Avenged Sevenfold - Black Reign EP

After there final tour of "The Stage" album era was cancelled due to M Shadows vocal issues. Many fans must have thought it would be an age before they would hear from Avenged Sevenfold again as they head back into the studio to record a new album. But then they throw a curve ball and release the "Black Reign" EP. A collection of songs they made for the Call of Duty games over the years. Fans of the game and older Avenged Sevenfold fans generally may have different opinions on releasing these songs in EP form. But for me as a very new fan (discovered them last year); This was all new material to me so it is all fresh and very exciting.

One strange thing which I have never heard this happen before is that this EP was re-released within a week of being available. This was due to feedback from fans saying that the mixing was bad. The band totally agreed with them, got it fixed and put it back out there. I don't know if its because I'm not in a band or don't have a trained ear but I didn't actually notice that the mixing was bad in the first place. I really enjoyed listening to it on the whole.

This is a four track EP, kicking off with "Mad Hatter". It opens with M Shadows trademark vocal style and sounds similar to stuff from their self titled album. But one of the things I love about the song is M Shadows variation in his voice throughout the song. For example when he sings "the feeding of the voices in my head", the first time he is casually sings it, then the second two times he ups it and it works so well. He treats his voice like an instrument.  There is also a nice kick back guitar section in this song too.

"Carry On" is a ferousious all out metal track.  Here M Shadows is delivering some of the vocals in the screaming style appeared in the first 2 albums Avenged released. I didn't really like those albums. But here because those style vocals are complimented on this track with proper singing I actually really like it. Again really fine guitar work and another cracking tune.

"Not Ready to die" starts off with an organ and guitar build up before the guitar and drums really kick in and we're off again on another epic metal track. M Shadows uses the occasional scream vocals once more to good effect. The EP ends with "Jade Helm" which is an instrumental track.  I always like bands attempting instrumentals as I do feel it is harder to make a track stand out without vocals as there are less hooks.  Here I don't think Avenged quite pull it off here. I think maybe I'm expecting too much like "Exist" off The Stage which was a predomintaly instrumental track. "Jade Helm" does have a number of frustrating silences throughout the song. Sometimes bands use silence to good effect within songs but for me it doesn't really work here. I think the silent bits are too long. It does have its moments though this track and I really like the drum beat.

Overall this is a quality EP. 3 out of 4 good songs ain't bad. I like the way Avenged Sevenfold go that extra mile trying to keep there songs interesting and refreshing, especially since they have been going for so long.

Nosound - Allow Yourself

Nosound return with their 6th full length album "Allow Yourself. In the build up to the release of this album, the band made it clear they were experimenting with new sounds and really pushing the boundaries of their music. So I was keen to hear what exactly they had in store and exactly how far those boundaries were pushed.

The results are very interesting to say the least. I think they definitley have found a new direction while keeping that Nosound stamp on it. The album starts off with "Ego Drip" and gets you into a kind of hipnotic trance right from the outset through its mesmirsing electronica. But the album has so many twists and turns it will keep you guessing which way they are going to turn next. I do think although this is a further progression in sound for Nosound that it does still follow on from their last album "Scintilla" in the fact that the tracks remain shorter. Unlike their earlier albums which saw a lot longer tracks. This album comes in at just 38 minutes. Certainly not a critism but it would be interesting to see them explore this style of music further with longer tracks.

The style of music I am talking about here is this electronica/alternative landscape. The genre of electrorinica and alternative is often hard to nail down as its is so vast. But here keyboards are domintant which I think really is the driver for electronica. I think the best moments of this album are the wonderful climaxs for example on "This night" and "Growing in Me".  The way everything builds in "This night" up to these moments are fantastic and as a listener it keeps you captivated. But then you have songs like "Shelter" and "At Peace" which give the album this beautiful balance as these represent the softer songs on the album.

Overall Nosound have well and truely come up with the goods here. I am very impressed with this album and appreciate that they have stepped outside their comfort zone a little.

