Added A New Page

Hey everybody. Instead of a regular post today, I added a new page to the blog detailing some of the best venues to see rock and metal bands in the Tri-State area. The page is under the “About” section, so enjoy and leave any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. below!

Mini-Review Of Coheed and Cambria’s The Second Stage Turbine Blade

The Band

Claudio Sanchez-Vocals, Guitar

Travis Stever-Guitar

Michael Todd-Bass, Backing Vocals

Josh Eppard-Drums, Piano

The Review

In 2002, New York rock band Coheed and Cambria released their debut album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade, the second part of a four-part tetralogy. The rock world didn’t know what they were getting themselves into when they welcomed the album with open arms. While my least favorite Coheed album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade is a solid debut that introduced the listener to the beginning of one of the most confusing and extravagant concept album of all time.

The story is so mulit-faceted and complex that it took a comic book series and a fan site to understand any part of what’s going on.  The most basic summary of the album involves Coheed and his wife Cambria. Coheed has a serum in him that, when activated, can trigger a process that leads to the destruction of the world. The list of characters is expansive, with general, sages, and the couple’s children, who may have to be killed to save the universe.

Thankfully, the music is much easier to digest than the story. While not as progressive as later releases, the instrumental work is still quite more technical than most other bands in the post-hardcore genre. Sanchez’s vocals are quite high, almost reaching Geddy Lee-level. It’s a little distracting at times, but doesn’t ruin the music. The album includes fan favorites “Devil In Jersey City,” “Time Consumer,” and “God Send Conspirator.”

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed the later releases of Coheed and Cambria more due to their higher progressive tendences, but The Second Stage Turbine Blade is a great debut and one that pushed Coheed and Cambria to the fore-front. It’s one of the few concept albums that is worth doing research on, only to better understand the weighty concept on display.

Poll Time With Coheed & Cambria

Hello blog world. This week, I’m trying out something new, because I can. I recently read on Coheed & Cambria’s MySpace that they are playing each of their albums in chronological order. So, to celebrate one of the most confusing concept albums in history, I’m going to look at each of the band’s albums in great detail every Wednesday for the next month.

That will include video, photos, and my witty analysis of each album. It should be a good time for all, but I want to first try out something new. I’m talking about a good old-fashioned poll. So, let’s your voices be heard!

“Devil In Jersey City”

“Blood Red Summer”

(Note: I could not obtain the other three videos due to legal issues, but they all can be viewed at Coheed and Cambria’s YouTube page.)

My Mini-Review Of Castrofate’s “Cataclysmic Insanity”

New York/New Jersey metal band Castrofate is setting up to make a huge statement with their sophomore effort, Cataclysmic Insanity. A concept album about the destruction of the Earth and a group of survivors fighting to survive, the band is pulling out all the stops to make sure that they will be a force to be reckon with in the metal community. Led by lyricist/frontman/guitarist Dan Castro, Castrofate has crafted an album that is epic in nature, yet grounded enough to avoid sounding too bombastic, with a solid set of material to back the sci-fi story.

 

The story takes its time to build, and while we don’t get a sense of how many survivors there are or even get any names, the anxiety, confusion, and crippling depression they feel over the loss of everything they knew is clearly expressed by Castro’s lyrics and his vocal delivery. In my mind, the album’s story is split into three parts: the destruction of Earth and the survivors’ reaction, the “new hope” that the survivors find out about, and the result of it.

 

Cataclysmic Insanity shows that Castrofate has potential to become major figures in the metal community. Most of the songs are pulse-pounding thrash monsters, with some epics thrown in there to show off the band’s progressive nature. While the band does hit a few missteps with “Misguided Path” and some production issues, the core sound is one that holds potential for the future. Castrofate has recently solidified their line-up, adding Dave Matasavich on lead guitar and Tom Bradley on the drums. In the liner notes in the booklet, frontman Dan Castro says that their next album is “gonna be ten times MORE insane.” Judging by the quality story, songwriting, and fantastic guitar work on Cataclysmic Insanity, Castro might be right.

For the full review, head on over to 411Mania.com

Epic Wednesday News Day

What’s the news you should know about?

