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Music MAddict goes on holiday, updates will come if I have the time for it. I'll skip today's flashback.

Tuesday Top 3

1. Megadeth - Peace Sells.. But Who's Buying?
2. Blake - Shelter
3. Blake - Haze Parade

Blake - Shelter

Blake's new album Shelter is definitely worth listening for even though it's filled with only cover songs. Strong start with Black Sabbath cover Wizard opens the album. You can't really go wrong with that. And these guys really honor the originals on the album. Gotta love their singing. Janis Joplin cover Move Over gets a new life from this group, I guess Janis never rocked like this. Although Finland is known the promised land of metal, I was surprised to find out this band is Finnish and just had its 10th anniversary. How on earth could I have missed this one?!

And Blake seems to be more than just these cover songs on their latest album. They've shared stage with such big names as Black Label Society, Therapy?, Mustasch and Iggy Pop. But with singing like their's it really shouldn't be such a big surprise. What's good about this album is not only the chosen songs but also that the band haven't taken the easiest route with the songs: the album sounds like Blake instead of sounding Black Sabbath or any other of the original performers. I certainly enjoyed these songs, especially the Joplin cover as well as Demon's Eye (Deep Purple) and Let There Be Rock (AC/DC). Moody Blues cover Melancholy Man is probably the only one I would've left out of the album if given the chance but over all this album is worth listening to. Bonustrack Bloodtrails ends this album as it started: strong, rocking and filled with manly attitude.

http://www.blake.fi/

http://www.myspace.com/blakeband

Flashback Friday

It's time for flashback and this week it comes from Canadian band Three Days Grace. The band was formed in 1997 by Adam Gontier, Brad Walst and Neil Sanderson. Their first album, self-titled Three Days Grace, was published in 2003 and the band got known all over the world pretty quickly. Not least because of their great single release (I Hate) Everything About You. Singles Just Like You and Home followed the first one and the band went on tour for the next two years. During the heavy touring Gontier created himself an addiction to pain killer named oxycontin. The band took a break so that Gontier could get his things together again and while being in rehabilitation he started writing songs for the new album. Album was named One X and it continued their success. The second album is markable also because the trio became a quartet with second guitarist Barry Stock.

I think this band hasn't had a bad record.. at least not yet. And I hope they never will. And not that bad songs either, each of them work well, maybe not always after the first listening in all cases but they work. My favorite song from this album is ofcourse their first single. The chorus describes so well relationships between people because none of us is perfect and everyone of us have those annoying and lovable sides in us. And I do like their song Just Like You as well. Although it is on the album before (I Hate) Everything About You, it seems more like a follow-up song to it. Let You Down and Overrated are definitely on my favorites as well. Especially the latter one, once again because of the chorus. And I do love the voice of Adam Gontier. It is amazing. No wonder the Finnish band Apocalyptica asked him to sing their track I Don't Care.

http://www.threedaysgrace.com

http://www.myspace.com/threedaysgrace

Tuesday Top 3

1. Skillet - Collide
2. Trivium - In Waves
3. Buckcherry - 15

Trivium - In Waves

Trivium, from Florida, released their new album In Waves in the beginning of August. 18 tracks on one album. There's a lot to listen. Maybe a bit too much even. This band was formed in 2000 and signed to Roadrunner Records after their first album. In Waves is already their fifth album. So there should be experience and some understanding to what is good, what works and what is their own style. Unfortunately this album doesn't really fulfill all the expectations for this band. I got to say it directly, I like their previous albums better. There is just too much going on in this album and it is too "clean". Luckily the band has a strong fan-base, this album will probably sell quite well, even though it's not their best one.

The album is a bit over-produced and basically there's just too much of everything. Maybe cutting the tracks to ten or so would have helped. And leaving some more edge to the vocals which have been one of the Trivium trademarks in the earlier albums. The tracks themselves aren't really that bad, though it is obvious that the band is trying to please a bigger audience with more radio-friendly songs. There's just so many tracks that it takes time to get into them. The first one that got any reaction out of me is the track named Watch The World Burn and again I have to say, it needs more edge to vocals. Guitar works alright, lyrics are ok and the chorus works quite well but it lacks of something. I guess that I have to listen this album a couple more times before deciding whether it's trash or treasure..

http://www.trivium.org/

http://www.myspace.com/trivium

Flash-forward Friday

I must apologise you readers once again for not writing anything this Friday for the Flashback serie. I had chosen an album to write about but so it happened that I got lost in to the great world of Youtube. Those of you who me also know that I have a weak spot for bass(ists) can guess what happened when I found the following links.. So, sweet Saturday to all of you.

