2009 brings a few major themes that you will see here:

• Female vocals – Anneke Van Giersbergen is everywhere. Theatre of Tragedy pulled the surprise of the year, the Gathering put out yet another solid effort, and Metric made it to the list as well.
• The resurgence of Devin Townsend – Devin is in the middle of a journey in creating four albums with his newly formed Devin Townsend Project. Every time I write him off he proves me wrong.
• Prolific musicians dominating – Devin Townsend and Steven Wilson are the closest thing we’ll come to a Frank Zappa in a long time. How long can they go on for? Then there’s yet another great album from Megadeth, (hed) P.E., and Hypocrisy… these guys all just keep going.

On to the list…

1. The Devin Townsend Project – Addicted

   Devin combines a mixture of metal, pop, techno, and Anneke Van Giersbergen’s beautiful voice to make an album that is truly addicting. It’s short (especially if you discredit the two minutes of fade at the end), it’s not the most musically articulate, and it’s probably not going to last forever with me — but I can’t stop listening to or loving this album — and that’s why it’s my #1.

2. Porcupine Tree – The Incident

   Musically, this is the top album. Steven Wilson, who I’ve raved about for years, has done it again. There are beautiful melodies, incredible solos, and even flashbacks to prior albums. The rhythm is rarely broken up, and the album strengthens to the end. Also note that it’s a two-CD set, but I am primarily focusing on the first album.

3. Theatre of Tragedy – Forever Is the World

   My surprise of the year. Nell Sigland does a fantastic job and lays a sweet track over some melodic-yet-sludgy heavy music. Countless bands have tried doing what Theatre of Tragedy has done, but none have succeeded to this level.

4. The Devin Townsend Project – Ki

   Devin putting out four albums at once sounds like a complete train wreck, but there’s a reason why it’s working – organization. When he was writing, if he was in a chipper mood, he could write something for Addicted. When in an introspective mood, he could switch to Ki. No more do we need to deal with the roller coaster of sociopath emotions that Devin goes through during a single album. In 2009 and 2010, I’ll be able to choose which Devin I want to hear for myself.

5. Hypocrisy – A Taste of Extreme Divinity

   This is the first album on this list that I can crush in the weightroom. It’s not as catchy as my favorite – The Arrival – but it still slams in a year that needed a lot more slamming.

6. Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot

   This album is total proof of what a fucking douchebag guitarist Joe Satriani is. He spent nearly his entire life doing solo guitar wanking in front of a bunch of lonely losers, but this is what you get when he actually joins a BAND and plays REAL music with other people. In one album, he did more for music than he did his entire, selfish career.

   The album is catchy, fun, old school (even sometimes lame), and a total winner. Welcome back, Sammy Hagar.

7. Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings

   I almost didn’t even give this album a shot. Their past few albums (since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence) have been THAT bad. I’m glad I listened, because this is a great prog album that got a ton of airtime for me. Three amazing songs within, I’ll let you figure out which ones they are.

8. (hed) P.E. – New World Orphans

   WHOA. What in the hell is this? I’ll tell you what it is – some unbelievably intense hip-hop slammed funk metal that breaks every barrier you have ever known in music. When Amazon says EXPLICIT LYRICS, they mean it. These guys hate women, the government, corporate America, organized religion, and sing about enough conspiracies to make your head spin. Furthermore, they’re from nearby Huntington Beach – But I don’t know if I’d ever go to a local show. I’d probably fear for my life.

   Just listen to the hit Renegade and you’ll be absolutely hooked. These guys can rap, groove, and most of all, piss you off to no end.

   This album should be higher on the list for the simple fact that it introduced me to the band, which has tons of music I was able to go through. But at the end of the day, it’s low because there’s too much ridiculous bullshit between the fantastic tracks on the album (Nibiru Intro? Planet X? The idiocy in Flesh and Blood at 3:10? come on…)

   Note that this is the part of the list where it starts becoming difficult to listen to albums all the way through – not a good sign for the year. Every album, starting here, starts to get a bit tired about halfway through, and that’s NOT a mark of excellence for me.

9. The Gathering – West Pole

   After the departure of Anneke (she is seriously somehow connected to every album on this list!), one would think this band was done for. Not so! Silje Wergeland is somehow a fantastic vocal replacement, and this album is a grower.

10. Megadeth – Endgame

    Megadeth strikes again! This is one that entire metal community can pretty much agree on, and I see it being the BraveWords #1 album after all the votes are tallied up. The riffs shred, the vocals blast, and the drumming throws down bombs. Bring this one to the football weightroom.

