CD Review: The Sword - Warp Riders

Artist: The Sword
Album: Warp Riders
Year: 2010
Stars: 4/5

Musically, the album has many positive factors. Most notably is the improved production. Thankfully, The Sword decided to work with a producer this time who does a much better job at mixing the vocals and drums than on previous releases. In addition, the bands musicianship seems to have improved. Drummer Trivett Wingo is much less focused on constant cymbal thrashing and more on creating groovy rhythms. The twin guitars are also utilized highly effectively. Songs like “Tres Brujas,” “Night City,” and “The Chronomancer I: Hubris” display best the bands new hard rock oriented sound. That’s not to say they’ve lost their edge, however. The albums two instrumentals, “Acheron/Unearthing The Orb,” and “Astrea’s Dream” are as heavy as anything they’ve done previously and the latter even showcases a bit of influence from Metallica.

However, there is some bad in this album. Unfortunately, It has not lived up to the full potential I had hoped it would due in most part to a lack of originality. Some reviewers have said that the first and second halves don’t match up very well. I have to disagree with this, I believe that they DO match up well, but that neither has any tracks with the staying power of those on their first album. In the case of The Swords third album, experimentation has backfired slightly and caused the group to loose its focus on writing heavy music. Sure, hard rock can be heavy, but this album with such a great concept and so much potential just falls far from what it could have been. Most notably on songs such as “Tres Brujas,” “Night City,” and “(The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire” which seem like mindless rehashes of one another.

In summation, Warp Riders has its stand out moments and a great sci-fi concept behind it, but the songs are not original or ground-breaking enough to have any long lasting effect on listeners.

 
Tracklist:
1. Acheron/Unearthing The Orb
2. Tres Brujas
3. Arrows in the Dark
4. The Chronomancer I: Hubris
5. Lawless Lands
6. Astraea's Dream
7. The Warp Riders
8. Night City
9. The Chronomancer II: Nemesis
10. (The Night The Sky Cried) Tears of Fire

Track Picks:
1. The Chronomancer II: Nemesis
2. Lawless Lands
3. The Warp Riders

For more info on teh Sci-Fi narrative behind the album, check out www.swordofdoom.com/

Top 10 HEAVIEST Albums - Pt. 3

I'll try to make this brief, because lets be honest, what can I say that hasn't already been said about this band and these two albums?


2. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality - This album for me was a personal awakening for me as a musician and music lover. The tones, the innovations in guitar playing, everything combined perfectly on this album to create a timeless classic.

Chill Factor: Into The Void



1. Black Sabbath - Paranoid - Yes, I concede. Paranoid is better than Master of Reality. I say this because Paranoid not only provides more music, but also more memorable tunes. Not only that, some tracks like Iron Man, War Pigs, and Paranoid have suffered severe radio overplay through the years and have still managed to stand the test of time and be engaging to this day.

Chill Factor: The bridge of War Pigs is especially chilling and is one of Iommi's all time classic riffs.

Top 10 HEAVIEST Albums - Pt. 2

Disclaimer: As with most of the stuff I post here, these entries are basically unrevised, so be prepared for numerous typos and the generally discordant nature of my writing.


5. Sad Wings of Destiny - Judas Priest - The second album from metal gods JP, released in 1976 is considered by many to be the bands magnum opus. It is certaintly the bands most concept driven and singular in focus, with the unfortunate exception of Nostradamus, bleh. Halford's voice never sounded so good, the guitars are supremely raw, and the mix is incredible for its time. Shorter songs like "Tyrant," "Genocide," and the ever classic "The Ripper," give the album the bulk of it's rockingness, but it's the epics which to me truly stand out. "Victim of Changes" and "Dreamer Deceiver" showcase Hal;fords almighty male soprano vocal range and introduced the world to some of its first heavy metal riffage. Taken straight out of the book of Sabbath, the riffs are simple and heavy, yet devoid of Sabbath's bluesier tendencies. What makes this album better than the more popular Stained Class, British Steel, Screaming For Vengeance, and Painkiller? It's the staying power of the songs. Unfortunately, Priest tended to begin repeating themselves somewhat on later releases, and just generally wrote songs which were less memorable than on Sad Wings. This album is full of memorable riffs, lyrics, vocals, and because of this, it is a classic album which will not soon be forgotten.

