Prowler in the Yard: A Poem

If you read my last post, I gave a link to my review of the CLASSIC album Prowler in the Yard by the mighty Pig Destroyer. It is truly rock out material of the highest degree, so feel free to read my review of the album and give it a listen when you have the time. In fact, I love the album so much that I wrote a short poem about it! Here it is.

Metallica-Through the Never MOVIE REVIEW

So, I saw Through the Never yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised, however, I have a few complaints. Watch the above vid of me rambling about it and tell me what you think below. Keep it heavy guys!

The Black Dahlia Murder-Everblack ALBUM REVIEW

When it comes to consistency in metal, Michigan metal crew The Black Dahlia Murder is one band that’s always been worth paying attention to, even worth buying in to. Over the course of six albums, the band has refused to compromise on their signature and unmistakable brand of melodious death metal, producing music where its purpose and conviction is undeniable. On their most recent album, Everblack, BDM sounds tighter and more focused than ever before doing what they have proven to be most adept a doing. Unfortunately, “doing what they’re most adept at doing” also entails the total avoidance of throwing any surprises at the listener.

Amon Amarth-Deceiver of the Gods ALBUM REVIEW

Must we apply a genre tag to every single little dervish that pops up in metal music? Apparently we must, as is evident from the two dozen or so metal genres and subgenres that have been created over the last four decades that fans use to categorize their favorite bands, whether the bands themselves approve of them or not. Some of the more, uh, interesting genre tags that have been concocted by fans include death-grind, powerviolence, death-doom, djent, blackened death metal and, of course, progressive/sludge/post-hardcore/tribal/ambient (the genre that Neurosis fits under according to metal-archives.com) and I can only wonder what people are going to call the new Altar of Plagues album with its black metal-meets-Godflesh sound. However, there are a blessed few bands out there in the metal world that defy categorization and fly above the stigma associated with certain sub-genres. Sweden’s Amon Amarth is one such band.

Nile-At the Gate of Sethu ALBUM REVIEW

(amazing album cover, right?)

If one is in need of music that is merciless enough to damn your enemies into the darkest depths of the underworld (or possibly intense enough to bring back those who have already crossed over) then look no further than the extreme metal that is brought forth every couple of years by the kind South Carolinan boys in Nile. Torturous to listen to of one’s favorite music falls under the “Taylor Swift” category, Nile are the curators of some of the most extreme music ever created on this planet thus far. They are truly brutal, but they don’t place that quality above everything else like many modern deathcore bands, for example, that whip out their “br00tality” and wave it all over the place when, in all actuality, their music sounds a bit silly, even laughable. Nile is no-nonsense and there’s absolutely nothing funny about them, and while many will roll their eyes at their strong emphasis on ancient Egypt (the exclusive topic of their lyrics), no one should deny their tremendous level of musical integrity. At this point, Nile have become death metal Deities and dauntless defenders of the metal faith, and the world is a heavier place with them on it.

Queens of the Stone Age-...Like Clockwork ALBUM REVIEW

Queens of the Stone Age - peddlers of heavy, yet totally catchy rock – fit into the category of bands that have one classic album in their discography that everything they have ever released since is always compared to. Songs for the Deaf, of course, is that one album. While some may argue that Rated R which preceded it is equally as good, Songs for the Deaf gets the edge for it's more successful marriage of thick, stoner metal guitar work with a Beatles-esque pop sensibility. It was an artistic triumph in that it could go from being mainstream and poppy (“Go With the Flow”, “Do It Again”) then all of a sudden morph into something completely unfit for commercial radio (“Six Shooter”, the title track.) It’s a compelling listen from start to finish, and should seriously be owned by everyone who gives even the slightest damn about heavy music.

Top 5 Reasons NOT To F*ck With The Wu-Tang Clan

Nation, I have to admit that I have a problem: I have Wu-Tang addiction. And will it subside anytime soon and allow me to take control of my life again? Maybe, maybe not. The “Shaolin Sound” produced by the RZA and the rappers who stomp all over it has become my obsession as is evident by looking at all of my school papers which are covered with the logo at the top of this post. "The Amazing Atheist" TJ Kirk said in a recent video that it's a good thing to have addictions, because if you don't, then you'll have nothing to fall back on. It's just a matter of choosing your addictions wisely. Is it wise to have become addicted to the Clan? I'd say so, because if I'm ever feeling lower than dirt I can just put on "Bring Da Ruckus", rock the fuck out, and I'll feel fine. 