The Fallen State - The View from Ruin

"The View from Ruin" is the second EP by hard rockers The Fallen State based down in South west England. I first discovered them supporting Tremonti this year and the set they delivered more than warranted me to delve into their back catalogue. But I think this EP even surprised me just so much I have listened to it. So much so this 20 minute EP now has place in my daily routine.

The EP is 5 tracks and when I say there is not a bad track on this I really do mean it. The term "banger" gets thrown about a lot these these days. Well try this on for size. These are 5 absolute bangers.  Recently I have been finding tunes stuck in my head wondering who they are. More often than not it is by The Fallen State. The songs are just well crafted. Great guitar work. Excellent vocals. What more could you ask for.  I must get round to listening to the other EP "Crown your Shadows".  I also hope an album is on the cards in the near future.

Recommended.

Alter Bridge - Live at the Royal Albert Hall with Parallax Orchestra

Alter Bridge have released many DVDs which I haven't had the pleasure of watching yet. The likes of Live at Wembley and the Amsterdam one. But this DVD has the added speciality that it is first time Alter Bridge have performed with an orchestra.  Not only that but it was at the Royal Albert Hall. A venue I am gagging to go to a gig too as just looks like an awesome place.  Before I got into the review of the DVD I'll give a bit of background to my journey with Alter Bridge.

I first heard of Alter Bridge last year thanks to a friend who was and still is a huge, huge fan of them. I liked "Cradle to the grave" but other than that I could not get into them at all and I went as far as saying I did not like them.  I continued to follow them on twitter and facebook as I did quite like their posts and retweets. When Myles's solo stuff started being released earlier this year I sat up and took notice. This was really good! I bought the album and loved it. I then started to get into Tremonti and love most of his stuff and have been to see him live. However I still didn't really like Alter Bridge. I tried listening to a few albums and just could not get into them.

Then things started to gradually change when they released "Addicted to Pain" live version from this gig was released. I loved it. Most bands when they release a live DVD just release it and that's that. With Alter Bridge its like they are releasing singles of it to get people into it. And it really worked on me. Especially when they released "Words darker than their wings". An awesome track and that high note Myles sings is phenomemal. Then they released "The End is here". A track which sees Myles without guitar, allowing him to really connect with the crowd.

Now the edition of this I bought contained the DVD, Blue ray and 2 CDSs.  I have listened to the CDs on their own and while they are excellent. They don't fully capture what went down that night at the Royal Albert Hall. I think this is a performance you really need to see whether its the blue ray or the DVD.  The CDs are also all about the music with none of the talking in between songs. Also the DVD/blue ray contains interviews with the band and manger in between some of the tracks.   These interviews show what great people the likes of Myles and Mark and the rest of the band are. They come across really well.

This DVD really has really opened my eyes (and ears) to more of Alter Bridge's music. And they really have produced something amazing and special here. You don't always realise the orchestra is there but there are tracks you do and they do add a great deal to those tracks. There are so many amazing moments. But I really like the streak starting with "The end is here", moving on to "Words Darker than their wings", on to "Water rising" (love Marks vocals on this), "Lover" (I think this is the track the orchestra works best with), "Wonderful life/Watch over you" (Myles accoustic).  Now you may notice that a few of these tracks have Mark on vocals. To be honest while Myles does have a good voice and suits Alter Bridge's style. I do actually like Mark's vocals better which is why I am a big fan of Tremonti.  But when it comes to acoustic stuff Myles is awesome.

The thing is though even though I do like Mark's vocals better. I think Myles is a better front man than Tremonti. He really connects with the crowd both in between songs and during songs. I'm not saying the rest of the band don't - they have their roles and perform them excellently. Mark's solo's on many of the songs are awesome. And it was also nice to see Myles taking a few solos to, showing just how talented a guitarist he is too.

Overall this is an excellent release. The DVD - all 2 hours 45 minutes of it. Worth every penny. With or without an orchestra I would go and see Alter Bridge live. And who knows I might even give the albums another listen now I am getting into them more.