There are so many forums (fora, if you will) here, I didn't know exactly where it would be most appropriate to post these, so I put them here. The Music forum seems to have threads dedicated solely to one band, so...
There is an Issue 7, but I removed it after realizing it was a 2005 release. It was kind of silly anyway. If anyone wants to see previous issues, just let me know and I'll post them here.
Volume I, Issue 6
Band: The Ocean
Album: Aeolian
Genre/style: Extreme metal/symphonic sludge
Rating: 8/10
Get ready to have your face melted clean off by the extreme metallic power of The Ocean. I have just recently discovered this band, and I am glad that I have. Brutal, brutal, brutal stuff, not for the weak of heart. The Ocean adds an element of brilliance to their relentless metal attacks with majestic symphonic sections, although there are not too many of those on this album, which is mainly straighforward heaviness and brutality (I have a feeling I will be using the word brutal in this review quite a bit). The Ocean is more than a band; they refer to themselves as the "Collective," and rightly so, as there are seven different vocalists on this album alone, with vocal stylings that range from "meaty howls" to "Scandinavian hollering" to "plangent yelling." Yes, these guys are crazy.
Aeolian starts with a smack in the face with "The City In the Sea," a chaotic rendition of an Edgar Allan Poe work that would probably even have the antiquated godfather of horror shaking in his boots. Then comes "Dead Serious & Highly Professional." Musically, the song is good, but it loses points from me for the wacky gore lyrics. Sure, some people do not mind gore lyrics, but after the majestic Poe retooling, it does not seem like lyrics about rape and beastiality quite fit in. On the other hand, it shows that the Collective holds nothing sacred, and holds nothing back. Gore does continue to pervade the album, most blatantly in the odd "Necrobabes.com," another song I could probably do without, based on the title alone. But brutal songs like "Austerity," "Swoon," and the epics "Queen of the Food-chain" and "Inertia" show good horror-filled song-writing complimented by good heavy music, and just a touch of symphonics. "Killing the Flies" would definitely have to be the album highlight. The ominous opening riff rings through your ears like the bells of hell, and the complex nature of the song on a whole combined with the heaviness is enough to make your head twist right off. A loud ringing (that might just be your ears...sometimes it's hard to tell) ends the songs and starts "Une Saison En Enfer," which follows logically from the previous song, extending the highlight section of the album even more. The eerie guitar-drum combo around the 2:20 mark starts a section that extends to about 3:30 during which you just can't help but headbang furiously. But then, why stop (or start) there? And talk about climatic...the album rocks you right to the end, with the last minute of "Inertia" probably being the most brutal part of the album.
Aeolian is the continuation of the previous album Fluxion, and I had just about gotten over the brutality of THAT album before I started listening to Aeolian. I cannot really say that I prefer one to the other, though Fluxion seems to have more of those symphonic moments that I enjoy so much, and Aeolian is more straightforward. I suppose I could say that Fluxion is my personal favorite, but that is not to discredit the new album by any means. You really should get this album if you are a fan of ballsy extreme metal bands, because The Ocean ranks high on the "as heavy as it gets" meter.
Volume I, Issue 8
Band: Type O Negative
Album: Symphony for the Devil
Genre/style: Heavy/doom metal
Rating: 8.5/10
It's rude and crude. It's green and black. It's uncouth, idiotic, and offensive to everyone. And undeniably metal. It must be the Drab Four. This DVD has everything from kicks in the crotch to public crapping to New York City accents, and classic bouts of taking advantage of passed-out drunk people. And there is some music in there too.
The show itself is old footage from the Bizzare Festival in 1999, so dedicated fans have probably already heard the songs from floating bootlegs. But apparently the show was recorded professionally and lay dormant all these years, festering in a pile of Peter Steele's rancid ***, only to finally surface this year. As Type O refuses to do anything by a "normal" format, the concert does not play continuously. Instead it is pervaded every few songs by clips of random insanity from the inside the demented world of the band: specifically, footage taken while they were on the road, usually the goings-on within the tour van. This gives an intimate look at the band off-stage...therefore should be avoided at all costs if you are hyper-sensitive or lacking a sense of humor. But then, if you were either of those, you would not be watching this DVD at all. Be warned: there are at least four penis sightings. I will not say where...you will just have suffer like the rest of us. The performance itself is great, (though not the same as being there) and will be appreciated by fans who know how the band is in a live setting.
