Shinedown - Threat to Survival

Shinedown are a four piece band from Jacksonville, Florida. They have been around since 2001 and although only the drummer, Barry Kerch and vocalist, Brent Smith have been in the band the whole time. They have had a settled line up since 2008.  I have only actually been listening to the band for the last few weeks and had never heard of them before hearing new single "Devil" on You tube.  Now that single is off the new album "Attention, Attention" which is out in May. So this review is focusing on their last album which was their 5th: "Threat to Survival".

From my very limited knowledge of Shinedown's history, they seem to be a rock act who have gone through various styles of rock over the years. "Threat to Survival" sees them in full flow showing a band that have found what they are good at. You won't find any guitar solos or high pitched wailing on this record. But what you will find are well polished, straight to the point, hard rock songs.  I say songs because it feels more like a group of  similar songs on an album. Rather than what I would call a proper album that takes you on a journey of ups and downs, peaks and troughs, although there are some slightly lighter moments.  Nothing wrong with this approach though.

The first three songs on the album really seem like the album is a bit front loaded in terms of quality. This is because "Asking for it", "Cut the cord" and "State of my head" are absolutely awesome. I especially like "Cut the cord" just because of the way Brent Smith delivers the actual chorus and the sound of his vocals as he sings "Cut the cord".  "State of my head" is another one which is genius on a few levels as the lyrics match the actual song the riff feels like you are in some sort of dizzy trance while still rocking out.

5th track "How did you love" is the power rock ballad of the album. It's still a pretty heavy song and works really well. Another highlight include "Dangerous" where at one point where he sings "Everybody...." it feels like he is going to delve into the Tears for Fears song "Everybody wants to rule the world" but quickly after singing "Everybody..." they move in a different direction. "Black Cadalic" another excellent hard rock song. "Thick as theives" is another one which deserves as mention, slightly more chilled out than the other tracks. I have mentioned so many songs here and even the songs I haven't mentioned are still good.

Overall this is a quality album and I'm so glad I have discovered Shinedown ahead of their hotly anticipated 6th album.  I also look forward to discovering more of their back catalogue and hopefully get to see them live in the near future.

25/03/2017 - Steven Wilson @ Armadillo, Glasgow

This was the first time I have seen Steven Wilson since he started doing his solo stuff after Porcupine Tree split up. I have however seen Porcupine Tree, I reckon about 4 times. So I knew I was in for a treat as they were all great gigs. The first time I went to see Porcupine Tree at the Cottier Theatre in Glasgow ranks as one of my favourite gigs of all time. Since then Wilson has just become bigger and bigger and tonight he was playing to a pretty much sold out crowd at the Armadillo in Glasgow.

Tonight I went to the gig with my Dad, and although there are many overlaps in our musical taste. I would say Porcupine Tree is probably the band that has connected us the most. There was no support act tonight as qutie frankly it wasn't needed. The gig started at eight and comprised of 1 hour then a 20 minute break, then another 1 hours 20 worth of music. The first half concentrated on his solo material with only one Porcupine track being "The Creator has a mastertape". A track which I recognised but didn't realise it was Porcupine Tree. The band kicked off focusing on the latest album "To the bone" with "Nowhere Now" which is a great single. Followed by "Pariah". Not surprisingly the female singer who appears on that song wasn't there so it was a recording of her voice. You can't really blame them here. It is a good song and a hit single so it needed to be played but there is no point bringing someone out on tour just to play one song each night and that's it. 

"Home invasion" off "Hand. Cannot. Erase." sounded really good and what I was finding was that some songs which I didn't enjoy as much on record or didn't really pay attention to them, I was finding that I really enjoyed hearing them live. On "People who it darkness", Wilson started his story telling before the song and pronounced his love for the guitar he uses for the song, even though before he had that guitar he was never really into the history of guitars. He also played "Regret 9" and "Ancestral" from Hand. Cannot. Erase." showing that he did think a lot of that album as in the first set he played just as much from that album as from "To the bone".

