soul sign - Life in the Dark

Ain't it great when you discover some cool new music, which isn't that new anymore.  If you think about it, it is new, if it is the first time you've heard it.  Right?  Well my latest, late, discovery is a band called soul sign.  Soul sign is a supergroup of sorts, featuring members of members of Yngwie Malmsteen (bassist Bjorn Englen) and Leatherwolf (vocalist Michael Olivieri) as well as some well renown studio musicians (guitars - Rob Math and drums Mike Taylor).  I gotta tell ya, I was pretty pumped when I heard Olivieri was singing with the band, because I'm a huge Leatherwolf guy.  Spoiler Alert - Michael is no longer in the band and has been replaced by Ex-Yngwie vocalist Mark Boals.  Also, Math and Taylor have been replaced as well.

Soul sign's sound, is heavy with a modern edge.  I have to say, this is a strong CD, which gets better with each listen.  Most of the songs are mid-tempo, with a dark vibe to them, while keeping a nice melody.  The beginning of the CD starts off with the track I'm Bleeding, which is a mid-tempo track, that is catchy, but won't fully sell you on this band.  It is the latter tracks, like the melodic Life and Human Evil, that make this one a keeper.  Like I said, the beginning of the CD is not as strong as the mid section, to the end of the disc.  I just think the songs get stronger as you go through the album.

As excited I was to hear that Olivieri was in the band, I felt he struggled on some of the slower darker tracks.  He has not lost anything vocally, but it seems like he is straining at times.  I think Boals may be a better fit, due to his higher vocal range.  It will be interesting to see how they do on their next studio release with Boals at the helm.  Another thing that struck me, was the musicianship.  It is stellar.  Bjorn has a nice heavy sound and style, which reminds me a little of Tony Franklin.  Math is a monster on the guitar, delivering killer riffs, every time he gets the chance.  All and all not a bad debut.  Strong songs with great musicianship.  What more can you ask for?

 

Bottom Line:  One of those albums that gets better with each spin.  Solid modern edged rock with an edge.  Well constructed songs that will stay with you.

Standout Tracks: Life, Human Evil, You (Control) and Out of Obsession

-Ragman can't wait to hear what these guys do next.

Not Another Celebrity Movie

Not Another Celebrity Movie is a spoof film, about some of the biggest names in Hollywood.  This film takes a jab at all of the Hollywood blockbusters containing multiple big names, just to get a draw at the box office.  Not being a fan of these type of films, I thought this spoof, might be good for a laugh or two.  A laugh or two is about what I got.  Unfortunately, the laughs are few and far between in this flick. 

NATM centers around Charlie Sheen and his dilemma.  Of course, the filmmaker prey's on Charlie's most recent escapades,with a few added twists.  Long story short, Charlie, for some reason, thinks Justin Beiber is his illegitimate love child, and he goes on a quest to find him.  He is also heartbroken, because the love of his life, Paris Hilton, no longer wants anything to do with him.  Throw in a bit of Ocean's 11 and you got the movie.  In theory, this could be funny, but unfortunately, due to the poor writing, there aren't a lot of laughs.  The acting and impressions are done well, but the writing is just not that funny. 

Bottom Line: A moview with potential, but falls short due to some lackluster writing.

-Ragman thought he would be laughing throughout, but instead caught a few zzz's.

Jon Lord – Celebrating Jon Lord: The Composer and The Rock Legend

Jon Lord was one of the greatest keyboardist's, of our time.  When people think of Deep Purple, many think of Ritchie Blackmore or Ian Gillan, but it is hard to deny the impact that keyboardist, Jon Lord, made on the band.  His Hammond organ drove many of the band's biggest hits.  Unfortunately, Jon passed away a few years back, after losing his battle with cancer, but his music lives on. 

The latest release to spotlight the works of Mr. Lord, was a concert done in his honor, at Royal Albert Hall, as part of the Sunflower jam.  The concert is broke up into to two sections.  One section celebrates his classical works and the other his rock accomplishments.  It was a star studded event, featuring the likes of Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Glenn Hughes and several more.

The classical CD will be for fans of his classical work.  The other CD, featuring his rock music, will probably get more attention, due to his affiliation with one of the most iconic rock bands, Deep Purple.  The sound quality of the CD, is okay.  It is a live CD, so what do you expect.  Some of the performances are spot on, and some, unfortunately don't quite hit the mark.  The person that stole the show for me was Glenn Hughes.  This guy is unreal.  He sings so well, and for me stole the show.  All in all a fitting tribute for a rock legend.

Bottom Line: For Jon Lord/Deep Purple die hards only.  It is fun to hear once, but after that it falls a little flat, unless you are a die hard.

-Ragman thinks the riff from Perfect Strangers, is one of the heaviest ever.

Scream Park

Halloween is over, but that doesn't mean that you can't watch a good, or in the case of Scream Park, a bad horror flick.  Scream Park has all of the makings of a great scary movie, but falls short, due to some really poor acting.  The movie is about a group of teens and their boss, that get trapped inside an amusement park, with a masked killer.  As you would expect, this one is a slasher film.  The kill scenes are okay, but come off a little cheesey due to the special effects. 

It is one of those films that is trying to be more serious, than cheesey, but because of the poor acting, the cheese starts to ooze.  As I said, the story line is cool, which brings back memories of classic 80's slasher flicks, but the actors just could not get it done.  The bright spots of the movie came from the cameo from Doug Bradley (Hellraiser) as well as Nivek Ogre (Skinny Puppy) apprearance. This one would be a good rental, with a cooler full of beer.

Bottom Line: Scream Park is not terrible, but it ain't that great either.  This one would have might have worked with better actors and a bigger budget.

-Ragman was hoping for more from this one.

Podcast #182: Mainstream

Logan Raskin of The Raskins drops by to tell the lads about the band and such while Genghis plots to get Nita Strauss' phone number out of him.Your old pals Genghis & Ragman talk about surviving Halloween with Leatherface, indulge in a little retrospection on whether metal is now more mainstream than it's ever been, and wax nostalgiac on Italian metal bands while you guys eat turkey leftover sandwiches.

Then, join the lads as they check in with Logan Raskin of The Raskins who discusses working with his twin brother in the band, their new album, and touring with the likes of Alice Cooper and Motley Crue this year.

Video Of The Show: Hammerfall - Gates of Dalhalla

Beer of the Show: Pumpkinator (St. Arnold Brewing Co.)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.5 Palate: 3.5 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 3.5	"One of the best pumpkin beers going and coming from a local brewery just makes this stout all the sweeter."

Featured Tracks: Lordi - House of Ghosts; Hammerfall - Wildfire; Zodiac - Blue Jean Blues; Black Pussy - Swim; DGM - Trust; Labyrinthe - Thunder; House of Spirits - Close To The Edge; The Raskins - We Had it All, Lost in the Dark, We Keep Fighting, Save Me Now, and Stand Up

Ragman's Classic Of The Show: Saints And Sinners - Walk That Walk

Genghis' Classic Of The Show: Dream Theater - Scarred

Ragman's Pick Of The Show: Temperance - Heavens Above

Genghis' Pick Of The Show: Hell In The Club - Beware The Candyman

- Genghis is already working on his Kicks and Kisses list...

Podcast #182: Mainstream

Update on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 4:49PM by Genghis

If you're having trouble downloading the podcast from iTunes, you may have to unsubscribe, resubscribe, then refresh the podcast in order to fix that. Don't know what's up with that, but that's what someone suggested and it seems to work. That is all.