Friday, June 13, 2014

Album Review- Tesla: Simplicity

Simplicity is the 7th studio album by Hard Rock band Telsa released in June of 2014. I remember seeing these guys open for the Scorpions back on their Final Sting tour in Chicago. Before that i didn't know much of them besides Eddie Trunk talking about them occasionally. Well they blew my doors off coming from the mid 80s these guys walk the walk than every other band from that hair scene. these guys shouldve toured with ACDC not Poison with such a great no thrills down to earth sound. This is the first brand new album i have gotten to pick up so lets dive right into it.

Track Rundown

1.MP3- A great hard rocking opener about getting back to basics with music( i agree completely). The intro is pretty great and gets you pumped for the rest of the album. i like how just balls out the riff is here as well its a real jam.

2.Ricochet- it starts out with this great acoustic intro with a solo in front of it as well going into another solid guitar riff. I really like Frank Hannon as a guitar player and is extremely underrated. I like how Jeff sings the chorus too and that line (Like uncle Ted said...Its a Free For All!) gets me going everytime i hear it. another homerun for me.

3.Rise And Fall- Opening with a groovy bass line and Jeffs dirty raspy voice really make this a nice foot tapper. The chorus is pretty good here as well. It s a more a mellow rocker but by no means a bad one.

4.So Divine...- This is the first single i heard of the album and really reminds me of something off of Mechanical Resonance it would fit really well there. Its one of my favorites off the album actually and the build up to the chorus is just amazing and the chorus makes you just want to sing along to it. this definitely makes for a good song to play live.

5.Crossfire- This song has a kind of country feel to it and even the piano gives it kind of a Skynyrd and Black Crows feel to it. This is a good track and an interesting change of pace not one of my favorites but its not bad.

6.Honestly-Starting out with another nice acoustic guitar this song is more of a total ballad and its not terrible but almost every album has to have a ballad like track right?

7.Flip Side!- THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! I adore the riffs in this song and its got such a dirty groove with the acoustic guitars in it and again Jeffs voice works best with this kind of stuff. The chorus is another one of those extremely catchy ones that get stuck in your head.

8.Other Than Me- This is another softer song but like i said these guys do it very well it s a nice driving song i think. The chorus is just really good as well i cant say anything other than its really freaking good.

9.Break Of Dawn- That freaking riff. They really just went for their inner headbanging selves for this one and its probably the dirtiest song on the album probably my favorite as well. Its really catchy and melodic at parts but also leads just right back into that awesome riff. Definitely a classic.

10.Burnout To Fade- The acoustics are a bit different here they sound more like they have a modern rock
sound to them. It s a nice song and im surprised they went with another softer acoustically driven song but i expect this from the guys who made the five man acoustical jam album.

11.Life Is A River- Another acoustically driven song but i like this more than the previous cause the piano added makes for a better atmosphere. Jeffs voice actually sounds cleaned up here as well which is impressive as well so its a pretty good song to me.

12.Sympathy- The bass in the beginning gets me pumped up for this song  and it really explodes into another dirty rock n roll song and actually is a refreshing track from the previous two.

13.Time Bomb- The guitars are really loud on this track (maybe its my stereo but they are REALLY pronounced here) a pure jack daniels drinking head banging track the bridge is a bit weak but nonetheless this is a great track.

14.'Til That Day- The drums started out softly with another nice yet slightly different sounding acoustic drive. Jeffs voice with an echoish reverb really gives this track a nice atmosphere and ends this great album on a positive note.

Overall, i give this album a solid 8.5 out of 10. Being my first new Tesla album, i was really impressed how these guys could balance out soft with hard rock and it keeps you entranced in the album til the end. its one of their best albums personally and it will be listened to again in my collection.

Friday, June 6, 2014

DVD Review: Rob Zombie- The Zombie Horror Picture Show

Rob Zombies first official concert film is finally out. Released on May 19th, "The Zombie Horror Picture Show" was released in 2014 and honestly it is a long time coming. for years fans have waited for the shock rocker to release a show since it is one that you have to see to believe. Now my review on this will be unlike my album reviews where instead of doing a track rundown, i will just do an overall on my experience on it. Now onto my review!

This show was filmed on the Mayhem Festival tour last year (got to meet John 5 on the Chicago date) in texas while Rob was promoting his new album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor which i feel is his best yet (ill get to that one day).so this was a real treat for me. The opening of this show is just epic and i give Rob props for the more bootleg shots he gets here. If youre expecting an iron maiden shotlike show here you are in the wrong place. The song choices are really good as well with some of my favorites including Teenage Nosferatu Pussy and House of 1000 Corpses among others. The crowd really knows how to party as well haha and are just as interesting to watch as the band (; lol and I think rob did an outstanding job here catching his amazing theatrics as well as a really tight sound from his whole band. actually Robs vocals couldve been a bit louder at some parts so this one gets a solid 9.5 for me and it will definitely be rewatched again and again.