Fear Inoculum - Tool

The day has arrived. Fans have been waiting what feels like an eternity for new material and it's finally here! That's right, it's a brand new blog post from me!

Before Tool decided to pull their heads out of their arses and bring their music to iTunes/Spotify, I didn't really have a strong opinion of them. I knew three of their songs through Guitar Hero and thought they all sounded kinda repetitive, like each song had a great riff but the band didn't know what to do with it other than milk it until the raw teet was producing nothing but dust. It was only after listening to their back catalogue earlier this month that I realised that's the majority of Tool songs; a great 5-6 minute song with five minutes of unnecessary droning around it.
Fans of Tool will be delighted to know that Fear Inoculum, their first album in 13 years, continues the trend of songs going on far too long to the point that the band reach Josh Homme levels of pretentiousness without showing the necessary technical proficiency to justify 15 minute Prog Metal odysseys about the number seven ("7empest"). But let's look at the positives first, shall we? For kick off, album opener, lead single and title track "Fear Inoculum" is easily the best song on the record.
It may be 10 minutes long and only six of those are worth listening to but the eerie delayed riff, build up of each instrument and fantastic bass (a staple of the best Tool songs thanks to Justin Chancellor/Paul D'Amour) are perfect for fans of their previous albums and newcomers introduced to the band due to their sudden willingness to be heard by actual people alike. It should also be noted that regardless of musical taste, this album is clearly the band's artistic vision; flawed and uncompromising like all great works of art should be, even though I'm sure many diehards were already hitting the message boards with rants about Maynard Keenan selling out after they posted their music online.

However, even the most incandescent, red-faced fan pounding their keys in rage over the disappointment of this album would have the makings of a solid argument if they used the words "tedious", "pompous" or "dull" in the midst of their frothing tirade. It doesn't matter if you love Prog Metal or not, this album is hard work to listen to. To actually sit through all 90 minutes actively listening to a band musically masturbating with the same drawn-out, simplistic melodies recycled and reworked you've heard by the fourth track requires the kind of discipline most monks who vow to spend their lives in celibate silence strive to achieve.
One sign of the band's obvious self-importance comes in the form of multiple soundscapes acting as interludes between the longer, Proggier tunes ("Litanie contre la Peur", "Legion Inoculant", "Chocolate Chip Trip", "Mockingbeat"). It's bad enough when bands flood albums with pointless 40 second tuneless wankfests - looking at you, Slipknot - but these tracks range from two to almost five minutes in length. They could've written actual songs that last that long but instead put their creative and musical talents into minimalist nonsense.
A great example of an album utilising short interludes to act as bridges between tracks is "FX" from Vol. 4 - Black Sabbath. After "Changes", a piano ballad about dealing with a break-up, you need a short breather before returning to roaring Heavy Metal in the form of "Supernaut". However, not only is "FX" less than two minutes long but it's also placed between two tracks that are worlds apart from each other in tone and sound. To the casual listener, every song on the Tool album sounds similar enough to not warrant the pointless procedurally generated audio files that take up 14% of the album.

The remaining 86% consists of tracks containing interchangeable strum patterns to atypical time signatures ("Descending"), multiple endings to extend an already padded song length ("Invincible") and the occasional great riffs that trick you into thinking a song is good because the band were clever enough to use them at the start and end ("Pneuma"). It's commendable that the band refused to bow to the temptations of a commercial sounding record in a time where once respectable Rock bands have decided to pair themselves with Pop producers but ultimately, it's a tough album to get into and definitely not one I'd lose sleep over if I never heard again.
For people who enjoy listening to albums as an immersive experience where they shut the curtains and seal themselves off from the rest of the world to take in the majesty of the music, this album might be pretty good. To everyone else, nothing on the album stands out as exceptional. Title track aside, the music is forgettable and nothing you haven't already heard from Tool already. I rate the album 3/10 largely for the ambition and effort. Sure, there are some musical highlights like the four-minute guitar solo that's intricately composed and not horrible to listen to but when it's encased in a 15 minute track, you're unlikely to want to listen to it again.
Much like anal sex, I recommend listening to Fear Inoculum at least once as an experience. You may find that you're more into it than you previously assumed but it's more likely that you'll not get anything out of it that you couldn't get from other places. Be warned though, you should only give it a go if you're in the right mood and can stomach pure shit.

Post-Apocalypto - Tenacious D

What's this? I'm posting a blog post at the START of the month instead of three days before the end of it when I'm knackered and almost passing out, frantically trying to think of one more thing to include in a Here Is The News post before I go to bed? That's right, because people who leave things to the last minute always suffer as a result and speaking of leaving things too late...

From this album's announcement to its eventual release, I've been worried about Post-Apocalypto. The album cover is fucking awful, the track-listing looked like a worse version of the debut containing more minute-long snippets than actual fleshed out songs like Rize Of The Fenix and let's face it, concept albums are rarely ever a good thing. With each week, we were "treated" to an episode of Tenacious D's hit & miss web series containing skits and music included on the album but none of it filled me with anticipation. Today, the album was finally released and my God, it is absolutely terrible. It is a piece of shit and if you've never heard any Tenacious D before, you owe it to yourself to avoid this album like the fucking plague.
For starters, the album opener and (I guess) title track "POST-APOCALYPTO THEME" is a 37 second repurposed riff that was originally written for "Rize Of The Fenix" only to be scrapped in favour of a much better verse/chorus structure. That's how they're opening their fourth album; scraps off the cutting room floor that they couldn't even be bothered to turn into a full song. From here, it only gets worse. The concept album dealing with a nuclear holocaust caused by Trump is 50% dialogue excerpts and 50% songs both from the YouTube series, each track having an average length of about 90 seconds. The entire length of the album is just over half an hour, about two minutes longer than Reign In Blood - Slayer.
Tenacious D's last album came out in 2012, six years ago. This album took them six years to make, just let that sink in for a bit. Six years for a rehashed title track and half an hour of mildly amusing comedy taken from about 76 minutes of much funnier material in the YouTube series. You can't even claim that they needed extra time to animate the YouTube shorts because they're largely based around still images knocked up in Microsoft Paint. It's the equivalent of having the entire summer holiday to complete a school project only to realise that you've left it until the day before term time begins to do anything, forcing you to ask your parents to do it all with you...or in this case, Dave Grohl.

