MOWER – NOT FOR YOU (
Hardcore/Punk Metal)
I first heard of
Mower through the
Kottonmouth Kings; they’re on Suburban Noize Records, a label owned by
Kottonmouth Kings. Unlike a good number of bands on Suburban Noize,
Mower are not a rap group, or even close to it. They’re a hardcore band with metal influences; think
D.R.I. meets
Pro-Pain with a more urban flare.
Not For You is their second album, following 2003’s self-titled debut.
Not For You is simply the perfect soundtrack if you want to kick someone’s ass! The songs are, for the most part, straightforward, fast and heavy. The band boasts two vocalists, both screamers: one higher-pitched, the other of the more standard, heavier hardcore fare. The hardcore/punk influence is old school, the metal influence is minimal, but the pummeling assault of
Not For You is excellent. Occasionally the band breaks out something a little different, like on the dark, brooding
“Broken Hands,” that is more about melody than aggression;
“The End” is a mid-paced groover that sounds more like
White Zombie’s version of the
Sabbath classic
“Children Of The Grave” than anything hardcore. The album ends with a nice cover of 1966 hit,
“California Dreamin’, originally by
The Mama’s & The Papa’s. The core of the album, however, is just in-your-face hardcore/punk with some metal nods now and again. Solid stuff.
Rating:
75/100
Website:
http://www.mowermusic.com
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/mower
Downloads:
Road Rage,
Road Rage (Video) and
Wrestle With The Pig (Funny video from
Mower)
WASTEFALL – FALLEN STARS AND RISING SCARS (
Progressive Metal)
I first heard Greece’s
Wastefall by way of their latest release, the excellent
Self Exile.
Fallen Stars And Rising Scars is the band’s first release from 2003. Had I heard this album then I would have likely deemed it a virtual masterpiece! However, I heard the far superior
Self Exile first, so I was somewhat disappointed with this one. Not so much because this is a bad album—far from it!—but because I know how great this band can be now that I’ve heard it on
Self Exile. But again, had I heard this in 2003 I’d have humped the jewelcase!
This album features lots of heavy guitar work, but tons of acoustics, piano and melodic vocal work. The mix of heavy prog-metal with the melancholic, often Latin-like, acoustics is what truly sets this band apart from other prog bands. The album begins—and ends—with a baby crying, then barrels into
“Killing Of Wolves,” one of the heaviest tracks on the album. Heaviness aside, the song still features a ton of dynamics, acoustic interludes, clean and aggressive vocals, piano, and a rousing chorus (one that mentions that band name). There are some awkward moments in the song, but overall it’s a damn good introduction.
“Fall Of Eva” and
“Annabel Lee” are beautiful ballads, the latter having a big Latin—or is it Mediterranean?—flare.
“Subroutine” is an odd track that doesn’t work too well with its electronic-based groove and some ill-placed falsetto, but it’s not terrible.
“April’s Ruin” is a great prog-metal jam with a lot of AOR and 70’s rock quirkiness. A few other tracks and two instrumentals (it wouldn’t be a prog album without an instrumental or two, or three!) round out the album.
The album still features everything that made their latest so great, but a bit less realized, fleshed out. However, aside from
“Subroutine” there isn’t a single song I strongly dislike. The instrumentals are typical filler material, but not negatively so. It is simply a debut that does what many debuts do: it shows potential in a great way; a great album that paints the future bright. And with
Self Exile it, indeed, turned out very bright (I’ve heard
Soulrain 21, their sophomore release, is equally great)!
Rating:
70/100
Website:
http://www.wastefall.com
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/wastefall
Downloads:
April’s Ruin (Clip) (Add the apostrophe in the word "april's" in the link, apostrophes mess up the BB code) and
Killing Of Wolves (Clip)
SOLACE - 13 (
Sludge/Stoner Rock)
The price tag on this album was $1.99, brand new. The cover looked like it was definitely some type of stoner music, but the sticker on it read: “Fans of
Down,
Audioslave,
Corrosion Of Conformity and
Soundgarden must hear
13”. Confusing, to say the least, but I figured the price was worth giving it a shot. Good thing I did.
