This is a flashback review of Avenged Sevenfold self titled 4th album. I say flashback but for me it is still quite a fresh album as I only discovered Avenged Sevenfold last year (2017). This album was to be the last one with drummer "The Rev" touring with them as he sadly passed away during recording of their next album "Nightmare". After a departure in sound from their first few albums, on the third album "City of evil". Where they swapped the screaming and really heavy metal sounds to still being metal but a lot more listenable and accessible songs. This album saw Avenged move more into the hard rock category as the songs, although still heavy are even more accessaible than those on "City of Evil". While "City of evil" was a solid record and got them more recognition. This is the album that would be the launch pad for Avenged to become rock heavyweights. And somehow I still managed to avoid having heard a single song by them till 10 years after this release! I'm making up for lost time now though....
The album starts off with great intent and really lays down that they are heading in a new direction while keeping true to their heavier past. They do this by using an organ on the opening moments of first track "Critical Aclaim". It nicely sets the mood to the album. Then the guitars come in and then we are well and truely off with the ferocius drumming. I have to admit it took me a while to like/get into this song but with each listen I appreciate it more and more. I like the balance between M Shadow's vocals and The Rev's vocals. The Rev features on vocals on quite a few tracks on the album which is great and adds a great deal to the album. But at the same time he doesn't steal too much air time away from Shadow's duties.
The two biggest sounding songs on the album though for me are Almost Easy and Afterlife. And I would go as far as saying these are the tracks which really got people to stand up and take notice of them. They are just really good. proper rocks songs. Big chorus and great guitar work. The guitar particulary on these seem so difficult to play and there are many small solos on these tracks. But I think what Sevenfold have in their favour is that sometimes complexity in songs can make them difficult for the listener to fully appreciate them or sometimes mess the songs up. But with Avenged they have the complex guitar parts but they just work with the songs. And I think that is one of the reasons Avenged Sevenfold are an arena sized band now.
Two tracks on the album which see Avenged experiment a bit with their music and try something a little different are Little bit of heaven and Dear God. These are the last 2 tracks on the album respectively. Little bit of heaven is like a heavy rock/metal musical. The lyrics are not for the faint hearted and if you see the animated video you'll get a graphic representation of those lyrics. But the actual song is so fun. Full of ups and downs twists and turns and is the longest track on the album at eight minutes. Dear God (and another track which I will go on to talk about) on the other hand is the kick back track on the album and has a kind of rock/country feel to it. It is a lot slower pace and is different to anything they have done before this album.
My favourite track on the album though is right in the middle of the album and that track is Gunslinger. When I see this song live they always pay tribute to the armed forces. When I say live I mean on videos as not had the privledge of seeing these guys live yet. The acousitc guitar and vocals start off and then it kicks in. It is just such a well constructed song and the vocals are just awesome. There are many other tracks on this album which I haven't talked about but are great songs and there are no tracks I would skip.
Overall this album is everything a good rock album should be. From start to finish it's just awesome. I would however say that "Nightmare" is still my favourite Avenged album but this is a very close second. What I would say though for people who have never heard of Avenged Sevenfold before is that this is the first album you should listen to of theirs as it is definetley their most accessible album and I think the one with their most hits. But don't disregard "City of Evil", "Hail to the King" and "The Stage". These albums are all great to get into too once you've listened to this one.
Saturday, 24 February 2018
Saturday, 17 February 2018
Greta Van Fleet - From the fires
This time last week I had never heard of Greta Van Fleet. My mate from work shared a video on Facebook of them and I just thought it was brilliant. I looked them up and found out a bit more about them and have been listening to them all week. Greta are a 4 piece rock band from Michigan, USA. This is a bit of a strange release in a way. They released their debut, "Black smoke rising" EP in April 2017 which was 4 tracks. The "From the fires" EP includes the 4 tracks from the "Black smoke rising" EP and has 4 new tracks. According to Wikipedia there is another EP to come in mid 2018 and then if I interpreted right they will have add another 4 tracks on to this one which will make a full length studio album. Although they have seemed to have broken through in the last year they did actually form in 2012. This may seem like a long time ago but when you take into account they are still only 21, it seems like they have a bright future ahead of them.
