After
a 19 year recording career, 10 full length studio albums, and enough line-up
changes to make Spinal Tap wince, it's getting pretty bloody difficult to review
a new Megadeth album. Their sound is pretty well solidified, they seem
reasonably comfortable in a recording studio, and Dave Mustaine can sell enough
CD's to command some of the best talent in the metal field (uber-drummer Vinny
Colaiuta being the latest addition). In short, if you liked the last three or
four Megadeth albums, then you'll like this one too. I guess that's my problem
with ‘The System Has Failed’. Well, other than the fact that Dave Mustaine's
voice still grates against my last nerve, and always has. When they were
flirting with greatness, however, like they did on their first two albums
(before crashing and burning on the disastrous ‘So Far So Good So What’), then I
could over-look Dave's "straining to pinch a loaf" vocal style. Sometimes it
was awful, but sometimes it was classic. Their recent material is blandly
competent. It's not bad to play at a party or when you're washing the car, but
five minutes after listening to it I couldn't even hum one melody, or air-guitar
one truly great riff. Mega-dudes will probably give this one four stars, but
the Heathen Hippy can only give it two rolls of toilet paper. (Taliesin Govannon)
Hot
damn! Now *this* is what I call fun! Necrophagist is classified death metal,
but that's more because of the growly-vocal style of their singer. The music,
however, is truly kick-ass progressive Heavy (note the capital "H") metal. The
drums are delightfully chaotic without ever sounding sloppy, the bass is right
in the pocket, and the guitar is truly awesome. Imagine Yngwie Malmsteen
jamming at Slayer's house when Scott Travis from Judas Priest shows up.
Actually, they remind me of Cacophony, a pre-Megadeth Marty Friedman project.
No matter what the comparisons, this is one impressive album! Standout tracks
include "The Stillborn One", "Only Ash Remains", and "Diminished To Be". Fans
of acrobatic neo-classical guitar stylings will especially love this one. The
only thing better would be a genuine Scott Travis/Dave Lombardo - Chris Barnes -
Yngwie Malsteen project. With our luck, however, such a lineup would probably
only show up on a tribute album no one can find. For the rest of us, there's
Necrophagist. The Heathen Hippy gives it four sweep-arpeggios. (Taliesin
Govannon)
Not
many artists who started in the seventies are still just as vital and
interesting today. As ‘Real Gone’ proves once again, Tom Waits is one of the
few who is. As has been the case with much of Waits’ recent work, ‘Real Gone’
once again combines great songwriting and raspy vocals with quirky arrangements
and dissonant, almost industrial sounds on songs like “Hoist” and “Barn”. It’s
weird stuff, to be sure, but never less than compelling. More straight forward
numbers like the eerie “Dead” and the poignant “Tomorrow” are just as strong.
And unlike most of the albums that come out these days, the lyrics are just as
interesting as the music. Occasionally, as on “Hill” and “Boom”, the
experimentation gets a little too far out for my tastes. Also, while “Sins” is
a good song, at ten minutes it definitely overstays its welcome. But those are
just a minor gripes, and ones I’m sure not everyone would share. The bottom
line is that ‘Real Gone’ is yet another great album by a great artist. *Note:
Maybe this was just the case with my review copy, but the track numbers listed
on the CD cover don't match up with the order the songs actually appear on this
disc.* (Bob Ignizio)
This
disc has been getting an awful lot of spins on my CD player since arriving. I’m
a huge fan of the sort of synth heavy prog rock soundtracks that accompanied a
lot of horror, sci-fi, and exploitation movies from the seventies and early
eighties. Apparently so are the guys in Zombi, because ‘Cosmos’ sounds like the
soundtrack to some lost grindhouse classic. “Orion” starts the disc out with a
sinister vibe, and is the song that most resembles the work of Goblin, the band
who scored the movie Zombi takes their name from. “Cetus” is a spacier track
that reminds me of British instrumental space rockers Ozric Tentacles, while
“Serpens” recalls early Pink Floyd. As the title of this disc implies, the
general feel of “Cosmos” is a bit more spacey and sci-fi than horror, but dark
undercurrents are always present. As I always say when reviewing a band clearly
trying to emulate a musical style of the past, I’m fine with it as long as they
can do it as well as their influences. If they can also do it in a way that’s
somewhat unique, even better. Zombi succeeds on both counts. (Bob Ignizio)
