Review: Children of Bodom - Blooddrunk

Artist: Children of Bodom
Album: Blooddrunk
Label: Spinefarm
Released: 4/15/2008

BSTscore: 78

Finland’s Children of Bodom is back with Blooddrunk, the band’s sixth full length. From the start, it’s clear that the band is out to pummel the listener’s ear with their brand of metal. As usual, the first thing that will impress on any Children of Bodom album is the guitar work. Blistering solos are abundant and impressive. They are backed nicely with thundering bass lines and drumming, as well as keyboards (Get out from under your rock, they have keyboards).

The lyrics and vocals are up to par with other releases from the band. The songs are passionate and angry. I still have my complaints with Alexi Laiho’s voice at times. He has the ability to produce crisp, clear screams, but for the majority of the album chooses to use a much raspier and harder to understand voice due to the pace of the songs. Think older In Flames (Yes, I compared them to a Swedish band, sue me…). I think that the vocals take away from the overall flow of the album, but are not horrible by any means.

Regardless of my nitpicking, this is another solid release from one of the heavy hitters in metal today. The guitar work alone sets this apart from other bands, and is sure to impress even the toughest critics. The band has received a ton of exposure since the release of 2003’s Hate Crew Deathroll and I don’t think that will change with Blooddrunk.

Musicianship: 85
Vocals: 70
Creativity: 80
Impact: 75

Favorite Song: "Banned from Heaven"

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Review: Emmure - The Respect Issue

Artist: Emmure
Album: The Respect Issue
Label: Victory
Released: 5/13/2008



BSTscore: 54

Emmure is back with their 2^nd full length on Victory. The Respect Issue picks up where Goodbye to the Gallows left off, with a little refinement. The band continues to pummel listeners with breakdowns and flat out heavy music. At times, it feels like crawling through quicksand as the guitars are tuned so low that all the melody is pulled from the songs. Fortunately, the whole record isn’t that way.

The Respect Issue sounds like a Zao record one minute, a Throwdown record the next, and then tossed with a dash of east coast hardcore for good measure. The songs are fast, aggressive, and passionate. Based on the bands first album, this album is about what I expected to hear from the band. The only song that seems out of place is the instrumental “Dry Ice”. For some reason, all metalcore bands seem to think that they have to include one of these on their albums. It has gotten stale, and although it is the most melodic song on the record, it seems out of place.

Lead vocalist Frank Palmeri has a diverse voice that gives the songs that “change of pace” element. The majority of the screaming is raspy (ala Zao), but there are plenty of guttural, death metal-esque growls thrown in as well. The clean backing vocals add to the east coast hardcore feel. My biggest problem with the album is the vocal transitions. With the exception of “Chicago’s Finest”, which is hands down the best song on the record, the raspy to guttural to clean pattern is like a bad roller coaster ride. It’s like someone is punching you in the stomach around every turn.

If you are looking for a heavy, in-your-face album, then The Respect Issue is perfect for you. It’s passionate, lyrically and musically. It has little or no melody and if nothing else, gets the blood moving. I don’t think I’ll be listening to this much, unless I feel like grinding my teeth in my sleep…

Musicianship: 65
Vocals: 60
Creativity: 60
Impact: 30

Favorite Song: "Chicago's Finest"

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Review: No Use for a Name - The Feel Good Record of the Year

Artist: No Use for a Name
Album: The Feel Good Record of the Year
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Released: 4/1/2008

BSTscore: 66

For more than 20 years now, NUFAN has been a force in the punk genre. I’m proud to say that I’ve been along for the ride for more than half of it. I first fell in love with the band on Making Friends and as the band’s sound evolved on More Betterness!, I was hooked for good. There are few bands that have the staying power as NUFAN.

The Feel Good Record of the Year is the band’s 9^th full length album. I’m glad that I gave this record a few more listens before writing this, as parts of the album grew on me with each listen. Unfortunately for NUFAN, the album’s shortcomings did not disappear. It’s hard for me to say, especially for a band that I enjoy and respect, but this is one of the most poorly arranged albums I have ever heard. “Choppy” might be the best word. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really good songs on this album (“Yours to Destroy, "The Feel Good Song of the Year"), but the overall flow and melody of this album is terrible. This feels like a compilation CD. I think that if this album were broken up into 3 EP’s, I would enjoy it a lot more.

