Mericana - Whatever's Left sessions EP review

Year : 2009 - 2015
Genre : Alternative Rock with a Grunge tint
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > -  here - <

The Whatever's Left Sessions is a hard alternative-rock EP influenced by bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden & Muse. It was arranged & recorded in multiple studios between 2009 and 2015 in Edmonton, AB.

Mericana's Whatever's Left Sessions is a brief-, yet extremely eventful and precise stylistic exercise into the more morose and outright agry intersections amended by both the grunge and alternative rock genres. This smartly paced EP gives you no less and no more than four full musculature tracks to soak some souls into the massively guitar driven melodies that are complimented by larger than life clean singing.

The insatiable urge to deliver as soon as possible, is ever-present and relentless on the disc: no time is given to shoegaze tendencies. The patterns introduced on the disc are composed of extremely clear musical thoughts that are sculpted out with pretty much scientific attention devoted to maintain the clarity of harmony, which is a key asset of the whole experience. The band oftentimes summons the vibes of an unusually angry Pearl Jam, as result of a keen willingness to seek out and present  the hilariously reocurring feeling of an inevitable-, yet strangely uplifting sense of doom. Read on to know more.

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Yuca - Rebuilding the Fallen Empire

Year : 2013
Genre : Alternative Rock with a tint of Shoegaze
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

Yuca's music is a galaxy better than you would assume by the everyday average textual comparison charts randomer music journalists would put the band amidst a gauntlet with. (Every journalist - including the music critic - has the book of her/his life in her/his OH!, so fanciful soul - which most often is the best place to hold that book as hostage at.)

Yuca is the picture perfect (soft) rock variant of the music of superb Norvegian synth pop band A-ha - believe it or not, Morten & Co. wrote more songs than "Take on me", and their catalog is composed of exquisite sonic imagination and musical vision. Yuca takes this musical ethos all the way though to the more beefy registers of the narrative silence massacre spectrum, as the aforementioned A-ha hardly ever took hold a guitar so far, - or made sure to sedate the guitarist right after - and never even had to. Yuca, on the other hand, takes this trademark gloomy A-ha stance - there are gloomy A-ha songs, and there are even gloomier A-ha songs - and arms it with guitars. The effect sometimes indeed reveals a tint of Muse - minus the hypertranssexual "look I got no balls, mommy!" affectations, luckily -, or outright copies it without shame in an attempt to appeal to the Muse audience, more on that later.

But I have good news for you, too! Throughout the verse structures, I would go as far as to mention a Type O' Negative similarity, and that I intend as a compliment. Check out track 2 for this splendid effect - Peter Steele approves of this verse structure. It is his, essentially, and it still is Yuca's, and this is why it is so beautiful. Read on to know more about the disc. You know that story, when U2's Bono started clapping, and told : "Every time I clap, someone in Africa dies." Then someone from the audience : "Then why don't you stop clapping?" Timeless.

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Jason Daryush - Three Cities review

Year : 2013
Genre : Alternative Rock, Radio Rock with a Post Grunge tint
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

Jason Daryush sounds to be a quite competent representative both of massively guitar centered quasi-morose highway rock and of exquisite bonfire-elegia with a post grunge overtone to it, and THIS highway does not even lead to Hell, nor encourages one to hit up the offices to obtain a pair of tickets for the permanent vacation. (One for you, one for your insecurities.)

Technically speaking, the Three Cities audio package comes to you as a declaration satisfying all the prime format criteria of a solid extended play, yet, since there is no official indication on the site that the album is of such targeted stature, the review concentrates on the audio content, as opposed of its structural attributes. Read on to know more about this.

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Anodine - Passages review

Year : 2013
Genre : Alternative Rock, Electronic Ambient, Trip Hop
Label : Independent
Origin : Germany
Official site : > - here - <

Anodine occupies a multitude of stylistic positions in its current state, a circumstance that equates with the most beneficiary perk of this current-one-man-band which is though at the verge of forming into a full escalation silence massacre squad. The moods and directions the disc seeks to flatter towards throughout its 80+ minutes of playtime, are versatile and numerous. The most prominent form is that of dark alternative rock of massively midtempo demeanor, and, what is especially dear to my heart, are the eminent rhythmic Meshuggah influences -even if there are no more than 8 bars of those on the package - and the great melodic hooks that reek the best moments of Stone Sour. Corey Taylor is your papi, if you have ever wondered.

