In store on July 19, the fifth studio album by 3 Doors Down, reserves no surprises. Designed for the Billboard, it probably will reach the Top Ten as all their four previous albums did. Up to date the band sold over 16 million albums worldwide.
Their debut album, “The Better Life”, in 2000 was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Their second album, “Away from the Sun”, in 2002 continued the band’s success; it debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and went multi-platinum in the United States like its predecessor. The band followed it up by extensive touring for two years before releasing their third album, “Seventeen Days”, in 2005. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within its first month of release. Their fourth, self-titled album, “3 Doors Down”, also debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Some may say their selling is in decline lately, but we have to consider that the whole world economy is in a huge recessions.
On the other hand, all this so called post-grunge generation delivering mainly the same kind of cliches and pretty boring music record after record, but still they sell enough to staying on the top, so, I really don’t get it: what is wrong with this picture? Read more 3 Doors Down – Time Of My Life (2011)
Reviews
Intensus – Intensus (2011)
This is the one-man project from Knife the Glitter/Burden/Normal Love/Inzinzac/Gun Muffs/(and a few more), drummer Eli Litwin, but featuring some brilliant guest stars: Between The Buried And Me’s Tommy Rogers, Chris Alfano of East Of The Wall/Postman Syndrome, Robert Meadows of A Life Once Lost, Jesse Korman of The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Jerry Jones of Trophy Scars, Travis Weinand of Burden/Tetsuo, Evan Moore of Gypsy Wig/Birth Screams and Ruston Grosse.
Eli Litwin was born in 1983 in Morristown, NJ. He began playing drums at the age of 9 and started his first rock band at age 11. Through high school he continued to play in a variety of rock bands as well as the high school jazz band. Eli chose to attend the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University where he studied drum set with Erik Johnson. Since graduating with his Bachelors of Music in Jazz Performance, Eli has remained in Philadelphia to pursue music on both the performing and teaching ends. Though his area of expertise began largely in metal, Eli has gained significant experience playing in jazz, rock & avant-garde idioms as well. Read more Intensus – Intensus (2011)
Doctor Midnight and The Mercy Cult – I Declare: Treason (2011)
When Hank von Helvete – vocals (Turbonegro), Tim Sköld – bass (Kingpin, Shotgun Messiah, Skold, KMFDM, MDFMK, The Newlydeads, Ohgr, Marilyn Manson), guitarist Anders Odden – guitars (Cadaver, Satyricon, Celtic Frost, Apoptygma Berzerk, Magenta) and Audun Stengel – guitars (Apoptygma Berzerk, The Kovenant) and drummer David Husvik – drums (Extol) decide it to play together in 2009, it was obvious we’ve got our self another supergroup. The band made its live debut in Helsinki, Finland on May 11th, 2011 at club DOM and released on May 9th, 2011 their debut single “(Don’t) Waste It” followed by the released of their first full-length album, “I Declare: Treason” on June 6th, 2011.
This is a very classy, old-school like, but extremely breathing heavy/speed metal product, reminds me somehow of Sanctuary and their 1988’s “Refuge Denied” and Alice Cooper’s “Brutal Planet” from 2000, but DMTMC have some catchy modern up-dates, bring some good tricks out of their magic hats, actually, it’s been a while since I didn’t heard so many taste riffs gathered together on a single album, they wrote some pretty dark themes and a few very good songs. Read more Doctor Midnight and The Mercy Cult – I Declare: Treason (2011)
Voice Of Ruin – Self Titled (2011)
Honestly, what would be your first thoughts if I say France? Obviously Paris. Champs-Elyses, The Arc de Triomphe, perhaps Montparnasse, champagne, sophisticated food – well, I’m not so sure what to think of onion soup, but I’m nothing but a peasant 😀 -, chansons – Edith Piaf, glamour and only now we’re getting to the point: women and sex. This was brutal? What about a blowjob for a call girl? “But let’s be frank, NOBODY GIVES A FUCK. The public only cares about sex and money. And it’s for this reason that VOICE OF RUIN is brutal and sexual, and that we band members enjoy drinking beer. That’s knowing how to sell yourself and when you sell, you make dough and with that dough you get more beer, bitches and drugs” – says the guys from Voice Of Ruin and well, what the hell, probably they’re right. Read more Voice Of Ruin – Self Titled (2011)
Breaking The Day – Survived By None (2011)
Atmospheric and ravishing, “Survived By None”, the twelve tracks debut release of the British Breaking The Day will grind you to the ground. With roots back to raw black metal, but with extreme and modern, sometimes quite experimental metal in their veins, BTD find their quite unique path to explore the darkest and contorted borders of nowadays metal/post-hardcore area of music. Brutal, but expressive, gloomy, but beautiful, “Survived By None” is an astonishing panorama of apocalypse, an end not of the race or the species, but of the man and his alienated soul. Shit, at least this is what I think so. Read more Breaking The Day – Survived By None (2011)
Dot Three – Antithesis (2011)
