Rolling Stone Interview with Dave Mustaine

Much more gossip and talk than discussing anything musical, but just to let you know:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/29426165/megadeths_dave_mustaine_talks_new_riffs_old_drama/

I'm excited for this record. Not that I expect anything phenomenal, but I'm a huge fan and just love that undeniable Megadeth sound.

The 2 Cent Switch

Killswitch Engage - Self Titled: If you like hearing the same exact material they've done since Howard Jones came aboard, by all means keep listening. I won't.

Darkest Hour - The Eternal Return: This record would be really impressive if they hadn't done three records worth already. Apt album title. Must've snatched it from Killswitch so they couldn't use it.

Get these instead, if you haven't already...

Candiria - Kiss the Lie: It's hard to come by the version of this record intended for sale since Amazon and iTunes botched the track list and duplicated one track, but I know if you pick up the vinyl you're good. Comes with an MP3 disc. This band's catalog gets more and more interesting and diverse as you go back. Definitley rubbed off on Dillinger Escape Plan.

Cynic - Traced in Air: Sick record since the last one, which was back in '93. Wow. If you've somehow never heard of 'em, just consider the fact that two members did stints in Death and Gordian Knot. SOLD!

Divine Heresy Vs. Arkaea (Or, just whose guitar is bigger? Christian's or Dino's?)

Some of you may question why I would put these two bands head to head, but the drama that Dino Cazares, Burton C. Bell, Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera share is just about the closest thing metal has to some of those bitch fights you see on reality TV. The fact that such bitchery exists amongst these legends of metal is a complete shame, and you can read about it here, here, and here. C'mon guys, lighten up. I also want to prove that there are no real winners here, and that's musically speaking, too. Note: I will not address Ascension of the Watchers, that project is total shit.

First off, before I rip Arkaea a new asshole, I want to point out that Wolbers admitted that some of the songs on this record were Fear Factory tracks that he and Herrera were working on. Now, you can't blame the guy for making the assumption that that's what they were going to be, hell, he was the last guy to write Fear Factory songs - 2 records worth. But here is exactly where you can blame him - you don't go and start a new project, one that you claim will be for a band you 'definitely want to continue,' when a batch of the material is meant for another band from the start. That's just wrong to me. Save it for the reunion or some shit. Why?

Because you get the following problem, Christian: you wrote a couple Fear Factory songs, and you need to write more in order to make a record, and the new songs have to be consistent with that idea. So with that, you get a really repetitive record that copies riff after riff after itself, with a singer that, no matter how good he is, just does not sound right over any of them. Why? Because he's not Burton C. Bell. That's not being purist - it's just the truth. What he lacks in ability he makes up for in his characteristic approach.

I will admit this - Christian was good enough to try some of the genre mixing Fear Factory is known for, but even that said, it comes out as "oh, that's a Rush riff; oh, that's a Korn riff; oh, that totally sounds like Deftones," and the texturing he tried to apply is more accurately a handful of monochromes. You get to wonder, how much creative force belonged to whom in Fear Factory?

Then, on top of that, Jon Howard totally sounds like Chester Bennington when he's utilizing that oh-so-popular scream-singing style. Look, I'm not a fan of Linkin Park, but it sounds cool when Chester does it, sounds like crap when nearly anyone else is doing it - especially with harmony, all over overdone Fear Factory riffs. Instead of presenting a punishing mix, you get punished for nearly an hour with predictable riff patterns, random and unimaginative divergences, in addition to a painfully annoying vocal performance. Picture lonely cartoon streetcats on a fence, crooning together to the greatest hits of Fear Factory. Pitiful.

Divine Heresy I like. Check that - liked. Now, kudos to Dino for variating on his existing guitar style and riff construction in the context of technical death metal rather than chugging out more and more tired Fear Factory stuff, but this record is just not as good as it was hyped up to be. Sure, some of these songs are speedier and more intense, but no matter how fast they play it, you've heard most of this stuff before. And while Travis Neal is more bearable than Jon Howard, he also on occasion does that torturous nu-metal scream-singing. Whatever happened to a simple, clean vocal? I will say he is a decent replacement, but Tommy Vext just has more character than this guy. Not more than Bell, but there you have it.

Overall, it seemed to me like these guys were doing what they could to be bookable on a summerfest. And on top of all this, the lyrics and song titles are either stupid or totally lackluster. Beneath the Shades of Grey? Anarchaos? You've got to be kidding me.

The single thing that irritated me the most about both of these bands records, is that, when all four forces of Fear Factory worked together, you had something really innovative, with a lot of tempered dynamics. Both of these sidebands did the classic singer's tune towards the end of the record, and all it got me to think was, "why wasn't there more of this?" Not in the sense that I wanted more ballads, because they aren't even slightly moving on both counts, but in the sense that both acts seem to be missing that spirit of experimentation and adventurism. Emphasis, then, on acts.

Final thought - while I give Divine Heresy the edge for speed (Tim Yeung is inhuman), both lose in the end. Stop being selfish, guys, end the drama, and recognize that as Fear Factory you are better than the sum of your parts.

