Tuesday Top 3

1. Sixx A.M. - This is Gonna Hurt
2. Hardcore Superstar - Bad Sneakers And A Piña Colada
3. Puddle Of Mudd - Life On Display

Hell - Human Remains

The name of the band lead me expect a lot from Hell. Even the name of the album Human Remains gives the image that this one is tough and it has gotten some pretty good reviews in the internet as well. Like said, this one is tough. Tough one to deside whether this is for real or just a joke. The history of the band and the songs is more or less disturbing to me.

Correct me if I've understood this all wrong, but this is a band that hasn't actually done any album before Human Remains. And Human Remains is mostly old demos from 1982. The music is quite good throughout the whole album no complaints about that. Could have been saved on that aspect. But I have to disagree with some of the reviews about the singer. He's good at times and really, really bad at times. And what is the catch with all the speaking and news broadcasts in the beginning of almost every song? I guess it is meant to sound all dramatic and theatrical but to me it makes most of them just boring or ridiculous. For example what were they thinking when recording Macbeth? Or The Oppressors? I lost my interest in Macbeth at the very beginning and The Oppressors is just boring. Surprisingly though I did like one of the most massive tracks on the album, 10 minutes and 14 second long The Devil's Deadly Weapon. And I found a couple of tracks that weren't that bad. But not enough to save this review. This is NOT my cup of tea.

http://www.myspace.com/hell

Flashback Friday

1979. THE year. This is the year when Sahara desert experienced snow for 30 minutes, Voyager I reveals the rings of Jupiter and Michael Jackson released his first solo album Off The Wall. And what a great album it is. It has a positive vibe, it is rock and roll with peace and love of the seventies, it is a bridge between The Jacksons and the new Michael Jackson who was introduced to us already on his next album (yet most people noticed the change in him first time when Bad was released). Legendary songs like Don't Stop'Til You Get Enough and Workin' Day And Night still inspire musicians today, we've heard all kind of mixed versions of them. But nothing beats the originals, right?!

Already on this album Michael started working closely with Paul McCartney who wrote the song Girlfriend. Macca isn't the only big star who worked with Michael during this album. There is also a song written by Stevie Wonder: I Can' t Help It. Both songs are pretty recognizable in style; when hearing Girlfriend you can quite easily tell it is a Macca song. Although the famous names and Michael himself my personal favourites are songs written by Rod Temperton, a talented songwriter, record producer and a musician who worked not only with Michael but with Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin and many more. Burn This Disco Out and Rock With You were only a beginning when it comes to working with Mr Jackson, Temperton also wrote the title song to his next album, Thriller.

All in all, this is an album that makes you wanna dance and its positive vibe is guaranteed to make you smile. If you are into Michael more than that, try to find special edition of this album, it has bonus material on it: comments from Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton plus original demos from 1978 of songs Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough and Workin' Day And Night. Worth listening for, I promise. :)

http://www.michaeljackson.com/
http://www.myspace.com/michaeljackson

Tuesday Top 3

1. Doom Unit - The Burden Of Bloom
2. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
3. Slash's Snakepit - Ain't Life Grand

Doom Unit - The Burden Of Bloom

This weeks new album is The Burden Of Bloom by Doom Unit. This is second album from this Finnish band. The first album Cross The Line was quite a success spending eight weeks on the lists. The band spent most of the 2010 on the road and got into the studio in the beginning of the year 2011, reliesing their second album in May 18th. Album is published even as vinyl. These ten tracks on the album are, according to the band itself, somewhat heavier than those on their first album.

