Eddie Vedder - Into The Wild OST

Around the time Pearl Jam made it to rock stardom with the release of their debut album "Ten", college graduate Christopher McCandless left everything he knew and owned behind and travelled around the States for two years before stranding in the final frontier that is Alaska where he met his tragic fate. Not only has this story now been transformed in what could very well be the best movie we'll see in 2008 thanks to director Sean Penn and leading actor Emile Hirsch but Eddie Vedder wrote an equally beautiful soundtrack to accompany the movie.

Whether it's the banjo-enhanced "No Ceiling" or the cover of Indio's "Hard Sun" that he sings along with Sleater Kinney's Corin Tucker, the folky result is always there and it makes the movie even better. The absolute highlights of this album however are the completely acoustic "Long Nights" and "Society" which send shivers down my spine every single time.
Score: 9 out of 10
http://www.jrecords.com

Coheed & Cambria - No World For Tomorrow

So Dillinger Escape Plan almost didn't get to record "Ire Works" because their drummer left the band just days before they were supposed to hit the studio. You know what for? To go and play with Coheed & Cambria. But by then Coheed & Cambria had already recorded "No World For Tomorrow" with interim drummer Taylor Hawkins from Foo Fighters fame. Why am I telling you this? Just to point out that it's been a hectic year for C&C with the departure of drummer Josh Eppard and bassist Michael Todd. Luckily Todd joined the band again later on or they would've had to find another bass player as well.

Basically this album is more of the same as 'Good Apollo I'm burning star IV'. More progpopmetal with epic choruses, epic riffs and basically, epic everything. Oh, and throw in some 70ies rock as well to get an even better idea of what to expect. I've given up on the story lines a long time ago so I couldn't tell you anything about that (plus there's different interpretations floating around on the net anyway) but I can tell you that I like this album a lot better than "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star vol. 1". They disappointed with that one but redeem themselves with songs like "Feathers", "Justice In Murder" and the title track. Oh, and let's not forget the completely over the top 20-minutes long, divided over 5 songs closer.

One more thing though... if this album concludes Sanchez' scifi story, then where will they go from here?
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.sonybmg.com
http://www.coheedandcambria.com

King Automatic – Automatic Ray

King Automatic is one French dude who plays drums, guitar and an organ all at the same time while singing. Don't know how he does it but then again I don't know how that little bit of fluff ends up in my bellybutton every single day. It just does. If you're into lo-fi bluespunk with an electro touch - and who doesn't except for apparently my upstairs, downstairs and nextdoor neighbours - then you should by all means check out King Automatic!
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.voodoorhythm.com
http://www.kingautomatic.com

V/A - Oh Santa! New and Used Holiday Classics from Yep Roc Records

With a cover boasting an evil-looking Santa on top of a building swinging away at planes King Kong-style, you kinda know this isn’t going to be the Christmas music you would necessarily want to listen to with the entire family. But there’s some fun tracks on here like Jason Ringerberg’s duet with Kristi Rose, where the woman sings about the things she like about Christmas while Ringerberg is experiencing a mental breakdown trying to get everything done in time.
Noteworthy contributions as well from Marah and Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and overall just a fun vibe while giving you a glimpse at all the treats in Yep Roc(s giftbag. That’s “Oh Santa!” for ya!. But we all know that there’s only one guy you want to hear come Christmas time and that’s of course Ol’ Blue Eyes!
Score: 7
http://www.yeproc.com

Th' Legendary Shack Shakers interview

Th' Legendary Shack Shakers were an unknown name to yours truly but I was hooked as soon as I heard their latest album "Swampblood". They play an incredible mix of all kinds of Southern music styles and come out with killer tunes. I really didn't need another reason to send over some questions to vocalist Colonel J.D. Wilkes... here's what I got back from him.

PRT: Who are you and what would you like to tell our readers about yourself?

JD: Jeesh, dude. You emailed me. I'm Colonel J.D. Wilkes, the frontman for th' Legendary Shack*Shakers. I thought you knew that.

PRT: Who else is in the band and why would my mother like them?

JD: Really, you shouldn't email complete strangers and expect them to just answer your random questions. What if we were "online predators"? Your mother wouldn't take too kindly to that, now would she?