New York City grind band Brutal Truth have announced that the drum tracks have been finished for their new album. Footage from the studio was posted on the Metal Injection web site. (Blabbermouth)

New Jersey progressive metal band Symphony X is preparing to release a special 5.1 edition of Paradise Lost. (Blabbermouth)

Total Fu**in Destruction released the album version of their new song “Let The Children Name Themselves” on their MySpace page. 

In the best news item of the week, progressive metal legends Dream Theater have entered the studio to record their 10th album. Jordan Rudess lets fans in on the recording process on his web site.

Speaking of entering the studio, Anthrax is reportedly heading into the studio next month, according to drummer Charlie Benante. Oh joy.

To celebrate Dream Theater’s return to the studio, here is ”Another Day,” a cheesy video from their early days…

Who The Hell Is…Dark Empire?

This New Jersey progressive metal band was formed in 2004 by vocalist Jens Carlsson and Matt Moliti. The band released their first album, Distant Tides, in 2006 and their sophomore album, Humanity Dethroned, this past May. The band has gone through a few line-up changes, adding guitarist Andrew Atwood on guitars/vocals, and losing their bassist and drummer, recently adding Randy Knecht on the bass. They are still currently searching for a drummer.

“Salvation Denied” at Texas Madfest on July 14th, 2007 (Credit to gunstar9)

Dark Empire is a band that will hopefully get more publicity from all of you readers out there in cyber world. Trust me guys and gals, this is not a band you want to miss. ITunes has both of the band’s albums up now, with their debut album selling for less than $6! That’s bang for your buck right there. Their MySpace page has more information on the band, for those interested.

Q&A With Sticky Business Guitarist Joey Zlotek Part 2

Here is the second part of my interview with Sticky Business guitarist Joey Zlotek. Don’t forget to visit the band’s MySpace for more information on Sticky Business. Next week, I’ll highlight two other New Jersey bands making their mark on the metal scene.

 

 

I was curious about having a cover song as the band’s first single. Do you want the song to be the thing that defines the band in the beginning?

 

We do have a radio edit of “Your Girlfriend,” where certain words are edited. We also have a three minute edit of “The Last Guitar Hero,” which I refuse to put out there. It’s just not right. “Jumping Jack Flash” doesn’t really sound like the original and its something people recognize, familiarize themselves with. As soon as the song starts, and everybody is grooving to their own thing, you know it’s going to be “Jumping Jack Flash,” but your going to be like ‘Holy crap, they just turned a mo-ped into a Harley Davidson.’

 

Is the band confident enough at this point to push themselves to the six and seven minute length to be commercial successful or do you feel like you have to stay at the three-four minute mark?

 

Unfortunately, we do feel like we have to stay at the three-four minute mark to be commercial successful…at this point…if there is a demand for it, songs like “The Last Guitar Hero” will get out there.

 

 

 

 

How difficult is it to make an impact in today’s music scene, with a dime-a-dozen rock bands?

 

It is very difficult…a lot of people don’t have the drive for it. They get deterred by the fact that it is a dime-a-dozen and stuff like that. If this is where your heart is at, and this is what you want to do, it’s not just fun and games. There’s a lot of work that goes into this…people behind the scenes that get no credit. You might see four people on the stage, but there are another ten people who helped them….the last band I was in was a great band, as far as the area we were located; we had the biggest following out of anybody there. It was time to start branching off and doing other things, but I was the only one who felt the drive to do something. From there, it fell apart, because the heart wasn’t there…the fact that it is dime-a-dozen means that if you get a following, you get upgraded to quarter or silver dollar status. In the media-driven world today, the one-hit wonder artist isn’t going to last long. If you have that one hit and you don’t have something to follow it up with, you’re yesterday’s news.

 

Does the band have any plans to record a full length album after the EP?

 

We focused on three initially because they were the songs we picked. There is also a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Commotion” on the MySpace and that was from Matt and myself. I sing in that one; Gary will probably lay down vocals for that…there’s also a Megadeth/Iron Maiden-type song that we have stored away. There’s a shuffle boogey rocker that might follow up “Jumping Jack Flash.”

Sticky Business Slideshow

Today, I have a slideshow of the band Sticky Business in their element: rehearsal. On Friday, I will have part two of my interview with guitarist Joe Zlotek.

Sticky Business:

Gary Reid-Vocals

Joe Zlotek-Guitar

John Morey-Bass

Matt Banks-Drums

(All Photos By Kristyn Sobel)

Q&A With Sticky Business Guitarist Joey Zlotek Part 1

After a week of delay, I finished the Q&A with Sticky Business guitarist Joey Zlotek. It will be split into two parts, with the second part being posted on Friday. Enjoy!

