Podcast #151: Re-Done

Viceroy Biff Von Biffington at your service, m'lord.Is it really necessary for artists to remake their classic tunes? We get it; it comes down to owning these new versions, but is it really necessary? Are the bands tarnishing their images by not adding anything to the original tunes? Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss the welcomed re-records as well as the ones that should have never left the recording studio. Next, the boys welcome back Biff Byford from Saxon for a fireside chat, as he discusses the band's latest effort, Sacrifice, as well as their current tour plans.

DVD of the Show:  Saxon - Heavy Metal Thunder Live - Eagles Over Wacken

Beer of the Show: Torment (Heretic Brewing Company)
	Appearance: 4.0 Aroma: 3.5 Palate: 3.0 Taste: 3.0 Overall: 3.0	"A beautiful beer in one of our all time favorite styles. The only real torment is when the bottle's dry!"

Featured Tracks: Love and Death - Whip It; Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed; T&N (featuring dUg Pinnick) - Tooth and Nail; Pinnick, Gales, Pridgen - Wishing Well; In This Moment - From The Ashes; Saxon - Battalions of Steel, Made in Belfast, Standing in a Queue, Guardians of the Tomb, Walking the Steel and If I Was You

Genghis’ Sponsor Pick: Picture Me Broken - Torture

Ragman’s Sponsor Pick:  Relapse Symphony - Burning Bridges

Classic of the Show:  Krokus - Eat the Rich

2nd Classic of the Show: Haji’s Kitchen - Machine

Ragman’s Pick of the Show: Lavett - Find Your Purpose

Genghis’ Pick of the Show: Paradox - Slashdead

- Ragman is still amazed that he gets to talk to metal legends...

Podcast #151: Re-Done

In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

This is one damn fine dark progressive debut from the Sacramento groupIt may seem as though Opeth single-handedly crafted the subgenre of Dark Progressive Metal which seems to be growing faster than any other subgenre of metal these days. Sacramento quartet In The Silence certainly seems to have been highly influenced by the band, as evident on their atmospheric debut, A Fair Dream Gone Mad. Now don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic, original debut album chock full of the things dark progmetal fans dig; haunting acoustic rhythyms, ethereal vocals, tight technical production, and moments of satisfying balls and chunkTM. This album sounds fucking great.

While the band formed back in 2007, their musical synchronicity was evident from the beginning and that cohesion can be heard on every track. And while it's easy to say "they sound like this other band", make no mistake that In The Silence should soon be making their name known in the dark progressive subgenre with some really great songwriting and an impressively seasoned sound for such a new band.

The Bottom Line: Fans of prog bands a la Opeth or Porcupine Tree should thoroughly enjoy In The Silence as a new subgenre favorite, but given a chance they may soon secure their own place in the field and have bands compared to their sound. Fantastic stuff.

Tracks to Make You Light Incense and Lie On The Floor With Your Headphones On: The whole album

- Genghis needs to get his mind right...

The Gathering - Disclosure

The Dutch alt rock group finally releases a new album and thanks to the vocals of Silje Wergeland, it sounds great.Look, I know I've said it more times than you care to hear, but I really like female singers in rock bands. Not that I want them to start handling all the singing chores, but it's perhaps their scarcity that makes them so appealing when they come along.

The Gathering started out in The Netherlands as a death/doom metal outfit, but evolved their sound considerably in the mid to late 90s with the addition of vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen. Having heard none of the previous stuff, I can only judge their new album Disclosure on its own merits, which is probably a good thing. Coming at this as a doom metal fan, I would've been sorely disappointed. But taken as a moody, gothic, alt band, this is really good stuff. Now to be clear, Anneke is no longer the vocalist for the band, having left since 2007. New vocalist Silje Wergeland fills in ably, giving the engaging alt music a suitably ethereal and melodic layer that fits well with the energetic, trippy rock this outfit produces. At times, you can hear the sounds of The Sugarcubes, The Breeders, Moby(!), and a host of other eclectic but firmly rock and roll-styled bands that's quirky enough to not be boring while resisting the trap of self-indulgence that makes so many other similar bands annoying.