Despite each song being written by Jack Black and Kyle Gass, many tunes sound like terrible Foo Fighters filler tracks with their slower tempos and dull, uninspired riffs ("TAKE US INTO SPACE", "WOMAN TIME") and the ones that do sound more like Tenacious D songs are generally piss poor. The lyrical themes are trite without the humour to carry it off ("COLORS", "ROBOT") and the few tracks that contain promising riffs or have a couple of funny lyrics are either too short or not strong enough to redeem the rest of the album ("DADDY DING DONG", "MAKING LOVE"). However, even the better songs have fatal flaws in the grand scheme of things.
Concept albums with a narrative, like this one, should have exactly that; a narrative. If you haven't watched the YouTube series from start to finish, I think you'd genuinely struggle to understand a lot of what was happening. The overall plot is there but there are large gaps that have to be filled in by a knowledge of the YouTube series. When I discussed the previous three Tenacious D albums on the blog last year, I claimed that the music on The Pick Of Destiny doesn't carry enough of the film's story for you to understand everything that's happening but the main difference between The Pick Of Destiny and Post-Apocalypto is that The Pick Of Destiny is more of a soundtrack to the film; there aren't tracks on that album dedicated to the narrative, it's all just music. Here, the album is expected to tell a story but utterly fails.
Instead, we get a few previews of dialogue taken directly from the YouTube series that often aren't as funny due to jokes being edited down and context being completely absent, featuring multiple different characters all seemingly voiced by Jack Black. It might have been better if they could've got some other voice actors involved (Hell, even Kage would've done) but at least the scientist and Terminator voices were fun. I also approve of the band firmly stating their political policy, although all being anti-Trump does is confirm that you're not a complete cunt. Pointing out that the guy's going to get a lot of people killed with his stupidity isn't anything new or original, it's like dedicating an entire album to the idea that we're made up of bones.

If I had to describe Post-Apocalypto in a word, it'd be Lazy. They phoned in the music, they phoned in the story (notice how the ending to both the YouTube series and the album are fuckawful), they phoned in the artwork and they made us wait half a fucking decade for it. It's a bad album and a weak concept album that could've been improved if it contained a story about Tenacious D journeying across a post-apocalyptic wasteland with songs about everything that could potentially cause an extinction level event; a song about aliens, a song about global warming, a song about nukes, a song about war, a song about volcanic eruptions, a song about overpopulation tied into having lots of unprotected sex, I mean JESUS this shit should write itself!
I rate the album 3/10 and that's me being generous. The band still play properly and I didn't hate every second of it. The fact that a couple of lines made me smile now and then have earned it an extra point but honestly, this could still be one of the worst albums I've ever listened to. It may only be 30 minutes long but those 30 minutes could be spend watching an episode of a sitcom or reading a comic book or having a difficult fucking wank, anything other than listening to Post-Apocalypto. I also wouldn't recommend seeing Tenacious D live if it's going to be an acoustic gig, as you know they'll be playing the shite off this album on their next tour.
It might be entertaining with the whole band if they try to tell a story on stage (and the band definitely put on a hell of a performance when it's more than just Jables and Kage) but seriously, it pains me to say that The D screwed up. Oh well, we can always enjoy their fifth album in 2023 that will probably be a return to form in an attempt to win back favour with everyone who wanted this Comedy Rock band to release Comedy Rock.

Rapid Fire: Black Stone Cherry, The Offspring, Foo Fighters

Recently, I went to visit family and had to spend five hours driving from my house to theirs. Before setting off, I grabbed three CDs from my collection that I hadn't listened to for the car journey and once I arrived, decided to write a blog post discussing each album. So yeah, that's the theme for this month's Rapid Fire post. Not genres, not decades, just three albums I listened to whilst travelling alone on the motorway.


1. Magic Mountain - Black Stone Cherry

The first album I listened to was easily the best although don't mistake that for me saying it was a great album overall. Magic Mountain has some decent Hard Rock tracks but more often than not, the songs were built on uninspired riffs and generic Black Stone Cherry material. Album opener "Holding On...To Letting Go" starts off with a great rhythm and some decent riffing but regrettably the band make their classic mistake of letting things slow down for no good reason in the middle. It's a shame too as the guitar solo's pretty good, although changing the rhythm in the middle of a song by slowing it down rarely ever works unless you're a Prog Metal band and even then, it's never worth it.
The slower sections of the album come in the form of drug themed tracks such as "Peace Pipe", "Me And Mary Jane" and "Blow My Mind". Similar to some of the material off the latest albums by The Sword, I get the impression that the chilled, Southern Groove behind each of these songs sounds better when 'blazing up' as all the hip kids say. Since I was behind the wheel at the time of listening to these tracks, I can't confirm or deny that theory but what I can confirm is that unlike other Black Stone Cherry albums I've listened to, this album has songs I would love to listen to again such as 70s throwback and title track "Magic Mountain" and emotionally charged album closer "Remember Me", even if it does go on way too long.
The stronger aspects of the record, as always, are the dynamic riffs and heavy grooves whereas I felt myself tuning out during the slower, whinier numbers ("Sometimes") and gimmicky filler tracks straight outta shit-kicker, cousin-fucker county ("Hollywood In Kentucky"). All in all though, it's a complete album that didn't feel like it was playing it too safe or recycling material (unlike another album I'll be discussing lower down). I recommend Magic Mountain to fans of Hard/Southern Rock although don't set your standards too high.

1. Holding On...To Letting Go

2. Peace Pipe

3. Bad Luck & Hard Love

4. Me And Mary Jane

5. Runaway

6. Magic Mountain

7. Never Surrender

8. Blow My Mind

9. Sometimes

10. Fiesta Del Fuego

11. Dance Girl

12. Hollywood In Kentucky

13. Remember Me

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Next up is an album by Pop Punk champions The Offspring!

2. Americana - The Offspring

Don't let the album artwork fool you; this album isn't even the remotest bit interesting. Released in 1998 and after the band's much better albums Smash and Ixnay On The Hombre (not to mention before Conspiracy Of One, also a better album), Americana is supposed to be the band's statement on life in America from the band's youthful perspective but ends up sounding like weaker versions of material we've already heard before. Album opener "Welcome/Have You Ever" has the same rhythm, the same guitarwork and the same basic vocal structure as your typical Offspring track only it lacks that special spark. Possibly because the band try to add more progressive elements to their aggressive Pop Punk and it simply doesn't work.

