Tag guitar

Alter Bridge – Walk the Sky

Peter Jones Leave a comment

I have always love Mark Tremonti’s guitar playing. Yes, always.

So, in essence, that means I just admitted to liking at least some aspect of Creed’s music. Ok, ok, I admit it. I really loved Creed when Torn dropped. At that time in my life, there was just something about it that resonated with me. Follow up, Human Clay kept me engaged, with it’s beefier production and heavier sound. There were some really great moments on that album. I mean, come on, the bridge in “What If” builds to a pummeling breakdown that still sounds awesome to this day.

But, by the time Weathered dropped, the cracks were really starting to show. Most of this centered around lead singer Scott Stapp’s over-the-top vocal delivery and what really started to look like a messiah complex.

But none of that takes away from the heavy, bombastic guitar work from Mark Tremonti. Musically, those Creed songs hold up just fine, thanks to Mark’s crunching and tasty riffs. So I was more than ready for Alter Bridge to drop their self-titled debut in 2004. We had the same musical backbone of Creed (literally, guitar, bass and drummer from Creed) with a much more accomplished, versatile, and able singer in Myles Kennedy.

I loved their debut, Blackbird was a moving follow up. AB III took a bit to grow on me, but subsequent albums Fortress and The Last Hero were on near constant rotation shortly after their releases. Likewise, I’ve definitely enjoyed and continued to listen to Tremonti’s solo work on 4 solid albums of guitar centered hard rock.

No one wants prime rib every day. Some days, you want a $1.00 McDouble. I mean, come on, you just do.

I’m not saying Alter Bridge is no better than a McDouble. But this is meet and potatoes hard rock. There isn’t much unexpected going on here. And that is just fine. Some days I just want solid, guitar heavy hard rock that you can sing along to. It fills a need and I’ve appreciated Alter Bridge more than capably filling that need for the past 15 years.

So, with their latest release Walk the Sky, I guess I have to say “Sorry, it’s not you, it’s me.”

I can’t get into it. I preordered it, as I am wont to do. It’s exciting, every week or two you’ll get a new track released to whet your appetite for the full album release. Except none of those singles drew me in. I couldn’t make myself even listen to one of them all the way through before the album dropped. And then the album dropped, mid October. Oddly enough, it isn’t even like it had real stiff competition. The latest from Insomnium had released 2 weeks before, but that hadn’t grabbed me the way their previous release had. Lacuna Coil had shocked me the week before with Black Anima which I continue to think is a really great album.

So it was all the more odd to me that Walk the Sky just couldn’t seem to grab me. But it didn’t, and it still hasn’t. Listening to it now, trying to write something about this album, and I find myself skipping songs like crazy. Not because they are bad. Alter Bridge is even stretching and doing some different things on this album. I appreciate that. And all the same keys are there. Myles has an awesome, powerful voice. Mark’s guitar is as good as ever. The man is one of the best rock guitarists out there.

But I just don’t want to listen for more than a few minutes. Like I said, sorry Alter Bridge, it’s not you, it’s me. So I guess it’s back to the cold embrace of Schammasch, Monolithe, and The Drowning for this middle aged metal head.

Fates Warning – Disconnected

Peter Jones Leave a comment

It’s almost difficult for me to talk about Fates Warning. On the one hand, it is because they are, in my opinion, the single most underrated band in the history of metal. On the other, it is because they are very possibly my favorite band of all time. Depends on the day, but it’s a toss up between Fates and Neurosis.

But why are they my favorite? For two main reasons. Number one, because they write amazing music. And second, because they were such an essential band on my journey of really getting into and appreciating metal on the whole.

I’d heard the name, but it was many years before I actually started listening to them, so I was super late to the game. It was actually right around the release of Disconnected in 2000 that I finally got around to listening to the band. And that was probably the perfect album for me to start listening to them. It may not be their best album, but it probably is my favorite. We’ll leave John Arch’s amazing vocal melodies, and the idea that their 1986 album The Spectre Within really can be considered the birth of progressive metal for another day. But today, let’s just enjoy the mastery that is Disconnected.

