Saosin - In Search of Solid Ground

Saosin is an American alternative rock band. My first impression, and it’s not going anywhere, is that they sound a lot like 30 Seconds to Mars. Now the kind of music 30 Seconds to Mars play belongs to a genre they more or less own, unlike something like say metalcore. There’s still some space for a handful of bands to coexist. You don’t need to go around calling bands like Saosin clones just yet. Alternative rock is an easy label to apply, but I’ll try to describe in better detail the tone of their songs, from the album 'In Search of Solid Ground'.

Most songs have a fairly slow tempo. The bass lines are very pronounced and together with the slow pace and some of the chord progressions, lend most songs an air of despondency that I've grown to love with 30 Seconds to Mars. ‘The Alarming Sound of a Small Still Voice’ epitomizes all these things, and is my personal favourite from this album. It starts slowly, but picks up quick for a sensational chorus.

Video: The Alarming Sound Of A Small, Still Voice

On first listen, you get the impression that Saosin hit the sweet spot of alternative rock with their chorus and bridge sections. Most songs have melodic, catchy choruses and often stunning bridge sections. They seem very aware of this and that is their weakness. Some songs are rushed into the chorus without adequate development; this may serve to make a song appealing to first time listeners but the impact will fade soon. The guitaring is typical of alternative rock, with the addition of a fast picked, high pitched layer on top, again very reminiscent of 30 Seconds to Mars. There are no solos, and for most part Saosin shun palm muting of any kind at all. ‘Changing’, which was their first single off the album, is an excellent song. It has a brilliant chorus, a nice sounding stripped down bridge and ironically, some quiet palm muting providing a good lead up to the chorus.

Video: Changing

Vocalist Cove Reber is undoubtedly the life and blood of this band. He is a very good vocalist; and he does not try to overdo it with the unnecessary vocal flourishes that blight the efforts of others similarly gifted. His high pitched voice lends a couple of songs, notably ‘It’s All Over Now’ a distinctly punk feel. In the chorus sections, he seems to nearly, but not quite scream. That’s quite an enjoyable effect that I’ve grown to like with 30 Seconds to Mars.

‘Fireflies (Light Messengers)’, the last song on the album (and also the longest at over eight minutes) is a breathtakingly beautiful song. Starting off with soft keyboards, the song builds layer by layer and transports you into a little personal world where you will be all alone with your pensiveness. I can’t really put the idea across in words; it has to be listened to be grasped. ‘Nothing is What It Seems (Without You)’ and ‘Say Goodbye’ are two other great songs. They too, like ‘Fireflies…’ stick to a very slow tempo and do very well for it.

Video: Fireflies

‘Deep Down’, ‘Is This Real’ and ‘On My Own’ are faster and consequently begin to develop slight punk overtones. Nonetheless they are good in their own way, and I suspect, to another listener may even become the favourite tracks off this album. I must temper all the praise with a slight bit of criticism – the lyrics are quite clichéd and adequate at best.

Saosin do come across as an unpretentious sort of band. They know what they are good at, and they know what they want to do, with the unpretentious aspect being that the two ideals match closely. They are definitely influenced by 30 Seconds to Mars, and herein I must insert a few words of caution. If you do not like 30 Seconds to Mars, it is highly unlikely that you will enjoy Saosin. I do, and I think Saosin is a great alternative rock band.

(Vocals: 9/10, Guitaring: 9/10, Lyrics: 7/10, Overall: 8.3/10)

Lamb of God - Wrath

Lamb of God is an American groove metal band. Do not be overly alarmed if you have no idea what that means. Neither did I for a considerable period of time, before I eventually came to the conclusion that groove metal is at best a filler genre – it straddles metalcore and thrash metal. Besides, it also satisfies our very human urge to label everything in sight. One heavy metal band epitomizes the definition of groove metal. That’s Pantera. For many, groove metal begins and ends with Pantera. If you are a fan, forget everything else you’ve heard about syncopation (Wikipedia) and filler genres (me); you’ve already got a pretty good idea what this genre is all about.