I think I'm pretty safe in saying that this band will divide the music public. When you first listen to them, the resemblence to the likes of Led Zepplin is very apparent. I must point out here that although I do like the likes of Led Zepplin, I didn't grow up in that era so I wouldn't say I am in a position to comment on all their influnences as I simply don't know most of the music brought out in that era. But it is clear that GVF have embraced the 70's rock era big time. If you watch videos of them, you can tell by the way they dress and their long hair. But more important than all that, their music. I think the first question which comes to peoples minds when listening to this band is - are they too much like the bands from the 70s, namely Led Zep? Is it their fault their singer sounds like that? He has an amazing voice so why not use it? Personally I did have the same thoughts for starter that this band sounds far too much like their influences. But then I got past that. And that is when you start to enjoy this band and appreciate their music for what it is.
One thing I found quite interesting is the inclusion of 2 covers on the double EP, one being Sam Cooke's "A change is going to come" and the other being Fairport Convention's "Meet on the ledge". I haven't heard the originals, but these tracks do fit on the EP well and to be honest I never even realised they were covers till I did a bit of research reviewing this EP. But one thing that this does bring into question is their creativity. Have they started to run out of ideas already? I know bands starting up generally play covers to start off with, I assume this is because it's easier to play other peoples songs than to create your own. But that is an assumption and is coming from someone who has hardly played an instrument, never mind be in a band. I do find it unusual though to put 2 covers on an EP as short as this which is why I questioned their creative output. I am hoping it is really down to their age and hopefully they will grow even more as a band and find their creative juices more. Another reason could be that they just really like the songs and wanted to do it and its nothing to do with their creativity which would be fair enough.
I would say the general mood of the EP is upbeat rock and roll. I wouldn't say their is much variation in the types of tracks, for example, there are no ballads on here. I think in a way talking about the covers blending in with the album is a compliment as it just shows how good the rest of the songs are too. My favourites are "Talk on the Street" and "Black smoke rising". The guitar work on these tracks in particular and indeed throughout the album is fantastic. As I said earlier though the vocals are a stand out feature. Josh Kiszka has an amazing voice. I don't really think it's his fault he sounds like Robert Plant. If you've got a voice like that, you use it!
Overall, this is a very refreshing EP. I say refreshing as although all the talks of the 70s etc, there is no one who is really doing this type of music at the moment and that is why it is refreshing. This is a strong EP. I don't know how older fans will feel about this having 4 tracks on this that were already on a previous EP. Then if I have read it right there is going to be 4 new tracks on top of this EP to make an album later this year. Should it just have been released as 3 seperate EPs? I think so. But maybe it is a way to gradually build their fan base which I have no doubt is set to sky rocket even more especially since they seem to have a good reputation as a live band. In short though I would thoroughly recommend giving this EP a listen.
I think I'm pretty safe in saying that this band will divide the music public. When you first listen to them, the resemblence to the likes of Led Zepplin is very apparent. I must point out here that although I do like the likes of Led Zepplin, I didn't grow up in that era so I wouldn't say I am in a position to comment on all their influnences as I simply don't know most of the music brought out in that era. But it is clear that GVF have embraced the 70's rock era big time. If you watch videos of them, you can tell by the way they dress and their long hair. But more important than all that, their music. I think the first question which comes to peoples minds when listening to this band is - are they too much like the bands from the 70s, namely Led Zep? Is it their fault their singer sounds like that? He has an amazing voice so why not use it? Personally I did have the same thoughts for starter that this band sounds far too much like their influences. But then I got past that. And that is when you start to enjoy this band and appreciate their music for what it is.
One thing I found quite interesting is the inclusion of 2 covers on the double EP, one being Sam Cooke's "A change is going to come" and the other being Fairport Convention's "Meet on the ledge". I haven't heard the originals, but these tracks do fit on the EP well and to be honest I never even realised they were covers till I did a bit of research reviewing this EP. But one thing that this does bring into question is their creativity. Have they started to run out of ideas already? I know bands starting up generally play covers to start off with, I assume this is because it's easier to play other peoples songs than to create your own. But that is an assumption and is coming from someone who has hardly played an instrument, never mind be in a band. I do find it unusual though to put 2 covers on an EP as short as this which is why I questioned their creative output. I am hoping it is really down to their age and hopefully they will grow even more as a band and find their creative juices more. Another reason could be that they just really like the songs and wanted to do it and its nothing to do with their creativity which would be fair enough.
