Focus: It is as it says. Review albums you love, cherish, or despise. Now go buy T Rex's Electric Warrior.
nine inch nails- The Downward Spiral (1994) If there's one artist in my life that I think of as an icon or auteur, it's Trent Reznor. Much can be said about my favourite album of all: An album that I even think surpasses Nevermind, for one. I was alrady a fan of NIN when he released it, but I was expecting an angry, thrashing electro-metal like Broken. Instead, it was like nothing I have ever heard. Huge dance beats, impossibly original textures, driving guitars and all around it this album has an aura of tragic melancholy thanks to Reznor's epitome of the tortured artist. "Closer" has the sexiest and most original throbbing beats ever devised (and an unforgettable chorus), "Heresy" has a deafening tribal drum beat, "The Becoming" (my favourite) is a horribly menacing and creepy tune with a gorgeous acoustic ending. "Hurt" is possibly the most heartfelt and downtrodden ballad you'll ever hear. This album stands alone. It was savagely copied in the 90's by bands like Stabbing Westward and Gravity Kills, but no one came even close to masterpiece soundtrack of sadness, sex and gore. 10/10
Wow, what a good time for this thread to pop up. I posted this in the rant and rave thread. But i normally download a cd and listen to it to see if i like it. If i even like a few songs i will normally go out and buy the cd. I know the artist dont get alot of money from the sales of cd's but I figure they should atleast get paid something if i enjoy some of it. There are few cd's that i will just go buy without downloading. Well today i picked up the new Cypress Hill - Rise Up. And i cant tell you how bad this album is. I know they have always said that they like to change there style and experiment a little, but WHAT THE FUCK were they thinking when they made this album? I have always enjoyed every new cd they came out with, there style has changed, and i always thought it was for the better, always changing, always something a bit different. With this last cd, i really do not know how to classify it, i would not call it hip hop/rap, i would not know even were to begin. I am at a complete and utter loss of how to describe it. I know this is only music, but i have never been let down so hard by an album before. I played the cd on my tv, i do not an equalizer hooked up to it, so it would sound just like they wanted it to, more then half of the songs the vocals were very quite. I listened to the cd once, and i will never listen to it again. I would not even waste the bandwidth to download it. I want my 20 bucks back.
I actually have a music review website I started up a couple months ago. Still working on not being such a shitty writer. Here's one I wrote a bit ago. Check out the site for more. Usually get up between one and two a week. http://www.musicreviewsforidiots.com Muse-The Resistance
Man, it's a good thing I just read that. I love Cypress Hill and was thinking about buying this, but was kind of weary to whether or not it would be good. Thank you for saving me $20. On another note this Nas & Damian Marley - "Distant Relatives" is great through the first listen. There's a lil wayne feature on it and I guess Wayne stepped up his game going with Nas. So far I'm loving it
In light of Peter Steele's recent passing, I've been listening to Type O Negative a bit more recently. They've been a favorite of mine for a long time. If you've never given them a listen, check out October Rust. It's from 1996 and most definitely leans towards the gothic. I would say that it is their best work and the album where they truly found their sound. It's heavy, but not in a double bass continuous speed way. It's low, slow and melodically heavy. They have their moments where they kick it up a notch, but it's mainly this pulsating deep rhythm that permeates the entire album. Thick and powerful. The previous album, Bloody Kisses, started leaning towards this, but only on about half the songs. The two albums prior to that were much faster, growling albums that are much more raw. Much more punk than their later work. October Rust shows a band that has matured greatly into their own. All subsequent albums built off of this one, but never quite lived up to this one. This could just be me and I might attribute this to where I was at in life when this album came out versus later albums. As much as I love all their later albums, this one just got everything right. Take the heaviness of Black Sabbath, the thickness and spatial aspects that you feel from Pink Floyd, mix in a bit of light heartedness of the Beatles and throw in just a hair of the humor and playfulness of the Doors and you start getting a picture. Once mixed, drop two octaves and you're right there. A truly unique band that I've yet to hear another like. The last two tracks, Wolf Moon and Haunted are, in my opinion, highlights of the album.
Alice in Chains- Jar of Flies During the height of the much-missed grunge revolution, My favourite Seattle band opted out of making a near-metal drug and sobfest like Dirt to create, write and record Jar Of Flies in 7 days. You heard me right, AIC wrote and recorded some of their best songs: No Excuses, Don't Follow, I Stay Away etc. in ONE WEEK on this short, mostly unplugged masterpiece. Instead of Dirt's angst sludge you get crisp acoustic melodies and some of Cantrell's and Staley's best harmonizing together. It also makes for a great summer album, so if you missed this one I'll state it won't let you down. 7.5/10 Dr. Dre- 2001 When I think of all the good times I had in college, at the bar or with my friends in the late 90's-early 00's, I think no further than this album. Granted, The Chronic was a perfect album, possibly the best hip-hop record ever created, but 2001 is the perfect party album. Dre is the undisputed King of hip-hop, and today's so-called "geniuses" like Lil' Wayne would consider themselves lucky to even toss his salad. 2001 sparkles with unmatched west coast lounge beats, non-stop fun and great cameos. Highlights: Next Episode and Bang-Bang. Buy it. Now. 8.5/10