PRT: Can you give me a quick history of the band written in less than one minute?

JD: I feel like I'm on trial here. Or am I being audited? This is not a fun "interview." Well, okay. We're a hillbilly blues band from Nashville Tennessee. We cut our teeth in the Lower Broadway honky tonks years ago. We travel the world spreading the gospel and disease.PRT: What exactly makes a shack shaker legendary?JD: Sarcasm does not suit you well. You would think that someone so sarcastic would actually recognize sarcasm when he heard it.

PRT: If the Legendary Shack Shakers was the lovechild of two other bands, which bands would've had sex and which position were you conceived in?

JD: Oh I get it. "This ain't your daddy's interview-style." You're challenging everybody'snotion of what an interview is. Ooooh, I'm left quivering in your bad-ass, unconventional, punk rock wake...rethinking everything I thought I stood for. I'm speechless!

PRT: Your latest album is called "Swampblood" and it's once again an amazing mix of all the different Southern music genres. Do you still come across new things every now and then that make you go 'hey, we should give this a try'?

JD: Ah, that's better. Flattery will get you everywhere. Yes, we like blues and country music. You'll find that we only play styles of music that are born out of blue-collar, working-class pain. Then we hybridize it with our other weird, musical obsessions and it alwaysseems to work. Well, 9 times outta 10.

PRT: The new album is also the last part of the Tent Show trilogy. How did you come up with that idea?

JD: It happened by accident. Tentshows just make a great backdrop for the stories we tell. It seems there's always something screwy happening inside some tent somewhere.

PRT: A term I've come across a lot reading about your band is 'Southern gothic'. What is your personal definition of Southern gothic?

JD: Gothic has come to mean "beauty in the grotesque." Therefore "Sounthern Gothic" would be "beauty in grotesque, SOUTHERN themes, situations & settings." That would be my definition. There are no scary vampires in this scenario. Actually, I take that back.

PRT: Religion is a recurring theme in your songs and your murder ballads always end with a warning of sorts. I don't know if it stands but the image that I have of people in the Bible Belt is that of the godfearing Southerner. Is that a stereotype that still stands?

JD: Yes. What's more, I believe that stereotypes are born out of realities. That's what makes them believable and so hard to disspell. The generalities that inform stereotypes could also becalculated and submitted as statistics or demographics. The biggest racists, sexists and homophobes work for Madison Avenue.
Basically, yes. I am a God-fearing Southern boy. You hit the nail right on the head, yessireebob.

PRT: Both your music and your lyrics are rooted in tradition so I was kinda wondering what your position is on current stuff like corporate America driving all the mom and pop stores out of business or about all the possibilities that come with new media?

JD: I guess it's strange that free MP3s and Best Buys exist in the same world. But I don't see it as exciting times, just depressing. Either way, this band is screwed.

PRT: You're also working on a documentary called "Seven Signs". What can people expect from that one?

JD: We let southern artists and musicians, both professional and amateur, speak for themselves. We also take the current problem of corporate, urban sprawl to task as a dangerous "anti-matter" form that is killing our southern traditions and identity.

PRT: In the movie 'High Fidelity' these guys that work in the record store constantly come up with these top 5 lists of songs for different occasions. If you would have to make such a list, which occasion would it be for and which songs would make your top 5?

JD: My "deserted island" mix would have to include Dock Boggs, Louvin Brothers, Pine Hill Haints, Slim Harpo and Cab Calloway.Hopefully I would also have a jam-box or something to play them on.

PRT: What else does the future have in store for Th' Legendary Shack Shakers? Planning a tour in Europe? If so please don't skip Belgium!

JD: We probably will be in Europe this summer. Maybe we'll bring the movie with us. You never know what to expect from th' Legendary Shack*Shakers!

PRT: Any last words for our readers?

JD: You see, it's not so hard to be nice. Hugs not drugs.

The Hives interview

The Hives everybody! We love The Hives. We love their records. We love their onstage antics. We love their all-round-nice-guy-ness and their cute little touch of arrogance. Here’s singer Howlin’ Pelle and drummer Chris Dangerous giving Punkrocktheory some manlove.

