New name on the scene, no background infos, no nothing about them, so, what could I did, google them, obviously. Google “Grand Central – 01” and you will got THIS. A not so succeeded snap-shot of the Grand Central Terminal in NYC. Tried a different approach and find out that there’s a Brit cover band running under the same name and “providing the best live music from 60s to present day for your wedding, party, corporate events”… S*it! And there are also “The Grand Central Band” from New Zealand, formed in 1997… I hate “my job” (sometimes), I hate Google – but I would be disposable to merry his daughter eventually 😀 -, I hate the internet, I hate you and everybody else. Still, I love punk’n’roll, something performed and perfected to master by Lemmy Kilmister and his Motörmotherfuckinghead. And this 4 track EP delivered by the French Grand Central consist of that kind of Read more Grand Central – 01, EP (2011)
rock
The Atomic Bomb Audition – How to Dismantle a U2 (2012)
The key to this is – as they defined their own music -: “psychedlic soundtracks for films that don’t exist”. Under this funny and cleverly inspired album title they offer a collection of enclosed materials which represents all phases of the band, digging back till 2006 and the “Eleven Theatres” era. Also got the cover of “Laura’s Theme” from the famous “Twin Peaks” soundtrack which fits right in in the atmosphere and vibe of this release and reflects quite precisely the (mainly) gloomy and ghosty style of the band.
Released on 1st January 2012, and free of charge (“name your price”) on their Bandcamp page, this is a nice gift and a great opportunity to get know this band and their music. Read more The Atomic Bomb Audition – How to Dismantle a U2 (2012)
Frank Palangi – EP (2011)
Maybe the time is right for a new John Bongiovi for a brand new generation. Rock solid and catchy, Frank Palangi merge kick ass rock energy and soulful melodies only to deliver modern, powerful and catchy rock songs, possible anthems of a new age. Gifted with a powerful voice and the fire of creation, armed with raw ambition, Palangi seems to be determined to conquer the world.
Recorded in Nashville, TN with producer Rogers Masson and the Grammy nominated rock band “Day of Fire” to backup Frank. In music center of the world, Nashville, TN at Soundstage Studios. Frank has written, performed, and co-produced this material and it was mastered by Rogers Masson and multi-Grammy Award winner Gavin Lurssen. Read more Frank Palangi – EP (2011)
Cartographer – Hats, Capes, Dark Arts (2011)
Some people turn up they radio, others watch one of the music channels on TV, others buy and read music magazines or on-line sites, others got their music from they friends. Some says music should be free. Some people think that music is a product, others that is an expression, a form and manifestation of art. Everybody is absolutely right. I guess. I’ve got a friend who still listening exclusively his old MCs (mechanical cassettes), other friends of mine still collect vinyl records, some people buy CDs while others are completely satisfied by mp3s. Some of my friends listening all kind of musics, don’t bother label and sort them by genre and style, others listening exclusively Metal, Jazz, Punk or whatever they prefer. Love – I doubt it, but music definitively is in the air.
Sometimes I see an interesting cover, sometimes I read somewhere something about an artist or a band, sometimes a friend recommend me something, sometimes the bands send me materials for review, sometimes the record labels or some agency. I never listen the radio, I do not watch music channels, I don’t care what’s on the top of any charts, I don’t care what the critics, “the experts” says about… anything.
I stumbled accidentally into Cartographer and I liked what I heard from the very first moment. Read more Cartographer – Hats, Capes, Dark Arts (2011)
Superbutt – Music For Animals (2011)
I was waiting for this one. I know András since he was the frontman of his previous band, Fresh Fabrik back in the mid 90’s and I was there when he decided to leave the uprising band and take his chances with a brand new project. And it seems he was right. Superbutt became pretty soon one of the most strongest Hungarian metal combo. “2 Minutes For Roughing” released in 2001 was an angry, raging hardcore/metalcore album blowing right in your face. Two years later the band returned with “The Unbeatable Eleven” only to prove that they are here to stay. “Black Soup” in 2006 and “You and Your Revolution” in 2008 showed a more mature band, but without they loosing their edge. Superbutt has toured all across Europe since 2001 and played over 500 gigs, sharing the stage with bands such as Clawfinger, Ignite, Pro-Pain, Soulfly, In Flames, Prong, Mucky Pup and Rollins Band, among many others.
I was waiting for “Music For Animals” and Superbutt didn’t let me down again. Read more Superbutt – Music For Animals (2011)
deepfield – Nothing Can Save Us Now (2011)
Currently based in Chicago, Illinois, deepfield (the “d” is always lower case) was formed in Charleston, SC in 2005 by singer Baxter Teal, guitarist Eric Bass (now the bassist for Shinedown), drummer Russell Lee (drums) and bass player J. King. After only shopping a 3 song demo the band found themselves playing a showcase in New York, where they were promptly signed by industry legend Bill McGathy to his new label, In De Goot Recordings.
