The Real Thing - Faith No More

What a perfect way to have a summer feeling than an album that is quintessentially summer music to me. What is this, this is the third LP by Faith No More. Their first two LPs, '85s We Care A Lot and '87s Introduce Yourself feature the vocal talents of Chuck Mossley. He was a sang in a monotone voice, which might be off putting but I believe it worked for their sound and image. A lot of that founds its way on this, the first album to feature Mike Patton on lead vocals. In fact all the music was written prior and recorded, they just asked Mike to write lyrics and sing for the album. 

1. From Out of Nowhere: Opening we get a solid opener. And to be honest this is a great opener, in context of the other albums they have song but they don't really pump you up. Right off the bat there is something building up to somewhere. Not tension, but the music is very very engaging. The play also happens to be much more fun and have more personality in my opinion. This has song great vocals and the keys are something else here. The arrangement is great and that bridge ...... Yes! Great solid opening. And even though it's a straightforward song, there are little elements that change slightly enough to not be a loop. {8/10}
2. Epic: Possibly the best know song by the group, this tune is a classic. What a baseline, what a riff, what a rap. While I think it's silly, I still love this thing so fucking much. I also love the tone on those guitars, Jim does an awesome job. I also like this being sequenced second because I personally think if fits better that way. The song is quite good at building tension, and the licks are pay off. I could almost see this being played on strings and working well. The ending fade out is so fucking awesome and that piano. Well lets just say that's part of the reason the piano is my favorite instruments. Every time I hear it it takes me back to High School Summer Sophomore Year. Trust me I like this, not for nostalgia, but for the fact I just love these songs. 
3. Falling to Pieces: The third track to be a single from the album, and at track three I gotta say it's great. It's weird how this song, along with my lesser favorites have grown on me. The bass line is very memorable, with some great guitar work and just gives an atmosphere. Like it can't hear this song and picture anything other than the music video. It's a fun music video, but the song itself is quite fun. I really love the keyboards on this thing too. I love the guitar solo towards the end, the buried in. And I like the multi tracked vocals on here, silly but add to the song. 
4. Suprise! You're Dead!: This song has a much rougher, rawer feeling to it. It has that Metal that makes this a Funk Metal record. I could see this going toe to toe with another Metal band at the time. Maybe not as heavy as a Slayer, and I know there are heavier bands back then than Slayer, but yeah. I still think this song packs a punch and, maybe the backing vocals take away from that lunch a bit. If this was produced, or executed, a bit differently I could see this being a Slayer song. I really dig it and like the telling from Mikey. 
5. Zombie Eaters: This opens with arpeggiated acoustic guitar, and is a nice follow up to the last tracks punch. I also like the hi hats that punctuate his vocals. The arrangement here is great and it builds tension. Even if you've never heard the song before there is a tension you feel. I love the Spanish feeling guitar licks and once it happens you just feel that hit. The bass is thundering and I'd love to hear this thing live. I really like the sections and the builds and changes that happen in this song. While it's pretty straightforward, I still like the little details here and there. It's not just a straight loop. The only real complaint is I don't think it HAS to be 6 minutes long. They could have maybe cut a minute out or 30 seconds maybe. Although I don't know, they do kind of justify the length a bit by the changes, but I feel a bit unsure. I like it but it is a bit long. I guess I really have to be in the mood to hear the entire song (outside of a front to back listen). I really like the ending though. 
6. The Real Thing: Alright, six tracks in and we finally get the title cut. Opening with a drum beat, that has a snare hit (I believe)... Damn! There's also this like wind sound or something, or water sound effect. I don't know but I like it. There is a tension of waiting for the song to explode. Now while the explosions are more overt and obviously going to happen in this song than the last, that doesn't make it bad or worse. I don't think this is as well arranged, but there is a bit more of a punch maybe. This also sits at 8 minutes and is a song I feel like I have to be in the mood to sit through all of it. I like the vocals on this thing. I do dig the part where the song quotes down, nice dynamics. But again, I feel like it could end at 5 minutes but there's still 3 minutes left. Like honestly there isn't much that happens in those last two minutes of the song. I mean yeah sound effects, but that doesn't mean it's worth. They could have just as easily edited it to be shorter. 
7. Underwater Love: Now where the last track runs out of steam a bit, this track absolves it of its sins for me. Honestly; as goofy a song as this is, and as goofy the lyrics are too.... I kinda love this song.  This is just a fun song that I feel like is a bit of a return to the fun of the first few songs. Not that the others aren't fun, but this is a fun song. I can't believe it wasn't a single. I really like the vocals and I love the underwater feeling to the vocals. I don't know, I feel like I'm underwater when I listen to this song. I could be crazy, but that keyboard intro definitely helps set that tone. Solid tune, which happens to be an all time favorite of mine. Also love the drums in the outro, good job Puffy. 
8. The Morning After: This song is a song I go a bit back and forth with. Like okay, this feels like a song written for their last album or maybe their first. Like honestly, this would fit quite snug on Introduce Yourself or We Care A Lot. I like the punch/crunch to the guitar and the pop of the bass. Actually it isn't that much if a stretch to imagine Chuck's monotone voice singing over this. I like the harmony guitars in that one, I'll cal, aside. The funny thing is this was "demoed" and released on a 7" or something for a magazine back in 1988 with Chuck on vocals as New Improved Song. Now even before I heard that I could hear his voice over this, but look at the two side by side and you'll get what I'm talking about when I say this is a step up from the last two records. The ending is great also. 
9. Woodpecker From Mars: Closing we have a reworking of Pills For Breakfast but better quality and more intresting. Now I could just be saying that because its an instrumental, but this compared to their last instrumental is far superior. Actually this feels a bit more like an eastern sounding thing. Also even though they aren't the same thing exactly, they both function and are set up similarly. This is just more of a fleshed out version of the idea better fit to the sound of the album. I hope that makes sense. Also this packs a lunch and is a far more satisfying closer. I really dig this tune, though it is a bit long. You could also see it as an extension of the last track a bit too, but that might be a stretch. 

