Saturday Song(s) To Collaborate To

Roadunner United
Roadrunner United's only release, The All-Star Sessions, is a truly unique record. To celebrate the record label's 25th anniversary, Roadrunner Records VP of A&R Monte Conner came up with the idea to write and record a full album with musicians from some of the label's current and former acts. Four "team captains" were chosen to head the process and 57 musicians from 45 bands contributed to the record. Roadrunner is arguably the biggest "metal" label, so there were some pretty impressive acts to choose from.  Sepultura, Killswitch Engage, Fear Factory, Slipknot, Machine Head, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, and Type O Negative are just a few of the bands represented on The All-Star Sessions. Predictably, none of the songs sound the same, but there is something for everyone; rock, metalcore, punk, death metal, black metal, and prog are all fairly represented.

"Army of the Sun"
This is my personal favorite from this record. It features Tim Williams (Vision of Disorder, Bloodsimple) on vocals. I just love how he can switch between a scream and croon in the same breath. I would describe the song as a metalcore ballad. It's got a good melody and heartfelt lyrics.

Lyrics
I was electrified by your eyes as they froze
Inviting me inside of your life to grow
Everlasting setting sun
You’re my angel, you’re the only one
No one close and nothing compares in the end
We will be together again
I'm so mesmerized by the light you expose
Igniting a fire deep inside of my soul
Darkness shall fall with the strength of us all
I raise my white flag
It’s the last flag I’ll ever raise
Don't stay away
Staring at you and all you are
I believe
We will be together again


"The Dagger"
This is the first song on the record. Howard Jones (Killswitch Engage) handles the lead vocals on this one. This is a straight metalcore song, but with a twist; Jeff Waters (Annihilator) throws in an epic speed metal solo towards the end. The incredible chorus starts at 1:58.

It's also worth mentioning that there was a one-off concert held in New York City to celebrate the album's release featuring most of the musicians and some prominent friends. Tracks from the new record were played along with some classics from the label's history. Here's the live version of "The Dagger"...

...and here's the live rendition of Killswitch Engage's "My Last Serenade." Howard Jones and Jesse Leach (the original Killswitch frontman) sing the song together, and it's just awesome. Enjoy.

Live Review: BTBAM, JFAC, The Ocean

The Masquerade - Atlanta - May 12, 2011

Before this show, the one common thread that had held nearly all my of my previous concert experiences together was that there was always at least one band that just sucked. It's just one of those necessary evils, I guess. While Baroness/Deftones and Alice in Chains/Deftones/Mastodon were two lean, mean, incredible lineups without any duds, (Gee, what do they have in common?) even shows with smaller lineups can suck. Whatever band opened for Kings of Leon when I last saw them was awful. Of course, Kings of Leon sucked pretty bad that night, too.

You see, when that dud band goes on stage, you can't help but turn into an impatient grump. At the beginning of their set, you find yourself asking questions like "Who is this guy?" or "Does his sister know that he's wearing her jeans?" One or two shitty songs later, you start doing the Set List Math: "Okay, if they're the second band on tonight, that means they're supposed to play about 30 minutes. Let's see, they just finished their third song, so they should have…two, three songs left?" It's like the metal show version of counting sheep.

Pfffffft.

Well, I'm happy to say that all four bands were excellent at this show. Even the token local opener was good. OBSIDIAN SKY started the concert on a good note; they categorized themselves as "progressive metalcore," and they laid down a nice, thick, chunky groove. The occasional guitar harmony was nice, and breakdowns were used both tastefully and sparingly. I'd give them a [7/10].

Up next was a band that I had heard a ton about from critics and metal blogs, but knew little about. THE OCEAN is a band from Berlin that has been described as "ambient doom rock," among countless other things. They have elements of sludge metal and progressive rock, and one of their records features two thirds of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Simply put, this band absolutely destroyed. The slower, melodic parts created a dark, moody vibe, and their creepy background videos did wonders in adding to the ambiance. The band would spend five minutes of a song in that slower gear and then they would just explode into the frenetic, brutal parts. The singer must have done at least seven stage dives, and was accompanied by the lead guitarist on one occasion. And this went on for 40 minutes. Insane. I don't know enough about music to do this band justice by writing about them, so just check out this song. I'd give them a [10/10].

JOB FOR A COWBOY were up next, and they were another band that I was curious to see. Most metal purists hate this band for some reason; I guess it's because they started out as a deathcore band but then switched to a more traditional death metal style. I know this is like me talking in Chinese to both of the people reading this, but deathcore is just a bunch of palm muted riffing, dissonance, (mostly poor) growls, and in most cases, a comically excessive number of breakdowns. I agree that 90 percent of deathcore bands are shitty copies of the other 10 percent, but a couple of them are pretty legit. (See: Whitechapel). Well, JFAC put on a great show. Jon "The Charn" Rice was an animal behind the kit and frontman Jonny Davy squealed, roared, and screeched his way through the songs. The highlight of the set was the crowd favorite, "Entombment of a Machine." [8/10]. 

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME served as the evening's headliners, and they didn't disappoint. Their songs are really long, but they're still an incredible band to watch play. If you want to read my attempt at categorizing them, please check out my last blog post. All you need to know is that there are two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a frontman (who looks just like Burn Notice's Michael Westen) who doubles as a keyboardist. They play a melange of every type of metal imaginable…usually in the same song. They jammed for a solid hour and change before taking a break, and then came back for the encore. It was at this point that I realized that BTBAM were about to serenade us with one of the most beautiful metal songs ever written: "Selkies: The Endless Obsession." I immediately jockeyed for position right in front of epic lead guitarist Paul Waggoner, waiting for the song's keyboard intro. About four minutes later, it was epic solo time. For the rest of the song, it felt like a little angel baby had flown into the venue and sat on top of my head  just before massaging my ears with his feet. Unfortunately, every solo has to end, and when the band finished  "Selkies," it was time to go. I left the Masquerade satisfied and pleasantly surprised. [9/10]. 

Saturday Song To Explore To

"Selkies: The Endless Obsession" by Between the Buried and Me 

I just saw this band last week and they killed it. The concert review proper should be up tomorrow. Until then, enjoy "Selkies." I'm not sure how to characterize this band; they are a progressive metal band, but their music features elements of death metal, jazz, blues, and alternative rock, sometimes in the same song. I know this is a long song (one of their shortest, though) but it's worth the seven minutes. Also, there's an epic guitar solo at the end; it's arguably the most beautiful solo that I have ever heard. It starts at 4:45 in the video. Enjoy!

Here's the live version, if that's what you're into.

Lyrics
Innocent individuals
Concerned about nothing but happiness
Progress becomes easy due to this social situation
Unfortunate turn of events
Collapse this idea of childish thought

No judgement towards one another, no social status to compare
All as one
Exploit the idea of innocence
Goddamn television god
Corrupt me
Separate us
Groups of difference seem to comfort what we once didn't think of
This show was in their head for years
Enjoy this life of wonder and imagination
For it will be torn down

You will be torn down
Time to hate, kill, fuck, conquer
This is human life at its best
We'll televise this event
You can learn how to live, breathe
Then finally die

(The sweet relief is a must)
We can speak of obsession
We can love the endless


NEXT SATURDAY: Come to the Tabernacle in Atlanta to see Deftones with me!