Podcast #184: Winter

Santa is metal. It's an indisputable fact.All the world rejoice for, lo, the lads have returned for their 8th annual Kicks and Kisses [to the balls] Lists for 2014. Join Genghis & Ragman as they make their picks for the best and worst of the last 12 months over fine food and drink live at Grub's Burger Bar. Then the boys hook up with their old pal, Mr. Big's Eric Martin, who waxes nostalgiac about the new album, ...The Stories We Could Tell. So pour yourself some egg nog and crank it up.

Featured Tracks: Dragonforce - The Sun Is Dead; Astra - Broken Balance; Winger - Queen Babylon; Anathema - The Lost Song, Part 1; Schenker - To Live For The King; Prong - Come To Realize; Marty Friedman - Horrors; Gus G - Dreamkeeper; Unisonic - Beggars At The Door; Project Arcadia - Beggars At The Door; Evergrey - A New Dawn; Saga - Let It Slide

- Genghis figures the New Year's Eve show should take less time...

Podcast #184: Winter

Along Came a Spider - Resurgence

Every time I think the screamo/death thing is dead, a new band comes and restores my faith, in this saturated genre, and that band is Along Came a Spider.  To be fair, I discovered the band Along Came a Spider on their debut release If We Were Normal Men, but with their latest release Resurgence, they have definitely raised the bar.  ACAS are more than just your average screamo band, because they offer variety.  Their music is full of melody and aggression, but they can slow it down if they need to.

Resurgence is a major stepping stone for the band, in that it, shows how they have matured and grown from the first release.  Songs like Metamorphosis and Wanderlust, accelerate the band to new heights and will make them a force to reckoned with in the genre.  Alot of the music that comes form this genre sounds the same, but ACAS has enough versatility in their music, to set themselves apart from he pact.  If you're looking for some aggressive metal with a melodic twist, then you've found your band.

Bottom Line: ACAS sucker punches the sophmore jinx, straight in the kisser and delivers a product better than their debut.  Solid screamo metal, with some cool twists.

Standout Tracks: Wanderlust, Metamorphosis, A Siren's Call and Voice of the Voiceless.

-Ragman is painting his nails black.

Triosphere - The Heart Of The Matter

These cats from Norway know how to make good metal. They even have a bitchin' album cover.Norwegian metallers Triosphere are going like gangbusters these days, due in no small part to the vocals of bassist/frontwoman Ida Haukland. Which is not at all to say that the rest of the gang on their third album The Heart Of The Matter isn't holding up its end of things. Oh no, the musicianship of this quartet is fucking stellar, featuring a fantastic blend of melodic, progressive and power metal with enough energy to power a small town through the winter.

And it's not all breakneck speed either. Too many metal bands tend to go full throttle at all times, forsaking the magic of a balanced effort, allowing space for the music. Check out the solo section of Breathless (around 3:15) and its sweet grooving for an example of this band's understanding of such dynamics. Following that track, Departure engages in some sweet Dream Theater/Rush style rhythmic crunching before its very tasteful solo. These guys are just making some great rock and roll here, folks. Haukland's voice is more on the Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) side of female vocals; not bad-ass rocker chick like Nina Osegueda (A Sound Of Thunder) and not a classically trained opera singer like Tarja Turunen (Within Temptation). This works out great since it allows the music to share the soundscape without competing with what is often considered the novelty of female vocals.

The Bottom Line: Triosphere is some damn fine metal for fans of classic melodic/hard rock and power metal with a touch of the progressive thrown in for some flavor. Even if you're not a fan of female vocals (and why wouldn't you be?) you can't deny that the music here is really really good.

- Genghis would love to catch these cats in a club some time soon...

The Doors - Feast of Friends

Feast of Friends is a documentary that was funded and produced by The Doors.  The movie was filmed during the band's 68' tour, by one of Jim Morrison's college buddies.  This documentary, if you can call it that, chronicles some interesting moments on the band's 1968 tour.  The movie had a limited release, but was then shelved, until now.  The movie looks great, and the audio is there as well. 

If you're looking for a true blue doc. on the band, then you'll be very disappointed with this one, because there is no continuity.  Most documentaries tell a story, but this film kind of skips around, and never really goes anywhere, but that being said, this DVD was still very enjoyable.  There is some rare footage of the band on and offstage, which makes this one a must have for Doors fans.

 

Bottom Line:  A documentary that's name is false advertising.  A behind the scenes look,of an iconic rock band. 

-Ragman was hoping for something a bit more structured, but still enjoyed it.

Harem Scarem - Thirteen

Those Canadian boys are back with their shiniest album cover to date. The music rocks too!Fans of the [Genghis & Ragman] show know of our love for that Canadian rock troupe known as Harem Scarem. Between Harry Hess' glassy vocals and Pete Lesperance's fiery guitar work you've got a combination every bit as formidable as heard in Extreme or Enuff Znuff; beautiful choruses, thrilling solos and an overall package that's made for radio. Of course, that radio part doesn't carry as much cache as it did 20 years ago, but that doesn't change facts: Harem Scarem still has the goods.

And their latest album, Thirteen, hits all the right beats from the get go, with lush, layered choruses reminiscient of Journey or Queen - check out the perfect example of what I'm talking about in Early Warning Signs (2:32) - and killer solos like those found in The Midnight Hours (2:28) and Garden of Eden (2:40). I can't claim that they're reinventing themselves or making groundbreaking music, Harem Scarem just makes great genre music period. Bet on it.

The Bottom Line: It's always to have old favorite bands come back making more of the great music you remember them for. Harem Scarem's one two punch of Harry Hess and Pete Lesperance is easily one of the classic duos of melodic rock.

- Genghis sits by the window willing this band to tour Texas...