Overall I have to give this album a 8/10. These are solid tunes, memorable choruses and fun to listen to while driving in the summer heat. While their next LP would be their best, this still belongs the best of the 80's list. This is fun and harmless music and maybe you'll end up finding a favorite song somewhere. This improves on what the previous two records where trying to do and is just, its kinda awesome and just so much larger and confident. The CD bonus tracks, Edge of the World is great, but it wasn't on the original vinyl so I didn't include it in the review. 

Hats Off To The Bull - Chevelle

This is the sixth album by Illinois Alternative Metal band Chevelle. I heard of them before, but not until my cousin's boyfriend burned this CD on my computer. This group has been around since 1995, the year I was born. I don't know what more to say. I think that the album art is Ok, but I'm not huge on it.

1. Face To The Floor: This song kind of starts out like something that reminds me of Disturbed. Which now that I think of it, they formed around the same time Disturbed did, and they are both from Chicago. I hope that the album isn't like this. It kind of also, in a way of Tool. I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone but me, but that's what I kind of hear.
2. Same Old Trip: The beginning of the song the guy's voice kind of reminds me of Max Bemis of Say Anything. What I've heard by them I'm not huge on. But I've also only heard a song or three by Say Anything. I think that this is like Disturbed. I don't honestly think I could tell the difference between this or the last song.
3. Ruse: There is a riff that kind of sounds like Egyptian. I kind of, if you stretched it, like Come Out And Play by The Offspring. I know that's a stretch, but that's kind of... yeah. But only for like a second or two. Then it kind of turns into Radio Metal.
4. The Meddler: This song flows from the last. The guys vocals sounded like Keith Moon's on Tommy's Holiday Camp off  The Who's 1969 classic Tommy. But that's only for like literally the first two seconds. Then it turns to Disturbed.
5. Piñata: The riff in this song is kind of cool. Unfortunately, this album kind of drained me too much to like this song. The guys vocals kind of reminds me a little of Serj in this song. This song kind of reminds me a little of Figure it Out off his new album Harakiri. There is a like 20 second thing at the end. I don't think it works for them. 
6. Envy: This song kind of has a cowboy vibe to it. Nothing Special, at least for me.
7. Hats Off To The Bull: This hasn't gotten any standing ovations from me.
8. Arise: At this point I'm just kind of waiting for the album to end. It's not as bad as The Lost Children thought. This song isn't half bad though. {6/10}
9. Revenge: This song isn't anything amazing. It kind of reminds me a little of 2001's The Sickness.
10. Prima Donna: This is the second to last song. I could see this being a Say Anything-esque song. It's not terrible.
11. Clones: I almost wish they switched up these two songs. This is a heavy song. I don't think much of it. I wish the album ended with Prima Donna.

Overall I have to give this a 4/10. I didn't really think of much going into this album. I could see that band playing at Uproar. I went the first 2 years, 2010 & 2011, because of A7X and then them ETF & Black Tide. This band fits on a boat with Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach and all the other Radio Metal.... That's an insult. I do like that they are brothers thought. That's kind of cool.

The Lost Children - Disturbed

I don't know, but I feel like this will ultimately be my favorite Disturbed album.That's not a very good intro, mainly because I haven't heard the whole thing yet. Well anyway, this the "B-Sides & Rarities" album by Disturbed titled Hell. It was released in November, 2011. I remember one of my friends saying "I'm getting the new Disturbed album today". I naturally wasn't that impressed, but because he was my friend I said "ok". Well I remember seeing these  guys, not my choice, when I saw Avenged Sevenfold for the first time at Uproar 2010. That was the first one they did. It's bad to say that Disturbed is a price to pay to see Avenged Sevenfold. Well I went to the 2011 one too. I didn't go to the 2012 one, but that's because I could careless for every single band that was there. But I remember hearing about Asylum. I listened to that, there are some good songs on that. But here I am with this. I do like that the song titles are kind of short.

