Lacuna
Coil play “goth metal” in the vein of Paradise Lost and Tiamat. There’s also
some similarity to recent Amorphis, and the way the band blends both male and
female vocals reminds me of one of my favorite bands no one ever heard of, Sky
Cries Mary. The songs are all pretty moody and mid tempo, so metal purists will
probably want to steer clear. If you like this sort of genre blending, though,
Lacuna Coil does it well. The songs all have a nice dramatic feel to them,
making effective use of dynamics and atmospheric keyboards. The band sounds
tight and tends to work in the service of the songs rather than showing off
their chops. The vocals are definitely the focal point here, a nice change of
pace from the growling and screaming that defines so much of modern heavy
music. Overall, ‘Comalies’ is a very solid album if you like the style.
Stand-out tracks include “Swamped”, “Humane” and “Unspoken”, but nothing really
feels like filler. Hopefully the band will get their visa problems taken care
of and tour the U.S. soon. (Bob Ignizio)
This band’s name may be grammatically questionable, but as
WJCU DJ Mitch Kapka always says, “it’s what’s in the grooves that counts.” As a
matter of fact, I think Mitch would really dig this album. Lazerwolfs play
straight ahead hard rock with an emphasis on killer riffs and tasty leads. If I
had to sum up their sound, I’d say it’s kind of like a cross between “stoner
rock” and early eighties commercial metal (pre-glam) with Robin Trower on lead
guitar. Lots of cowbell, too. The result is a fairly unique mix of
influences. “Bonfire”, “Big Rig”, and “Ride” are all catchy uptempo rockers,
while “Elemental” and the lengthy instrumental “Ort” emphasize the group’s
jamming abilities, especially Jimmy Rolle’s excellent guitar playing. About the
only weakness, and it’s not a major one, is the vocals. Bassist Chris LaTray’s
voice isn’t bad, just at times a bit too restrained. Lyrical subject matter
alternates between socio political issues and more fun topics. The words to
“Dissent” are particularly relevant for today, pointing out how dangerously
close we are to losing our right to disagree. All in all an excellent release
that’s getting steady play on my home stereo. To get yourself a copy, head on
over to the band’s website. (Bob Ignizio)
I’m
kind of surprised at all the hype this album has been generating. Not because
it’s undeserved, but because most “serious” rock critics tend to dismiss real
heavy metal out of hand. Regardless, it’s doubtful Opeth will wind up in heavy
radio or MTV rotation. Pretty much every song is over ten minutes in length,
and even in edited form there are still the death metal vocals to consider.
Stranger things have happened, but I won’t be holding my breath for these guys
to drop in on TRL. I’ll probably be too busy listening to this album to care
much about what’s on TV or the radio anyway. Alternating blistering assaults
and sections of mellow tranquility, there’s never a dull moment on
‘Deliverance’. Opeth mix prog rock with brutal metal and still manage to have
enough hooks for the songs to stick in your head. I liked “Master’s
Apprentices” and “A Fair Judgment” the best, but the whole album is solid with
great musicianship and strong production throughout. This probably would have
made my top 20 for 2002 if I’d heard it in time. (Bob Ignizio)
Is
having a cool original sound enough to make a band worth listening to? That’s
the question this 8 song ep begs. The Raveonettes sound sort of like some of
the moodier eighties new wave bands like Wall of Voodoo or Romeo Void crossed
with garage rock. The first song you hear by them, whichever one it is, will
likely catch your interest if you’re looking for something different. The
problem is, every song on here songs pretty much alike. Male and female vocals
blend in monotone harmony over a bed of eerie mid tempo rock, more or less
rehashing the same “melodies” on every song. The lead off single and video,
“Attack of the Ghost Riders”, is definitely something I’d want to listen to
again. After that, everything else on here just sounds like an increasingly
weak variation on the same theme. Hopefully they’ll branch out some for their
first full length. Otherwise, this fairly interesting band will wind up just
another footnote in music history who had one great single and couldn’t follow
it up. (Bob Ignizio)
Lacuna
Coil play “goth metal” in the vein of Paradise Lost and Tiamat. There’s also
some similarity to recent Amorphis, and the way the band blends both male and
female vocals reminds me of one of my favorite bands no one ever heard of, Sky
Cries Mary. The songs are all pretty moody and mid tempo, so metal purists will
probably want to steer clear. If you like this sort of genre blending, though,
Lacuna Coil does it well. The songs all have a nice dramatic feel to them,
making effective use of dynamics and atmospheric keyboards. The band sounds
tight and tends to work in the service of the songs rather than showing off
their chops. The vocals are definitely the focal point here, a nice change of
pace from the growling and screaming that defines so much of modern heavy
music. Overall, ‘Comalies’ is a very solid album if you like the style.