BADBADNOTGOOD and the Future of Jazz

I haven't talked about jazz very much on this blog. Eexcept for this review of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew I haven't really felt like dedicating much time to writing about the genre, and that's honestly because there hasn't been much new happening in the genre, at least that I care about.

Tyler, the Creator-Wolf ALBUM REVIEW

   After the release of Domo 23 as a single, I'll readily admit that my anticipation for Tyler's third and latest album, Wolf, was dampened quite a bit, and that was mainly because of the song's dull subject matter. His breakthrough album Goblin dealed with Tyler's anxiety associated with becoming a famous rapper as he spits his bile to his therapist, Dr. TC. Listening to Tyler's rants could get a little tiring for some, but the character he played on that album was honestly interesting and wholly convincing, at least to me. Even when he was merely addressing negative blog posts, I could feel a little bad for him, and this was especially the case when he talked about missing his brother Earl and his fractured relationship with his mom. Tyler's stratospheric level of pain was and anger was palpable, and that made Goblin compelling listen from start to finish.

Earl Sweatshirt-WHOA TRACK REVIEW

   

   In case you haven't heard or if you're unsure of the matter, Earl Sweatshirt is easily the best lyricist in the California rap collective Odd Future and he has returned to lay down the law for all those new rappers out there, most of whom are much older than him. Shit, the kid's younger than I am at only 19 years old, and his lyrical prowess is way beyond his years. He displays heavy use of multi-sylable rhyme schemes and clever wordplay, as is evident by his absurdly epic verse on the Odd Future song "Oldie", his big return to the group on last year's OF Tape Vol. 2 after spending a year in a reform school of some sort on the island of Samoa. His time away inspired many a fan to chant "FREE EARL!" at concerts and wear Earl t-shirts and sweatshirts (how appropriate) despite Earl having only one body of work to his credit; the mixtape EARL. In short, Earl is free, and he's making it known. So far he's made appearances on other albums by his fellow Odd Future members like MellowHype, Domo Genesis, and singer Frank Ocean, and finally he's going to treat the Steve Harvey-hating masses to his second album Doris this year.

Tyler, The Creator- Domo 23: TRACK REVIEW

   

   Along with the Wu-Tang Clan, Tyler, The Creator, the head member of the California rap collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, was key in my development into a hip-hop fan after seeing my friends posting songs by him obsessively on facebook in 2011 when "Yonkers" dropped. I was pretty late to the party, but I was taken aback by his astute lyricism on songs like the aforementioned "Yonkers" and the disturbing "Tron Cat", and buying the Goblin album introduced me to "Nightmare" and "Window" which also impressed lyrically, at least to me. Not all his songs hit the lyrical mark (the immature "Radicals" and "Her") but overall, the album totally piqued my interest in the Odd Future world and in hip-hop in general. There has been no shortage of Odd Future material since the group broke through with Goblin with full length albums by Domo, Mellowhype and others, but for the last couple of years I've been most eagerly awaiting Tyler's follow-up to Goblin and what it had in store, mainly because of that album's cliffhanger ending. 

CLASSICS: Wu-Tang Clan-Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) ALBUM REVIEW

   There is hip-hop, and then there is this masterpiece of the highest degree. In my opinion, this is the greatest album in the genre's history due to how aggressive, raw, and just flat out enjoyable it is above almost all other hip-hop. There are a select few albums I'd put on about the same level as this gem (Fugees-The Score, Viktor Vaughn Vaudeville Villain) but 36 Chambers gets the edge for how important it was to the development of hip-hop as a whole. It literally changed the game and, at the time, defied categorization. It wasn't jazz rap, gangsta rap, conscious rap, or even traditional old school rap, it was just...a new sound for hip-hop entirely that came out of left field to ensnare everyone who would listen to its greatness, and I'm one of those people. In fact, this was the album that got the ball rolling for me when it came to hip-hop; it turned me from a jaded rap-hating rocker into to a fan of music well outside the rock spectrum.