A Looking in View Looks Pretty Good

Hey Guy!

Check out the new Alice In Chains video @ www.aliceinchains.com. I think it's awesome. While the song is okay, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it sounded unbelievably true to the band's old school stuff. I almost thought it was some unreleased stuff. Big ups to Jerry Cantrell for getting this legendary band back together in the way fans always want but never seem to get. Definitely checkin this one out.

Poison the Well. The Tropic Rot.

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of hardcore. But, whether or not you are, I'd get into this band immediately. They are easily, and officially, one of the most innovative bands in music. If you checked them out more than five years ago and weren't sure about them, you need to check 'em out again. There are very few groups out there that can manage this much growth in such a short time span, but ever since You Come Before You and Versions, Poison the Well have mastered the craft of their originality with The Tropic Rot.

There's something about that very title that ties well with what the album offers: surfer rock riffs and jazz chords mixed with doom metal grooves and country/blues licks, and genres much more, all mashed up into a sharp "post" hardcore package (and I mean "post" only in the post modern sense). It's the beauty in decay that these fellows thrive on - what's been festering in them has fermented into a strong liquor for our ears. Guitarist Ryan Primack is relentless and slick, transitioning even the acoustic When You Lose I Lose As Well into a frenzy of discord, with the phenomenal Chris Hornbrook driving the pace. And vocalist Jeffrey Moreira probably does more singing than ever, his lush choir boy vocals and simple yet vivid lyrics fully matured while maintaining a punk edge.

If you got sick of hardcore because it seemed like it just didn't have any more to offer than the standard power chords and aggression, pick up this record and see how Poison the Well challenges you. These guys were done toying around back in '03. It's clear that diversity and dynamics are now their imprint.

New Megadeth Tune @ RoadRunner

Yes! It's metal! It's awesome! It's classic Megadeth!

Do what you have to do to download it now:

www.roadrunnerrecords.com

I Refused to Pay Dues

I've just gotta say it flat out - I was really disappointed by Street Sweeper Social Club.

While, at first, I was excited by the return of that Morello rap rock rhythm, the more I heard, the more it started to sound like just a bunch of classic rock riff rip offs with a boring emcee.

Sure, Tommy is basically just a blues guy with special effects and monster groove, but with no new tricks to offer, the record sounds tired to begin with. Couple that with an old school rapper and it plays out like some bad Williamsburg indie DJ's debut. Now, I must admit, maybe in another context, I'd like what Boots Riley is doing here, but I like Boots Riley in his own context. Somehow, when you get these two together, instead of capturing magic, you get nothing more than party music, where the message will probably be ignored. And I can't help but feel like someone is already way more successful with that angle. Oh, yeah. M.I.A.

If you like anything Tom does, and thought Audioslave was the shit, then go ahead and grab this. But if you're a staunch Rage fan, and think that a bunch of subpar riffs with some other guy who, despite his place in history, doesn't seem to match the lyrical and political muscle of Zack De La Rocha to pull it off, don't bother.

P.S. The cover looks so stupid.

Monuments and Melodies is kinda cool, I guess, but...

Can I just say that I am totally confused by the business model that was chosen for the record? Check it:

A 2-CD greatest hits collection.

1st CD: here are the hits you like and a few songs we just wrote that are surely not on par with our collection of hits, and which really don't make sense to include other than to promote our collection, WHICH NEEDS NO PROMO BECAUSE INCUBUS IS FUCKING HUGE.

2nd CD: a bunch of B-Sides throughout our career, which are pretty decent. Nothing daunting really, only for the super fan.

So do you see the problem with this model yet? Why would Joe Schmoe, who only likes a couple tunes, expend with his cash to buy a double disc album, half of which contains a whole disc of tunes that don't really help promote purchasing Incubus's existing catalog, and would only really appeal to Joe Schmuck, said super fan. How in the world of iTunes can this CD compete? Joe Schmoe goes online, gets the singles, the 6 or 7 he really likes, saves around 6 or 7 bucks. Super fan might spend extra dough for a bunch of songs he certainly already has to grab those rarities that, again, he probably already has as well. So, realizing this, he only buys the few tracks off iTunes he didn't happen to have, saves 6 or 7 bucks or more.

Equation: fuck over the superfan and the fair-weathers dumb enough to buy an overpriced double disc of greatest hits. But wait - that still doesn't make any sense - you're marketing to the smallest market possible. Let's also not forget that there are less people this dumb than not. The music business makes another unsellable product.

Solution: make separate CDs, one with JUST the greatest hits, NO promo tracks and have a product that actually has some integrity as a collection of great songs, a snapshot of a great band, THEN, another CD with just the rarities, assuring integrity once more while reducing the price point cheap enough to hopefully, actually sell some CDs.

Reality: SONY/EPIC doesn't give a shit, and Incubus either doesn't care, or has become completely complacent, which is probably how you should feel about their new material.