The Dear Hunter is a progressive rock band consisting of singer/writer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Casey Crescenzo and drummer Nick Crescenzo. The band already released 2 full length albums and one EP on Triple Crown Records over the past 4 years. Their latest release entitled “Migrant Reprise” (which has been out since last month) just found it’s way to my desk.
Sweden and desert rock a match made in heaven…… Dozer, Greenleaf, Spiritual Beggers, to name a few besides Truckfighters.. “UNIVERSE” is the 4 th full length of these dudes, and what an album this is…… I dare say that calling “Universe” a stonerrock release is a actually labelling the band which something they have at least partially outgrown…. Outgrown in a positive manner that is.
The music takes the time to get the musical message across and while there aren't many show-off passages there is a huge amount of detail in the numerous instruments and vocals that will show themselves on repeated listens. Zappa, King Crimson and even Motorpsycho fans will be able to mine Carpet’s rich seams of passionate, beautifully crafted songs till their minds are buried in Elysian Fields.
This Vancouver, British Columbia based Canadian band has a bit of an unusual background, and carries positive proof that the negative image a lot of people have about Rock 'n' Roll music being connected to drugs and sex does not always hold! You see, lead singer Amy Arsenault went through several tough deals in life at a young age, which led to severe depressions and drugs and alcohol abuse.
Holy smokes! The crap they throw on my to-do list of reviews these days...oh, wait a minute, before spewing any more of my personal feeling of this Phoenix, Arizona based band, let's first dig into its history!
Final Spell is the debut ep by the Salt Lake City, US band Visigoth who have been around since 2010. Nostalgic metal fans will like their mix of teutonic bombastic and US melodic power speed metal as it is also performed by Helloween, Twisted Tower Dire, Omen and Grim Reaper. Clear vocal lines, huge chorusses, an impressive rhythm section and lots of fast guitar solos are harmonizing perfectly.
Unlike most of the metal albums I've listened to, this album seems to be a little more ambitious. There are few poor parts on the album and while I could find fault with most of the songs, they do seem to be able to stand on their own. The CD clocks in at just over 40 minutes, and every track is between 4-7 minutes long. This allows the band to expand on their ideas a liitle bit for each track. My favorite so far is “Tiphareth” which has impressive guitar work, and is just a well-crafted song.
Freedoms Reign is the brainchild of ex-Fates Warning guitar player/singer Victor Arduini. The band was born out of Arduini's fervent desire to play melodic power/heavy metal again after 26 years of silence.
Sgt. Sunshine’s brand of swinging stoner rock has not changed much, but better songs, better hooks, and fuzzier production give III a healthy advantage over its predecessors Black Hole and Sgt Sunshine.
Senses Fail is an American post-hardcore band from New Jersey witch was formed in 2002. The line up initially consisted of Buddy Nielsen, Dan Trapp, Dave Miller, Garrett Zablocki and James Gill. Shortly after being signed to Drive Thru Records, James Gill was kicked out of the band due to irreconcilable differences.