“Archetypes and Repetition”, the 12 songs debut album produced by Paul Ebersold and Skidd Mills was released in the summer of 2007. The band toured the U.S. extensively from 2007-2009 with bands such as Shinedown, Chevelle, Puddle Of Mudd, Saliva, Saving Abel, Drowning Pool, Tantric, Nonpoint and The Exies.
Delivering a post-grunge flavored modern rock tied with solid hooks and pounding rock themes, deepfield sounds powerful, massive and mature, merging melodies and harmonies with energy and strength. Read more deepfield – Nothing Can Save Us Now (2011)
Hooka Hey – Little Things, EP (2011)
A little piece of the 70’s careless, still heavy, harmony full, but simultaneously powerful as well rock. Several names came up instantly with every chord they take, but names are less important: the kids of today probably never hear of most of them anyway. But they may get know Hooka Hey, a French band, formed in 2008 on the basis of two other bands: Sentenza and Holsters.
In May 2008 Hooka Hey released their first album finding balance and merging into one the power of Led Zeppelin’s guitar and the rawness of Neil Young’s folk. It was followed by an acoustic EP, “The Country Side” which highlights the country face most of the group and it was only distributed to fans.
“Little Things”, the bands third EP was released this year in September and we’ve got a little bit of everything. Read more Hooka Hey – Little Things, EP (2011)
D-A-D – DIS.NEY.LAN.DAFT.ERD.ARK (2011)
When the lights are out in Disneyland, anything can happen. This was Disneyland After Dark back in ’82. Then the lawyers of The Walt Disney Company showed up, threatening with lawsuit and the Danish rockers changed their name subsequently into: D.A.D., D•A•D, D:A:D and D-A-D, and each name practically represents a period in the band’s history.
The brand new album entitled “DIS.NEY.LAN.DAFT.ERD.ARK” was released on the latest fatalistic date of the human history: 11-11-11, while the album is another nice piece of the history of the band and a fresh set of pulsing, pounding hard fucking rock songs in the best possible tradition. It’s odd, but nowadays, two thousand fucking eleven, you need lot of guts to play – and release – a hard rock album.
D-A-D began playing together in the early 1980s in Copenhagen, Denmark, and they released their first EP in 1985 and have now existed for more than twentyfive years, with only one change in the lineup, as Laust Sonne replaced former drummer Peter Lundholm Jensen back in ’99. This is odd too for a rock band, isn’t it?
And they (still) got a good sens of humor. 🙂 Read more D-A-D – DIS.NEY.LAN.DAFT.ERD.ARK (2011)
Black John Wayne – Serenade Of The Black And Blues (2011)
This might become my favorite metal album of this year. It’s a hell of an album out of the blue. Black John Wayne? Are you kidding me, don’t you? And the answer is, well, no. This is absolutely serious shit. And brilliant. They delivering a killer combination of metal, hardcore and eventually sludge (and even sometimes blues) which sounds like a brutal collision between Slayer, Sick Of It All and Down. This is absolutely deadly! Trust me on this one. It’s been a while since I was excited that much by a metal release, altrough I had listen a lot of interesting products, some of them were quite heavy while others were gloomy and experimental. But this is different: quite groove oriented, full of hardcore energy and armed with cutting edge metal riffs, but also introducing some southern spirit and black musical ingredients (with roots back to blues and gospel), Black John Wayne are both groove and harmony oriented, managed to combine brutality and traditional taste-like musical elements resulting a quite original post-hardcore conglomerate. Read more Black John Wayne – Serenade Of The Black And Blues (2011)
Waltari – Covers All! 25th Anniversary Album (2011)
Known as the crazy metal rockers from Finland, Waltari celebrate 25 years of existence and 20 years from the release of their first album. Frequently combining quite diverse music styles as alternative metal, progressive metal, death metal, hard rock, heavy metal, hip hop, industrial, pop, punk, rap, symphonic metal, techno and thrash metal, most of the band’s music is written by bass player Kärtsy Hatakka, while they lyrics are dealing mainly with personal feelings of anxiety, loneliness and the cruelty of the world, often with heavy irony and sarcasm. They crafted totally new combinations, sounds and approaches, pioneering and assimilating everything that is currently new and becoming a melting pot of musical genres.
Released 11 studio albums and 3 compilations, “Covers All!” deliver a nice collection of covers from diverse artists such as System Of A Down, Midnight Oil, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Madonna, David Bowie, The Cure, etc Read more Waltari – Covers All! 25th Anniversary Album (2011)
