EP Review : Sinnet / Midwest Manners

Sinnet
Midwest Manners

Reviewed by: Dorise Gruber Read more

CD Review: 3dCosby / Satan’s Secret

3dCosby
Satan’s Secret

Reviewed by: Dorise Gruber

Though I had Read more

Concert Review: Korpiklaani at The Palladium in Worcester, MA

Korpiklaani
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
December 17, 2011
Reviewed by: Brian Cross
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Concert Review: Corey Taylor at Highline Ballroom in NY, NY

Corey Taylor
Highline Ballroom
New York City, NY
December 5, 2011

Reviewed by: Antonio Marino Jr.

Nine years ago, Corey Taylor spent his birthday in Poughkeepsie, NY. on stage with his “new” band Stone Sour. Emerging from the imposing musical shadow of Slipknot, Stone Sour had a raw newness that was exciting to watch. Stone Sour’s sound, although heavy, called on Corey to be much more of a melodic singer and as strange as it was to see two of Slipknot’s members performing unmasked it was even stranger to hear Corey sing! Read more

Daily Download: The All-American Rejects Debut Video & Free Download For New Song “Someday’s Gone”

The All-American Rejects are preparing to release their 4th studio album due out Spring 2012!

In anticipation of the album, the band has now released a new video for the first track titled, “Someday’s Gone,” as well as made the song available as a free download (Download it below).  

The All-American Rejects spoke about the process of creating the video explaining:

“We wanted to give fans an early candy cane for the holidays and this song is the teeth of the record. The video directed by Jon Danovic was conceived in one day and shot the next day in one take. Hope it bites you and gives you a mark.”

Season’s greetings, The All-American Rejects

Concert Review: The Kooks at the House of Blues in Boston, MA

The Kooks
House of Blues
Boston, MA
November 19, 2011

Rating:  

Reviewed by: Holly Kalinski

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Concert Review: Queensryche at the House of Blues in Boston, MA

Queensryche
House of Blues
Boston, MA
October 26, 2011

Rating:  

Reviewed By: Roger Scales

It’s hard to believe Queensryche has been recording and touring for 30 years, seems just like just yesterday I was seeing them open for KISS at the Worcester Centrum in November 1984.  Having seen Queensryche in Hit Paradrer and Circus Magazine I had never even heard one song or watched one video but I recall being amazed at the range of lead singer Geoff Tate.  The energy of the band also impressed me and I went out the next day and bought The Warning on cassette and have been a fan ever since.  Well 30 years later Geoff doesn’t have quite the range he did back then but makes up for it in his stage presence, charisma and basically being the ringleader on stage for Queensryche in 2011. 

What Boston fans were hoping for was a trip down memory lane and a set loaded with “vintage Ryche” and they did get that..sort of.  Trying to touch all the bases in their history the band tried to please everyone by offering at least one selection from each of their 12 studio albums.  For me personally I wanted the bulk of the set to consist of heavy doses of Rage For Order, Operation: Mindcrime and Empire..arguably their three most popular releases.  I got that but the set had no flow to it because it jumped around too much and hearing individual Mindcrime cuts (for example) out of order does not do the album any justice. This is not a “hit single” sort of act..”Silent Lucidity” notwithstanding. Maybe that’s my problem with a “greatest hits” type set list.  My list is so drastically different from what was performed at the House of Blues I left feeling underwhelmed. 

I bought Dedicated to Chaos, this year’s new album out of loyalty to the Ryche tradition.  Although not a bad album I never had a moment where I truly rocked out or got excited over any one track.  So having the set open with “Get Started” from that album didn’t surprise me at all it also didn’t get me all fired up either.  In fact much of the first half of the set consisted mainly of tracks from my least favorite Ryche albums.  Not until 9 songs into the night did my attention get grabbed when they performed “Real World” from the Last Action Hero movie soundtrack from 1993.  Performed brilliantly it was probably Geoff’s best vocal of the night. Geoff has a gift of making the fans feel like one big happy family by frequently acknowledging the crowd and interacting between tracks so that the songs may have a little background or short story to them prior to being performed.   

The second half of the set was more vintage Ryche and included such classics as “NM 156”, “The Lady Wore Black”, “Take Hold of The Flame”, ‘Walk in the Shadows” and “Eyes of a Stranger”.  All some of my favorites and all had an old school metal feel to them something the newer material sorely lacks.  I would like to say that guitarist Parker Lundgren has come a long way in 2 years and seems to be filling in for Chris Degramo better than I thought he would, given his inexperience and young age.  Yet in making that statement NO ONE can really replace Chris in terms of what he brought to the bands song writing, guitar work overall appeal.  The band has never been the same since his departure although one could argue that they have survived in spite of this not because of it.

I’m a huge Queensryche fan and always will be.  I think the best thing for the band to do is play entire albums in their entity and let the fans decide which ones and see what happens.  I read that played Rage for Order in its entirety in NY a few nights after Boston.  This is what the band should strive for in terms of road survival.  Besides Degarmo returning to the lineup seeing Queensryche is like watching a regular season Bruins game.  Yeah it’s hockey and it’s great but there is nothing like the playoffs.  Bringing back Degarmo, playing Rage from beginning to end along with a few other vintage Ryche tracks would be like watching the Bruins win another Stanley Cup.  I’ll drink to that..

Set List
1. Get Started
2. Damaged
3. I Don’t Believe In Love
4. Hit the Black
5. I’m American
6. My Empty Room
7. A Dead Man’s Words
8. Desert Dance
9. Real World
10. NM 156
11. Screaming In Digital
12. The Lady Wore Black
13. Walk In The Shadows
14. The Right Side Of My Mind
15. Around the World
16. Silent Lucidity
17. Take Hold Of The Flame
Encore:
18. Eyes Of A StrangerPlay Video

 

Concert Review: The Sea and Cake at Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA

The Sea and Cake
Brighton Music Hall
Allston, MA
November 7, 2011

Rating:  

Reviewed by: Holly Kalinski
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Rise Against Announce Tour With A Day To Remember‏

Rise Against have announced the first leg of their 2012 tour.

The tour kicks off January 17th at the Austin Music Hall in Austin, TX (see below for complete dates). A Day to Remember and The Menzingers will open all shows with Glassjaw joining the bill for the February 3rd show in Uniondale, NY.

Fan Club presale will take place November 8th at http://riseagainst.artistarena.com with public on sale to take place November 11th. For more information visit www.riseagainst.com.

Below is the list of winter 2012 Rise Against headline dates:

January 17th Austin Music Hall Austin, TX
January 18th Illusion Theater San Antonio, TX
January 19th House of Blues New Orleans, LA**
January 21st UCF Arena Orlando, FL
January 22nd Township Auditorium Columbia, SC
January 24th Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA
January 26th Kent State University Kent, OH
January 27th UIC Pavilion Chicago, IL
January 29th Penn State State College, PA
January 30th Mid Hudson Civic Center Poughkeepsie, NY
February 1st Paul E. Tsongas Arena Lowell, MA
February 3rd Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY ***
February 4th Susquehanna Bank Center Camden, NJ
February 5th Patriot Center Fairfax, VA (on sale 11/18)

**A Day To Remember will not be on this show.
*** Glassjaw joins the bill

Concert Review: Ace Frehley at The Junkyard in Nashua, NH

Ace Frehley
The Junkyard
Nashua, NH
October 23, 2011

Rating:  

Reviewed by:  Roger Scales
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