ARTIST: Comeback Kid
ALBUM TITLE: Symptoms + Cures
RECORD LABEL: Victory Records
RELEASED: August 31

By Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

Last time we heard form Canadian melodic hardcore band Comeback Kid, guitarist Andrew Neufield dropped his axe and stepped up to the plate to replace then-vocalist Scott Wade.

The resulting album, 2007’s Broadcasting, was a heavier effort, and the switch in singers was a bit jarring to these ears. The songs had more of a metallic flavor to them, with less of the melodic slant that they had become known for, and Neufield’s vocals took a little getting used to.

It was by no means a bad album, but it seemed like a different band, and in my opinion, it definitely paled in comparison to their breakthrough sophomore release, Wake the Dead. That album encapsulated everything that they were about: past paced riffs, sing along choruses, and tons of energy. Considering the fact that I still to this day throw on Wake the Dead on a pretty regular basis, and haven’t really spent much time with Broadcasting since its release should be testament to that statement.

That being said, when I heard the opening riffs of Symptoms + Cures, their fourth album, I was pleasantly surprised. No, this isn’t the same Comeback Kid that we heard on Wake the Dead, but they’ve managed to take the differences between the past two albums and meet at a sort of halfway point, using the strengths from each to make what is in my opinion an even stronger impression of who they are.

Photo courtesy of Victory Records.

Neufield’s singing sounds much more natural with the band, as he’s adopted more of a mix between a raw melodic approach and a style more in tune with his style in hardcore band Figure Four. This is in no way to make it sound like one of the countless metal and ‘core bands alternating between the rough and clean vocals, though. When he sings melodically, they are in no way clean or pretty; these are vocals full of passion and emotions; it’s melody through the very act of yelling until there’s nothing left in his lungs.

Kicking off with the one-two punch of “Do Yourself a Favor” and “Crooked Floors,” it’s a pretty good indication of what they sound like now. Definitely leaning more on the hardcore side of things now, the band is much more intense and in your face than they had been in the past. Most of the songs sound as though they are hinging on completely exploding into a torrent of rage and emotions, and it suits them.

Where Wake the Dead, and even Broadcasting, had an underlying sense of hopefulness, much of Symptoms sounds like that well has run dry, and all that’s left is the rage. Many of the songs focus on the pain of looking back and the need to move on, and it’s perfectly reflected in the songs.

“Symptoms + Cures,” the title track, probably best exemplifies this. Opening with a what is likely the most depressing riff on the album, it keeps building up, adding layer upon layer of guitar, until it breaks into a faster version of itself, with Neufield screaming bloody murder. “I don’t know a lot of people who have given as much of their lives and dedicated their minds and souls so fervently to the vision intact.”  The entire song is a dramatic reflection upon the dedication required to stay true to one’s morals and values, it’s easily one of the most downtempo things they’ve ever recorded.

With all of the musical growth at hand, some of their more trademark elements are still intact, though. The melodic gang vocals are still plentiful, and the band still has a knack for writing catchy hooks throughout. Symptoms + Cures is just merely the next evolutionary step for the band; it doesn’t sound forced, and you have to give them credit for being honest with themselves and their fans.

RATING: 9/10

Front page photo courtesy of Victory Records.

ARTIST: Linkin Park
ALBUM: A Thousand Suns
RECORD LABEL: Warner Bros.
RELEASED: September 14

By Chris Kromphardt
Staff Writer, Justice Administrator

Credit where credit’s due: Linkin Park usually does a pretty good job of meeting the lofty expectations inherent in the concept by which the band previously went by in name, and which was the title of both an EP and their first LP: Hybrid Theory.

With each  album they’ve released, they’ve incorporated a little bit of what came before—the initial Theory, which was pretty standard alt-rock combined with some elements of hip-hop such as turntables and rapping—with something new. A Thousand Suns strives for the new to an extent previously unseen by Linkin Park, but never fails to remember what made the band stand out from all the other nu-metalers.

