Album Review: THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH- ‘Untraveled Roads’ [Song Stream]

Thousand Foot Krutch are just one of those bands that calls for high energy no matter what they’re doing. The rap metal band from Toronto, Canada performed during the 2016 Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, and are now releasing their second live album since “Live At The Masquerade” (2011) recorded during the tour. “Untraveled Roads” is set to be released September 15th, 2017 through both The Fuel Music and TFK Music Inc. The album features 12 tracks pulled from each of TFK‘s three previous albums, “The End Is Where We Begin” (2012), “Oxygen: Inhale” (2014), and “Exhale” (2016).

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Album Review: ALTER BRIDGE- ‘Live From O2 Arena + Rarities’

I will be the first to admit I’ve never been a fan of albums with recorded live music. I just find that live music is better live. But, Alter Bridge‘s newest album, “Live from O2 Arena + Rarities” challenges that view completely. The first two disks span over an entire nineteen tracks of live music that showed me what an incredible band Alter Bridge is both in and outside of the studio.

“Live From the O2 Arena” was recorded during their promotional world tour for their previous album, “The Last Hero.” November 24th, 2016 was described by Blabbermouth as “One of the biggest moments of the bands career,” performing for 20,000 people at London’s O2 Arena. It is the band’s third live album release following 2010’s “Live From Amsterdam” and 2012’s “Live At Wembley.” The album is to be released through Napalm Records September 8th, 2017.The set features a total of 30 songs. “Live From O2 Arena” includes nineteen live tracks from the London concert and “Rarities” includes “Breathe,” previously a Best Buy exclusive; two never before released songs, and eight other tracks that were only available in Japan. Continue reading

Review: A SOUND OF THUNDER- ‘Who Do You Think We Are?’ [Song Stream]

I must say it is always refreshing when a band can play a range of styles and still sound amazing. A Sound of Thunder, a rocking group of four from Washington DC, accomplishes just that. The band includes the three wicked talented musicians- Josh Schwartz on guitar, Jesse Keen on bass, Chris Haren on drums, and their self-proclaimed “secret weapon” vocalist, Nina Osegueda. ASoT consistently plays each song of now six albums with a high energy and intensity. Their latest release from this past December is a Kickstarter-exclusive cover album entitled “Who Do You Think We Are?” It effectively displays their talents as musicians through covers of the very bands by which ASoT was influenced.

The album starts with the perfect introduction, a cover of Alice Cooper’s song of the same title, “Who Do You Think We Are?” The front woman, Nina, sets the tone of the entire album in such a way that, if you didn’t know about A Sound of Thunder before, you will now. And if you don’t like them, well, they don’t care. They continue from song to song with covers of “Death Alley Driver” (Rainbow), “Pleasure Slave” (Manowar), ‘Stinkfist” (Tool), “The Last in Line” (Dio), and still many others. The best part is that ASoT not only meets the standards the original songs set, they exceed expectations entirely. A personal favorite is their cover of Mercyful Fate’s “Gypsy.” Nina’s vocal range and power are dramatically showcased within seconds of the song’s start. Jesse, Josh, and Chris aid in repainting the track with the energy a fan can come to expect from the band. Now, Nina’s vocal skills are present in every song, but there are definite songs where each band member shines individually. “Stinkfist,” as you’d expect from a song by Tool, has a clear focus on bass. Jesse shows off his abilities on bass in both “Stinkfist” and “Icarus.” He even adds a nod to their influence from Rush in “Icarus” with a bass line from “YYZ” and, as a fan, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Josh leads through the covers with the enthusiasm that sets the energetic tone of the album. His strengths as a lead guitarist are especially present in “Death Alley Driver” with its faster-paced guitar solos and riffs.

Lastly, if covers simply are not your thing, the band graced the album with a track of their own. “Walls” is an original from ASoT not released on any of their five previous albums. I don’t find that any of the covers put Chris on display quite so much as this song. He does well covering each song as a drummer, but “Walls” includes his own work, and I love it. It just is one of those songs where I’d love to have my ear buds in with the bass and volume all the way up. What can I say? I’m a sucker for double bass. But, anyone who hasn’t heard what this band’s got can get a good feel for them from the song.

The thing I love about this album, among everything else, is that due to the amount of bands ASoT has covered over one set, there’s a whole variety of sounds. There’s a notable difference between Tool, Dio, Rainbow, Manowar, Kansas, and Judas Priest, but A Sound of Thunder collected them together with their own personal touch fantastically. I thoroughly enjoyed “Who Do You Think You Are?” I bought it straight away, and I’ll be waiting enthusiastically for what A Sound of Thunder has to offer in the future.