Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Slipknot - Before I Forget

You can say what you will about Slipknot's third album, but they've definately been picking the right songs to release as singles. This latest effort is no exception as Before I Forget was one of the best songs on the album.
The video is pretty good too as for the first time the band does the video completely UNMASKED! But the thing is, save for a few shots of the back of their heads, or their eyes twitching, we still don't get to see their faces!
Throughout the video we see extreme close-up shots of the band as they jam, with the emphasis of their hands playing their instruments and shots of Corey Taylor's mouth as he screams and sings. When we see full body shots of the band, it's either from behind or at a distance that they are all blurry.
Really good video overall.
Video Rating: ***1/2

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Six Feet Under - Shadow of the Reaper

This was another fun SFU video, but looked suspiciously like something Rob Zombie would do. Heck, Chris Barnes even looked like Zombie here the way he had ghost makeup on as the band jammed in a black shadowy space. And another similarity to Zombie is that the video takes an old-school horror movie theme!
We see this teen couple going out to the country side to get all romantic and stuff till they run into this little girl who brings them back to her place where they have dinner with her family. We then see the little girl's two sisters hit on the guy while their mom yacks away about something. The guy ends up ignoring his girl and going off with the two sisters. His girlfriend tracks them down where she sees the little girl run off after spying through an open door. She peeps through the door to see the guy about to make out with the two sisters and runs off in disgust. But what she didn't see after she left was the sisters freaking out turning into zombies themselves or something and what happens to the guy aren't shown. But the girlfriend is now driving off into the night until she comes upon the little girl who herself has gone psycho to end the video.
Interesting and weird at the same time with a great thrashing track to go with it. Definately worth checking out.
Video Rating: ***1/2

Sunday, May 15, 2005

American Head Charge - Cowards

Normally I hate videos that are all story based you don't see the band in it, but this is definately one of the more fun ones I've seen as it features UFC fighter Chuck Lidell and the track is taken off the UFC Ultimate Beatdowns Vol.1 CD.
The video basically sees Lidell going through a bad day, and some of the situations are things I'm sure most of us have come accross at one time or another.
He wakes up in the morning and is out of toothpaste. His water-pressure goes down while he's in the shower, and then his milk has gone bad while having breakfast. As he makes his way to his car, he steps on a dog turd left by his neighbours dog. When he goes to confront the neighbour, she sprays him with a hose and he just walks off. He reaches to the store to buy some milk and wants to pay for it with his credit card, but the guy behind the counter tells hims its cash only. Lidell again walks off. He goes to the laundry and some homeboy wannabe steals his dryer while his back is turned. He then gets cut off by some guy in the parking lot who blocks his way and simply walks off. Lidell is then seen walking by some guy who tosses a box at him and doesn't appologise, and he then fronts with Lidell asking him to do something about. Lidell walks on. Lidell finally hits the gym and we see him suit up and begin his work out.
So is the moral of the story that even a tough guy like Chuck Lidell turns the other cheek in these situations? HELL NO! We then see what really happened in all those scenarios, mixed in with footage of Lidell doing what he does best in the Octagon. The neighbour that sprayed him with the hose? He tied her up with the hose! The clerk at the store? Locked him in the freezer! The dumbass at the laudrymat? Locked in the dryer! The guy that cut him off at the parking locked? Locked him up in his own car trunk! And the tough guy that fronted with him? Tied to a pole and given a wedgie!
Video ends with Lidell getting back into his car and giving a big sigh. It's tough being a tough guy! Great video, and I'm sure many can relate to the story it tells, wanting to kick the crap out of the people that annoy us on a daily basis.
Definately recommended to check out!
Video Rating: ****

Monday, May 09, 2005

Mudvayne - Lost and Found (CD)

The latest album from Mudvayne sees the band leave their demonic make-up days clear behind them as they embrace a more mainstream feel to their musical stylings. Many would consider it selling out, but this is how they feel right now so I guess everyone will just have to live with it.
Obviously this is one of the bands most accessible albums yet and should appeal to nu-metal fans as well as long time Mudvayne fans. Singer Chad Gray might sing more, but he still does his share of screaming, like on the killer opener "Determined", a killer 3-minute track that'll get you pumping your fist in the air.
But the band also tackles some personnal issues like on "Happy", a great track to listen to when your feeling pissed off. And like many bands in this day and age, they take on the anti-war message with "Choices", a HUGE 8-minute track that easilly sounds like 3 different songs mixed into one, and the fact that it continues directly from the track before does confuse things a bit. They also added this weird robotic voice going "eanie-meanie-minie-mo" on the track.
They may have changed their sound a bit, but this is definately still Mudvayne. The album may not sound as good as their breakthrough album "L.D.50", but it's better than their second record, "The End of All Things To Come", by leaps and bounds in my book and I recommend this album.

CD Rating: ***1/2

Must Hear Tracks:
- Determined
- Happy
- Rain.Sun.Gone
- Choices
- TV Radio