Save for “Sleeping Between Trucks” (a very out of place acoustic song), “Kill the Rich” and perhaps “Domino”, there aren’t any songs that I would remove from this record, but I end up skipping around the album in an attempt to hear songs in a audibly appeasing order. The first songs are reminiscent of earlier material, with driving guitars, blast beats, and angst. The more recent and familiar sound returns with “Yours to Destroy” (although the intro seems out of place). This is interrupted mid-album by the aforementioned acoustic dredge and followed by “Domino” which is a vocal nightmare mixed with upbeat guitar riffs. It doesn’t work for me. The balance of the album drifts between the faster sounding material and melody before being disrupted again by “Kill the Rich”.

As much as I like the majority of this album as individual songs, I still feel this was piecemealed together. The vocal harmonies of Tony Sly and Matt Riddle are still as powerful and unique as any band out there. The lyrics are heartfelt and meaningful. There are many reasons to really enjoy this album, and yet I can’t get around the lack of flow. I guess I expect more from the band. If you pick up this album, be warned that you may be better suited listening to it on shuffle or random than straight through.

Musicianship: 65
Vocals: 85
Creativity: 60
Impact: 55

Favorite Song: "Yours to Destroy"

Listen to No Use for a Name

Old Content

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I'm working on moving our old content over to the new format. I have moved all of our past interviews and a good portion of our spotlight bands to the new format. If you look to the right column of the page, there is an "Archive" section which will show posts by their original post date. Also, each item is categorized accordingly. I'm going to start transferring the old reviews in the upcoming weeks, so you should be able to find just about all of our old content in the new format very soon.

Keep rockin'.

Review: Story of the Year - The Black Swan

Artist: Story of the Year
Album: The Black Swan
Label: Epitaph
Released: 4/22/2008



BSTscore: 81

Few bands ever have continued success album after album, and unfortunately for Story of the Year, the success of Page Avenue did not carry over to their next album In the Wake of Determination. This translated into the band signing with Epitaph and getting back to basics. The Black Swan doesn’t reinvent the wheel for the band, but certainly pulls from the strengths of the previous releases, while adding a little more edginess that may have been missing.

Songwriting has always been the band’s best attribute (even when they were Big Blue Monkey). Driving guitars, solid melodies, and strong vocal harmonies are the band’s backbone. The Black Swan has more angst in its songs, both musically and vocally. Political and social issues are addressed from the initial sound bite in “Choose Your Fate” until the last note in “Welcome to Our New War.” The band has done a great job of turning negative energy into a positive message on this album.

Other than the “Pale Blue Dot (interlude)” which continues with the political theme, there isn’t a wasted second on this album. It is a great listen from start to finish. The band plays to its strengths and has created a really strong album. It’s no surprise to me that they will be a headlining act on this year’s Warped Tour. Story of the Year has recaptured what works for them (not that they really lost it) and I think this album would be a good listen for anyone.

Musicianship: 85
Vocals: 80
Creativity: 75
Impact: 85

Favorite Song: "The Antidote"

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A Little Bit of Humor...

Someone sent me a link earlier today that reminded of how great homestarrunner is. Below are some links to some of my favorite Strong Bad bits. These are classic!

Death Metal:



Band Names:



Keep rockin'.

Review: Millencolin - Machine 15

Artist: Millencolin
Album: Machine 15
Label: Epitaph
Released: 5/6/2008

BSTscore: 74

Sweden’s Millencolin has returned with another release on Epitaph. Machine 15 does an excellent job of exhibiting the band’s strengths and their evolution. I remember when I first saw this band in 1997, their songs were not as serious and over the fifteen years the band has been together, their music has matured. Continuing to capitalize on the sound that started on Pennybridge Pioneers (and continued on Home from Home and Kingwood), this album has terrific flow and melody.

Vocalist/songwriter Nikola Sarcevic continues to provide a unique voice and solid lyrics to mesh with the band’s sound. Again, it is the band’s melody that is their strength and prevents Sarcevic from having to push his voice beyond its limits. In the past, there have always been a handful of songs on the band’s albums that really didn’t fit, but I commend the band, as Machine 15 is the most complete album the band has released. I hope the band continues to focus on its ability to create excellent melody and flow, without completely neglecting their punk rock roots.

I enjoyed this album, but I have a feeling that others may not share my perspective. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t know if it’s quite “punk” enough for the punk crowd, and maybe not “rock” enough for the mainstream. I think it’s a good listen from start to finish, but I fear that it doesn’t do enough to distinguish itself as something truly special. I definitely like the direction the band has taken with their last handful of albums, and I hope that more people will share my appreciation of this band.

Musicianship: 75
Vocals: 80
Creativity: 70
Impact: 70

Favorite Song: "Done is Done"

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