"Meteora" Album Review

When Linkin Park's debut album "Hybrid Theory" came out in the year 2000, people were suprised at how well they mashed modern rock music and rap music together, and now they are on top of the modern rock world. And then came "Meteora". Spawning 4 hits, 3 of them mega-hits, "Meteora" is a prime example of how modern rock should sound, with hard guitar riffs and hooks, along with great lyrics, which fit effortlessly into the music. The first track on the CD isn't even a song, as its name says, it's a "Foreward", just a recording of smashing glass that sets up the first song on the CD, "Don't Stay" is a gutsy get-up-and-get-out-of-here song. It has some really great guitar playing, and sounds marvelous. Then comes the super-hit "Somewhere I Belong", its as near perfection as you can get. With excellent musical effects from the incredible sound wizard "Mr.Hahn", and great singing from lead singer Chester Bennington and emcee Mike Shinoda, it is one of the best rock songs in recent years. The 4th track on the CD is "Lying From You";the music video for this was shot at their "Live From Texas" show, and was the 2nd single off of the album. Then comes "Hit the Floor, a catchy tune that has short choppy guitar riffs and a thought-u-had-me-now-u-don't attitude. The next song, "Easier to Run", is a rock ballad in the purest sense of the word, with long guitar hooks and some really good singing. Next is a song brimming with attitude, "Faint". Chester Bennington screams some on this song, as he really puts all he can behind the words he's singing. It's a really good "don't turn your back on me I won't be ignored" rebel anthem. The 8th track on the CD is "Figure.09", a truely great song that should've been released as a single, but keeps itself a secret for those who go out and buy the CD. Even if you're satisfied just listening the singles on the radio, this song is a good reason to buy the album. Then comes perhaps the biggest hit on the album, "Breaking The Habit", which isn't hard at all, but has a great drum beat and good music effects from Mr.Hahn. The video for it was done in a Japanese Animae fashion, and it really turned out good. This song was in the works for 6 years, and believe me, when they finally made the final version, they nailed it. The tenth track, "From the Inside", is a good song, but doesn't live up the quality of the rest of the album. Then comes a rap song, "Nobody's Listening", and Mike Shinoda really shows off his rapping skills on this track. Hard rock fans probably won't like the rap twist, but its a quality song. Next is the instrumental "Session", in which Mr.Hahn shows off his stuff. This guy can really whip up some crazy sounds, its like you're listening to a musical experiment on this song. The last track of the song is the mega-hit "Numb". In the booklet that comes with the CD, the band said that this song was one of the first songs written for the album, and "came together quickly and almost effortlessly". Wow, if they can put together a song like that almost without even trying, I'd love to see what they could do if they tried really hard! It's gonna be hard to live up to expectations on their next album, considering how great "Meteora" is, but I think they can do it. I give "Meteora" a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

New Seether Album

Hailing from the country of South Africa, hard rock band Seether is releasing their 2nd album this Tuesday, titled "Karma and Effect". While only their 2nd album, Seether has become widely known in the rock music industry, due to the success of their debut album "Disclaimer", which featured the mega-hit "Fine Again"(one of my personal favorites),as well as "Gasoline" and "69 Tea". Seether has toned its act down for this CD, as it does not have a Parental Advisory label like their "Disclaimer" album did. Maybe they realized that you don't have to be vulgar and cuss a lot in their songs to be successful, and that's a step in the right direction. Take multiplatinum rock band Creed for example, they never cussed in their songs, and as a matter of fact they had a little religious content in their songs, and they were arguably the best rock band of the late 1990's. Their album "Human Clay" has gone platinum 11 times the last time I checked. So I think Seether has gone in the right direction with this new album, and the first single "Remedy" is getting quite a bit of fanfare, as it is a very good song. Here's to ya Seether. (Thumbs up)

"This Type of Thinking(Could Do Us In) album review

The Chicago based trio that is Chevelle has for a long time been considered a mediocre hard rock band, and unfortunatly, "This Type of Thinking" doesn't do much to help that image. For one, its so mind-numbingly loud that most people will need to wear earplugs to listen to it. Lead singer Pete Loeffler screams alot on this album, more than he should. It is definitely harder than their previous album,"Wonder Whats Next", which went platinum, and was a gem of a album. Featuring 3 hits, "Wonder What's Next" was very well done, but "This Type of Thinking" just sounds and feels different, in a wrong way. The opening song. "The Clincher" is very hard, not quite Metallica but getting close. It is the 2nd single of the album, and although many hard rockers and headbangers will like it, the majority of people who listen to music probably wouldn't like it. The next song, "Get Some" is a hard song, not quite as hard as the first song, but still pretty hard. With short choppy lyrics, its one of the better songs on the album. The 3rd song, "Vitamin R(Leading Us Along) is the best song on the album, and was the 1st single of the CD. Dealing with the subject of Ritalin and kids, there's not much screaming in this song, and it comes out sounding very good. The next 2 songs on the album, "Still Running" and "Breach Birth" are hard rock songs, which is sure to please any headbanger, but does nothing for the rest of us. The 6th song, "Panic Prone" is a light song, and one of the better songs on the CD. The next song, however, is the hardest song Chevelle has ever done. Named "Another Know-it-All" it opens with blaring guitars and a bass drum that beats constantly, about 3 to 5 times a second. It is totally mind numbing to listen to, if you want to feel beat up and like a sack of potatoes, then stand in front of a large speaker when this song comes on. The following 3 songs aren't much lighter, "Tug-O-War" is a hard metal sounding song, "To Return" is a very plain sounding song, and "Emotional Drought" is another hard song, but a song that I like.
The final song on the CD , "Bend The Bracket" is a wildcard of a song. It is acoustic!! With no screaming, it is a very good soft song. Overall, the CD sounds very repetitive, maybe because the same electric guitar was used on every track. ( Pete Loeffler said that it was). I give it 2 out of 5 stars.

