Since
leaving legendary stoner rock band Kyuss, vocalist John Garcia has been in a
succession of bands that each tried to carry the stoner rock torch by sounding
as much like his former band as possible. Hermano strays from that formula
somewhat by bringing a more pop oriented approach to the songwriting. In the
past, Garcia hasn’t been the most melodic of vocalists, but here he tosses out
some genuinely catchy vocal lines on songs like “Cowboys Suck” and “Roll Over”.
The band backs him up with some heavy riffing and trippy lead work, even coming
close to duplicating ex-Kyuss axman Josh Homme’s guitar sound. But where Kyuss
might have gone off on extended acid rock excursions, Hermano reins things in a
bit to keep the focus on the songs. A few numbers like “Is This O.K.?” even
sound like they would have fit in with Queens of the Stone Age (the band
Garcia’s Kyuss bandmate Josh Homme now fronts, for those who don’t know).
Still, most of this album rocks a lot harder than QOTSA and songs like “Quite
Fucked” and “Let’s Get it On” should go over well with the stoner rock faithful.
Unlike Garcia’s other post Kyuss outfits, however, Hermano has a real shot at
broadening his audience. (Bob Ignizio)
This
EP from Icarus Witch is five tracks of kick ass heavy bloody metal! This is
metal in the Judas Priest/Yngwie Malmsteen mold, and there isn't a clinker in
the bunch. From the first song, "Roses on White Lace", to the last, "Dragon
Ryder", this band shows that true metal isn't dead. This is the kind of CD that
you want to put on repeat and listen to over and over again. The guitar work is
melodic and sweeping, with a neo-classical touch that accents the overall mood
without getting overbearing. The singing from Matthew Bizilia is the perfect
blend of Halfordisms and Dio-esque power, and the vocal melodies are catchy and
memorable. The production has just the right degree of darkness without getting
muddy, as well. Overall, I can't wait to hear more from this band...they rock!
The Heathen Hippy gives it four and a half studded leather wristbands. (Taliesin
Govannon)
The
Jacknife Powerbombs have come a long way since the first time I saw them play
live about 2 and a half years ago. The band used to blaze full speed ahead
every song, with melodies and hooks often getting demolished in the process.
The same tendency to let speed and intensity overwhelm what were, underneath all
that sound and fury, genuinely good songs also reared its head on the band’s
first demo. But that was then, this is now, and on ‘Set to Go’ the Powerbombs
have achieved the high level of kick-assitude I always knew they were capable
of. There’s still plenty of raw energy in this band’s attack, but the band has
learned how to harness that power and use it for the benefit of the songs now.
And some good songs they are. Opener “You Make Me Wanna’ Run Away” sets the
tone for the album, proving you don’t have to drench your punk rock in
saccharine sweetness to deliver a catchy song. Other highlights are “Solidstate
Poison”, “Spray Paint Don’t Lie”, “Hell’s on Fire” and “Go and Go Tonight”. But
honestly, I don’t think there’s a song on here that isn’t strong. As for the
band’s sound, I’m reminded most of The Circle Jerks circa ‘Golden Shower of
Hits’ and ‘Wonderful’. I also hear some Dead Boys, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys,
and in some spots a touch of Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Motorhead. The production
and mix are professional without smoothing over the rough edges that need to be
there in this kind of music. Honestly, this is one of the best punk rock albums
I’ve heard in a good long while. Buy this as soon as you can, which is April
29th at the Pirate’s Cove when the band holds their CD release party. For more
info visit
http://www.jacknifepowerbombs.com. (Bob Ignizio)
I rarely buy an album on the day it comes out, but I made
an exception for this. Priest has been one of my favorite bands since I was a
freshman in high school, and with original vocalist Rob Halford back in the band
I had high hopes. Opening track “Judas Rising” seemed to indicate those hopes
might be realized. Alas, it was not to be. This isn’t ‘Jugulator’ or
‘Demolition’ bad, but it’s definitely not the return to form I was hoping for.
The band says on the DVD featurette included with this album that they set out
to make a “classic” Priest album. That’s exactly what it sounds like, too.
Like they tried. Like they tried really hard. Almost everything sounds forced
rather than inspired. Aside from the opener, only the ballad “Angel” really
stands out. Everything else is completely mediocre. The album does
occasionally come to life in the lead breaks, and there’s no denying that
Halford’s voice is in fine form. The songwriting just isn’t up to snuff. By
the way, I should mention that this disc has copy protection that will actually
make the CD unplayable in some DVD players. Mine (a Pioneer) is one of the
models which will not play the disc. The edition I purchased is double sided
and all the songs are in DVD audio on side two, but if that hadn’t been the case
I would have spent my money on something I couldn’t play. Way to get people to
buy more CDs, make 'em defective. Which, by the way, is exactly how this
copy protection works. Tiny errors are written onto the disc that, in
theory anyway, can't be picked up by regular CD players. Maybe
that's so, but these days, I tend to think a lot of folks play their CDs on
their DVD player, portable CD player with MP3 reading capabilities, and their
computer's CD-Rom. Or they rip the CD they legally purchased and put the
mp3s on their I-pod. I predict that this will go down in history as one of
the dumbest moves in record company history. I know I won't be buying any
more discs with this copy protection on it. (Bob Ignizio)
Since
leaving legendary stoner rock band Kyuss, vocalist John Garcia has been in a
succession of bands that each tried to carry the stoner rock torch by sounding
as much like his former band as possible. Hermano strays from that formula
somewhat by bringing a more pop oriented approach to the songwriting. In the
past, Garcia hasn’t been the most melodic of vocalists, but here he tosses out
some genuinely catchy vocal lines on songs like “Cowboys Suck” and “Roll Over”.