These affections are not at all in any kind of hurry to exhibit their beneficiary presence, mind us, as the album takes the liberty AND the time to court prolonged electronic fascinations whenever its pacing feels the need to do so. At their best moments, these electronic quasi-ambientistic (TUKK!) immersion-attempts summon some promise of VNV Nation, and, sometimes they just hang in the air and keep you hanging on with no top of the foodchain prime Kim Wilde present, which saddens me greatly. The bass guitar always is live though, radiating an organic, fat, evil and dirty quality - in the positive sense of the expression - to simultaneously assuage and provoke an otherwise icy, cybernetic fabric. The album, though deeply personal, places considerable and eloquent musical emphasis on the silly little thing called clarity of thought and its bestest buddy called dignified thematic accessibility. Read on to know more about this.

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Stone Sour - House of Gold and Bones Part 1 review

Year : 2012
Genre : Alternative Metal, Hard Rock
Label : RoadRunner Records
Origin : United States
Rating : 7.5 / 10

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I - a terrible letter to start a review with - just watched the new Stone Sour video "Gone Sovereign", and my expectations were met and not surpassed. Although the clip have sought desperately to put goose bumps on my skin in the process and failed at THAT secondary objective, I have heard a competent take on classic alternative - yes, I just lost a level now - rock. This is his.

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Gone For Days - Gone For Days EP review

Year : 2012
Genre : Alternative Rock with a Stoner Rock flavor
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

Paradoxically, Gone For Days comes (SIC!) to a spot near you to molest silence with ruthless efficiency. The quartet sports and brings a ripe understanding of exigently constructed alternative/stoner rock. Think of a trivium-consortium composed of the radio friendly behavior of Stone Sour, the melodic rhetorics of Disturbed, and add JUST a hint of Place of Skulls on top, and you will have a quite trusty image of the shape of music the self titled EP features. The compositonal tactics exhibited on the spin are easy to decipher and even easier to enjoy without noticing it, - this is a key trick in music, and, once summoned, the music is doing something right - making the 7 entries highly suitable prospects to receive sublime airtime on a radioshow without the band members and their agenda losing credit and dignity in the process. The data is without doubt engineered to be safely approachable from different directions, and it strikes up a pretty sober and muscular balance amidst the elements it emerges to court. Read on to know more about this pleasant alternative/stoner rock effort.

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Linkin Park - Living Things review

Year : 2012
Genre : Alternative Rock, Rap Poprock
Label : Warner Bros.
Origin : United States
Rating : 5.0 / 10

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Linkin Park's new record unfortunately shows a mixed fabric as its overall character, composed mainly of a family friendly rap poprock direction that enjoys the approval of your grandma's chihuahua, combined with c-grade pop, that which though is - more or less - decently realized in its servile superficiality, more on that later.

The disc initially reeks sexily and soberly bloated old school production values, and gradually moves towards the "charms"-, the sounds of an Eurovision contest, but Tomas Ledin's 1980 entry "Just Nu" sounds fresher than this disc, trust me. In fact, the release summons the vibes of boy groups from the '90s. The compositional ethos on display is straightforward enough to let me get away with a brief description of it. Consider a heavily hook-centered strategy to craft out the largely harmless musical themes, mainly along a mid-tempo temper. The name of the game, on paper, is rap rock, but, let's not pretend that it is a serious notion, as the album is much more pop in character than rock, and I personally find nothing wrong with that as an agenda - saved for the relatively ubiquitous proneness of the release to submit to radio friendly chord passages Johnny Cash does NOT approve of. The beneficial trait is, that the majority of these chord passages will serve out the rudimentary cravings of the lazy receptors on spot, yet, they will more than likely annoy the living death out of a snob worth calling one. Read on to find out more about the release.

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Garbage - Not Your Kind Of People review

Year : 2012
Genre : Alternative Rock with a Darkpop tendency
Label : STUNVOLUME
Origin : United States
Rating : 8.5 / 10

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I never knew the music of Garbage, yet "I knew it" instinctively, the same way I knew Type O Negative, despite never hearing the music of Peter Steele prior 2010. It was enough to see the face of Peter Steele to "know" his music, and it was enough to see the face of Shirley Manson to "know" her music. Finally, when I did hear Type O Negative, it was the legitimate feeling of the music I was HOPING to hear from Mr. Steele, and hearing his stuff is super-rewarding to this day.