    Dave Mustaine is a metal genius and I have an incredible amount of respect for him. I should have this higher, and I should be a bigger Megadeth fan… but alas, I am not.

11. Metric – Fantasies

    Call me gay if you must, but this is a great album. It’s catchy and sweet, yet still brings out a few explicit lyrics. If you liked the radio single “Help I’m Alive”, take a gamble on this album – you’ll most likely be happy with your decision. This is yet another female-fronted band.

12. Clutch – Strange Cousins from the West

    Disappointment of the year. Clutch is my second favorite band behind Opeth, and I hold them to standards that I’m not sure they can achieve any longer. This album, quite frankly, is annoying and absolutely sucks compared to their rest. I DEMAND better out of Clutch. Strange Cousins, in my not so humble opinion, is UN-FUCKING-ACCEPTABLE. Track 4, Abraham Lincoln, is UNLISTENABLE. I’m disappointed in you, Clutch; you have let me down.

    But I still own it because I love you dirty bastards. Maybe it’ll grow when I calm down.

13. Insomnium – Across the Dark

    Hey, I almost forgot that I’m a melodic death metal fan! This is a fun, new album that mixes death metal with a touch of progressive. Sign me up. I’m happy to have found this band, and will start backtracking to their older stuff. A well-hidden secret that few metalheads know, and I’m happy to have made the late 2009 discovery.

14. Katatonia – Night Is the New Day

    This is largely a placeholder. Katatonia fans are raving over this album, and while I love the band, I never got into Night is the New Day. 2009 was reserved for happy music for me – stuff like Devin’s Addicted and Volbeat, and this album is just a downer.

    However, some day I’m gonna be down in the pooper, and this album will be there, ready for me to wallow with it. Until then, it sits at #14 patiently waiting for me to figure it out.

15. Anneke Van Giersbergen – Pure Air

    A number of albums could have gone here, but the choice here was clear. Anneke’s done so much, with her appearances in Addicted, her live album with Danny Cavanaugh (In Parallel), and this album, she deserves lots of credit. Such a beautiful voice. A great year for female vocals indeed.

Honorable Mentions:
Ensiferum – From Afar, Sacred Oath – Sacred Oath (young guys playing old school metal – cool), Immortal – All Shall Fall, Paradise Lost – Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us, Anneke Van Giersbergen & Danny Cavanagh – In Parallel

Top Songs of the Year:

1. Chickenfoot – 8 – My Kinda Girl
2. The Devin Townsend Project – Addicted – #5 – Hyperdrive!
3. Porcupine Tree – #14 – I Drive the Hearse

Shoulda Woulda Coulda List:
Volbeat‘s entire discography. Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood would have been #3 in 2008, a huge feat. I discovered these guys late, thanks (as always) to my friend Brian, and they got TONS of my airtime this year.

Too late to add:
Redemption – Snowfall on Judgement Day. Not bad so far, but I just listened to it for the first time today on the 31st.

??? List:
Heaven & Hell – The Devil You Know (just could NOT get into this album, despite the extreme talent on it)

Overall, BAD year for me. That’s fine because I was due. Not every year can be spectacular – when you highlight everything, you highlight nothing.

Coming soon – My Top 10 Albums of the Decade. Rock out in 2010. Consider this my return to blogging.

Related posts:

1. My Top 15 Albums of 2006
2. My Top 15 Albums of 2008
3. My Top 15 Albums of 2007

2008 was great (although I didn’t blog much) – there could easily be 20 albums on this list. Links to past lists: Top 15 Albums of 2007, Top 15 Albums of 2006. Here we go:

1. Amon Amarth – Twilight of the Thunder Gods
   Last year I said European Death Metal was dead? Think again.

   Not since Opeth’s Blackwater Park in 2001 has there been such a runaway race. This album crushes everything in its path. Brutal rhythm and the concert was one of the best I’ve ever been to. These guys are the real deal.

2. Death Angel – Killing Season
   The old school rebellious thrash masters are back with a dominating album that will leave you in pain. You know that any album with a song whose lyrics are “screw your countries and fuck your states” is going to sit well with me.
3. Testament – The Formation of Damnation
   Chuck Billy recovers from freaking cancer, Alex Skolnick re-joins the band for the first time since 1992, and the gods of Thrash put out some of the best weightlifting music you’ll hear anytime soon.