‘Wrath’ is Lamb of God’s sixth studio album. Let me first explain why this band cannot easily be classified as metalcore. The overall sound is darker, and completely lacks the melodic overtones that many metalcore songs have. The reason for this simple – a firm insistence on down-tuned guitars, and low frequency riffing. Lamb of God also refrain from too much thrashiness, by giving equal importance to unmuted chords. Even the picked (as opposed to strummed) riffs are longer than the usual metalcore’s. The guitarists bring in four, five, six notes before falling back to palm muting or chording. In fact I think this technique, backed by the guitarists’ undoubted technical ability, is Lamb of God’s greatest strength. With their usual searing pace, they almost always manage to hit the sweet spot with their riffing. ‘Grace’, the first song I listened to off this album is an excellent example of this. Interestingly, this song highlights another aspect of this band’s music – the occasional acoustic preludes. Perhaps this feature is an attempt to brush off the criticism of monotony that has often been directed towards them. In any case, it works. ‘Grace’ is an excellent song. ‘Everything to Nothing’ is my personal favourite though. It sticks to the same tried and tested formula, does nothing new, and packs one hell of a punch.

Video: Grace
Video: Everything To Nothing

I have spoken of how Lamb of God move away from traditional metalcore, while still identifying with it. Where does thrash metal come in? The usual screaming by vocalist Randy Blythe is interspersed with bouts of very thrash metal like shouting. Actually, the vocals are reminiscent of an excellent, if underappreciated thrash metal band called Overkill. For any metalcore based music to not inevitably fizzle out, the vocals have to bleed raw energy. Blythe delivers, and with aplomb. The chorus of ‘Fake Messiah’ (another excellent song) highlights his considerable vocal skill in the higher end of the decibel scale. Lamb of God move even closer to thrash metal with their solos: nearly all songs accommodate one. The solos keep up the high tempo and manage to blend seamlessly in. Breakdowns, the staple food of metalcore, are there too. In fact some songs have both breakdowns and solos. While the breakdowns are not totally stripped down to zero speed, they do their job – you’ll find yourself nodding your head in rhythm, if not quite jumping up and down.

‘Dead Seeds’ has some delightful bends in the opening riff. ‘Contractor’ has an Iron Maiden-esque galloping riff that I can’t seem to get tired of, no matter how many bands I hear it from. ‘Choke Sermon’ is fast, groovy and an excellent listen. ‘Reclamation’, and the two bonus tracks, ‘Shoulder to your God’ and ‘We Die Alone’ break away slightly from convention: they are slower and correspondingly longer, with mixed results. ‘We Die Alone’ and ‘Shoulder to your God’ evoke favourable comparisons to As I Lay Dying’s music, but ‘Reclamation’, the longest song on the album at just over 7 minutes, disappoints. On the whole, this album blows you away with its frenetic pace and groovy riffs. If there’s anything negative to speak of, it’s that my first impression was to doubt the lasting power of this album. However it’s been a month and I am not bored one bit; that should go some way in dispelling any doubts.

Video: Dead Seeds (live)

Rating: (Vocals: 9/10, Riffs: 9/10, Overall: 9/10)

Chevelle - Sci- Fi Crimes

After 2007's Vena Sera, the Illinois hard rock band is back with their latest offering, Sci-Fi Crimes. Apart from the cringes of the SF fans over the name (I know you hate the term Sci-Fi), this is an album with a lot of expectations attached to it; Chevelle have gone from strength to strength since 2002's Wonder What's Next, and I for one was really curious to see what the band has brought to the table.

The album opener really raises expectations; Sleep Apnea begins with a refreshingly interesting piece of riffage, which promises to trump anything that Vena Sera had to offer in terms of punch-your-face riffs. As Pete Loeffler steps up to the plate to deliver the vocal side of the deal, you realise he's gone back to the vocal styles of This Type of Thinking(Could Do Us In); which is an extremely good thing. The same abstract form of vocals, the same inflections of voice perfectly complement the heavy riffs that the song provides.

Songs to follow largely maintain the same trend; they either have the punch of a song like Another Know It All or Emotional Drought; or the ballad-ish feel attached to songs like Well Enough Alone or Paint the Seconds. A special mention of the track Highland's Apparition; Chevelle have now added a full acoustic track to their repertoire. The lyrics are also classic Chevelle; poetry and rhyme, on odd timings and meters, juxtaposing a plethora of lyrical topics and themes. The result is that there is something in here for everyone.