Now was the time to me to check out if my preconception of the music of Garbage was legitimate or not, and it sounds/seems to be pretty close, once again. Opening track "Automatic Systematic Habit" rains down on me as I expect to feel when a woman in her prime is incoming with a rant you have no chance whatsoever to interrupt. And you don't even want to, anyway. The song strikes a tasteful, lush balance between Abba, Kidney Thieves, and openly nods both to muscular-, steroid-based super-bloated dance production standards and gentle synthpop affectations. You are given very little-, if any chance to reject it on bases worth taking serious. Read on to find out more about this disc.

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In Cages - In Cages EP review

Year : 2012
Genre : Alternative Indie Rock
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

In Cages is a Hillsdale-, New Jersey based ensemble composed of artists that already have an extensive career at playing live, - with pauses between gigs, you know? - and it is of no wonder that the band already is booked for numerous independent festivals of current year. (Digable Arts Festival, Le Grande Fromage, David & Goliath music series, Cupcake Festival to name a few.)


The self titled debut EP of this band contains four tracks that are super-efficient at conveying old school alternative rock with tasteful, restrained-but-powerful singing and musical vibes that are highly compatible with a rainy day if you have someone to hug unto in the process. The same goes for ill tempered grizzly bears. Read on to know more about this passable, ultra-orthodox alternative rock delivery.

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Dunderbeist - Black Arts & Crooked Tails review

Year : 2012
Genre : Alternative Metal
Label : Indie Recordings
Origin : Norway
Rating : 9.0 / 10

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Norway's Dunderbeist brings a wide array of influences to your receptors, and it isn't afraid to show them, either. Opening track "La Guerette du Feu" - bless you, bless you - is as special and deceitful of an entry as any other on the release, as its fabric touches upon well executed, epic power metal as a start, which later transforms to an alternative temper, spiced up finally by intense groove metal. Then, the next track, "Through the Peeophole", not only shares Mike Patton's theoretic (?) voyeur fixation - see his band Peeping Tom and his avid fascination with the classic originator movie of the same title - but the structure of the song, the vocal mannerisms utilized are very reminiscent to that of Patton, too. Granted, the singer, while he does a likable job, does not sport the priceless pipes of his n1 sonic hero, yet the intent to give you a Faith No More song sounds to be Evident - ha, ha. - to me. I'd be surprised if the members of Dunderbeist would reject the assumption that "Through the Peeophole" is FNM influence from top to bottom. This is a mindhack. As you will see, the album bends to the command of the Faith No More influence in an eager fashion, oftentimes giving you results that are top of the tier. There is nothing wrong with such an influence, of course. In fact, the nicely presented Faith No More fixation is one of the bests I can think of. Does it make sense to write "best" in plural? Read on to find out more about this surprisingly-, and radically colorful release.


Third track, "Fear and Loathing" (not in Las Vegas, but, under your skin, for a start) conveys a mixture of early Beasty Boys, and, once again, Faith No More : the chorus of this track is a total tribute. "Lucifer Eyes" starts out with a relatively deluded vocal performance, in my opinion. It is lengthy, sporting an artificial bluesy vibe. When at 1:20 things start to roll, you hear - Surprise, You Are Not Dead - another Faith No More song. This one is an entry the inspirator band probably would have thrown away as "hmm, it has something, but it is not THAT strong". "Lucifer Eyes" is reminiscent to the Faith No More song "Collision" in its basic structure, in my opinion. I write that band name so much in this review, I hope you won't faint no more.

"Worst Sentence" - and you'd rather be shot in the face, huh? - sounds to be one of the flatter tracks on the delivery. A simplistic ACME doom-chord progression flatters a mid-tempo chorus that invites to mind a b-side Megadeth song. This sounds like the rhetorics when Mr. Mustaine goes New World Order in the Old World Odor. Think Dr. Feelgood. Family friendly cartoon metal, and, regardless how the mid-section tries to convey radical emotion in menacing cartoon style - "there is no time to fix you, no time to heal you now" - I must point out that the song failed to bestow the strike, at the first place. Not a bad song. It is just a sonic foam to skillfully conceal an utter pseudo-lack of actual inspiration.

"Shields Aligned" starts out like a Place of Skulls song. Google "Victor Griffin", he is not only the fronter of Place of Skulls and a valuable member of Pentagram, but he also is your Father, Luke. But, hell, check out the 0:48 mark of this entry, and pardon me the immature smiley. :D This is SOOOOO super-early '80s Faith No More, that it is both brilliant and ridiculous. This track is one of the strongest, with a superb-, 101% Camambert-free power metal concept. (So it has 1% of anti-cheese, yeah.) "Back into line, hold formation, hold your shields aligned, wait for my sign." - and all this in a way that remains 101% free of power metal cheese. I. Do. Not. Say. This. Easily. And I do not say easily the following, either. This is a very significant song, in my opinion, which kicks all kinds of asses to hell and back on spot.