After the 20 minute interval, the second phase of the evening went off with a bang as he played the slightly extended version of Porcupine Tree's "Arriving somewhere but not here" which I was delighted with  as it is one of my favourite Porcupine Tree's favourite songs. After that Wilson gave a big speech about pop music and how relevant it still is and gave the big 2 fingers up to music snobery. Got everyone to stand up and move around to the joyous "Permenating". Such a feel good song but he did promise it would get more depressing again for the remainder of the set much to the audiences amusement. He then played "Song of I" another track on record I didn't really like but live I enjoyed it tremendously.

Although Steven Wilson really gets all the credit for what is his solo material. His band deserves great credit for the gig as they were absoluley superb and are very talented muscians. Things like the guitar solos and the keyboards etc may have been done by Wilson on the album but is these musicians he brought them to life, live. The second half did contain more Porcupine Tree songs such as "Lazarus" and "Sleep Together". The songs couldn't be more different. Ones a nice piano ballad, the other a hard rock song.

Once the main set finished, the crowd eagearly awaited the encore to which just Wilson came out with an electric guitar. Again he went off on one of his stories and asked the crowd who was at the King Tuts gig 20 odd years ago. He was building up to this song and my Dad and I were wondering which song it could be as it even 20 years ago Porcupine Tree had probably been going for about 10 years then so had quite a lot of material. My Dad predicted "Even Less" off "Stupid Dream" but I wasn't sure as it was just him. He was right though. I had mixed feelings during the song. On one hand I was absolutley delighted he was playing it as I love the song and it was the first Porcupine Tree song I ever heard. But on the other hand it was just him, he changed the riff a bit and it didn't have the same feel to it being so stripped down. What is great about the song is the big guitars and the quiet to mega loud parts which didn't come across at all when it is just him. But as I say I was still quite happy as I got to sing along to it.

The night finished with the "Sound of muzak" and "The Raven that refused to sing". A great way to finish the night and what a gig. Wilson has such a huge back catalogue that you could say why did he not play this or that. But from my own point of view I was pleased with the set list. I would be interested if people went to the gig based on hearing "To the bone" thought, especially if someone had just heard "Permanating". As some of the stuff would be quite a shock to the system. But I suppose that would be half the fun of it and a good way to explore different types of music to find what you like.

Tremonti - Dust

Tremonti is Mark Tremonti's band who was probably more well known for being in Creed and more recently lead guitarist in Alter Bridge. Both Creed and Alter Bridge were and in Alter Bridge's case are huge success stories. Such is the talent of Mark Tremonti it is like anything he touches turns to gold.  This is more of a flashback review as I eagerly await Tremonti's next album "A Dying Machine" which is out later this year (2018). 

"Dust" itself was released in 2016. It is quite an appropriate title in a funny sort of way when you know the background to its recording. "Dust" is Tremonti's third album which was actually recorded at the same time as second album "Cauterize". So since "Cauterize" was released first, "Dust" was left to gather dust while he promoted his second album. Note here that I am 99 percent sure this is not the reason it was called Dust. :-P Interestingly the albums do have a similar feel and the songs on each vary in style. Mark actually has said that he had a load of songs and divided them up between the two albums. Making sure the quality is spread through both of the albums. And one is not seen as the weaker album or a B-sides album.

Did this work though?  Personally I would say I am not really in a position to answer that question at the moment. I have listened to parts of "Cauterize" and their debut album "All I was". And while their are some great songs on each. My main focus has been on "Dust" and I have yet to listen to the other albums on repeat listen in full yet. I think you can see where this review is heading now though. I am thouroughly enjoying listening to "Dust". It is a wonderful album. This time last year I would never have thought I'd be listening to this sort of music but my music taste is beginning to expand more and more in terms of what genres I am listening to. 

In terms of genre this album fits into the heavy metal genre. I know a lot of people and I would include my old my old self in that category, that thought heavy metal was just screeming, really loud and just generally unpleasent listening. Yes there are bands like that out there. But Tremonti is not one of those bands. Yes they have songs which are aggressive, can be shouty angry lyrics and really heavy guitars. But it is totally listenable. And if you have had a busy day its the perfect album for destressing. But the thing is as well, some of the songs here are lighter, maybe not melodic but more anthemic.  Title track "Dust" is the perfect example of this and is my favourite track off the album. "Tore My Heart Out" and "Unable to see" also a bit lighter and also great tracks. Just to clear things up, when I say these are lighter they would probably still come under the hard rock catagory, just not quite metal.