I would say the general mood of the EP is upbeat rock and roll. I wouldn't say their is much variation in the types of tracks, for example, there are no ballads on here. I think in a way talking about the covers blending in with the album is a compliment as it just shows how good the rest of the songs are too. My favourites are "Talk on the Street" and "Black smoke rising". The guitar work on these tracks in particular and indeed throughout the album is fantastic. As I said earlier though the vocals are a stand out feature. Josh Kiszka has an amazing voice. I don't really think it's his fault he sounds like Robert Plant. If you've got a voice like that, you use it!
Overall, this is a very refreshing EP. I say refreshing as although all the talks of the 70s etc, there is no one who is really doing this type of music at the moment and that is why it is refreshing. This is a strong EP. I don't know how older fans will feel about this having 4 tracks on this that were already on a previous EP. Then if I have read it right there is going to be 4 new tracks on top of this EP to make an album later this year. Should it just have been released as 3 seperate EPs? I think so. But maybe it is a way to gradually build their fan base which I have no doubt is set to sky rocket even more especially since they seem to have a good reputation as a live band. In short though I would thoroughly recommend giving this EP a listen.
Saturday, 3 February 2018
Creeper - Eternity, in Your Arms
Creeper are a 6 piece rock band from Southampton, England. I say rock band but I think people do have difficulty categorising them. Some say post hardcore, others punk rock, others horror punk, others goth punk or just plain old rock. So as you can imagine they are a bit of a genre hopping band but I think at the end of the day most of the genres mentioned are quite similar to each other. I would say the goth element comes more from their image rather than their music. If you look at the album cover for "Eternity, in Your Arms" along with the way they dress in a kind of Creeper uniform with denim jackets with the Creeper logo on them. You do get a gothic vibe from it.
So when I first came to listen this, Creeper's debut album, I was expecting quite a dark, gloomy album and don't get me wrong it does have some dark themes. But it is also quite jumpy about and good old rock music mixed in with some tracks you wouldn't really expect which I will go into later. Opening track "Black Rain", I think is the biggest and probably best song on the album. The way it starts off with Hannah Greenwood just talking and then the guitars and drums kick in. However long Creeper's musical journey lasts I imagine this will be a mainstay in their live set for many years to come. It has a very catchy chorus and although lead singer Will Gould takes the majoirty of the vocals on the album and this song, I love how he takes turns with Greenwood in the chorus. It works really well and having the male and female vocal really compliments each other well.
Most of the album is more all out rock like "Black Rain" and bands like the Offspring do spring to mind when listening to these guys at times, especially "Room 309". Which is not bad thing at all. Tracks like "Suzanne" and "Poison Pens" also back this up. One track which is a bit different and I think will be an anthem of the teenage generation will be "Misery". It is such a well constructed song and its the lyrics I think a lot of teenagers will relate to. For example the chorus goes like this:
Maybe everyone can relate to these lyrics at some point or another not just teenagers. The difference with Creeper is the delivery of these lyrics. Will Gould puts so much raw emotion into the lyrics. If you have seen them live, which I haven't managed yet, but I have seen You Tube videos of live performances. You will see just how much emotion, passion and energy he puts into these songs and this one in particular. This is another track I believe will be an anthem for them for years to come but in some ways you do hope they will be singing more about happier times in future given their upward projectory in the music scene at the moment.
A track which shows another side to Creeper is "Crickets" in which the acoustic guitar is whipped out, Gould takes a well earned rest and Greenwood takes up vocal duties. This song not only displays the versitility of the band, but also displays Greenwood's incredible vocal range. This is a very nice song which gives the album a change of pace and a different dynamic. I'll be interested to see if Greenwood is give more of the vocal duties in future given just how good a singer she is. The thing is when she is not singing she is still is the keyboardist. Whereas Will Gould is the lead singer and that is what he does so when she is singing, he is not doing anything. So Will is in that kind of Liam Gallaghar position where Noel sings some of the songs. So this situation may lead to some friction in the future but you never know, they probably have discussed this already.
