Michael Thompson Band - Future Past

While this album is chock full of great AOR tunes, à la Giant, a little more shredding would've been nice.I have been on a bit of an old school melodic rock kick of late, because I just can't resist the pull of hummable melodies mixed with the legato runs of killer guitar solo. The latest in that entry is the Michael Thompson Band, and it comes with a certain pedigree. Michael Thompson is something of an elite session player from the 80s and 90s, having lent his Berklee-honed talents to the likes of Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Celine Dion, Madonna, Whitney Houston, as well as heavier acts like Vince Neil and The Scorpions. The guy's got the goods.

His eponymously named band put out their classic How Long album in the late 80s that was recently re-released with a few new tracks. And now he's teamed up with Larry King (not the TV guy), who adds some really great vocals to match the rest of the songwriting on this new CD, Future Past. It reminds me a lot of bands like Giant - also started by fellow master session guitarist, Dan Huff, who reportedly started directing his studio requests to Thompson when he moved to Nashville in the 80s. There's a lot of great guitar work on this album that's perhaps not as overtly flashy as Huff's was in Giant, but is perfect to the music. This guy's an old pro, and the music shows it. It says a lot about a musician that is called upon to work with so many big names for decades like this; it's like a basketball team from any era being able to call in a Michael Jordan when they need him the pull out the win for the team.

All of the staples of melodic rock/AOR albums are here to be enjoyed, with the requisite ballads and inspirational tracks, even if they may seem a little dated - but you can't question the musicianship, all of it is top notch. The only real complaint that you may levy here is that Michael Thompson could stand to be little more flashy (I'm sure this guy can shred), but that's just my taste; I just love the juxtaposition of pop melodies and fiery shred guitar.

The Bottom Line: If you need a melodic rock/AOR fix, this album should scratch your itch pretty well, keeping in mind the solos are on the light side.

Late Saturday Afternoon Tracks: Break Me Down, Future Past, Here I Am

- Genghis is wondering who's in the new guard of master session guitar players...

Junius - Reports From The Threshold of Death

Part of the growing movement of hybridizing goth rock and metalcore, Junius makes an interesting offering.There's an interesting trend in the hard rock/heavy metal world that's skewing more melodic, beyond the hummable melodies that are mixed in with the usual wall of sound.  It's a hybrid of the spacey rhythms of pop-goth acts with the more energetic tones of modern metal.  Imagine a scenario: it's 1989 and Metallica finishes their set on the "...And Justice For All" tour, leaves the stage, only to have The Cure walk on and play the same setlist using the same setup.  Now you may be getting the idea of what I'm talking about.

Junius is another new fangled metal act out of Boston that's got a different idea of what heavy music should sound like.  They're not full on metal, but they're not simple pop either.  They refer to themselves as dark rock despite the fact that their new album, Reports From The Threshold of Death, isn't particularly negative considering its subject matter. This is apparently their sophomore effort, but having never heard of them, I can't say how it compares as a follow up to their debut, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist (yeah, they're all about those enigmatic titles), but they've been described as Neurosis meets The Smiths. 

The wall of sound these Bostonians create is dense but never harsh, such that when paired with [lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist, Joe] Martinez' wailing vocals, you feel like you're riding waves rather than them crashing over you. Interestingly, there's a nice touch of Vangelis to Joe's synths, giving to the overall mix the effect of different ages of music (80s versus the 2000s) as well as different genres.  It's an onion band, lots of layers going on here, and I really dig it.

The Bottom Line: Taking the genres of goth rock and metalcore into strange new hybrids, Junius is a band to be watched, especially if you're a fan of bands like Opeth or Canvas Solaris.

Tracks to light your black and red candles to: Betray the Grave, A Universe Without Stars, The Meeting of Pasts and Eidolon & Perispirit

- Genghis is looking forward to more from this group...

OSI - Fire Make Thunder

Don't expect the keyboard wizardry of Dream Theater, this isn't that kind of prog band. Think of it as Chromakey with Jim Matheos guesting (i.e. good stuff!).It's been three years since the release of OSI's last album, Blood, so it's about that time again for them to release another one. There's a really interesting symmetry to this band: three letters in OSI (for three words: Office [of] Strategic Influence), three words in the new album title (Fire Make Thunder), bookending two single word albums (Free and Blood), three years between each album release. The list goes on. It's as if there really is a clandestine agency behind the band, dictating some secret agenda only they can understand. I just hope they keep it up.