The overall sound of the album is a new high point on the band's discography; they have successfully improved on all previous efforts, and have produced a sound which is both charachteristic Chevelle and completely unique at the same time. If you asked me to pick my favourite tracks from the album, I would be hard-pressed to do so; there really wasn't anything bad on the album. I shall however, pick a few: Sleep Apnea, Mexican Suns, Fell into your shoes, Letters from a Thief, The Circus and Highland's Apparition. Although I do recommend that you listen to the whole album.

Reception from the who's who of the music world have been lukewarm, to positive in some cases. Considering thats never stopped anyone from trying to corroborate the viewpoint, you will want to hear this album for yourself. I doubt you'd be disappointed.

Lyrics: 8/10 Riffs: 9/10 Overall: 8.5/10

Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God

A few days back, I thought of browsing through my music collection to check for updates of some bands. In the course of this pursuit, I found that there's been a new Amon Amarth album, Twilight of the Thunder God. Its been out for a while now (Sept. 2008 release) which means that this is piece is woefully out of date; however, its whats been in my WMP for the last 24 hours, so I thought it deserves a mention here.

First off, something about the band. Amon Amarth are a Death Metal band, whose lyrics are derived from Norse mythology. Twilight of the Thunder God is their seventh studio album. For those of us not familiar with Norse Mythology, the album title speaks of the battle between the Thunder God Thor and the World Serpent, Jormugandr, as is shown in the album artwork below:


Music wise, Id say this is the among the best Amon Amarth. My personal favourite albums were 2002's Versus The World, 2004's Fate of Norns and 2007's With Oden on Our Side. Twilight of the Thunder God features a lot of new things for the band: A slew of high-profile guest performances (Children of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala performs a shred solo on the title track, Entombed vocalist Lars Goran Petrov on Guardians of Asgaard and Apocalyptica on the track Live for the Kill). Another new addition to this album is that the overall tempo of most songs is quicker, giving the album a more mainstream sound. On the first hearing, its definitely more palatable to the Amon Amarth newbie than say, Versus The World, and songs like Free Will Sacrifice, No Fear for the Setting Sun and even the title track, Twilight of the Thunder God, have a distinctly In Flames ring to them.

Video: Twilight Of The Thunder God

That's not to say that it doesnt stay true to the band's trademark sound; far from it. The riffage and drumming on the other songs is classic Amon Amarth; Power Chord riffs and heavy bass drumming once more feature on the album, in addition to faster solos. Songs in this package to watch out for are Guardians of Asgaard (This song practically got me high out of headbanging... It deserves to be heard on a sound system with a good bass setup) No Fear for the Setting Sun and a special mention for the song Where is your God, which sounds like a fusion of Nevermore and Amon Amarth, definitely a good thing.

A noteworthy point about this album is the production and track listing. The production of the album is definitely better than previous albums, with each track sounding very clean. To get an idea, place Guardians of Asgaard opposite Death in Fire, and you'll get what I'm talking about. Track listing has been done in a way that will get a newbie hooked immediately, while priming him/her properly for the Amon Amarth "sound". This is sure to get a lot of people attracted to the band, and I do expect it to do very well commercially.

Video: Guardians Of Asgaard

Rating:
Lyrics: 8/10, Riffs: 9/10, Solos: 9/10. Overall : 8.67/10
Its a good album, up there with the best of Amon Amarth, like I've already said. I wouldn't call it their best effort though; it is however a unique effort. From a critical point of view, one could accuse the band of having gone for a more mainstream death metal sound. Then again, mainstream death metal is an oxymoron, so there shouldn't be anything to complain about.

Weekly Picks

Megadeth - Endgame

Statutory Warning : Listening to the album might result in Brain Freeze, Loss of Motor muscle control , Blindness etc. due to pure awesomeness!

Megadeth, one of the great four thrash metal bands, released its 12th studio album - Endgame.
The band saw its peak earlier with the albums Rust In Peace
and Countdown To Extinction
after which was a period of decline, multiple changes in the band line-up and injury. After Dave Mustaine's recovery the band has brought out three albums so far - The System Has Failed, United Abominations and Endgame. In times when other thrash metal acts like Metallica are going from bad to worse, Megadeth and its music has been on the rise.