Tracklist:*
1. Prelude
2. Tyrant
3. Genocide
4. Epitaph
5. Island of Dominaton
6. Victim Of Changes
7. The Ripper
8. Dreamer Deceiver
9. Deceiver

Chill Factor: This album is full of memorable, chill inducing moments. Most of tehm, however, come thanks to Rob Halford's ungodly vocal performance. Th extent of his range is better exhibited on this album than on any other. listening to "Island of Domination," one can hear him bellowing low raspy notes like Gene Simmons, where as on sings like "The Ripper," his voice is unleashed in a hellish Siren's scream. He hits notes most women couldn't. it gives me chills just writing about it. Truly, he is the greatest vocalist metal has ever seen. To me, teh best example of this, and winner fo the CF award, is "Dreamer Deceiver-Deceiver." The gradual buildup leading to the most explosive high notes Halford has ever sung cement this as one of my all-time favorite Priest songs. His ability to hit these notes, along with his ability to sustain them, is what most amazes me. This album is full of that like no other album since, and as his vocal ability is the most impressive feature of the band, this album which exhibits it at its best must be their heaviest.

*This is the original tracklisting from the LP release. This is how the band intended the album to be heard, but the record label screwed up and reversed Side A and B of the LP on subsequent releases.



4. Dopesmoker - Sleep - Enough with albums that are over thirty years old, right? Well, although California stoner trio Sleep's Dopesmoker was released just seven years ago in 2003, its style adn approach to riffing is straight out of early 1970's Sabbath. Typical Sab worshipers as they are, Sleep used the advance check received from their record label to purchase stack of green amps and green stacks of another kind. As a result, the band delved deeper into their collective conscious and created the greatest single song epic ever created. Consisting of one 63 minute song, Dopesmoker is a plodding journey through a world where Sabbath is God and the bong is christ. although I personally do not smoke, this album spoke to me when I heard it. it took time, however. At first, I did not understand. All I heard was huge fuzzed out bass, repetitive drums, and monotonous vocals. After a few subsequent listens, though, I gained a respect for it and have since come to love everything about it. The guitar tone is chief amongst all here. A combination of distorted bass and guitar both running full stacks of vintage Orange amplification. The fuzzy power has yet to be surpassed in my book as far as sheer beauty in volume is concerned. Slower than anything that Sabbath ever did, but still true to their original intention of painting a world where the bong and guitar are objects to be worshiped, Sleep with their masterpiece of Dopesmoker have effectively written and closed the book on stoner-doom heaviness.

Tracklisting (as if one were necessary):
1. Dopesmoker
2. Sonic Titan (live)

Chill Factor: Surprisingly, although this album is number six on the list, it is much less rich with CF's than previous entries. However, its cohesiveness and indomitable flow more than make up for this. I mean, for God's sake, It's one song! How can it not flow? That aside, there are two moments that tend to induce a bit of a chill. The first is about ten minutes in when teh first vocal line is sung. Out of a mass of slowly evolved riffing, Al's voice erupts with the unforgettable words; "Drop out of life with bong in hand. Follow the smoke to-uh the riff-filled land." Second, is the bridge which presents an extreme contrast to the rest of the song with its clean picked guitar and faded out rhythm section. After about thirty minutes of mind numbing riff cycles, it is a welcome break and reassures the listener that they are listening to something magical. I suppose a third CF could be when the song is over after 63 minutes. Because by this point you are so engulfed in the song that you are willing to go wherever it takes you next, and before you know it, it has left your speakers. The journey is over and you are left paralyzed on the floor trying to comprehend what just happened to your ear drums. How can you ever listen to music the same way again? How can you ever write music the same way again? Should you just give up on writing new material since the best has obviously already been written? Sweet Leaf on steroids, Dopesmoker is the heaviest thing a so-called stoner-doom band has ever created.