Heavier moments on the album include "Once Dead", "Betray me" and "My Last Mistake" which opens the album. It really does send out a statement. But I think the main thing what this album shows off is Mark's great voice. It does surprise me he hasn't appeared more on vocals duty in other bands he is in or has been in. But I suppose when you hear how good a guitarist he is you can understand why in other bands people just want him to play guitar. Given how talented a guitarist Mark is you would have thought this album would be just guitar solo after guirar solo. And don't get me wrong there is a few on here, for example on "The Cage", "Unable to See" and "Tore My Heart Out". But it is great how is focused on the songs as a whole rather than just putting in loads of guitar solos because he can if you know what I mean. He still does it but he doesn't go overboard with it is what I am trying to say.

Overall this is a really great album and Tremonti along with Avenged Sevenfold really have opened the door for me in terms of listening to more metal music. I think "Dust" is a great entry point in discovering Tremonti and I look forward to getting more into his other 2 albums. But only after I am done with this one which could take a while.

15/03/2018 At the Drive in @ O2 Academy, Glasgow

It has been 18 years since At the drive-in's last headline show in Glasgow. I remember it well as it was at the Arches in Glasgow and I was annoyed that I couldn't go because it was an over 18s gig. And I was 16. I have seen The Mars Volta a few times though who are lead singer Cedric and Omar the gutairists other band. They were awesome nights so I was excited for finally getting to see At the Drive-in live for the first time given their reputation as a great live act.

The first support act of the night was Le Butcherettes.  I hadn't investigated this band at all prior to the gig but I wish I had now.  They are a punk band from Mexico. They have been around since 2007 with various band member changes over the years.  With lead vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist - Teri Gender Bender being the only main stay in the band since their formation. At the moment they are a 3 piece and not only did they create a good racket. But the whole performance was just captivating. Throughout the set you just didn't know what Teri was going to do next. At one point I actually thought there was something seriously wrong as she started to take deep breaths with both hands on her hips. Turns out this was just part of the act. There was another point where it felt like the drummer was going for a big finale but at the end it morphed into another song. I was pleased as it meant another song!

The second support act, I had heard a bit more from prior to the gig and that was Death from above 1979. These guys are a 2 piece punk rock act and like At the Drive-in split up quite a few years back and reformed with a new album "Outrage Now" which was out last year. It was already a difficult slot to fill though for Death from Above tonight as Le Butcherettes set the bar so high. But they just about did it. This was full on punk rock with the occasional keyboard moments. But even those bits were heavy. Their songs don't really have any slow build ups or gradual finishes. They are very much all out rock from start to finish of each song. With songs often finishing very suddenly. Not a critism just the way they do things.  I didn't realise before the gig that it was the drummer that did the singing too. Which was a bit weird as you just expect the guitarist to sing. But he was superb. I thought he would get tired out drumming and singing but that wasn't even an issue.

So now the stage was set for tonight's headliners - At the drive-in playing to a pretty much sold out crowd. This set, as expected, was explosive and full of energy. I had high expectations going into the gig and they were certainly met and more. I am so glad they played "Invalid litter department" as that is my favourite song by them. Something I wasn't expecting was the extended jamming on some of the songs. I expect this at a Mars Volta gig but I thought At the drive-in would be more sticking to the actual songs. Which they did for the most part. But as I say, for a couple of songs they extended them which was awesome and a nice surprise. In terms of what the actually played it was a bit surprising that they only played four songs off the new album. As it is a solid album. But they did play 9 songs off Relationship of Command which was their breakout album and still their best.  So most folk would have been happy.

Overall this was a great night with 3 great live bands. As much as I like At the Drive-in, I do hope Cedric and Omar go and release another Mars Volta record. The prog community is missing them. In terms of this gig though I don't think I've been to a gig in a while where I have really enjoyed all the acts on the bill so much.
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Myles Kennedy - Year of the Tiger

Myles Kennedy came to fame, fronting Alter Bridge, also through his work with Slash. Not forgetting The Mayfield Four and Cosmic Dust and the Citizen Swing, but I think you need to be a die hard Myles fan to go back that far as he fronted those bands between 1990-2002.  To me it seems he is not as fame hungry as other frontmen in other bands. What I mean by this is that he doesn't feel or maybe want to be centre of attention. The likes of Mark Tremonti and Slash are maybe more well known or at least they share the attention with him rather than the usual frontman of a band who gets all the attention. Well on "Year of the tiger", Myles gets all the attention being his debut solo album. Although just out, Myles has been doing solo stuff since 2009. However from the sounds of it, all of the songs he wrote got shelved and it was only last year where he sat down and wrote a fresh batch, in what would become....."Year of the tiger".