The album finishes with the very apt, slow, piano driven, "I choose to live". After all the emotions gone through after listening to this album, it's a nice positive way of ending an album and the actual song, does close the album nicely. Overall this is a great effort for a debut album and I can see how they have been receiving so much attention for it. I still think they can top this but I don't look at any song on this album and think "I can't listen to this, skip on to the next track etc". All the tracks are good, but I think they have got another level in them.
So when I first came to listen this, Creeper's debut album, I was expecting quite a dark, gloomy album and don't get me wrong it does have some dark themes. But it is also quite jumpy about and good old rock music mixed in with some tracks you wouldn't really expect which I will go into later. Opening track "Black Rain", I think is the biggest and probably best song on the album. The way it starts off with Hannah Greenwood just talking and then the guitars and drums kick in. However long Creeper's musical journey lasts I imagine this will be a mainstay in their live set for many years to come. It has a very catchy chorus and although lead singer Will Gould takes the majoirty of the vocals on the album and this song, I love how he takes turns with Greenwood in the chorus. It works really well and having the male and female vocal really compliments each other well.
Most of the album is more all out rock like "Black Rain" and bands like the Offspring do spring to mind when listening to these guys at times, especially "Room 309". Which is not bad thing at all. Tracks like "Suzanne" and "Poison Pens" also back this up. One track which is a bit different and I think will be an anthem of the teenage generation will be "Misery". It is such a well constructed song and its the lyrics I think a lot of teenagers will relate to. For example the chorus goes like this:
If you could see the wreck I am these days
you’d have new reasons to stay away
Just hold my hand for a little while
Misery never goes out of style
Maybe everyone can relate to these lyrics at some point or another not just teenagers. The difference with Creeper is the delivery of these lyrics. Will Gould puts so much raw emotion into the lyrics. If you have seen them live, which I haven't managed yet, but I have seen You Tube videos of live performances. You will see just how much emotion, passion and energy he puts into these songs and this one in particular. This is another track I believe will be an anthem for them for years to come but in some ways you do hope they will be singing more about happier times in future given their upward projectory in the music scene at the moment.
A track which shows another side to Creeper is "Crickets" in which the acoustic guitar is whipped out, Gould takes a well earned rest and Greenwood takes up vocal duties. This song not only displays the versitility of the band, but also displays Greenwood's incredible vocal range. This is a very nice song which gives the album a change of pace and a different dynamic. I'll be interested to see if Greenwood is give more of the vocal duties in future given just how good a singer she is. The thing is when she is not singing she is still is the keyboardist. Whereas Will Gould is the lead singer and that is what he does so when she is singing, he is not doing anything. So Will is in that kind of Liam Gallaghar position where Noel sings some of the songs. So this situation may lead to some friction in the future but you never know, they probably have discussed this already.
The album finishes with the very apt, slow, piano driven, "I choose to live". After all the emotions gone through after listening to this album, it's a nice positive way of ending an album and the actual song, does close the album nicely. Overall this is a great effort for a debut album and I can see how they have been receiving so much attention for it. I still think they can top this but I don't look at any song on this album and think "I can't listen to this, skip on to the next track etc". All the tracks are good, but I think they have got another level in them.
Friday, 2 February 2018
Waterparks - Entertainment
"Entertainment" is the second album by Waterparks who are a three piece from Houston, Texas. Although they just have 2 albums at present, they have actually been around since 2011. But it wasn't until 2016 when they released their debut "Double Dare" after releasing a string of EPs. I haven't had a chance to listen to that album yet but it seems "Double Dare" did provide a launch pad for the band, winning Best Breakthrough act in the Alternative press awards and Best International Breakthrough act in the Rocksound awards both in 2017. Considering it was just 2016 they released their last album, it is quite an impressive turnaround, releasing "Entertainment" so quickly. But was quality comprimised?