Despite being a long-time fan, I was ready to drop Linkin Park a few years ago, before Minutes to Midnight dropped. Their style just wasn’t feeling fresh anymore; scream, rap, scream, rap, all over turntables and otherwise standard instrumentals. The band had had a willingness to branch out, producing a remix album and a mash-up with Jay-Z, with varying degrees of success—most of the songs riffed on the originals in some cool ways, but with the exception of “Numb/Encore” off Collision Course there was little that was truly groundbreaking. Nothing grabbed me in the way the songs “Crawling” or “Somewhere I Belong” did the first time I heard them.

But Midnight turned me right around. I was pleased to hear the band reaping fruit from seeds planted in earlier songs like “Breaking the Habit,” trying songs that focused more on the singing and the lyrics than on style. The familiar tropes were still present, sometimes better than ever—“Bleed It Out” does some of the best rap-rock juxtaposition I’ve ever heard—but what made Midnight so outstanding was that LP was beginning to act more like a band, and less like a Theory.

Photo from nydailynews.com.

In “When They Come for Me” off Suns, Mike Shinoda touches on the expectations to adhere to the Theory when he raps “‘Cause even the blueprint is a gift and a curse/‘Cause once you have the theory of how the thing works/Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first.” And LP does stick with the Theory, but on Suns the Hybrid parts are a bit more unconventional than fans have come to expect.

I personally love the new direction the band is taking. It was a little jarring at first to hear the dominance of the less-than-obvious influences of tribal drums, techno, and the Middle East on songs, but these new additions mesh well with an old friend: Chester Bennington’s singing voice. “My December,” an early LP song, showcased a vulnerable Bennington actually singing, not screaming. Don’t get me wrong, I think Bennington’s got a great grasp on incorporating melody into his screaming, but wow, the man can sing as well, too. He occasionally turned to this approach in songs like “Numb,” but on Suns, his considerable skills are on full display.

A Thousand Suns worked for me because I was always a fan of the approach as well as the final product. Linkin Park was always a misnomer to me; Hybrid Theory was what the band was all about. On this album they draw from influences from all over the world, and temper any possible over-cosmopolitanism with the heretofore unrealized power of their lead singer’s range. And because of this, I cannot wait for—or possibly imagine—what they’ll do next.

RATING: 8/10

ARTIST: The Birthday Massacre
ALBUM TITLE: Pins and Needles
RECORD LABEL: Metropolis Records
RELEASED: September 14

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

What can I say about The Birthday Massacre? No, really, what can I say? I feel like I shouldn’t write a review at all right now. Pins and Needles is the band’s fourth effort, and they still haven’t really gone anywhere. Now, I have a soft spot for goth music, especially bands that have tons of synth in it. However, one of my problems with the goth genre in general is that there is little variety in most bands’ evolution over time.

With that said, it feels like The Birthday Massacre had grown less than average. I like the sound of the band, but it’s honestly wearing very thin. I’ll admit that the production value is cleaner than previous efforts, and the band does sound a little catchier on Pins and Needles, but I am not sold when it comes right down to it.

The problem I have always had with The Birthday Massacre is while I dig their sound, far too many songs blend into each other too much, and I don’t mean it in in a progressive rock sort of way. I understand that every band has their own distinct sound and style, but when a brand new track’s opening sounds almost identical to another off a different album, you’re doing it wrong. Unless you’re a hardcore fan of the band, you could put their entire discography on shuffle and there would be little difference between doing that and listening to a couple of albums in order. Of course there are tracks that stand out, but they are few and far between.

In fact, there are a couple of bright spots on that album that have won me over. Well, three bright spots in fact. “In the Dark,” “Control” and “Sleepwalking” did stand out to me despite them falling into my complaints above. I especially liked “In the Dark” because the opening is very much like a Tool song, which is one of my favorite bands. On an unrelated note, I think I can hear a goth kid screaming at a monitor somewhere.

You want to know another reason why I feel writing this review is a futile effort? If you liked The Birthday Massacre before, nothing I say will change your mind. I really can’t get past how nothing has changed. That may be fine for some people, but I expect a least a little variety in my music. I could give the album an arbitrary rating and it’s mediocrity will swat my score down while laughing like Robert Smith eating Twinkies.

