J.J.D.'s Reviews And Interviews Blog

Monday, February 3, 2003

Strapping Young Lad Interview

For more information on Strapping Young Lad, check out - https://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend.

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Blindside - Silence

Blindside
Silence
Elektra/Warner Music Australia

For more information on Blindside, check out - https://www.facebook.com/BlindsideSweden.

Dashboard Confessional – MTV Unplugged v2.0

Dashboard Confessional
MTV Unplugged v2.0
Vagrant Records/Festival Mushroom Records

For more information on Dashboard Confessional, check out - https://www.facebook.com/DashboardConfessional.

Ryo Okumoto – Coming Through

Ryo Okumoto
Coming Through
Inside Out Music/S.P.V.

For more information on Rye Okumoto, check out - https://www.facebook.com/RyoOkumotoMusic.

Wednesday, January 22, 2003

Dead To Fall – Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces

Dead To Fall
Everything I Touch Falls To Pieces
Victory Records/Shock Records Distribution

For more information on Dead To Fall, check out - https://www.facebook.com/deadtofallica.

Oneida – Each One Teach One

Oneida
Each One Teach One
Jagjaguwar

For more information on Oneida, check out - https://www.facebook.com/Oneida.

Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Alex Skolnick Trio – Goodbye To Romance: Standards For A New Generation

Alex Skolnick Trio
Goodbye To Romance: Standards For A New Generation
Skol Productions

For more information on the Alex Skolnick Trio, check out - https://www.facebook.com/alexskolnick.

Old Man's Child – In Defiance Of Existence

Old Man's Child
In Defiance Of Existence
Century Media Records/Shock Records Distribution

For more information on Old Man's Child, check out - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063931800901.

Symphony X - The Odyssey

Symphony X
The Odyssey
Inside Out Music/S.P.V./Riot Distributors

For more information on Symphony X, check out - https://www.facebook.com/symphonyx.

Wednesday, January 8, 2003

Hollow Imagery - Riddles

Hollow Imagery
Riddles
Independent Release

Iron Maiden – Edward The Great - The Greatest Hits

Iron Maiden
Edward The Great - The Greatest Hits
EMI

For more information on Iron Maiden, check out - https://www.facebook.com/ironmaiden.

Metallica – Live Sh*t: Binge & Purge

Metallica
Live Sh*t: Binge & Purge
Elektra/Warner

For more information on Metallica, check out - https://www.facebook.com/Metallica.

Mudvayne – The End Of All Things To Come

Mudvayne
The End Of All Things To Come
Epic/Sony Music Entertainment (Australia) Limited

For more information on Mudvayne, check out - https://www.facebook.com/mudvayne.

Pungent Stench Interview

For more information on Pungent Stench, check out - https://www.facebook.com/pungentstench.official.

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Tribe Of Judah - Exit Elvis

Tribe Of Judah
Exit Elvis
Spitfire Records/Riot! Distributors

For more information on Tribe Of Judah, check out - https://www.facebook.com/extremeband.

Raging Speedhorn - We Will Be Dead Tomorrow

Raging Speedhorn
We Will Be Dead Tomorrow
S.P.V./Steamhammer/Riot! Distributors

For more information on Raging Sppedhorn, check out - https://www.facebook.com/ragingspeedhorn.

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

Bloodbath - Resurrection Through Carnage

Bloodbath
Resurrection Through Carnage
Century Media Records/Shock Records

For more information on Bloodbath, check out - https://www.facebook.com/bloodbathband.

Napalm Death - Order Of The Leech

Napalm Death
Order Of The Leech
Feto Records/Snapper Music/Shock Records

For more information on Napalm Death, check out - https://www.facebook.com/officialnapalmdeath.

Monday, November 25, 2002

Unlike most bands these days, Breed 77 is anything but an overnight success. Their trials and tribulations have mirrored that of many bands, but the success they have achieved, as an unsigned band is no less spectacular. One of Blistering.com is Australian correspondents, Justin Donnelly, caught up with vocalist Paul Isola at his home in Walthamstow (East End London).