   This band is as old as I am, but 500 times more badass. When are some young bands going to step up?

4. Opeth – Watershed
   Anytime Opeth puts out a new album and it’s not my #1, it’s a disappointment. The fact that this album has two, maybe three of their best songs ever, but still isn’t in the top 2 tells you how boring the rest of the album is. I’d celebrate a Top 5 album from anyone else. But sorry Opeth, this one gets minimal praises. Time to bring back Steven Wilson?
5. Danko Jones – Never Too Loud
   Good ol’ rock and roll from a band I’d never heard of until this year. These guys, despite their cheesedick lyrics, have the riffiest hooks of any band I’ve never heard. Every song has an original catchy rhythm with such consistency that even the best musicians are impressed. Danko Jones is my ultimate surfing warm-up music as I’m driving to the surf spot. Danko fans hate this album.
6. Steven Wilson – Insurgentes
   It is now quite clear to me that Steven Wilson is the greatest all-around musician on this earth. Here’s a guy who goes to a church in Mexico, sits down at the piano, and writes possibly the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard… out of thin air.
7. Metallica – Death Magnetic
   Who would have expected Metallica to put out good music? I didn’t, and despite Larz Ulrich’s garbage drumming, this album rocks! I am happily surprised after the past few duds they’ve put out. Congrats to Metallica!

8. Warrel Dane – Praises to the War Machine
   You can consider this “Nevermore Lite”. Warrel Dane’s first solo album doesn’t stray too far from his other music, but it’s a formula that works and 10 times better than anything Nevermore’s done lately. The cover of Lucretia My Reflection is phenomenal.
9. Sordal – In Fort Knox With a Penny
   Sordal is the first one to put out some good music after the very, very unfortunate breakup of Green Carnation. This is a beautiful album, but a bit long. It’s even better when you drop track 11 – that song is horrible. Looking forward to more from Sordal!
10. Firewind – The Premonition
    Finally a great prog metal album! Good hooks, solid vocals, and a perfect speed. They even cover Michael Sembello’s She’s a Maniac – LOL!
11. Tiamat – Amanethes
    All of my favorite songs are at the end of the album. One day I was listening, and the album died into the background. Then all of the sudden, the 9th track was on, and I realized that this was awesome music! Compare the ending it to Agalloch.
12. Hammers of Misfortune – Fields / Church of Broken Glass
    Why isn’t this higher? I’m not sure. It’s just not doing it for me this time… Hammers needs Scalzi back. But it’s a double-disc and there’s some sweet music on it. I like the Fields album best.
13. Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
    Soft, unique music with female vocals. There’s no way to describe it, it’s a bit weird but completely original and catchy. Check out a few clips.
14. Mötley Crüe – Saints of Los Angeles
    The Crüe is back! After Nikki Sixx’s awesome performance of 2007 (my #1 album, which I still agree with), this is catchy, fun music and should be higher on my list, but I forgot to buy it until too recently. Welcome back Mötley Crüe!!!!

15. The Haunted – Versus
    
    Any number of albums could have gone in this spot. But just like last year, the #15 album goes to the one that provided some solid weightlifting sessions. This is good, but not great death metal.

Honorable Mentions

• The Hellacopters – Head Off
  It’s a cover album, but it’s the same good ol’ reliable music we’ve come to expect from The Hellacopters. This is their final album, kind of a gift to all of their fans. You guys will be missed!!! :(
• The Pineapple Thief – Tightly Unwound – Very interesting…
• Avantasia – The Scarecrow – The song The Scarecrow is phenomenal
• Hate – Morphosis – Whoa this will get you going
• The Company Band – Sign Here, Here & Here – Kind of like a mini-Clutch EP!
• Trivium – Shogun
• In Mourning – Shrouded Devine
• Jon Oliva’s Pain – Global Warning

Biggest Disappointments
Iced Earth and In Flames. It’s getting to the point where we’re no longer surprised and should retire them from the disappointment list.

A ton of great albums! What a good year! And 2009 should be bringing us a new Iron Maiden album, so get ready to rock!

Related posts:

1. Music Review – Blackfield – Blackfield II
2. My Top 15 Albums of 2006
3. Guest Writer Brian – Music Review: Dark Tranquillity – Fiction

To see what this eclectic, bizarro metal band is all about, go to the Hammers of Misfortune Myspace Page and listen to the second track, A Room and a Riddle, which is off of the August Engine album.