I would really like to state again that I do like this sort of music, and it’s the lack of evolution that is causing me to rant. If there is one thing Pins and Needles has accomplished it is that I find myself writing one of the most difficult reviews I’ve had to take on in a long time. You thought I was being snarky during the opening of my review, I’ll bet. I was really serious. What the hell can I say?

RATING: goth kids complaining about mainstream music/10

[we need a real score, Justin - editor]

Alright, alright…

RATING: 5.5/10

Front page photo courtesy of Metropolis Records.

***Music, Books and Psycho Space Robots is a regular column published on Primary Ignition by Kevin Kenealy, staff writer and Nightmare Fuel Provider. The views expressed therein are his, and do not reflect those of the staff of Primary Ignition.***

John Lennon portrait by Luke Baker.

After watching the Behind the Music: John Lennon today, I realized a few things about Lennon I never connected before: he abandoned his first son Julian as his mom abandoned him and his last few years of his life certainly appear to be his most fulfilled.

Lennon had his first son with his first wife Cynthia in 1963 on the eve of Beatlemania. Unfortunately, his rock star life didn’t lend to well to raising Julian and Julian later would blame Yoko Ono for adding a strain on their relationship.

In John’s childhood, he lost his mom when a drunken policeman ran over her and he was raised by his aunt Mimi. Lennon’s father couldn’t be there for him because he was too busy sailing around the world and he last saw his dad at the age of five. Like his dad, Lennon was too busy for his son Julian and when things started to patch up between the two by 1979/1980, Mark Chapman (Lennon’s assassin) was Lennon’s drunken policeman that ran over him.

Julian Lennon said he never got to say I love you or goodbye to his dad and this is reflected in his 1980s hit “Much Too Late For Goodbyes,” which by the way, he sounds eerily similar to his dad vocally.

In 1975, John abandoned the rock and roll lifestyle to spend time with his son Sean, who coincidentally was born on his dad’s birthday on Oct. 9, 1975. Sean was given the attention that Julian never received—John would devote the next five years of his life to raising Sean and admitted to hardly playing his guitar in this time. “You have to breathe in to breathe out,” he said of his creative element.

He took to sailing, like his father, but unlike his father he abandoned a travelling rock life for a family life. In fact, it took a rough sail one day where there was vicious storm that ignited John’s creative musical energy again by 1980. All of a sudden, he would start writing and singing these songs to Yoko and Yoko began writing and singing songs back to John. The result was his final work, Double Fantasy.

Photo from thecurvature.com.

The day of his death, his record executive David Geffen informed him and Yoko that Double Fantasy went Gold and it was also the day that the famous Anne Leibovitz photograph (John naked in a crouching position kissing a clothed Yoko) on the cover of Rolling Stone was shot.

He seemed to have this upbeat attitude going into the 1980s. “Weren’t the ‘70s a drag? Let’s try to make the ‘80s good,” he said.

Although his death still ignites emotional tumult in people, it was appropriate for his time. He appeared happiest as a family man and his Double Fantasy album was his resurgence out of the tunnel and into the limelight where he would potentially get lost in rock and roll stardom all over again. His failed relationship with Julian is a lesson that history repeats itself.

By 1980 there was no more peace for John to bring to the world; there was no more love to sing or rock and roll to pound out. He, in my opinion, reached a place of complete peace that he did not see in quite some time. He was happy with his love rock opera with Yoko, his stance as this family man but as this resurgence of creative musical spirit. He had the best of both worlds; he had seen and done it all and there was no where left to go. His death was unlike Jim Morrison’s or Janis Joplin’s or Sid Vicious where those individuals appeared to become so lost in themselves and addiction that they may never have reached the zenith that John reached in his death. We can learn as much from Lennon’s death as we can from his life.

Front page image courtesy of Luke Baker.

ARTIST: Iron Maiden
ALBUM TITLE: The Final Frontier
RECORD LABEL: Sony Legacy
RELEASED: August 17

By Mark Leja
Staff Writer, The X Factor

Fifteen studio albums, 100 million albums sold, over 125 songs written. Iron Maiden defined what metal was in the 80′s and still provides a shining example for metalheads to follow. Their latest album, The Final Frontier, is no exception, and overall a good album. After listening to the album a total of three times—no easy feat—it is their longest studio recording.

