KXM - Scatterbrain

The trio from another familio (go with it) is back with some groovy heavy tunes for your pleasure.Just a little (6 days) over 3 years since their debut album, dUg Pinnick (King's X), George Lynch (Lynch Mob) and Ray Luzier (Korn) - better known as the power trio KXM - have returned with a great followup, Scatterbrain...

What makes this project so interesting is the band's insistence on maintaining the jam session mystique that signed professional bands these days have a hard time even coordinating. Whether that's due to the current reliance on technology is a debate for another time, but recording the entire album in just 10 days with no pre-written material or preliminary meetings is nothing short of amazing. And it's not like the lads cut corners, by recycling riffs from song to song, as the album as a whole displays an impressive range of styles from prog to ska to punk. Take the quasi-reggae bounce of Not A Single Word punctuated with George's thick, juicy chording, or the Zeppelin-esque stomp of Obsession's verse. Even the mellow ballad Angel defies traditional rock rhythyms without losing a melodic thread thanks to dUg's liquid vocal harmonies. All in all, this is a damn fine album from some talented cats. Cross your fingers for more.

The Bottom Line: While dUg is in his rock trio element, Ray and George have no problem filling their respective roles, as this one and done album session is packed with unique and energetic performances. This is what rock and roll is about, kids. 'Nuff said!

- Genghis would love to see this band play some clubs...

Podcast #215: Group

Ozzy's gunslinger, Gus G, chats with us about the spotlight - and shredding, of course.Contrary to popular belief Genghis & Ragman are very much alive. And their latest discussion takes you into the world of groupies. Are they still a thing? If so, what drives them and who are they? Join the boys as they drink bubblegum-flavored beer and get stupid - as if this isn't what they always do.

Following that, check out Ragman's interview with the one and only Gus G, who talks about his band Firewind's latest album and possible tour plans as well as what it's like being Ozzy's main man. HORNS UP!

Video Of The Show: Doro: Strong And Proud - 30 Years Of Rock And Metal

Beer of the Show: Voodoo Doughnut Grape Guerrilla (Rogue Ales)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.5 Palate: 3.5 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 3.5	"Rogue once again manages to capture the essence of one of Voodoo Doughnut's wares in a well-balanced grape-rific ale."

Featured Tracks: Persefone - Prison Skin; Doro - Caught In A Battle; Firewind - Hands Of Time; Yngwie Malmsteen - I Am A Viking; KISS - Plaster Caster; Def Leppard - Promises; Steve Perry - You Better Wait; Judas Priest - Rock Hard, Ride Free; Dayshell - Carsick; Enuff Z'Nuff - Runaway; Donnie Vie - Wunderland; Firewind - Cold as Ice, Ode To Leonidas, Live and Die By the Sword, Back on the Throne; Gus G - We Are One

- Genghis is anticipating the live concert windfall coming in April...

Podcast #215: Group

Junius - Eternal Rituals For The Accretion Of Light

Junius is back with their Neurosis meets The Smiths sound to complete their conceptual trilogy.You may remember my praising the lads in Junius for their intriguing brand of post-metal jams back when their album, Reports From The Threshold Of Death, came out a few years ago. Apparently it was the middle chapter of a conceptual trilogy that culminates in their latest release, Eternal Rituals For The Accretion Of Light (dem titles tho).

It should go without saying that if you're down with the last album, you'll know what to expect, and will most likely dig this new material. Despite the loss of guitarist Mike Repasch-Nieves, Joe Martinez has taken up the reins on his own to flesh out the loose storyline that previously delved into the state of the soul in the afterlife. Working once again with producer Will Benoit, these ten tracks make for an intense but somehow calming aural journey. At times, the hoary head of Opeth looms large in the band's gothic leanings as on Clean The Beast. But then tracks like All That Is, Is Of The One with its ethereal chorale takes you in a different direction, like a majestic beast winding its way along a lazy path. As with their last album, it's Junius' compelling way of being heavy without really being aggressive that impresses me so much - like a slow-flowing river that will inevitably crush you under its path.

The Bottom Line: Though you don't need to have heard previous entries in the trilogy, Eternal Rituals For The Accretion Of Light maintains Junius' penchant for hybridizing heavy, gothic, post-metal and introspective, 80s era, alt rock. Nice work, that.

- Genghis is imagining Robert Smith with a leather jacket and a Gibson Explorer...

Persefone - Aathma

This Andorran sextet knows how to write some incredible djenty prog, and I. am. loving. it.I am well on record by now for extolling one of the main virtues of heavy metal, specifically the subgenre of progressive metal, as being its ubiquity. I mean you can find practitioners pretty much anywhere on the globe. And that includes the tiny, independent principality of Andorra with the band Persefone.

Their new album, Aathma, is the latest bit of melodic pyrotechnics from this talented sextet, and fans of classic subgenre heroes like Dream Theater or Symphony X would do well to check them out if they haven't already. There's a rather djenty vibe to it all, but the addition of melodeath growls and progressive breaks, as heard in One Of Many, Prison Skin, and No Faced Mindless (check out the exhilarating piano interlude at around 3:12) make for a compelling musical stew I can't get enough of. Especially how that aforementioned progressive element plays itself out in the dynamics that devotees love on slower tracks like the haunting, delayed guitars of the atmospheric Cosmic Walkers or the pensive opening to Living Waves. This is just really well done music, people. All of which culminates in the frenetic, four-part, 20 minute Aathma suite. Just in case you wanted to know if they really know their progmetal chops.

The Bottom Line: This is djenty progmetal along the lines of TesseracT that takes you on a thrilling musical ride from the opening track to the last. 'Nuff said.

- Genghis would eat nails to see these cats on a bill with TesseracT - and maybe Animals As Leaders...

Dayshell - Nexus

You're in for a pretty rocking time if you like bands like TesseracT, my friend.Falling into the vein of great progressive groove machines like TesseracT is the compelling sound of Dayshell. This Southern California trio does an admirable job of crafting heavy but lyrical rhythms that are melodic but also shake the floor of the house, and I am loving it.

I have to mention my boy Jordan Wooley, whose bass work is fantastic. It's not Billy Sheehan pyrotechnics, it's just motherfucking bedrock, man. Like it's the meat in this delicious metal sandwich and I can't get enough of the tasty tone he posseses. Seriously, it's a great part of the overall mix. Which doesn't mean to say the rest of the trio are slouchers. Lead vocalist and guitarist Shayley “Dayshell” Bourget is part of the reason for the obvious comparison to TesseracT vis-à-vis singer Ashe O'Hara. 

The Bottom Line: In Dayshell you have sort of a cross between the melody and power of Tesseract with the thrilling aggressiveness of Sevendust. Do not fear this power. Take it in. They will requite your love.

- Genghis wonders if he should have ended this review like he did with a Hamlet quote...