If this band sounds familiar, it’s because their latest album, The Locust Years, scored #6 on my Top 15 Albums of 2006. I like The August Engine even better.

Hammers of Misfortune will always hold a sweet spot in my heart. During my Ohio State college days, I drove up to Cleveland to meet up with Brian and see them play at the Grog Shop in 2004. To our dismay, only 7 people were in attendance (this type of thing happens when a west coast metal band plays in a punk venue and there is absolutely no promotion). And you know what happened? They played their asses off in what was one of the best concerts I’ve seen to this day. I love this band and can’t wait for the new album.

ANYWAY, I decided to solve this problem today. Right here, right now.

The best bet I had was to take a picture of my t-shirt and clean it up a bit. The pic at the top is a JPG of my shirt after it’s been cleaned up. You can see the white part of the claw is whiter than the words. Go ahead and clean those up if you want.

To the left is a vectorized PNG image of the claw with a nice circle around it. Since it’s vectorized, it’s not based off of a geometric formula and can be stretched to your desire. I also have EPS, SVG, and PDFs of it if you like – just contact me.

Finally, here’s a link to the original unmodified August Engine Claw picture from my t-shirt. And here’s a non-vectorized JPG image with the black circle claw.

Why did I do this? Why spend all that time vectorizing it (vectormagic.com RULES, btw) so that I can stretch it out? That’s a secret for later…

Related posts:

1. My Top 15 Albums of 2006
2. My Top 15 Albums of 2008
3. Music Review – Blackfield – Blackfield II

Before I begin, I would like to declare Melodic Death Metal to be officially dead. This genre of music is what has throttled me through the past 8 or 9 years of my life. It’s biggest replacement is a subgenre known as metalcore, which features far too much whining for my liking.

I am not sad, since we saw the end coming. As music has changed, so have I — but the departure of melodeath has left us all in search of something new.

After a slow start, 2007 turned out to be an incredible musical year, and I honestly don’t see 2008 competing with it. Enjoy:

1. Sixx : A.M. – The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack (reviewed by me here)

   A shocker, no doubt. Is this musically the best album of the year? No. But it is my best album.

   In a year where I moved to the foreign world of Los Angeles, Nikki Sixx connected with me in an unexpected way. This city can eat you alive, and it’s good to know that you’re not the only one.

   When I hear about Nikki Sixx, Sixx: AM, or Motley Crüe, it will bring me back to this album, the album I somehow identified with in 2007. Because I now know why nobody wants to die in Van Nuys.

   A companion for the incredible Heroin Diaries book.

2. Alabama Thunderpussy – Open Fire

   Wow. Death metal – out. Whatever this is – in.

   A bone-crushing mixture of balls-out hard rock, stoner metal, punk, and southern edge, Open Fire was probably played during 20% of my workouts this year. One listen to Words of the Dying Man and I was hooked for the year. If you are not an intense person, stay away.

3. Antimatter – Leaving Eden

   This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful album of 2007. Filled with acoustic guitars, cello, and pianos, the melancholy tone of this album is a stark but necessary contrast from the two albums mentioned above. Such intricately sad music, I find it hard to believe that a man composed it.

4. Blackfield – Blackfield II (reviewed by me here)

   I will be truly depressed if Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen do not get together for a Blackfield III. These guys are the best project team in the business right now.

   See my Blackfield concert review here

   I have nothing further to say that I haven’t already written in the reviews above.

5. Clutch – From Beale Street to Oblivion

   Upon the release of Clutch’s latest album, Stoner-metal fans simultaneously rejoiced and cursed. Every Clutch album is remarkably distinct from its peers, and this one is no different. The bluesy feel of From Beale Street to Oblivion put Clutch into an entirely different musical world, and they do it in studly fashion.

   Vocalist Neil Fallon’s lyrical delivery continues to shine, as we have my favorite verse of the year, from the hit song Electric Worry:

   Doctor or lawyer, I’ll never be.
   Life of a drifter – the only life for me,
   You can have your riches, all the gold you saved.
   Cause’ ain’t room for one thing in everybody’s grave.

   Now here’s a scary thought: At the end of the day, this is one of Clutch’s worst albums. While incredible, the riffs get tired over time, and some tracks wear on me.

   See my concert review here

6. Helloween – Gambling With the Devil

   I never gave these power metallers much of a chance, and I’m not sure why. This album came late in the year, but it rips fast and hard. I haven’t heard a power metal album like this for quite some time, and now have the pleasure of going back in time and discovering what I’ve been missing out on.

