Nitrogods (self-titled)

Sure they sound like Motörhead's twin brothers, but great rock and roll is great rock and roll.There's a fine line between homage and plagarism. I mean, we all know that well-worn quote from Picasso - "Bad artists copy. Good artists steal." - and it applies very aptly in the music world. So, that much like Airbourne recalls the heyday of AC/DC, we now have Nitrogods and their unmistakable connection to Motörhead. And as with any homage, the real trick to acceptance is not just aping the source material, but adding something to it that wasn't there before and complements it easily and satisfyingly.

Thankfully Nitrogods does that. Comprised of former members of Primal Fear, Sinner and Thunderhead, Nitrogods even follows the mantra of "No bullshit rock and roll", eerily similar to London's famous power trio's motto of "We're Motörhead, and we play rock and roll". But don't worry, these boys have got their own skills to pay the bills even without the help of Fast Eddie Clarke (Motörhead) and Dan McCafferty (Nazareth).

Now I'm not gonna tell you they're breaking new ground in the bad-ass power trio/bar band milieu, but imagine a band with all of the balls, energy and wit of Motörhead with amazing guitar work and you're probably gonna want to pick this album up for your next tailgating party.

The Bottom Line: This band isn't causing any paradigm shifts, but they sure know how to rock the shit out of some good old fashioned rock and roll.

Standout Tracks: Black Car Driving Man, At Least I'm Drunk, Licence To Play Loud, The Devil Dealt The Deck & Rifle Down

- Genghis would love to see these cats if/when they come to town...

The Intersphere - Hold On, Liberty!

Sure, their influences are easy to spot, but that doesn't mean this isn't some damn fine pop/hard rock hybrid tunage.For me, the appeal of bands like [classic] U2 and Coldplay (read: classic U2) are the wide soundscapes they create, replete with energetic, melodic rhythms, and the soulful wailing of relatable (and sometimes surreal) lyrical themes about the struggle of the human condition. The Intersphere builds on this foundation by adding a nice quasi-punk sheen to it all that energizes the formula without reminding me of every other current era band out there. I guess I'm finally considered old. Time for me to start wearing a sweater all the time and start complaining about the young'ns ("how can you kids listen to that noise?!").

Part of the charm of Hold On, Liberty! is its undeniably fresh vibe, due largely to having recorded the album live in the studio over the course of just a week (you read that right). In a musical paradigm that favors Pro Tools skills as much as the ability to do a windmill on your Les Paul, its encouraging to hear that there's a growing push (e.g., Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt) to go back to basics and make a freakin' album like they used to: write your songs, play them 'til you know them backwards and forwards, mic yourself up in the studio, and hit the record button.

The title track, and the Alien Ant Farm-ish groove of Sleeping God really make for some great music to have on while I'm working and need a little productivity boost without the need for a full on mosh at my standing desk (hey, nothing gets you coding like Testament).

The Bottom Line: Very few bands are coming out with a totally new sound that takes the world by storm. But this doesn't mean that there's nothing worth listening to out there. The Intersphere's second CD makes for a nice blend of Coldplay and Opeth for those needing a little more pop to their heavy music.

Standout Tracks: Sleeping God, Masquerade, and Over

- Genghis digs this old school recording resurgence...

Issa - The Storm

While the singer isn't without talent, you'd swear she hitched a ride on a DeLorean to 2011.I don't know a lot about mononymous Norwegian singer Issa, but if you told me this CD was found in the glove compartment of an abandoned 1985 Mustang somewhere, I'd believe you.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that this album is bad in terms of production or songwriting provided you take it as a product of the classic 80s melodic rock its clearly modeled after. I'm telling you, had this album come out as is in 1985, you'd be seeing Issa's blonde tresses all over an episode of I Love The 80s. On a side note, even her videos have an 80s flavor [I don't think she planned].

As it is, however, it comes across as derivative ("retro", at best) in an era of 21st century rock music that's seen countless bands come and go that were built on this formula.  And while the guitar work fits nicely over the same old keyboard patches and echoey drum kit, it's hard to ignore the "been there, done that" feeling you get listening to an admittedly competent group of musicians.

The Bottom Line: One the one hand, it's the same old melodic rock sound from nearly 30 years ago, but on the other, it's catchy grooves and choruses that are just as listenable as they were so long ago.  So what's the harm?

- Genghis is remembering how hot he thought Jan Kuehnemund was back in the day...

Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit

If you like the idea of Dream Theater with the additional flavor of a female vocalist, you should check out Germany's Beyond The Bridge - like now.Like it or not, I'm most likely to compare any progressive metal band to Dream Theater the gold standard which you may judge as fair, lazy, short-sighted, or whatever.  The thing is, I often run across bands billed as such that sound certainly progressive, but have none of the crunchy guitar that goes with it.  But let that go.

German progmetal kids Beyond The Bridge tell a familiar tale of like-minded musicians meeting in school and reuniting again years after going their separate ways in pursuit of families and careers.  While their latest release, The Old Man And The Spirit, borrows heavily from the Dream Theater formula, they bring to the party a more complex vocal arrangement with the addition of a female vocalist in Dilenya Mar. Interestingly, however, it's this addition that confounds me. I'm so used to progmetal being a masculine sound, for lack of a better phrase, and the sound of a woman's voice (even one as mature and impressive as Dilenya's) causes my brain to say "Oh, this is a symphonic metal band, like Within Temptation". But to worry about that is to miss what the band is trying to achieve.

The Old Man And The Spirit is your basic concept album with all of the ambition such an artistic endeavor entails, with Ms. Mar providing the voice of The Spirit, while Herbie Langhans sings for The Old Man. Together, with the rest of BTB, they weave a tale of the "polarity of human sensuousness and awareness". I love this kind of stuff when it's done well, and that's exactly how Beyond The Bridge does it on their debut release. I can't vouch for the production, as the vocals and the instruments get obscured here and there in favor of one or another, but this is a solid first effort. Guitarist Peter Degenfeld is quite talented, displaying a very tasteful Petruccian phrasing while still having his own identifiable sound. I look forward to hearing it develop over the band's career.  One other nitpick is the sound of Christopher Tarnow: This is a man who's obviously classically trained on the piano, but he seems to have been shopping at the dollar store for his patches. I say we take up a collection so he can get the next Jordan Rudess Primo Pack at the Korg store.

The Bottom Line: Classic progmetal stylings with all the trimmings - I mean, a concept album for a debut, no less - with about the level of production you'd expect from a young band's first studio effort. Very Dream Theater-y, but the addition of a female vocalist adds a certain je nais cest qoi that makes their next effort quite ripe with possibilities.

Outstanding Tracks: The Apparition, Where The Earth And Sky Meet, The Struggle (some great Savatagesque vocal interchanges)

- Genghis was really cranking this stuff up at one point...

New Year, New Shows

UStream.TV is pretty cool, but we're not sure how the new sound board will work with it.Our first taping of the year happens tomorrow night with some of our new equipment. Don't misunderstand, it's nothing fancy; just a new Alesis mixer and the ol' iPad 2 kicking in some real-time effects processing. Not sure if we'll have the wherewithall to do a live stream on UStream as we've done in the past, but as our setup becomes the norm, and we really get into the swing of things, we'd be happy to do so.

Looking forward to revitalizing the show and the site in the coming months, so thanks for listening and keeping those HORNS UP!

- Genghis is kinda stoked about the new studio setup's potential...