For over fifteen years now, Godsmack has been experimenting with new and innovative ways of telling people to go the hell away. “Get Up, Get Out,” “Keep Away,” “I Stand Alone”… and if you don’t heed their warning, be ready to face the consequences. Just ask Nikki Sixx, also known as the inspiration for “Cryin’ Like a Bitch.” They’ve got more ways to say “Beat It” than Michael Jackson could’ve ever dreamt of, if he had not spent all his...
Sometimes all the talent in the world really does mean diddly and all that really matters is that all the pieces lined up just right for an artist to get a shot at breaking through. Look at Laura Pergolizzi, for example; her professional musical career began eleven years ago when she released Heart-Shaped Scar under the name LP. It was a respectable effort, but it got lost in the shuffle because the time for it to arrive just wasn't right....
The Seventies were an interesting time for rock n' roll. By then, the music was already old enough to vote but rock n' roll had become increasingly about the show and the showmanship which went along with the music. By 1975, David Bowie was doing shows so big they famously used a cherry-picker arm and featured the services of entire theatrical teams to block a concert and let him sit suspended over the first few rows of his audience. Elton...
Listening to Heaven – The Walkmen's seventh album (second for Fat Possum) – it's very easy to ascertain that the group's members are satisfied with what they've accomplished musically. That isn't to say that anything about Heaven is disingenuous or drab, it's just that there's an ease with which the band presents the album; there's nothing insistent in the music or lyrics, in fact it's very easy to get an image of guitarists Paul Maroon and Hamilton Leithauser as well...
Some readers will say that this review comes a bit late (the film was released with a limited theatrical run on December 4, 2010), but the truth is that it took me this long to screw up courage to see Hard Core Logo 2. Why? Well, it's simple; Hard Core Logo is one of only four Canadian movies which I would say absolutely deserve inclusion in the canon of truly great cinematic titles (if you're curious, the other greats are...
It's always exciting when a new annual music festival begins to draw enough notice that suddenly there is some prestige in being on the bill, but the sudden growth and interest that Montreal's Pouzza Fest has experienced now, after just one year on the books, is shocking. Begun last year as the pet project of Sainte Catherines singer (and Dare To Care Records founder) Hugo Mudie, Pouzza Fest was initially envisioned to be a sort of gift to the city...
The conversation had drifted to talk of Victorian literature as the tables we’d pulled together filled up the rear courtyard of the bar. If this were some intentional move toward more sophisticated drinking banter, I’d be having none of that particularly enlightened affectation. No sooner was the question raised as to the name of the third, less acclaimed Brönte sister, than I christened her with the posthumous moniker “Dimebag” Brönte. To date, one of my friends in attendance that night...
Supporting their most recent release Relentless Retribution (Nuclear Blast), San Francisco Bay Area metal legends Death Angel recently wrapped up a North American trek with the mighty Sepultura, during which the band played to packed venues and showed the kids why they have been at the forefront of Metal for almost thirty years, and show no signs of stopping anytime soon. Now that they've completed their tour, Death Angel have announced that they will be releasing a digitally remastered (but...
What Hot Water Music has done with Exister is unbelievable. Eight years ago, when they released The New What Next, the band hit an all-time high as songs like “My Little Monkey Wrench,” “Ink And Lead” and “There Are Already Roses” saw their fanbase swell (again – 2002's Caution achieved this feat too) with a mix of new, very excited fans and long-time supporters who returned to the fold proudly. The album was celebrated by the press and the tours...
When's the last time a pop-punk band came along and, with just a few bars of one song, made you know you were a fan, dear reader? If it has been a while, the next purchase you should make is Downtown Struts' third album, Victoria! – you won't be disappointed. Here (for what seems like the first time in years), this little Chicago quartet doesn't bother to add any pretty frills to their mix of punk and Americana (think Gaslight...