If you pride yourself in being a Nickelback fan, go ahead and pick up their latest album, Here and Now. You'll find that it's pretty much on par with anything they've offered in the past, and you should enjoy it. Feel free to stop reading now if this is the case. For those of you who don't list yourselves as fans (like the audience at a recent Detroit Lions game), you'll likely find Nickelback's inability to change or grow as a...

Hey Junky, Alright, I gotta tell you – dis holiday gift-givin' season's startin' ta look great! Da music bizness is jus' pourin' onna extra reckids fer sale an' ya know what dat means: mo'stuff ta grab as I'm trippin' through da interwebs lookin' fer more SWAG ta unload on you! I figure it's fair, it jus' keeps fallin' offa digital trucks or somethin', I'd swear ta that onna stack o' bibles! This week I nabbed a little more o' da...

Why does a rat desert a ship? Marilyn Manson keyboardist, drummer and producer Chris Vrenna announced yesterday that, after seven years, he and the self-proclaimed God of Fuck would be parting ways. The announcement comes now, shortly after a release date for Born Villain – Manson's forthcoming eighth album and first for new label Cooking Vinyl – was confirmed for February, 2012. "I'm incredibly proud of the work I did with Manson and look forward to the release of Born...

In the folk/country genre, there’s a big difference between some indie rockers from Rhode Island playing country and Travis Tritt playing country. Deer Tick consider themselves country, and are probably right by definition; but if you called them a folk band you’d probably be right too. Their new album, Divine Providence, was promised to be unlike any other Deer Tick record. The songwriting remains the same but there are more electric rave-ups and electric organ (played by Halifax’s own Rob...

It's the twentieth anniversary of the release of Achtung Baby, which provides the excuse for this expanded reissue. The reissue also gives critics a chance to, again, assert that this album was a drastic break from U2's past. Well, I disagree. In my opinion, Achtung Baby is actually a return to U2's strengths. To me, the touchstones of the band's career are Boy and War; they're the tightly wound guitar rock staples. Further (and I know I'm mostly alone in...

Solo albums from talented artists can be a dangerous business. Mick Jagger, Scott Weiland, Axl Rose (yes, I consider the recent GNR album in this category) all shine when they're paired up with their talented sidekicks but, when they step out alone to prove how great they are, we're often left wondering what we saw in them. Some readers might say that Ringo Starr would be a better example than Mick, but I'll stand by that statement; I would have...

Marine Dreams' debut album stands as proof that some of the most remarkable albums come from unlikely sources. That's not meant to imply that the band or its patron (Attack In Black bassist) Ian Kehoe aren't deserving of praise for this effort (this album is fantastic, but more on that in a minute), just that with excellent solo records having already come from Attack In Black frontman Daniel Romano and guitarist Spencer Burton, it comes as a surprise to find...

Hey Junky,Awright – ya know what? – this is friggin' great. I ain't lyin' – I got some good, good shit fo' ya dis week, annit's all a li'l different. Dis week, I gotcha some hip hop, some rock, some punk an' some folk; startin' ta soun' a little familiar, don't it? 'At's right bitch, I ben pullin' from all the five points an' bringin' it to ya, ta make it easy on ya – so whadaya say ta dat...

Maybe it's because the passing of Ronnie James Dio last year left the band without a singer, and maybe it's because the Ozzy's last album spent more time trying to be hip than just trying to be Ozzy and flopped, but fans will be thrilled to hear that Ozzy Osbourne has officially announced his return to the ranks of Black Sabbath, regardless of the reasoning. Now, really, this news has been reported before. Beginning in 1992...

There are moments when one must question a sudden surge in productivity from a band, and one of those moments is now. Over the last two years, Welland, Ontario-based, chameleonic rockers Attack In Black released two full length albums and wow-ed critics with their adept musicianship and ability to shift both gears and styles on a dime. The band covered a staggering amount of ground between Years and the Fake Love Songs cassette as well as a split release with...