Week of Mgmt and Kings of Leon

     I have been criticized as reviewing all positive things, so this week I change that. I am reviewing a band who's last two albums have made me very angry and another band who's last album disappointed me. This week I will be reviewing Mgmt- Mgmt and Kings of Leon- Mechanical Bull.

Here is My review of Mgmt- Mgmt.

   Recommended Songs: Cool Song No. 2, Astro-Mancy, and Plenty of Girls in the Sea.

2.5/5 Stars

Here is my review of Kings of Leon- Mechanical Bull.

Recommended Songs: Supersoaker, Don't Matter, Temple, and Tonight.

3.5/5 Stars

Week of Arctic Monkeys

     I have been doing a lot of great concert reviews, and putting out content every week like I want to. However I believe some albums have fallen through the cracks. I plan on fixing that with some good old fashioned video blogs. So this week I will be video reviewing Arctic Monkey's Am.

     So without further ado, here is my video review of Arctic Monkeys- AM.

Recommended Songs: Do I Wanna Know?, R U Mine?, Arabella, Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High.

3.5/5 Stars

Week of Megadeth and Iron Maiden

      Certain shows only come around once or twice in a life time. The kind of shows that people talk about for the rest of their lives. I got the chance to go to one of those shows on September 7th in Kansas city. This week I will be reviewing Iron Maiden with Megadeth in concert.

     I had the opportunity to see Iron Maiden once before on their final frontier tour. It was great don't get me wrong but, no ones wants to go see Iron Maiden and miss out on the hits. This time it was going to be different, because it was the Maiden England tour. The Maiden England tour is for all intensive purposes a greatest hits tour, and Megadeth is playing with them! I've never seen Megadeth! So by the time we got into the arena looked for the gas station that was no longer there. Yes, the Sprint Center actually had a gas station inside the arena, or it used to before they removed it.

     Right at 7:30 Megadeth took the stage and blew peoples minds by firing straight into "Hanger 18". The last song I expected them to open with and it blew the crowd into a frenzy. Following that they played through "Wake Up Dead" and "In My Darkest Hour" before leaving the stage to play a humorous Megadeth related you tube video. I believe the first one was Wayne's World. Then they came back out to play, "Sweating Bullets" and "Kingmaker". Thank god the only song off of the new album, which was terrible. After that they played through, "Tornado of Souls" and then left the stage. The next clip played was Steven Tyler screaming along to "Peace Sells". Which just so happened to be the next song, fancy that. After that they announced they had two songs left, they fired right into, "Symphony of Destruction", and then left the stage for the encore. When they came back out Dave Mustaine gave one of his famous speeches. I had been looking forward to this, but he was fairly well behaved. He said the crowd was awesome and to trust him that he wouldn't say we were awesome if we weren't. With not a lot else said he launched into the final song, "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due". which was unbelievably amazing. Their set may have only been 9 songs and just under and hour, but it was incredible and that was just the opener.

     After about half and hour, pretty much right at 9:00 on the nose the band took the stage. The stage was quite the epic it self. Above is one of the many backdrops they had throughout the night. They also had many props, flames, fireworks, costume changes, and even some statues. Throughout the night, Singer Bruce Dickinson charged around the stage like a chicken on acid, which is quite a feat considering he is 55. He is the epitome of a true rock star, posing the entire time he was on the stage, and the voice of a rock god. There is only one man who was ever a better rock front man than Bruce Dickinson, the mighty Ferdie Mercury. There were moments during the show that his singing sent shivers down my spine. He is a singer you just need to see to believe.

      The show opened up with a Seventh Son of a Seventh Son set starting with, "Moonchild", "Can I Play with Madness",  and "The Prisoner". The energy in the room was unbelievable. The crowd was a great mix of old and young people, just metal heads enjoying the show of a lifetime. Following that they launched into "2 Minutes to Midnight" and the first fire works of the night. After that they played, "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" and blasted into the biggest set of hits in row that I have ever personally witnessed. Hands down one of the best show moments of my life. "The Trooper", "The Number of the Beast", "Phantom of the Opera", and "Run to the Hills. Trying getting over that boost of adrenaline!

