Coming soon...
LIFE IN YOUR WAY/SOLACE,
EAST WEST and *New* SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD
GLOBAL WARNING - SELF TITLED
(Independent)
SILENCE THE FOE - WHEN SUMMER TURNS TO SAND (Independent)
SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD - ANCESTORS (Independent)
PILLAR - ORIGINAL SUPERMAN (Shadrach
Records) ALL ACCESS - ROCK 'N ROLL SHOW (Ionic Records)
HEADNOISE - SELF TITLED (Sofa Records)
REDEEM - A DIADEM OF BEAUTY (Sofa Records)
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GLOBAL WARNING - SELF TITLED (Independent)
www.globalwarning.org/index.html
If Barren Cross were ever to have a reunion tour, these guys would be the opening act. This band is pure Metal. From the Dokken intros and the Judas Priest guitar riffs, to the Helloween-like vocals, there is no doubt, they’ve got the Heavy Metal combos down, complete with head-banging drum beats and harmonizing guitar solos. Every generation has it’s own sound and style that it can identify with. This CD tends to be geared toward more of the fist- pounding, testosterone-induced, leather and hair crowd also known as the 80’s. To those of you who just took that statement in a bad way, chances are you are a Generation X’r or a 80’s rocker on the defensive. Headbangers...do not be ashamed!! This CD is something you want to give a listen to if you like or liked the aforementioned influential sounds that Global Warning has adapted. Metallions you shunt be disappointed! Rock on!!
-JESTER
SILENCE THE FOE - WHEN SUMMER TURNS TO SAND (Independent)
www.silencethefoe.com
I’m always interested to hear what the music scene outside of the States is doing and how they perceive us Americans. Well, we’re going to have to wait for their review on us, for now here is our review on five Christian Hardcore/Emo musicians from Norway know as Silence The Foe. As I played this CD for the first I couldn’t help but notice the fullness of it and how good the production was. Lyrically great, musically delicious. I know, a little corny, but it’s the best way I can describe this to those of you who like to pummeled by intense lyrics like their second track, “Weak But Strong” ... “Kill my flesh tonight/burn it up with your almighty light/ in all my sorrow/ you remind me/ that you saved me for free/ in this beautiful silence.” The songs flowed with one another really well. You could hear the versitility in this band. They could play anything from emo, to punk, to hardcore. But although I appreciated the song arrangements, I would have liked to have heard more versatility in the vocal department. Here is my equation of Silence The Foe’s Debut artfully entitled “When Summer Turns to Sand”:
Art + Hardcore + Lyrical Content + Quality Musicianship = a highly anticipated follow up. I'll be watching this band. All of ya’ll emo/hardcore/punk heads... make sure you check into this one.
-JESTER
SEAL OF THE LIVING
GOD - ANCESTORS (Independent)
http://www.sotlg.indiegroup.com
Sci-fi movie sound track meets Euro-dance is the best way I can describe this 6 song demo entitled ‘Ancestors’ from the soloist mastermind Vic Mendoza. It is an intense release that imediately takes you on a musical mission through space and time. The first song “Intro through the Bloodline II” starts it off beautifully, influenced heavily with tribal percussion, keyboards and distorted guitar. It sets the pace for the rest of this demo. Although not explained on the demo the meaning behind each song, you can almost draw your own picture of what each song is about, with titles such as “It is Finished” and “Tribes B.C.” It’s refreshing to see someone break away from the mainstream music scene and express it on CD. It’s clear that this demo was intended for fans of movie soundtracks, Orbital, Enigma, and Circle of Dust.
-JESTER
PILLAR - ORIGINAL SUPERMAN (Shadrach
Records)
http://www.pillarmusic.com
Two words that best describe this CD would be “Must Have.” Upon receiving the CD I couldn’t help but notice the great looking graphic design and wondered if the music would be as equally impressive. Not to my disappointment, I was simply blown away with both their musicianship and musical arrangement ability. Although I enjoyed the entire CD I couldn’t resist choosing what I thought would be definite hit singles. Among these were the title track "Original Superman” with a heavy guitar groove, catchy chorus and awesome vocal abilities of singer/frontman Rob Beckley. The other songs that made my hit list were “You Should Know”,“Reaching Out”, “Unity” and “Father”. Many times groups tend to write songs that sound alike and leave creativity on the shelf, but that’s not the case here. Their songs are versatile enough to leave you wanting more, with the knowledge the next track will be another voyage. Pillar has their own sound, but you can definitely hear influences from Limp Bizkit, 311 and Rage against the Machine coming through. My suggestion would be to get their CD and experience them for yourselves.
-JESTER
ALL ACCESS - ROCK N’ ROLL SHOW (Ionic Records)
http://www.allaccesstheband.com/
Straight out of the garage and into your CD player comes Kentucky’s new school punk rawk scene. With
rock guitars, flat melodies and from pounding to cappucino induced drumbeats follows All Access. Musically the bands songs contain traces of Weezer, MxPx, and Green Day. Although I found the lyrics rather freshman, it might be what they are trying for seeing how the style seems to be geared toward more of a high school audience. Overall the group has potential, but needs a little work in the creativity department, nothing that couldn’t be remedied, so I’ll be awaiting future releases.
-JESTER
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HEADNOISE - SELF TITLED (Sofa Records)
http://www.headnoise.org/
It’s so good to hear old school punk done right. It’s even twice as nice to hear punk music
done (lyrically) old school Christian style, ALA the Crucified. In today’s Christian scene
it’s rare to see bands with the passion to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and play heavy
music intended for the underground audience as well , and Headnoise does exactly that.
The CD is perfectly punk through and through, complete with cut-out artwork on the
inside cover and typewritten lyrics that appeared to be Xeroxed then copied (true punk).
The quartet is fronted by Edie Goodwin with windpipes o’steel, husband Robert Goodwin
on bass, Sid Duffor, Tom Wright on guitars and David Sanchez on the drums. This is a
highly recommended CD for any true punk rockers and/or veteran punks.
-JESTER
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REDEEM - A DIADEM OF BEAUTY (Sofa Records)
http://zap.to/redeem
Up from the ashes of the late 80’s, comes Death Metal’s second wind, with a new flavor;
hardcore to be exact. The group leads you into a frenzy as they switch back and forth from
a somewhat intelligible style in the likes of Focused then to a more aggressive approach
reminiscent of Carcass. Redeem is comprised of vocalist Keith Lenox, guitarists Luke
Washack and Arthur Hunt, bassist Dominick Renaldo and drummer Joshua Godbolt.
Their release is entitled “A Diadem of Beauty” but would have been more appropriately
titled, “Straight Brutality,” as they hold no punches back musically or lyrically. This
album is to be commended, as they were able to incorporate complex melodies,
harmonizing and still maintain an extremely heavy edge and keep my attention. If you
have a chance to either to pick up a copy of this release and/or catch them live, give your
ears the hardcore they’ve been longing for.
- JESTER
