zombie ep.
September 6th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
the devil wears prada - zombie
outbreak.
it is no big news to anyone that zombies are possibly the coolest things that have ever eerily shuffled across the plains. the past five to ten years should be considered the Great American Zombie Renaissance [i just coined that. that is mine]. filmmakers like george a. romero and edgar wright, and writers like max brooks should be applauded for the incredible works of fiction [and awareness] that they have produced in the recent decade.
not to mention the scores of wonderful video games that have been released as a result of this phenomena.
- resident evil [1996-2009] – i have a whole post in mind for talking about resident evil.
- left 4 dead [2008 & 2009]
- dead rising [2006 & 2010]
i said all that to say this.
on august 24, 2010 the devil wears prada released their first ep and it is pretty much amazing. i had all of their other albums, so it just made sense to buy their new album [and not just buy, i pre-ordered that jam].
merchnow was doing a deal on their website that included the ep, a comic book, and a sweet tdwp tshirt for like $20 so you better believe i bought that. the big surprise was that they included a signed copy of the ep [i squealed like a little girl].
i’ve been listening to nothing but this pretty much since i got it today and it is so well done. it is a little darker than their previous records. the subject material is a zombie apocalypse of course and that is no joking matter.
no joking matter.
to be completely honest, i’m really impressed with this ep. i know it is only five songs, but they’re all fantastic. this was probably the best $7 i’ve ever spent on an article of music.
the thing about the devil wears prada is that they’ve only gotten better over the past four years. their first album dear love: a beautiful discord was really good [for a debut album]. their next album, plagues was also incredibly well done. their last album, with roots above and branches below was practically perfect.
track list:
- Escape
- Anatomy
- Outnumbered
- Revive
- Survivor
i’m completely ready for their next full length album to come out, which i’m hoping is either by the end of 2010 or at the earliest the spring of 2011.
i give zombie ep a 9 out of 10.
next time.
i’ll be talking about some things, and maybe even some stuff. thanks for tuning in.
cody.
the emptiness.
January 20th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
So guys, guess what?
I love hardcore music.
This is a fact that practically everyone that knows me could tell you with complete and total confidence. My first dabble in hardcore music was Dance Gavin Dance a few years ago. I found that guttural noises and angry screams were just the thing to get me in the mood to go to my senior year of high school [sad but true]. Then I moved on to more and more hardcore music [The Devil Wears Prada, Polar Bear Club, Chiodos, Emmure, iwrestledabearonce, A Day To Remember, etc. etc. etc.] all the way down to Alesana. I listed all those bands for no reason except to make a segue in to my next point.
Segues are fun.
Once again, due to the grubbiness of my paws, I got a hold of Alesana’s brand new album The Emptiness and I have to say, this album is perfect [I know what you're thinking, I'm being a big softy with these albums...and you're wrong. So shut up.] I am completely pleased with how wonderful this album was.
I was a huge fan of their second album, On Frail Wings Of Vanity and Wax, due to the song “Apology” which is wonderful and amazing and everything that a song should be. I do, however, prefer the acoustic version to that song for some reason…it sounds really nice with a “grandpa’s guitar” as they are called on Metalocalypse.
The album title is an allusion to Icarus, the son of Daedalus. Daedalus, in an attempt to escape their imprisonment on Crete, fashioned wings made of feathers and wax. Icarus, because he was young and overtaken with curiosity, flew too close to the sun causing the wax holding his wings together to melt. He crashed in to the sea below. His frail wings could not support the weight of his vanity.
The album in question.
So The Emptiness is Alesana’s first album that is not a reference to anything historical or mythological, which could have been a very costly choice, but wasn’t. The story told by Dennis Lee [screaming vocals] and Shawn Milke [vocals, piano, guitar] is amazing. It is the story of the murder of Annabel and the man who loved her. But it is also about the murderer and the Devil and how everyone is involved in this unholiest of slayings.
