Critter's Crazy Corner

It has been a LONG time since I posted anything new here, so I figured I'd post a quick update.

NEW MUSIC PROJECTS

Music has kept me VERY busy recently. At the end of last year, I started to work on music for a local independent movie called "The Lard Boys," which will resume later this summer. The songs recorded so far are nothing like my usual style - as a hint, I even play some banjo on one of the tracks!

ROCKIN' AROUND THE TOWN SQUARE 2012: RED WHITE & BLUE

Of course, the 2011 "Rockin' Around the Town Square" (RATTS) Christmas concerts were a success and a blast - so much, in fact, that for the past few months I've been working on new music for a brand new SUMMER show! The "Rockin' Around the Town Square: Red, White & Blue" summer concerts will take place June 22-24, 2012 at the Main Street Theater in Columbiana, and as suggested by the title, will have a patriotic theme. The summer RATTS show will feature many brand new, exciting things to honor and pay tribute to those who have served or are currently serving in any branch of the U.S. Military. It's certainly been fun taking songs that are as old as 230 years old, reworking them, and giving them a hard rockin' twist - hopefully others will enjoy the new arrangements. If the demos serve as any indication, the summer shows should be even more fun than ever before! The 2012 Christmas RATTS concerts are already scheduled, as well - for December 14-16, 2012. Be sure to check out baydamusic.com for all the latest updates and upcoming performances.

STUCK ON REPEAT: BLESSED BY A BROKEN HEART'S "FEEL THE POWER"

I never thought I'd admit to enjoying an album with any type of screamo/deathcore/metalcore/hardcore/whatever-'core'-the-scene-kids-are-calling-it-these-days leanings... until a few days ago after buying "Feel The Power", the latest album by Blessed By A Broken Heart. Before elaborating any further, I certainly understand musicians' needs for expression and totally respect their artistic freedom. I also try my best to be open-minded and set aside my opinions when checking out new music, which can admittedly be challenging at times. However, since the screamo/metalcore/etc. scene first started to sneak out of the underground in the early- to mid-2000s, I've not been able to relate with most of the music... because I tend to be a positive, happy-go-lucky individual, the angst present in the vocal delivery of much of that music doesn't really connect with me on an emotional level. In addition, as a huge  fan of musical variety and growth, I haven't noticed much of either of those traits within that particular genre. Most of the bands sound very similar to me at first listen. Then I stumbled upon Blessed By A Broken Heart's "Feel The Power." Finally, a modern North American rock/metal band that's unafraid to be different from everyone else! "Feel The Power" showcases a band eager to continually learn from, expand on, and improve upon its past experiences and experiments - and, unlike BBABH's previous 2 albums, it successfully blends together elements of Journey, Def Leppard, Racer X, Yngwie Malmsteen, Underoath, Avenged Sevenfold, Dragonforce, and more. Loaded with impressive musical chops, irresistible vocal melodies, layers of vocal harmonies, and a nod to old-school 'feel good' rock, while also possessing a modern edge and intensity, "Feel The Power" has something for ALL open-minded music lovers to enjoy. And it may just inspire me to play guitar FAST again! Check it out!

That's all for now - until next time!

Posted by Christopher Lee at 02:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For fans of progressive hard rock and power metal with a symphonic edge, Kamelot's latest release The Black Halo has much to offer.

The Black Halo is the second installment of Kamelot's loose interpretation of the legendary tales of Faust, the first of which came in the form of the band's 2003 release Epica. However, each subsequent Kamelot release generally improves upon the previous one, in terms of the quality of both the production and songwriting. The Black Halo is definitely no exception to the general rule. The final result: The Black Halo arguably stands out as the best album of the band's 10-year tenure.

One aspect which rightfully makes Kamelot an amazing force in music is the band's versatility. Based out of the United States, Kamelot's style as employed for The Black Halo ranges from impressive balladry to double-bass fueled metal anthems, as evidenced in tracks such as "Abandoned" and "When The Lights Are Down," respectively. Catchy verse and chorus vocal melodies, as sang by the band's extraordinary vocalist Khan, are interwoven throughout the entire duration of the album, with several guest vocalists, including Dimmu Borgir's Shagrath (though seemingly an unusual choice initially, Shagrath convincingly portrays the character Mephisto for the tracks "March of Mephisto" and "Memento Mori"), Epica's frontwoman Simone Simons (who portrays the character Marguerite on "The Haunting [Somewhere in Time]") and Cinzia Rizzo (who sings in Italian for the intermission piece "Un Assassinio Molto Silenzioso").

The instrumentation for The Black Halo is equally impressive as Khan's vocals. Unlike its predecessor Epica, the guitar tracks are more prominently featured in the mix on The Black Halo, which when coupled with the orchestrations creates a unique atmosphere, rarely experienced in modern music. Guest keyboardist Jens Johannson of Stratovarius fame lends solos to the opening two tracks "March of Mephisto" and "When the Lights Are Down"; impressive as always, Johannson's solos add a fitting, unique, and welcome Stratovarius-esque texture to both tracks.