Megadeth has reached a new peak with the album Endgame. It is easily the best thrash metal album in over a decade!

The band's current line up is:
Dave Mustaine
Chris Broderick
Shawn Drover
James LoMenzo
Broderick has been a perfect find for Mustaine. Drover has done a fine job with drums and LoMenzo is a good fit with the bass. All songs in the album have multiple solos. Both the lead guitarists complement each other very well. Dialectic Chaos, the instrumental intro song, is just mind blowing and sets the tone for the album. Songs like 1320, This Day We Fight and Head Crusher have high tempo riffs and fearless solos. How The Story Ends, Bodies and 44 Minutes are more groovy and have elements similar to the older albums Rust In Peace and Countdown To Extinction. The lyrics, like older Megadeth albums, have political themes; the song Endgame paints a very morbid picture of a future world. The only odd song is The Hardest Part of Letting Go...Sealed With a Kiss which is more like some of the songs in Cryptic Writing and Risk. The songs in Endgame have speed and power metal elements in them like United Abominations.


Ratings: (Lyrics - 9, Riffs - 10, Solos - 10) - 9.67/10.

On the whole one can expect a power packed, intense album that would definitely blow your mind. I cannot say with certainty now, that Rust In Peace is the best of Megadeth. Endgame comes really close. It is definitely a must listen to all metal fans. Ryan Ogle of the Blabbermouth says, "Regardless of whether you're a newbie retro-thrasher or a veteran who has recently released your own comeback album, grab a pencil because Professor Mustaine is taking us all to school. Glaring down from his pulpit made of bone, the wild-eyed, fire-breathing Dave of old snarls out a sermon consisting of some of the most ferocious MEGADETH songs to assail the world in some time now." Bottom line is:
Mustaine has still got what Metallica lost long ago....

Video: 1320

Evergrey - The Inner Circle

I have always wondered why do progressive metal bands suffer from very non-male high pitched vocals. Symphony X, Dream Theater, Circus Maximus, Spheric Universe Experience, Angra, Ark, etc. all have similar vocals. Many times I have seen people dislike progressive metal because of the vocals. Amongst a small set of bands which do not follow the trend is Evergrey.

This Swedish progressive power metal band formed in 1996 is 8 albums old. I will review their fifth studio album The Inner Circle. This album received a very positive review by the Metal Observer and rightly so. The lyrical themes of Evergrey in general are of despair. Unlike some bands which may tend to over do the 'man in pain' ideology, Evergrey's lyrics are quite poetic well within acceptable bounds of anguish. The Inner Circle is a concept album like most other Evergrey albums dealing with child abuse, cults and religion. Though the choros now and then is shrill (the chorus has female backup vocals as well) does resemble other progressive metal bands, the lead vocals definitely has a grunge feel to it and is a welcome respite for people who love the progressive metal music without the vocals.

The music involves brilliant harmonized solos and symphonic keys. The keyboard compositions have many similarities with melodic death metal bands like norther and children of bodom. In that sense the genre of this band should actually have been melodic progressive grunge metal or the likes. The album offers something for everyone, A touch of blessing and More than ever are have stronger elements of power metal and, songs like Ambassador and The essence of conviction are more progressive while Harmless wishes and Faith restored are beautiful ballads. Throughout the album, there are many portions where words are spoken, which the front man Tom Englund says are of an actual person.

Video: A Touch Of Blessing
Video: More Than Ever

On the whole, it is a must for all progressive metal fans and a good starting point for power/grunge metal fans exploring progressive metal.

Ratings: (Lyrics - 10, Riffs - 8.5, Novelty - 9) - 9.17/10.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Lonely Road

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is an American punk/post-hardcore band. Post-hardcore is an interesting new genre; it’s not quite punk, not quite metalcore and not quite heavy metal. It’s a mixture of all three. The vocalist of such a band is most likely to have a pop-punk kind of voice, which he would temper with modulation, screaming and whispering. The guitars’ tone is punk-like, but post-hardcore bands go beyond punk constraints to even put in the odd solo. RJA’s latest offering, ‘Lonely Road’, however moves away from post-hardcore and towards a more generic punk/alternative rock sound. I say this because the screaming’s mostly done away with, and there are a couple of acoustic songs too.

