JUSTIN’S METAL REVIEWS W/C
QUEENSYCHE / AMERICAN SOLDIER
Queensryche are best know
for their groundbreaking concept album Operation Mindcrime, that is now considered to be a classic, their
follow up a couple of years ago wasn’t quite as good but still better than most
and now the band return with another concept albums that I’m sure will be seen
as a classic in the very near future.
The album is about the 2nd oldest profession in
the world, although the album is called American Soldier, if you put aside all
the politics and religion this is about the inhumanity of warfare and explores
emotional turmoil of the human psyche under the extremes of warfare. All the songs deal with the emotional
turmoil that all combatants go through, no matter what side they are fighting
for all suffer similar feelings of guilt, regret anger despair, grief and all
the emotions that rise to the surface.
The element that makes this album so haunting and poignant are the
snippets of interviews with soldiers recounting their harrowing experiences and
how they dealt with them, they are scattered thought out album and this gives
the songs a very personal, human element that is so emotive that if you don’t
get emotional during this album you either haven’t been really listening or
there is something wrong with you.
As for the songs themselves they are Queensryce
at their best and the concept doesn’t distract form this, “Sliver” is short,
hard edged and to the point, “Man Down” is heavy, melodic and terrific, “Middle
Of Hell” is pure bluesy brilliance with a very haunting guitar, sax solo and “If
I Were King” are so good you could listen to hem all day and into get tired of
them. There is are couple of big
power ballads too “Home Again” being the best and all this is under pinned with
some great playing from all the band that is second to none and Geoff Tate’s
vocals are at times inspired.
This album is so good it should be made illegal, it is an
absolute, total master piece that to my mind is even better than Mindcrime and as good as and in the same league as the Wall
by Pink Floyd, you HAVE to buy this album, I have a feeling this could be album
of the year.
WEBSTIE http://www.queensryche.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME 60 mins + 12
BRILLIANT TRACKS
EKTOMORF / WHAT DOSENT KILL
ME…
If you like Chaos AD era Sepultura
and early Soulfly then this new CD from Hungarian
Metal band Ektomorf will be like a breath of fresh air
to your ears, you will be amazed that there are no Cavalera brothers involved.
The album kicks off in fine style with “Rat War” and if this
was on the current Soulfly album you would say it was
one of the best tracks, that’s not to say that the band are copyist because they
are not, they create new songs but done in that style and they do say that
imitation is a sincere form of flattery.
They keep cranking out the good riffs on “Revenge To All”, “It’s Up To You” and wait till you hear the
fantastic track “New Life”; you won’t believe how good it
is.
This is yet another fine CD from
WEBSITE http://www.ektomorf.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 41 mins + 14
FULL ON TRACKS