7. Ensiferum – Victory Songs

   Peter Lindroos from Norther teams up with Markus Toivonen and Sami Hinkka to put out the first Ensiferum album sans Jari Mäenpää.

   Victory Songs features a style of music known as viking / folk metal, which means that you’ll be dealing with very fast music and braveheart-style war chants with swords clashing in the background. Just look at that album cover to the left! It sounds lame, but it seriously rocks.

   I enjoy listening to this music while drilling sniper bullets into scores of Nazis in my favorite online video game.

8. Eddie Vedder – Into the Wild Soundtrack

   A phenomenal musical album to an exquisite motion picture rendition of one of my favorite books.

   Eddie Vetter bares his soul and gives justice to a difficult subject. I’m sorry Pearl Jam fans, but the band is long dead. The future is with Eddie Vetter going solo.

   And at the end of the day, I still cannot decide whether I love or hate Chris McCandless. Perhaps that’s what draws me to him, but that’s for another blog post.

9. Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Black Planet

   For anyone else, getting two top 10 albums in the same year would be a shock. For Steven Wilson, it’s simply expected.

   This album touches upon the isolation and disillusionment that technology brings to our lives, from TV to X-Box to prescription drugs. While deep and dark, I find myself getting lost somewhere between tracks 2 and 4, and by the time the album is done, I end up wondering where the last hour of my life has just disappeared to. A true progressive gem.

10. Ministry – The Last Sucker

    I’ll put it simply – no album has ever given me nightmares. Until this one. Ministry’s final album (this is their 11th) is one of my favorites. Their viewpoints of anti-establishment ring true in a year where we’ve been overrun by crooks and liars.

    Industrial metal will never be the same without Ministry, whose raw chaos will often be imitated, but never at all duplicated.

11. Witchcraft – The Alchemist

    Retro rock? Stoner jams? I have no clue what to call this music, but when I listen to it, I end up feeling like I’m listening to music that was created before I was even born. It’s technical, it’s psychedelic, and it’s a feel-good album from back in time.

12. Alcest – Souvenirs d’un autre Monde

    Souvenirs d’un autre Monde is an atmospheric, drudgy album that will compete with Agalloch (see last year’s review) for music time when I enter the Contemplation Chamber¹. I have a feeling that over time, it will get more listens than most albums on this list.

    Mentally crushing and overwhelming music. This is the type of album that creates a doom-and-gloom atmosphere yet makes you invincible from it.

13. Apocalyptica – Worlds Collide

    Violins and cellos mixed in with metal? I’m a fan. Some of the music is delightfully haunting, but there’s a few tracks that throw off the momentum of the album. That momentum is never regained.

14. Megadeth – United Abominations

    Yet another anti-establishment album. Megadeth is back with solid riffs, raw delivery, and solid production. Mustaine pulls no punches and I should be a bigger Megadeth fan that I am.

15. Nightrage – A New Disease is Born

    
    There are many albums that could have taken this spot, but Nightrage gets in because it was great workout music all year long. It’d have finished stronger if they’d quit it with the intermittent whining.

Honorable Mention: Amorphis – Silent Waters, Avenged Sevenfold – Avenged Sevenfold, Trouble – Simple Mind Collection, Tub Ring – The Great Filter

Would be Top 5 If That Queer Geddy Lee Wasn’t The Vocalist Award: Rush – Snakes and Errors

Best Cover Album: Shaw Blades – Influence

Biggest Disappointments – Soilwork – Sworn to a Great Divide (these guys are done), Iced Earth – Framing Armageddon (thankfully, Matt Barlow is back), Dream Theater – Systematic Chaos (is anyone surprised anymore?)

Worst Album of the Year – Devin Townsend – Ziltoid the Omniscient. It’s over for Devin, he’s officially lost it after so many years of teetering on the brink.

¹ – More on this later

Related posts:

1. Album Review: Sixx: A.M. – The Heroin Diaries (2007)
2. Music Review – Blackfield – Blackfield II
3. Guest Writer Brian – Music Review: Dark Tranquillity – Fiction

Within a few years, they would rise to the top of the Sunset Strip circuit, and a couple years later, sign with Elektra Records, elevating the band to monstrous success and fame.

Now, imagine being a deadbeat kid from a deadbeat family living on the filthy streets of a deadbeat city and suddenly becoming an international rock icon of God-like status. All of the sudden, thousands of people worship you; you have more money and women than you know what to do with, and it’s all fueled by a record industry that feeds you whatever you need to keep it going so that they can suck your life dry like the vultures they are. Yeah, your life would be a mess too.