Whilst there are some instances of tracks working perfectly as they are ("The Kids Aren't Alright", "Staring At The Sun"), the majority of songs on the album trip and fall over themselves. For example, lead single "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" has an amazing chorus and some fine guitar/vocal work, not to mention decent Latin influences. Unfortunately, it's ruined by the obnoxious "GIVVIT TO ME BAY-BEEEE, UH-HUH UH-HUH" throughout. If that vocal melody was played on guitar instead, this would've been an album highlight. There's also album closer "Pay The Man", a song originally intended to be on the previous album but was left off because they felt like it didn't belong. That was a smart decision, unlike the decision to make it eight-minutes long and easily forgettable. That was a dumb decision.

Ultimately, you'll probably enjoy this album if you haven't heard their previous work, similar to how you probably think Die Hard 4.0 is awesome if you haven't seen the first or second one. Americana is surplus goods and the Pop Punk filler tracks are old news at this point. Even the singles are dull or flawed to the point that they're not enjoyable (apart from "The Kids Aren't Alright"). You don't really stand to gain anything from listening to this entire album that you couldn't get elsewhere and the fact that the band's next album moved towards more conventional Rock than their brand of Skater Punk tells you that at least one member of the band felt like Americana showed warning signs of the band going stale.

1. Welcome

2. How Are You

3. Staring At The Sun

4. Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)

5. The Kids Aren't Alright

6. Feelings

7. She's Got Issues

8. Walla Walla

9. The End Of The Line

10. No Brakes

11. Why Don't You Get A Job

12. Americana

13. Pay The Man

14. Pretty Fly (Reprise)

ALBUM RATING - 3/10

And last but certainly least, we have Dave Grohl "experimenting"!

3. There Is Nothing Left To Lose - Foo Fighters

I fucking hate this album. It's generic, depressing, repetitive and possibly worst of all, it feels like Dave Grohl knew exactly what he was doing. The first three songs are completely different to the rest of the album and unsurprisingly, those three songs are the ones that are (semi) popular Foos tracks. Album opener "Stacked Actors" sports a great riff, an explosive chorus, a decent guitar solo and some classic Grohl vocals. Following close behind is "Breakout", another proper Rock song with Dave letting loose throughout. However, once we reach "Learn To Fly", a mediocre but passable radio friendly song designed to sound as commercial as possible, everything goes downhill.

The rest of the album contains guitar riffs that sound like they were written in about 10 seconds ("Live-In Skin", "Headwires"), percussion that would nudge coma patients onto the next mortal plain of existence ("Ain't It The Life", "Aurora") and vocals with all the energy and passion of an insurance salesman humming TV ad jingles whilst waiting for a bus ("M.I.A.", "Next Year"). It's almost as if Grohl didn't have much confidence in what he was doing so decided to start the album off with his three favourite songs so that people would hear the first few tracks and mistake There's Nothing Left To Lose for a Rock album.

This is the kind of album I'd imagine pretentious, hipster douches listening to because of how sensitive and non-threatening this "Rock" music is; your Zach Braffs, your Simon Neils, etc. If you're one of them, go knock yourselves out. Literally, knock yourselves out because your taste is awful and unwanted. Do not listen to this album, there are literally hundreds of better modern Rock records that don't sound phoned in or misleading. I've criticised Queens Of The Stone Age material due to how the mix of soft vocals and aggressively fuzzy guitar/bass tones does not work but I'll take Josh Homme's audio jizzrag over Dave Grohl's, if this album's anything to go by.

1. Stacked Actors

2. Breakout

3. Learn To Fly

4. Gimme Stitches

5. Generator

6. Aurora

7. Live-In Skin

8. Next Year

9. Headwires

10. Ain't It The Life

11. M.I.A.

ALBUM RATING - 2/10

COMING SOON: Tenology posts and more NEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWS.

Concrete And Gold - Foo Fighters

It's finally here! Another album from the Foo Fighters that doesn't feel like Dave Grohl trying to prove how fucking great he is. If memory serves, the last time we got a straightforward Rock album from the Foos was 10 years ago with Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Since then, we had Dave's back to basics, "we're using an 8-track, aren't we cool" album, an album that was basically just promoting their TV show and a five song EP that could've/should've been fleshed out into a full record. However, even though this is their attempt at recording just an album, you'll be wishing they went back to gimmicks by the end of it.

I once compared Foo Fighters to the comedy film genre in that there are a lot of great examples of excellent comedies but opinion will always be divided on what "the best" films are with some people putting examples like "The Pretender" over others like "My Hero" and vice versa without a single, unifying consensus in the same way everyone knows Die Hard is one of the best action films ever made. It seems Dave Grohl must read this blog and took issue with that comparison so decided to write their flattest, bleakest, most depressing album to date as a throbbing middle finger to me personally.
In all seriousness though, Concrete And Gold is all former, very little latter. Apparently, Dave's main inspiration was his fear and concern for the future of America, what with literally everything that's happening over there right now, but instead of writing a punchy, powerful "don't lose hope, we can take that orange fucker down" record like most artists have had the balls to do with their medium, the Foo Fighters instead chose to wallow in cynicism and depression without turning things around by the end for a million Foos fans to raise their fists at in a triumphant "Fuck yeah!".
Album opener is split into two parts; "T-Shirt" is a short introduction, setting the glum tone for the rest of the album and ending on a decent riff that could've/should've been fleshed out into a full track. However, the next song is arguably the true album opener as "Run" is one of about three songs on the album that feel like they truly belong in the Rock genre. My opinion on "Run" still hasn't changed since I first heard it in June although having listened to the rest of the album, I'm glad they featured it. It might have a godawful verse with a dull riff, terrible vocals and a poor choice of percussion but everything else sounds like a typical Foo Fighters Rock song and will likely give fans something to headbang to at live gigs.

