The Eyesore Times: Mini-Reviews

[Eyesore]

OVERLOADED – HAIL THE KINGDOM (Hard Rock)

People are always saying rock music is coming back. Wishful thinking? The fact is rock music never went away; the media spotlight did. Part of what made the 80s rock scene so great was the way fans and mainstream media embraced the genre. It was larger than life. And it was a blast. Those days are gone now; it's simply now a microcosm of what it once was. But there are still bands out there kicking out that raw, in-your-face rock music. So while the overblown gusto may be gone, the music will always remain. Overloaded—hailing from Detroit, the self-proclaimed "rock city"—is one of those bands still laying down that old school rock. They claim to be a heavy metal band, but they're not. There are some metal influences, but overall Overloaded is a rock band.

They formed in 2004 and released Hail The Kingdom, their debut album, in 2005. Hail The Kingdom is an unabashed throwback to the glory days of rock, and it immediately proves just that with the bombastic, guitar-driven, sexually-charged, hook-laden opening track, "Beaver Fever." Vocalist Chris Gillen sounds like a cross between Sammy Hagar and Todd Lewis (Toadies, The Burden Brothers)—strong, dirty and powerful. "War Of The Worlds," "Where Are You Running To?"[/i] and "Feeling Overloaded" follow the same stylistic path, the latter being something of a local hit, and a song that garnered the band a lot of attention from rock fans and big name sponsors. With Hail The Kingdom being only seven songs deep, a dud or two is fairly noticeable. "King Of The Landfill" and "Cyclone" are two duds; they simply offer nothing in the manner of hooks, nothing for the listener to sink his teeth into. The album closes with "Sick," a mellow, bass-heavy number with a mild hook that would have been better served in the middle of the album, leaving a stronger, heavier track to close things out. So while not without flaws, Hail To The Kingdom is most definitely a solid release.

A few months after this release, Overloaded released Hellfire, a follow-up 5-song EP. The EP quickly went out of print, so in 2006 the band released a self-titled album featuring Hail To The Kingdom and the Hellfire EP, minus the tracks "Sick" and a cover of "Crazy Horses" (originally from the Hellfire EP). You can still order Hail To The Kingdom and Overloaded. A new album entitled Regeneration is due sometime this year.

Rating: 70/100
Website: http://www.overloadedmusic.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/overloaded
Downloads: Feeling Overloaded, Beaver Fever, Shotgun City (from the Hellfire EP)

RHAPSODY OF FIRE – TRIUMPH OR AGONY (Symphonic Fantasy Metal)

Once known as simply Rhapsody, after more than ten years the band found themselves having to amend their name due to illegal use of a trademark and copyright infringement. So Rhapsody Of Fire they became. I'm not sure who owns the rights to the name "Rhapsody," but I'm willing to bet that had Christopher Lee—famous but most recently famous for his role as Saruman in the hugely successful Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy—not been featured—and promoted heavily—on 2004s Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret I would be reviewing Triumph Or Agony by Rhapsody. There would be no Of Fire nonsense. Either way, it's irrelevant. Rhapsody Of Fire it is. It's just another layer of cheese on top of the massive amount the band already had on the table.

Over the course of recent albums, Rhapsody Of Fire has been receiving a steady amount of flack from fans wanting the faster, heavier, more power metal style the band showcased on earlier albums. As time went on, the theatrics and symphonic elements tended to overshadow that early style, serving up a decidedly weaker dose of the metal they became known for. If "Rhapsody Of Fire" makes little sense, Triumph Or Agony is a very apt album title. Some will find the album to be a triumph in symphonic, bombastic, theatrical metal; others will find it to be another agonizing nail in the coffin of what once was. Many—like myself—will find themselves in a tug-o-war between the two.

Triumph Or Agony begins with a standard intro, the two-part "Dar-Kunor," which is actually a very good intro with a nice climactic build-up. The title track follows, and Luca Turilli and company show that they're not incapable of writing a classic-sounding Rhapsody song. The song is symphonic, but the guitars are upfront and heavy; the vocals are big and grandiose, and not drowned out by a choir of a thousand voices. "Heart Of The Darklands" has all the same attributes, only this track is faster and heavier. Both are great songs. The album takes a sharp left turn with the folkish "Old Age Of Wonders," rife with orchestration, flutes, violin, male and females vocals, a big choir, and teeny-weeny guitars with funny names plucked precisely to give off the annoying visual of silly, drunken elves and hobbits dancing around a campfire—naked. (I just puked a little.) The album then drifts to and fro between lighthearted, symphonic folk metal and a more mid-paced, heavier style. No song matches the intensity of "Triumph Or Agony" and "Heart Of The Darklands." "Silent Dream" comes close, as does parts of the epic 16-minute plus "The Prophecy Of The Demon Knight." But no other song quite reaches back far enough to appease the detractors of the band's latter day evolutionary transformation. Rhapsody Of Fire is the same old band of recent times.