Solace are, indeed, a stoner band. Very much a stoner rock band, but with a hefty dose of that Louisiana sludge heard in bands like
Acid Bath,
Eyehategod, and
Crowbar.
13 kicks off with the two-in-one assault of
“Loving Sickness/Burning Fuel,” the majority of the song a
Sabbath-like rocker with a riff that smells like a heavy version of
Led Zeppelin’s
“Misty Mountain Hop,” a couple of harmonica-laced breakdowns and soulful solos set the head a’bangin’! The last minute, or so, is a doomy nod toward
Corrosion Of Conformity country. Other standouts include
“Indolence,” “King Alcohol,” “Forever My Queen,” and
“Once Around The Sun (Deep Through Time).” The album continues to stomp along for a little over an hour, spitting out stoner rock anthem after epic sludge monster after stoner rock anthem. Some of the noisier, sludgier tunes, like
“Rice Burner” and the hidden track,
“Shit Kisser,” don’t really do it for me, but overall this is quite a find for $1.99. It comes highly recommended for fans of this kind of music.
Rating:
75/100
Website:
http://www.diedrunk.com
MySpace: N/A
Downloads:
In The Oven,
Suspicious Tower (taken from the debut,
Further) and
Videos on YouTube
ANYONE – A LITTLE SIP… (EP) (
Alternative Psychedelic Progressive Glam Rock)
Anyone is a damn unique band. They play a modern type of rock music that borders on alternative, but incorporates things psychedelic, progressive and even glam, the latter bolstered by the band’s extravagant, flamboyant image and stage show—like a rave with good music. Drugs also seem to be a big part of their music; hallucinogens seeming to be the drugs of choice. The main man behind
Anyone is Riz Story, a musician (who composed a full-scale symphony at 15 years old), producer, poet, and movie writer/director of sorts; he’s published a poetry book called
Love Letters To Humanity, and written and/or directed three movies (four, if you include directing the porn movie
In Aphrodite),
Togetherment,
Goloka, and the upcoming
Sip The Pleasure Of Days—which will also be the title of
Anyone’s upcoming full-length album.
Anyone formed from the ashes of
Sylvia, a band featuring Taylor Hawkins (who went on to join Alanis Morissette’s band, then
Foo Fighters).
Anyone’s first release was a live album called
Live Acid! Limited to 1,000 copies, it quickly became an underground sensation and record labels came a’calling. The band signed with Roadrunner—idiots!—and released their self-titled major label debut. The album got rave reviews everywhere! Of course, a psychedelic, pro-hallucinogen, alternative prog-rock band isn’t an easy sell. But the band still managed to acquire quite a following.
A Little Sip… is pretty much what it suggests, a quick taste of what is to come on the full-length
Sip The Pleasure Of Days. There are five songs total (not sure if any are exclusive to this EP). Three of the tracks,
“Fly Away,” “Over Before It Begins,” and
“Thought I Was,” are somewhat mellow, the latter two being all acoustic, while
“Fly Away” is a slight rocker.
“Lonely People” is a groovy alt-prog rocker, and
“Pass The Reality” is a pounding, riff-heavy anthem. Riz’s vocals are probably the biggest hurdle for some, there is nothing heavy about them, closer to Perry Farrell (
Jane’s Addiction) than anything “heavy.” Lyrically, as per usual, Riz flaunts the poetic muse, translating into some great, intriguing lyrics; intelligent, if not a bit cryptic and eyebrow-raising.
If
A Little Sip… is any indication,
Sip The Pleasure Of Days is going to be one hell of an album!
Rating:
95/100
Website:
http://www.anyoneden.com
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/anyone
Downloads:
Whole World’s Insane (taken from
Anyone),
Don’t Wake Me (Video from
Anyone) and
EPK (Video)
