Tag: music

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Dark Roots Of Earth – Testament

I bought this album because I was going to see Testament play at KoKo in London. I know “Practice What You Preach” from my days at school and I thought I needed to know a few more songs and so I got their latest album.

Old Dog  applies to this album, but I would say it definitely works well. There’s a maturity in the song writing and it is also well produced. The anger is still there but reduced slightly from those heady days of teenage testosterone. They played a few songs live and they sounded good. There’s something funny about middle-aged rockers trying to maintain the anger at the establishment, but also becoming part of the machine they hated.

It’s worth a listen.

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D – HexRx

HexRx make dirty hellectro music. That’s quite curious because hellectro is rather dirty in itself. HexRx take many samples from horror films and then build “tunes” around them. I can listen for about an album at a time and then it’s time for something else.

I like it, I just can’t take too much. Listening is an experience, which is a bit of a theme with this album.

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D.O.A. – Throbbing Gristle

The full title of this album is:

D.O.A. The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle

This is seminal. When you take the members of Throbbing Gristle and look into their backgrounds and previous work you start to understand where they were coming from. In 1976 COUM Transmissions were doing this sort of crazy stuff. And modern day artists like to think that they are pushing the boundaries. I guess they are, but I can’t help thinking that it’s all been done before.

So, Throbbing Gristle, they made “music” to challenge pre-conceptions and to see how far they could take it. You might not like listening to it, but your life will be enriched for doing so (unlike a 1D album). You have to remember when this was made. 1978. The technology they were using was ground-breaking and their sound was something special. To understand the origins of modern industrial music you HAVE to include TG.

Favourite tracks include:

  • I.B.M.
  • Hit By A Rock
  • Dead On Arrival
  • Hamburger Lady (one of the most disturbing songs I have ever heard)
  • AB/7A
  • Blood On The Floor

Listen, appreciate, take some paracetamol (you’ll need it).

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Antithesis – The Ivy

Went to see a few bands at The Ivy in Sheerness last night. I was most interested in the band called:

The Antithesis

I’ve seen this band a number of times and really enjoy their music. I thought they were good. Also saw Where’s Billy? who were ok. It was an enjoyable evening. Thanks Dave.

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Cross Road – Bon Jovi

I bought/downloaded/borrowed this originally because I wanted some Bon Jovi on my phone but didn’t want to buy the original albums. I sometimes go for “Best Of” albums because you are meant to get the best of that artist. I don’t think it always works out like that though. It appears that there are restrictions on the songs put on these “Best Of” albums. Also, some albums work as albums and you should listen through the whole thing.

So, I have since bought the albums I like and so only have a few songs left in this. The six songs left are:

  • Someday I’ll be Saturday night
  • Blaze of Glory
  • Prayer ’94
  • In and Out of Love
  • Runaway
  • I’ll Be There For You (version 2)

I’m not sure why I still have the last song there. I find both versions really tedious. When I saw the Jovi at Twickenham I just wanted “I’ll Be There For You” to stop. I also hate key changes. Look, get the original albums. There’s a reason the Jovi are as big as they are, it’s good stuff.

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Crazy World – Scorpions

Old dog, old tricks.

I bought this album on music cassette in the late 80s, I’m ashamed to say it but it was probably not long after “Winds of Change” was in the charts. A good ballad is always an indication of a good band as long you then forget the ballad (they annoy me).

This album is a stunner. It’s exactly the sort of music I like. There’re songs with gang vocals, guitar slides, cheeky riffs, excellent bass work, it’s as though the Scorpions know exactly what sort of music works well in an arena. Given how long the “boys” have been around it’s no surprise that this album is well-crafted and wonderful.

I like all the songs. It’s precisely the sort of album that, when in the correct mood, you can play in its entirety.

Highlights:

  • Tease Me Please Me
  • Don’t Believe Her
  • Restless Nights

 

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Crank – Almighty

I downloaded this album after a friend recommended it. I was after more British rock. I’ve seen The Almighty a few times and really enjoyed their shows.

This album is good. It’s playing right now on my Sonos system. It is an Almighty album. It does what it says on the tin. I think this is the first album that friend got by the Almighty and therefore he thinks it’s the best, whereas I already have a couple of albums and therefore I think Powertrippin’ is better. When you get introduced to a band you hold the albums you hear first on a pedestal, it takes a lot to remove the new sound and excitement from top place.

Look, it’s worth buying but it doesn’t stand out. Also, see Old Dog, New Tricks.

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Countdown to Extinction – Megadeth

I’ve been listening to this album while I’ve been trying to get the Windows Store to work on my tablet PC [doesn’t work within a domain].

There isn’t a bad song on this album. The problem is that none of the songs are stunning either. If you want some slow, melody driven rock then this is the album for you. I don’t think I’d even describe it as thrash.

The best bit about this album is that the opening few seconds of  “Symphony of Destruction” sound like the PS3 starting up. If only Sony had used a bit more of the song and then the PS3 would be truly awesome.

There must be something about music and drugs. This album was written while the members were clean.

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Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg

Cosmic Egg is the follow up album to the eponymous Wolfmother album. These guys are a cheeky threesome from the land down under. There’s a story behind me getting the first album but this is about the second.

I like it, it’s not quite as good as the first album but it does contain some lovely rock. These guys are crazy mix of Zeppelin, Sabbath and Deep Purple. It really works.

Get it. You won’t be disappointed.

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Corporate America – Boston

I bought “Boston” by Boston because I liked some of the songs and then I had a bit of a phase with Boston albums. You know, look up the albums on Wikipedia then buy the best reviewed. I got hooked on the collection of Boston albums. I bought four albums and thought they were all well crafted so I decided to get Corporate America.

The review: the music is what you would expect. It’s Boston. They write good songs. It’s well crafted, polished and just what you want for a summer evening. The message is pretty good overall too.

Getting hold of the album was probably the best bit about this whole episode. Amazon don’t sell it, nor do iTunes. None of the major music stores stock it. I think it was self-released and in limited numbers. I ended up getting it on eBay. I also spent about GBP25 on this thing. That seems to be the going rate. I just wanted to complete the whole collection of albums [FYI I don’t do illegal downloads – just a choice I made years ago].

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