After
a 19 year recording career, 10 full length studio albums, and enough line-up
changes to make Spinal Tap wince, it's getting pretty bloody difficult to review
a new Megadeth album. Their sound is pretty well solidified, they seem
reasonably comfortable in a recording studio, and Dave Mustaine can sell enough
CD's to command some of the best talent in the metal field (uber-drummer Vinny
Colaiuta being the latest addition). In short, if you liked the last three or
four Megadeth albums, then you'll like this one too. I guess that's my problem
with ‘The System Has Failed’. Well, other than the fact that Dave Mustaine's
voice still grates against my last nerve, and always has. When they were
flirting with greatness, however, like they did on their first two albums
(before crashing and burning on the disastrous ‘So Far So Good So What’), then I
could over-look Dave's "straining to pinch a loaf" vocal style. Sometimes it
was awful, but sometimes it was classic. Their recent material is blandly
competent. It's not bad to play at a party or when you're washing the car, but
five minutes after listening to it I couldn't even hum one melody, or air-guitar
one truly great riff. Mega-dudes will probably give this one four stars, but
the Heathen Hippy can only give it two rolls of toilet paper. (Taliesin Govannon)
Hot
damn! Now *this* is what I call fun! Necrophagist is classified death metal,
but that's more because of the growly-vocal style of their singer. The music,
however, is truly kick-ass progressive Heavy (note the capital "H") metal. The
drums are delightfully chaotic without ever sounding sloppy, the bass is right
in the pocket, and the guitar is truly awesome. Imagine Yngwie Malmsteen
jamming at Slayer's house when Scott Travis from Judas Priest shows up.
Actually, they remind me of Cacophony, a pre-Megadeth Marty Friedman project.
No matter what the comparisons, this is one impressive album! Standout tracks
include "The Stillborn One", "Only Ash Remains", and "Diminished To Be". Fans
of acrobatic neo-classical guitar stylings will especially love this one. The
only thing better would be a genuine Scott Travis/Dave Lombardo - Chris Barnes -
Yngwie Malsteen project. With our luck, however, such a lineup would probably
only show up on a tribute album no one can find. For the rest of us, there's
Necrophagist. The Heathen Hippy gives it four sweep-arpeggios. (Taliesin
Govannon)
Not
many artists who started in the seventies are still just as vital and
interesting today. As ‘Real Gone’ proves once again, Tom Waits is one of the
few who is. As has been the case with much of Waits’ recent work, ‘Real Gone’
once again combines great songwriting and raspy vocals with quirky arrangements
and dissonant, almost industrial sounds on songs like “Hoist” and “Barn”. It’s
weird stuff, to be sure, but never less than compelling. More straight forward
numbers like the eerie “Dead” and the poignant “Tomorrow” are just as strong.
And unlike most of the albums that come out these days, the lyrics are just as
interesting as the music. Occasionally, as on “Hill” and “Boom”, the
experimentation gets a little too far out for my tastes. Also, while “Sins” is
a good song, at ten minutes it definitely overstays its welcome. But those are
just a minor gripes, and ones I’m sure not everyone would share. The bottom
line is that ‘Real Gone’ is yet another great album by a great artist. *Note:
Maybe this was just the case with my review copy, but the track numbers listed
on the CD cover don't match up with the order the songs actually appear on this
disc.* (Bob Ignizio)
This
disc has been getting an awful lot of spins on my CD player since arriving. I’m
a huge fan of the sort of synth heavy prog rock soundtracks that accompanied a
lot of horror, sci-fi, and exploitation movies from the seventies and early
eighties. Apparently so are the guys in Zombi, because ‘Cosmos’ sounds like the
soundtrack to some lost grindhouse classic. “Orion” starts the disc out with a
sinister vibe, and is the song that most resembles the work of Goblin, the band
who scored the movie Zombi takes their name from. “Cetus” is a spacier track
that reminds me of British instrumental space rockers Ozric Tentacles, while
“Serpens” recalls early Pink Floyd. As the title of this disc implies, the
general feel of “Cosmos” is a bit more spacey and sci-fi than horror, but dark
undercurrents are always present. As I always say when reviewing a band clearly
trying to emulate a musical style of the past, I’m fine with it as long as they
can do it as well as their influences. If they can also do it in a way that’s
somewhat unique, even better. Zombi succeeds on both counts. (Bob Ignizio)