PRT: Guys, to kick it into gear, what would you like to share about “the Black and White Album”?
Pelle: “I’m happy that it’s done. And I think it’s very good.”
Chris: “Absolutely. And it’s sort of a new beginning for us in a way. We’ve done the punk-trilogy thing, and this is starting all over, with everything kinda new. We have a manager, we used producers.”
Pelle: “Basically this is our attempt at running something that has never been run as a regular rock band, and try to run it as a regular rock band.”

PRT: You’re happy that it’s done? Is it so hard to finish records?
Pelle: “I’m always happy when our records are done, because it’s so hard to finish them. It’s important shit, basically.” (laughs)
Chris: “We’re perfectionists when it comes to the music and everything about us.”
Pelle: “It’s just that, if you’re gonna release a new song, let alone an entire new album in the year 2007, with all the music that’s been done before, we don’t feel that we can just put out records. It has to add something to the history of recorded music. It sounds pretentious, but it’s actually the way we think about it. So it really fucking has to be good and be considered. You know, it has to be a record that hasn’t been done the same way before.”

PRT: You quite succeeded in that. It sounds really different, with different influences. Even disco.
Pelle: “Funny thing is that everybody we know in bands listen to any kind of music. There are very few musicians that just stick to one kind. We’ve always liked disco music. But you probably couldn’t tell by our early records because we had a vision about what we wanted to do, and disco sure didn’t fit into that. Now is the first time we let ourselves do other stuff.”

PRT: Was it necessary for you to include other stuff?
Pelle: “That’s why it’s so different. It was necessary, we had to do something else. It’s dangerous to become kinda sick of your own band. It’s not good when you feel like you could do it in your sleep. Then you have to do something you can’t do in your sleep.”
Chris: “Challenge ourselves, make it interesting. The whole process of it. We’ve had some weirder songs on previous records, like “Diabolic Scheme” for example. But there’s always been so much in the making that we never gave a fair shot. But this time we said to ourselves: we’re gonna record everything we have and finish everything we have. If someone has a clear vision about something, let’s just go with it and see how it ends up. Some of the songs, four years ago, would never even left the rehearsal room. But that’s what made it so much fun, we just sat around and said we should do this or that, and we did it and it ended up really good.”

PRT: Aren’t you afraid to lose older fans with the new stuff?
Chris: “Ah, there’s still half an hour of good old fashioned rock ‘n roll on the record like we did on our previous work. It’s just 15 extra minutes of other stuff.”
Pelle: “We decided that, instead of like it was on the older records, where everybody has to like every song, but now it’s more like: if someone loved it, it was good enough, even if the rest didn’t like it. It was a way for us to break freee from something that was in jeopardy of becoming a formula.”

PRT: Some people might consider your change of style as being pretentious?
Pelle: “Yeah, if it’s in danger of being pretentious, then pretentious is good. I don’t really think that because you’re a rock ‘n roll band and rock ‘n roll is meant to be fun, that you’re not allowed to be pretentious, that it’s . the working man’s music, and you should stick to the status quo. I mean, as much as I love AC/DC, it’s also fun to do crazy stuff, or stuff that seems crazy to you as a fan. That’s healthy, instead of giving people what you think they want. We never got fans by trying to figure out what they want. We always played what we wanted to hear. If people like it, they like it. If they don’t, they don’t. Otherwise you’re looking down on your audience, and you think that they can’t follow you. ‘Oh, our poor stupid audience won’t understand what we’re trying to do here’.”
Chris: “It’s so much more fun too to raise a few eyebrows than to have the average rock ‘n roll fan sit around at home going by the rulebook.”
Pelle: “It’s no good sticking to that rulebook. What we did wasn’t in the rulebook when we started. We invented ourselves, and we have to keep doing that, instead of thinking what people want from us. That’s dangerous.”