It was really hard to find a song that I could pinpoint as my favorite/least favorite because they were all good. It is a lot like The Decemberist’s album The Hazards of Love in the fact that if you listen from start to finish, it is one big epic journey, but this journey only takes 50 minutes…which is the worst part.
My favorite part of the album, however, was the spoken word pieces to some of the songs. The opening track ["Curse of the Virgin Canvas"], starts with this really creepy message from the protagonist about the story he is about to tell. My favorite spoken word part, by far, is this right here –>
The depth of a man’s soul can not be measured in a manner of meters and fathoms, but rather it is in my opinion only quantified by his proximity to heaven and hell. – “The Lunatic’s Lament”
That is only part of it, but it made a lot of sense to me. I actually like that it had meaning. This album spoke to me, and I really liked that.
Final thoughts?
So far, 2010 has been wonderful for the music that I love. I’ve heard two incredible albums within a week of each other and that is just wonderful. I love this album and have probably listened to it, in it’s entirety, seven times. I’m going to give The Emptiness a 10 out of 10 for being a beautifully crafted story accompanied by beautifully crafted musicianship.
Thanks for tuning in.
Cody.
My next post…?
Will probably be an update on my life…or maybe ranting? Or maybe even a preview of some pretty awesome video games. Who knows? I do.
preview – 2010: the music.
January 17th, 2010 § 2 Comments
2009 was a pretty great year for music.
2009 was a pretty good year for music in my pseudo-expert opinion. It saw a new album from the wonderful indie-rock gods The Decemberists [The Hazards of Love], it saw the rise of Lady Gaga, her album The Fame became incredibly incredibly popular and pretty much clung to the #1 spot forever. We also saw the blow-up of The Devil Wears Prada, and their sudden “coming of age” who received “Band of the Year” from Alternative Press magazine.
2009 was also a sad year for music due to the death of the King of Pop, the irreplaceable: Michael Jackson. [2009 also killed a bunch of other celebrities like Patrick Swayze, Billy Mays, and Brittany Murphy].
2010 looks to be a wonderful year for music.
So far, there has been the surprisingly good album Animal by that girl Ke$ha who is known for feeling like P Diddy after she wakes up from a long night of partying and also for using Jack Daniels for toothpaste.
There has also been that beautiful, wonderful, perfect piece of music from Moton City Soundtrack, My Dinosaur Life.
Next on my list of upcoming albums to look for is the new album by North Carolina hardcore sextet, Alesana and their new album The Emptiness [look for a review on Tuesday].
And I’m definitely making a promise to myself to go to more shows [confirmed - I'm going to Warped Tour 2010] because I didn’t go to hardly any of the shows I wanted to in 2009 [Mayday Parade, Brand New, Warped Tour, AP Tour Fall Ball...the list goes on.]
Bands who have albums coming out in 2010 that I’m stoked for…
- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
- Blink 182
- Coheed and Cambria
- Alkaline Trio
- Gym Class Heroes [speculative]
- Hawthorne Heights
- Panic at the Disco
That is pretty much what I’m stoked for in 2010 [oh, and all the sick video games that are coming out...a post for a later date].
Thanks for reading.
Cody.
Next post…
Music Monday. Get stoked, I’m bringing it back.
songs you should have on your iPod – september 2, 2009.
September 3rd, 2009 § 9 Comments
Well it’s September now. The site had a pretty good month last month. You guys have been faithfully keeping up with the site even when I can’t update it…so thank you very much.
It’s also Wednesday which means I’m tossing some downloads your way. Here is some candy to feed your ears.
#1. “Assistant to the Regional Manager” by The Devil Wears Prada off of With Roots Above And Branches Below. I’m really in to The Devil Wears Prada now and I’m completely okay with that. I think that With Roots Above is the best of their three albums [Plagues (2007) & Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord (2006)] but I haven’t listened to all of A Beautiful Discord yet. This is one of my favorite songs from them. —> Download!
#2. “Holiday From Real (Live from SIR)” by Jack’s Mannequin off of The Glass Passenger. I love Jack’s Mannequin. I’m a big fan of Something Corporate. And I think Andrew McMahon might be one of my heroes [he had intense throat cancer, was told he'd never speak again let alone sing, and he fully recovered]. This song is really great, and it makes you think. —> Download!