For ₤1 (or more) you can have this 12 track release via Bandcamp. Or go there and just listen it, you will not be dissapointed. For the music, imagine a collision between Annihilator and Pantera. Joe Newham seems to be a pretty good guitar player, the songs are filled with excellent riff works and some interesting themes, but honestly, this sounds more than a pretty good demo, rather than an album. But definitively there’s potential in it, if Joe will find the proper band mates, and especially a powerful, charismatic lead singer, this project might become the real thing. “Superimposed” for instance is a quite interesting experiment and it’s not the only one. Still, despite a few very good themes, the strong riffs and complex, technical constructions, the good groove and atmosphere, still, somehow this work seems not completely finished. Read more Dot Three – Antithesis (2011)
The Amsterdams – Electromagnetica (2011)
I’ve got to admit it, globalization in some particular cases has its indisputable charm. You can’t take a piss at Melbourne without somebody notice it at Juneau and with a proper Facebook/Buttbook profile you might have you’re mandatory “fifteen seconds of shame”…
The Amsterdams are not some Dutch guys as you might believe, they are from Bucharest, Romania and playing a sort of very Brit indie pop/rock. Back in 2005 when the band was founded they sounds more like Kaiser Chiefs, meanwhile they lost along the way their punk after-taste rawness and scratchiness, their sound becomes more smoother, radio and consumer friendly. “Electromagnetica” is the band’s second album, released on 31 March 2011 and since 1st April is available also as free digital download at the band’s official web site. Read more The Amsterdams – Electromagnetica (2011)
Far Plain – Human Forbidden (2011)
Released a few days ago on NuGenesis Ltd., “Human Forbidden” the second full-length album by French band Far Plain merging together the charming grunge resonances of the 90s inspired by bands such as Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots, so those who already buried the grunge now can take their shovels and dig this album out, they will have a nice surprise, grunge is still alive and kicking. Well, maybe not at Seattle, but Paris. 🙂
Beneath all the parallels, the 11 plus one bonus track of “Human Forbidden” are made of the best elements of 90s grunge, we’ve got cutting riffs, floating acoustic moments, raw garage rock and smooth classy orchestrations, strong, but melodious vocal arrangements. And even if some moments may sounds pretty familiar, this feels just nice to listen to. Read more Far Plain – Human Forbidden (2011)
Icon in Me – Head Break Solution (2011)
In the purest vein of Machine Head, merging thrash, groove metal and hardcore, this over-borders collaborative project involving musicians from Russia, Sweden and Denmark, will release on July 12 via the Chicago, Illinois-based label Goomba Music their second full-length album following their 2009 debut “Human Museum”. ex-Hostile Breed guitarist Dmitry Frans and bass player Konstantin, guitarist Artyom (ex- Reign The Absolute, БeZumnye Usilya) – from Moscow, Russia, Danish drummer Morten Løwe Sørensen (Amaranthe, Mercenary, The Arcane Order, Submission, Soilwork, Hatesphere, Scarve, Instant Carnage) and Swedish vocalist Tony Jelencovich (M.A.N, С-187, ex-Mnemic, Transport League) delivering 12 new, original, strong, killer tracks, already absolute classics of metal themes with cutting riffs, merciless vocals and pumping drums, with roots back to both Testament and Pantera, putting together all the good stuffs and elements which made the metal of the 90s so heavy and powerful. Read more Icon in Me – Head Break Solution (2011)
Thot – Obscured by the Wind (2011)
Thoth was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. Thoth was often considered to be the heart which, according to the ancient Egyptians, is the seat of intelligence or the mind and tongue of the sun god Ra, as well as the means by which Ra’s will was translated into speech. He played many vital and prominent roles in Egyptian mythology, such as maintaining the universe, and being one of the two deities who stood on either side of Ra’s boat, the other being Ma’at, who was also his wife. In the later history of ancient Egypt, Thoth became heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic, the system of writing, the development of science, and the judgment of the dead.
In the early 90s I’ve get interested in Tarot and by that I have been reading a lot about Egyptian mythology and several other books linked to this subjects, one of them being “The Book of Thoth : A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians”. That book describes the philosophy and the use of Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, a deck of Tarot cards designed by Crowley and co-designed and painted by Lady Frieda Harris. On the other hand, the “original” “Book of Thoth” is a book containing powerful magical spells that appears in an ancient Egyptian story from the Ptolemaic period which reflects the Egyptian belief that the gods’ knowledge is not meant for humans to know.
But for sure you must know about Thot – the band – is another nice discovery bring to my attention by Aurelien Dubois-Pham of Domino Media Agency. Gregoire Fray from Brussels, Belgium, guilty of unleashing this beast, created a quite exciting and unique mixture of electro-rock merging industrial, darkwave and indie/alternative rock elements. Read more Thot – Obscured by the Wind (2011)