1. Hell: When I first heard this song I thought that it was a pretty cool song. I though that this actually might be a good album, but well.... I was kind of wrong.
2. A Welcome Burden: This is a good song, right? Yes I want a heavy book dropped on my head to knock me out so I don't have to sit through this.
3. This Moment: So... Yeah.
4. Old Friend: 3 more to go.
5. Monster: Paramore did it better Nickelback.
6. Run: This is it. :)
7. Leave it Alone: This is a b-side from Asylum. I can see that. I isn't that much of a stretch. It kind of reminds me of Asylum. The song that comes to mind most is Another Way to Die. The music sounds like that, if you listen and think about it. I don't really, as for basically every single Disturbed solo, care for this guitar solo. The only exception might be Inside the Fire.
8. Two Worlds: This is a b-side from Ten Thousand Fists. I can see that. I don't really go crazy for this song. I think that it's kind of the same as the other songs on that album. The solo is Ok.
9. God of the Mind: Wow.... This isn't even an attempt at making this new. I'm disappointed. #ProofAllTheirSongsSoundTheSame. I almost don't want to sit through this song because I can tell how this is going to end. The lyrics are even less complex. I mean it is a b-side from The Sickness, but I hope it's not a an actual song that could have been on the album.
10. Sickened: Eh
11. Mine: This is a b-side from Asylum. I kind of wish it was on the album. This isn't that bad of a song.
12. Parasite: This song starts out Ok. At this point I haven't listened to this in a single sitting and don't even care about background info. I just want to hear the whole thing and say my view. I really can't tell the difference between this and another track off Asylum.
13. Dehumanized: This song sounds like it could have been off The Sickness. Enough said.
14. 3: ......
15. Midlife Crisis: Faith No More does it better. I don't think that they do this with as much as Mikey can do. By that I mean that Mike Patton does the song better. And also, I don't think this version makes me want to jump and sing along. And they have the bridge with the Disturbed synthz, I can't stand that. That is part of what makes this band not one of my favorites
16. Living After Midnight: Judas Priest cover. I don't understand why the did the intro to Painkiller. That didn't empress me at all. This song actually songs like it would be on a "Pop Gone Punk" type of compilation by Epitaph. Well Judas Priest isn't a pop band. This version of the song is actually more Poppy than Judas Priest's 1980 version of the song. The 80's are really not as heavy as todays music. I could see this being a cover from a band I don't care for. And the end :(

Overall I have to say that, well..... this would get a 3/10. My biggest struggle with Disturbed is they're huge, and they are basically U2. Everything sounds the same. Sorry, this is ok. I think I like Asylum more then this. The Only album  that I could say I'd buy on CD is The Sickness. That's a goodie. It was one of the most boring things to listen to with more than one song at a time. Also Draiman kind of irritates me, I feel he's a tough big guy, who wrote, basically, 5 songs over the entire 5 album's they've released. By that I mean an album is the exact same song, with little variation and lyrics. I don't have anything against them, just not being a fan of them in general. I just want to say that. This is harder to sit through than the Red Hot Chili Pepper's album.

Just Another Drug EP - Black Tide

I've been a Black Tide fan since about, probably, about two years now. I got Post Mortem, and loved it, the day it came out, and was anticipation it's release. Around that same time I also got into Escape the Fate. Well their album sucked, I had high hopes for Post Mortem. I'm not huge on the album art, but whatever. I actually saw them at Uproar a year ago and bought another CD so that I could have one signed and a poster signed to. This is their new Ep, that for me, came out of nowhere. I guess I should be checking up on them more than I was. But anyway it came out August 21st, 2012. The two year anniversary of my first time seeing Avenged live. So to the review

1. Start Over: I could see this song being on the radio, like Q101. This isn't really a song that I pictured Black Tide doing. I can still tell there is their style in there, but it's not the same. The riff is Ok, but I'm not huge on it. I feel like this could have possibly been a bonus track off Post Mortem. I do like the little break down. This song is kind of, for me, like Let it Out. I don't really care for that or this song much. Maybe it'll grow on me over time.
2. I Wanna: This riff kind of makes up for lost time from the last track, so to say. This is a hard hitter in the beginning. Thought I could still see this being on the radio, I could see this being pretty sick. I assume, from the lyrics, that they are making fun of the fact that they are moving more radio friendly. I respect that. The guitar tone in the solo is Sick. That's with a capitol S.
3. Just Another Drug: I couldn't really tell that this was a different song then the last. The riff in the beginning didn't really change. This kind of reminds me of Disturbed. I'm not a huge fan of that band. I don't like the direction that these guys are headed. Thought the chorus to this song is what keeps my attention, and helps me through the other parts.
4. Through Thick and Thin: I don't know why, but The Black Keys comes to mind. Like a song off El Camino. I don't know why they are moving that way. Post Mortem was a different album and it was a stylistically. I do like the chorus thought. The guitar is like not double picked, but Gabriel and Austin and doing alternate strums. I think that this is a solid song. The drums in the, towards the end, reminds me of Post Mortem. The solo is cool thought too, because it's like buried and not overpowering.

Over all I have to give this a 7.7/10. I didn't know what to expect from this EP. Ended up feeling how I expected. Maybe I'll grow to like it, maybe I won't. Only time will tell. But overall it's worth the $3 on iTunes. I think that this isn't as good as Post Mortem, but it's still solid.