On April 27, Sammy Hagar united with the remaining members of Montrose and Joe Satriani to play a tribute concert for Ronnie Montrose. Here’s “Bad Motor Scooter” from the show.
The Viewfinder: Asia’s “Face On The Bridge”
Prog-rock supergroup, Asia, is slated to release a new album this May, entitled XXX in honor of their 30th anniversary of being a band. The original lineup is once again intact, featuring John Wetton, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer, and Geoff Downes. They’ve already released a single and corresponding video called “Face On The Bridge.” I’ve always found it interesting that Asia is referred to as a prog-rock band. Sure, the respective members all come from other prog-rock projects, but I’ve always [...]
Spin Cycle: Mount Carmel’s “Real Women”
Indie rockers Mount Carmel hail from Columbus, Ohio, and, like many things Midwestern, nearly fooled me into thinking they were one thing when they were really something else. Their handle sounded to me like they would be hipster pop or some other ironically-named alt-rock-nuvo-art-thing. But noooo – they are straight-up, four-chord seventies rock, those sneaks. As if I weren’t already thrown off enough, once they launched into their opening track, ”Swaggs”, and I heard those gritty vocals coming through a classic condenser mic, [...]
Spin Cycle: Halestorm’s “The Strange Case of…Halestorm”
“That bitch can eat her heart out!” That sums up nicely what Lzzy Hale is going for throughout her band’s new offering, The Strange Case of…Halestorm. She seems to be saying “don’t you wish you were me, girls? I completely rock and am still totally a chick about the whole thing. Keep reading Cosmo, but you’ll never get your hands on this secret sauce.” And chances are good that they never will. Many girl-fronted rock acts fall quickly into self-parody [...]
The Singles Bar: Rush’s “Headlong Flight”
The Canadian super-power trio, Rush, are back with a new album in the works (Clockwork Angels) and a new single available. A single that is seven minutes long. You heard me right. Seven. And it’s a single. For real. It’s called Headlong Flight. And you know what? It deserves to be a single…this song, despite its epic length, is catchy and features the band in their best form, really hearkening back to their glory days. Alex Lifeson’s soloing on Headlong [...]
Spin Cycle: Flying Colors’ “Flying Colors”
Oh, Flying Colors, you got me. How you did it shouldn’t be a mystery, and yet it was a surprise to me, as I was fixed in a wary crouch, prepared for flight at the first sign of blasé songwriting or preachy lyrics. But you approached patiently, slowly luring me in with all sorts of little sonic treats, and the next thing I knew I was tamed, housebroken, and gladly accepting aural scratches behind the ears. [“Who’s a good boy? [...]
Spin Cycle: Adrenaline Mob’s “Omerta”
This is a really good metal album. That may sound like an overly-simplistic statement, but I open by saying that because I was braced for metal supergroup mediocrity. Instead, what was delivered is a nice surprise of competent, aggressive, and often interesting songs that dance closely on both sides of the line between traditional metal and the more commercial metal sound of the past few years. In case metal isn’t your usual primary genre (or you claim to be [...]
Spin Cycle: Metallica – Beyond Magnetic
Three years. That’s how long it’s been since Metallica released Death Magnetic (which was their first studio LP in six years, following the universally-hated St. Anger). Three years since Metallica released what is arguably their best collection of songs since And Justice For All. Three years since fans and critics alike balked at the horrendous mix full of clipping and compression. Three years since Death Magnetic made the sound of a golden nugget of kickass dropped into a toilet. Three. Freaking. Years. And [...]
The Singles Bar: Givers’ “Up Up Up”
Ok, ok, ok, I know what some of you are saying: “hey, Grez, this isn’t a new single!” Well, I know that, but it’s a recent single. So why I am covering it now? Well, because I think it’s a great song, we never gave it its well-deserved coverage, and because the upcoming Hipster-laden lineup of Coachella fest features Givers. Festivals are always best when you go knowing what bands to check out when you have a lot of choices. These guys rocked [...]
Spin Cycle: Derek Sherinian’s “Oceana”
To say that Derek Sherinian is a musical outlier would be an understatement. Most keyboard players are either jazz-focused or members of goofy hair metal bands. Sherinian is neither, although he dabbles in bits of both. Here’s a guy who loves rock-jazz fusion (with emphasis on the former, straying into the latter sonically on occasion, and time-signature-wise very frequently) and, at the same time, has played keys for the likes of both KISS and Alice Cooper. He’s probably most recognized, [...]
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