The opening track The Cradle And The Grave certainly starts the album heavily. The second song Reckoning Day continues the heavy rock sound keeping the pace up. Dead Pilot is heavy on sound as well but slower than the two songs before which makes the feeling go down a bit. And that seems to be the theme that goes throughout the whole album: the band starts with faster songs which makes the listener nod their head along the drum beats or play air-guitar and then it slows down just to pick up the pace again with the songs that follow. All in all this album is quite good but somehow it left me missing something. What, that I don't know. Maybe the great success of the first album and one of the best singles in 2009, Killing Time, just left me wanting more. But even with that said, I think this album is a keeper. I might be interested in this even as vinyl.

http://www.doomunit.com/
http://www.myspace.com/doomunit

Flashback Friday

Slash's Snakepit started as a sideproject while Guns'n'Roses were off tour. First album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere kept Slash busy touring until the record label told it was time for the next G'n'R album. Slash himself tells in his autobiography that he wasn't happy about when he was told to stop the tour with Snakepit. The situation with G'n'R was already then pretty badly off the track and that can be heard from this album as well. According to the man himself it is pretty obvious to whom those songs are directed. And he is right about that. If you've done your homework it's clear to you as well.

This album is certainly a breath of fresh air (mostly because it differs so much from G'n'R) but I got to say I like the next Snakepit album Ain't Life Grand even more, maybe because its sound is even heavier than the one on 5 O'Clock and it's more positive. But this album also has it's jewels. Songs like Neither Can I, Dime Store Rock and Doin' Fine shows what it's always been about: playing good music. Simple as that. And even though I'm not a huge fan of this album I love the story behind it's name. Slash was at the airport and wanted to have a drink. Unfortunately bars don't open before 5PM. Luckily the bartender understood the need for that drink and as the story goes he said "It's five o'clock somewhere" and poured Slash a drink.

This is definitely an album that takes more than just one listening before it hits you. It's raw and pure but after listening it through a couple of times you'll probably find your feet tapping and yourself waiting for those magical guitar parts only Slash can play without that much of an effort. I think it should be a crime to make playing guitar look that easy when it really isn't. But since it's the "Slasher" I guess I'll just let this one pass. :D

Tuesday Top 3

1. Sixx A.M. - This is Gonna Hurt
2. Mötley Crüe - Raw Tracks
3. Sick Puppies - Tri-Polar

Sixx A.M. - This is Gonna Hurt

This one is the ultimate writing pleasure for me. If you've read my profile you know that I'm pretty in to Mötley Crüe and Sixx A.M. as well as to the guys in Mötley. And Sixx A.M. has released a new album, This is Gonna Hurt. And I gotta say, this album took me totally by surprise. At first I thought that it's not consistent, not as whole as The Heroin Diaries. But after listening to this album a couple of times it comes together. The album is with certainty connected tightly to the book with the same title that includes stories and photographs by Nikki Sixx. But maybe even more surprising was the positiveness of this album. There are tracks that have a strong message that being different isn't by any means a bad thing. But what really blew me away were songs like Sure Feels Right, Smile and Skin. I haven't been able yet to listen Smile without smiling. The song makes me feel all bubbly and happy, with myself and with my life and it makes me appreciate certain people in my life even more I did before. And Skin.. what a beautiful song. Just listen to the lyrics and you'll know what I mean. I almost broke down and cried.

But that's not all. There are heavier beats for example in Live Forever and Help Is On The Way. Are You With Me would serve perfectly on Chris Daughtry album as well and Deadlihood could've been already on The Heroin Diaries. After few listenings there is still two songs I haven't connected with though: Oh My God and Goodbye My Friends. I liked the guitar on Oh My God. And I do wonder why such a great song as Codependence is only as a bonus track on the Japanese release. As an addict though.. as a MUSIC addict, I got to have this album. The good is so good that the bad isn't bad at all.