"Seventeen Days" album review

Since 3 Doors Down is my favorite band, its only appropriate that the first album review I do is of their most recent release, titled "Seventeen Days", named that because it was heard that the entire album was written in 17 days, now whether theres any truth to that, well you'd have to ask Brad Arnold yourself. The drummer on the album, Daniel Adair, quit the band right after the CD was released. He is now Nickleback's drummer, and 3 Doors Down went out and got a very good replacement, they got Puddle of Mudd's drummer! Now getting back to the "Seventeen Days" CD, it is a masterpiece of modern rock music. Now although I think that there will never be another 3 Doors Down hit as great as "When I'm Gone" ( hard to top perfection) , there are some songs on this album that come mighty close to it. It is also the hardest 3DD album yet, now its nothing compared to say Metallica or somebody, but take the hardest songs on "Away From the Sun" and you pretty much have what the majority of songs sound like on "Seventeen Days". The opening salvo, a song named "Right Where I Belong", gets the album off to a rockin start. One of the best songs on the album, "Right Where I Belong" is a short song, only approx 2 and a half minutes long. But what lacks in quantity it darn sure makes up for in quality. The next song, "It's Not Me", is a studio version of the same song from their LP record "Another 700 Miles", with a few minor adjustments in the lyrics. The next song, "Let Me Go" is the first single off of the album, and it is tearing up the charts. Now in the music video for the song, 3 Doors Down takes a mighty big risk with the content, because the storyline of the video involves a stripper doin her stuff in the nightclub. Although its nothing compared to the majority of rap music videos ( 50 Cent's "Candyshop" comes to mind) , it still might turn a few people off. No big deal to me, considering whats out there elsewhere. Now getting on with the review, the next song about a boy just trying to make it in this world. Named "Be Somebody", its a good quality song. Next comes one of the absolute gems on this CD, "Landing In London", a duo with oldie rock icon Bob Seger. A soft rock song, this song will please almost anyone who hears it, even those who don't normally listen to rock music. Hey kids, if you like 3 Doors Down and are afraid your parents might not like your kind of music, introduce them to 3DD with this song, heck they might even like it too. If released as a single, I think this song would be #1 for a long, long time. If theres any song on this album that could possibly top "When I'm Gone", this is the one. The next song, "The Real Life", isn't one of the best songs on the CD, but any diehard 3DD fan will like it. The seventh track on the CD is named "Behind Those Eyes", which is the newly named 2nd single off of the album. It is starting to get some radio play, although I haven't seen a music video for it yet. I like this song better than the 1st single, with its great guitar work by Chris Henderson and Matt Roberts. The next song is "Never Will I Break", which is a good song, but not a great one. The 9th song, named "Father's Son", is a emotional song, dealing with a 17 year old girl which, I can't figure out, was either a prostitute or was raped, maybe someone out there could post a comment telling me which it is. Anyway, it is a good song, but not a song that I think should be released as a single. The next song, "Live For Today", sounds a awful lot like the others on the album, which may have some people thinking that the CD is repetitive, but its a good song that doesn't let any 3DD fan down. Next comes one of the harder songs on the album, named " My World", is kind of a in your face song, but not quite as much as say, Linkin Park stuff. The last song is "Here By Me" which is a nice soft love song that ends the album in a good tone. A definite must-buy for any 3DD fan, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

3DD To Head up Tour

3 Doors Down will be heading a upcoming tour along with fellow hard rockers Staind and Breaking Benjamin. Staind will be touring in support of their upcoming album thats due to be released in August. Breaking Benjamin is touring in support of their current album, "We are Not Alone", which already has 2 hits, the pounding "Cold" and "Sooner or Later". Staind, well where do we begin talking about them? They have a list of hits, including "It's Been A While", one of my personal favorites. Other hits include "Price to Pay" and several others. If you get a chance to see this trio in concert, take it, you'll have a hard time finding a better trio as these are 3 of the best acts in modern rock music.

Welcome

Hi. Call me Ishmiel. Nah just kiddin call me Rocker. Welcome to my blog, here you will find all things about the modern rock music genre, and loud music in general. Before I continue, I should let you know what my favorite bands are. They are: 3 Doors Down, Creed, Linkin Park, Default, Lifehouse, Chevelle, Staind, Crossfade, Collective Soul, Matchbox 20(haha), Nickleback, Foo Fighters, Seether, Evanescence, and Yellowcard. My favorite song is Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down. I listen to various other music, but the bands I listed are my favorites by far. And unlike some people, I actually went out and bought my music, I doing that because, number one its legal, and I get the lyrics also. So, lets ROCK !