"More Me" starts out in a disorganized fashion, and finds pleasure "keeping" - seemingly inadvertently - this pseudo-pace. The intense end section saves something of the day, but there is way too much obstacles in your way until you get there, regardless of the short length. An aptly varied track with significant redeeming values among more insignificant primordial characteristics.

"Winter Past" will masterfully deceive you into thinking that you are listening to some Viking Metal Berserker stuff. Seconds after the intro, the Viking temper submits to easily accessible-, legit alternative metal, and I assure you that the music keeps its dignity, and does not cause harm in Viking metal. It sounds like Viking Abba metal, and, from that point on, you don't really have much other chance than to check it out. The singer is pretty good herein. No effect wizardry, "just" emotion, and that is sufficient.

"8 Crows and Counting" starts out with the signature Faith No More tribal drumming, Mike Bordin style. The whole song is hasty-, desperate, psyho-motorly A.G.I.TATED. to reveal the Faith No More vibe. Partly "Midlife Crisis", partly "Epic", partly "Caffeine". I would be very surprised if you'd listen to this and told me I'm an idiot, this has nothing to do with a Faith No More influence. It has nothing else to do. But, a legit song nevertheless.

Concluding track, "Hum Hum", I leave to you to discover on your own. In conclusion, I will say this : Dunderbeist's Black Arts & Crooked Tails is definitely a pleasant addition to early 2012, and I recommend it with a poker face. A must for all who wants to hear new classic - sorry about that - Faith No More song structures.

Rating : 9.0 / 10

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Sherlock Brothers - Black Cat Tango review

Year : 2011
Genre : Alternative Rock with a Groove Metal temper
Label : Ninetone Records
Origin : Sweden
Rating : 8.6 / 10

Sherlock Brothers gives you a fronter with a condition that is not too rare to behold, and it is called TIPAF. The Immense Philip Anselmo Fixation, my love. This man tries to sound exactly like the Phil, as it could be evident to you if you decide to listen to the chorus of LP opening track "Rollin'". There is a video available for that song, too, which you can check out here, and you can hear that I'm no lie. Oh my. (YouTube this then : "pale kid raps fast".)

Black Cat Tango is all about the hefty hookhunt, and, about accessibility, in which the top moments are signified by the fronter's Philip Anselmo imitation, because he especially likes the tazmanian devil variant of the style. As result of this dormant decision, almost all songs on this LP have the tendency to revolve around a chorus with supremely heavy vocals on top. Not a tragedy, because, the Philip Anselmo clone of the release actually does a pretty solid job, and it is worthwhile to scrutinize how this style of vocal delivery is capable to sell itself on top of music that is tamer in character than the relentless rumble of groove metal. Read on to find out more about this friendly, energetic alternative rock release that dares to cultivate sex-only type relationship with groove metal.


I admit I was kind of an initial douché towards the lead singer, because, as the record progresses, you will notice that he has the propensity to deliver in his own voice AND sounds good doing it, - !!totally like Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters!! - and he relies on the Philip Anselmo Tazmanian Devil register only when the music submits to more radical shapes. Suffice it to say that the Sherlock Brothers frontman has put respectable efforts to imitate his idols, and has significant talent to approach the original efficiency level of the respective arch-forms of these registers, too. Now that this recognition is out of the way, the character of the music can be addressed, too.

Black Cat Tango is an interesting bird in the sense that it has an equal leaning towards a heavier side of chuggy mid-paced pummeling that borders on groove metal in character, and a risk free accessibility that, at heart, enjoys full family friendliness like Foo Fighters. Foo Fighters is your bestestest online buddy's favoritestest band like : since forever!!. This band, Sherlock Brothers though, no doubt represents an interesting take on the BLEND of its most important influences, and, needless to say, the "mere" act of blending these primer impacts is what the record's ultimate value graces your awareness as. The record commits only a few mistakes, and those mistakes are fun, too. Like a segment in track number 6, called "Down". (Is the name "Down" another Anselmo tribute?) In this particular track, a ripost-backing vocal goes Boyz 2 Men on you mercilessly, and it withdraws viciously when you already have grown yer' Them Men Boobs on yourself. Aua.