http://sixxammusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sixxam

Flashback Friday

Everybody who knows the American band Staind surely knows their epic album Break The Cycle. Today though I'm giving you a review of their sixth album The Illusion Of Progress that was published 2008. This album is pretty much the opposite for the all-rock, aggressive album Break The Cycle. This album certainly is rock but with softer edges and the album has one song I consider being one of the best love ballads ever, Tangled Up In You. Other songs, including such as All I Want, Believe and The Corner aren't left far behind. And I can even somehow relate to a song Schizophrenic Conversations. Even though this album is a step away from their original rock roots towards pop and lyrically the album is more positive, the band itself says on their website that the torment and anguish hasn't disappeared anywhere. But it is refreshing to hear occasionally some music that doesn't include words like 'pain', 'hate' or 'suffer'. This album most definitely gives a positive vibes to its listeners. And what I've noticed, this album can't be played without singing along the songs. The music, the lyrics.. it all just requires that you stop to listen them with care and once you've done that, you'll start singing those songs.. So, have a happy sing-along, mates. :)

http://www.staind.com/
http://www.myspace.com/staind

Tuesday Top 3

1. Scar Symmetry - The Unseen Empire
2. Creed - Weathered
3. Staind - Break The Cycle

Scar Symmetry - The Unseen Empire

The Unseen Empire is the fifth album from the Swedish death metal band Scar Symmetry. Although the band is quite young, formed in 2004, its members have lots of experience within the music industry. Members of the band have influenced in such bands as Unmoored, Altered Aeon and Theory In Practice, and those experiences have certainly helped them when making music with their latest band. It took only two years making this album. After listening the songs throught a couple of times I got to say, even though I'm not a huge death metal fan, the nine songs on the album doesn't include any bad ones. All of the songs in the album are equally interesting and made my head nod along the beat. The clear vocals and the deep roars are in perfect balance. Reading the lyrics made an interesting side-effect though. The song titles could basically be used as titles for fantasy books and the lyrics take that image even further, with all the ivory towers and shrines. But if thinking and reading those lyrics more carefully, one can find hints here and there that the songs might even tell about the world situation, politics etc. But even without those aspects the songs really work. This one is also a must-buy.

http://www.myspace.com/scarsymmetry

Flashback Friday

This album is definitely one you'll never get tired of: Aerosmith's Get A Grip. The album holds probably the best Aerosmith songs throughout the time and the guys that started the band in 1970 in Massachusetts are still going on strong, Steven Tyler being one of the most colourful persons in rock history. Get A Grip has a great combination of fast forward hard rock songs like Eat The Rich, Livin' On The Edge and Shut Up And Dance but also some sweet rock ballads that filled the dance floors and mix-tapes in the early 90's, Cryin' and Crazy being perhaps the best known of them all. The videos for these ballads were also constantly on air, 90's being the golden era of MTV. Aerosmith continued publishing albums and hits that conquered top charts after the 1980's time after time again but I still feel that this is the most honest, most original Aerosmith-spirited album there is, my personal favourite being their song Amazing, a song that tells the listener that difficulties only makes one grow stronger and better and even during the hardest times, there is still something beautiful, something worth living for.

http://www.aerosmith.com/
http://www.myspace.com/aerosmith
http://www.aeroforceone.com/

Tuesday Top 3

1. Dynazty - Knock You Down
2. Dynazty - Bring The Thunder
3. Children of Bodom - Relentless Reckless Forever

Dynazty - Knock You Down

This rock and roll junkie was last night desperately thinking of which new album should I write this week. And this music junkie surely was knocked down when finding Dynazty's album Knock You Down. This album has all the great elements to it, sounding a bit like Mötley Crüe, Guns'n'Roses and Whitesnake in the good old days. And still this Swedish band haven't gone on copying their material from those bands, sharply added metal features makes Dynazty sound modern and up-to-date. The band changed record label between the albums and published Knock You Down with their second record company Storm Vox Records. And this rock'n'roll junkie ain't complaining of the out-come, songs like Get It On, Devil's Playground and Sleeping With The Enemy makes one move without even notising it: head start nodding, feet start tapping. Even more slow songs like This Is My Life and the Edwyn Collins cover A Girl Like You are working well (a lot said from a person who couldn't stand the latter song before at all). This album definitely ends in to my collection. I might even have to buy their previous album. ;)

http://www.dynazty.com/
http://www.myspace.com/dynaztyband