Armored Saint - Win Hands Down

It has been 5 years since Armored Saint has released any new studio material.  Thank god their back!  I have been a fan of this band, since the first release, so I'm always geeked, when I hear that they have new product out.  Well, the Saint have just released their 9th full release, Win Hands Down, which might be their strongest, since they re-united in 1999.  To be honest, I have not been that blown away, by the band's material, since they reunited, until this latest release.  This release embodies the passion and fury, that these guys had, back in the day.

Win Hands Down starts off in fine form with the title track.  It is an uptempo rocker that starts the CD up in high gear.  John Bush is on top of his game, vocally, on this release, and is sounding better than ever.  The whole album is solid, with the exception of the last track Up Yours, which comes off a bit cheesy, for me.  It is the deeper cuts like Muscle Memory and Dive, that steal the show for me.  It is so cool to hear how much they have grown, since their inception 30+ years ago.  There is a lot of variety on this disk, which makes it a total keeper.  One minute your grooving, with a track like An Exercise in Debauchery and the next you're mellowing out, with the dark track Dive, which is a departure from the original sound, and I totally dug.  Great record.  A Top for 1015.

Bottom Line: Armored Saint retuning to the scene, with their best releases, in over a decade.  Great songs, with lost of variety.  This is a candidate for CD of the year.  Catch these guys live if you can, because I know I will, if they can take the heat in Tejas.

Standout Tracks: Muscle Memory, An Exercise in Debauchery, Dive, With a Full Head of Steam

-Ragman is pissed their not coming to Texas with Saxon, WTF!

Against the Grain - Road Warriors

Think of a punkier, thrashier, Motorhead, mixed with a hint of Black Sabbath, and you would be pretty close, in being able to describe the sound of, Against the Grain.  Against the Grain is a 4 piece, out of the Detroit, and Road Warriors, is their 4th release.  Not knowing much about these guys, before their disc showed up on my doorstep, I really didn't know what to expect.  The thing that did catch my eye, was the cover of their latest release.  It is a picture of a dude riding a Harley, or some sort of bike, through space.  How metal is that?  I mean this sucker is trucking, with lots of power coming from that bike, as well as from this band.

Road Warriors starts off in fine form, with the lead track Here to Stay.  It is a up-tempo rocker that has a classic 70's vibe about it, without sounding dated.  Kind of like an upbeat, Sabbath, type tune.  The song is driven by a cool groove laden riff, that gets your head banging quickly.  The next track, Til We Die, takes it up another notch, evoking memories od Kill Em' All era Metallica.  Pretty sweet!  That is the cool thing about this band, because they borrow from the past, but they put a nice modern spin on it, and make these tunes their own. 

There is a nice variety on this record, because one minute you'll get a thrash tune, the next a punk tune, and then some doom.  These guys really surprised me and made me a believer, with this release.  If you're looking for something fresh, with attitude, and a classic vibe, then Against the Grain is for you.  Go get it. 

Bottom Line: Against the Grain is one of those bands, that wears their influences on their sleeves, while still keeping an identity.  A solid 4th effort from these rockers, from the Motor City.

Standout Tracks: Sirens, Comin in Hot, Nothing Left to Loose and Til We Die

-Ragman is digging the variety on this one.  Man, these guys can lay down a groove.

Soaked in Bleach (A Documentary About the Death of Kurt Cobain)

As many of you know, I'm not a Nirvana fan, and never will be.  I have gotten over the fact, that the music they made popular, in the early 90's, destroyed alot of great bands, from the 80's.  Okay, maybe I still hold a little bit of grudge, but can you blame me?  Seriously, when it comes to a documentary, it really doesn't depend on the genre for me. The latest to catch my eye, was one titled, Soaked in Bleach. 