     After all that the show was only half over. They picked it right up and and went into, "Wasted Years" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". During the later the giant album cover came up from behind the stage and his head lit on fire. Just like in the picture above. After that, "The Clairvoyant" another song from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son started up. Then it was time to let out the blackness on the audience for, "Fear of the Dark" straight into "Iron Maiden". A one-two punch that will leave you speechless. Then the band left the stage for the encore. They played the famous Winston Churchill speech in the background while they took the stage for, "Aces High". During it they had a backdrop of their mascot Eddie flying a plane. Next was the last Seventh son song of the night, "The Evil That Men Do". The last song of the night and the usual closer was, "Running Free". This song is one of the best live songs ever just look it up on Youtube. The thing about Iron Maiden fans is that they are nuts. They would sit around yelling for an encore all night if they could, so they have to play a song every night to let the fans know they aren't coming back. The song of choice for them is Monty Python's, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". It leaves the fans in a humorous mood and convinces them to not storm the stage. So it's a win-win for everyone.

     Iron Maiden shows really are the stuff of legend. You need to see one to believe it. They use different backdrops all night, costume changes, band members getting attacked by giant monsters in this case a patriot during this show. They use fire, statues, and fireworks. If you can think of it, they do it. Not to mention the music is out of this world. This band on Cd kicks ass. This band live is almost a religious experience. So seriously, if you ever get the chance don't think just go.

Week of Nine Inch Nails

     It's finally time, one of the biggest album releases of the year is upon us and it is in desperate need of reviewing. I have been anxiously awaiting this album's release for a long time now. So here we go this week I will be reviewing Nine Inch Nails- Hesitation Marks.

     Nine Inch Nails is an American Industrial Rock Project founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1987, Trent Reznor played keyboards with a band called the Exotic Birds who were managed by John Malm Jr. When Trent Reznor left Exotic Birds John became his manager. Trent was working as an assistant engineer and janitor at Right Track Studios. He got permission to create demos in the studios spare time. He played all the instruments as he often does and those were the earliest NIN demos. He later took those demos and put them out as their debut album Pretty Hate Machine in 1989. After secretly recording Broken under another band name so avoid having to put another album under TVT Records. Broken was followed by its remix ep Fixed in 1992. Instead of touring more they went into the Le Pig studios. Their second album The Downward Spiral came out in 1994 and jumped straight to the top of the charts. This album gained so much success that it let them straight to headlining arenas. Five years after The Downward Spiral the double album The Fragile came out in 1999. Four more years passed before the album With Teeth was released in 2005. Like The Fragile before it With Teeth topped the charts. This brought them the most success since The Downward Spiral with the single, "The Hand That Feeds". Following that in 2007 he released the highly political album Year Zero, quickly followed by the highly experimental Ghosts I-IV in 2008. He also released The Slip for free on his site in 2008. After that they broke up, he created How to Destroy Angels, wrote two soundtracks one of which won an Oscar, and now he's back.

     One of the major points I want to make in this review is the comparison between The Downward Spiral and Hesitation Marks. I know that comparing Nine Inch Nails albums to each other is a heinous crime especially comparing The Downward Spiral to anything, but I'm gonna do it anyway. When Trent Reznor wrote The Downward Spiral he was in a very dark place at the time of the record almost at the point of suicidal and that where one of the most incredible albums of the 90's draws its inspiration. I like to think or The Downward Spiral- Hesitation Marks as a roller coaster of Trent Reznor's emotions. As Trent famously says about Hesitation Marks is that the rage is quieter. So it the dips in the roller coaster are the darkness on The Downward Spiral, then the hill are hill him coming out of the darkness on Hesitation Marks. It's a journey through Trent's mind and emotions and that's why I think this comparison works. He was in a terribly dark place before and now he is starting to recover from that pain and face himself in a more content light.
                                                    Came Back Haunted-Nine Inch Nails