“Oh man! I’m still waking up. This time difference sucks man. It’s 9.20 in the morning! I’ll be right though. I’m making the most of the week break between tours. We’ve been pretty busy touring, but we like it like that. We just came off the road with Ill Nino and Raging Speedhorn. And then we’re off on tour with Prong. Both Ill Nino and Raging Speedhorn have treated us really well. They’ve been awesome. Raging Speedhorn are really old friends of ours, and Ill Nino are Spanish Americans. We all speak Spanish, and we’ve been getting along famously. We badmouth terrible promoters and people around Europe in Spanish, and nobody would understand us. That was cool.”

While most would think that linking legendary industrial pioneers Prong with rock act Breed 77 was a clash of styles, Paul sees things differently.

“I’m looking forward to it! (After a short pause) We don’t approach tours in the sense of whether our music will suit theirs or not. It’s very hard to find people that go with our sort of music. We seem to fit in with a lot of people and yet no one at all. So I see this tour as an opportunity to play in front of somebody else’s crowd and also playing in a lot of places that appeal to us.”

After numerous years slogging it out on the local London underground scene, Breed 77 finally caught the notice of the mighty Albert Productions. The band may have breathe a collective sigh as all their hard work finally paid off, but they also knew that timing played a big part of that success. ďThe old saying that all good things come to those who wait is true.

”I’ll be honest here and say that for a while there we carried an enormous chip on our shoulders. We were asking ourselves why this was happening to us (Not being signed). After all, we’d been around and paid our dues. We’ve done this and done that. Once you’ve been in the grinder a couple of times like we have, you come to know the nature of the beast that is the music industry. Everything is up to chance, and there is no time scale in this. Things will happen when they want to. We’re just really happy that we did get a deal in the end. We now have the chance to get to places like Australia, Europe and the U.S.. We’re older and wiser and I think we’ll do better with our record deal now than if we had actually been signed five years ago.”

While some writers and musicians claim they hate putting a band into a genre box, it’s sometimes a necessary evil. Trying to label Breed 77 into any one genre is another matter entirely.

“First and foremost, we’re a rock band. I think that covers our music a broader sense. That’s the easy way out right? (Laughs) Basically we have many influences, I’d probably have to call it flamenco/Arabic/nu-rock kind of thing! (Laughs) Wait till our next album comes out. That’s going to be even harder to clarify.”

While Paul’s created a whole new genre tag for Breed 77, some critics have written the band off as another mere nu-metal band.

“I suppose that’s true to an extent, because we exist within that genre. I don’t listen too much of that stuff anyway. I think itís the nu-metal tag that puts me off rather than the bands themselves. I’m sure there’s some good nu-metal bands out there, but I can’t say I’ve heard that many. I don’t find anything particularly new about the nu-metal scene. If you mention rap rock, I think of Aerosmith with Run D.M.C., Public Enemy with Anthrax, Mordred and Faith No More. There’s also Rage Against The Machine, who have been doing that stuff for years. So you can tune your guitar down really low. So what! (Laughs) It’s just a different tuning to the guitar, but as far as being new, I don’t think so.”

For more information on Breed 77, check out - https://www.facebook.com/breed77.