‘You Better Pray’ was the first single released from this album, and it was the first song I listened to. The vocalist’s electronically touched singing in the verse parts, and the characteristic nasal crooning during the chorus parts are catchy, but not what make the song great. It’s the stop-start discordance of the rhythm guitars, coupled with a nicely overlaid solo that top it off. ‘Pen and paper’, the second single off the album, is a decent song; it tends to get sickeningly sweet, but a nice bridge section halts the process. It is probably the most punk-like song on the album, but that works in its favour.

Video: You Better Pray

RJA make a conscious effort to stay clear of pure punk rock. They sometimes overdo it however, with vocalist Ronnie Winter particularly guilty; he sometimes over-modulates and appends an irritating gasp to his words. ‘Believe’, which would have otherwise been an outstanding romantic/acoustic piece, is only great because of precisely this. Nevertheless, it has excellent lyrics and when Winter’s voice steps up through the frequency spectrum during the chorus, it really is quite delightful. One technique that I’ve already talked about is the stop –start guitaring, and RJA use it to great effect. ‘Step Right Up’ is a really nice example of this, and is my pick for the second best song on this album. ‘Pull Me Back’ has a nice solo section, and a catchy chorus. The title track ‘Lonely Road’ is another great song. Again, RJA introduce just the right amount of discordance, a chord here and a voice modulation there, that transform decent punk rock into good punk rock. Watch out for the musical exhibition RJA put on towards the end of this song. ‘Represent’ and ‘Godspeed’ are slower, softer and more melodic, but there’s nothing particularly distinctive about them; consequently they don’t get the promotion from good to great in my book. ‘Senioritis’ and ‘No spell’ are disappointing; here RJA fail in their quest for uniqueness, they sound trite and in all likelihood will be skipped from the playlist after one listen.

Video: Believe
Video: Step Right Up

On the whole, ‘Lonely Road’ is a nice album. I’ve read reviews where’s it’s been unfavourably compared to their earlier album. I’ve also seen accusations of selling out: apparently because RJA have traded their heavier post-hardcore sound for a softer, more punk-like approach. I haven’t listened to their older album yet, and if you haven’t either, this is quite a good album. A word of warning however: if you detest punk rock and high pitched, nasal vocals, I fear even RJA’s attempts at challenging convention will not make you like this album.

Rating: (Vocals: 8/10, Guitaring: 7.5/10, Lyrics: 7.5/10, Overall: 7.8/10)

Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band, and considerably more mainstream than the other bands we’ve discussed here. Calling their music alternative rock is about as useful as identifying them as a rock band, and also not completely fair to them. After all, they have managed to evolve a musical style of their own, which cannot be fully described by that label. Incidentally FF have always been Grammy favourites, with all their six albums being nominated, and three winning it. ‘Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace’ is rock music at its palatable best. A couple of songs stick to the tried and tested FF formula: an extended acoustic opening section, followed by a quick amp-up into harder rock. ‘Let It Die’, and ‘But, honestly’ are perfect examples. Both songs are excellent listens, with the acoustic portions making you long for the electrics and when they do arrive, leaving you satisfied.

Video: Let It Die

‘The Pretender’ is the first single they released from this album, and is probably the only traditional alternative rock song in the entire album. Dave Grohl, the vocalist and former drummer for Nirvana, is good but not awesome. He knows he doesn’t possess a stupendous vocal range, but also knows that his harsh acoustic-backed vocals nicely complement his whining screams in the harder portions. The guitaring is again not too complex, but quite creative, and the simplicity is their greatest strength. This band doesn’t punch above its weight.

Video: The Pretender
Video: But, Honestly

Many hard rock bands make acoustic songs, and with a decent melody and standard chords, manage to make them sound good. But you realize what a really good acoustic song is supposed to sound like when you listen to ‘Stranger things have happened’. The tune is mesmerizing, and the sweet little solo towards the end of the song is spot on. Keyboard backed soft songs ‘Statues’, and ‘Home’ take some growing into, but you eventually will. ‘Ballad Of the Beaconsfield Miners’, an instrumental acoustic piece, is bound to appeal with its fast, almost quirky guitaring. There is a problem with this album, however, and it is that some of the songs give the impression that they are only there to make up the numbers. If you dislike a particular song, then it is quite likely that there will be another person who will absolutely love it. It’s much more worrying if there’s a song that makes no impression at all. And that is what detracts from an otherwise fine album. I mentioned earlier that FF is rock music at its most palatable, and I reiterate the point. If you are a ‘pop person’ moving into rock, listen to this album. If you a ‘rock person’, take some time to appreciate the best of alternative rock today.