       After getting burnt out from non stop touring and breaking up Nine Inch Nails, ( sort of you can't really break up one person). He got re-inspired by work on soundtracks, work with How to Destroy Angels. The beauty of the way Trent Reznor writes his albums about how he is emotionally at the time avoiding the 12 albums that sound and feel exactly the same. Trent is in a different place than he was on other albums so what, it's still very great music. They take the sound of The Pretty Hate Machine and mix it with the newer sounds learned from How to Destroy Angels, soundtracks, and even The Slip. On "Copy Of A" he takes a very classic electronic approach and builds on it to huge sounds. It's about being a copy of everything else in the music world that came before him and wondering whether he should continue to write music anymore thus his Hesitation Marks.
                                                           Copy of A- Nine Inch Nails

     The album opens with the intro "The Eater of Dreams" it's a very dark sonic opening that is all electronic. "Copy of A" takes a page from Pretty Hate Machine and builds on it self through the whole song till the ending climax. This in one of my favorite songs on here. "Came Back Haunted" is the lead single off of the album and the proof that Trent still had it. This is one of the heaviest songs on this calmer album, combining classic NIN sounds with a new flair. "Find My Way" is this album's new ballad and a very strong one about finding his new path in life after finding happiness. "All Time Low" is another heavier beat driven song about him reminiscing about his depression. Another personal favorite track of mine. "Disappointed" is a much more purly electronic driven song with very little real instruments used on it. Then we get to the song "Everything" by far the most pop punk song on the album, that is entirly different from anything he has ever written before. It has a very catchy beat, and it matches his happy lyrics of, "I've survived everything". "Satellite" is one of the weirder beat driven songs on here. It reminds me of Trent Reznor in space, just being Trent Reznor. "Various Methods of Escape" brings back guitar to a very electronic album. It's another very personal song about escaping depression. "Running" kicks up the electronic drum beat and drives the song along with very calm singing from Trent. He really channels With Teeth here. "I Would For You" is a very melodically driven song, that is a low slower than most of the songs on here. "In Two" is one of the deepest most important songs on the album, because it showcases Trent at various stages of his music carrer in one song. It especially launches into overtime in the last half. "While I'm Still Here" channels Year Zero with its hugely obscure beats and then calms down with Trent's chorus. The album closer "Black Noise" is just the outro here putting the bow on one of the most personal albums Trent has ever Written.

      This is one of the best albums Trent has written since the 90's. I think the part people miss about this album is how it seamlessly combines all of the sounds from every previous album. Also this is a very personal album for Trent, putting him in a very new place for him, dealing with happiness, success, and living up to his past self. If you can get past the fact that this is a little lighter of an album you will find something truly powerful here with this album. An album from an artist in a new state of mind, truly inspired.

Recommended Songs: Copy of A, Came Back Haunted, In Two, All Time Low.

4.5/5 Stars

Week of Avenged Sevenfold

     A ton of amazing rock records have been coming out in previous weeks. So I have had to be very picky with my albums. I have chosen very carefully and this week I will be reviewing Avenged Sevenfold- Hail to the King.

          Avenged Sevenfold are an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach California, formed in 1999. The band is most famously made up  of Lead Vocalist M. Shadows, Rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, Lead guitarist Synyster Gates, Bass Guitarist, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. The band is not majorly religious but the name is from a bible verse in Genesis 4:24, the story of Cain and Abel. Former member Justin Sane attempted suicide in 2001 on the take action tour and had to be removed from the band. They released their debut album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet in 2001. After gaining some recognition opening for Mushroomhead in 2002, they released their second album  Waking the Fallen in 2003. In 2005 the band moved to a major record label and released City of Evil. This album saw their sound change from a more metalcore style to classic metal. It also saw them achieving major success with lead single "Bat Country". In 2007 they completed their first world wide tour, and played the main stage at Ozzfest. That same year they released their self titled album to mixed reviews. In 2009, the band had begun work on the follow up to the self titled when, on December 28th 2009 drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan was found dead in his home. I will cover more on that in a bit. In 2010 the band put out Nightmare, a much darker album inspired by the death of The Rev. That leads us to now and Hail to the King.