Saturday, November 2, 2002

Threshold - Critical Mass

Threshold
Critical Mass

Inside Out Music

I've always thought that the six-piece British outfit Threshold stood out from the rest of the progressive movement. Rather than become a Dream Theater clone (Like so many other bands these days), Threshold have been consistently been honing their individual sound since 1998, and with severely unrated results.
Last years Hypothetical was the album that really placed the band high in most writers favourite progressive albums of that year, and Critical Mass, Threshold's sixth album, looks set to do exactly the same.
While 'Critical Mass' pretty much picks up where Hypothetical left off, it would be unfair to call it a carbon copy of the same formula. Repeated listens highlights the subtle changes scattered throughout the opus. Opening number 'Phenomenon' provides the first distinct change, and that's the obvious overall heaviness of the material. While Hypothetical was dominated by the use of keyboards, guitars seem to win out on the mix this time around. 'Choices' follows the same dramatic chorus that make up the predominate feature of Threshold; while 'Falling Away' has the band slowing the pace just a fraction before the chorus lifts up proceedings. There's some heavy crunching throughout 'Fragmentation', while 'Echoes Of Life' has the soft strains of a ballad, yet soon turns into a mid paced rocker. One of the darker sounding tracks is 'Round And Round', with vocalist Mac (Andrew McDermott) really putting the effort and range to lift the song from what could have been a disaster in anyone elseís hands. The true ballad on the album goes to the shortest track on the album (Clocking in at close to five minutes) 'Avalon'. Unlike 'Keep My Headí (From 'Hypothetical'), this works well with the other material. The real epic arrives with the final track 'Critical Mass Part 1-3', and should please fans of songs within songs passages of music. Part one ('Fission') follows the same line as the album, while part two ('Fusion') allows guitarists Karl Groom and Nick Midson to wail away in Dave Gilmour style. Part three is a soothing acoustic outo that shows the other side of the band in a different light.
For a limited time, the album comes as a limited edition double C.D. that features the bonus C.D. single for 'Phenomenon'. Although the track is an edited version, its 'Do Unto Them' and 'New Beginning' (Both previously unreleased) that really is the prize. Both tracks could well have come off the album, and are not merely throw away tracks. Also on the bonus C.D. is a multimedia section featuring a documentary video, studio video footage and diary, screensaver, musician pages, exclusive photos, artwork and demo recordings. If you're tired of the Dream Theater clones, cheesy keyboards, singers that struggle to sustain notes, or you want something completely different, then this album may be just what you're looking for.

For more information on Threshold, check out - https://www.facebook.com/threshold.

Thursday, October 31, 2002

Meduza - Now And Forever

Meduza

Now And Forever

Massacre Records

From the ashes of Autumn Lords, guitarist Stefan Berg, bassist Jonas and drummer Ola quickly assembled the new group Meduza. Keyboardist Jan and Greek born vocalist Apollo were eventually recruited to finalize the line up, the latter of which had already achieved success to a certain degree after singing on Majestic’s ‘Trinity Overture’. It wasn’t long before Meduza (From Pilea, Sweden) secured a label deal and headed into Andy LaRoque’s Los Angered studio in Gothenburg. Mike Wead (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Memento Mori) was roped in to co-produce and engineer.

From the opening double kick-drumming opener ‘Shed No Tears’, you can pretty much tell what the whole album has in store. It’s pure straight up power metal. Not that there’s anything wrong with power metal (I’ve got a few classics in my own collection), but there’s no denying the tried and true guitar formula style of Yngwie J. Malmsteen that Stefan Berg serves up at every opportunity. ‘Sleep’ and ‘Holy Ground’ are so much like Malmsteen that I needed to double check which album I was listening to.

But it’s not all bad news. ‘Twilight Of My Mind’ displays Apollo’s strong vocals, while ‘Land Of Forgotten Dreams’ provides plenty of guitar attacks. Both ‘Burn In Hell’ and ‘Curse Of Pharaoh’ also show Meduza can slow the tempo down to a atmospheric smoulder, allowing Stefan to loosen up and play an alternate to the fast paced Malmsteen carbon copy solos.

Meduza has been compared to Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius in recent times, and while they may well be close to the mark style wise, it would be only fair to wait until the band shows a little bit more originality before putting them in the same league as established acts.

Fore more information on Meduza, check out - https://www.facebook.com/massacrerecordseurope.

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

Lacuna Coil - Comalies

Lacuna Coil

Comalies

Century Media Records

Italy’s Lacuna Coil certainly hasn’t wasted their time following up 2001’s Unleashed Memories. The band have once again teamed up with producer Waldemar Sorychta (Sentenced, Samael, Tiamat) hence the clever blend of gothic, progressive and metal is masterfully handled.

The opening number ‘Swamped’ is a perfect example of Andrea Ferro’s deep-seated growls contrasting with Cristina Scabbia’s sultry melodies. Unlike Unleashed Memories, the vocals seem to be shared equally, thus allowing a nice mix without having one dominate over the other.