So why has it taken him the best part of 30 years to make a solo album? I have already said that he had been writing solo stuff since 2009 but most of the songs never saw the light of day. But there is a real reason for this solo album and that is the death of his father.  These are a group of songs that just would not fit on an Alter Bridge record and definitely nothing featuring Slash on it.  So you can gather from all this that it is a deeply personal record.  It must have been like a right of passage for Myles recording this album, channelling all his emotions into making this music as part of the healing process.  I saw an interview with Kennedy and he said that the record is actually written from his mother's perspective which is an interesting way to write songs. 

3 singles got released in the build up to "Year of the Tiger" coming out. First of all the title track came out. And I have to admit, although I like some songs by Alter Bridge, I wouldn't say I am into them. But the first time I heard "Year of the tiger", I sat up and took notice. This is a great acoustic song. Many have put Myles style of music in the kind of blues genre. I almost see this as more country.  Next up was "Haunted by design" and I have to say I thought this was even better than "Year of the tiger" although it is the same kind of idea.  Then "Devil on the wall" came out and I honestly don't know how he did it, but I thought this was even better. This like many others on the album has dark lyrics (not surprisingly). But this song and another called "Mother" have this really upbeat feel to it. It's like song works on 2 levels. You've got the emotional side where some people can totally relate to what he has gone through and the other side where the actual music is just so good and excellently delivered.

This album is littered with good songs though. It's not just the singles that are good.  My personal favourite is "The Great Beyond".  The reason for this is because I just feel he reaches "Peak Myles Kennedy" in this track. You just have to hear the vocal performance in the chorus where I think he reaches the full extent of his vocal range while keeping it controlled. It is just stunning. The fact that he doesn't do this for the rest of the album means that it makes it a very special song.  "The Ghost of Shangri" is another track which is worthy of a mention. What I like about this track is the flow of the lyrics and the singing.   It has such a nice relaxing feel to it and everything just works about this song.

Overall this album really does just showoff how talented Myles Kennedy is. I can't really turn round and say this is the best work he has ever done as to be honest I haven't heard that much of his other stuff. But for me this is better than the work I've heard with Alter Bridge and here is why...  I feel his voice and his range is just more suited to this style of music rather than Alter Bridge which is generally heavier rock and his vocals to me are normally on that one level.  This is a very moving and emotional album, full of great music. I hope there is more to come and this is not just a one off.

Waterparks - Double Dare

"Double Dare" is the debut album by Houston, Texas punk rockers Waterparks. Released in 2016 this is kind of a flashback review. But since I only just got into them this year (2018) it's kind of not a flashback review. Even though this is their debut they have been around since 2011 and have released a string of EPs.

This album as you would expect is predominatly pop/punk rock. I would say on the whole it's a nice listen but I think that's as far as I would go with it. I would say their follow up album "Entertainment" is far better and a far more varied album. Which is good in a way as it shows that band is progressing. It would have been interesting if I got into this album before "Entertainment" to see if I liked it anymore than I do at the moment. Tracks such as "Stupid for you" and "Take her to the moon" are a bit too cheesy for me. "Royale" and "Made in America" I like a bit better.  To me it feels like the better tracks are actually towards the end of the album with "21 questions", "It follows" and "I'll Always be around" being my favourite tracks off the album.

The one song on this album which I keep coming back to and is easily my most listened to track of 2018 is "21 questions". I am not exageratting when I say this is probably in my top 10 tracks of all time now by any artist. The only reason I say "probably" is because I've never actually sat down to make the list........yet. When I first heard this track on You tube I thought this was a nice acoustic track and then of course when the drums build in about three quarters in and then the song just explodes for the remaining quarter, it's just mesmorising.  The changes in pace throughout the track and Knights singing is brilliant. I love the way he goes "T.....T.... Time". When you listen to the track you will know what I mean. I skip to this track so often in this album that I do wonder if its the reason I'm not as into the rest of the album. Kind of like in Toronto where you have got the CN tower dominiating the skyline and you don't really pay attention to anything else.