The band backs him up with some heavy riffing and trippy lead work, even coming
close to duplicating ex-Kyuss axman Josh Homme’s guitar sound. But where Kyuss
might have gone off on extended acid rock excursions, Hermano reins things in a
bit to keep the focus on the songs. A few numbers like “Is This O.K.?” even
sound like they would have fit in with Queens of the Stone Age (the band
Garcia’s Kyuss bandmate Josh Homme now fronts, for those who don’t know).
Still, most of this album rocks a lot harder than QOTSA and songs like “Quite
Fucked” and “Let’s Get it On” should go over well with the stoner rock faithful.
Unlike Garcia’s other post Kyuss outfits, however, Hermano has a real shot at
broadening his audience. (Bob Ignizio)
This
EP from Icarus Witch is five tracks of kick ass heavy bloody metal! This is
metal in the Judas Priest/Yngwie Malmsteen mold, and there isn't a clinker in
the bunch. From the first song, "Roses on White Lace", to the last, "Dragon
Ryder", this band shows that true metal isn't dead. This is the kind of CD that
you want to put on repeat and listen to over and over again. The guitar work is
melodic and sweeping, with a neo-classical touch that accents the overall mood
without getting overbearing. The singing from Matthew Bizilia is the perfect
blend of Halfordisms and Dio-esque power, and the vocal melodies are catchy and
memorable. The production has just the right degree of darkness without getting
muddy, as well. Overall, I can't wait to hear more from this band...they rock!
The Heathen Hippy gives it four and a half studded leather wristbands. (Taliesin
Govannon) 
The
Jacknife Powerbombs have come a long way since the first time I saw them play
live about 2 and a half years ago. The band used to blaze full speed ahead
every song, with melodies and hooks often getting demolished in the process.
The same tendency to let speed and intensity overwhelm what were, underneath all
that sound and fury, genuinely good songs also reared its head on the band’s
first demo. But that was then, this is now, and on ‘Set to Go’ the Powerbombs
have achieved the high level of kick-assitude I always knew they were capable
of. There’s still plenty of raw energy in this band’s attack, but the band has
learned how to harness that power and use it for the benefit of the songs now.
And some good songs they are. Opener “You Make Me Wanna’ Run Away” sets the
tone for the album, proving you don’t have to drench your punk rock in
saccharine sweetness to deliver a catchy song. Other highlights are “Solidstate
Poison”, “Spray Paint Don’t Lie”, “Hell’s on Fire” and “Go and Go Tonight”. But
honestly, I don’t think there’s a song on here that isn’t strong. As for the
band’s sound, I’m reminded most of The Circle Jerks circa ‘Golden Shower of
Hits’ and ‘Wonderful’. I also hear some Dead Boys, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys,
and in some spots a touch of Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Motorhead. The production
and mix are professional without smoothing over the rough edges that need to be
there in this kind of music. Honestly, this is one of the best punk rock albums
I’ve heard in a good long while. Buy this as soon as you can, which is April
29th at the Pirate’s Cove when the band holds their CD release party. For more
info visit 
I rarely buy an album on the day it comes out, but I made
an exception for this. Priest has been one of my favorite bands since I was a
freshman in high school, and with original vocalist Rob Halford back in the band
I had high hopes. Opening track “Judas Rising” seemed to indicate those hopes
might be realized. Alas, it was not to be. This isn’t ‘Jugulator’ or
‘Demolition’ bad, but it’s definitely not the return to form I was hoping for.
The band says on the DVD featurette included with this album that they set out
to make a “classic” Priest album. That’s exactly what it sounds like, too.
Like they tried. Like they tried really hard. Almost everything sounds forced
rather than inspired. Aside from the opener, only the ballad “Angel” really
stands out. Everything else is completely mediocre. The album does
occasionally come to life in the lead breaks, and there’s no denying that
Halford’s voice is in fine form. The songwriting just isn’t up to snuff. By
the way, I should mention that this disc has copy protection that will actually
make the CD unplayable in some DVD players. Mine (a Pioneer) is one of the
models which will not play the disc. The edition I purchased is double sided
and all the songs are in DVD audio on side two, but if that hadn’t been the case
I would have spent my money on something I couldn’t play. Way to get people to
buy more CDs, make 'em defective. Which, by the way, is exactly how this
copy protection works. Tiny errors are written onto the disc that, in
theory anyway, can't be picked up by regular CD players. Maybe
that's so, but these days, I tend to think a lot of folks play their CDs on
their DVD player, portable CD player with MP3 reading capabilities, and their
computer's CD-Rom. Or they rip the CD they legally purchased and put the
mp3s on their I-pod. I predict that this will go down in history as one of
the dumbest moves in record company history. I know I won't be buying any
more discs with this copy protection on it. (Bob Ignizio)