Soaked in Bleach is a documentary, about the mysteries, surrounding the grunge icon's death.  I had seen other doc's on the topic, and was intrigued, so I thought, what the hell, how bad/good can it be.  Well this thing was awesome, nothing bad about it.  I'd seen other documentaries, on the subject, and thought that this was just one of those getting the Blueray treatment.  Little did I know, that this thing was filled with all sorts of incriminating evidence, against Kurt Cobain's wife, Courtney Love. 

The movie centers around a private detective (Tom Grant), whom was hired by Love, to try to track down Cobain, approx. 7 or so days, before his, alleged, suicide.  The movie centers around re-enactments, as well as current interviews with the P.i., and others close to the Cobain's.  This doc is so well done, and presents so much evidence, that the viewer start to wonder if Kurt's death was a suicide or really a murder, in disguise.  It will defintiely leave you scratching your head a bit.  This one was intriguing from beginning to end.  You must watch this movie.

Bottom Line:  Nirvana fan or not, this is an excellent documentary, which will leave you thinking until the end.  It is a real life who done it.  You'll be especially intrigued, when you hear the live tapes, that Tom recorded with Courtney, it'll blow your mind.

-Ragman is thinking Courtney is not a fan of this doc.  Also he was pissed, that The Mentor's were not featured in this one, as they were, in the last one he viewed on the subject.

Instanika - Moon Rain

Instanika is a 4 piece which hails from Toronto.  The band is a mix of blues and alt rock with an edge.  They have recently just released the debut record Moon Rain, which contains 10 hook laden tunes.  The band has kind of a garage rock feel to it, which would be cool, if they were playing in your backyard.  Their sound reminds me of some of the bands that came out of the post grunge movement.  They are not grungy, but their not alternative either.  A cool thing for these guys, is that they infuse some blues to round out their sound.

Moon Rain started off a little slow with me, but has gotten better with a few more spins.  The first track to grab me, was Vroom Vroom, which is one of the heavier tracks, that contains a really cool groove.  The songs are pretty well structured, but could use some tightening up.  I see this with many bands.  They have a good idea, but they don't finish.  Make sense?  Either that, or they try to mash up too many ideas into one song, which ends up leaving you unsatisfied, like with the track Helium.  With additional work, these guys could be on to something really cool.

Standout Tracks: Vroom Vroom, Filipina, Living It All

Bottom Line: The songs on Moon Rain are okay, but could use some tweaking.  The songs are pretty basic, but do have melody.  If you're looking for a band with some garage rock attitude, then these are your guys.  If you're looking for something more polished, then this one may not be for you.

-Ragman could see these guys being a fun bar band.

Podcast #193: America

As their post-summer-sabbatical house cleaning continues, join Genghis & Ragman as they catch up and un-hatch some recent chats they had with 2 new stellar bands:

Lars Johansson (Fat.Mo.Mac, Candlemass) joined the guys to tell them about his latest blues project Fat.Mo.Mac featuring an incredible array of talented musicians all over this debut. He also discussed the latest goings on in Candlemass.

Brandon Baumann (Diamond Lane) sat in with the boys to chew the fat about their latest release Terrorizer and discuss how the band's quick rise to success has not affected them in a bad way as well as when and where they'll be in your town.

Video of the Show: Whitesnake - Live at Donnington 1990

Beer of the Show: Dragon's Milk Stout (New Holland Brewing Co.)
	Appearance: 4.0 Aroma: 4.0 Palate: 4.0 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 4.0	"There's no shortage of barrel-aged stouts these days, but this one's oaky malt base finishes with some nice vanilla notes."

Featured Tracks: Riverdogs - America; Keel - 4th of July; Alcatraz - God Blessed Video; Whitesnake - Love Ain't No Stranger; Fat.Mo.Mac - Walk Alone, Kick Back, So Bad it Feels, Cold Woman, and Memories is All There Is; Diamond Lane - The Enemy, Drift, Cheating Death, and Hopeless Romantic

- Ragman is still dusting off the cobwebs, but it's gettin' there...

Podcast #193: America