I wish I could say it was just that song that completely beefed the guitar, vocals and drums but it seems to be a running theme throughout this album. "Make It Right" suffers from an unfinished riff and a drum rhythm that doesn't quite fit, not to mention the pointless inclusion of Justin Timberlake on backing vocals that he may as well have recorded over Skype as they add fuck all to the track that other members of the band couldn't have replicated. Then there's "La Dee Da", the only song on the album I enjoyed listening to with tones of "Fire Your Guns" - AC/DC and a stronger feel to each band member's performance. Unfortunately, Taylor Hawkins fails to keep the consistent aggressive rhythm going throughout the track and as a result, you're constantly brought out of the music.
The point I'm basically getting at is for a band fronted by one of Rock's greatest drummers, it feels like a colossal misfire to have him screaming behind a mic playing tepid tunes whilst some low-rate surfer bro/Peter Dinklage lookalike ruins what could've been awesome songs. I'm not saying Taylor Hawkins completely sucks but it does feel like his better skills are poorly utilised in this album. His vocals in "Sunday Rain" sound better than Dave's have in a long time and the dynamics throughout that track feel less like awkward bursts and more like a natural progression. I'm not sure whether Dave's decision to stand at the front and be the face of the band when Taylor is quite possibly better at it is fuelled by arrogance or just a desire to step out from behind the kit having served his time there but either way, I wish they swapped places more.

One of the significant factors behind this album occasionally sounding less like Rock and more like Pop songs covered by a Rock band is down to the band's choice of producer. Greg Kurstin has mostly worked with Pop artists like Lily Allen and Sia so we've ended up with songs like "The Sky Is A Neighbourhood" that attempt to blend keyboard melodies and singsong vocal lines in the chorus with shouting in the verses and a cymbal crashes and "The Line" which sounds more like Kings Of Leon than an actual Rock band. At least they're not unpleasant to listen to, which is more than I can say for some of the notable tracks.
"Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)" may sound like a b-side from The Colour And The Shape but once the strings start and the lyrics sink in, the whole thing becomes instantly drenched in pessimism without really going anywhere after that. Worse still, title track and album closer "Comfortably Nu...uhh, "Concrete And Gold" is so weighed down in grandiose sludge that it belongs on a Queens Of The Stone Age album. You can praise it for being epic but after being dragged through an emotional septic tank for about 50 minutes, I couldn't care less if it sounds like a symphonic salute to Dave's mental state, especially when you end it on a chord and feedback slowly fading out for over a minute.

There are a couple of songs here for people who were looking forward to hearing the Foo Fighters just recording music in a studio again ("Dirty Water" and "Arrows") but ultimately, nothing on Concrete And Gold pumps you up or keeps you invested in the same way that previous albums or similar bands have recently managed. It's all just background noise with a few recognisable hallmarks of mediocre Foo Fighters tracks, an album full of "These Days" and "Everlong" for people who like ready salted Rock.
If you're the sort of person who goes to festivals to see Paloma Faith but sticks around when The Black Keys come on stage, you might enjoy this album. For everyone who doesn't want bland sound, stay away from Concrete And Gold. You won't gain anything positive from the experience of sitting through it and if you're already feeling down, there are better albums that harness that negative emotion into something memorable to listen to like The Getaway - Red Hot Chili Peppers. I rate this album 3/10; it might not be utter shite but it's pretty fucking far from something decent.

Rip It Up - Thunder

Did you guys know Thunder released a new album this month? Yeah, me neither which is odd considering I listen to a radio station where the lead vocalist is one of the DJs (yes, THAT Danny Bowes!!!!). I only found out about it after looking into album releases this year and after listening to it from start to finish, I realised why nobody's been promoting it.
Welcome to the review!

No, don't be fooled by the cover. This isn't a Testament or Alter Bridge album; it's by Thunder. You know, Thunder; the band that gave us "Love Walked In" and a pretty mediocre cover of "Gimme Some Lovin'"? They're a fairly obscure outfit that have existed since the late 80s primarily due to their sound being too bland to really make a splash anywhere other than specialist Rock radio. Don't get me wrong, I do like this band to an extent. Laughing On Judgement Day is a great album but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who strives for variety in their music and on the subject of variety (or rather "lack of"), let's talk about Rip It Up.
You might expect me to say something like "I was expecting something really heavy due to the album cover and song titles", as I have done on quite a few reviews and yes, whilst the album artwork does suggest something a bit more fierce than Backstreet Symphony or Wonder Days, I'm not going to get my hopes up when it comes to a band like Thunder that are most comfortable trotting out generic Rock. Between the tepid album opener "No One Gets Out Alive" that sounds like the band wanted to try something with a bit of energy but couldn't follow through and bland Blues Rock title track "Rip It Up" that felt more like a group of old friends casually jamming than attempting to produce a decent lead single, my low standards were just about met.
One positive thing I will say is that these two songs set the tone for the rest of the album perfectly. It's safe and boring, just like The Rolling Stones and Creed. You can hear good riffs and talented musicianship but none of it really rocks, it just sounds like incidental public domain Rock music you hear on adverts or TV shows. Some hack critics may refer to this music as "Dad Rock" but I strongly disagree; to call this "Dad Rock" is an insult to bands like Deep Purple and Motorhead that generally populate Father's Day compilation albums. If anything, this is Tosspot Pubgoer Rock; the sort of music that's enjoyed by that one tit at your local who always bangs on about how great Joe Bonamassa and Bruce Springsteen are*.

There are other tracks that sound like failed attempts to write Hard Rock such as "Shakedown" with heavier guitar/bass but are held back by the tame vocals from Danny Bowes (yes, THAT Danny Bowes!!!!) and drumming from Gary James, more on him in a bit. There's also "She Likes The Cocaine", no prizes for guessing what the lyrics are about. Usually songs about wild women and drugs have some kind of backbone but the music completely undermines the lyrical themes cancelling out anything this song could've had going for it and leaving you feeling absolutely neutral whilst listening to it. Some songs manage to get the correct balance and sound alright ("Heartbreak Hurricane", "The Chosen One") but only when you've been exposed to the tracks before it. Take them out of the album, compare them to any other modern Rock song by contemporary or ageing artists and chances are they'll fall flat.
When it comes to Rock, the bar has been set relatively high now and Thunder simply aren't able to reach it. However, when it comes to Blues Rock, Thunder can happily coast along in the passable territory of the genre with tracks like "In Another Life" and "Tumbling Down". The main reason for this is due to the limited talents of their drummer, Gary James. Whilst he may have been decent in the band's early days (and let's face it, he was no Chad Smith), Gary James lacks the ability or maybe just the stamina to take the band further with faster music and more complex rhythms. He's adept at playing basic beats so that's what the band are stuck with and even then, he can fuck it up.
"The Enemy Inside" could've been a belter, especially with the guitar riffs and vocals heavily inspired by The Who ("The Seeker" and "Relay" respectively) but the tempo needed to be double time instead of the usual slog of a speed. Then there's the album closer, "There's Always A Loser", a track that gets progressively heavier across the board with electric guitars being introduced over halfway through...at least it should get heavier if Gary James didn't start off with a John Bonham "Kashmir"/"When The Levee Breaks" rhythm that remains constant throughout the entire track. He should've started off simple, THEN pounded out those heavier beats to give the song more velocity as each band member gets into it.