None of this is to say these songs are bad—quite the contrary! In terms of symphonic metal, Triumph Or Agony, to my ears, is largely a triumph. It's not an album I'll reach to as often as Legendary Tales or Dawn Of Victory, or even the first Symphony Of Enchanted Lands album—which I find to be the perfect balance between Rhapsody Of Fire's latter day symphonic metal and early vaunting take on power metal. Triumph Or Agony won't change the opinions of current or previous fans of the band. It's good enough to please those who didn't jump ship while the band slowly shifted styles; and it's bad enough to solidify the opinions of those who have vilified the band and its stylistic departure. Triumph or agony.

Rating: 75/100
Website: http://www.rhapsodyoffire.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/rhapsodyoffireband
Downloads: Triumph Or Agony (Fan-made video), Triumph Or Agony (EPK)

40 BELOW SUMMER – THE LAST DANCE (Nu-Metal)

Run! 40 Below Summer is a nu-metal band.

Still reading? Good. Let it be known that 40 Below Summer is a great nu-metal band. Formed in 1998, the band quickly self-released a full-length—Side Show Freaks (1999)—and an extremely limited (10–15 copies) promotional EP—Rain (2000). They were signed shortly thereafter and released their major label debut—the outstanding Invitation To The Dance (2001)—which was then reissued on another major label in 2002, after a corporate merger. In short time they released a follow-up—The Mourning After (2003)—and the band was dropped a year later. In 2005, after two original band members quit, 40 Below Summer disbanded. However, in 2006, the band resurfaced with The Last Dance, a demos/b-sides album featuring nine unreleased tracks, including a cover of Guns 'N' Roses' "It's So Easy." The Last Dance also includes a DVD featuring the band's—at the time—final live performance, a few additional live performances, interview footage, and a video.

History lesson aside, The Last Dance is what you'd expect from a demos/b-sides release: it's a mixed bag. "New Age Slaves" is a great, groovy, double-bass-filled, anthemic piece with a catchy chorus. "5 Of A Kind" is largely the same: catchy, groove-laden, typical nu-metal; and very good. Things slow down with an excellent modern rock ballad "Tell Me Now," and "It's About Time" cranks things back up with its rollicking groove, simple yet addictive chorus, and Clutch-like verses and mid-section. Beyond this, the album largely follows the same course, with only the oddball and eerie "Alaskan Thunderfuck" standing out from the norm. And then there's the cover of "It's So Easy," which mostly stays true to the original, only coming from a nu-metal perspective.

Fans of the band's previous output will be satisfied with The Last Dance; but this release surely won't convert any non-believers. All nine songs are good, and a few are great. The production is a little weak, as the guitar tone sounds a bit thin, and the drums occasionally sound a bit on the weak side. The bass is clear in the mix, but like the guitar it's missing that bottom end. The DVD is an added bonus. The live footage looks and sounds great; and the interview footage with band members gives the fan a real good insight into 40 Below Summer's existence—and subsequent non-existence.

Though they broke up, 40 Below Summer has played a few shows since then. They've also released The Last Dance, and they're re-releasing the Rain EP with seven bonus tracks in July (2007). Rumor has it that their debut, Side Show Freaks, will also be re-released in the future. So while the band has broken up and members moved on (with Black Market Hero and the excellent Anja), 40 Below Summer still have something left for the fans, and The Last Dance is a worthy addition to their discography.

Rating: 65/100
Website: http://www.40belowsummer.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/40belowsummer
Downloads: Relapse (Video from The Last Dance), Rope (Video from Invitation To The Dance), Self-Medicate (Video from The Mourning After)

 

[Eyesore]

SKID ROW – REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE (Modern Rock/Punk/Country Rockabilly)

Skid Row have come a long way since the days of "Youth Gone Wild" and "Monkey Business." After two classic 80s rock releases—Skid Row and Slave To The Grind—Skid Row struggled to match the greatness of those two albums with their third full-length album, Subhuman Race. An increasingly volatile relationship between vocalist Sebastian Bach and the rest of the band effectively sent Skid Row to an early grave. However, the band did not stay dead. In 2003 the band released their fourth album, Thickskin; this time featuring the very capable and new lead singer Johnny Solinger. While more modern rock (reference 3 Doors Down, Seether, et al.) than 80s rock, Thickskin was a decent effort. The album featured some very good songs, especially "Ghost", which could have been a top 40 hit—for any band not named Skid Row. And that's the problem. Skid Row is yet another band not willing to let go of a name that is far too synonymous with what they're clearly not anymore, and never will be again. Very few bands can make that generational leap, and the name "Skid Row" will likely always have that "washed up 80s rock band" stigma. Regardless, for the open-minded, Thickskin is a fairly solid release. And now we have the follow-up, Revolutions Per Minute.