What better way to start an Iron Maiden album than with “Satellite 15…The Final Frontier”? As a song title, it stands as a very straightforward symbol; they’ve released 15 albums so it’s like the ‘Satellite’ is their album, right? Well here, the metaphor is that Iron Maiden has had such an expansive career, from their eponymous debut album to The Final Frontier, that they’ve really have reached the stars.

That’s really what The Final Frontier is, an overview of their career and the simple fact that while they’re now amongst the stars, they have plenty of room to expand, their creativity is now endless. Iron Maiden has always tried new things and this album definitely shows their experimental side. Using minimal keyboards and utilizing three guitars, the work they created is much more technically oriented and orchestrated than any of their previous albums.

“Satellite 15” kicks off the album with a booming bass line and strange orbital sounding guitars; my first thought was that this was going to be an instrumental, following in line with “Transylvania,” “Ides of March,” “Genghis Khan” and “Losfer Words” from earlier releases. I was digging it, but then the fun was ruined by Bruce Dickinson. It’s not that his vocals were bad—I was hoping for a blast from the past. This first part in general is very well orchestrated; the instruments sound like they were out of this world, Bruce’s voice echoes through the stars, seamless transitions and great depth to the atmosphere of the song. Then there’s a pause…a big ass hard rock riff melts your freakin’ face.  One slam away from cracking open my skull, Bruce comes back!

Then comes the problem…the lyrics, I don’t know why a lot of the 80′s and 90′s metal bands just don’t know how to write lyrics anymore, but in this reviewer’s opinion, these seriously suck. Bruce tries hard to rhyme the passages together with his vocal pitches but come on. “I have no regrets, but I wish I could talk to my family and tell them that last goodbye”. The song has great instruments, what you’d expect from Iron Maiden, but this one’s lyrics are very lacking and hard to get into. So the question is, why wasn’t it left as an instrumental? The world may never know.

Photo from last.fm.

Now at first listen, I thought that “Satellite 15” had two big rock endings, where the band just goes insane. Well that song ends with one, and then the following song, “El Dorado”, begins with another. I thought for a second that the two songs were one and the same, but that’s not the case. After the intro, a very reminiscent gallop starts up. This song is the first single off the album and really sounds like it should be, in comparison to the other songs which average out to 7 minutes apiece. This one also makes a great live performance, I’ve seen it live and man did the crowd get into it. It’s nothing too revolutionary, but still one kick ass song.

At first I was hesitant to “When the Wild Wind Blows”, with melodies that sound like something played at my church, but it’s hard to understand Bruce’s voice. Also, it’s not very metal; this is very much a progressive song, with almost no time to bang your head at all. After listening to it three times, and reading the lyrics, it has become my favorite song. This is a great way to end The Final Frontier and hopefully future releases will continue with this style.

At roughly 76 minutes, it’s their longest studio recording, but I feel as though if they just cut out three of the songs: “The Talisman,” “Starblind” and “The Man Who Would Become King,” this would be one of Maiden’s best albums after Brave New World.  I’d like to think that the band wrote seven songs, then bassist/lead songwriter Steve Harris was like, “Why don’t we make three more and make this our longest album? C’mon it’ll be totally prog!” So they wrote some riffs and pushed out some vocal tracks and just in general it seems like the songs had potential but were rushed.

The Final Frontier is an improvement over Dance of Death, but it’s not as good as A Matter of Life and Death. However, with recent trends in the old metal bands it’s good to hear at least one band still making great music. With great production quality from Harris and Kevin Shirley, the album flows together so seamlessly I had to look to make sure that I wasn’t on the same song. Iron Maiden has always liked venturing in and out of genres, and this progression into a prog/metal/rock hybrid is awesome, reminiscent of Somewhere in Time and Fear of the Dark. It’s great to hear them trying something new, and doing amazing at it nonetheless.  Definitely go check it out, it does suffer from some problems, but when it’s good it’s good.

RATING: 7/10

Front page photo from chartattack.com.

