"Official Live Pantera" Review

So yesterday I was standing in a local music shop systematically sifting through each and every metal album they had in their bins when I came across something that was so perfectly fitting.  On the six year anniversary of the death of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, I found the "Official Live Pantera."  Never having the pleasure and extreme honor of being able to see Pantera and Dimebag play live, I had to check out at least some of their live stuff.

I bought it and went home and what I experienced over the next hour or so was pure metal bliss.  Anyone who has ever been a fan of live music knows it's hard to hear a band live and have them come across as crisp and intense as they sound on any given album. Pantera does just that and so much more.

New Medicine "Race You to the Bottom" Review

By: Angela Villand

A walk down memory lane with Tommy Petty on one arm and Bad Religion on the other, New Medicine’s “Race You To The Bottom” saunters through and is on the way to the Top. At times, the music stops, but the singing keeps going…which is catchy. I don’t like “catchy.” I’m a hard rock & heavy metal fan. This album has put the boot down my own idea of what I do and don’t like.

With lyrics that bring back decidedly my best Beastie Boys-fueled memories, their eclectic beats, hard-hitting bass lines that are easy to tap your foot to, and a few fast, funny, clear (easy to understand) verses, New Medicine is in the FTW column. 

Nonpoint "Miracle" Review

It seems like every time someone talks about any rock n’ roll artist or band these days, there is an underlying and ridiculous urge to place them in some generalized category. Whether it’s soft rock, alternative rock, heavy metal, death metal, or any amalgamation of rock n’ roll genres that some self-proclaimed music junky decides to make up for a certain band, people feel the need to stereotype a band’s sound. For the boys of Nonpoint it’s never been about fitting into some cliché music genre or writing records to make the charts, it’s simply been about one thing and one thing only; writing genuine, pure Nonpoint music.

Slipknot - (sic)nesses Live at Download Review

The greatest metal band of the 21st century is at it once again with their latest concert DVD release (sic)nesses Live at Download. Available since late September, this work of art is enthralling, brilliant and surreal. Percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan exemplifies the DVD in one simple line; “It’s an extreme gift to be able to give the world your pain.”

The multifaceted compilation starts with a live recording of the bands 2009 performance at the hallowed grounds of Donington Park. The band drew largely from their hardcore roots, playing tracks such as “Eyeless,” “Surfacing” and “Wait and Bleed.” If you’ve never had the honor of experiencing the chaos that is a Slipknot concert, feast your eyes on the tens of thousands who enjoyed the ass kicking the nine handed them on this momentus day.

Easily the most artistic and impeccably revealing part of (sic)nesses  is the look that Clown gives fans in what is called Audible Visions of: (sic)nesses, a feature film directed by Clown himself. It delves the viewer behind the scenes during the bands tour to promote All Hope is Gone. The footage gives you a look into the soul of the beast that is Slipknot.

All That Remains - For We Are Many Review

Metal lovers, get ready to throw those devil horns in the air. Get ready to beat your fellow brethren into submission amidst the battlefields of the mosh pits. Get ready to have your ears melted from the inside out, all the while trying to wipe that hellish smile off your faces. All That Remains is back with their fifth album For We Are Many and are ready to prove that All That Remains is here to stay.

The band sticks true to form in their latest album. Pitch-black backdrops blended with melodic bear traps that grab a hold of you and leave you screaming for more. “Now Let Them Tremble” rips opens the album making you feel as if you're in the middle of an army full of Satan’s own war machines preparing for war. If you can listen to this song and not feel prepared for the massacre to come, you don’t have a pulse.

Ozzy Osbourne - Scream Review

After 40 years of screaming his black heart out, most would think Ozzy’s vocal transmissions would have faded, but The Prince of Darkness has managed to keep his trademark sound alive and well in his 10th album, Scream.

Opening with a touch of Ozzy’s past swagger in “Let It Die,” silky guitar riffs accompany tenacious double-kick drums to launch this musical missile on the right path. In “Diggin’ Me Down,” Ozzy kidnaps you and takes you on a melodic journey that starts with a deceiving yet pleasing acoustic intro, and then erupts into a combination of ravishing guitar riffs and drum beats. “I Want It More” puts the ass kicking stamp on the record, with catchy lyrics and thick riffs.

Murderdolls - Women and Children Last Review

Imagine yourself stuck in the middle of a fiery hell on earth. The zombie apocalypse is upon us and the world has lost all its order. Your friends and family are no where to be found, so you can only assume they’re one of the infected thousands that are chasing you, trying to make you into their next delectable treat. There is no way out. There is no hope. And you love every minute of it. This, in a rotten nutshell, is exactly the type of twisted, guilty pleasure that Murderdolls brings to you in their latest release Women and Children Last.

The Death Valley Superstars kick your ass from the hellish opening “Chapel of Blood” to the appropriately titled closer “Hello, Goodbye, Die”, and you find yourself asking the infamous question, “Thank you sir, may I have another?” As if the title didn’t raise a big enough red flag, screaming at you to run and hide, you can’t help but find yourself listening to every last catchy riff, every last dark lyric, every inch of musical ass kicking packed inside Women and Children Last.