast songs, you will absolutely love Unsilent Death. It could just make a lot of extreme metal end of the year lists. We’ll have to wait and see.

Unsilent Death 8/10

After a four year absence and struggle to fight against their own record company, who filed a lawsuit on them, 30 Seconds to Mars comes back with a bang. This is War shows the progress that the band has made over the past few years. With so much to go through, I would applaud them with any album they would have produced. But This is War is breathtaking. It is probably one of the best records I have ever heard. The whole  album takes you on a journey, a ride, through time in the eyes of Jared Leto.

The album starts off with “Escape” which has a mysterious essence to it. The song actually makes you feel like you are escaping off a desert island and creates that same suspense. The band does a spectacular job throughout the whole album in making you feel certain emotions through the beats and rhythms in the songs. This is just one of the examples. “Escape” is also one of the shorter songs in the record, as most of them hit that five-six minutes range. Next up is “Night of the Hunter”, which just hits you with drums and semi-techno throughout it all. It also has a small latin bit in the very beginning. This song is quite well done as all these elements mix very well together. It is yet another intense song, but soon the album softens up with “Kings and Queens” and “This is War.” “Kings and Queens” was the first single to come up from the record and it’s a good song to represent the album but probably one of my favorites from this whole piece is “This is War.” It just has an edge to I enjoy, including the guitar and lyrics. It slowly goes into “100 Suns”, which repeats itself on the record, something I don’t understand. But “100 Suns” is such a sweet song that’s very mellow and relaxing.

The album ends with “Equinox”. It’s an instrumental song with inaudible voices at the end chanting. I do like how they end with a song without the band and just has instruments, but at the end, it gives me chills. All in all, this album is fantastic and I would recommend it for everyone. It includes so many different varieties of music such as techno, alternative, and even rap with the song “Hurricane” featuring the artist Kanye West. 30 Seconds to Mars did the best job ever with this record and it shows. They put time and effort to make their absolute best songs to put on here. I love every one of the tracks one here and cannot wait to see what they come out with next. This albumb is an art in itself.

I will start by posting the award winners for those that just want to know who won. I have done a more in-depth recap below. Beyonce won 6 Grammy’s which were Song Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Contemporary R&B Album setting a record for most Grammy’s won by a female artist in one night. The record for most Grammy’s of all time by a female artist is held by Alison Krauss as she has 26. Stevie Wonder is the most winning male artist with 22. Taylor Swift won 4, including Album of the Year for her album Fearless (which has sold over 5 million copies I might add), beating out Beyonce’s I Am.. Sasha Fierce. The Black Eyed Peas garnered 3 Grammys, Eminem got 2, and Lady Gaga won 2 as well (which should have been more but whatever). Here are a few of the winners:

Album of the Year
Taylor Swift – Fearless

Record of the Year
Kings of Leon – “Use Somebody”

Song of the Year
Beyonce – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” – Congrats to The Dream & Tricky Stewart as well

Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band

Best Dance Recording
Lady Gaga ft. Colby O’Donis – “Just Dance”

Best Electronic/Dance Album
Lady Gaga – The Fame

Best Rap Album
Eminem – Relapse

Best Rap Solo Performance
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”

Best Rap Song
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”

Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent – “Crack A Bottle”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”

You can view the full list of winners on the Grammy Website

Full Recap
For those that didn’t get to check it out, the Grammy’s aired last night and for the most part, it was a fantastic awards show. I do have a few beefs to address but I will do so later. For now I’ll address the positives. For starters, the show opened with phenomenal Lady Gaga in a very theatrical manner performing Poker Face. Mid-song she is dropped down a hatch and then re-appeared behind a double ended piano with Sir Elton John being on the other end, both rocking blinged out shades I might add. Check it out here.

Comedian Stephen Colbert (who won the Best Comedy Album for his Christmas comedy album A Colbert Christmas), then came out and gave the opening speech, making a few wise cracks and gave away the first award of the “live” show which was Song of the Year which went to Beyonce for Single Ladies. Instead of opening an envelope to announce, Colbert reached into his jacket and pulled out the Apple iPad and joked to Jay-Z saying “Didn’t you get one of this in your gift bag? You didn’t? I guess I must be cooler than you”. You can watch it here.