While Thickskin had some oddball tracks—like the horrendous updated punk cover of the classic "I Remember You" (titled "I Remember You Two")—Revolutions Per Minute plays like a compilation album. This time out the band seems to have just gone into the studio and recorded whatever came to mind—while drunk. Revolutions Per Minute jumps from modern rock to punk to—puke—country rockabilly nonsense. "Disease" starts thing off, and it's a solid modern rock tune with a slight punk vibe and a nice hook. The sleazy rock anthem "Another Dick In The System" follows, and again it's a very good song. The walls crumble right after. "Pulling My Heart Out From Under Me" is a quasi-acoustic pop rock song, while "When God Can't Wait" is trying way too hard to be Dropkick Murphy's (and would be a respectable song coming from that band). "White Trash" makes Sum 41 seem mature. And the hoedown starts sharply at track 8; "You Lie" is a twangtastic, country rockabilly turdfest—a song we're subjected to twice, this version and the virtually identical Corn Fed Mix bonus track. The one other song worth mentioning is "Strength," an excellent modern rock take on the hit song by The Alarm. The rest of the songs bounce back and forth between styles; making for a seriously uneven, confusing, and difficult listen.

If Skid Row decided to record a stylistically consistent album, they'd do well in either style presented on this album—if they pandered it to the right fans. Unfortunately Skid Row has rock fans, and rock fans want rocks songs, not country, or rockabilly, or punk songs. Somewhere on Revolutions Per Minute there's a great modern rock EP. Getting to it, though, is simply far too much of a chore.

Rating: 30/100
Website: http://www.skidrow.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/skidrow
Downloads: When God Can't Wait (Fan-made Video), Ghost (Video from Thickskin), Thick Is The Skin (From Thickskin)

NEGATIVE REACTION – UNDER THE ANCIENT PENALTY (Sludge)

Sludge. The mud and mire and oozy-poo (that’s a word, by the way) that sits on the bottom of a lake. Sludge. An appropriate term for a genre that seems to feature some of the most dreadful bands on the planet. Bottom feeders. There are, however, exceptions to the rule. Crowbar comes to mind. Deadbird is another. Negative Reaction straddles the line, though. Admittedly, sludge is not my favorite genre out there. In fact, keeping things relative, if I had a “favorite genres” list, sludge would be damn near the bottom. So if you’re a fan of this genre, take this review with a grain of salt—or simply kick the score up a point or two.

Under The Ancient Penalty, like I mentioned, seems to walk the line—swaying and shouting like a blabbering drunkard—between good and really bad, more emphasis toward the latter. The biggest problem with this album makes its first appearance at the 0:40 mark of the aptly titled first track, "Lost." Musically the band is in the zone, churning out bass-heavy riffs-o-doom (that's a word, also), but then the guitarist morphs into a crazy man—now wielding a microphone—and drops a giant turd on the ears of the listener. Ken E. Bones pummels the listener with an angry-hardcore-kid-meets-a-kid-from-Widney-High vocal assault. He is reluctantly spared my ridicule during the verses of "Lost," mainly for its killer, rollicking groove that overshadows the horrendous vocals. He also gets a pass for his more melodic "singing" and controlled screaming on "Loathing." This saves neither song completely, but it helps keep them fairly enjoyable. "Pain" is just that—pain! 'Nuff said. In fact, most of these songs are appropriately titled—"Empty" is empty of anything memorable; "Suffer" suffers—both song and listener (this one, at least); "Linger" overstays its welcome by about six minutes and fourteen seconds; and the band name itself—Negative Reaction—seems to divine its very own existence. But maybe that's the point?

The self-proclaimed "Gods of Sludge" have been around since 1993. So they've got enough sheep worshipping at the altar for me to know that this is a band pandering to a very tightly-grouped flock of music fans. This isn't music widely liked. The endless droning throughout these near fifty minutes cannot be saved from the few moments of good songwriting, or the two decent songs. A better singer would do this band wonders. But if you like sludge, you may like this—though I've heard far better. If you're someone like me, who likes some sludge bands, or simply not a fan of the genre, Negative Reaction is likely only going to solidify your negative opinion of the genre. This album will please some, but, under some "ancient penalty"—lame, zing-tastic pun intended—I'd suggest avoiding this one.