Video: Stranger Things Have Happened

Rating: (Vocals: 8/10, Guitaring: 7.5/10, Originality: 9/10, Overall: 8.2/10)

Parkway Drive - Horizons

You’ve been forewarned that the author of the following post is likely to descend into an incomprehensible rant, drooling over the delightful excellence of the band being described.

Parkway Drive is an Australian metalcore band. I was introduced to this band thanks to a question asked on Yahoo! Answers, which was something about naming the ‘Top Ten metal bands’. Of course a whole bunch of people contributed their two paise’s worth, and I randomly picked up several from the intimidatingly large groups of ten. Parkway Drive was one of them. There’s a problem with listening to unheralded bands: it usually, and I stress the word ‘usually’, happens that these bands are unheralded because they aren’t all that great. But of course, all great bands start small, and once in a while you get lucky. Parkway Drive is an excellent band, and their recent success should deservedly lift them out of obscurity into the mainstream metal scene.

Here I’ll cover their latest album ‘Horizons’, although their previous album ‘Killing With a Smile’ is also brilliant, if only a wee tetchy bit less so. In ‘Horizons’ Parkway Drive experiment a bit more with their music, making some slightly less metalcore-like songs, while keeping their identity intact and managing to make the album sound more complete. What is it about them that I find appealing? The brutal riffs are a very good start. One reviewer, while giving ‘Horizons’ a ten on ten rating, asked rhetorically, ‘Who said metal’s dead?’ The riffing is almost vintage thrash, but the screamed out vocals means that it’s unlikely that that label will ever be applied to this band. Sometimes, with metalcore bands, you wonder if they would be better served if they cut out the vocals all together and stuck to guitaring. Not so with Parkway Drive. The vocalist is far from monotonous: he effortlessly switches from standard metalcore screaming to more emo-like whining, and death metal like monster growls. The breakdowns in most of the songs are brilliantly timed; the solos are sweet with plenty of legato and finger tapping. Chugging thrash riffs are great, but can get repetitive and melt into a background drone; Parkway Drive almost unconsciously vary the tempo of the songs, repeatedly demanding your full attention. Listening to Parkway Drive makes you want to use up that energy you never knew you had; it makes you want to headbang viciously, no matter how bald you are. It makes you want to jump up and down and listen to the songs at full volume, no matter how many neighbours you offend. Surprisingly, for a band of this genre, the lyrics are often profound, if you manage to figure them out.

‘Boneyards’ was the first track I listened to, and in many ways exemplifies all things good about this band. Stunningly brutal breakdowns, thrashy riffs and mind numbing vocals are a part of this song. ‘Carrion’ is another sensational track; if metalcore can ever be melodic, this is it. ‘Idols and Anchors’ is excellent too, and marks a successful experiment for Parkway Drive in expanding the scope of their music. Again, picking out individual songs is more of an academic exercise with this album. No metal fan would want to miss out on 'Horizons'.


Video: Boneyards
Video: Carrion
Video: Horizons

Rating: (Vocals -9/10, Riffs-10/10, Overall-9.5/10)

Sun Caged

Ex-Lemur Voice guitarist Marcel Coenon and drummer Dennis Leeflang got together in the spring of 1999 to form Sun Caged. This progressive metal band originates from The Netherlands. Their first self-titled studio album was released in 2003. It includes some outstanding tracks like Hollow, Closing In and 8th Day. Though like most progressive metal bands it has been influenced by the mother of modern progressive metal - Dream Theater, it has its own style which tones down the large musical interludes usually present in progressive metal to a very digestible amount. The complexity and variations is quite acceptable for someone who is new to progressive metal and the album has very melodic vocals (absolutely no growling) thus making a good album to start off with.