“Metal Meat Machine” is a regular column published on Primary Ignition, written by Mark Leja, staff writer and The X Factor, in which he scours the bowels of the internet for unsung heavy metal (and punk rock) heroes of the past.

Photo from myspace.com/agentorange.

By Mark Leja
Staff Writer, The X Factor

Let me take you back to a simpler time. A time of gigantic hair, a time of tight leather spandex pants, a time of massive cocaine abuse. Yes, my friends, let me take you back to the 1980′s.

Now let me take you to a strange place. Where the faster, most aggressive, and more distorted your music is, the more the fans love you. This is the underground, and deep within this underground lies the Hardcore Punk scene. One of those bands, Agent Orange, staked their claim as among the first of the genre.

Agent Orange was started in 1979 on the verge of the Hardcore Punk movement. As such, the band rose to underground popularity very quickly, but as quickly as they got their wealth, they vanished. This was partly due to the band’s lineup changing more frequently then Megadeth or even Molly Hatchet’s. The only consistent member has been Mike Palm, the guitarist/singer; now that’s called dedication.

The band had their breakout success with the single “Bloodstains” off the Living in Darkness album. The song illustrates the bands signature style, a perfect 50/50 blend of Surf music and Hardcore Punk. To be honest, it’s pretty freakin’ catchy. “Mr. Moto,” from the same album, is an instrumental. To be honest, punk doesn’t have many—if any—instrumentals, even though the three are covers are that of Surf legends Dick Dale and The Chantays. It is still strange to hear a punk album full of them. Fast cars, cheap thrills indeed.

Photo from myspace.com/agentorange.

Agent Orange also covers many diverse bands, from Dick Dale’s “Miserlou” to Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy.” Mike makes the songs his own, taking the song’s basic elements and mixing them with punk, creating a sound that is one of the most distinct in the punk scene. After listening to “Seek and Destroy,” I have to urge everyone to listen to this cover. It is amazing. At first you wouldn’t think it was a cover, then a similar melody kicks in, except played to a degree of speed that even Dick Dale would say…damn.

So, the band makes good music; the problem is there ain’t much of it. The band has consistently recorded new material and even released an album in 1996, Virtually Indestructible, but with an average of about 5 years of time between each release and song lengths averaging out to being 2 and a half minutes.

This problem trails back to the constant lineup changes as well as the slow disintegration of the Hardcore Punk scene. Mike still rocks out though, barely getting minor gigs now for his band at this point, but they have been featured on some soundtracks, the most popular of which being skateboarding video game Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4 which featured “Bloodstains.”

Now I can tell everyone to go out and order the CD off Amazon, but there are reasons why some underground bands stay underground. Their sound is way too original. Agent Orange suffers from this. I love surf music, I love punk; combine them, and it’s awesome! Trust me though, if you don’t like one or the other genre, you won’t like this band. If you wonder if Agent Orange is right for you, don’t just listen to “Bloodstains,” their most popular song. A recommended tune is “Everything Turns Grey” off Living in Darkness. This is another song that personifies the Agent Orange punk/surf style. It’s only two minutes, standard punk length, but it rocks out to the max each and every second. Ironic and depressing, the staples of punk, “Everything Turns Grey” is a must hear for any underground music lover.

Agent Orange really does have an extremely odd combo, but to me, fuck it. Crank that shit! Let everything turn grey!

ARTIST: All Out War
ALBUM TITLE: Into the Killing Fields
RECORD LABEL: Victory Records
RELEASED: August 3

By Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

I’m starting to think that there’s something in the water in New York. Aside from that thing that makes everyone pissed off, that is. Like many New York hardcore bands, All Out War has been around for nearly twenty years but has managed to release a number of consistent albums that always sound as though the band hasn’t aged at all.

Some things clearly never change, and that’s probably for the best. All Out War were one of the forerunners fusing metal riffs with their hardcore, and their fifth album, Into the Killing Fields, takes their long-running trademarks to make yet another album full of pummeling drums, thrashy riffs that imagine Slayer on steroids, and Mike Score’s eternally pissed screams.