3.  The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull - Earth - I only bought this album by Earth about three months ago, but It has changed my life. It is beautiful in every sense of the word. The layers of mellow guitars, slow drums, and droning bass paint an image of life and the Earth in a listeners mind. Everytime I listen to this song, it makes me feel good. It mekes me feel like everything is going to be okay, as if nothing in the world could hurt me, and even if it did, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Topped off by the best album art I have ever seen, created by master Arik Roper, this album has effectively changed my view of the world, of nature, of people, and of music. I cannot say enough about how beautiful the lyric-less images this album paints are. Relying on instruments alone to create this masterpiece only furthers my respect for band mastermind Dylan Carlson. It is similar to Dopesmoker in that one cannot again listen to music the same after hearing it, but The Bees Made Honey is superior due to being less indebted to the previous works of Black Sabbath and more to the sheer inspiration of being alive and appreciating life and the Earth. This is not stoner or doom. It is something new, and different. Something that will enver happen again and could never be imitated. Unlike Sabbath who's influence will always be felt, Earth will forever be trapped in the underground, but this album will not disappear. It will remain serving as a testament to the beauty that still does exist within this world. This album is not heavy because of distorted guitars, screamed vocals, or being rooted int eh heavy metal principles defined by Sabbath. No, it is a new kind of heavy. the kind of heavy that can only be experienced by delving deep within the realms of mind and allowing yourself to become one with the rest of the world. It's heavy because its something unheard of and powerful. The kind of powerful that simply crushes anything else to seem mediocre in comparison. Its not heavy metal, its heavy MUSIC.

Trackilst:
1. Omens and Portents I: The Driver
2. Rise to Glory
3. Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)
4. Engine of Ruin
5. Omens and Portents II: Carrion Crow
6.  Hung from the Moon
7. The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull

Chill Factor: As with Dopesmoker, on this album there really isn't any one CF. Instead, the albums greatness is in its flow and infinite cohesiveness. By playing the album on a loop, it almost sounds like a single beautiful song, which is not a bad thing in this case. Each song is different, but is perfectly interluded by the previous. Dylan Carlsons Hendrix-like effects on "Engine of Ruin" are definitely a highlight, however.


More to come...

Top 10 HEAVIEST Albums - Pt. 1

This is my list of top 10 HEAVIEST albums of all time. This list is of course just based on my own opinion, and being that my music collection is still growing it cannot be completely accurate. In order to be recognized on the list, the albums must feature at least one of two qualities:

1st: Every song must be as good as the last. No "fillers" here.
2nd: The "chill factor" - This is when a song or series of songs is so heavy that it gives you chills at some point while listening to it.

10. Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - To their credit, pretty much the first five Sabbath albums could have been used to fill this list, but that would be to discredit the hordes of competent metal bands to be influenced by them and create incredible music of their own. The fifth, and at the time most progressive album yet by the band, features all time classics such as the title track, "A National Acrobat," and "Sabbra Cadabra." Yes, Vol. 4 has just as many, and more awesome tracks, but it also has much more filler making it overall a weaker full album effort.

Chill factor: "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," the albums title track and opening song takes the cake here. Its two main riffs are some of the heaviest Tony Iommi ever produced.
 

Tracklist:
1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

2. A National Acrobat
3. Fluff
4. Sabbra Cadabra
5. Killing Yourself To Live
6. Who Are You? (ugh... yes, this is the sole filler)
7. Looking For Today
8. Spiral Architect
 

9. Judas Priest - Stained Class - Better than the Sab's fifth album, you ask? Yes. This is why; as proliferate early followers of Sabbath, tehy took the heavy riffage of Iommi and induced a mettalic sound into it which would come to be staple with bands such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and many others. Well, this is the album where they defined that sound. This is the album that "standardized" heavy metal and effectively defined its future as a genre. No, the songs aren't as memorable as some of the bands later offerings, but the album as a whole carries its momentum from each one to another which creates an incredibly exciting listening experience. Indeed, maybe this is why the opening song is titled "Exciter."

