Elidroth
05-25-2002, 03:07 AM
OK.. so I just picked up a bunch of new music this week.. My initial reactions are..
Rush - Vapor Trails. Yeah.. Rush is back with what I think is their 17th studio recording. For fans (like myself) of the 2112, Moving Pictures type of Rush.. This is not the band you're looking for. Sorry.. but Rush, while technically very good has just become BORING. The music is lifeless and uninspired. Oh well.. was hoping for so much more.
3rd Strike - Self Titled. Eh.. just another rap/rock attempt to cash in on what will hopefully be a short lived 'Limp Bizkit' clone. They mix things up a bit by actually trying to sing, but overall it just doesn't work. Songs are really just 'ok' and don't leave anything interesting in my head.
Cold - 13 Ways to Die On Stage. OK.. so I'm guilty of buying this CD cause I heard one song on a movie soundtrack somewhere. Can't remember the movie, but I'm glad I bought the disc. Cold is basically what I think most of us non-teenage-girl types wanted Bush to be.. These guys have a cd full of great hooks, cool and original, and sometimes heavy music all wrapped into a not-so-neatly-packaged product. Definitely not your average FM-corporate force fed crap.
System of a Down - Toxicity. Yeah yeah.. it's not new.. and I've had it for awhile. I don't know why I like these guys so much. Their music is often bizarre and just an inch away from being an audible freak show. Maybe it's just their pure originality, maybe it's the almost cartoonish vocals, or maybe it's cause they're all Armenian (ok.. maybe not). Anyway.. this CD just rocks. Now if only they'd tell Rick Rubin to fuck off and get a real producer who knows something about heavy music other than Slayer.
Puddle of Mud - Come Clean. Despite the fact that they were discovered by Fred Durst (the bane of my musical existence), Puddle of Mud's CD is very very good. They're not the most original, sounding somewhat like a heroin-free Nirvana with guys that can actually play their instruments, but they make it work. This is one of my favorite CD's right now, and it'll likely stay there if the MTV/FM Radio morons don't overplay it into the ground.
Hoobastank - Self Titled. Dumb name. Good band. Sounds like the S.C.I.E.N.C.E era Incubus (which was their best music IMO). How odd that 2 bands coming out of Calabasas, CA should sound so much alike. Hmmm. PLEASE PLEASE let them resist turning into the flatlined puddle of goo Incubus has become.
Korn - Untouchables. Yeah.. I know.. it's not out yet. But I've known these guys since before they were signed, so I get advance shit from them. Untouchables sounds like their 1st CD combined with Issues without all the filler crap that came in between. Technically.. Korn has never been anything to write home about, but they make up for it with pure originality, something that goes a long way for me as a musician myself. Like them or don't, when their 1st CD came out.. there was NOBODY out there playing this. Now everyone wants to be the latest detuned heavy wonder of the world. Korn did it 1st, and generally the innovators stay ahead of the replicators. I really like this CD..
Rush - Vapor Trails. Yeah.. Rush is back with what I think is their 17th studio recording. For fans (like myself) of the 2112, Moving Pictures type of Rush.. This is not the band you're looking for. Sorry.. but Rush, while technically very good has just become BORING. The music is lifeless and uninspired. Oh well.. was hoping for so much more.
3rd Strike - Self Titled. Eh.. just another rap/rock attempt to cash in on what will hopefully be a short lived 'Limp Bizkit' clone. They mix things up a bit by actually trying to sing, but overall it just doesn't work. Songs are really just 'ok' and don't leave anything interesting in my head.
Cold - 13 Ways to Die On Stage. OK.. so I'm guilty of buying this CD cause I heard one song on a movie soundtrack somewhere. Can't remember the movie, but I'm glad I bought the disc. Cold is basically what I think most of us non-teenage-girl types wanted Bush to be.. These guys have a cd full of great hooks, cool and original, and sometimes heavy music all wrapped into a not-so-neatly-packaged product. Definitely not your average FM-corporate force fed crap.
System of a Down - Toxicity. Yeah yeah.. it's not new.. and I've had it for awhile. I don't know why I like these guys so much. Their music is often bizarre and just an inch away from being an audible freak show. Maybe it's just their pure originality, maybe it's the almost cartoonish vocals, or maybe it's cause they're all Armenian (ok.. maybe not). Anyway.. this CD just rocks. Now if only they'd tell Rick Rubin to fuck off and get a real producer who knows something about heavy music other than Slayer.
Puddle of Mud - Come Clean. Despite the fact that they were discovered by Fred Durst (the bane of my musical existence), Puddle of Mud's CD is very very good. They're not the most original, sounding somewhat like a heroin-free Nirvana with guys that can actually play their instruments, but they make it work. This is one of my favorite CD's right now, and it'll likely stay there if the MTV/FM Radio morons don't overplay it into the ground.
Hoobastank - Self Titled. Dumb name. Good band. Sounds like the S.C.I.E.N.C.E era Incubus (which was their best music IMO). How odd that 2 bands coming out of Calabasas, CA should sound so much alike. Hmmm. PLEASE PLEASE let them resist turning into the flatlined puddle of goo Incubus has become.
Korn - Untouchables. Yeah.. I know.. it's not out yet. But I've known these guys since before they were signed, so I get advance shit from them. Untouchables sounds like their 1st CD combined with Issues without all the filler crap that came in between. Technically.. Korn has never been anything to write home about, but they make up for it with pure originality, something that goes a long way for me as a musician myself. Like them or don't, when their 1st CD came out.. there was NOBODY out there playing this. Now everyone wants to be the latest detuned heavy wonder of the world. Korn did it 1st, and generally the innovators stay ahead of the replicators. I really like this CD..