Sixx’s life turned into such a cocaine- and heroin-filled saga that his excesses eventually killed him — was declared dead after an overdose, but was revived by two adrenaline shots to the heart. After this, he cleaned up through rehab, and went on to produce Mötley Crüe’s most successful album, Dr. Feelgood.

The Heroin Diaries, written by Sixx’s new band Sixx A.M. is the story about the crippling drug addictions that Sixx suffered through, and his heroic return to sobriety. It is the soundtrack to the soon-to-be released autobiography with the same title. The album is an outpour of feeling from the heart, and is one of the finest concept albums I’ve heard in the past few years.

The album starts with an introductory monologue in the song titled X-Mas In Hell:

December 25, 1986. Van Nuys.
Merry Christmas. Well that’s what people say at Christmas, right?
Except for normally they have somebody to say it to. They have friends and family, and they haven’t been crouched naked under a Christmas tree with a needle in their arm like an insane person in a mansion in Van Nuys. They’re not out of their minds, they’re not writing in a diary, and they’re definitely not watching their holiday spirit coagulate in a spoon.

I didn’t speak to a single person today. I thought, “Why should I ruin their fucking Christmas?”

I’ve started a new diary and this time I have a feeew new reasons. One, I have no friends left. Two, so I can read back and remember what I did the day before. And three, so if I die, at least I leave a nice little suicide note of my life. It’s just you and me diary, welcome to my fucking life.

The album looks back on life, and takes you through the highs, the lows (“X-Mas in Hell”, “Intermission”), and the dramatic resurgence of life in the song “Girl With Golden Eyes”, where Sixx catalogues the day-by-day withdrawal and recovery in rehab. He then goes through the post-recovery steps of apologizing in “Permission”, and relives hope of the future in “Life After Death.” Most important is the hit song “Life is Beautiful”, in which Sixx looks back and pleads to “Just open your eyes and see that life is beautiful”.

Sixx really put himself out there in this one. He lived excessively, he learned too slowly, but he (barely) made it out alive and was able to turn it all into a chilling story for everyone to understand and enjoy.

The Heroin Diaries (album) can be sampled and purchased here, and the book can be found here.

Related posts:

1. My Top 15 Albums of 2007
2. Guest Writer Brian – Music Review: Dark Tranquillity – Fiction
3. Concert Review – Clutch at the Roxy Theatre, Hollywood CA – 05/24/07

Now here’s what gets me: Even with a sick Fallon, Clutch still blows nearly every other band in the world off the stage. It is apparent that they have been playing together forever, and when one man goes down, the rest pick up the slack. I should never need to be reminded again how great of a drummer Jean-Paul Gaster is. It was also a pleasure to see Eric Oblander of Five Horse Johnson on stage with the harmonica as well. While Fallon sounded great, he still needed longer breaks, and these guys plugged the holes effortlessly. I’m proud to be a fan of Clutch – we waited for them to come, and they showed up when other bands would have canceled the entire rest of the tour. Not Clutch.

Due to the illness/recovery, the setlist was abbreviated. In true Clutch style, I will simply copy it off of the actual setlist:

1. Promoter
2. Never be Moved
3. Progress
4. Player
5. Animal Farm
6. Slow Hole
7. Regulator
8. King of Az
9. Mice and Gods
10. Devil and Me
11. Gotro
12. Big 1
13. PRF
14. W. Ferry
15. Cypress
16. E.Worry

The Roxy Theatre was a nice venue, I enjoyed the low stage and vibes of the room, and the sound quality was above average. As far as the crowd goes, everyone I spoke with was from the Midwest or East Coast. Clutch isn’t your typical Los Angeles style of music, and I sometimes wonder if this band should even go anywhere west of Central Standard Time. These people out here just don’t get the working-class mentality of a band like Clutch, which could explain why the show didn’t sell out.

And since you all enjoy rants on opening bands, let me tell you that you will get none complaining about Year Long Disaster. These guys were quite a talented, technical three-piece, and I’d love to see them open again.

So if you were at this show and wanted to hear more old stuff – come back next time. Neil will be healthy, the setlist will be longer and with an encore, and they’ll play a bit of everything. But with Clutch, we’ll take whatever we can get, and odds are, it’ll still be one of the best shows you’ve ever seen.

