Evergrey - The Storm Within

Evergrey's back for the attack - and kicking ass as always with their latest effort.As satisfying as 2014's Hymns For The Broken was, Evergrey (having undergone a sizeable lineup change) has returned with an impressive followup, The Storm Within, for a greedy fanbase. I'm happy to say that Tom Englund and company - including the returning Henrik Danhage (guitar) and Jonas Ekdahl (drums) - have turned out another great album. This time, it's a concept album based on the classic problem of grieving over lost love and the process of trying to move on. Wonder where that comes from?

Where some may level a complaint that this album sounds like a rehash of their previous release, I counter that with what I think is simply a consistent flow a great songwriting; saying "this is more of the same" about Evergrey's brand of metal is akin to saying that about your meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro.

Sure, there are some parallels in the sound, but like a really good steak pretty much always tastes like a really good steak from place to place, Englund and company manage to craft metal songs with heart that also rock as hard as any band out there. Englund's voice is the heart of the melodies, at once powerful and soulful, and the rhythym section is freakin' bedrock. Bonus: there's an interesting bit of keyboard background patches that add a little old-school dimension without sounding cheesy.

The Bottom Line: More great metal from Tom Englund's Evergrey is always a good thing. If you're on the mood for something new and groundbreaking, skip this album. But if you just want to rock even more after hearing Hymns For The Broken, well you're in luck my friend...

- Genghis dreams of eating at Sukiyabashi Jiro some day...

Noise Pollution - Unreal

Nothing like finding new music to break you out of your mold. I have a hard time classifying modern heavy metal. I mean, with so many subgenres of metal out there, what makes any one band a certain one when it has elements of several genres? A lot of people would say "what does it matter?", but you have to understand that when put in the position of describing a product to others (especially in the context of recommending it), as I am in this review, it's kind of essential to the whole deal.

There's a lot of low end aggressiveness on Noise Pollution's sophomore album, Unreal, which follows a successful self-published debut and tons of live shows with the likes of Black Label Society, Airbourne, Skid Row and Black Stone Cherry. And from the sound of it, they earned the right to share the stage with such hard rocking luminaries, cuz this is some decent heavy jamming. That said, I can't claim that this Italian quintet is breaking any new ground musically speaking, but they do have some catchy rhythms and a satisfying crunch even if they lyrics are a bit cliched sounding. May I can put it this way: there are endless direct to video rip-offs of popular movies - like, say, The Fast And The Furious - and they need soundtracks too...

The Bottom Line: Fans of post hardcore (circa late 90s) will probably enjoy putting this album on their party rotation. You could do a lot worse.

- Genghis is itching for some live music...

Podcast #208 - Chatter

The always engaging Ted Poley will definitely change the way you think about our Ted Poley interviews.The summer's drawing to a close and as the lads get themselves reoriented, they chat things up in their own inimitable style covering such topics as dangerous summer festivals, John and McCheese's excursion to Australia, and the players at Carolina Rebellion this year.

Afterwards, The Right To Rock chews the fat with Danger Danger vocalist and all-around raconteur Ted Poley who talks about his latest solo album, Beyond The Fade. Ted is always a delight to talk to and this episode's no different, so grab a pint and kick back for some rock talk, cool?

Video of the show: Carolina Rebellion 2016

Beer of the Show: Beez Nutz (Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co.)
	Appearance: 3.0 Aroma: 4.0 Palate: 3.5 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 3.5	"Buffalo Bayou Brewing's sweet, nutty version of an American Porter may just be our new favorite cigar beer."

Featured Tracks: Scar Of The Sun - An Ill-Fated Wonder; Trivium - Silence In The Snow; Monster Truck - Don't Tell Me How To Live; Sevendust - Bitch; Red Sun Rising - The Other Side; Megadeth - Post American World; Red Tide Rising - You're Nothing (But Shit); Lynch Mob - The Ledge; The Tracy G Band - Arrogant Prick; Danger Danger - That's What I'm Talking About; Ted Poley - Hands of Love, We Are Young, Stars, Where I Lost You; Bone Machine - Mrs. Frankenstein; Danger Danger - Coming Home

Ragman's Classic of the Show: Sweet FA - Liquid Emotion

Genghis' Classic of the Show: Van Halen - Hang 'Em High

Ragman's Pick of the Show: Anthrax - Breathing Lightning

Genghis' Pick of the Show: Good Tiger - Where Are The Birds

- Genghis is still kind of trying to get back into the swing of things...

Podcast #208: Chatter

Headbanging Horses!

Never underestimate the power of heavy metal, people. It transcends race, color, and creed. Or in the case of this particular video (source: Geekologie.com) even species, amitire?

- Genghis can dig a horse that can dig it...

Podcast #207: Crow

The man with the killer voice - and one seriously sweet 'stache, amirite?It's been a long since we did An Evening With..., so we thought we'd break one out for you. Join the boys as they bring in one of their favorite vocalists of all time, Jorn Lande.  Jorn chats it up with the guys over a glass of wine, covering the spectrum of his massive career. Get the skinny on his latest release Heavy Rock Radio, and the challenges he faced singing some of these classic tunes. Jorn also touches on what it was like playing with Heaven and Hell, after Ronnie James Dio passed away.  You can't miss this show because it's chock full of information you need to know. Dig?

Featured Tracks: Rock N Roll Angel, You're the Voice, Killer Queen, Don't Stop Believing, Hotel California and Tungur Knivur

- Ragman has to see Jorn live - he's the friggin' man!!!!

Podcast #207: Crow