Rating: (Lyrics - 8, Riffs - 8.5, Overall Appeal - 8) - 8.16/10.

The band came back in 2007 with the album Artemisia. But the line up was almost completely changed except for Marcel Coenon. The album didn't live up to its expectations. Though the lyrics are quite nice, the riffs are either weak or too similar to their debut album. Hopefully the forthcoming albums are better.

Rating: (Lyrics - 9, Riffs - 6, Overall Appeal - 6) - 7/10.

Motherjane

Motherjane are a progressive rock band from Cochin, Kerala. Now before your eyes go up in surprise, let me assure you that these guys are a real class act: They've been labeled Asia's No.1 Rock Act in 2009, both albums have been rated No.1 by Rolling Stones Magazine, Rock Street Journal and Unwind Center Live Awards. And after listening to them, Ive got to agree with the accolades heaped on them. Think of Dream Theater meeting Indian Classical/ Carnatic music, with Opeth harmonics thrown in for garnishing, and you've got Motherjane.

The band has released 2 albums, Insane Biography (2001) and Maktub (2008). Now I didnt get to listen to Insane Biography, but Maktub, quite literally, blew me away. These guys are quite unique; there's elements of all your progressive metal favourites, but their harmonics, time scales and riffs most closely resemble Opeth. Solos and Leads are played in a very veena like style, which is a hitherto unknown concept in the field of rock and metal, and definitely a good thing. And the vocalist, Suraj Mani is undoubtedly one of the most technically proficient vocalists I've heard. The influences of carnatic music vocals are clearly there.

Songs to look out for are Fields of Sound (Wonderful instrumental, and vocals to match), Broken (This song could give any Opeth song a run for its money, in terms of a bleak, dark and sorrowful theme) and Chasing the Sun. The band has quoted Opeth as an influence, and did open for Opeth at Saarang, IIT-C earlier this year. And even after listening to them repeatedly, these songs refuse to leave my head, let alone get old.

Rating: 9.1/10 - A definite must hear. Indian metal just got a whole new meaning.

Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

Dream Theater is an American Progressive Metal band formed in 1985. Originally named as Majesty the band now comprises of James Labrie, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess. The technical proficiency, interesting time scales, long musical interludes and albums woven around stories have made them one of the best progressive metal bands.

Black Clouds & Silver Linings is their 10th studio album which comes as a regular as well as 3 CD edition. Unlike the previous album Systematic Chaos, this album is more balanced. They have reverted to the more balad like music as in the case of Octavarium. But, unlike Octavarium or Systematic Chaos, this has the best blend of both. A rite of Passage and A Nightmare to Remember are predominantly heavy while The Best of Times and Count of Tuscany are beautiful balads. The music is very 'DT like' filled with long interludes. The Shattered Fortress (Restraint, Receive, Responsible) is an impressive song which completes the twelve step suite:
* I. "Reflection"
* II. "Restoration"
* III. "Revelation"
* IV. "Reflections of Reality (Revisited)"
* V. "Release"
* VI. "Ready"
* VII. "Remove"
* VIII. "Regret"
* IX. "Restitution"
* X. "Restraint"
* XI. "Receive"
* XII. "Responsible"
Written by Portnoy to describe his fight with alcoholism, this definitely finishes off one of the best progressive pieces of music spanning five songs from five seperate albums. It is a feat that would leave anyone in awe.
Like most of Dream Theater albums, this one is also not easily digestible for people who have never listened to Progressive Metal. But given enough time, its an album which everyone would love. Though it is well balanced in many aspects, it does not match up to some of the earlier Dream Theater work mostly because of increased heavy metal influence in their songs. At times Rudess plays second guitar instead of a piano like in all albums post 2000.

Rating: (Lyrics - 8, Riffs - 9, Overall Appeal - 8) - 8.33/10.

In the 3 CD edition the 2nd CD has covers of famous bands like Rainbow, Queen, King Crimson, Iron Maiden etc. As usual, Dream Theater have done a great job with them. The 3rd CD contains the instrumental versions of Black Clouds & Silver Linings. For those who find Labrie's voice painful, the 3rd CD is what you want.