For a full photo album of this show, click here. You can also check out Clutch’s latest album, From Beale Street to Oblivion, here

Related posts:

1. Concert Review – Blackfield – The Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA
2. Festival Review – Austin City Limits
3. Album Review: Sixx: A.M. – The Heroin Diaries (2007)

And now, for Brian’s take on this album:

I’ve tried hard to like it, but it’s the same exact thing as their last 3 cds. I’ve listened to it 3 times in the past week, and nobody home. I’m just not getting it. This band couldn’t write a hook if their lives depended on it. They are the masters of forgettable songs, I can listen to these songs 50 times in a row and not remember anything about them.

They just play it way too safe for me. They really need to mix it up and try and expand on their sound. They are the opposite of a sell out thats for certain. You know exactly what you are going to get with a Dark Tranqullity record. I feel exhausted after listening to them, 60+ minutes of music that I have tried my best to ‘get’ but I just don’t. Maybe Im getting old, but there has to be some hook to a song. Something has to make me want to come back.

For some reason, I really want to like that band. I keep buying their cds, I keep hoping their songs will click, but they just never do. At some point, I have to accept the fact that they are a boring heavy metal band. Nice guys, true to their art, hard working,etc, but at the end of the day, boring. Too much work for me. I shouldn’t have to work to like something when there is music like Blackfield II out that knocks you on your ass from the very first note.

The Gallery, The Minds I, Projector, they all had hooks, all of sudden they released Haven and it was all over, since that cd, every song has sounded exactly the same.

And there you have it. Thanks Brian!

Related posts:

1. Music Review – Blackfield – Blackfield II
2. Guest Writer – Dan Donatelli: Milk Nipple Envy
3. Guest Writer Galante: The OODD Antipodean

Last night, I had the honor of seeing one of Blackfield‘s seven US concerts on their tour to promote Blackfield II (reviewed at this earlier blog post). The sold-out show at the Knitting Factory, a small venue on the edge of the Hollywood Blvd. strip, was fetching tickets for up to 4 times face value. Led by Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen, Blackfield lived up to the excitement on the street, perhaps more.

John Wesley played the opening act, a one-man band. Wesley’s music consists of whiny love song tripe, so you can safely assume that I did not enjoy it. The guitar chops were sloppy, the vocals nothing special. However, the song Thanksgiving Day was touching. A local Hollywood B-actress/singer came on stage to provide some heinous backup vocals.

Although I was largely unimpressed with this opening act, it sure beat the hell out of the typical Hate Eternal shit opening band that I have to deal with at metal shows…

A half hour later, Blackfield drummer Tomer Z stormed the stage, and began an extended intro to Blackfield II’s intro track, Once. Right away I knew the sound setup was going to be incredible – and it was. The rest of the band came on, and went right into Once. Here’s the setlist:

1. Once
2. Miss U
3. Blackfield
4. Christenings
5. The Hole In Me
6. 1,000 People
7. Pain
8. Aviv Geffen solo – Glow, which led into…
9. Geffen/Wilson duet – Thank You (Alanis Morisette cover from Wilson’s Cover Version I)
10. Epidemic
11. Some Day
12. Open Mind
13. My Gift of Silence
14. Where is My Love
15. End of the World

Encore:

16. Hello
    …which led back into the Once drum intro…
17. Once
18. Cloudy Now

The surprises there were the playing of an incredible Alanis Morisette – Thank You cover and Once twice^[1]. During the second version of Once, Blackfield wratcheted up the intensity. I’ve been to a lot of concerts, and I’ve never seen a band play the same song twice. In this case, I loved it. The setlist is also well-balanced between Blackfield and Blackfield II songs.

The best performances of the night were Blackfield, Pain, Epidemic, and the second playing of Once.

As I stated, the acoustics were absolutely perfect. On top of that, Wilson’s live vocals are more hoarse than in the studio – and it sounded incredible. I wish he’d utilize this on albums rather than hide it. Equally impressive, Aviv’s vocals are identical to that of his studio voice. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone do that before. As a metal fan, I must say that Wilson’s rare screams were extraoridinary, but Geffen should leave his one scream at home.

