Full Blown Chaos
Within The Grasp of Titans
Available Now
After listening to this travesty of modern speed metal, I can only think of one thing I could do to myself that would be equally as damaging to my auditory senses - taking an ice pick and jabbing it repeatedly into my ear.
This album shows minor hints of talent occasionally, all of which are brutally beaten down by the lead singer. Screaming out the lyrics can be a valid way of expressing oneself musically. Unfortunately, what is found on this mockery of a real album is not screaming. It's probably fair to compare this dreck to the incomprehensible bellowing of a dying moose. This album is so horrible that the fact it was picked up by a major label manages to defy the laws of probability. What is absolutely mind-boggling is that this is Full Blown Chaos's second album.
For the sake of humanity, these guys need to stop making albums. For the sake of their record label, someone needs to fire the producer before he drags the whole label down with him. It really is that bad.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Christ Illusion - Slayer
Sacrament - Lamb of God
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The Best of Fear Factory - Fear Factory
Beck
The Information
Available Now
Beck rarely fails to deliver.
The latest album, The Information, is reminiscent of 1996's Odelay. For an album, being comparable to Odelay is not a bad position to be in. That similarity, on its own, is not enough to warrant a perfect rating. Beck has taken the folk-rock sound of Odelay and mixed it with a funk worthy of George Clinton or the Fugees. The result is nothing short of amazing.
Most albums require a couple of listening sessions before one can really get into it. The Information is not one of them.
In the first track, "Elevator Music," the beat manages to groove its way into the listener's soul. The ability to resist dancing is immediately lost. This continues at a fairly regular pace until the listener reaches the sixth track, the oddly named "Nausea." At this point, Beck kicks things up a notch or two, inching closer to his folk-rock roots but still leaving the funk of the first five tracks intact. The Information then mellows out a bit until reaching the title track, then switches into a full-on psychedelic groove until the end.
For an artist that has 10 studio albums under his belt, Beck is doing a surprisingly good job of pushing the envelope.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Ta-Dah - Scissor Sisters
Oh You're So Silent Jens - Jens Lekman
I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass - Yo La
Tengo
Two If By Sea
Safety
Available Now
Safety is an odd album.
This makes sense, as Two If By Sea is a fairly odd group. Its sound can only be described as Vegas-lounge alternative rock.
The band's fairly mundane modern-alternative instruments are combined with the cheesiest lounge vocals ever heard outside the smoke-filled clubs of the Las Vegas Strip. This hook is the only thing that sets the group apart from every other unknown alt-rock band in America. None of the tracks on this album particularly stand out. Originality is in short supply, made especially obvious in the closing riffs of almost every track.
The only interesting thing about it is that almost every song rips off the sound of some of the more popular acts of the early '90s, yet at the same time, every song sounds exactly the same. In rapid succession, the album mimics Crash Test Dummies, Dave Matthews Band and Erasure. It also manages to remove anything interesting from the sound of those bands. If you're looking for originality, look somewhere else.
If you like this music, you might also enjoy:
Waiting for the Next End of the World - Channels
The Back Room - Editors
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
