Taster Session #4

It's been a while since I've done one of these. Then again, it's been a while since we've had several singles for upcoming Rock albums that I'm potentially interested in coming out. Time to take a look (or rather listen) at some of the new material we've been graced with recently.

"Burn The Witch" - Radiohead         (listen here)
From the album A Moon Shaped Pool (08/05/16)

Oh my God, new Radiohead song guys! Holy shit, it's about time we had new Radiohead to listen to! Fuck me, I can't believe Radiohead have done it again by being Radiohead. I mean, it's taken them nearly 16 years to put this together so the hype is deserved, right? Did you hear the singing? CLASSIC Radiohead, right there. And the strings, OH JESUS I NEARLY FORGOT THE STRINGS!! There are strings in this song but wait for it...wait...THEY'RE PIZZI-MOTHERFUCKING-CAT-MOTHERFUCKING-O!!!! Well obviously this is the best song we're ever going to hear this year until Kanye West hits the studio again so we might as well just revel in the glory that is and always will be Radiohead.
In all seriousness though, it's an OK song considering nothing happens throughout it.


"Bored To Death" - blink-182         (listen here)
From the album California (01/07/16)

Jesus, these guys must have finally run out of "All The Small Things" money. Continuing the trend of 90's Pop Punk bands who've decided to grow up and release Alternative music instead, blink-182 have released...this. It's not edgy, it's not passionate, it's just generic Teen Girl Rock. It's a TV Ad Song, which is pretty impressive as it took Punk icons the Ramones a good 40 years before their music was used to promote fridge warehouses on TV. Hey, guess I was wrong about Punk being an absolute joke of a genre. But enough about that, let's get back on track.
If the rest of the album sounds like this Kings Of Leon ripoff, the band might just become relevant again for the wrong reasons. Meanwhile, I'm sat here waiting for The Offspring to come out with another album.


"I Know There's Something Going On" - Jorn         (listen here)
From the album Heavy Rock Radio (03/06/16)

Well I don't think any of us expected this to be a thing. Not the concept of a covers album by Metal vocalist/solo artist Jorn Lande but the album opener and lead single being a cover of Pop song "I Know There's Something Going On" by ABBA's Frida. I mean, as far as the Pop to Metal transition goes, it's a pretty damn faithful cover and Jorn fucking nails it from start to finish. In fact, if you didn't know about the original version, you could easily assume this was a standard Metal track from someone like Ozzy Osbourne (you know, assuming someone with better singing abilities took the mic instead of him).
This is one of the albums I'm really looking forward to hearing when it drops but not because of this song. It's a good cover but I would've preferred a more well known Pop Rock track covered instead of this one, sort of like the Disturbed cover of Genesis' "Land Of Confusion". I'm still hoping someone performs a Metal cover of "Jesus He Knows Me" - Genesis with double bass drumming and added guitar solos but until then, I guess this album will have to do.


"The Devil's Bleeding Crown" - Volbeat         (listen here)
From the album Seal The Deal & Let's Boogie (03/06/16)

I should probably find more Volbeat songs to listen to as most of the ones I've heard are pretty good. The vocalist sounds a little silly to me but not enough to put me completely off the band, like Axl Rose. However, for all their powerful Hard Rock tracks, there seem to be an equal number of mediocre ones that sound like they were written for radio play, which doesn't work well if you're a band that's on the border between Hard Rock and Metal.
Luckily, this song is what I would call one of the "better" Volbeat tracks in my opinion although there is one glaring fault. I've said before that despite not caring about Nickelback, I really like their song "Burn It To The Ground". This track is REALLY similar to that one...like, REEAAALLLLLY similar. Even the call and response structure between vocals and the main riff in the verse sounds like it's been lifted. Combine that Nickelback song with Volbeat's "A Warrior's Call" and you get "The Devil's Bleeding Crown". Still, there are worse songs they could've ripped off so I'm still looking forward to the new album if this is anything to go by.


"Dark Necessities" - Red Hot Chili Peppers         (listen here)
From the album The Getaway (17/06/16)

...yeah, I don't know.
One thing's clear, this isn't Rock. Not like the band have produced before. It's heavily swaying towards the Funk region and some listeners will probably love that. As for me, I really don't know yet. I feel like I could grow to like this song in the future as there are some enjoyable aspects (such as the outro solo and vocal melody in the chorus) but for now, I'm pretty underwhelmed.
I think RHCP are one of the few bands where I actually prefer their softer songs over their heavier ones. I'd much rather listen to "Snow [[Hey Oh]]", "Under The Bridge" or "Soul To Squeeze" than "Dani California", "Suck My Kiss" or "By The Way". Despite that, this song just didn't do it for me. I may give the rest of the album a listen when it comes out but I doubt it, since I didn't bother with their last one.

Once again, if there are any singles or tracks from upcoming albums that you recommend, let me know here or on Twitter. Mind you, most people probably stopped reading after that shit I said about Radiohead at the start and the rest probably stopped paying attention after I reminded you that there's a Nickelback song I like. Nothing but popular opinions here!