Strange thing is, Into the Killing Fields sounds like it could have been released anywhere in their discography, and I don’t have a problem with that. They have managed to develop their sound into a no-frills killing machine and they know what they’re doing and how to do it. If it weren’t for the great production, I could easily see this album coming out ten, fifteen years ago just as well as it has now. And that’s no easy feat.

There has been a bit of a throwback to the old thrash sound emerging the past couple of years now, and most of the bands always end up throwing a bit of contemporary influences, or worse, irony, making the approach seem slightly less than genuine. All Out War doesn’t make that mistake, and it shows, making for one of the most pissed off hardcore albums I’ve heard this year.

Photo from xstuckinthepastx.blogspot.com.

The times have definitely not eased Score’s lyrics either. The band has always had a penchant for themes and imagery that brings thoughts of nuclear holocaust to mind, and this one is no different; war, death and a genuine sense of outrage saturate the songs. There’s slight of a more death metal influence this time around, with some tremolo picking here and there, but it’s all done so in a fashion that doesn’t take away from their sound, and they don’t sound like they’re planning on slowing down either.

Into the Killing Fields is short and sweet, and they waste no time and no space on the record. In a mere nine songs, they say everything that they have to say, with no filler, no interludes, no bullshit. They say the more things change the more they stay the same; sometimes it’s nice to see that in action.

RATING: 7.5/10

ARTIST: Periphery
ALBUM TITLE: Periphery
RECORD LABEL: Sumerian Records
RELEASED: April 20th

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

I love the progressive genre.  From the early 70′s psychedelic based bands to the modern heavy metal ones, I am always in the mood for an epic sounding adventure.  Periphery clearly wants to throw their hat in the ring with their self-titled debut, but does it pull me like so many progressive albums I got into throughout the years?  Well, the answer is both yes and no.

I’ll start with the good news.  The album does have fast, layered guitar work, which I’ll admit I am a sucker for.  Even though the solos don’t compare to other works I have heard, by no means are they bad.  With time, I am sure I’ll appreciate them more.  The drum work is also amazing.  This is the first band in quite some time that had me focusing on percussion more so than other instruments.  I find this especially odd because a lot of their songs have a similar tempo.  Sure, it’s talented when you go all over the place with drums, but they must have done something right to hold my attention without resorting to changing it up all the time.

I also thought the electronic elements, though mainly present at the end of a few tracks, were very unique.  I certainly wasn’t prepared to hear anything like that on this album, and it caught me off guard in a good way when I first heard it.  I only wish that they incorporated it in their actual songs more instead of using them as a way to close off the last minute of a song.  It’s a shame too, because I believe Periphery could have pulled it off after giving this album a few listens.

Photo from myspace.com/periphery.

Which brings me to the bad news.  The similar tempos for most of the album may have worked for drum track, but I couldn’t stand the rhythm guitar.  Look, I love a good “jugga-jugga-ja-jugga jugga” as much as the next man, but I found it very distracting as it is present in just about every song.  Maybe it was mixed too loud for me, or maybe I couldn’t help but imagine a twenty stringed guitar set to 11.  Oh sure, that sounds awesome on paper, but it was just too damn distorted–and I love distortion!

I also can’t get behind the vocals.  I honestly tried…I really did.  I mean, I have no problem with Robert Smith’s vocals for god’s sake, but Spencer Soleto’s voice sounds too cartoonish when it reaches a low growl.  When it get’s high, it makes Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta fame sound tame, which I guess accomplishes something.  Be warned:  If you are anyone who absolutely can’t stand vocals that constantly switch from dirty to clean on a moments notice, then you won’t be a fan of Periphery.  I personally let it pass, but as I made clear by now, I just wish they were better.

I will say that there were a couple of moments on the album that I can’t help but mention, as I believe it shows Periphery has much room to grow, and can be a serious contender in the Progressive Metal genre.  At the end of one of the tracks midway through the album, there is a sketch that briefly talks about the band members in a mock 40′s style advertisement.  It was amusing, but not laugh out loud funny.  The reason why this is notable to me is that it shows that Periphery doesn’t take themselves seriously, which I think is key to any progressive band’s lifespan.