To top off the album, the faultless production of European power-metal producers Sascha Paeth and Miro (renowned for their work with artists including Aina, Rhapsody, and many others) seamlessly blend together all of the above elements, resulting in a perfect, top-quality mix.

The above elements work together perfectly throughout the album's entirety, but especially for the track "Memento Mori." An eight-minute epic of its own, "Memento Mori" is arguably the main highlight from
The Black Halo. "Memento Mori" is the most progressive track on the album, effortlessly blending elements from different genres of music, from Shagrath's death-metal presence to classical piano stylings and everything in between.

On an overall level, The Black Halo certainly deserves all of the acclaim it has received from fans and critics alike. Two thumbs up to Kamelot for delivering such an excellent piece of work!

Posted by Christopher Lee at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ayreon, the brainchild of Dutch multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Arjen Anthony Lucassen, can rightfully claim the title of "one of the best albums of 2004." Lucassen strikes a chord with music lovers of all types with The Human Equation. Elements of psychedelic rock, death metal, hard rock, traditional Irish, classical, and progressive rock are seamlessly and effortlessly combined to create over 100 minutes of awe-inspiring music.

Some simple background information about this album and artist is necessary. "Ayreon" is not a band; rather, it's a "supergroup" of sorts, led by Arjen Lucassen, who composes and produces the music, in addition to playing most of the instruments himself (except for the drums as performed by ex-Gorefest drummer Ed Warby, and the occasional keyboard solos performed by various artists). Each Ayreon release is a "rock opera," based upon stories created by - you guessed it - Arjen Lucassen. The "supergroup" description is in reference to the vocalists used for the records - Lucassen normally chooses one vocalist for each character's role in his stories. The roster of vocalists chosen for previous Ayreon albums is a who's-who of the top names in progressive (and other genres of) rock. Fish (ex-Marillion), Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard), Russell Allen (Symphony X), Fabio Lione (Rhapsody), and Barry Hay (Golden Earring) are but a few vocalists from Lucassen's impressive roster. Each Ayreon release differs from the others, a rule to which The Human Equation is definitely no exception.

The Human Equation features 11 vocalists, most notably including James LaBrie of Dream Theater. Other respected names include Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend Band), Devon Graves (Dead Soul Tribe), Mike Baker (Shadow Gallery), and several others. Arjen also introduces a few relatively unknown vocalists, with Marcela Bovio and Irene Jansen. As with most previous Arjen releases, each vocalist portrays a specific character within the story. Unlike previous Ayreon releases, however, the story behind The Human Equation is very deep. In a nutshell, it is about a wealthy businessman (the "Me" character, as portrayed by James LaBrie) who is involved in a car accident in broad daylight, with no one else around. He slips into a coma for 20 days, puzzling the doctors since nothing is physically wrong with him. The plot of the story occurs in two places simultaneously: at his bedside in the hospital, where his wife (portrayed by Marcela Bovio) and best friend (portrayed by Arjen himself) are talking, and also within his own mind. Each day, he faces emotions (Reason, Love, Fear, Pride, Passion, Rage, and Agony) and past memories, such as when his mother died, when he betrayed his best friend, when he first met his wife, and when he was in school. As the album progresses with the interactive dialogue between characters (some songs feature 6-10 vocalists), the listener slowly begins to realize that the "accident" was not an accident at all.

On a musical level, the music perfectly compliments the moods as set forth by the vocalists and their characters. The music gets heavy as Rage (portrayed by Devin Townsend) speaks to the businessman; the music is soft as Love (portrayed by Heather Findlay) speaks to him, and so on. As mentioned earlier, there is something here for any music lover - from folk to classical to proggy to heavy - and any open-minded music fan will appreciate the album for its lush musical arrangements and wide variety of styles.

The entire album is amazing, from start to finish. However, some highlights include "Day Three: Pain," "Day Eleven: Love," "Day Fourteen: Pride," "Day Sixteen: Loser," "Day Eighteen: Realization," and "Day Twenty: Confrontation." Be certain to check out The Human Equation in its entirety.

Posted by Christopher Lee at 01:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sonata Arctica's latest offering, Reckoning Night is worth checking out. Currently scheduled for a domestic release on February 1, Reckoning Night finds one of Finland's premier power metal bands (a la Stratovarius, Thunderstone, Nightwish, etc.) continuing to carve its own niche in the genre. The band has slightly departed from the normal, often generic power metal genre, and gone for a more prog-metal approach while still retaining vocalist Tony Kakko's keen sense of melody.

While the entire album consists of solid material, several tracks stand out amongst the others. One such track is the lead-off single "Don't Say A Word," which has already stormed up the European charts. Other highlights include "Blinded No More," "The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet," "White Pearl Black Oceans...," and the second single, "Shamandalie."

For fans of hard rock combined with expert musicianship and catchy melodies, Sonata Arctica's Reckoning Night is worth a listen.

Posted by Christopher Lee at 02:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)