PRT: Now everybody will just have to wait and see what you’re coming up with next.
Pelle: “That’s better, yeah. I’m sure some people will hate the new record, or prefer an older one, but there’ll also be some who didn’t like our older stuff but will love the new work. It balances out.”
Chris: “Also, from the e-mails and whatnot we get, the funny thing about this record we get: they don’t say it’s better or worse than the last one, but everyone likes different songs. It’s about the songs. Maybe it’s the day and age, but it’s fun to hear a guy hate two songs, and the next one loves them.”
Pelle: “It’s bizarre, it’s not a record where one song is the best one, it feels like everyone has different favourites. That’s cool, but it makes it hard to pick a single.” (laughs)

PRT: Talking about raising eyebrows: you worked with Pharrell Williams. How did you come up with that?
Chris: “We played the Summersonic Festival in Japan in 2004 and we met him there. He said to us backstage that he would love to work with us someday. And while we were waiting around for the other producers, we just thought about it, we gave him a call and he said “let’s do it”. So we flew to Miami and did it. You know, you can’t really fuck up the Hives that bad. I know that people were scared about what it’s gonna sound like. But the funny thing is that what most people think is a Pharrell-song, is one of the songs we did ourselves. “Giddy Up!”, that’s us!”
Pelle: the best thing about working with him was that it surprised us as well, that we actually did it. We were in danger of becoming a formula, we just had to do something desperately different. It was great, we discovered a new way of working. But it’s really easy to overestimate the role of the producer sometimes. If it’s produced by ‘yadda yadda’, but that doesn’t mean that it will sound like it was produced by ‘yadda yadda’. Look at the Ramones, they had 15 producers, but it still sounds like the Ramones. The reason this record sounds different, is more because we wanted it to sound different than who produced it.”

PRT: Were you guys afraid of working with producers?
Chris: “Yeah. Every song we ever recorded was done with Pelle Gunnerfeldt and us, in a 50-50 split. So it was scary. Like, oh shit, what’s gonna happen.”
Pelle: “We didn’t know how it worked either. Does this mean he decides now, or are we still in charge? We didn’t know. We were scared of working with producers, but we weren’t half as scared as we were of doing it the same way again. We decided for the least frightening thing.”
Chris: “It was great really, to work with these great producers. They are popular, and good at what they do. Walking into the studio in London with Jacknife Lee, hearing his ideas for a song that we would never have thought of. Very good things came out of it.”

PRT: Did you ever, five young guys from Fagersta, expected to work with those people?
Chris: “We never expected to sell more than a 100 copies. We thought that what we did was good, but we’d never thought that a broad audience would accept punk rock from a small town in Sweden.”
Pelle: “We had a sort of Van Gogh-vision of the future where we would do what we did, then quit, have regular jobs and then 50 years from now people would discover it like it was a treasyre and we’d be gods. That was our vision of success, somebody finding our record in the sales bin and thinking it was the best record that ever came out.”

PRT: Is there a limit to what you’re doing now? The audience and the shows kep getting bigger. Is there a limit for your success?
Chris: “Not if you ask us. We could go around the world touring stadiums like U2 or the Chili Peppers. That would be great, actually.”
Pelle: “I have no problem with success anymore. I have no problem with being less populair either. I just know that this is what I want to do with my life. And we’ll try to be as popular as we can.”
Chris: “We really like our band. And if more people everyday do so, that’s good for us.”
Pelle: “Being popular is also fucking cool. If you ever had the dream of being a rockstar as a little kid, it’s coo lto play for a lot of people. It’s simple math. And all the silly rock star things, are really fun when you can actually do them. Buyin a fast car and a big house and playing for a lot of people is fun.”

PRT: You have a fast car?
Pelle: “It’s not very fast. But it’s a convertible.” (laughs)
Chris: “I have numerous fast cars and a big house.”
Pelle: “He’s not as scared as me of driving fast. I have an old sports car, it’s not fast. But it looks cool.”

PRT: And that’s important.
Pelle: “It’s more important than being fast.” (laughs)

PRT: Do you already have any ideas of next step?
Chris: “No, the fifth record could turn out any way. We have talked a bit, we have a few songs left over from this that we think are really good. But when it’s time to seriously think about it, we’ll regroup in Hive Manor and see what comes out iof it.”
Pelle: “It’s hard to talk about them as leftovers, because they are too good. I even think some of them are better than some songs on the record. But they weren’t finished yet. But hopefully we can just keep working on stuff. Instead of like in the past. That’s the good thing about having a manager. Now when we have time off we can work on music instead of on paperwork. So we can hopefully get more stuff done now, musically.”