The other moment is the closing track “Racecar,” which is a fifteen minute monster that did a flawless job of holding my attention.  I could take or leave the other tracks on any given day depending on my mood, but I will always be ready for “Racecar.”  It has a haunting melody which sounds like a grotesque version of early Yes, believe it or not.  If “Racecar” is a sign of things to come from Periphery, then we might just have another winner on our hand.  But for now, their self-titled debut makes for an interesting listen, nothing more.

RATING: 6.5/10

Front page image from sumerianrecords.com.

ARTIST: Broken Bells
TITLE: Broken Bells
RECORD LABEL: Columbia
RELEASED: March 9

By Chris Kromphardt
Staff Writer, Justice Administrator

One is already a stand-out album of 2010. The other was just released July 13, despite being originally slated to come out—and leaking—back in 2009. Their common denominator: producer/self-proclaimed auteur Danger Mouse.

In a 2006 interview with Chuck Klosterman, Danger Mouse—who at the time had been producing Demon Days with the Gorillaz and St. Elsewhere as Gnarls Barkley along with Cee-Lo—likened his approach to producing to writer-director Woody Allen’s approach to filmmaking. Mouse describes an epiphany he had after watching several of Allen’s films: “‘Why do I relate so much to this white 60-year-old Jewish guy? Why do I understand his neurosis?…And what I realized is that they worked because Woody Allen was an auteur.’” Danger Mouse sought to emulate this creative approach as he says no other music producer has, envisioning his role in producing—directing—musicians as guiding them so as to realize the singular conception that is in his head.

Danger Mouse’s producing role enables him to work on numerous projects with multiple artists at a pace any one musician would be crazy to try to match. Earlier this year another Danger Mouse-produced album, Brothers by the Black Keys, was released. His polygamous approach to musicmaking provides a lot of music to sift through to assess his claim of being an auteur.

Broken Bells is the self-titled release by the duo of Danger Mouse and singer James Mercer of The Shins. (Mercer also appears in a track on Dark Night of the Soul, ”Insane Lullaby”, actually predating Broken Bells). It helps to think of Mercer as the lead actor; DeNiro to Mouse’s Scorcese. His work with The Shins was good but often repetitive, whereas Broken Bells sees Mercer demonstrating much greater range. “The Ghost Inside” is a great example of layered vocals; all of them are Mercer’s, some in falsetto, some not.

Danger Mouse lays the foundation with a catchy syncopation, and numerous audible flourishes seamlessly accompany Mercer’s alternating singing styles. A talented producer working with a clear vision and a versatile leading man makes Broken Bells an album you’ll actually want to listen through in its entirety—and if you’re like me, many, many times—because each song’s fresh and yet part of a cohesive whole.

ARTIST: Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse
TITLE: Dark Knight of the Soul
RECORD LABEL: Capitol Records
RELEASE: July 13

Dark Night of the Soul sees a lot more people thrown into the mix, including an actual director, David Lynch (Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks). Lynch himself could be considered an auteur, given that his work exemplifies the leitmotif of being pretty messed up. Most tracks are performed by different artists, including The Flaming Lips, Black Francis, Julian Casablancas, Mercer, and Iggy Pop (Lynch provides some vocals as well); as a result it’s hard to assess Danger Mouse’s role—if any—as an auteur, especially because he shares credit with Sparklehorse.

Talking about Dark Night, he said: “As we finished the songs with the various artists, we started to notice some interesting patterns…We’d never given specific direction to any of the singers involved, nor had we played them any of the other songs on the album. Yet there seemed to be common themes in the lyrics and feel of the songs. There was pain, revenge, war, twisted dreams and other beautifully haunting visual aspects to it all.”

Dark Night of the Soul doesn’t suffer from lack of vision in the slightest, but it’s one where all of the parts are key; it’s collaborative. The change in style from song to song does create an ambiance of delirium, and as accompanied by the booklet of photographs that’s Lynch’s handiwork, the album’s a pretty harrowing experience.

