In 2006, Oz Fox of Stryper fame joined Bloodgood and there was talk of a new Bloodgood album. In 2009 Oz joined Stryper on an international tour to support Stryper’s 25th Anniversary (of which I had the honor of attending) and that was the last I heard of him with Bloodgood.
Fast forward to yesterday, when a music blog I read posted a blog about Liberty ‘n Justice, a compilation band with a new album that features a wide variety of musicians. On this record is a song entitled “Treading On Serpents”. It features non other than Les Carlsen, Bloodgood’s lead vocalist, and Oz Fox, guitar player for Stryper and Bloodgood.
Living Sacrifice has reunited and have a new album, The Infinite Order, coming out in a few weeks. Of course, I tried to get an early sample off of Bit Torrent and thought I had succeeded! Don’t worry about me pirating the album, as I plan to buy it the day is released!
Skillet’s new album, Awake, was released today. It is their first record of new material since 2006′s Comatose(links go to the Amazon.com MP3 store)
Comatose is definitely in my top 20 albums of all times. So it was with great anticipation that I waited for Awake. Here are my initial thoughts: Awake is a good album with some very awesome songs on it. Along with those spectacular songs sit some very boring songs (read “ballads”)
01 Hero Hero starts us off on a rocking pace. It is a song full of energy and conviction that makes you pump your fist in the air.
02 Monster Monster is the second track and it picks right up where Hero left off. This is possibly the heaviest song on the album (and the best IMHO). This should be the title track of the new Wolf Man movie that is soon to be released!
03 Don't Wake Me Up Don’t Wake Me Up is a sleeper of a song (sorry, bad stretch for a pun). I’m hoping this song grows on me, but I find myself reaching for the next button on my iPod whilst listening.
04 Awake And Alive Awake and Alive is quite the opposite of the previous song. The strings at the opening of the song are reminiscent of Rebirthing from Comatose. I like the dual vocal duty of the male and female singers. (I know the lead singer’s name is Jon Cooper, but I have to admit I don’t know who the girl is.)
05 One Day Too Late
Yawn…another mediocre ballad. One Day Too Late doesn’t capture my imagination or my ear. Just like Don’t Wake Me Up, I find myself reaching to the iPod to skip this song. I hope I grow to love these songs, I really do.
06 It's Not Me It's You
Ah, there we go. The Skillet we know and love. It’s Not Me It’s You is another rocker almost on par with Monster and Hero. The chorus is quite catchy. This song is quite angry…I’m glad a Christian band can make a song that isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.
07 Should've When You Could've
Crap…really? Another slower tempo song? Should’ve When You Could’ve breaks the rocker feel that It’s Not Me It’s You set. I think this is what ultimately wrong with Awake. You can never get into that rocker groove, as it keeps getting interupted with sub-par ballad type songs.
08 Believe
And the sub-standard ballady crappy songs continue. Believe is the 8th song of the record and honestly, it’s at this point I’m about to turn of the album and listen to something else.
09 Forgiven
What’s this? Piano? This makes three non rocker songs in a row. Forgiven‘s lyrics are great, but enough with the bad 90′s power ballads already.
10 Sometimes Sometimes finally brings the rock back to the album. This song could be a sequel to It’s Not Me It’s You, with the angry guitar work and the the very angry lyrics. ”Sometimes I don’t wanna be better, Sometimes I can’t be put back together, Sometimes I find it hard to believe there’s someone else who could be….just as pissed of as me.” Very strong and honest words. I hope Skillet doesn’t get any grief for this song. Sometimes is the type of song I wish the entire album was made of.
11 Never Surrender
And yet another slower song. Never Surrender is better than the other slow songs on this record. The structure of the song and Cooper’s vocals make me want to keep listening.
12 Lucy
Cue piano…@#$%$%! another ballad! I know my attitude towards this song should be different as it is about someone who has died. I could possibly like it if it wasn’t the umpteenth slow song on the album.
The Deluxe Version of the Awake includes two bonus tracks (of which I forgot to upload to my server, so no audio is available). Dead Inside is another rocker (yay!) that is pretty good. Would It Matter is, you guessed it, another freakin’ ballad. Monster (Alternate Radio Version) finishes off the album.
All in all, I’d give this album 6.5 out of 10 stars. The good rock songs are great, while the majority of the album is made up of ballads that I just don’t want to listen to. If you are new to Skillet, I would buy Comatose and Collide and then Awake.
Happy Anniversary Stryper! 25 years ago today, they released their EP entitled The Yellow and Black Attack. What an appropriate day to release their brand new album, Murder By Pride.
