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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Getting in the ring

I'm sitting right now listening to 'Get In The Ring' by Guns'n'Roses and for a moment I let myself think "Maybe Chinese Democracy will capture the old GNR magic!". Well, we'll all have to wait until September now to find out as it seems most retailers have move the release date from 2nd April to Sept 07. Sadly, can't say I'm too surprised.

On the plus side, we've picked up a few good CDs recently, so expect a review or two soon! :)

Friday, March 16, 2007

Album roundup

It's been a slow start to the year with very few new albums catching our attention, however it looks like things are starting to pick up now. In the first few months of the year the albums of note have been Korn's "MTV Unplugged", Within Tempation's "The Heart Of Everything", Enter Shikari's "Take To The Skies" and McQueen's "Break The Silence", though not all of these will be to everyones taste. I personally question Korn's decision to release an 'unplugged' album, as a fan of most of their previous work I don't see the appeal of acoustic versions of songs that I loved for their 'Nu-Metal' sound. It always seems to me that it's an easy option for a band to gain 'artistic' points for going acoustic, but it's a distraction from the sound that actual made them popular in the first place... anyway, will stop before I get going on that one, that can be the subject of a future rant! ;)

Coming up over the next month or so we have the following hitting the shelves (and websites!):

  • Type O Negative - Dead Again (19th March)
  • Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion (26th March)
  • Machine Head - The Blackening (26th March)
  • Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy (2nd April)
  • Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (16th April)
  • W.A.S.P. - Dominator (16th April)
  • Annihilator - Metal (16th April)
A few on the list that I'm personally looking forward to, Machine Head and Nine Inch Nails in particular. Although I'm not bothered about it just now, Guns N Roses seem set on the 2nd April release date, though with so many slipped dates already it's probably best to wait until it's on the shelves before getting excited about it.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Annihilator

Again, in advance of a gig (this time Trivium) I was checking out a band I've never listened to before on the way home from work, support band Annihilator.

I only got half way through their Best Of compilation which covers their first 3 albums: ALICE IN HELL (1989), NEVER NEVERLAND (1990) and SET THE WORLD ON FIRE (1993).

I haven't finished listening to it so I wont pass final comment but so far it definitely falls into the 'classic thrash' category, sounding like early Megadeth and Anthrax. Some of the lead guitar work is really outstanding but as a whole I dont think the songs are as strong as anything by the other big 2. First vocalist Randy Rampage definitely has the nuts-caught-in-trouser-zip typical thrash screaming style!

http://www.annihilatormetal.com/

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Clutch

When we were at the Motorhead gig a few months back I got to see and hear Clutch for the first time and I was really impressed. So much so that on a whim I bought a ticket for their own UK tour next month without really knowing much of their stuff.

So in a bid to get educated before the show I've been tracking down some of their stuff and on the way home tonight I listened to the rather excellent "Robot Hive/Exodus" album which I'd describe as a mix between Black Sabbath and jazz! It's not for everyone (as my Motorhead companions will testify to) but I love bands like this who offer something a bit different.

I'm looking forward to the new album From Beale Street To Oblivion due out in the UK on 26-03-2007 before they hit the clubs.

www.pro-rock.com

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