Rating: 45/100
Website: http://www.negativereaction.info
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/negativereaction
Downloads: N/A

BEFORE THE DAWN – DEADSONG (Gothic Doom-Death)

For a music fan, one of the best things about living right outside Boston is all the used records shops scattered throughout the city. There is one store in the city that has a small area in the back where they put CDs priced at $2. I've been buying from this shop for nearly fifteen years now, and I've found countless amazing albums from that $2 section over the years. Finland's Before The Dawn is one of those bands. Years ago I found My Darkness there. I'd never heard of the band before, but the CD looked cool, and it was cheap—the perfect combo. From the opening riff of "Unbreakable," I was "all ears." I was blown away by its seamless mix of gothic, doom-death, and melodic death metal. A few months later, I found their follow-up, 4:17am, in the same section. Again, I was mightily impressed. Since then, I've not waited to find their stuff in the used bin; The First Chapter DVD, their third full-length, The Ghost, and its melancholic companion album The Darkness—released under the moniker Dawn Of Solace—were all purchased immediately upon release. The import prices are worth it; Before The Dawn is just too good to wait.

Just a year after the release of The Ghost and The Darkness, Before The Dawn mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen (ex-Bonegrinder, Teargod) churned out yet another album, Deadlight. Prior to its release Before The Dawn released a single for the song "Deadsong." The single features three tracks (two exclusive): "Deadsong," "The Bitter End" (a Placebo cover), and a re-recorded—and far superior—version of "Gehenna" (originally on 2001s Gehenna EP).

The greatness of "Deadsong" is immediate. A pounding, riff-heavy intro leads into a mellow verse; once again the outstanding clean vocals are provided by Lars Eikind (Winds, Age Of Silence, ex-Khold); a brilliant, double-bass-filled chorus follows, with Lars' clean vocals intermingled with Tuomas' subdued screams; and a brutal mid-section puts a gleaming stamp on this three-and-a-half minute masterpiece. The re-recorded version of "Gehenna" follows. On a basic level both original and new version are similar, but they play like different songs; the new version being much heavier, while the original sounds more like something done by Furbowl, only laced with 80s goth-pop keyboard flourishes. This new version fits in well with Before The Dawn's most recent output. The original also featured some great piano-like keyboard work during the mid-section and ending—that is sorely missed on this new version. The lack of it takes nothing away from this updated version, but I think it would have added a little more emotion to the song overall. The re-recording also lacks the whispered opening verse, and some other vocal bits, that were on the original. Either way, both new and old are great tunes. The single closes with their version of Placebo's classic "The Bitter End," from their Sleeping With Ghosts album. Being unfamiliar with the original, one would be hard-pressed to imagine this dark, goth-drenched Before The Dawn version as the light and fluffy, pumped-up pop-rock song that is the original. The grim, brooding nature of the music lends the lyrics a decidedly twisted and creepy feel, not present on the original, and making lines like "reminds me of the second time that I followed you home" and "reminds me that it's killing time, on this fateful day" seem more menacing and foreboding.

Deadsong was the perfect prelude to Deadlight. The outstanding title track filled the void until the full-length was released; the two exclusive tracks gave fans a little something extra to dig into; and it's a great nod to the past for those not fortunate enough to have heard the original Gehenna EP. Finding Before The Dawn's releases outside of Finland may be difficult—you won't see their albums on the shelves of retail stores here in the U.S., sadly—at least not around here—but they're definitely worth seeking out. Deadsong may only be a single, but it's worth the price of a full album.

Rating: 90/100
Website: http://www.beforethedawn.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/beforethedawnmusic
Downloads: Deadsong (Video from Deadlight), Black Dawn (Video from The Ghost), Dead Air (Video from The Darkness), Morning Sun (Clip from Deadlight), Wrath (Clip from Deadlight)

[Note: The tracklisting on this single is incorrect. The booklet lists track two and three as "The Bitter End" and "Gehenna" respectively. What is on the CD, however, is the opposite.]

 

[thisburningdesiretoburnitall]

I've only heard of a few of these myself, but let me throw my two cents in on those:

Nonpoint's To The Pain. I've didn't really see this as rap metal, even though some of the songs are on that album like lead single "Bullet With a Name". For me, 5 of the first 7 tracks were good, then you get into 7 consecutive sucktacular songs that, by the end, it ended up sounding like a different band than the one that played "Bullet" to me. Plus, on the songs he does sing on (most of them) he's more annoying singing than he is rapping.

Skindred's Babylon and Ringworm's Justice Replaced by Revenge. Musically they are great until their annoying ass vocalists kick in and completely drown it out. They ruined these albums.

Between the Buried and Me's Alaska. This one I have no choice but to agree with you, except I didn't even care for Selkies. (Loved the title track, though)

Static-X Beneath, Between, Beyond. The first 6 tracks and the Ramones cover aren't bad, everything else is either retarded, pointless, or just plain crap. If you are a Static-X fan, you might want to pick this one up at the used bin Eyesore bought "Take A Look in the Mirror" in.