The concert starts with an aerial view of the crowd, and just when you think the music is about to start, you instead get an interrupted introduction to the DVD from Slitzy, the band's spritely, obnoxious, pale, hairless, ambiguously gay roadie and comic perching nude on a toilet. And a little cameo by the late Dimebag Darrell as well. So the music begins at last with an instrumental intro of "In the Flesh" followed by the metal destruction of Neil Young's "Cinammon Girl." Then the droning "Waste of Life" segues into "Too Late: Frozen" (but not before the second random tour scene, including Peter philosophizing whilst on the can, and performing oral sex on a woman). "In Praise of Bacchus" is the next song on the bill, and while the song is great, the studio version is much preferred to the live version, mainly because the live version lacks the Bensonhoist Lesbain Choir chant near the end of the song, which I always viewed as the highlight. Anyway, the band continues on, thrashing out with "Kill All the White People," Pete Steele's gutteral grunts dropping unknown food objects and random organs into your lower intestine for further processing. Then more drinking, insulting pedestrians, random nonsensical humor, mooning Lacuna Coil. Back to the show... "Cornucopia" leads into the creepy-green-light intro of "Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropic Paranoia)," probably the best song about lycanthropy and cunnilingus known to man. After more tour-bus nonsense, enter the morose "Everything Dies," a song that contains some grunts that makes you wonder what it would sound like if Type O would make a few predominantly death metal tunes. "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" precedes another tour clip that teaches the lesson of "why not to pass out drunk in a bus with exploiting friends who have too much fun with magic markers and mayonnaise packs." I dub the classic "Gravity" as the highlight of the show, thanks mainly to Kenny's energy. A "Black Sabbath intro" is the beginning of the end, with a trilogy of fan favorites: "Christian Woman," "Love You To Death," and "Black No. 1." But these are infiltrated by the unexplainable "Grapes of Ass" trailer, which should not be viewed by ANYONE, "The Incredible Jew," and other bad Slitzy moments.
With the DVD comes not only bonus interviews and lots of other candy, but also a bonus CD single containing the first studio song the band has recorded in quite some time. Once again displaying their notoriety for making tasteless metal covers of pristine classic rock songs, the band claims yet another victim. This time it is Carlos Santana and a medley of "Evil Ways/Oye Como Va/Black Magic Woman." It's good for a laugh.
The DVD is hilarious in a sick, perverted kind of way, but I do not know why it took so long for them to turn it into an official release. Regardless, this DVD sucks, and thus is a must-have for fans. To non-fans or those new to the band...I cannot give an apt recommendation. Type O is the kind of band you will either relate to and love, or misinterpret and hate. One thing notably lacking from the performance is Peter Steele's mid-song banter, which has been a highlight of their shows since the band began. But the tour-bus tidbits make up for it, and even if you do not like the band's music, these clips can be enjoyed by anyone with even the slightest bit of humor. That does not mean "go buy the DVD" necessarily, but at least take the time to watch it with someone else who was stupid enough to have made the purchase.
Volume I, Issue 9
Band: Pearl Jam
Album: Pearl Jam
Genre/style: Hard rock
Rating: 7.5/10
Like them or not, it looks like Pearl Jam is not going anywhere. I will forego all allusions to the "x-fans" who no longer like the band simply because they cannot seem to deal with the fact that Pearl Jam will probably never again release another album identical to Ten or Vs. in style or potency. However, their eponymous eighth studio album is probably the closest thing to such a return as has been seen in quite some time.
Leave it to the radio to take the worst songs from the album and turn them into hits. Of course I am speaking of "Life Wasted" and "World Wide Suicide," two mediocre songs that provide a somewhat inappropriate start to the album, and almost turned me off to the album upon my first listen. But fortunately I continued to listen, because there are some classic Pearl Jam gems that follow. "Comatose" has a very Vitalogy feel to it, reminiscent of "Spin the Black Circle," but not in a repetitive way. The upbeat "Severed Hand" and "Unemployable" are definitely album highlights, and are currently vying as my favorite songs of the album. "Marker In the Sand" has a kind of classic rock groove to it, as does the more mellow "Parachutes." Pearl Jam continues to fit in political overtones into their songs, as seen in "Army Reserve" and the slower, more subtle "Gone." "Come Back" is very slow and seems to drag on...not a particularly great song, but around the 4:00 minute mark, there is a really great guitar interlude that makes the song worth listening to. Like "Comatose," "Inside Job" also has an older Pearl Jam vibe to it, once you get past the long intro.
Unlike the last two Pearl Jam albums, this one contains better musicianship, more variation, and better constructed songs. The singing is better, the guitar work is better with more soloing, it is just much better over all. This album is probably the best since No Code and definitely gets my recommendation, but you have to give it a chance. If you can get past the first two songs, it is a rewarding and enjoyable album, with songs that translate very well live--which I can say from experience. I almost feel like I am skimping them by giving a 7.5 rating and not something a bit higher, because the album seems to get better the more I listen.