I don't think so. When the opening keyboards of "11:11" kick in, in the first track, you do wonder what type of album this is going to be if you have never heard of Waterparks before. But the keyboards are replaced early on with guitars, creating fun, pop-punk goodness. It is the kind of sounds that bring me back to my younger days when the likes of Blink 182, Green Day and Busted were tearing up the charts during the late nineties, early noughties. "Blonde", "Lucky people" and "Not Warrior" are the singles to be released from the album so far. "Blonde" is a particularly catchy anthem with an infectious chorus as Knight sings "It's all about you, who woo who woo". "Lucky people" is a nice acoustic number while "Not Warrior" is another fun bit of punk rock.
One awkward moment on the album occurs during "Rare" which is a good track. But I think it's the production that is letting this down, either that or my music player is playing up! It has these moments as if the volume is being turned up and down throughout the song. As I say though it's a shame as it is a good song.
But I think that is really the only part of the album I have any issues. The album comes in at 33 minutes with 10 songs. Which you would expect from this type of band. Lots of catchy 3 minute songs. It is strange because I have been known to enjoy longer songs more but on this album my two favourite songs off it are actually the 2 shortest songs on the album. These are "TANTRUM" and "Cry Baby". The reason for this is because they show off some different sides to Waterparks. "TANTRUM" is a bit heavier than the rest of the stuff, a bit reminisent of SUM41. More shouty and aggressive. I really like it. "Cry Baby" on the other hand is polar opposite and is more like the opening chords of "11:11" but throughout the whole song. The first band I thought of when listening to this was some of Death cab for cutie's more upbeat, electronic stuff. Knight's vocals on this track are brilliant and the song in general has such a good feeling about it.
Overall this is a very good album and the short time it took them to release it has not comprimised its quality. Although predominatley a pop-punk album. "Cry baby" and "TANTRUM" show that the band have the talent to move in all sorts of directions with their music in the future and I definitley think this is a band worth keeping an eye on. Like any band they have their influnences but I really feel they have created a record which is quite refreshing.
I don't think so. When the opening keyboards of "11:11" kick in, in the first track, you do wonder what type of album this is going to be if you have never heard of Waterparks before. But the keyboards are replaced early on with guitars, creating fun, pop-punk goodness. It is the kind of sounds that bring me back to my younger days when the likes of Blink 182, Green Day and Busted were tearing up the charts during the late nineties, early noughties. "Blonde", "Lucky people" and "Not Warrior" are the singles to be released from the album so far. "Blonde" is a particularly catchy anthem with an infectious chorus as Knight sings "It's all about you, who woo who woo". "Lucky people" is a nice acoustic number while "Not Warrior" is another fun bit of punk rock.
One awkward moment on the album occurs during "Rare" which is a good track. But I think it's the production that is letting this down, either that or my music player is playing up! It has these moments as if the volume is being turned up and down throughout the song. As I say though it's a shame as it is a good song.
But I think that is really the only part of the album I have any issues. The album comes in at 33 minutes with 10 songs. Which you would expect from this type of band. Lots of catchy 3 minute songs. It is strange because I have been known to enjoy longer songs more but on this album my two favourite songs off it are actually the 2 shortest songs on the album. These are "TANTRUM" and "Cry Baby". The reason for this is because they show off some different sides to Waterparks. "TANTRUM" is a bit heavier than the rest of the stuff, a bit reminisent of SUM41. More shouty and aggressive. I really like it. "Cry Baby" on the other hand is polar opposite and is more like the opening chords of "11:11" but throughout the whole song. The first band I thought of when listening to this was some of Death cab for cutie's more upbeat, electronic stuff. Knight's vocals on this track are brilliant and the song in general has such a good feeling about it.
Overall this is a very good album and the short time it took them to release it has not comprimised its quality. Although predominatley a pop-punk album. "Cry baby" and "TANTRUM" show that the band have the talent to move in all sorts of directions with their music in the future and I definitley think this is a band worth keeping an eye on. Like any band they have their influnences but I really feel they have created a record which is quite refreshing.
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