Stand-out tracks include “Swamped”, “Humane” and “Unspoken”, but nothing really
feels like filler. Hopefully the band will get their visa problems taken care
of and tour the U.S. soon. (Bob Ignizio)
This band’s name may be grammatically questionable, but as
WJCU DJ Mitch Kapka always says, “it’s what’s in the grooves that counts.” As a
matter of fact, I think Mitch would really dig this album. Lazerwolfs play
straight ahead hard rock with an emphasis on killer riffs and tasty leads. If I
had to sum up their sound, I’d say it’s kind of like a cross between “stoner
rock” and early eighties commercial metal (pre-glam) with Robin Trower on lead
guitar. Lots of cowbell, too. The result is a fairly unique mix of
influences. “Bonfire”, “Big Rig”, and “Ride” are all catchy uptempo rockers,
while “Elemental” and the lengthy instrumental “Ort” emphasize the group’s
jamming abilities, especially Jimmy Rolle’s excellent guitar playing. About the
only weakness, and it’s not a major one, is the vocals. Bassist Chris LaTray’s
voice isn’t bad, just at times a bit too restrained. Lyrical subject matter
alternates between socio political issues and more fun topics. The words to
“Dissent” are particularly relevant for today, pointing out how dangerously
close we are to losing our right to disagree. All in all an excellent release
that’s getting steady play on my home stereo. To get yourself a copy, head on
over to the band’s website. (Bob Ignizio)
I’m
kind of surprised at all the hype this album has been generating. Not because
it’s undeserved, but because most “serious” rock critics tend to dismiss real
heavy metal out of hand. Regardless, it’s doubtful Opeth will wind up in heavy
radio or MTV rotation. Pretty much every song is over ten minutes in length,
and even in edited form there are still the death metal vocals to consider.
Stranger things have happened, but I won’t be holding my breath for these guys
to drop in on TRL. I’ll probably be too busy listening to this album to care
much about what’s on TV or the radio anyway. Alternating blistering assaults
and sections of mellow tranquility, there’s never a dull moment on
‘Deliverance’. Opeth mix prog rock with brutal metal and still manage to have
enough hooks for the songs to stick in your head. I liked “Master’s
Apprentices” and “A Fair Judgment” the best, but the whole album is solid with
great musicianship and strong production throughout. This probably would have
made my top 20 for 2002 if I’d heard it in time. (Bob Ignizio)
Is
having a cool original sound enough to make a band worth listening to? That’s
the question this 8 song ep begs. The Raveonettes sound sort of like some of
the moodier eighties new wave bands like Wall of Voodoo or Romeo Void crossed
with garage rock. The first song you hear by them, whichever one it is, will
likely catch your interest if you’re looking for something different. The
problem is, every song on here songs pretty much alike. Male and female vocals
blend in monotone harmony over a bed of eerie mid tempo rock, more or less
rehashing the same “melodies” on every song. The lead off single and video,
“Attack of the Ghost Riders”, is definitely something I’d want to listen to
again. After that, everything else on here just sounds like an increasingly
weak variation on the same theme. Hopefully they’ll branch out some for their
first full length. Otherwise, this fairly interesting band will wind up just
another footnote in music history who had one great single and couldn’t follow
it up. (Bob Ignizio)