PRT: Last question: which is better: “Black Album” or “White Album”?
Pelle: “Which black and which white?”

PRT: Metallica and Beatles, are there any others worth mentioning?
Pelle: “Metallica.”
Chris: “Metallica.”
Pelle: “Just listen to “Sad But True” really loud… It kicks ass!”

The Maine – The Way We Talk EP

The kids that make up The Maine might be barely out of high school yet they’ve already inked a deal with Fearless thanks to the hype they built on… you’ll never guess this one… MySpace. Now, as far as I can remember nothing good has ever come from that before (Secondhand Serenade anyone?) but bio sheets always seem to make a big deal out of 15-year-old girls adding bands to boost their number of friends or so that they can puhleeeeezzzz get some more pic comments.

The bio sheet further claims that these guys were influenced by 90s alternative rock whereas I didn’t hear anything closely resembling Soundgarden, Alice In Chains or the Stone Temple Pilots while listening to the five songs that make up “The Way We Talk”. So let’s just burn the bio sheet for now and say that The Maine plays the kind of sugary poppunk that Cute Is What We Aim For is known for. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, you’ll have to decide for yourself!
Score: 5 out of 10
http://www.fearlessrecords.com

http://www.myspace.com/themaine

Led Zeppelin – Mothership 2CD

To this day Led Zeppelin remains one of the biggest rock bands to have ever walked upon the face of the earth. I think everyone can come up with at least a couple of their song titles. Hell, “Stairway To Heaven” has been played so many times you’ll get kicked out of a music store if you even think starting to play the opening riff!

“Mothership” has 24 songs spread out over 2 discs and they were handpicked out of the band’s eight albums by Page, Plant and Bonham themselves. All of their biggest hits are on here along with some of the band’s personal favorites, all in excellent remastered quality. There’s simply no reason for anyone not to pick this up whether it’s for the longtime fan to hear the remastered versions of old favorites or for the kids out there that want to attend rock school 101.
Score: 10 out of 10
http://www.atlanticrecords.com

http://www.ledzeppelin.com

Milloy – More Than A Machine

Meet Brigga, Ian, Beefy, Jim and Bedi… a couple of UK lads that have been known collectively as Milloy since 1999. They already released “More Than A Machine” back in 2006 but I doubt anyone other than their friends and families knew about it. Which as it turns out is a terrible shame but now it very deservedly got a second shot at world domination thanks to Householdname Records.

You just have to listen once to songs like “Even Knievel” or Blackjack”, then think of Hot Water Music before it dawns on you that this might very well be the band that No Idea forgot to put on their roster. And even though the album has been remastered, things still sound as gritty as your average stretch of asphalt. All of the songs are powerful, melodic, passionate and it all sounds great!

Expect an album with all new songs to hit stores later this year and judging from bonus track “Le Coup De Grace” which was recorded a year after the rest of the album, it’s gonna be a winner!
Score: 8 out of 10

http://www.householdnamerecords.co.uk

http://www.myspace.com/milloy

Zatopeks – Damn Fool Music

The Zatopeks are a bunch of Londoners who live in Berlin and every now and then they pop out an album. Like now with “Damn Fool Music”. If you’re into punkpop a la Screeching Weasel or The Queers with some Buzzcocks mixed in, there’s no real reason why you should miss out on this release.

14 fun-filled songs that make you wish the sun was shining… nothing more, nothing less. The fact that singer sounds like that dude from the Undertones and that the band likes to throw in some piano or trumpet every now and then only makes things even sweeter!
Score: 6.5 out of 10
http://www.householdnamerecords.co.uk

http://www.zatopeks.com

MOD - Red, White And Screwed

Ever since he shocked people with his lyrics when the first SOD album came out, Billy Milano has made a career out of writing provocative lyrics for his band MOD (Method Of Destruction). That's no different on "Red, White And Screwed", the band's first album in four years. Whether he's talking about illegal immigrants ("Jose Can You See") or dissing Ricktalife ("Hardcore Harry") or ripping off from Metallica and King Diamond ("Greatest Lie Ever Told"), he's always kicking against somebody's shins. But he does with a healthy amount of humor which is why he gets away with it. All this is done in his traditional NYHC meets crossover style making "Red, White And Screwed" an album that will please all the fans and give his opponents some extra reasons to hate his guts.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.iscreamrecords.com
http://www.billymilano.com