'Heaven’s A Lie' is the lead off single, and shows that Lacuna are not afraid to combine heaviness with an accessible chorus. Elsewhere on the album, there’s a touch of latter day Paradise Lost on tracks such as ‘Tight Rope’ and ‘Entwined’, while ‘Angel’s Punishment’ displays the groups many styles combined in the one track.

There’s plenty of metal amongst the lush melodies, and the production seems to suite the band to perfection. While the band has only been around a short six years, there’s no denying that Comalies is the sound of a band on top of their game.

For more information on Lacuna Coil, check out - https://www.facebook.com/lacunacoil.

Monday, October 21, 2002

Iced Earth - Tribute To The Gods

Iced Earth
Tribute To The Gods
Century Media Records

Tribute albums can be either great, or a complete waste of time. Thankfully, Iced Earth has provided us with one of the great ones. This eleven-track album gives Iced Earth fans the chance to hear some of the bands that helped shape Jon Schaffer’s musical background.

This particular album was first available as part of the five CD retrospective box set Dark Genesis. The bands covered include AC/DC (‘Highway To Hell’ and ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’), Black Sabbath ('Black Sabbath'), Iron Maiden (‘The Number Of The Beast’ and ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’), Blue Oyster Cult (‘Burnin’ For You’ and ‘Cities On Fire’), Alice Cooper (‘Dead Babies’), KISS (‘Creatures Of The Night’ and ‘God Of Thunder’) and the legendary Judas Priest (‘Screaming For Vengeance’).

All tracks have been given the Iced Earth makeover, and while all the cover versions are true to the original, vocalist Matthew Barlow certainly adds his distinctive stamp to them all. Jon Schaffer and the rest of Iced Earth give the accompanying music a much-needed punch, and the production is certainly sharp. Of particular note is the version of KISS’ ‘God Of Thunder’ where Matthew sounds very much like Gene Simmons. The other is the odd inclusion of Alice Cooper to the mix.

Iced Earth injects plenty of freshness put into every one of these old classics, making the whole album a classic in its own right.

For more information on Iced Earth, check out - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialIcedEarth.

Friday, October 4, 2002

Living Sacrifice - Conceived In Fire

Living Sacrifice
Conceived In Fire
Solid State Records

While Living Sacrifice have been around in one form or another for the last thirteen years, their brand of extreme Christian metal never really did all that much for me. Their last album, 2000's The Hammering Process was good, but still failed to ignite anything above my curious interest. That has all changed!

Conceived In Fire, their sixth album, amply displays exactly what the band is capable of, and truly delivers. The death metal element still appears at the start of 'Imminent War', but takes a backseat while the band stretch the song writing into something more digestible. 'Symbiotic' is one of the defining moments on the album, and conjures up the image of Testament with the heavy riffing.
The album is pretty relentless, but there are moments of melodic death metal. 'The Poisoning' is one of those moments, with its irresistible "All the world is for sale!" chant. Another such moment comes in the closing track 'Reach For The Sky' with its spoken word passage. After the quiet gentle melodic tones of the instrumental 'Into Again', the band do an about face with the speed and aggression of 'Separation'. There's a slight nod to Slayer with the lead break, and 'Distrust' and 'The Martyr' features the most powerful drum sounds Living Sacrifice have recorded to date.
It would be fair to say that Living Sacrifice have been honing their skills and are getting better as each album is released, but that would be only half the story. Producer Barry Poynter has given the band a heavier, meatier and cleaner sound, while the legendary Andy Sneap has done an amazing job with the mix.
The band must also be given credit for ditching the shit album covers that have adorned their previous albums, and using Travis Smith. As one of the masters of modern art, Travis has provided surreal images for Devin Townsend, Opeth, Nevermore and countless others in recent times.

Living Sacrifice has finally created an album worth shelling out your hard earned cash for.

Fore more information on Living Sacrifice, check out - https://www.facebook.com/livingsacrifice.