So what conclusions can we draw from Broken Bells and Dark Night of the Soul about Danger Mouse’s auteur aspirations? The former is a clear example of such a theory, while the latter is more of an accidental one. Danger Mouse doesn’t just produce singles—in fact, he leaves the singing and a lot of lyric writing to the musicians. So, because it seems, short of consulting a director’s commentary, that it’s difficult to discern Danger Mouse’s role on individual tracks, perhaps it’s wise to evaluate his body of work on whole albums; both Broken Bells and Dark Night of the Soul exhibit album-wide vision.

Or to put another way: Woody Allen? Meet Danger Mouse.

RATINGS:
Broken Bells: 9.5/10
Dark Night of the Soul: 8/10

Front page image from vitalicnoise.com.

ARTIST: Avenged Sevenfold
ALBUM TITLE: Nightmare
RECORD LABEL: Warner Bros.
RELEASED: July 27

By Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

It may have took the loss of brother, friend and drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, but Avenged Sevenfold have managed to push through the grief and loss by creating one of the most solid and impressive releases of their careers.

Sure, the album still stretches beyond a number of genres, and some work better than others, but their anything goes attitude and mix of G’n’R’s snarl, Metallica’s heft and a bunch of other more disparate influences culminates in a great rock record.

Nightmare, their fifth full length and third on Warner Bros, opens with the self-titled track and some tinkling ivories, a nod to their flair for the theatrical, and the band clearly just go for broke this time around. Some of their past trademarks have returned from the dead; M. Shadow’s screaming, for one, is a welcome return, and should finally quiet the rumors that he wasn’t able to do it anymore.

Photo from avenged-sevenfold.web.id.

When the band announced that Sullivan had passed away late last year, they had followed it up saying that they felt it necessary to honor Sullivan and complete the album that he had put so much into. They found a friend in virtuoso drummer Mike Portnoy, of Dream Theater, who stepped behind the drumkit, and the fit is so well that it almost sounds like The Rev never went away. Portnoy wisely plays to his fill-heavy strengths without going too overboard, fitting Sullivan’s style quite well, but his intro mini-solo at the start of “Natural Born Killer” is one hell of a jaw dropper.

This album also shows the band stretching out in some newer directions. The last two minutes of “Buried Alive” wouldn’t sound out of place on a Megadeth album, and the opening to the aforementioned “Natural Born Killer” is likely one of the heaviest songs the band has ever recorded, while “God Hates Us” mashes the sound of their pre-major label days with a heavy dose of Pantera’s stomp and groove, with some of Shadows’ fiercest vocals since Waking the Fallen.

While much of the band’s material has always touched on death and loss, it truly carries a whole new meaning on Nightmare; Sullivan co-wrote all of the songs with the band, and considering his death, much of the lyrical content almost serves eerily as foreshadowing. That heavy atmosphere hangs over the entire album, and it obviously affected their songwriting. Gone are the senseless odes to partying and living dangerously, replaced with odes to loss, regret and death.

“Fiction”, featuring his last recorded vocals, is the kind of song that will make the hairs stand up on your neck, because knowing that he died three days after he completed writing it just really hits home. The song’s first line is him singing “now I think I understand how this world can overcome a man,” and it reads like his last will and testament.

Album closer “Save Me” follows in the band’s tradition of having one epic length song on each of their albums, and this one is no exception. Clocking in a little past the ten minute mark, it’s probably the band’s most accomplished attempt at this yet. Compositionally, the song flows particularly well from one segment to the next without sounding like a hodgepodge of parts. Perhaps it’s due to Mike Portnoy’s experience in these matters with main band Dream Theater, but the song just seems more together than “Strength of the World” or “Little Piece of Heaven”, their last two stabs at overlong songs.

Synyster Gates also has truly come into his own as lead guitarist on this album. His playing has slowly over the past few albums evolved from all flash to actual soulful phrasing. That’s not to say he doesn’t shred; his soloing has also improved exponentially, but his playing is just more evocative.

Overall, Nightmare is a pretty sad album, but this is the type of album that would have never existed were it not for the loss of The Rev. Avenged Sevenfold stepped up to the plate and delivered the most mature, developed album of their careers, and while it’s likely not going to sway the detractors, Nightmare definitely serves as fine tribute to a fallen friend.

RATING: 9/10

Front page image from facebook.com.