Can you tell me where the name came from?

Basically, we were trying to find a name for ourselves because we started out with Ragnarok, but that has been overused a lot. It’s supposed to mean end of the world, but we wanted to use it because it had ‘rock’ in it. When we decided we couldn’t use that, we tried to find a bunch of different things. Being die-hard Ghostbusters fans, we looked for a couple of different references…almost every possible thing was taken, from Proton Pack to Slimer; I didn’t think anybody would be crazy enough to name a band that…we came down to Sexual Probation, Holstered Magnum, and Sticky Business. After a lot of thought, we thought Sticky Business was the least offensive, yet most provocative, name out of the bunch. 

When did the band form, in its current incarnation?

About three or four months ago. However, the band goes all the back to me and the drummer, almost a year and a half now…we played with other people doing cover material, but its not just any cover material; it’s us playing the cover material. You know that Matt Banks (drummer) and Joe Zlotek are playing these tunes. The thing we strive for when finding other people is to make sure it means the same thing. It great to be able to be a chameleon as far as playing music goes, but if you are trying to define your own sound, you don’t want somebody to go, ‘oh, that guy sounds like Ozzy Osbourne’ or ‘that guy is imitating Slash.’ The bass player (John) is a great guy; he has his own vibe. The singer Gary definitely has his own vibe as well…played in a band called Cryptovirus that was fairly successful until he got kicked out. They were a ballsy metal band and Gary did a lot more screaming. We’re not necessary into screaming…he does more singing, but he still screams a bit. It’s a talent that you don’t throw away.

 

Joey Zlotek rocking the guitar with his bandmates by his side

 

 

Tell me a little bit about the songwriting process and some of the songs that will be on the band’s new EP.

We have a studio in our rehearsal area. It’s not the best, but as far as what people can afford and try to record their own stuff…I’m of an old school mindset. I don’t particularly care for Pro-Tools; it’s like taking the apple off the proverbial tree. You have all this great stuff, but you can use it in a dishonest fashion. I try to stay away from that stuff…we basically recorded all three tunes in that studio as demos. We’re going to give them to this guy Chris-I’ve worked with him before with a few other bands in the engineering process-and so now he’s doing something for me. We’re going to give him those tracks first. “Jumping Jack Flash” (cover of Rolling Stones track and the band’s first single) is going to be awesome; as far as the arraignment goes, it’s a culmination of jamming the song out for a while…once John came it, that took it in a whole other direction and based on hearing everything from that, I set the arraignment up.

The other song, “Your Girlfriend,” is the sequel to “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” The groove of this song is a dirty groove; just makes you want to bob your head along…that song came about as a jam between me and Matt. I came up with the main riff for that to match Matt’s drum track…I came up with the refrain laying down, staring up at the sky, drinking a beer…it’s about a guy who satisfies an unsatisfied girl…most of the instrumental stuff was Matt and I. John added what he thought the song called for…a collaborative effort, but the lyrics were me and Gary.

 “The Last Guitar Hero,” the six to seven minute epic, was the first song that Matt and I initially played together when we started to write our own stuff. It was a combination of Van Halen, AC/DC, and Skid Row…the solo is almost everything I can do. You never give it all away. When we play it live, it’s twice as long…it’s collaborative in the long-run, but it usually starts out with me and Matt.

Who The Hell Is…Sticky Business?

Sorry about not posting on Wednesday. Life got in the way, but next week will be amazing. I will be posting a Q&A and a slideshow detailing the band at its element. First, let’s take a quick look at the band itself.

Who The Hell Is…Sticky Business?

MySpace: Sticky Business

Sticky Business

Sticky Business, from Forked River, NJ,  is a relatively new band, but its members have been in several bands before this one. For a few months, the four young rockers have been practicing in their free time, working on new material. They are preparing to enter a local studio in order to record an EP, which will feature a mix of original material and a cover of “Jumpin Jack Flash.”

I have heard some early demos of their songs and they have a great sound. I see them making quite an impact in the New Jersey rock scene once their EP is done. Next week, I will have a detailed interview with guitarist Joey Zlotek, who proved to be both informative and entertaining.