Mr. Hagar, the successful businessman, nightclub, restaurant and store owner, tequila and rum mogul, but not at least rock star, is back solo again. While everybody expecting the revival of his Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve and the new formula including Neal Schon (Santana, Journey, Bad English), Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), this solo project come a little bit by surprise. The album it’s a vivid mixture of memorable heavy riffs (“Not Going Down”, “Knockdown Dragout”) and easy summer (blues) songs for tequila spots as the cover of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville”. In between we’ve got “Personal Jesus” (Depeche Mode) and “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” (Bob Seger) covers, lemonades (“Father Sun”) and classic rock tracks (“Bad On Fords and Chevrolets”). Not bad for an alien abducted, 65 years old red head! 😆
Seriously? This is a fine and classy Hagar album. Read more Sammy Hagar – Sammy Hagar and Friends (2013) ›

Fish is back. It’s been a while. “A Feast of Consequences” is the first album since “13th Star” released in 2008 and the tenth solo studio album since he left Marillion in 1988. Anybody still remember Marillion and those fabulous for albums – “Script for a Jester’s Tear” (1983), “Fugazi” (1984), “Misplaced Childhood” (1985) and “Clutching at Straws” (1987)? Fish was the charismatic figure, the mind behind the concept and the voice of Marillion in those good old days. While Steve Hogarth with a new singer, Steve Hogarth, choose a quite different path after Fish departure, while Fish generally continued the story. Had better and less exciting albums along the way, but he was the same charming voice and sensible story teller and in the Marillion era.
“A Feast of Consequences” it’s not different, eventually this new album sound even more fresher and alive and have a few really good moments, some of them obviously bringing back good-old Marillion memories, as well as the Genesis/Rush/Pink Floyd/Jethro Tull/King Crimson resonances are still vibrating through the songs. This is a very nice, very soulful and colorful album. More I had listen it, more I enjoy it. Read more Fish – A Feast of Consequences (2013) ›

I’m not an enthusiast, unconditional fan of DT, mainly because I’m not really liking the voice and style of James LaBrie, yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s not his fault, it’s all mine, mine, all mine! On the other hand there is very thin and invisible line between self-indulgence and the need of communicate by artistic vehicles – in this case, instruments, and sometimes DT sounded more as a demonstration of virtuosity and indisputable technicality then an expression of feelings and thoughts, a down to the bone artistic act. But I’ll be the first to admit that the same DT had some fabulous moments and delivered some brilliant songs.
And their the upcoming twelfth, and self-titled album is another highlight of their fruitful career.
DT was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2010. In July 2012, “Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory” was listed as the number one all-time progressive album by a Rolling Stone readers’ poll, beating “2112” by Rush and “Close to the Edge” by Yes. On April 9, 2013, “Images and Words” won Loudwire’s fan voted March Metal Madness for world’s best metal album beating albums by influential artists such as Dio, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Megadeth and Metallica. The band’s 1992’s album, “Images and Words”, it’s also their highest-selling album, reaching gold-selling status and reached No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart. With total sales exceeding 10 million albums and DVDs worldwide, Dream Theater have long stood among the upper echelon of hard rock giants. Read more Dream Theater – Dream Theater (2013) ›

“From Beer to Eternity” is announced as the band’s second final album in the last six years. “The Last Sucker” back in 2007 was a fabulous album, if not the best, one of the very best Ministry albums, anyway, probably my favorite one beating some legendary albums like “The Land of Rape and Honey” (1988), “The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste” (1989), “Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs” (1992) or “Filth Pig” (1996), not quite accidentally, half of the albums featuring the recently deceased guitarist Mike Scaccia, his death being the reason why Jourgensen announced that Ministry would break up again. He said: “Mikey was my best friend in the world and there’s no Ministry without him”. Mike Scaccia was an important contributor not only to Ministry, but also to Lard, Revolting Cocks and Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters. Scaccia died onstage playing with his band Rigor Mortis, due to a sudden heart attack at age 47. R.I.P. Mike, you will be always missed!
While “The Last Sucker” was the 3rd and final part of the band’s anti-George W. Bush trilogy, preceded by 2004’s “Houses of the Molé” and 2006’s “Rio Grande Blood”, “From Beer to Eternity” seems to be a furious rage against media and especially against Fox News, defending president Barack Hussein Obama. Media is bad and bought-up, got it! If back then we all were on the same page, now I’m still not sure who is worst: George W. Bush or Barack Hussein Obama? There is no honest politician, there is no such thing as “politically correct”, no such thing as political righteousness. But enough with politics!!
Now about the music. “From Beer to Eternity” contains dark and very heavy music. We’ve got some extremely powerful and memorable riffs, but also some contorted, twisted off trips into the experimental noise (and breakcore) area. Read more Ministry – From Beer to Eternity (2013) ›

I grew up listening my mom’s vinyl records. She had a serious, few thousand pieces collection, including classic symphonic music, jazz, pop, rock and punk records. I loved simultaneously Bach and The Beatles, Grieg and The Clash, Chopin and Deep Purple, Tchaikovsky and Kraftwerk – and so on. As many times I said, there is no good and bad music, but music which touch you and music which don’t. True, lately too many prefabricated, predictable, tasteless, “fake and plastic to the bone” type of music poisoned the stage and the market.
I write music reviews for more then 20 years now. I ended up at the microphone of a garage band at 16, 17 – a lifetime ago – and for good and bad, I’m “doing” music ever since. Still, I don’t consider myself a journalist or a musician. My uncle is a trained, professional cello player and back in the days when I spent my summer vacations in his hometown, instead kicking the ball with the other kids in the backyard, I was put to play the piano. His wife was a cello player too, sometimes they played together back home, rehearsed, exercised a lot, and I get use to and liked the aggressive sound of that instrument.
So, I’m not a stranger to classic music, to the cello, and receiving David Downing’s “Cosmic Conspiracy” album was actually a nice surprise in a world lately dominated by midi based and exclusively mainstream oriented music. Actually I almost gave up this site, I deleted all the post and I was sick and tired of the music I receive. David Downing’s new album is a challenging journey to the experimental fields of classic flavored music mixed up with cinematic soundscapes, noise and rock elements. Get an exclusive, free promotional track from David Downing album now and then buy the album! Read more David Downing – Cosmic Conspiracy (2013) ›