80 minutes of beautiful music and I had a blast. Now some more personal comments:

• The Knitting Factory side stage: A touch too small for this show. Only three shows in the US means you should book something with more than 250 capacity. Perhaps the main stage at 500 capacity would have been better. Well-stocked bar (had an Arrogant Bastard on draught). The venue being on Hollywood Blvd. meant that I had to pay $10 to park and deal with Hollywood morons and wanna-bes. Not my typical concert venture.
• Seffy Efrat – Lamest bassist ever. Dude, you are a bass guitarist, quit dancing and waddling around the stage. Take off that lame-ass tie, go stand in the corner, look mysteriously silent, and play your damned piece. Yes, you are good, but there are a thousand good bass guitarists. There is only ONE Steven Wilson. So quit upstaging him during his guitar solo. Douchebag.
• Tomer Z – I’ve never seen a drummer have so much fun playing. His facial expressions were hilarious. Every big hit on the symbols came with a goldfish-like gulp of air. It’s funny because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t realize that he’s doing it.
• Aviv Geffen – I coulda done without the glitter on your eyelids…
• Daniel Salomon Eran Mittelman – Flawless keyboards. Great job!

At this point, I want to conclude with two things, which most of you will probably disagree with:

1. Blackfield is better than Porcupine Tree
2. Blackfield II is better than Blackfield I, and the songs were much better live too.

An incredible night, one of the best shows I’ve been to! Good luck to all of you going to the Chicago and New York shows!

^[1]I just picked up on the irony there, nice

Related posts:

1. Music Review – Blackfield – Blackfield II
2. Concert Review – Clutch at the Roxy Theatre, Hollywood CA – 05/24/07
3. Guest Writer Brian – Music Review: Dark Tranquillity – Fiction

That man’s name is Steven Wilson.

Heavily influenced by Pink Floyd, Wilson has been producing music for over 20 years. His most popular works are with Porcupine Tree, Wilson’s progressive rock band. Porcupine Tree’s latest albums have come under more influence from the realm of metal; his blending of the two genres is wonderfully unique.

Despite my love for Porcupine Tree, I prefer Wilson’s side-project, Blackfield. In Blackfield, Wilson teams up with Aviv Geffen to create a more pop-oriented style of progressive music, and the tandem’s chemistry is immediately addictive.

Before I continue, I’d like you to go to my MySpace page and listen to the Blackfield MP3 on the playlist (it is currently on the top on auto-play). This is the intro song to Blackfield II.

In February of 2007, Blackfield will release their second album, Blackfield II, three years after their original self-titled album. After just a few listens to this 42 minute long masterpiece, I can already guarantee that this will be in the Top 5 of 2007.

While I was in high school, I listened to a lot of Swedish death metal (I still do). But my brother once asked me, “What do you listen to when you want to chill out?” It took me nearly a decade to find the respond to that question, Nick, and the answer is Blackfield.

Blackfield II might have a bit of pop in it, but the underlying tones are melodically depressing. Wilson’s time-tested methodologies of contemplation and evaluation conjure fantastic mood music. However dark the album may get, though, I cannot allow Blackfield to do anything but make me happier. I find it greatly satisfying knowing that there’s music so atmospherically beautiful out there, and that I have discovered it, never to let it go. (Note: on the left is an image of the cover of the original Blackfield album)

The album gets better and better with every listen. At times I feel that I have disserviced Blackfield by putting the track “Once” all alone on my MySpace playlist. This album can’t be broken down into songs – one of Wilson’s greatest strengths is his ability to make an entire album flow together as if it’s one epic song, only to shift like subtle changes of seasons.

The blend of smooth vocals, electric guitars, and keyboards provide a great foundation for a rollercoaster of an album. Every song has its ups and downs, and I find it impossible to get bored with it. I do, however, get lost in this album in ways that I don’t experience too often. Before I know it, I’ve been sitting here for 42 minutes doing absolutely nothing and the only thing I can remember is that I was listening to some really damned good music.

Whether you’re a metalhead looking for an afternoon chill album or a mellow user of psychedelic drugs, I urge you to listen as well. The album will be available in the states in March of 2007, and in Europe in February. It can be found here at amazon.com, and be sure to check out the video preview of Blackfield II on blackfield.org.

Related posts:

1. Concert Review – Blackfield – The Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA
2. Guest Writer Brian – Music Review: Dark Tranquillity – Fiction
3. Album Review: Sixx: A.M. – The Heroin Diaries (2007)

And yes, there is more slow stuff than usual. My tastes are opening, and I am no longer just digging death metal, power metal, and progressive music. 2007 will hopefully start off with a bang – Porcupine Tree’s recording is done.

Related posts:

1. My Top 15 Albums of 2008
2. Guest Writer Brian – Music Review: Dark Tranquillity – Fiction
3. My Top 15 Albums of 2009