Category: Featured

by Jared Moser

Dropped on February 7th, Father of All… is Green Day’s thirteenth studio album. Originating in California, the world-famous pop-punk band follows their 2016 album, Revolution Radio, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 200, with this ten song record.

While seemingly lacking musical direction with their ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! albums in 2012, Green Day got back on track with a pretty solid album in 2016, carried by hit tracks such as “Bang Bang,” “Revolution Radio,” and “Still Breathing.” Fast forward four years, and Green day has given us Father of All…. Unfortunately, I don’t even know what this is.

With ten songs, the album somehow only clocks in at a little over 26 minutes. The album kicks off with a track that gives off a false sense of hope for the album. “Father of All…” is a powerful and fun way to introduce the album with quick and creative drums, and distant alternative indie rock vocals. It’s a pretty average Green Day song, though; by no means should it be the best song on any album. To put it lightly, the fun stops there.

The rest of the record is boring, repetitive, and lacks creativity. The only standouts are “Oh Yeah!,” “Stab You In The Heart,” and “Junkies on a High.” Honestly, I wouldn’t even go back to listen to these; they’re so mediocre that they stand out against the rest of the bland nothingness of the rest of the album. Billy Joel Armstrong’s vocal patterns are repetitive and boring, Mike Dirnt’s bass is non-existent, and Tré Cool’s drums are the same spiritless beat every song. The album has no message, no drive, and saddest of all, no Green Day flare that we know and love.

To make matters even worse, the record ends with the worst song on the album. “Graffitia” has the same unoriginal guitar riffs, and same beginner drum beat the entire song. The only reason it’s worse than the previous song on the record, “Take the Money and Crawl,” is because it’s a minute and nine seconds longer.

I do have to keep in mind, though, that if I was listening to this album and it was made by a no-name band, it actually wouldn’t be that bad. But, to know that this album was made by Green Day, a band with an absolute beast of a discography, world-wide respect, and a previous record that was really enjoyable, is just saddening. I hold Green Day to such a high standard that when they put out something this mediocre, it’s going to seem so much worse than it might actually be.

Father of All… sounds like everything that people disliked about punk bands in the 90s that Green Day didn’t do. The only rewarding characteristics I can get from listening to this are the experimental flare that “Father of All…” and “Junkies on High” bring to the album, which I appreciate. I’m giving Father of All… a 3/10, and I hope Green Day can come out with something more worth listening to in the future.

by Nick Keseric

I recently reviewed Dragonforce’s newest album, Extreme Power Metal, and my thoughts on Hammerfall’s newest album, Dominion, are eerily similar. I would both critique and commend both bands as one thing: consistent. Hammerfall’s early albums were amazing, and at the time were very fresh. As they went on, Hammerfall got better and better…until they peaked, and then kept on at the same level, fluctuating a bit every album.

Barring 2011’s Infected, most of Hammerfall can be described as “templar metal” – lyrically, there’s a low fantasy vibe to most of their music. Musically, Hammerfall stands somewhere between full-on power metal and classic heavy metal, and that’s very evident on Dominion.

The album opens up with “Never Forgive, Never Forget,” something that sounds a lot like it belongs on 2009’s No Sacrifice, No Victory. The slow opening that quickly builds up energy really brings you into the album, and the rest of the song keeps up that high energy.

Following up Never Forgive is “Dominion,” the titular song. Both “Dominion” and “Testify” are a bit slower than some of the other songs on the album, but more than make up for it by being powerful. Both Joacim Cans’ vocals and the backing vocals sting hard in these tracks, and both Oscar Dronjak’s guitar work and the drum work of David Wallin on these songs hit just as hard.

“(We Make) Sweden Rock” is one of those “metal songs that glorify metal,” as well as being an anthem for the band, and it works well for that, though it brings up an issue I have with the album. The album, lyrically, skirts the usual “templar metal” themes of the band, and “(We Make) Sweden Rock” brings me out of that immersion the band brought me into. Even worse is when it’s followed by “Second to One,” It’s almost obligatory for Hammerfall to include a ballad-style song on their albums, and while “Second to One” is good, it serves to bring the album a bit away from their usual themes. “Scars of a Generation” and “Dead by Dawn” sort of bring it back, but it’s not until “Bloodline” that the album really feels like “templar metal” again.