Cliff Burton
Robert Trujillo

Tuesday Top 3

1. Seether - Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray
2. Seether - Karma And Effect
3. Josh Todd - You Made Me

Seether - Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray

Who ever would've thought that good music could come from South-Africa.. but Seether has managed to get to the lists all over the world for years already. And they're doing it again with their new album Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray. First single Country Song gets radio-time nowadays constantly and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't. The album starts strongly with a song named Fur Cue, it's an angry sounding song filled with attitude just like we've used to with this band. But even though we've learned to expect this sort of music from Seether this album has so much more to it. And their handing it out already on the third track, Here And Now. What a beautiful song, I absolutely loved the lyrics from the first time I heard the song.

Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins and Tool are claimed to be the influences for Seether. But luckily Seether is much more versatile than it's models. It's certainly the thing that keeps them coming again and again with every album they make in the future.

http://www.seether.com/

http://www.myspace.com/seether

Music Goes Movies: High Fidelity (2000)

Since my timetables didn't allow me to write Flashback this Friday to you, I thought I'd give you something else, a new serie: Music Goes Movies. It will not be as regular as the other writings but comes every now and then. And what would be a better movie to start with than High Fidelity, one of my all-time favorites. The story is based to the book written by Nick Hornby and it tells about Rob (played by John Cusack), record store owner having his mid-life crisis. He struggles his way forward through the break-up with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) with the questionable help of his two clerks played by Jack Black and Todd Louiso. The storyline follows the romantic life of Rob but includes music into it so seamlessly it's amazing. And not just those top five lists Rob has a habit to do but actual music star in the movie as well: Bruce Springsteen as himself. And Lisa Bonet playing Marie De Salle isn't without her musical credits either after being married to Lenny Kravitz and co-writing a couple of songs with him to his album Let Love Rule.

The movie is filled with awesome music clips from Green Day to Aretha Franklin to Queen, these wonderful artists making this movie a real musical treasure chest. And the subtle art of making a mix-tape.. I so know that feeling. Even the deleted scenes hold some treasures: one scene that didn't make the final movie is named "Records for sale", it is just perfect. Watch that scene and you'll know what I'm like when getting my fingers to any good record collection. And like those guys in this movie I probably could spell the word love as v-i-n-y-l.. And I do make those top five lists as well. :)

Tuesday Top 3

1. Def Leppard - Pyromania
2. Axegressor - Axecution
3. Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk

Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk

We know him as Jeeves and Dr. House. And now we'll learn to know him as a musician when Hugh Laurie plays old blues and jazz classics on his debut album Let Them Talk. And let me tell you that if you can't stand those multi-talented people who are good in everything they do, you'll probably end up hating Laurie as well. Because he is actually great next to the piano and his rough singing voice has enough edge to honour these old songs. His talent has even lured some well known artists to visit this album, Sir Tom Jones among others. I somehow though wish Laurie would've done this album all by himself, those visitors seem to stand out a bit too much and those songs differ from the ones Laurie is singing. Those songs might have worked better even as duets.

But the album is absolutely worth listening to. My favorite is the opening track, St. James Infirmary, which starts the album wonderfully, revealing how talented Laurie is as a pianist. The song has a long piano intro that turns into ravishing bass based bluespart with guitar and saxophone. And the following songs ain't any worse. You Don't Know My Mind and Six Cold Feet sound like you're in some dark, smokey bar in the middle of New Orleans. This album just might end up to my collection, it works perfectly like this in the middle of the night. The only problem I have with this album is that I feel like I need to learn to play piano (or guitar) as well as he does.. and a glass of whiskey to go along with the playing. ;)

http://www.hughlaurieblues.com/