Monday, September 15, 2008
HEAR ME TALK
I'll be on WNYC radio tomorrow at 2PM EST, debating the merits of Death Magnetic with Pitchfork Media's Ryan Schreiber. (I kinda wish it was a debate with Cosmo Lee, who actually wrote Pitchfork's review, a review I think I could have predicted, content- and verdict-wise, as soon as I read this Invisible Oranges post, but oh well.) In any case, if you're in the New York area, you can listen at 93.9 FM, and if you're not, you can check it out online at wnyc.org.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE...DEATH MAGNETIC
[From Westword.]
METALLICA
Death Magnetic
Warner Bros.
This is exactly the record Metallica needed to make in 2008. Real metal's back, and sure, younger bands have rage and technical aptitude on their side, but Metallica's riffs can level skyscrapers. Opening trilogy "That Was Just Your Life," "The End of the Line" and "Broken, Beat & Scarred" combines furious classic-years thrash with the hard-rock stomp of Load and ReLoad, showcasing savage Kirk Hammett solos, surprisingly disciplined vocals (James Hetfield's no longer deliberately going off-key, as he did on St. Anger) — and, hey! — Lars Ulrich's drums sound like drums again! Some songs are eight minutes long when five would have done the job, and "The Unforgiven III" breaks the flow with piano and strings, but overall, Death Magnetic is a ferocious return to form.
METALLICADeath Magnetic
Warner Bros.
This is exactly the record Metallica needed to make in 2008. Real metal's back, and sure, younger bands have rage and technical aptitude on their side, but Metallica's riffs can level skyscrapers. Opening trilogy "That Was Just Your Life," "The End of the Line" and "Broken, Beat & Scarred" combines furious classic-years thrash with the hard-rock stomp of Load and ReLoad, showcasing savage Kirk Hammett solos, surprisingly disciplined vocals (James Hetfield's no longer deliberately going off-key, as he did on St. Anger) — and, hey! — Lars Ulrich's drums sound like drums again! Some songs are eight minutes long when five would have done the job, and "The Unforgiven III" breaks the flow with piano and strings, but overall, Death Magnetic is a ferocious return to form.
SKOLNICK COMES ALIVE
[From the Cleveland Free Times.]
Alex Skolnick Trio
Wilberts (812 Huron Rd. E., Cleveland, OH)
Now that skunk-striped shredder Alex Skolnick is back with Testament, the Bay Area thrash band that brought him to worldwide fame, he might not have as much time for this project. That'd be a shame. The Alex Skolnick Trio is an instrumental outfit, but calling it "jazz" would do its innovative and unique sound a disservice. Not only does the guitarist nod to his other career on the Trio's latest album, Last Day In Paradise (it reworks Testament's "Practice What You Preach" and Rush's "Tom Sawyer"), but on tracks like "Western Sabbath Stomp" and "Mercury Retrograde," he proves himself a master of tone and technique, easily the equal of Bill Frisell or any other post-jazz six-stringer. His bandmates, bassist Nathan Peck and drummer Matt Zebroski, are no slouches either, expertly switching up rhythms and grooves to keep listeners guessing and rocking at the same time. You might be drawn in by the novel prospect of seeing a metal hero play "jazzy" versions of "Iron Man," "Detroit Rock City," "Don't Talk to Strangers," et al., but by the end of the set (or one of the three CDs), it'll be the originals - and the Trio's overall originality - that earn your respect.