The record is a rather flamboyant, and, I dare say, strong collection of easily decipherable alternative rock that is able to reveal apt composition work and elegant thought. Sure, it is reminscent to Foo Fighters, but, hell, it is WILDER and much less saloon-, much less well-mannered, which I think is funny to watch, funny to listen to. This deviancy from the Foo Fighterish "somepartofmealwaysisyours, and lamdidamdadoo" telltale-bonefire rhetorics is the result of the groove metal gas tank the release does not relent refilling from, thankfully preventing it from going "don't wanna beeee your monkeeeey wreeee eeench".

TUKK!

This release also seems to have a rather conscious strategy to prevent itself. See how important one letter can be? Of course I meant "s". With 41 minutes of showtime divided amidst 12 sonic moodflares, only one particular track rises above the 4 minutes mark, and 9 clocks in during the 3 minutes domain. This is not accidental, trust me. This delivery openly-, and efficiently SEEKS to be an easily accessible collection of 12 hefty-, short-and-sturdy alternative rock fixes, and, to tell you the truth, it is pretty serious about it, too. A record of dignity, strength and energy that is not afraid to deny its influences, quite the contrary : it embraces them and builds something meaningful and relevant out of them. This is not only acceptable, but advisable. Album totally recommended.

Rating : 8.6 / 10

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deepfield - Nothing Can Save Us Now review

Year : 2011
Genre : Alternative Rock / Post Grunge
Label : In De Goot Recording
Origin : United States
Rating : 8.8 / 10

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The latest deepfield - the "d" always is lower case, according to my n1 Intranet Goddess Wikipedia - LP, called Nothing Can Save Us Now is an alternative rock / post grunge output that won't relent until its strong melodies and choruses bend you to the album's - good - will. Radio-friendly but not at all salivated cliché like Nickelback's latest shitsniffer LP Here and Now, deepfield never approaches your receptors without a clear, exigent musical idea in the soul, and the realization is pretty lush and soberly controlled, too : the sound, though radio friendly in character, never loses grit and dignity, - though the chorus of the track "So Far Away" is a pretty frightening Aerosmith-ballad-wannabe - and breaths life into a series of slick, integral post-grunge compositions that have nothing to be ashamed of even when measured to the extremely demanding standards of the genre defining grunge-giants of the early '90s. Creating fine alternative rock seems to require both the fine hook and the fine chorus, and it is safe to say that deepfield takes its favorite form of music mad-serious, which is the only acceptable stance in this genre. Guys, let's talk about the music.


Nothing Can Save Us Now is a highly appealing-, mostly tame alternative rock delivery that never fails to deliver fine collisions between thoughtful melody and cunning harmonies, regardless of the temper of the actual song you are listening to at the moment. The record has a variety of most cultivated moods, and, among these, the wild heart at inner peace calibration is the most evident and most prominent, which does not stop the record from working quite superbly even when it goes a bit more aggressive - track called "Shiner" - or if it goes radically tame to deliver a lament of menacing gloom, like the last song of this LP. The only moment this record gives me the shivers by, is in the song "These Words" : this track utilizes a modulation trick, you know, when everything is untouched, but the key is shifted.

Don't.

The key factor that will determine the premiere function of this disc in your reality flow, not too surprisingly, is deeply dependent on your personal needs you construct that flow along. As noted, deepfield's latest is not a primordially angry release, and it is very much far from serving out any cheaply constructed inner anxieties and boring beginner level miseries, as well. Your best bet is to check out the first track of this sexy contribution, which is a pretty compact assessment of the things you will find the most of on the spin : the chorus is pretty sick here in my opinion, and only the pre has a tint of Aerosmith, which is OK, because the pre is only 3 seconds long.

Nothing Can Save Us Now shows character-similarities to Italian Amantyde's latest from a certain point of view, and that is none other than both discs have this very clear shared agenda on their mind to enrich their host-genres with relevant content without abusing shortcuts and clichés, and neither album relents until they accomplish this commanding goal in a fruity fashion. Keep in mind that you would be wrong to form a final opinion on this LP based on the first three tracks of it, because, one of its most delicious traits is its flamboyancy it handles its own moods with, and the tamer mood is not exclusive to the album, it will have intensity, too, if you give it the time. deepfield's latest is serious, accessible alternative rock music with serious, accessible, elegant hooks and choruses, and the album, as such, is highly recommended.

Rating : 8.8 / 10

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