     The death of The Rev had quite the effect on the band and even almost broke them up. I think it's important to explore this further because it had some very strange things surrounding it. The original autopsy results were inconclusive, which seems to happen a lot with dead rock stars, (Jim Morrison, Paul Grey, The Rev). Eventually on June 9, 2010 the cause of death was revealed to have been an been a drug overdose from a bunch of different drugs: Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam, Nordiazepam, and ethanol. All were found in his system at the time of death. Following the Rev's death the band ended up in a studio with the now former drummer of Dream Theater Mike Portnoy. He did is best to imitate The Rev's drum style to a t, and thought he was going to be the new permanent drummer, that didn't exactly work out. The problem was that he was just to famous, so that when he went on tour with them it became Avenged Sevenfold featuring Mike Portnoy.
                                                  Hail to the King- Avenged Sevenfold

     Avenged Sevenfold has been changing their sound and evolving as a band way back since City of Evil and again with Nightmare. Here they are trying to push the boundaries of their sound by looking back to great albums of the past and making that sound their way. The major problems bands have when trying to make a new sound aside from it not going over well with the fans, is half committing to it. When you try to change and then back out half way because your afraid it will piss off you fans, all you get is a watered down result. This album does that a little bit. It starts off blasting like old school Metallica and even grooves at certain points, but after the first three tracks they start to move back in to familiar territory. It may not be bad music, but it does abandon the change. Until the last four tracks where they pick it back up again. In total this album is an epic that aims to be as big as it possible can be.
                                                         Heretic- Avenged Sevenfold

     The album opener "Shepherd of Fire" is one of the best song on the album. It almost sounds like old school Metallica re-imagined. It just tears into a huge stomping beat. The lead single "Hail to the King" may be one of the best songs they have ever written. It take a very old school metal approach to song writing and it pays off. "Doing Time" has M. Shadows doing more of a grimy vocal line, while still keeping up the old school Metallica feel. "This Means War" is so Mettalica I could've sworn it was James Hetfield for a minute. It slows down the beat a little and falls into a catchy groove. "Requiem" opens with a demonic chorus resembling that of Ghost B.C. It also features an orchestra and a spoken word section. It's very strange but it works. "Crimson Day" sees them trying to make their own "One" style ballad. It is a good song but it doesn't do the same thing that a great power ballad does. It slightly falls short of what it could have been. "Heretic" is a song that really falls into a groove. It sounds the most like older Avenged Sevenfold, but is still good music. "Coming Home is my favorite song on the album, and is also the point where the album goes from good to great. They are majorly channeling Iron Maiden here and I love it. It is a huge song in both length and badasserey. "Planets" is my second favorite song on the album. It features a horn section towards the end of the song. It is a true classic metal epic. Please make more like this A7X. The albums closer "Acid Rain" is a true amazing album closer starting with a slow driving piano and an orchestra section and pushing to something truly great. The album ends as strongly as it begins.
                                               Beast and the Harlot- Avenged Sevenfold

     This band has been improving ever since they began and it shows. I still personally prefer nightmare but only slightly, this album has majorly grown on me. They aim for classic album territory with this album and only fall slightly short. The problem is the true classic albums they were using for inspiration Mettalica's Black Album, Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion, Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast, never fall back on familiar territory even once they fully embrace the change and push forward from a great album to a legendary one. This album is truly great, but it falls back on old habits to much instead of embracing the new direction completely. This band has grown and improved a lot and I know they will continue to do so in the future.

Recommended songs: Hail to the King, Shepherd of Fire, Coming Home, and Planets.

4/5 Stars