The Solace System by Epica – song review

Since I started this blog I have been waiting for a moment when I could talk about this band in greater detail. If you know anything about me then you know that alongside Nightwish Epica has always been my #1 artist. So, let’s make little introduction for this amazing band called Epica

Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band, founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen after his departure from After Forever. They have released seven albums so far and constantly improved with every released album. “The Holographic Principle” was my favorite album of last year and I had four Epica songs in my top 25 best songs of 2016. Click here for the top 25 list Actually, I had to put four songs per artist rule because without it I would end up with at least eight songs from that album on the list.

In 2017 Epica out of nowhere released single for upcoming EP called “The Solace System”. So is “The Solace System” any good?

No Words Spoken EP by CrazyEightyEight

July 2nd is the day when CrazyEightyEight(Jarrod Alonge’s and Lauren Babic’s side project) releases their new EP called No Words Spoken. This is not their debut EP since they have already released covers EP with covers of songs by The Killers, The 1975, Halsey and MCR. Check it out. It is pretty good.

So it this EP as good as last one?

Tommy’s Planet by CrazyEightyEight – song review

Our favorite scene meme lord is back, but this time Jarrod teamed up with always amazing Lauren Babic from Canadian band Red Handed Denial which EP Wanderer I already reviewed. Long story short it is an amazing EP and I find myself coming back to that EP a lot.  Jarrod so far has released two independent full-length studio albums, Beating a Dead Horse and Friendville, both of which reached number one on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart. As of April 2017, his YouTube channel has amassed over 190,000 subscribers with more than 92 million total views. Honestly I was surprised when I saw that this is not parody song. So is “Tommy’s Planet” good?

Retrospect by Rest,Repose – song review

Rest, Repose is an five piece American heavy metal band that consists of:

Tanner – Vocals
Josh – Bass
Jared – Drums
Tony – Guitars
Fluff – Guitars

My interest for this band was sparked by being a fan of Jared’s and Fluff’s Youtube channels and thus for I checked out their debut EP “The Sleep City” when it got released. That EP featured different singer but we won’t talk about that today. To be fair I liked that EP quite a bit. Very good try on very melodic metal. It had very mainstream sound which I respect a ton. Finally we got band full of talented musicians playing very mainstream sound of metal.

When they announced that they will be releasing their debut album and first single of that album I was intrigued. So, what do we get with “Retrospect”?

The Source by Ayreon – album review

Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon’s music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electronica, experimental and classical music. The majority of Ayreon’s albums are dubbed “rock operas” (or “metal operas”) because the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, usually with each one being represented by a unique vocalist.

Number of musicians Arjen worked with is very large. That list includes some of the biggest names in the metal and rock universe such as Bruce Dickinson, Marco Hietala, James LaBrie. Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Ken Hensley, Russel Allen and many more. On this new album “The Source” Arjen introduced some new names to already very big pool of singers he worked with such as Micheal Mills (Circus Maximus), Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind), Tommy Rogers(Between the Buried And Me) and Zaher Zorgati (Myrath). Here is a full list of every single vocalist featured on the album:  James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Simone Simons (Epica), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian), Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot, Seventh Wonder), and Russell Allen (Symphony X), Micheal Mills (Circus Maximus), Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind), Tommy Rogers(Between the Buried And Me) and Zaher Zorgati (Myrath).  for a total of eleven main vocalists.

Album is divided in four chronicles. The Frame, The Aligning of the Ten, The Transmigration and The Rebirth. At the end of every chronicle something big happens, but that is something I will discuss later.

Ayreon was always one of my favorite bands(if you can call it a band since it is a more of a project). “The Human Equation”, “Into The Electric Castle” and “01011001” are some of my favorite albums of all time with “The Human Equation” being favorite out of those 3 so it is clear that I have high expectations from Ayreon

2017 marks the year when Ayreon releases another album. This time it’s called “The Source”. So, did “The Source” meet my expectations?

Fabuless by Stone Sour – song review

So, Stone Sour is finally back! Last time we heard something from these guys was 2 years ago when they released covers EP “Straight Outta Burbank…” which included 5 songs:

1. “Sailin’ On” (Bad Brains cover)
2. “Running Free” (Iron Maiden cover)
3. “Gimme Shelter” (feat. Lzzy Hale) (The Rolling Stones cover)
4. “Too Fast for Love” (Mötley Crüe cover)
5. “Seasons in the Abyss” (Slayer cover)

Personally, I enjoyed this EP a lot, especially “Gimme Shelter” cover, although I wish they gave Lzzy Hale more vocal duties.

Today, Stone Sour released first original song since 2013 called “Fabuless”. So, is “Fabuless” good?

Emperor Of Sand by Mastodon – album review

Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2000 and composed of bassist Troy Sanders, guitarists Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher, and drummer Brann Dailor. Their musical style features progressive concepts and unique instrumentation. All four members participate in vocals, creating a unique blend of singing styles and voices.

In 2002 they released their debut album called “Remission”. “Remission” to me was pretty solid debut album that showed how good of musicians Mastodon guys are. But, there is one thing that I did not like on that album and that thing is vocals. For some reason Troy’s vocals on that album never clicked with me. They have some sort of Death Metal-y sound but still they are clean vocals. Everything else about that album was stellar. Bass, guitar work and especially drums. I swear, Brann Dailor is one of the best modern drummers. I would give that album strong 7/10.

But then in 2004 they released “Leviathan” and holy shit what an album that is. Opening song “Blood And Thunder” has one of the best guitar riffs of all time and Troy’s vocals are much better. They still have that sludgy feel but this time they fit really good with rest of instrumentation which is very sludgy too.  Every great thing from “Remission” is even better on “Leviathan” which makes this album absolute 10/10 in my books.

One thing about Mastodon always fascinated me and that is how much Pitchfork loves them. There is even a joke about that and it goes like this:

*Mastodon plays open E string*

Pitchfork:10/10

I mean they absolutely deserve it, but I am still very confused when you consider Pitchfork’s history with very progressive music. Remember, they gave Lateralus 1.8/10 and on top of that Mastodon’s approach to progressive music is mixed with a lot of sludgy influences.

Up until The Hunter all Mastodon albums received universal fans acclaim but with The Hunter and Once More Round The Sun fans were not satisfied with the direction Mastodon decided to take. Their sound slowly started to shift more towards mainstream rock while still holding that signature Mastodon sound that made them unique. Fans were pissed off. And you know what? I actually like “Once More Round The Sun” a lot. I would argue that songs like “High Road” and “Motherload” are one of their best . Mainstream rock desperately needed act like Mastodon is. Because almost everything in mainstream rock sounded absolutely the same. Mastodon gave us breath of fresh air and everyone should appreciate that a lot. Again, instrumentation on this album is amazing. Although I would not say that this is better than “Leviathan” but it is really good still. One thing that I appreciate about this album is Brann Dailor’s vocals. Him and Troy sound very good together. We have songs on Emperor Of Sand where same thing repeats, but we will get into that very soon.

This year Mastodon released their seventh album called “Emperor Of Sand”. So, what do we get with “Emperor Of Sand?