Unlike most Rock albums, the second half of Rip It Up is actually stronger than the first and despite all the shit I've been giving it, the album doesn't contain many real fuck ups outside of weak percussion and vocals (YES, THAT DANNY BOWES!!!!!!). If Thunder were younger, they probably would've injected more passion into it but it's clear that they can't play heavy music anymore, begging the question as to why they'd bother trying in the first place. Ultimately the whole album is a weak entry into the Hard Rock genre, especially with bands like Black Star Riders and Rival Sons putting out high quality material on a fairly frequent basis.
I give this album a 3/10 and wouldn't really recommend it to fans of proper Rock music. Blues Rock enthusiasts/boring bastards might enjoy some tracks but I think it's time for Thunder to either adapt with the aid of a producer capable of pushing musicians to their creative and/or technical limits or bow out gracefully on their own terms. I say this based entirely on their studio efforts, not live performances. Maybe the band kick ass on stage when fuelled by thousands of cheering fans but if they can't bring at least a sizable fraction of that energy into the studio with them, they may as well not bother.


* "Bruce plays on stage for up to three hours at gigs!" Yeah, three hours of Bruce Springsteen songs. That's probably equivalent to one hour of Meat Loaf now shut the fuck up and get back to draining your fourth pint.

Heavy Crown - Last In Line

Sorry guys, still no Hidden City review. Instead of choosing an album I preferred to review like I did last week, I've done the exact opposite and reviewed one that I strongly disliked. Oh, and I probably won't review it next week either so don't hold your breath...in fact, that's a pretty solid summary of Hidden City in itself. Anyway, time for this slightly longer and arguably less positive review.

At first, I had high hopes for this album, as would anyone who loves Heavy Metal. The original lineup to Dio (minus the awesome vocalist/guy the band was named after, of course) writing and recording a new album together after 30 years or so. It should've been fantastic, as Holy Diver and The Last In Line (the album this band have named themselves after) are great and I don't believe that it was Ronnie James Dio alone who made those albums what they are...at least, I didn't until I listened to Heavy Crown.
Kicking off this damp record is "Devil In Me", a limp opener that starts off with promise but rapidly becomes a flop as soon as the drums come in. The way I see it, there are two ways you can make a slow Metal song. You can either make it epic by adding powerful drums, thunderous guitar riffs and maybe some accompanying strings OR you can make it flat and hope the riffs or lyrics are catchy enough to be enjoyable. This song does neither, making it a mediocre track but an appropriate album opener as the rest of the album follows the same patterns.
Most of the songs sound like they could've been salvaged if there was someone in the band with a suitable creative vision but I'm guessing that person was supposed to be Vivian Campbell, the guitarist who joined Dio after most of the best songs on Holy Diver had been written. I'm not saying he's a bad songwriter and I would never call him a bad guitarist but he's definitely no Ronnie James Dio when it comes to making iconic Metal. It's pretty clear after listening to this album and reading through his discography that he's aged into more of a Hard Rock guitarist, especially with songs like "Burn This House Down" that contain a minimal amount of guitar throughout the verses or "In Flames", a bonus track placed halfway through the album for some fucking reason.

There are some good points though. At least Campbell's guitarwork is still tight, albeit uninspired and unlikely to win any new fans of the genre. Also, new vocalist Andrew Freeman has the right kind of rough pipes for a Metal album and recently deceased bassist Jimmy Bain did the job of Hard Rock/Metal bass player well, although he was no Steve Harris or Geddy Lee. I'm aware this isn't really something that should influence the album's quality in a review but it should be said that this band haven't released a stupid amount of special editions of this record either, so this isn't just a cynical cash grab. They actually wanted to release a collection of their music for people to enjoy but were sadly held back by themselves.
The tragedy in this is that literally getting the band back together, especially one as notable in the world of Metal as Dio's old band, can only set expectations high. I don't believe that they wanted to exploit this reunion to get better sales, as I've barely heard this album being publicised in comparison to other comeback albums such as Def Leppard's Def Leppard, but it doesn't do them any favours. As I said before, there are tracks that are almost great like "Orange Glow" and "I Am Revolution" but just lack that spark that sets them apart from superior modern Heavy Metal revival bands like Jake E. Lee's Red Dragon Cartel. If I had to blame one singular factor for this, I'd point the finger at Vinny Appice.
His drumming sounds soulless and restrained, even during faster tracks such as "Martyr" and "Already Dead", resulting in an album that lacks any of the power that proper Metal deserves. However, I could also blame the album's average sound on the overall depreciation in Campbell's creative and technical talent but I feel like he's done quite well considering he beat cancer not that long ago. Maybe this is an album that grows on you over time but judging by the straight forward nature of each track and complete absence of any Prog Metal elements, I reckon it's a safer bet to assume this is just a dud record and not a future classic in 20 years.

Just to reiterate, Heavy Crown is a solid effort. The band have tried and I guess that's more admirable than if they'd accidentally created a better album by phoning it in. Sadly, I don't believe in a world where trying and failing deserves better praise than not trying and succeeding so I have to give this a rating of 3/10. I wouldn't even recommend this to Hard Rock fans who want to get into Metal as the songs are so bland that it's probably more likely to turn them off the genre.
Ironically, Last In Line's debut is probably their last in line as they're wondering whether they should continue without the bassist. Personally, I have no problem with that as I can't say I'm looking forward to any future release they may or may not produce unless they recruit a visionary bass playing frontman sent by God as reparation for taking Lemmy from us.

Shout Out: All Studio Albums - Iron Maiden, part 3

Continuing on from part 2, I'll be discussing the band's career throughout the 90's and early 00's here. Since the band had released what is generally considered to be their first "bad" album (even if I don't fully agree), they needed to get back on track with another great release.

