Artist: The Rasmus Venue: Retox Rock Bar (New York, NY) Date: 11/21/2006 Label: DRT Entertainment
The latest news is that Scott Ian (Anthrax) had joined in partnership with Mike Diamond of Snitch to open a new club called the “Retox Rock Bar” and tonight I would have the opportunity to check out the place and also enjoy the music of The Rasmus. The group would be taking part in the “Southern Comfort presents Blender Sessions” and while this was new to me, I am always interested in supporting a hopefully cool place and the music that I love to spread the word about. After some inordinate confusion regarding entry into the place which seemed to be based on an overlapped booking of another event we were inside and ready to rock. The Rasmus just recently signed to DRT Entertainment, and for this special appearance the label had invited the first 100 fans attendance if they arrived early enough. Inside the club was is a nice little stage and to be honest the room does not seem sizable for anything more than a showcase or industry gathering of some kind. It does however become the perfect setting for an intimate performance such as this. It was also the last night of the bands tour which made it just a little more special. Continue reading The Rasmus @ Retox Rock Bar (11/21/2006)→
Artist: 36 Crazyfists Title: “Rest Inside The Flames” Label: DRT Entertainment Release Date: 11/7/2006 Genre: Post Hardcore Rating: 3.5/5
Having moved on from Roadrunner Records the band 36 Crazyfists is a newly signed act to DRT Entertainment. This might have been a good move for the Post Hardcore meets Melodic Metalcore guys in 36 Crazyfists as they give us their third album “Rest Inside The Flames”. The release is a significant Metal punch to the teeth as they use the Hardcore vibe straight away, but in a slightly different move from some bands that blend in the Melodic aspect, 36CF are often using the both of them at the same time. I found this a great dynamic instead of the continual switching on and off of the styles. I felt that it worked so much that by the end of my listen I had wished that they had only used the clean vocal since it was so good. Songs like “On Any Given Night” are fantastic and serve to save the listener from the crop of Emo bands dished out and somehow popular. The drive and delivery of 36CF is bound to please those who are looking for some levels of anger in their music but also those who are seeking more melody than a lot of other bands are offering. There’s a lot of flavors on the album and they even offer some tribute to their homelands on the cut “Aurora”, a song which they said is about love and it’s magic that can be inspired by the magnificent Northern Lights. If that’s not off the beaten path from other heavy bands I don’t know what else is. There is also a lot of cool music on the release as well as far as time signatures and overall technical display. Continue reading “Rest Inside The Flames” by 36 Crazyfists→
Artist: The Rasmus Title: “Hide From The Sun” Label: DRT Entertainment Release Date: 10/10/2006 Genre: Melodic Rock Rating: 4/5
The Rasmus are another one of those “overnight sensations” from Helsinki, Finland who are not overnight at all and instead have been releasing albums since 1996. Yes, it seems like Finland is giving the world another band that is set to become the “next big thing” and watching the countries output over the last few years with Children Of Bodom, Nightwish, H.I.M and The 69 Eyes this could be a very good thing. “Hide From The Sun” bears some uncanny resemblance to the sound of Gothic Melodic Rockers H.I.M., yet unlike their Finnish Brothers in music, The Rasmus are not as Dark and Melancholy with their songs. There is a slightly similar groove to be found on tracks like “Keep Your Heart Broken” and “No Fear” but beyond that it is a totally different band. There is little emphasis on Death and lost love like H.I.M. is delivering on a regular basis. The resulting hit potential in tracks like “Night After Night” and “Sail Away” are quite high (I come to this conclusion based on my humming the chorus parts after only a couple of listens). The album is their sixth but is only the first to reach the US shores and the amount of sleek tracks that it has there is little doubt that they will be one of the most successful bands of this type of genre to hit the music scene of today. It’s a lot better than some of the other music the young listener is focused on so let’s hope for that niche to make room for them. The band does not truly bear the Gothic label, but does have a twist of it tossed in for taste with “Lucifer’s Angel” and “Don’t Let Go” and if that demographic catches on to the group is could cause them to give Ville a run for his money. Lead singer Lauri Ylonen has a wonderful texture and passion to his voice and by the look of his photos, he will soon adorn the lockers of students in schools across the nation. The other members of the group are Pauli Rantasalmi (guitar), Eero Heinonen (bass) and Aki Hakala (drums) and the quartet rocks. Continue reading “Hide From The Sun” by The Rasmus→
Artist: GWAR Title: “Bloodbath And Beyond” Label: DRT Entertainment Release Date: 6/20/2006 Genre: Heavy Metal Rating: 2.5/5
Straight from the “GWAR-chives” comes this award-show meets career retrospective “Bloodbath And Beyond” hosted by singer Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie) and band manager Sleazy P. Martini. The pair sits in director’s chairs ala Siskel & Ebert and line out the award that GWAR has received by showcasing various points in the bands career. While the footage is pretty dark at times it does take you back to the earliest instances of GWAR on the live stage with one of them taking you back to the bands infancy as they are hardly masked and costumed. The segments are broken down by Oderus and Sleazy and titled “That’s F**ked Up” and “Techno Destroyer” as these parts of the show over the years are highlighted. Be aware that GWAR does some pretty outrageous and disgusting things on the concert stage and most of it is unacceptable behavior in every sector of the galaxy. Yet for those who have supported the group at their shows know very well what these sections entail and I can only sum it all up under the following phrases, zombies, slaves, monsters, sex and dismemberment. Good clean fun in the world of GWAR and their fans can once again enjoy the moments of concert footage with “Scrotum Moon” and “Techno Destructo” who were only a few of the cast of characters in the GWAR ensemble outside of the musicians themselves. Not enough attention is paid to the actual characters like Jizmak and Beefcake which would have made this a little more interesting but you do see them in action along with Slymenstra Hymen, the main female character for a number of years. A lot of the footage jumps around and is at points difficult to follow. This is not actually a problem for if you see GWAR in concert there are segments of the show where you will also lose track of the goings-on. Having seen them on occasions I always wondered how they kept all the chaos together. Given this is done as a mini-movie, it ends in typical fashion with GWAR killing people in righteous vengeance for their insolence. Continue reading “Bloodbath And Beyond” by GWAR→
Artist: Powerman 5000 Title: “Destroy What You Enjoy” Label: DRT Entertainment Release Date: 8/1/2006 Genre: Hard Rock/Punk Edge Rating: 4/5
Every now and then an album comes out at the right moment in time. Timing can be everything and Powerman 5000’s “Destroy What You Enjoy” may have timing on it’s side. DWYE feels like a solid summer party album. It’s loaded with a good kind of mindless, catchy fun and when you listen to tracks like “Wild World”, you feel it would be right at home blasting at a BBQ or a keg party. The songs are solid throughout with a quality production level finding the guitar sounds of Johnny Heatley and Terry Corso heavy. Heavy, but not with a grating feel and instead using a clever yet minimal use of effects. DWYE is rawer and thrashy with less effected/electronic elements than the band was known to use in the past offerings. I would say while dispensing their Sci-Fi they are displaying a more punk-pop influence.
Spider’s vocals are strong with a great raspy quality that keeps him from sounding cheesy, like so many of the whiney sounding, pop-punk singers that seem to be rehashing lame uninspired, follow the guitar chord, melody lines. Spider’s vocals have a power and rawness that I enjoy quite a bit. Continue reading “Destroy What You Enjoy” by Powerman 5000→