“Bloodline” would have worked well as a title track for the album just as well as “Dominion” would have; for that matter, with the intro track “Battleworn” in front of it, it would also worked very well as an opening track. “Bloodline” certainly feels a lot more “power” than “heavy” by Hammerfall standards, and its follow-up, “Chain of Command,” stays with this theme. A lot of the tracks between “Testify” and “Bloodline” feel kind of in the middle. Finally, we end with “And Yet I Smile,” a sort of metal-ballad that ends the album really well.

All in all, Dominion is a good palette of what Hammerfall has to offer: some powerful songs at the front and more melodic yet still hard hitting hits at the end. It’s still not the band at its height, but it is the band doing what it does well.

Dominion gets 3.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a bit run-of-the-mill for Hammerfall at this point, but they still made a good album that fans will enjoy.

If you’re interested, you can listen to Dominion on Spotify here.

I also recommend checking out Napalm Record’s Dominion Track by Track on Youtube, for a little bit of context into the songs on the album by lead singer Joacim Cans.

by Nick Keseric

Dragonforce is one of my favorite bands, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been excited by any of their new releases. I first started listening to them shortly after they released their 4th album, and I was less than impressed with their 5th album, especially as their original vocalist ZP Theart had left. I haven’t really gotten into any of their more recent albums; I’ve given them a listen, but very little left a strong impression like the material on their first four albums. I can safely say however that with their new album I’ve gone back to being excited by Dragonforce’s new material.

I was a little hesitant at Extreme Power Metal; I wasn’t a big fan of their newer music, and the fact that the album name was reused from an earlier song (E.P.M, from their album Ultra Beatdown, was an acronym for Extreme Power Metal, a term they use to refer to their specific style of power metal) but I was pleasantly surprised to find a solid album.

“Highway to Oblivion” is a strong opening song that really shows you what the band is about. It’s nothing too new, but it’s a great addition to the band’s library. Following “Highway” is the over-the-top (both in name and in sound) “Cosmic Power of the Infinite Shred Machine.” Marc Hudson’s vocals really shine here, giving the song that “epic” feel that Dragonforce is so apt at creating. Both of these songs clock in at just over 6 and a half minutes, which is where Dragonforce’s ability to carry on their “extreme” guitar melodies shines the most.

“Heart Demolition” is also an excellent tune, although lyrically it clashes with Dragonforce’s usual motifs. Unfortunately, as one gets further into the album, the songs stop impressing as much. There’s not a single bad song on the album, but the further down in the track list a song is, the shorter it is, and a lot of the shorter songs just don’t impress as much as the longer tracks.  “Razorblade Meltdown” is one such track; good, but if I was putting together a Dragonforce playlist, I just wouldn’t include it since it would get in the way of the band’s other, better work. “Razorblade” manages to at least have a memorable music video – a rather fun video where the band more or less goes full “Tom and Jerry” on each other – but that’s the only thing keeping it from joining “Strangers” and “In a Skyforged Dream” in being forgotten when I’m not listening to the album.

The most notable songs on the album are definitely “The Last Dragonborn” and “My Heart Will Go On.” I stand by “Highway” and “Shred Machine” being the best, but “Dragonborn” and “My Heart Will Go On” are unique. “The Last Dragonborn” is a tribute song to The Elder Scrolls video game series, particularly Skyrim. It’s a nice tribute song, but it completely clashes with the band’s sound and is a weird inclusion on the album. Going from “Shred Machine” to “The Last Dragonborn” and then back to “Heart Demolition” is a huge whiplash. Ending the album is “My Heart Will go On,” a cover of the theme from Titanic. It starts with a chiptune cover of the intro, but the rest of the instrumentals of the song are almost unrecognizable as a cover of “My Heart Will Go On.” That said, the vocals still sound like the original song, keeping it recognizable, and the end result is that Dragonforce made a cover of Celine Dion that still sounds like a great Dragonforce song. And, despite being one of the shortest songs on the album, it never really suffers from the usual mediocrity that the shorter songs suffer from.