Fear Of The Dark is a little bit darker than previous albums, featuring songs with more sombre lyrical themes and different musical styles. Album opener "Be Quick Or Be Dead" was likely picked to lead into the record because of the aggressive chorus and fast tempo typically found on Speed Metal tracks, as it's a great start to a relatively slow album. Sadly, the band haven't quite captured the same energy that the stellar material from the 80's had. In a way, this is quite good.
It's a respectable decision to continue to produce art your way rather than buckling under commercial pressure and just giving into what you think people want, which is what makes Iron Maiden different to Def Leppard. Instead of writing another Powerslave the band continue to develop their sound and even though they made a few mistakes along the way, namely in the form of a power ballad ("Wasting Love"), at least they're willing to try.
Most fans will know this album for the title track alone, as it's probably one of the band's best songs despite coming from a remarkably average album. Overall, there are several decent tracks but as I mentioned in the last post, decent tracks aren't enough when the band have created several years worth of amazing songs. This album is more likely to be someone's favourite if they're into Metal with a grander sound and mature lyrics, as there's plenty of that on Fear Of The Dark...even if some of the song titles sound plain silly.

1. Be Quick Or Be Dead

2. From Here To Eternity

3. Afraid To Shoot Strangers

4. Fear Is The Key

5. Childhood's End

6. Wasting Love

7. The Fugitive

8. Chains Of Misery

9. The Apparition

10. Judas Be My Guide

11. Weekend Warrior

12. Fear Of The Dark

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

Having lost Adrian Smith during pre-production for the last album, the band suffer another line-up change as Bruce Dickinson decides to walk in favour of a solo career. Replacing him was Wolfsbane vocalist Blaze Bayley, a sort of cross between Di'Anno and Dickinson without any distinct vocal traits of his own.

If you thought the last album was a little bit too moody, you probably won't think much of The X Factor. Everything right down to the grotesque album cover feels dark and depressing, although this is generally considered to be down to Steve Harris' ongoing divorce during the writing process. 11 minute album opener "Sign Of The Cross" starts off with a Gregorian chant and after nearly 90 seconds of this, a melancholy riff introduces us to Blaze's hushed vocals. If I'm honest, there are far better ways to open a Metal album with a new line-up than something that sounds too dark to be played at a funeral.

"Lord Of The Flies" probably would've been a better choice for album opener, as it actually makes me want to listen to the rest of the record and has a great performance from each band member...except Blaze, who sounds like a parallel version of Bruce who's making up how to sing each line as he goes along. This album returns to the progressive format with longer song lengths and frequent tempo changes but since most of the songs start with the same atmospheric guitar/bass intro, the amount of songs that you could call filler is higher than ever before.

Even the better songs on this album aren't significant when compared to other popular Metal tracks released before 1995. It's genuinely difficult to remember more than about three different songs on The X Factor after listening to them and regardless of whether you're into Metal or Iron Maiden specifically, you could easily miss this album and not lose out on anything. THIS is the first "bad" Iron Maiden album in my books, not No Prayer For The Dying.

1. Sign Of The Cross

2. Lord Of The Flies

3. Man On The Edge

4. Fortunes Of War

5. Look For The Truth

6. The Aftermath

7. Judgement Of Heaven

8. Blood On The World's Hands

9. The Edge Of Darkness

10. 2 A.M.

11. The Unbeliever

ALBUM RATING - 2/10

As much as I'd love to say that this was the last album with Blaze Bayley on vocals, there's one more fans had to sit through. Virtual XI was released three years later to tie into both an Iron Maiden video game and the 1998 World Cup, for some reason.

Having got over their personal problems, Iron Maiden return with a slightly more energetic offering. "Futureal" is a perfect album opener following The X Factor and probably the one song where Blaze doesn't sound poor behind the mic. The rest of the album isn't half bad either, as each song has a slightly more distinct sound from the last. The quality of each track is also more in touch with 80's material and even though the second half of the album starts to trot out the homogenised intros en masse, at least the first half is enjoyable.

It's not the band's best when it comes to songwriting, especially when you compare the opening riff of "Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger" and Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box", but for fans of the long Maiden tunes, this is probably somewhat of a guilty pleasure. If you can ignore the vocals and focus on the music, you might get something out of it.

Virtual XI deserves points just for giving fans hope, more than anything. If Iron Maiden released another X Factor or No Prayer For The Dying, they could've gone out with a whimper and become another Deep Purple, periodically touring capital cities after releasing a Greatest Hits/live album every five years or so. Fortunately, this album is indisputably better than the last one and proves the band are capable of slowly returning to glory after a down period, even if it's by taking baby steps.

1. Futureal

2. The Angel And The Gambler

3. Lightning Strikes Twice

4. The Clansmen

5. When Two Worlds Collide

6. The Educated Fool

7. Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger

8. Como Estais Amigos

ALBUM RATING - 3/10

In 1999, the band kicked out Blaze Bayley and Bruce Dickinson returned to the mic, bringing ex-member Adrian Smith along with him to become the third guitarist for the band. This is still the current line-up for Iron Maiden and it doesn't appear to need changing any time soon.

Brave New World marks the start of Iron Maiden's journey into the third decade of their career (ignoring demo tapes and gigs before their first album's release) and thankfully, it's a good start! Album opener "The Wicker Man" is just what fans needed to remember why they fell in love with the band in the first place, hearing all three guitars going at it with Bruce confidently belting out each line again. Whilst the main responsibility for songwriting tends to be with Steve Harris, Bruce is no slouch when it comes to writing himself. His return meant both his vocal AND creative talents could be put to good use again.
As is often the case on highly regarded albums, there are longer tracks for the Prog Metal enthusiast ("The Nomad" and "Dream Of Mirrors") and shorter tracks for casual Metal fans ("The Mercenary" and "The Fallen Angel") but all in all, the whole album is enjoyable regardless of which type of song you prefer. Anyone who compares it to earlier albums like Piece Of Mind or Somewhere In Time is completely wrong though; it's a completely different sound and use of musical structure to those albums. It may have similar traits of Iron Maiden albums in the past but as the title suggests, it's the band exploring a new millennium with different expectations of musical talent and Metal.
It's a bit of old and a bit of new, creating something relatively unique and more memorable than anything from the Blaze era, for sure. Above all else though, this album is a return to form. It's a great band that's back on track after some four albums that collectively missed the mark. If you listened to Brave New World after Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, it might not sound as great due to the lack of disappointing material you've had to endure in the middle. However, if you ignored No Prayer For The Dying and listened to this one after Fear Of The Dark, it would probably sound like a flawless transition.

