life, and a little more

3 Is The Magic Number

Nov 03

metalman777Christianity, audio, music aor, christian rock, hard rock, Mastedon, melodic rock, review 1 Comment

[UPDATE 12-14-09 - YOU CAN NOW BUY THE MP3 VERSION OF THE ALBUM AT AMAZON.COM FOR $8.99.  CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK!]

from wikipedia:

Mastedon is the name of a Christian rock band formed by brothers Dino and John Elefante (former members and songwriters of Kansas) in the mid-80s. The band was formed mainly as a studio project and released two full-length albums and two stand-alone songs on compilation albums.

from me: I’ve been a huge fan of Mastedon since 1989.  Being a young Christian metalhead, I stumbled upon this band with awe and reverence.  I was at their one and only concert at Cornerstone ‘91!

The Elefante brothers were the founders of Pakaderm Records which released some  great Christian metal albums.  X-Sinner and Guardian got their start on this label.  Mastedon also released their second record, Lofcaudio, through Pakaderm.   I’ll give you a minute to find the connecting dots of the names…Elefante brothers, Pakaderm Records, Mastedon…

Mastedon has always been head and shoulders above other Christian metal bands.  All the other bands had their secular counterparts:  Whitecross was the Christian Ratt, Barren Cross was the Christian Iron Maiden, X-Sinner was the Christian AC/DC.  Mastedon had their own sound and their music was better than any other melodic metal band, secular or Christian.

After 19 long years, Mastedon has released some new tunes, and they have only gotten better.  3 is destined to become a classic, must-have for any melodic rock collector.

I have audio samples from each song from the new album below.  If you love what you hear, and want Mastedon’s back catalog, you can but it from .  iTunes is much cheaper than Amazon.com.  They do not have the mp3 downloads.

01 Revolution of Mind

02 Slay Your Demons

03 Nowhere Without Your Love

04 One Day Down By The Lake (See You Real Soon)

05 Water Into Wine (Fassa Rokka)

06 Questions (It's About Time)

07 You Can't Take Anything

08 Lying

09 Western World

10 Close Your Eyes

11 Dust In The Wind (Bonus Track)

I have give a big shout out to Bravewords.com, as they were crucial in my finding out about the new Mastedon album.  They are a wealth of information for the avid music fan!

Some Great Cover Tunes

Jun 11

metalman777audio, music beatles, christian rock, cover tunes, House of Heroes, johnny cash, music, one bad pig No Comments

When it comes to musicians, there are probably none more authentic than The Beatles and Johnny Cash.  Different genres for sure, but their music is timeless.

Every now and again a newer band will cover one of these timeless pieces of music and put their own spin on the song.  Such is the case for two songs that I’d like to share with you the reader.

03-ob-la-di-ob-la-da.mp3
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is a song by The Beatles originally released on the double-disc album The Beatles (also known as The White Album), and later released as a single. It is mostly written by Paul McCartney, though credited to Lennon/McCartney. (see the wikipedia entry here).  It’s a darn catchy tune, made even catchier by House of Heroes, who do a phenomenal cover of the song.

03-ob-la-di-ob-la-da1.mp3
House of Heroes is an alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They are generally considered to be Christian rock, though their lyrics are not always transparently Christian.^[1] They have released four albums: What You Want Is Now (2003), House of Heroes (2005), Say No More (2006), and The End Is Not the End (2008) and House of Heroes Meets The Beatles (2009). (wikipedia)

johnny-cash-18-man-in-black.mp3

“Man in Black” (or “The Man in Black“) is a protest song written and sung by and about Johnny Cash, originally released on his 1971 album of the same name. Cash himself was known as “The Man in Black” for his distinctive style of on-stage costuming. The lyrics are an after-the-fact explanation of this with the entire song as a protest statement with statements such as:

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, But is there because he’s a victim of the times. (wikipedia)

04-man-in-black.mp3

One Bad Pig is a Christian punk and metal crossover band from Austin, Texas which formed in 1985. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music describes them as “Quite possibly the most popular hard-punk act ever to arise within the Christian music scene.”^[1] They were known for their mischief and irreverence on-stage, as reflected even in their reunion at Cornerstone in 2000. ^(wikipedia)

Meet Him In The Air

Dec 22

metalman777music, videos christian rock, hyper static union, melodic rock, music No Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBYWTINBvME]

Hyper Static Union released their sophomore album, entitled Meet Him In The Air this past week.  It has a been a few years since their first album, Lifegiver, but it was well worth the wait!

This is taken from the band’s website:

Hyper Static Union is an American alternative rock band from Camas Washington. Moving forward with the new album… “Meet Him in the Air”, HSU continues their poetic exploration of life, love and God’s truth.

Hyper Static Union is Shawn Lewis, Bryan Albrechtson, Ray Burnham, Mike Jackson, and Tim Downing.

The label “alternative rock” is a little misleading for me.  When I hear the word “alternative” I immediately think of Nirvana and the STP and the whole grunge rock movement.

HSU is very melodic and full of vibrant harmonies.  Well, listen to the samples and tell me what you think.