#3. “Summertime” by Mae off of Destination: Beautiful. I felt this song was fitting. Goodbye Summer ’09…I’d be fine with you never coming back.
—> Download!
#4. “This Is Who We Are” by Hawthorne Heights off of If Only You Were Lonely. I figured I’d give a throw back to some old (sort of) Emo music. Enjoy kiddies and reminisce to the days when painting your nails black and wearing black hooded sweatshirts was considered cool and socially acceptable. —> Download!
#5. “Summer of ’98″ by The Secret Handshake off of One Full Year. I love this song. You will too. —> Download!
#6. “Crunchy Black Did Me In At Midnight” by The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza off of The Electric Boogaloo. My dear friend Terence got me in to Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza a few months ago on our way to Best Buy. This isn’t my favorite song by them by any stretch of the imagination, but this song is still pretty legit. —> Download!
#7. “California Love” by Tupac off of 15 Years On Death Row. I first heard this song as a cover done by My American Heart [on the Punk Goes Crunk album] and then a few days later, I heard it on the radio in all of its Tupac glory. I like that he mentions practically every city in California, almost like a geography lesson. Thanks Mr. Shakur. —> Download!
#8. “10 Signs You Should Leave” by Emmure off of Goodbye To The Gallows. I just started getting in to Emmure. This is the song Kelly suggested first and it got me interested…so I figured I’d try the same. Enjoy? —> Download!
And possibly one of the bands I’m most excited about discovering…
#9. “Comfortably Confused” by I See Stars off of 3-D. I’ll tell you all about I See Stars in an upcoming post, don’t you worry. Just download the song, and don’t ask questions. Enjoy. —> Download!
Well that’s the list for the week. I hope you enjoy. I tried to get a little better mix this time around. [SOMEONE complained about the same bands being on there repeatedly...which I guess could get annoying.] Anyway, enjoy.
Cody.
My next post…
I kind of want to talk about Gay Marriage…but it isn’t really music related. Should I talk about it?
what i’m listening to – august 29, 2009.
August 29th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
I’m going to start doing a list of bands I’m listening to every week or so [maybe every other week]. Anyway, this is what I’m listening to heavily, right now.
#1. The Devil Wears Prada – A metalcore band from Ohio. No: Their name has nothing to do with that god-awful movie [nor is it about the book]. I’m not really sure what I can say to sell you on this band…I like them. They have a good name. Prada is a respectable brand and the Devil is a character that pretty much everyone knows about. Oh! I was just reminded why I like them: They have clever song titles. So…get on it. Listen. Go.
#2. My American Heart – A rock band from Sacramento, California. Yeah, I know their name is kind of lame, but they do a cover of 2pac’s song “California Love” [which is the main reason I like them] but I downloaded their albums [The Meaning In Makeup and Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather] and they were both pretty good.
#3. Emmure – A hardcore band from New Fairfield, Connecticut [Which is odd because when I think hardcore...I certainly don't think Connecticut]. I just downloaded Goodbye To The Gallows and I’m pretty pleased with it. They are sort of…really hardcore so if you don’t like a lot of abrasive screaming [sprinkled with some pretty nice vocals from time to time], you should probably avoid them like the plague [or be a good listener and ease them in to your ears...excuse the sexual innuendo].
#4. Mayday Parade – A perfect [alternative] band from Tallahassee, Florida. New album due in October. Everyone needs to listen to them. The only people who don’t like Mayday Parade, are Nazis and terrorists. Ronald Reagan hates both of them almost as much as he hates Communists. So honor President Reagan by liking them too.
evening trips to the beach are the best.
That’s about all. I’m headed to the beach. Later days.
Cody.
My next post…
Will hopefully be the real debut of my new author on the site. Get excited…hopefully a fresh look at some interesting music. If not the debut…I’ll probably just ramble about other stuff instead. I’m feeling the need for a rant soon.
