Angels and Airwaves release LOVE…gratis!
Angels and Airwaves really outdid themselves…releasing a brand spanking new album free of charge for their fans!
Tom Delong and the guys really went above and beyond on the production. Absolutely superb. Here’s the single “Hallucinations” above…grab the full album via the band’s myspace.
The Tuesday Ticket: Bands to check out…Fall ‘09
Here around TLS, we’re always picking up new music and such. Some of it might have been out a while, other stuff is brand spankin’ new.
The Sick Puppies just released a full-length titled Tri-Color…it’s a ripping piece of modern rock energy. Resembling Trapt or Breaking Benjamin…it’s hot n’ heavy!
After being on Warped Tour, I just found out about LA’s up-and-comers the After Midnight Project. I’ve had their track “Take Me Home” on repeat. They’ll be releasing a new album this fall and expect to hear more about these guys!
I just found out about electro-pop band Breathe Carolina…catchy, juicy goodness.
If you’re looking for more screaming, rock to the new August Burns Red album titled Constellations, if you’re in the mood, it will dominate you…
Download: E-603’s Torn Up…mashup genius!
I don’t even know how to describe mashups anymore…they are either massive failures or creative genius. This dude from Nashua, NH, named E-603 knowns how to piece em together.
I hate comparing every mashup to Gregg Gillis / Girl Talk, but 603 is right on par as far as albums go. His newest project Torn Up is gonna work you into a frenzy. My one criticism of Feed the Animals seemed to be GT’s continual use of call-and-response. Torn Up seems to stray from that more which I appreciate. It’s that special place where gangsta meets rockstar meets dancefloor…Cruise over to his website and grab yourself a copy!
Download here: E-603.com
The Fray – The Fray
March 5, 2009 by Keith
Filed under Album Reviews, Videos
This Grammy-nominated band put itself on the map with its first release How to Save a Life. Their second album doesn’t disappoint.
Led by vocalist Isaac Slade, The Fray bring a relaxing form of melody mixed with precise guitars and percussion. ”How to Save a Life” and “Over My Head” were winning singles for their hooks. This album picks up right where the foursome left off.
From the moment Slade sings “I found God on the corner of First and Amistad…” in the single, the listener can’t help but enjoy the sounds coming out of his or her speakers. Slade has that rough-around-the-edges voice that has that dramatic capability, especially in the single “You Found Me”.
Other notable songs include “Never Say Never”, “Absolute”, and “Enough for Now”. The piano works beautifully with the accompanying instruments. While their sound might not be anything new, The Fray bring out the best of all they have. This album is like a road-trip…it’s all about life’s journey. If an alternative sound with uplifting vocals is your thing, then this is an album worth investigating.
The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
March 4, 2009 by Keith
Filed under Album Reviews, Videos
These Brits certainly know how to bring the filth…and that’s a good thing.
With Liam Howlett at the backbone of their sound, the Prodigy’s Invaders Must Die is a strong follow-up to their 2004 release Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned. The drums are solid. The vocals are tough. Most importantly, the basslines and synth leads can only be described as ripping!
The singles Invaders Must Die and Omen capture the big-beat sound that Prodigy fans will be satisfied with. Flint and Maxim’s vocals pound the listener into submission. Other highlights of the album include Worlds On Fire, Warriors Dance, and Runs with Wolves…the latter which features Nirvana / Foo Fighters drummer Dave Grohl.
Invaders Must Die keeps its hard edge yet also provides a sound accessible to the average listener. The beats provide the cornerstone for all the banging to begin. As always, the tempos rise and then drop, but the intensity never lets up. Don’t miss Stand Up which closes this album out.
“You run with the wolves, shout it out loud”
Slipknot – All Hope is Gone
March 4, 2009 by Keith
Filed under Album Reviews, Videos
Wow, as any diehard Slipknot fan will tell you, it has been a grueling wait for new Slipknot material.
Four years, in fact. Four years in which Slipknot members experimented with other wicked musical adventures, most notably lead singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root’s side project Stone Sour. Without question, the last four years have been filled with uncertainly as rumors abounded that Slipknot had finally put down the masks.
Yet fear not maggots because the masked experts of pandemonium have blessed us with their fourth studio album, All Hope is Gone, a brutal and chaotic journey into the deepest parts of the Slipknot machine. It literally seethes contempt for the state of America and more importantly attempts to breed a new form of hate for the 21st century. After first listen, your anger about spending four years replaying songs from Vol. 3. The Subliminal Verses will vanish because you’ll understand that works of art like All Hope is Gone take time to breed. You’ll also realize that the four years the band members spent apart experimenting with other sinister endeavors has given All Hope is Gone a more polished and clean feel than anyone could have hoped for.
The onslaught begins with “Execute,” a typical Slipknot prologue, in which disarrayed sounds and vocals increase in intensity to foreshadow the bedlam that is about to ensue.
That bedlam first comes in the form of the politically charged “Gematria” (The Killing Name), a song reminiscent of the raw, unnerving sound Slipknot achieved on their first album. The song’s six minute relentlessness will literally pound your eardrums into submission. So turn the volume down.
Things die down a bit, in a good way, with “Sulfur,” a radio oriented song that works more as a Stone Sour ballad than a Slipknot metal romp. Nevertheless, Sulfur demonstrates Slipknot’s range of talents and highlights the new direction Slipknot is willing to take.
The next track, “Psychosocial,” is arguably the best work Slipknot has ever created. “I did my time and I want out,” Taylor yells with convincing rage and resentment for the current state of things. You might feel the same way.
Other notable tracks include “Vendetta,” “This Cold Black,” and “Wherein Lies Continue.” “Vendetta,” a complex metal ballad, contains some of Taylor’s best vocal work as well as the most creative guitar arrangements from Slipknot thus far.
After a complete listen you will find no weak entries here. Even the acoustically leisurely “Snuff” is a powerfully emotional song that emphasizes Taylor’s vocal range and artistic versatility. If you enjoyed Stone Sour’s “Bother,” you’ll dig “Snuff.”
What Slipknot has done with All Hope is Gone is quite remarkable given the fact that the band saw its members vaulting in different directions only a little while ago. Like The Subliminal Verses, All Hope is Gone is simultaneously raw, emotional, melodic, and groundbreaking. This time, though, Slipknot has solidified themselves as valid candidates for metal gods with a fresh sound that is a separate but ultimately superior entry in the Slipknot canon. As Taylor screams in “Vendetta”: “Let’s pretend we’re not at the end.”