Puerto Muerto - Heaven & Dirt

Hey, if an album comes with the subtitle "Requiem For The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" you've got my attention. Man, I love those movies! Except for the one with Matthew McConaughey and Renée Zellweger which was terrible! Anyway, these two EPs are a sequel to "Songs Of Muerto County", the score to Texas Chainsaw Masscre this husband and wife released back in 2005. By the way, I can only imagine how sweet their bedtalk must be seeing as they have releases out called "See You In Hell" or "Your Bloated Corpse Has Washed Ashore".

The music on here is very mellow with the male and female vocals intertwined ever so beautiful while being backed up by some quiet guitars and driving drums. Now, mellow and beautiful might not have very much in common with the gore that Leatherface likes to leave behind but a sense of violence always permeates in Puerto Muerto's music, giving it that little extra to make things even better. If you're curious to hear what the Bad Seeds would sound like on a sunny day, need to check this one out!
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.firerecords.com

http://www.myspace.com/puertomuerto

Sonah - Kurzgeschichten

A German emo band? Hmmm, that has the potential of turning out ugly. Luckily these Marburg dudes did a pretty good job on "Kurzgeschichten". German isn't the most beautiful language around but vocalist Jost does a pretty good job of not reminding me of a dude in a black coat yelling "Aufmachen!". Ten to one they do like black band shirts though. Maybe even of similar German acts such as Jupiter Jones or Muff Potter because "Kurzgeschichten" is filled with the kind of songs that bridge the gap between poppunk and emo without effort. This results in a hook-filled album with a healthy amount of energy. Not so bad after all but hardly original either. Just a fun album to pop in your stereo every now and then.
Score: 6 out of 10
http://www.redfield-records.de

http://www.sonahmusik.de

V/A - Change! CD/DVD

Hot Topic and Sub City have once again partnered up to bring us "Change!". It's a sort of who's hot and who's not overview with 21 songs on the CD and 17 music vids on the DVD. It all comes in a neat little package and doesn't cost a lot. Good for all of you who haven't heard of Alesana, Job For A Cowboy or August Burns Red yet but if you're looking for some previously unreleased material, you'll have to keep on searching!

The good news is that you'll support the good cause because a portion of the proceeds will go to the Hot Topic Foundation which supports programs and organizations that focus on encouraging and educating youth in music, creative writing, painting, filmmaking and more. The bad news is you'll have to site through tracks from Chiodos, Parkway Drive and Aiden.
Score: 6 out of 10
http://www.subcity.net

Reverend Beat-Man - Surreal Folk Blues Gospel Trash vol. 2

The reverend from hell is back with volume 2 of his surreal folk blues gospel trash and on it are twelve more tracks of well, surreal folk blues gospel trash. The guy's voice still sounds as raw as ever and with "Letter To Myself" and "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" he was written a couple more tracks that will be played again and again at my place. This dude rocks, he's got a good sense of humor and is insane in a good way. Of course, he has to preach a little as well and this time around the lecture is called "The Swiss Army Knife". Parents, better lock up your children when the reverend is coming to town because Beat-Man is out to corrupt their souls rather than save 'em!
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.voodoorhythm.com

http://www.myspace.com/reverendbeatman

Driving East – Black Eyes And Broken Hearts

Driving East isn’t exactly an original band yet listening to their debut EP “Black Eyes And Broken Hearts” I can see why The Militia Group signed these guys. The 10 songs on here are powerful poppunk anthems that are packed with galloping drums, loud guitars, catchy choruses and more hooks than a bait shop.

Having played shows already with Midtown, Allister, Homegrown) and sounding not too different from New Found Glory, this band would’ve fit right in on the Drive-Thru roster from a couple of years ago. On “Black Eyes And Broken Hearts” Driving East sound enthousiastic, energetic and in general are a lot more fun to listen to than the Panic! At The Disco’s and My Chemical Romance’s of the world. Guess that even after all these years I’m still a sucker for some solid melodic poppunk!
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.hemilitiagroup.com

http://www.drivingeast.com

Deville – Come Heavy Sleep

Heavy sleep… I sure could go for some of that right about now. Unfortunately that won’t happen. Especially not when listening to Deville’s new album. The intro might sound like something out of the “Le Pacte Des Loups” soundtrack but after that it’s all stoner rock she wrote on this Swedish band’s debut.