One of the greatest strengths of OSI is the connection that vocalist/keyboardist Kevin Moore (Dream Theater, Chromakey) and guitarist Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) have despite the fact that they rarely get to work together in the same room, sending tracks back and forth digitally, and prompting one to wonder how musicians ever managed before the Internet. Their shared musical vision delivers once again in a uniquely satisfying mix of progressive metal and electronica. I've been a fan of Kevin's work since Chromakey, and his plaintive crooning, reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, is used like another great texture over his atmospheric keyboards. Matheos' driving rhythym guitar, on the other hand, makes for an effective counterpoint, a surging energy that coexists with Moore's keyboards, and accented artfully with Gavin Harrison's (Porcupine Tree) drum work. I want to make sure to give Harrison due credit. His clever percussion reminds me of Terry Bozzio's tasteful work on the two criminally underrated Bozzio Levin Stevens albums, Black Light Syndrome and Situation Dangerous (great stuff, look it up).

The Bottom Line: If you haven't heard any of Kevin's solo work since he left Dream Theater, don't come in expecting any ivory gymnastics. But, if you like atmospheric, progressive headphone music, OSI is simply one of the better bands in the subgenre. Highly recommended driving music.

Tracks For Justifying the Cost of Your High-End Headphones: Indian Curse, Enemy Prayer, and Wind Won't Howl

- Genghis wonders if those Marshall headphones are worth the money...

New Interviews

These guys are really making a name for themselves with some great tasting beer and an even greater sense of style.Jazzed about talking this week with Jeffrey Stuffings of Jester King Craft Brewery, makers of the wonderful Black Metal Farmhouse Imperial Stout we had back in Podcast #131.  Should be fun, plus heavy (this dude really likes the black metals).

- Genghis wonders if he should do the interview in full Cookie Monster voice...

Update on Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 11:26PM by Genghis

Seriously, check out this site and decide whether you want to be part of this movement. They could use all the help they can get.Jeff is easily one of the coolest guys in the biz, and we totally appreciate what he's doing out in the Texas hill country at Jester King.  To that end, we want to bring to Texans' attention the efforts of Open The Taps, a grassroots organization of Texas craft beer consumers.  Check them out and see what this organization has to say - and help Texas brewers make us more great beer!

Click here to visit the Open The Taps website.

- Genghis really liked the Thrash Metal Farmhouse Stong Ale...

Imminent Sonic Destruction - Recurring Themes

A project that almost blows you away, except for a couple of nagging problems that can't be ignored...

Here's the thing: Tony Piccoli's brainchild, Imminent Sonic Destruction, is a highly entertaining progressive metal band with a nice touch of death metal thrown in. On the band's first album, Recurring Themes, you get nine tracks of energetic, Dream Theater-esque rhythyms with the inspired addition of death metal growls/screams, all with a satisfying doom metal chug. What's not to like?

Unfortunately, there's a couple of things - and they're hard to ignore. Even more unfortunate that they both come from Tony himself, the mastermind behind this otherwise great album. The first is the solo work. While Tony has some respectable chops, and his right hand doles out some great Sabbathy 6th string riffage, the solos just don't fit the music in this age of genre masters like Petrucci or [In Flames' Jesper] Strömblad.

Also, he sounds like Weird Al Yankovic.

I shit you not. And it pains me to say it in as much as it immediately detracts from the otherwise fantastic tunes on this album, but I have a couple of Weird Al's highly entertaining albums (as a bit of a nerd myself, I particluarly love White and Nerdy) and there is a scary resemblance. After a while, I could only visualize Weird Al singing as I listened to the whole album.

For what it's worth, my recommendation to this band is to spend some serious time finding a melodic shredder and a powerful singer with a good range for clean and growling vocals. And let Tony keep writing more great songs.

The Bottom Line: Unfortunately, this is an album kept from sheer greatness by collapsing under the weight of its ambition. Tony Piccoli's songwriting is fantastic, but this band desparately needs a new singer and better guitar solos. I certainly will be keeping my ears open for the next album from this band.

Tracks That Prove This Band Could Be Great: Monster, Breaking Through, Sick, Raven

- Genghis knows that sometimes you just have to call it like you see it...