One of the most iconic thrash metal groups of all time and one of the “Big Four,” Slayer has been pumping out heavy-hitting guitar riffs, ear-splitting drum beats and nightmare-inducing vocals for 27 years now. Although I may lose metal points when I say this, I'd like to make it clear that this is the first time I’ve listened to them. They have eluded me for nearly thirty years and now is the time to put that to rest.
Slayer’s debut album, Show No Mercy came out when I was only one year old. Slayer had recorded their
Slayer Breathes Nightmares, Shows No Mercy
by Jason Lightner February 25th, 2011 | Album Review, Music Opinions, Rock
Mogwai, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, 2/15/11
by J Frazzetta February 22nd, 2011 | Album Review
Post-rock is an interesting genre. The simplest explanation I can give: take everything you know about guitar and drum based rock music and throw it out the window. Post-rock takes those instruments and reinvents them from a standard verse-chorus-verse song to something else altogether. You can think of it as rock music to the next level. Mogwai have been one of the forerunners of this movement since the mid 90’s and their latest release is no exception.
I have not heard much by Mogwai but I do know they are a predominantly instrumental band and any vocals are often
I have not heard much by Mogwai but I do know they are a predominantly instrumental band and any vocals are often
Trashy, Ghetto Venues Make Rockin’ a Whole Lot Better
by Jason Lightner February 18th, 2011 | Music Opinions, Rock
Hard rock is supposed to have blemishes. It's supposed to be raw and it's supposed to be real. If you want to see real rock or metal, you need to start checking out your local bands' performances at your nearest hole-in-the-wall venue. If you live in a town that has any type of rock culture, you're going to have an easy time finding these places. They're the kinds of places that, looking from the outside, you would think a great crowd for them would be fifty or sixty. On a Saturday night. With free parking. With no cover and
Iron and Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean, 1/25/2011
by J Frazzetta February 15th, 2011 | Album Review
Sam Beam has come a long way from his initial quiet albums when it was just him, a guitar and those enchanting lullabies he would spin. Not everyone can stay quiet forever (even Dylan went electric), and if you recall Iron and Wine’s 2007 release, The Shepard’s Dog, this new effort takes those themes up another level. Adding a backing band only propelled the sounds, this time around Sam not only has a backing band he has a whole groove going on.
I don’t want to say that some of these songs have funk overtones but you cannot deny that
I don’t want to say that some of these songs have funk overtones but you cannot deny that
Dear Music, Why So Celebrity?
by Jason Lightner February 11th, 2011 | Music Opinions
When did this juggernaut begin? When did it occur to people that, instead of admiring musicians, they should deify them instead? It's easy to get caught up in the hoopla. I should know; I lived it for years with Nirvana and the grunge scene. Bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden ruled my world. I worshipped them as Gods and when Kurt Cobain took his own life, I went through about three months of grief before moving on to my next obsession. It's interesting to me, looking back on it, that the idolization we imposed upon these