Take some groovy rhythms, buzzing guitars and tight drumming and slap a whole bunch of guitar solos on it and use the word ‘baby’ a lot and you’re looking at an album that will help get every self-respecting stoner fan through the day. Yes, the spirit of Kyuss shines strong in this one, young Padawan. But there’s more shining on this album here… these guys aren’t afraid to take their foot off of the gas pedal every now and then – like on “Sweet Blood” - and the result is just as impressive as everything else on “Come Heavy Sleep”.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.buzzville.be
http://www.deville.nu

Houston Swing Engine – Entre Hommes

Houston Swing Engine isn’t from Houston and they don’t play swing music. The swinging could also refer to their lifestyle but I’m not sure about that. Rather they call Switzerland home and play a deafening mix of stoner rock and hardcore. And they’re doing a pretty good job of that on “Entre Hommes”!

Vocalist Danek has an extremely nasty scream and while the clean parts might not be equally convincing, the guy does get away with them. The riffs are amazing and when you combine them with an effective rhythm section and 14 great songs, you’ve got an album any band should be proud of. If you wanna hear what Refused would sound like when crossed with a band like Queens Of The Stone Age, then make sure you check out “Entre Hommes”!
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.headstrong.ch
http://www.houstonswingengine.com

Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II

30 Years after Neil Young recorded “Chrome Dreams”, one of the good man’s albums that was never officially released, there is now “Chrome Dreams II”. It’s made up of a couple of songs from that unreleased album along with a couple of new ones and if you don’t know it, it’s impossible to tell which song is from which period. That’s of course one of the strengths of Mr. Young. He has a way of writing timeless music. And whether you’re talking about the mellow country opener that is “Beautiful Bluebird” or the 18-minute long instant classic that is “Ordinary People”, Neil Young always delivers.

Just like on “After The Goldrush” Young uses different kind of songs on one album ‘to form a feeling’ (to quote the master himself). I’m not sure what that means exactly since I always feel something when I listen to Neil Young. So it doesn’t matter whether I’m listening to “The Way” which comes with a choir or to the rocking “Dirty Old Man”, it’s all good by me.

“Chrome Dreams II” might not be the best album Young has ever written but compared to a lot of other rock albums nowadays, this is still pretty friggin’ amazing and it will keep me good company until his long and eagerly awaited “Archives” boxset finally comes out!
Score: 8.5 out of 10

http://www.reprise.com

http://www.neilyoung.com

Thrice – The Alchemy Index vol. I & 2 : Fire & Water

With every single album Thrice managed to surprise me in a good way. They went from the pounding metalcore of their debut to the downright spectacular mix of well, pretty much everything on “Vheissu”. Then vocalist Dustin Kensrue – after dropping a solo release filled with acoustic country tunes – came up with the idea to write four albums, each of which was to be dedicated to one of the four elements. Eventually, things boiled down to 4 EPs with 6 songs each. The first two of which are out now in one neat package.

Volume number 1 is dedicated to ‘fire’ and as soon as you pop in the disc the familiar sounds of Thrice’s guitar violence along with Kensrue’s powerful shouting burst out of the speakers in “Firebreather”. They keep that up throughout most of the next five songs, making this EP the most recognizable for all the Thrice fans out there.

The ‘Water’ EP is something else entirely with keyboards stealing a lot of the guitars’ thunder, creating soundscapes the likes of which we have never seen before from Thrice. String arrangements, beats and things that go bleep in the night are essential ingredients to this EP and with a song like “Night Diving” they even come pretty close to acts such as Isis.

For creating a certain atmosphere, these guys deserve all the credit I can give them but I was kinda left waiting for some standout songs. I mean, “Vheissu” was just one big highlight and that is what I’m severely lacking here. Maybe things will feel more complete once vol. 3 and 4 hit the streets next year… we’ll see!
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.vagrant.com

http://www.thrice.net