Other notable performances were Beyonce who did if I Were A Boy (Which surprised me. I figured she’d do either Diva or Video Phone and bring Gaga back out. It was hot nonetheless). Pink performed Glitter in the Air . It was really beautiful and her outfit was amazing. The Black Eyed Peas did I’mma Be/I Gotta Feeling. It was pretty good. Still not the biggest fan of Fergie singing live. Jamie Foxx & T-Pain Blamed It on the alcohol, which Jamie won an award for as Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. Jamie & T-Pain were also joined on stage by Hip-Hop legend Doug E. Fresh doing his famous beatboxing and Guns N Rose‘s guitarist Slash. Foxx ended the performance by apologizing to Jay-Z for using auto tune. How classy.

Later in the show was The Michael Jackson tribute featuring Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson singing Michael’s soul-stirring Earth Song while playing for the first time anywhere, a 3-D visual video sequence that was meant for Jackson’s This Is It Tour. I was a little pissed because I did not see any prior advertising that it was going to be in 3-D thus I did not get the full experience of the performance.

Last but not least was the performance I was waiting all night for. Lil’ Wayne, Eminem, and Drake along with Travis Barker to perform Drizzy’s smash Forever. I was shocked to see that the performance opened up with Wayne & Em doing Wayne’s eerie track Drop the World from his Rebirth album (which apparently is in stores today). As I mentioned earlier, I had some beefs with CBS and here is why. During this performance, they felt the need to censor the lyrics. Now while I can understand the necessity of doing so given some of the lyrics of the songs, I noticed that Wayne, Em and Drake were already doing an edited version of their verses. Therefore the censoring was completely unnecessary. The performance was virtually ruined as it did not just blank out the “foul” language, but the censor blank went on for several seconds thus making it appear as if there was a sound issue with the broadcast. A CBS spokesman responded to a lot of backlash that resulted from this disruption of the performance essentially saying that even though Wanye and the gang were censoring themselves, their lyrics still didn’t fit the standards of CBS. I disagree but anyways…

Overall the show was great and I hope that 2010 brings great music and that new artists continue to push the envelope. To see pics of the stars on the red carpet, check em out here.

Red Carpet Photos

So last Thursday, yours truly was given the esteemed pleasure of seeing Kid Cudi in concert @ The Fillmore at Irving Plaza in NYC. I have to be honest, about a year ago when I first heard about Cudi and heard Day ‘N’ Nite, I thought the song was nice but I was overall less than impressed by his other material. I don’t know what I was on because since that time I have truly become a fan.

My only beef about the show is that Mr. Mescudi took an HOUR to come out on stage after his openers, Cleveland associate Chip the Ripper and G.O.O.D. Music & Kanye West affiliate Consequence. (Both were decent, Chip needs more experience on stage as well as time for people to learn his material. Same goes for Cons, more so learning the material than experience). People briefly chanted “Asshole” given Cudi’s tardiness. Minutes later he FINALLY took the stage and apologized for being so late but promised that he would redeem himself. And that he certainly did.

He came out singing his hook on Jay-Z‘s Already Home then went into the opener song, Down & Out, that is on his first acclaimed mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi. From there he went into Dat New New and my favorite cut off his album, Man on the Moon: The End of the Day , Soundtrack 2 My Life.

I have to commend Cudi. He’s a very good showman and brings the proper energy when performing live. I was a bit skeptical of how he’d do given the sing-songy nature of his songs but he works his style with flair. The best performance of the night in my opinion though was the eerie Solo Dolo (which I have provided for your viewing pleasure here, though I wasn’t the one who shot it, props to seepotential for the dope footage). The original song was heightened live by the intensity of the strings that played along the instrumental. It definitely was very Kanye-ish of Cudi.

Throughout his performance, Cudi mixed in lesser known cuts for the die-hard fans (Memories from David Guetta‘s latest CD and Dat New New) as well as doing the more popular ones (His verse on Poke Her Face, Day N’ Nite – he used the Crookers Remix I might add, and Embrace the Martian). He ended the show with Pursuit of Happiness which served as a fitting closer. Thanks again to seepotential, you can see the video here. The crowd beckoned for an encore but Cudi had left the building, well… at least the stage.

Now the show I attended was 1 of 2 nights that Cudi was performing in NY as he did a show Thursday night and one Friday night. Ironically, it was the same time he was supposed to be in NYC opening for Lady Gaga for her Fame Monster Tour. He was kicked off the tour after jumping in the crowd and punching a kid in the face for throwing a wallet on stage while in Vancouver with Gaga. The guy Cudi hit wasn’t even the one who threw the wallet and Gaga wasn’t pleased.

All and all though, the show was good sans the awful organization and timing. Sadly I was without a camera but thanks to good folks at Kid Cudi’s Blog DatNewCudi.com , you can see some pics from the show I attended. I posted a few below.

Sir William the Thoughtful