Tracklist:
1. Exciter
2. White Heat, Red Hot
3. Better By You, Better Than Me
4. Stained Class
5. Invader
6. Saints In Hell
7. Savage
8. Beyond The Realms of Death
9. Heroe's End

Chill Factor: Well... there really isn't one. I guess I'd have to say the whole album. Halford hits some seriously high notes here, but they are not as upfront and glorified as on Sad Wings of Destiny.



8. High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine - Although they may never receive the credit they are due, High On Fire is by far THE heaviest band to his the metal scene int eh past ten years. In making this statement, however, it brings into the question of what makes a band "Heavy." In my terms, a "heavy" band knows their influences and respects the classics, but not only do they respect the classics, but they somehow incorporate bits of their style into their own to create something which is truly unique, and original, while still showing evidence of being influenced by those who came before. High On Fire does this with flying colors, and nowhere is it more evident than on their latest album, Snakes For The Divine. Here, Sabbath and Maiden are the most obvious influences, but who better? Probably, the two greatest bands in history come together in the form of one band. Why is this better than Sabbaths fifth, and Priest's metallic revolution? Because it is more consistent through out. Unlike the a fore mentioned, Snakes For The Divine has no filler and doesn't give in to influences outside heavy metal to create its heavy sound. It is firmly rooted in the sounds that metal was founded upon, but takes those sounds to new places which are somehow unexpected and refreshing. Not to mention, the mix on this album is heavier than on any other in the list.

Tracklist:*
1. Snakes For The Divine
2. Frost Hammer
3. Bastard Samurai
4. Ghost Neck
5. The Path
6. Fire, Flood & Plague
7. How Dark We Pray
8. Holy Flames of The Fire Spitter

Chill Factor: Right out of the gate, the titIe track features one of the heaviest riffs Matt Pike has written. Coming in right around six minutes in, the chugging progression is reminiscent of the bridge riff from "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," but doesn't quite stick around long enough to induce quite as intense a reaction. The real prize goes to "Bastard Samurai." It is the heaviest song High On Fire have ever written and features the most apocalyptic riff Matt Pike has ever played. The build up form the restrained verses into the repetition of this riff overlapped by Matt's howling scream induces chills every time I hear it. "How Dark We Pray" also induces shills with its long strings of laid back death metal riffing, if such a thing existed.

*I should probably also give this album an award for Heaviest Track Titles.

 

 

7. Iron Maiden - The Number of The Beast -The bands first album with Bruce Dickinson - yes, "THE Bruce Dickinson." SNL satire aside, it is considered by many fans and critics to be the bands best overall effort. From first song "Invaders" to what would become the proto-typical album ending epic, "Hallowed Be Thy Name," this album is absolutely spine crushing. For the first in this list, every song is a classic in its own right. Decently catchy chorus lines blend seamlessly with over the top guitars and a characteristic galloping drum section to define the unique Iron Maiden sound that so many wish they had come up with.  If Priest's Stained Class defined the sound, The Number of The Beast defined the style. Metal would not be the same after this album dropped, but Maiden weren't finished yet redefining the genre...

Tracklist:
1. Invaders
2. Children of The Damned
3. The Prisoner
4. 22 Acacia Avenue
5. The Number of The Beast
6. Run To The Hills
7. Gangland
8. Hallowed Be Thy Name

Chill Factor: There's at least two chill factors on this album. The first is "Children of The Damned." Almost a take on the Sab's "Children of The Grave," and later, "Children of The Sea." This song features an incredible chorus line by Bruce and a classic 80's metal riff beneath which adds to the epic atmosphere. This song, rather than opener, "Invader's," sets the tone for the album: epic, glorious, take no prisoners. The second CF award goes to the all time classic album closer "Hallowed Be Thy Name." A famous magazine has placed this song at the top of their Best Metal Songs of All Time list, and for good reason. The epic sound hinted are earlier in songs such as "Children of The Damned," is brought forth in full glory. The band pulls itself in more directions than on any song previous and succeeds in dropping jaws with their heavy metal prowess. Despite its somewhat experimental and self-indulgent nature, the song is held together by an extremely heavy and classic riff which ties the song into the album and keeps the listener from being turned off.