The Bottom Line: Always a sucker for good female vocals, I'm really pleased with this incarnation of the band, as the vocal style of Silje Wergeland blends perfectly with the alt-rock stylings of this Dutch quintet. Looks like this album was worth the wait.

Tracks to Cue Up For Your Next Retro Indie Movie Project: Paper Waves, Meltdown, and Missing Seasons

- Genghis really dug this album in a trippy, old school way...

Podcast #150: Retro

Nothin' feels better than slippin' into an old pair of jeans, be it your bell bottoms from the 70s or your skinny jeans from the 80s. As with most forms of art, music usually recycles itself in some way, shape, or form every couple of decades or so.  The latest trend in hard rock/heavy metal is the revival of 70’s doom rock a la Black Sabbath.  Is this good for music fans, or does it fall into the "been there, done that" category?  Join Genghis and Ragman as they dig deep into the retro craze and see what they have to say about it.  Good or bad?  Tune in to find out!

DVD of the Show: Michael Schenker Group - Temple of Rock Live Over Europe

Beer of the Show: Das Überkind (Jester King Brewery)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.0 Palate: 3.5 Taste: 3.0 Overall: 3.5	"This brew from the mad geniuses at Jester King is an organic sour saison with a great grapefruit twist. Wunderbar!"

Featured Tracks: Warnot - Secrets of Mythology; Michael Schenker - Before The Devil Knows You're Dead; Picture Me Broken - Mannequins; Ghost - Ritual. Witchcraft - Deconstruction; Zodiac - A Bit of Devil; 21 Guns - Marching in Time; Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Death’s Door; Alice in Chains - Looking in View

Genghis' Sponsor Pick: Mustasch - Morning Star

Ragman's Sponsor Pick: Trinakrius - Envy (Evil Eye)

Classic of the Show: Labyrinth - The Night of Dreams

Genghis' Pick of the Week: DGM - Reason

Ragman's Pick of the Week: Elvenking - Walking Dead

- Ragman is wondering if they make Spanx bell bottoms for dudes...

Podcast #150: Retro

Coma - Don't Set Your Dogs On Me

No question these guys rock, but the Polish to English lyrics? These guys need to call Neil Peart and STAT!It's not every day you hear a new band come out of Poland, but here is Coma. Having been around since 1998, I'm surprised I haven't heard of them before now. But an English version of their last album has been released which shows an exciting depth of hard rock inspiration. Now, it's easy enough for any modern rock band worth their salt to make heavy riffs and layer on some attitude. But where Coma sets itself apart from the pack is their ability to make very singable tunes that are still ballsy.

Coming off a bit like a cross between King's X and Stone Temple Pilots, these guys know how to rock a tune. The whole album has a really great groove. From the dirty bottom end ably laid down by Rafal Matuszak (surely influenced by Dug Pinnick's meaty bass sound) to the heavy, funk-tinged guitar duo of Marcin Kobza and Dominik Witczak. Meanwhile, I give props to vocalist Piotr Rockucki who has a great voice that sounds like a cross between Scott Wieland and Scott Stapp. 

Now, I fully recognize that English is not these guys' first language, but the only place this band goes wrong for me at all is in the translated English lyrics that hopefully sound much better in their original language. How bad can it be? Check out the opening words of Furious Fate: "Sitting in a coffee shop/sipping a chocolate shake/What are you thinking about?/Where's your smile?" The second verse is no better: "I got a bunch of daisies/I've brought a box of sweets/Now you have to tell me everything." All of which leads in to the chorus "Hey, where do your demons come from, tonight?" 'Nuff said?

The Bottom Line: For a nice departure from the sound of most American metal, check out Polish rockers Coma and their English language debut, Don't Set Your Dogs On Me. Their King's X meets Stone Temple Pilots (with a dash of Sevendust for flavor) heavy sound just may do the trick for you.

Tracks That Might Make You Consider Some Leather Pants Off of eBay: With You, Furious Fate, and Don't Set Your Dogs On Me

- Genghis would *not* get along well with leather pants and frosted hair...