1. The Wicker Man

2. Ghost Of The Navigator

3. Brave New World

4. Blood Brothers

5. The Mercenary

6. Dream Of Mirrors

7. The Fallen Angel

8. The Nomad

9. Out Of The Silent Planet

10. The Thin Line Between Love And Hate

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

Since I've already reviewed The Book Of Souls on this blog, the last part of this Shout Out will only contain three albums: Dance Of Death, A Matter Of Life And Death and The Final Frontier. Probably should've thought about that before writing these, as I could've done three parts with five albums each. Ah well.

Guitar Hero & Rock Band: A History Lesson part 3

I hadn't intended to make these posts so long but it turns out there were more GH/RB games than I originally thought. Part 1 covered 2005-2007, part 2 covered 2008-2009. This final part will cover 2009-2010 which will include the following games:
Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, Guitar Hero: Arcade, Lego Rock Band, Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock, Rock Band 3 and Green Day: Rock Band.
As for other small games released between 2005-2010, they won't be mentioned in this history lesson but I'm sure you'll get over it.

Around the same time as The Beatles: Rock Band was released, Activision had another entry in the main console series to release.

Right bands, wrong songs

Guitar Hero 5 has the feel of a series trying to reinvent itself. In the past, GH has been all about being able to play iconic Rock songs in general video game style. GH5 features more Indie bands with simplistic guitar melodies and songs from classic artists that are generally quite easy to play, almost as if the game was designed for newcomers to the series. It would also explain the addition of modern bands like My Morning Jacket and Brand New, artists who have no place in the series but will likely bring in hip, young kids who were turned off by the idea of "dinosaur Rock" in these games.
Fortunately, the series adds some great ideas which make you wonder how you ever played the games before. For example, the addition of Party Play mode means you can drop in & out of songs whenever you want whilst other bandmates keep on playing. There's also the ability for players to rock the same instruments, so you can have a band consisting entirely of drummers if you really wanted. There are also song specific goals for tracks which make playing them in Career a bit more entertaining, although this could've done with some expansion.
There are also more cameos from artists such as Kurt Cobain so if you want to watch an in-game avatar of him singing "You Give Love A Bad Name" (probably the best thing about GH5), you're in luck. If this game had Guitar Hero: World Tour's soundtrack, I would hate it a little less. Unfortunately, this feels like the hipster of the series and nobody likes hipsters except other bloody hipsters. Still, it could be worse. It could be full of annoying Pop songs...

It genuinely took me a good couple of minutes to pick this game up in stores before I took the plunge and bought it

Band Hero isn't strictly part of the GH series but I'm talking about it as it did have a fairly notable impact on the franchise. For starters, the soundtrack being mostly Pop music meant that Guitar Hero 5, a game designed to have a soundtrack that included something for everyone, would have less shite like Hilary Duff and more from actual Rock bands. However, it also meant that GH5 included Pop music as DLC occasionally, just in case any of the teenage girls who bought the game knew you could buy extra music for a game they were sort of into.
However, when you look at this game from a non-biased standpoint, it's actually quite good. As the "GH of Pop Music", the soundtrack is alright and the engine is based around GH5 with a few extra tweaks like Karaoke mode for vocalists. All in all, it's as faithful to Pop as the original GH games were to Rock. Some may call this series expansion as yet another case of Activision selling out but I can think of a much better example...like Guitar Hero: Arcade.

I feel ashamed at the amount of cash I've put into these machines

Using on-disc and downloadable music from GH3 as the soundtrack, Guitar Hero: Arcade allows you to experience the same fun as GH3 but this time in a public place with teens judging you whilst you try to play a grotty guitar with a chewed up strap and sticky buttons. The songs picked range from the astoundingly easy ("Juke Box Hero") to the immensely difficult ("Surfin' With The Alien"), giving you plenty of choices in between.
Since this is literally designed only to make money, some songs are labelled "Premium" so you have to pay a bit extra for having a slightly less malleable music taste. However, provided you get a machine that works properly, you can still have a lot of fun on these machines although don't expect any features that were added after GH3. Yes, one of you still needs to be bass and no, you can't play Beginner mode. Oh yeah, GH:WT added Beginner mode. Forgot to talk about that in the last part. It's basically just open strums.
I can't call this too much of a sell-out as the GH franchise was inspired by GuitarFreaks arcade machines. What I CAN call a sell-out is charging people extra for songs that aren't particularly long or special, it's almost a random selection of tracks the publishers decided were worth the extra £1. Anyway, during the period that these three Activision titles were put out, Harmonix had a colourful game doing the rounds as well.

"How can we make hammer-ons even harder to read?"

If Band Hero was specifically aimed at younger audiences, Lego Rock Band was aimed at the whole family. I don't want to spend too long talking about Lego games in general so I'll leave it at one sentence: they're awesome. This game is no exception and RB2's career mode partnered with adorable yet silly Lego avatars jumping around on-stage to "Ghosbusters" or "The Final Countdown" and the extra additions like the cinematic song challenges make this one special.
There's also the ability to shorten songs so that younger players don't find it too challenging, which is a neat touch. Perhaps one of the most subtle yet ingenious facts about Lego Rock Band is how it feels more like you're developing a sort of Rock empire. You unlock fans and pets that casually walk around your pad whilst you get ready to play a set and in true Lego fashion, it feels more like you're building something awesome than other games in the series.
For seasoned experts, you're unlikely to find too much challenging although some of the solos may take a few tries to nail, especially on the RB engine. Any enough talking about the more creative competitor, TIME FOR ANOTHER GUITAR HERO!