6. Iron Maiden - Powerslave - Like the previous entry, this album by Iron Maiden features no filler. It is balls to the wall from track one til the end. However, this album see's the band pulling tehmselves apart to find new sounds even  more so. In fact, the previous' epic album closer, "Hallowed Be Thy Name" would probably be more at home amongst these tracks. Vocally, Bruce doesn't really go in any new directions, but Adrianne and Dave's guitar work by this album had improved massively since The Number of The Beast and effectively established them as the torch holders for dueling guitar work.

Tracklist:
1. Aces High
2. Two Minutes To Midnight
3. Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)
4. Flash of The Blade
5. The Duellists
6. Back In The Village
7. Powerslave
8. Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

Chill Factor: As a fellow guitar player, I am happy to present this honor to the dual guitar work of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray for their incredible leads on Flash of The Blade and The Duellists, but more specifically on Flash of The Blade. After maybe two verses of Bruce singing, the band goes off on a tangent and leaves any formal structure behind. Instead, the twin guitars are unleashed in a primal fury as dueling serpents trying to tear each other apart. Eventually, drums and bass leave them and three guitar harmonize gracefully, yet with an underlying sense of trying to destroy one another before Bruce's voice returns to sing  a chorus line. To date, this is the most incredible and original "breakdown" I have ever heard.


To be continued...

Musical Philosophy, pt. 1

There's so many styles of music. Thousands, almost as many as there are religions. That's basically what my music is to me right now. Its my passion, my love, its a lot like a religion. If I drive somewhere, there is always music on. And not just some crap from the radio. I've got my ipod plugged in and I can jam to any of the thousands of songs lucky enough to make it onto a playlist. I appreciate each song on my pod for a different reason. They all absorb into my psyche and some of them even make it into my own songs.

Yeh, thats right. I rip off the music I listen to all the time. Rarely am I conscious of it at first, but as I go along, adding parts, modifying riffs, layering melodies, I almost always begin to realize that I have stolen ideas or borrowed sounds. But never without my own twist! To swipe a riff without making it your own would be blasphemy, but to re-envision, fusing genres and creating your own is to be great.

Recently, I ripped off Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" and fused it with a bit from Gojira's "Ocean Planet." I had no idea at the time, but after playing ti over a few times I realized what I had done; bluegrass meets death metal. Not necessarily the first song I've done like this, but this one is certainly the most refined example to date.

While working on my Creative Writing Manifesto tonight, I noticed a passage in my textbook about "the zone." Right, like when an athlete say "I'm in the zone"  after getting a touchdown, or a basket, or whatever the hell since I really don't care about sports. Its the same for a writer and for a music head such as myself. Yesterday around noon I began working on this unique instrumental bluegrass-death metal song, and before I knew it, 14 hours had passed. It was 2 a.m. and the days event had completely passed me by. Yes I had eaten dinner, and yes I had even found time for a work out, but all these activities were done in a zombie-like state. I was there, but I wasn't really there. In my head I was writing riffs, rearranging older ones, and silently listening to the whole song on a loop.

Unlike other lesser artists, however, I'm not just going to publish the "its not done yet, but I just had to get it out of my head so here it is tell me what you think"-version. I won't apologize for this; I look down on people who call themselves musicians and don't put all their effort into everything that they do musically. They'd rather give 50% of their effort now and wait for when they're in a band or when people are around to watch to give it there all. When I write a song I dedicate myself to it. It becomes a part of me and often times I can't play or listen to anything else until every aspect of it is complete. I wont publish a song in any version until it is a version that I have spent a lot of time perfecting to a finished form. By doing this, I can make good songs that are original and make me proud. After all, shouldn't being proud of my work be all that matters? Making music that has heart and a piece of me in it is what I live for.

Like the many great artists before me, I won't stop despite being beat down. I'll always look for ways to improve myself and make my music better. The more I like my music the more others will. That is my philosophy; or at least one part of it.Musical