And what an album! Murder By Pride is probably the bands best album to date. In this post, we’ll take a listen to the title track of the record.
As with all of the other songs we’ve covered, I love everything about this song. The music is heavy and melodic and the band is just in top form. I love how the bass is prominent and drives the beat.
The only critique I’d have are the lyrics. I don’t expect anything deep or life changing, but the first verse is just kind of, I don’t know, hokey?
After 25 years of living life, with all the ups and downs it brings us, I’d hope for something a little deeper.
Lyrics to Murder By Pride
(Verse 1)
Saturday night’s a lie, I follow every cue
Sunday is sanctified, I smile and take the pew
Monday it’s back to school – Am I learning, not at all
Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday, Friday I just crawl
(Chorus)
Gotta fight, gotta stop living a lie
Gotta fall, gotta lay down and die
Gotta stand and run to the other side
Gotta live or it’s Murder By Pride
(Verse 2)
Seeds that were growing have been dried up by my flesh
I walk the walk and talk the talk but where’s the rest
I could have everything even what’s behind the stars
But I built my prison without windows, without bars
(Chorus)
Gotta fight, gotta stop living a lie
Gotta fall, gotta lay down and die
Gotta stand and run to the other side
Gotta live or it’s Murder By Pride
(Chorus)
Christianity is a tough thing to live out in the real world. There is absolutely no doubt about that. These guys and their music helped me become a Christ Follower over 20 years ago (read about it here), so I know that of which I speak. What I’ve learned in 20 years of walking with Jesus is that it isn’t only Sunday that is sanctified, but everyday….everything, the totality of my entire existence in this world is His to make wonderful. I know, I know, I’m reading way too much into a dumb song, but hey! it’s my blog and I can write whatever I feel! There are other songs that do describe a deepening walk with Jesus, so for that I’m grateful.
I want to say again how much I love this album and can’t wait to see Stryper in concert!! Only 3 months and 23 days!
Stryper started a new trend with a song on their 2005 Reborn album. It was entitled IGWT and was a cover of their original song, In God We Trust (off the album of the same name). It was refreshing to hear them update the song in a new way.
To keep the tradition alive, Stryper goes back to their first EP, The Yellow and Black Attack to remake a song entitled My Love (I’ll Always Show). To be honest, I really never cared for the original version. The vocals are a little twangy and well, I just don’t like it all that much.
Listen for yourself below:
For Murder By Pride, Stryper turns the amp up to 11 and makes this song a totally heavy metal affair! I love the new version so much! The guitars are heavy and the vocals are tight. Michael Sweet and Oz Fox can harmonize like nobody’s business! As with every other song on this album, it is completely awesome!
Don’t believe me? Put your ears close to the speakers and listen below:
You know I really love You
Your love is beautiful, it’s lasting and true
You’re always on my mind and I want You to be
My love and Savior, the only one I need
I’ve searched for true love for a long, long time
Now my search has ended, just ’cause You are mine
(Chorus)
I’ll always love You and I’ll always tell You so
As long as I’m with You, My Love I’ll Always Show Woa-ooh yeah
(Verse 2)
Whenever I’m sad and feeling I’m through
I begin to feel happy as I sit and think of You
I think of Your face and Your personality
You are so beautiful, You’re everything to me
I’ve searched for true love for a long, long time
Now my search has ended, just ’cause You are mine
I just got an email from Skillet saying their new album will be out soon! I have official word from Michael Wittig (aka Kalel, bassist from Pillar and now Stars Go Dim) via Twitter that the new Skillet album is dropping August 4, 2009.
Hey Panheads,
The official SKILLET pre-sale for the new album “AWAKE” will launch on Monday, June 15th!!!
Their last album of new material, Comatose, was released in 2006. So it’s been a looooong wait! Here’s the video for Rebirthing to tide you over until then.
The newest Styper single, Eclipse of the Son, is now available to purchase on iTunes! Follow this link:
Even though I’m biased, I have to say that this is a great hard rock song. The melodies and song style took me right back to the In God We Trust album , mixed a little with Against the Law and Reborn .
Stryper plans to release one new song per week. Here is what is posted on their website:
Bravewords.com reported: in honor of the upcoming release Gabriel, Pennsylvania based thrashers BELIEVER are releasing a second track ‘Stoned’ via the band’s MySpace page. Gabriel will be available next week, March 17th through Cesspool Recordings / Metal Blade Records.