Alex Skolnick TrioWilberts (812 Huron Rd. E., Cleveland, OH)
Now that skunk-striped shredder Alex Skolnick is back with Testament, the Bay Area thrash band that brought him to worldwide fame, he might not have as much time for this project. That'd be a shame. The Alex Skolnick Trio is an instrumental outfit, but calling it "jazz" would do its innovative and unique sound a disservice. Not only does the guitarist nod to his other career on the Trio's latest album, Last Day In Paradise (it reworks Testament's "Practice What You Preach" and Rush's "Tom Sawyer"), but on tracks like "Western Sabbath Stomp" and "Mercury Retrograde," he proves himself a master of tone and technique, easily the equal of Bill Frisell or any other post-jazz six-stringer. His bandmates, bassist Nathan Peck and drummer Matt Zebroski, are no slouches either, expertly switching up rhythms and grooves to keep listeners guessing and rocking at the same time. You might be drawn in by the novel prospect of seeing a metal hero play "jazzy" versions of "Iron Man," "Detroit Rock City," "Don't Talk to Strangers," et al., but by the end of the set (or one of the three CDs), it'll be the originals - and the Trio's overall originality - that earn your respect.
RUNNING OUT OF TRICKS
[From the SF Weekly.]
TRICKY
Knowle West Boy
Domino
After the seething, explosive brilliance of Tricky's first two albums, 1995's Maxinquaye and 1996's Pre-Millennium Tension, inspiration is spreading thin. Later releases Angels With Dirty Faces, Juxtapose, and Blowback contained a recommended song or two, but as albums they were jumbled failures.
Knowle West Boy doesn't break that disappointing pattern. "Council Estate" and "Coalition" crank up the guitars and the yelling, and almost rock – but in the end they're barely convincing. And those are the standout tracks. For the most part, this disc is just more latter-day Tricky, the claustrophobic and compelling paranoia of his early days toned down to a grumpy mutter as the music jumps among styles (barrelhouse piano and blues riffs on the opening "Puppy Toy"; postpunk guitar noise, bass throb, and one-finger synth lines on "Far Away"). Like most other post-hip-hop producer-artists, Tricky occasionally forgets that a beat is not a song, as on "Veronika," which features the titular girl singing, halfway to herself, like a young, more human Grace Jones. This Veronika (last name Coassolo, formerly of Disco Inferno and ToyTunes) is just one of many guest players here, making Tricky seem like an interloper on his own album.
TRICKYKnowle West Boy
Domino
After the seething, explosive brilliance of Tricky's first two albums, 1995's Maxinquaye and 1996's Pre-Millennium Tension, inspiration is spreading thin. Later releases Angels With Dirty Faces, Juxtapose, and Blowback contained a recommended song or two, but as albums they were jumbled failures.
Knowle West Boy doesn't break that disappointing pattern. "Council Estate" and "Coalition" crank up the guitars and the yelling, and almost rock – but in the end they're barely convincing. And those are the standout tracks. For the most part, this disc is just more latter-day Tricky, the claustrophobic and compelling paranoia of his early days toned down to a grumpy mutter as the music jumps among styles (barrelhouse piano and blues riffs on the opening "Puppy Toy"; postpunk guitar noise, bass throb, and one-finger synth lines on "Far Away"). Like most other post-hip-hop producer-artists, Tricky occasionally forgets that a beat is not a song, as on "Veronika," which features the titular girl singing, halfway to herself, like a young, more human Grace Jones. This Veronika (last name Coassolo, formerly of Disco Inferno and ToyTunes) is just one of many guest players here, making Tricky seem like an interloper on his own album.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER LIST
Because of a two-month or so lead time, it's soon going to be incumbent upon me to prepare my year-end Top 20 list for Metal Edge. This is probably the easiest of the multiple lists I'm gonna wind up putting together (Village Voice, Idolator.com, The Wire), because it's limited to a single genre. So this morning I took the first step, going into my iPod and looking at all the metal albums from 2008 stored therein. This isn't everything I heard; it's everything that impressed me enough to stick around. I've got just under 90 albums from which I need to pull 20 keepers. I've got a pretty good idea what's gonna be my Album of the Year (hint: it leaked to the Internet one week ago today, it hits stores on Friday, and it's by Metallica), but the other 19 slots are uncertain. Definite contenders: Opeth, Amon Amarth, Burst, and several bands not from Sweden, including a surprise dark horse: Stephen Pearcy. Seriously, don't sleep on Under My Skin; it's a bare-bones hard rock record that plays to his strengths. In a generally lackluster year, you could do worse than that.
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