Almah - Motion

The boys from Brazil do what they do best - shred the hell out of some great metal tunes.I am always pleased when I see that a new Almah CD is released, since they're one of those bands that fly off the radar until new product comes around. The band is the brain child of Angra vocalist Eduardo Falaschi, and Motion marks the 3rd release of a band that really has it all: great songs, great melody and - of course - kick-ass guitars. The twin-axe attack of guitarists Marcello Barbosa and Paulo Schrober is to die for; these cats rip it up on this disc (check out the solo on Bullets on the Altar for a little Cacophony-esque type shreddage)! The coolest thing about this music is that many of these songs would hold up as instrumentals because the axe-work is so amazing.  To top it off, you have the killer vocals of Falaschi to bring everything together.

Motion is nicely varied, featuring classic power metal tunes as well as heavier tracks that lean towards the death metal genre: check out the brutal track Zombies Dictator to hear what I mean. It's a machine gun pummeling track that will leave a chill in your spine and a crick in your neck. Like the past two releases, this one picks up where the previous one left off while bringing it up a notch. The musicianship on this record is amazing.  I like this direction.  A solid release from start to finish!

The Bottom Line: Almah stepping it up a notch, getting a little heavier.  Shred-heads will wet themselves after listening to this release.

Standout Tracks: Bullets on the Altar, Days of the New,  Trac of Trait and Daydream Lucidity

- Ragman hasn't air-guitared this hard in years (I think the tips of my fingers are bleeding!)

Scorpions - Comeblack

It will be a sad day when Scorpions hang it up.  The band is on top of their game live, but has suffered on their last couple of releases.  The band's last studio release, Sting of the Tail, was to be their last, but due to the inspiration that they had on the road, they decided to enter the studio and record a new CD.  Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop the clock...  Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, because this is not a CD of new tracks, it is a CD full of covers and re-recordings of past hits.  Rather than pen some new ideas and record an EP, Scorpions decided to cover other artists as well as themselves.  Comeblack is an interesting pairing of classic tunes reworked as well as some interesting covers from their peers.

I have to admit that I was disappointed this was not new material, but was willing to give it a shot.  The CD starts off in fine form with the re-worked version of Rhythm of Love.  I always thought this track needed some more UMPH! and they did it here.  I was never a big fan of the original song, but the new version is much heavier and seems to flow better.  The rest of the re-worked songs are kind of a wash.  Like most bands that have re-worked their classic tunes, it always seems the original is better, which is the case here.  The covers are interesting choices but don't really blow you a way. Tainted Love and Ruby Tuesday came off interesting, but still didn't grab me.  If you're a Scorpions fan you'll see this one as a throwaway or one that will go in the collection, just to say you have it.

Bottom Line: It would be ashame if this were the last recording from the band.  It was bad enough  when I though Sting of the Tail was it, but now with this one, it seems that the band has sank down one more notch.  Thank God the new 3-D Movie rocks.

Standout Tracks: Rhythm of Love, Tainted Love and Ruby Tuesday.

-Ragman is hoping that the band will do one more kick ass record before they hang it up.

Podcast #134: Gee

The legendary Tracy G: The boys don't think you'll find a straighter shooter in the business.What’s better than burgers and beer? Not much, but if you can mix in some metal, then you really have an evening. Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss some metal news as well as the state of Thin Lizzy - like, are they better or worse without John Sykes? Tune in to find out. Next, the boys check in with the one and only Tracy G for a heart to heart as he discusses his band's latest CD, Controlled Chaos, as well as his upcoming book The Dio Years and Beyond the Skull.

DVD of the Show: Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous (Essential Albums of All Time)

Beer of the Show: Brother Thelonious (North Coast Brewing Co.)
	Appearance: 4.0 Aroma: 4.0 Palate: 4.0 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 4.0	"An American Belgian style ale done right."

Featured Tracks: Blessed By A Broken Heart - Forever; Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation; Thin Lizzy - The Boys are Back in Town (live); Jorn - The Sun Goes Down; Van Halen - She's the Woman; Goaded - Watch the Empire Fall; The Tracy G Group - Babalushi, A Place By the Ocean, He Said She Said & Run For Cover; Dio - Pain & Mistreated

Classic of the Show: Steeler - Hot on Your Heels

Ragman Pick of the Show: White Widow - Cry Wolf

Genghis Pick of the Show: The Intersphere - Sleeping God

- Ragman needs a breather...

Podcast #134: Gee

Nitrogods (self-titled)

Sure they sound like Motörhead's twin brothers, but great rock and roll is great rock and roll.There's a fine line between homage and plagarism. I mean, we all know that well-worn quote from Picasso - "Bad artists copy. Good artists steal." - and it applies very aptly in the music world. So, that much like Airbourne recalls the heyday of AC/DC, we now have Nitrogods and their unmistakable connection to Motörhead. And as with any homage, the real trick to acceptance is not just aping the source material, but adding something to it that wasn't there before and complements it easily and satisfyingly.

Thankfully Nitrogods does that. Comprised of former members of Primal Fear, Sinner and Thunderhead, Nitrogods even follows the mantra of "No bullshit rock and roll", eerily similar to London's famous power trio's motto of "We're Motörhead, and we play rock and roll". But don't worry, these boys have got their own skills to pay the bills even without the help of Fast Eddie Clarke (Motörhead) and Dan McCafferty (Nazareth).

Now I'm not gonna tell you they're breaking new ground in the bad-ass power trio/bar band milieu, but imagine a band with all of the balls, energy and wit of Motörhead with amazing guitar work and you're probably gonna want to pick this album up for your next tailgating party.

The Bottom Line: This band isn't causing any paradigm shifts, but they sure know how to rock the shit out of some good old fashioned rock and roll.

Standout Tracks: Black Car Driving Man, At Least I'm Drunk, Licence To Play Loud, The Devil Dealt The Deck & Rifle Down

- Genghis would love to see these cats if/when they come to town...

The Intersphere - Hold On, Liberty!

Sure, their influences are easy to spot, but that doesn't mean this isn't some damn fine pop/hard rock hybrid tunage.For me, the appeal of bands like [classic] U2 and Coldplay (read: classic U2) are the wide soundscapes they create, replete with energetic, melodic rhythms, and the soulful wailing of relatable (and sometimes surreal) lyrical themes about the struggle of the human condition. The Intersphere builds on this foundation by adding a nice quasi-punk sheen to it all that energizes the formula without reminding me of every other current era band out there. I guess I'm finally considered old. Time for me to start wearing a sweater all the time and start complaining about the young'ns ("how can you kids listen to that noise?!").

Part of the charm of Hold On, Liberty! is its undeniably fresh vibe, due largely to having recorded the album live in the studio over the course of just a week (you read that right). In a musical paradigm that favors Pro Tools skills as much as the ability to do a windmill on your Les Paul, its encouraging to hear that there's a growing push (e.g., Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt) to go back to basics and make a freakin' album like they used to: write your songs, play them 'til you know them backwards and forwards, mic yourself up in the studio, and hit the record button.

The title track, and the Alien Ant Farm-ish groove of Sleeping God really make for some great music to have on while I'm working and need a little productivity boost without the need for a full on mosh at my standing desk (hey, nothing gets you coding like Testament).

The Bottom Line: Very few bands are coming out with a totally new sound that takes the world by storm. But this doesn't mean that there's nothing worth listening to out there. The Intersphere's second CD makes for a nice blend of Coldplay and Opeth for those needing a little more pop to their heavy music.

Standout Tracks: Sleeping God, Masquerade, and Over

- Genghis digs this old school recording resurgence...