Extreme Power Metal is a typical Dragonforce album in many ways. Their longer songs really shine with their unique style, even if they’re nothing new for the band. The shorter songs slap less hard, but are still worth a listen. It’s something that fans of the band will enjoy, and even casual listeners of the band will find it enjoyable at least. It’s certainly my favorite album of theirs post-Ultra Beatdown, for what it’s worth.

Extreme Power Metal gets 3.5 stars out of 5; a better-than-good album in many ways, but not the best Dragonforce has released.

If you’re interested, you can find Extreme Power Metal on Spotify here.

I also recommend checking out the music videos for “Highway to Oblivion,” “Heart Demolition,” and “Razorblade Meltdown” on their official YouTube channel.

Review by Jared Moser

When I heard Coldplay were releasing a new album, I didn’t know what to think. Part of me was ecstatic, considering their previous album, Head Full of Dreams, was released a whopping 5 years ago, and they’re one of my favorite bands. The other part of me was worried, because there’s a lot of pressure to cap off the decade with a creative bomb shell.

Dropping on November 22^nd, Everyday Life is a double LP, separated into two parts, Sunrise and Sunset, each with eight songs. The album attempts to look at today’s society through music, which explains why it’s the first time (out of their eight studio albums) that a Coldplay album is explicit. It’s on the slow side, even for Coldplay, with what I like to call “Imagine Dragons Syndrome,” where an album has a couple of standout songs and the rest seems like filler. With this in mind, Everyday Life has maybe four standout songs, and a couple of others that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I can sense won’t age very well.

The album starts off with a melodic symphony piece, “Sunrise,” similar to the intro track to Viva La Vida, “Life in Technicolor.” It gives an all-instrumental taste of what the rest of the album’s aesthetic is. Though slow, I don’t mind it, because it sets a nice foundation for the album.

Within the first few songs, “Trouble in Town,” stands out among the others. It has a slow, melodic feel, and in place of the bridge, they use a recording of an argument between two men in the city. This is a cool way to bring the grit of reality into the album early. As the men argue, the music swells, developing into a Pink Floyd-like instrumental breakdown around the men yelling. It’s early place in the album gives the rest of the album hope.

The next stand out song is “Daddy,” and while it’s extremely slow, Coldplay implement a classic piano ballad, while lead singer Chris Martin sings softly about father and son issues. From the point-of-view of a son reaching out to his father, seemingly needing him, the father and son relationship is open to interpretation.

While not radio material, “Cry Cry Cry” is my favorite song on the record. It consists of Martin singing softly, alongside an altered voice that sounds like a young child, providing the song with a sense of innocence, over a short and sweet piano piece. Throughout the song are fuzzy crackles and pops, making it seem like you’re listening to vinyl; it’s a fantastic addition that gives the song texture. “Cry Cry Cry” combines the band’s simple and catchy style with their new raw and unfiltered sound, sounding like a classic hit from the 50’s or 60’s with the production value of today.

“Arabesque,” “Orphans,” and “Everyday Life” are some other standout songs of the album for me. From the vocals, sound, and overall feel, they’re essentially what the rest of the album lacks, though I’m not sure Coldplay wanted the whole album to be as production-based and radio worthy as these songs.

Chris Martin said this album is very personal and unfiltered, and the decision they made was to be totally raw and pure. That could explain why the band isn’t doing much promotion or touring, with the exception of an SNL appearance, and a gorgeous live stream of the album being performed in Jordan when it debuted, literally timing it with the sunrise and the sunset.

Even with “raw and unfiltered” as a goal, Everyday Life somehow lacks quite a bit of depth and substance, leaving you unsatisfied when the 53 minutes of music comes to an end. On the surface, the album is beautifully produced and poses “woke” and deep issues. However, as you dig deeper and deeper, it comes off as muddy and has a very unfocused message. It’s an above average album for just any band, but not for a monumental band like Coldplay, leading me to give Everyday Life a 5/10. At the end of the day, though, I’m a Coldplay fan at heart, and I’ll continue listening to, and enjoying, whatever they put out.