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| Album Scote: 9/10 |
Judas Priest is a band that needs little introduction -- they’re the Metal Gods. They have a legacy unmatched in heavy metal except maybe by Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden (sorry, Metallica). After their 1991 tour, frontman Rob Halford announced that he was leaving the band, leaving a huge void in his wake. Journeyman Tim “Ripper” Owens filled in admirably for a while, but there was no replacing Halford. So when the band finally put their differences aside and Halford returned to the mic for 2005’s Angel of Retribution, fans around the world were ecstatic. The album was considered a solid return to form, and ‘Priest promptly embarked on a massive world tour. The result was Rising in the East.
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| Album Score: 8.5/10 |
Giant Squid are a slippery bunch. They began as an indie-rock outfit with Monster in the Creek, hit us with the contemplative, doomy Metridium Fields, and then threw the playbook out the window on their wonderfully bizarre follow-up, The Ichthyologist. Attempting to pin Giant Squid’s sound down is an exercise in futility, but much like their namesake, it’s generally dark, massive, and mysterious. In crafting The Ichthyologist, Giant Squid gallivanted about between genres that should never have worked together: swamp-rock tinged revenge tale “Dead Man Slough” led into the morbid, bluesy rocker “Throwing A Donner Party at Sea”, followed by the half-dirge, half-duet “Sevengill”, which in turn gave way to the heartbreaking and dissonant “Mormon Island”, composed entirely of banjo, strings, and Jackie Perez Gratz’s haunting voice. And you know what? The result was one of the most interesting and refreshing albums of the year. Sure, it was a lot to digest. Maybe “Sutterville”, with its stop-start rhythm and crazy jazz chords, took a while to warm up to. But what The Ichthyologist lacked in accessibility, it made up for with near-infinite replay value. So what does a band do for an encore after it’s already pulled out all the creative stops?
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| Album Score: 9.5/10 |
A great underground cavern, seen for the first time in centuries. Beams of light from the crumbling ceiling illuminate walls carved with depictions of ancient battles between gods; colossal statues of angels and demons lie broken next to the crypts they were built to stand guard over for eternity. The fallen angel from “Sad Wings of Destiny” wallows in a river of magma; the last diary of Aaron Turner sits disintegrating on a marble altar. It’s this sort of somberly majestic scene that “Lapsus” conjures in one’s mind.
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| Album Score: 8.5/10 |
Note: “Live V” is a live recording of “Oceanic.” This review is mainly about how it compares to its parent album, not a critique of the material on “Oceanic” itself.
Music is meant to be listened to live. While studio production can add nuance and depth to a recording, a band that can captivate an audience with their music the old fashioned way is something special. Unfortunately, with today’s advanced technology, artists all too often rely on gimmicks and having infinite chances to “get it right.” Isis’ seminal album, “Oceanic,” was a terrific example of how production can be a positive influence on the finished product. The glimmering female vocals on “The Beginning and the End” were wrought with emotional tension; the soft sounds of wind and waves in “Weight” gave it a chilling atmosphere. But their effectiveness begs the question: what if these subtle additions were removed?
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| Album Score: 8/10 |
“The greatest metal band of their generation – no one else comes close.” – Rolling Stone
So quotes the packaging to Mastodon’s new live DVD, “Live at the Aragon.” Right there, you’re all in: play an awesome show and you’re heroes; play a pretty decent one and you're another band that couldn't live up to the hype. To make matters worse, Mastodon proclaimed before the recording of the show that what happens on the stage is what the fans will see on the DVD. No overdubs, no cut and paste – no “Unleashed in the Studio” for these guys.