The "Return Of The Jedi" of the handheld trilogy

Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits was the handheld game that nobody asked for. Despite critics praising the soundtrack from the previous game, claiming it got better as you unlocked the older tracks, this game is all about songs released in the early 21st century. But hey, modern songs are cheaper to license and Activision had a lot of games to push out!
It adds very little that's new or fun to the series aside from a slightly revamped career mode similar to RB2's and once again introduces songs that you'll never play on a console title, since Activision didn't learn anything the first two times (they were too busy extrapolating the wrong message from all their market research). This game has its moments but they dwindle in comparison to the ones in previous handheld or rival games.
It was around this time that the consensus was "Ugh, not another one" whenever a new game was announced. What Activision needed to release was an instantly popular title that would sell like hot cakes and justify the growing number of SKUs being produced. Instead, what they made was Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

The "Back To The Future Part 3" of the trilogy

I hesitate to say "when this game was first released" as the first iteration of this expansion wasn't actually sold in shops. It was given away with copies of Guitar Hero 5 in America. Many critics brought up the likelihood of Activision knowing they had a mediocre game on their hands, but what exactly made this game lacklustre? The soundtrack is alright, even if the guest acts were picked by Eddie Van Halen's son. Plus, the Van Halen songs are all picked from the David Lee Roth era so there are plenty of great "filler" tracks from the original albums that introduce people to songs they probably wouldn't be aware of.
However, there's a small issue with some of the charts, namely the one for "Painkiller". Apparently, there was some sort of licensing issue so the guitar chart has been butchered to the point where it's no longer challenging. The game reeks of these kind of corner cuts, factors such as the recycled GH:WT engine as opposed to the current GH5 one and the mixed tone of the soundtrack that was assembled by a kid who probably enjoys playing Rock Band more.
The game could've been amazing and I guess it's not really bad, although it was enough to help hammer in a nail on the franchise's coffin at the end of 2009/start of 2010, as was the next game to be released (even though again, it's one of my all-time favourites).

Not too little but definitely too late

Similar to how bands would seek their older material for inspiration after their experimental phase, Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock is full of songs chosen due to how fun they are on guitar, although there are still several picks that are fun for vocalists ("Bohemian Rhapsody"), drummers ("Aqualung") and newcomers that joined at GH5 ("I Know What I Am"). There's also a brand new career mode that involves powers influencing gameplay, although for expert players who can FC the majority of tracks, these add practically nothing to the game.
There are also more song challenges for each instrument, meaning that there are many challenges in Quickplay mode (retitled Quickplay+ because rebranding equals something else to advertise) and the entire feel of the game is more rough-edged, though sadly a bit too serious for its own good. Despite the temptation of a Hard Rock/Metal soundtrack, there are many tracks that feel odd in this title. Fall Out Boy and Tom Petty may be popular artists but you'd have to be short in the skull to call them Warriors Of Rock.
Whilst the game contains some amazing guitar charts and a great selection of tracks, most of the fans this game was aimed at had jumped ship long ago. As a result, GH:WoR wasn't enough to resurrect the dying franchise and a few months into 2011, Activision announced the series would go on hiatus for the indefinite future. GH fans were unhappy but fans of Rock Band had not one but two games to enjoy.

I hear they actually hired a "Trippyness" consultant to make the game extra trippy

Keeping in mind that there wasn't a main series release from the Rock Band franchise during 2009, this game was developed whilst Activision were selling GH5. In other words, Rock Band 3 is the experimental phase of the game's career. It's hard to talk about the "big innovation" Harmonix added to this game as there's honestly quite a few. They've added Keyboard so a fifth player can join in. They also added "Pro Mode" so you can now play six-stringed guitar controllers for a more realistic experience. They included Vocal Harmonies, a feature added in The Beatles: Rock Band that I also forgot to mention. Want me to continue? Alright then!
The soundtrack is more diverse although, much like GH5, pretty rubbish. There's also the ability to rate songs so the ones you prefer show up in random selection more often. Little things like this make the game that bit better and career mode is also more unique with more unlockables for the achievement addict too. The game was made with love, care and the player's entertainment in mind, even if it did feel like it was being pulled in too many different directions for it to truly be the best of its kind. The soundtrack had to have keys and iconic riffs so it meant several odd choices nobody would've requested made the cut.
Overall, it's a great game if you have a large amount of DLC and admire features over general substance. This wasn't the last Rock Band game to come out in 2010, as they had one more slightly questionable band-centric expansion up their sleeve. Nobody knew how they could possibly hope to top The Beatles: Rock Band and between you and me, I don't think Harmonix knew either. That's why we got Green Day: Rock Band.

I personally blame whoever woke them up in October

I won't spend too much time talking about this as I didn't actually buy or play it. What I can tell you is that it contains a fairly handsome collection of Green Day songs, all of which became available via DLC. After these two games were released, Harmonix kept putting out DLC for a few years to come. They also created another expansion called Rock Band Blitz but that came out in 2012.
Whilst Activision may have been responsible for the series blasting in and out of the mainstream, Harmonix did their part to keep the series alive and whether you're into Green Day or not, I'm sure the title had the same care put into it as all their other products. So here are my ratings for each title I actually bought/spent money on:

Guitar Hero 5 - Excellent additions to gameplay ruined by a pretty pathetic soundtrack. 5/10.
Band Hero - A solid expansion pack aimed at a new audience with a few diamonds in the rough. 6/10.
Guitar Hero: Arcade - Obvious cash in, presumably to make back money on failed GH games. 5/10.
Lego Rock Band - Another hit to add to the growing collection of awesome Lego games. 8/10.
Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits - Completely unnecessary and almost entirely lacking in fun. 3/10.
Guitar Hero: Van Halen - Needed a lot more work on it to truly be considered great but luckily, it's still good. 6/10.
Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock - This game got a bit of an unfair grilling by rubbish critics, definitely a series highlight if you're a fan of the series/Rock music. 9/10.
Rock Band 3 - With GH:WoR's soundtrack and engine, this probably would've been the perfect game. Sadly, it's got the same problems as GH5. 7/10.

As for the future of these games? Well, Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero: Live are coming out later this year. I have my opinions on both games already but chances are you've read them on Twitter already. Maybe I'll do a special blog post about them when they actually come out in October but I will say this about both games now.
Rock Band 4 looks like it'll only be worth getting if you have a shitload of DLC, which is not something I can back as a gamer.
Guitar Hero: Live looks like it was inspired by Freemium games and will probably ruin every other music game after you play it for too long.
That's this three-part series of posts over! No idea what I'll review next week but hopefully it can be contained to one entry. If you have any suggestions, definitely let me know! I still enjoy a challenge and still enjoy reviewing or talking about albums/setlists/things involving music.