Overall I would say this is a good effort for a debut album. Although it's not one I would go back and listen to regularly. I think you can guess there is one track I'll be going back to listen to a lot more. "Entertainment" for me is a far better album.  If you're new to Waterparks maybe check out this album first to see if you like it, as I think I would've appreciated this album more if I listened this before "Entertainment".

Blackfield - Blackfield V

Blackfield V, is, you guessed it, Blackfield's 5th studio album out in 2017. Blackfield is a collaboration between 2 strong musical forces in Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen. While Wilson is probably more famous of the two rising to stardom with his other band Porcupine Tree and propelled even further into fame with his solo stuff; Geffen is a household name in his native country of Israel. Although since Blackfield was formed back in 2000 it has allowed Geffen's name to be spread further across the globe too. I have been a fan of Porcupine tree since 1999 when "Stupid Dream" came out and I cannot believe I only just discovered the existence of Blackfield last year as my Dad happened to mention it. Turns out he knew about them all all along and just didn't tell me about them. Ha.

Even though I bought this album last year (probably about May 2017), it is only the last couple of months I really stood up and took notice of this album.  The reason for this is the likes of "Family Man", "Lonely Soul" and "44-48" have sneaked on to my you tube playlist along with various songs from Blackfield's other albums. And I have to say I absolutley love this!  I really look forward to any Blackfield song popping up on my playlist now. They are just a delight. I realise though that people reading this will either have heard and be into Blackfield and probably be really into them or they will not have heard of them at all.  So to give a bit of background into how this record sounds, its mainly guitar driven short melodic songs with some piano/keyboards led for example "October". When I say short I am comparing this to Wilson's other material where the songs can go on for a lot longer. So the tracks in this album are generally between 3 and 4 minutes long.

As previously mentioned this album for me was a slow burner meaning it took me a while to get into it. But now I am in to it I can't believe it took me so long to get into it as it feels so accessable. As well as being shorter songs one of the things which differentiates this from Wilson's other work is that Geffen sings on some of the songs for example, "The Jackel" and "Undercover Heart" . These tracks they share the vocals and they compliment each other quite well. Wilson's vocals are quite soothing while Geffen's are a bit more gritty. The other thing I love about this album which you don't normally get with songs of this length on other bands albums is that there are guitar solos across this album again on "The Jackel" and "Lately" for instance. They maybe short but they are in there.  This is just really showing of these guys talents.

The track that stands out the most for me though which maybe isn't my favouite track muscially ("Lately" wins that award) but is lyrically is "44-48".  I don't normally look into lyrical content that much in songs. I am more about the music and how the words sound rather than what they actually mean. But with "44-48" it is hard to avoid the lyrics and the journey the song takes you on. And with this song it is a song about Steven Wilson's life.  You may be wondering how you can sum up your life in 4 minutes 31 seconds. Well without fully listing all the lyrics, one of the lyrics goes "And then, between 13-17....." and then goes on to do a wee description of what he did during that time. The funny thing I find about this is the repitition of "And then....". It takes me back to my childhood when I was in primary school and I remember doing a small bit of writing about my weekend and in it I would say. "Then I did this..." , "Then I did that...". And the teacher said not to do that and use different words instead of repeating myself all the time. Then all these years later a professional muscian at the top of his game is doing the same thing! I feel like going back to my primary school teacher and letting her hear this song to prove that it was ok to do what I was doing. :-P   In short though this is a great song and I just love the way it is constructed. Seems like such a simple idea but it works so well.

Overall this is a fantastic album. It is well balanced, melodic with loads of really good songs. I just can't believe it has taken me so long to discover this band and even then how long it has taken me to get into this album. Even if you are not a Porcuipine Tree fan or a fan of Wilson's solo stuff I would recommend checking this out as it is a lot more accessable.  If you are a fan of Porcupine Tree or Wilson's solo stuff, this is a condensed version of it with some vocals from a few other artists. I didn't even mention the female artist who appears vocally on some of the tracks which are also awesome.  I can't comment on Geffen's solo stuff as I haven't heard it but after this I am looking to try out some of his stuff too.