Bring Me The Horizon - Suicide Season

Bring Me The Horizon is a British band that takes it name from a line in the POTC movies. When I listened to 'Suicide Season' the first time, my reaction was, 'These guys are pretty good!' And it hasn't changed much despite a couple of hundred listens during cycling sessions. What genre do they belong to? Difficult to say, but the closest would be metalcore. If you don't know what that is, here goes. Metalcore is simply metal where the vocalist screams out the lyrics most of the time. And vocals are BMTH's strongest suit. The singing style has an almost pleading tone to it, which, combined with the added layer of techno-like jingles gives a haunting aspect to some of the songs. 'Suicide Season', the title track is outstandingly good and a perfect example of this. Despite its length (at 8:19 minutes), or perhaps because of it, this is one song that will refuse to budge from your skull.The guitaring is heavy, and coupled with the drumming is rhythmic enough to be almost melodic. Watch out for the softer portions of the songs where the guitars take a break; the alternating of sounds is delightful. The subtle British accent helps too. All the songs are pretty good, but if I were forced to choose, I would recommend 'Chelsea Smile', 'The Comedown' and 'Diamonds aren't forever', apart from 'Suicide Season' of course.

Video: Diamonds Aren't Forever
Video: Chelsea Smile
Video: Suicide Season

RATING: 8.5/10

Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

Opeth is a swedish metal band which is can be best described as a wholesome union between Dream Theater's progressive style and Arch Enemy's heavy, harmonic riffs. Formed in 1990, My Arms, Your Hearse is their 3rd studio album.

Now if you're listening to this album, you've either heard songs from previous albums, or you've not. If you've heard the previous albums, what will strike you first is the lack of dual harmonic guitars, which made Orchid and Morningrise hauntingly beautiful, yet powerful death metal albums. Opeth decided to go with more progressive and heavy riffs, and Åkerfeldt (lead guitarist and vocalist) has taken his screaming vocals to a whole new level, while maintaing his clean and whispered vocals. All this meant that it took me a while to get used to the new style the band was playing in this album (read: listening to it start to front about 3 times), but its wonderful to listen to once you get over the fact that this album is not as melancholy as the previous albums, but definitely more eerie in its themes, scales, chords and timing. Its one of the many paradigm shifts the band has undergone during its life.

One way or the other, this is arguably Opeth's heaviest and most progressive album to date. I started listening to Opeth only after hearing Ghost Reveries, which was progressive, yet had death metal influences in it. My Arms... is twice as heavy, twice as complex, twice as fast... Pretty much twice as much in everything. Its an outstanding piece of music, and considering this was made in 1996, I can't help but appreciate the musical genius of Åkerfeldt, because this album is still good and fresh, 13 years down the line.

Oh and lest I forget, most songs in this album are less than 10 mins long, which is short, by Opeth's standards; Most of the bands songs are in the 9 - 16 min bracket. Fluid, elegant, yet hard hitting compositions.

Overall Ratuing: 8.7 /10
PS - You'll agree with the rating if you allow the music to sink in over a period of time; this stuff most probably wont endear itself to you immediately.

The Age of Metal

What is it about rock and heavy metal that makes us fans of these dying arts? Could it be the blindingly fast guitaring of a Dragonforce or a Symphony-X, that throws us into raptures in sheer awe of their skill? Or is it the brutal thrash riffs of a Chimaira or an Exodus that, almost harmonious in their own way, make us want to jump up and down in rhythm? Or, moving to the other end of the spectrum, could it be the catchy tunes of a Green Day or a Linkin Park, assisted by simple but effective guitaring, that get stuck in our heads? It could even be the indecipherable growls of an Amon Amarth that help us get over a particularly bad day. There's grunge as well: it's impossible to put a finger on why we love a form of music where 'nice melodies are hidden within distorted guitar noise' (as the New York Times said in 1993). But precious few people can claim not to have listened to something of Nirvana or Nickelback.

Is it all just about heavy guitaring then? A good acoustic piece is never out of place in rock music. The drums play a key role too. Many bands, with otherwise mediocre guitaring, churn out the best music courtesy some catchy drumming sequences. Perhaps, we have only managed to confuse you as to what rock music really is... Well, you'll know it when you hear it! In this blog we will discuss music belonging to every possible kind of rock and heavy metal genre. I dare say there'll be something for everyone here.