Says drummer Joey Daub: “As we were mixing Stoned, the ripping old school death metal riff and locking into a groove felt great until we added the weird piano section. After repeated listens to this part during the mix, both Jeff and Kevin developed throbbing headaches and severe nausea. It must have been the odd, conflicting timing between the keys, guitars and drums totally screwing with their inner ears or something. Obviously Kurt and I felt great (not sure what that says about us), but I guess that’s what one might call ‘feeling the song’. Warning: Listening to this section over and over again may induce physical illness.”
Believer has gained worldwide recognition for their boundary-breaking, artistic form of extreme metal. Joined by bands Cynic and Pestilence, Roadrunner Records pushed a prog-metal/thrash campaign with the three bands called, “The Breed Beyond” and solidified Believer among the ranks of unique, creative musical acts. The centerpiece of their 3rd release, Dimensions, was a metal opera that brought them great praise from fans and musicians worldwide and threw open the doors to collaborations between metal and orchestral musicians and sealed the band’s legacy.
Formed in the mid eighties by guitarist/vocalist Kurt Bachman and drummer Joey Daub, the Pennsylvania based Believer was destined to put their mark on the music scene. With the early line-up of Bachman, Daub, guitarist Dave Baddorf and bassist Howe Kraft, Believer secured a deal with East Coast indie label R.E.X. Music. The band’s debut album, Extraction from Mortality, was greeted with vast acceptance in the metal world and also drew attention from Roadrunner Records. The band’s second offering, Sanity Obscure, released by Roadrunner saw the band breaking new musical boundaries and establishing themselves as creative and experimental musicians in the metal community. With a new label and bassist, Wyatt Robertson replacing Kraft, Believer set out in support of Sanity with a European tour and an extended tour of the States with fellow thrashers Sacrifice and Bolt Thrower. Upon completion of the tour, Bachman and Daub parted ways with Baddorf and Robertson. With a new musical vision for their 3rd record, they again called upon friend and violinist Scott Laird, and his opera-trained sister, Julianne Laird, who both made brief appearances on previous Believer releases. Fellow musician and friend Jim Winters and cellist Glenn Fischbach rounded out the band and 1993’s Dimensions was the end result of this collaboration.
After a long hiatus, Believer is back with an intense fury and the band’s new record, Gabriel, once again sees Believer conquering new musical and artistic territory. With an upgraded sound and songwriting that has been alluded to as a “sick, insane cross between Tool, Voivod, NIN, and Destruction”, Believer’s 4th release Gabriel shows a band simply not focused on regurgitating and reliving their past. To this end, Bachman and Daub have surrounded themselves with new creative blood in keyboardist/programmer Jeff King, guitarist Kevin Leaman and bassist/programmer Elton Nestler. Securing a new home with legendary Metal Blade Records, Believer is determined to win over fans of old and new with their brand of ‘Believer-esque’ metal.
What inspires men to write music? A beautiful woman? A lost love? Inner turmoil? Mega Man?
Yes, Mega Man! and Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog! Before you laugh and stop reading, Powerglove has created a fantastic shredding metal album based on the theme songs of classic video games! The song list is below:
1. “So Sexy Robotnik” (Sonic 2)
2. “Mario Minor” (Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World)
[audio=https://dl-web.getdropbox.com/get/Music/02%20Mario%20Minor.mp3?w=1c3f7200]
3. “Fight On” (Killer Instinct)
4. “Vanquish the Horrible Night” (Castlevania 2, Castlevania 3)
5. “Blasting the Hornet” (Mega Man X3)
6. “The Duck Grinder” (Duck Hunt)
7. “Power, Wisdom, Courage” (The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time)
[audio=https://dl-web.getdropbox.com/get/Music/07%20Power%2C%20Wisdom%2C%20Courage.mp3?w=28e7fc07]
8. “Omnishred (We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Sword)” (Final Fantasy VII)
9. “Holy Orders (Be Quick and Just Shred)” (Guilty Gear X)
10.”Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man” (Mortal Kombat, Mega Man 2)
11.”Red Wings Over Baron” (Final Fantasy IV)
If you are about 35 or so, then you have played every one of these video games on your Nintendo or Sega. Listening to the soaring guitars of Power, Wisdom, Courage (The Legend of Zelda) almost made me weep! (remembering the all the time I spent playing that game!)
If you were like me and played these games while listening to the newest tape of Metallica or Anthrax, then this album is sooooo for you.
Powerglove shreds! This is a freakin’ heavy instrumental album. Closest thing I can think of would be Jeff Loomis’ solo album.
If you love heavy shredding instrumental metal like the above mentioned Jeff Loomis, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and the like, then you’ll love Powerglove!!
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What inspires men to write music? A beautiful woman? A lost love? Inner turmoil? Mega Man?
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