There had been some band changes in recent years, but Disconnected was the second band with the same line up as on A Pleasant Shade of Gray. And what we have is a group that really seems to have come together, with a clear understanding of what they want to do and where they were going. Kevin Moore’s work, both on keys, but most importantly in creating an atmosphere are on full display here. And I will continue to argue that Jim Matheos has penned more brilliant songs than just about anyone in the business.

Disconnected really runs the gamut of what Fates Warning can bring to the table. There are atmospheric tracks, like “Disconnected Part 1” and “Part 2”. There are relatively straightforward rockers like “One” and “Pieces of Me”. And then you have the progressive epics. “Something from Nothing” slowly builds over the course of its 11 minutes. But the real star of the show here is “Still Remains”, a 16 minute progressive and emotional epic.

I love the complete lack of fear or need to hurry here. The song slowly builds for minutes before it finally hits its stride into what one would consider a proper song. And then it keeps building and morphing. Throughout all, the performances are stellar, and the emotion is palpable. Disconnected is an album about relationships, about loss, about human connections and how those impact our lives. And “Still Remains” is the ultimate track to convey all of this.

I really can’t find a flaw in this album. The performances are excellent. Jim Matheos, in addition to being an excellent guitarist, also has amazing guitar tone on this album. Immediately recognizable. Ray Alder’s vocals are as fantastic as always, powerful, clear, expressive. Mark Zonder always was one of the more interesting drummers in the business. Even the final track, “Disconnected Part 2”, is a necessary part of this album. It completes the album, really hitting home the sense of loss and sadness that permeates the album.

I love all Fates Warning albums. And they have some truly groundbreaking and essential ones. Disconnected may not be their very best, but I think it will always be my favorite, and is clearly one of my top 10 albums of all time.

Mammoth Storm – Alruna

Peter Jones Leave a comment

Heavy. What does it mean when discussing music? It is a nebulous term at best. For some, it is hyper-fast, aggressive, with harsh vocals. For others, it is down-tuned 8 string guitars with sick breakdowns. Yet others may think of slow, ponderous tunes.

And you know what? They are all right.

That’s part of what is fun about heavy music. There is a type of “heavy” for almost every mood. Some days, I’m looking for “Underneath the Waves” but Strapping Young Lad. Other days it’s “Rational Gaze” by Meshuggah. But when I really want heavy-as-a-two-ton-heavy-thing, can’t breathe it’s so heavy, being suffocated at the floor of the ocean, I turn to Mammoth Storm.

I became familiar with Mammoth Storm in 2015 with the release of their first full-length, Fornjot. And, finally, this year, they followed up with their second release, Alruna. And both are mammoth (pun intended) slabs of doom. Alruna is replete with low, chugging guitars, with a powerful rumble in the rhythm section. Vocals are clean, but with a raspy quality. And this stuff is slow.

Now, not quite funeral doom slow. I mean, we’re talking about more than 2-4 bpm here. But, unlike some doom metal (some Candlemass songs, some Khemmis tunes, to name a few), Mammoth Storm doesn’t ever speed things up. And the effect is profound. This is the soundtrack for the bottom of the ocean. This is the music of gravity slowly increasing, pulling you with more and more force to the ground. This is crushing music. But the slow crush of gradually being pressed to death, not the sudden crush of something along the lines of Misery Index.

And the guitar tone! I could go on and on about the guitar tone. It is full, rich, with a distortion that just screams “DOOM”. It builds the atmosphere of each song. At times, pulled back, other times, full throated and burly. This is the sound of guitars that know that music has power, that it can move people. This is the sound of guitars that know music can change the world. I don’t know exactly how they get this tone, but it is marvelous and I find myself wanting more.

Alruna is a great album. The songs are lengthy, given room to grow and build, without ever overstaying their welcome. The production fits the music excellently. It is clear enough to hear what is happening, but has just a little layer of grit over the top that helps with the sense of heaviness. I still prefer Fornjot over Alruna, but more Mammoth Storm is always a good thing, and I’ll gladly take what I can get.

Cloudkicker – Beacons

Peter Jones Leave a comment

At some point (I’d like to think I’m not alone here), I started to dive down the djent rabbit hole. I don’t remember what started that dive, but I stumbled across one of three key albums. Not sure which came first, but it was probably either One by TesseracT or Periphery by Periphery. Something about the down tuned, palm muted, chugging sound got to me.

I’d heard Meshuggah, having listened to them since Nothing dropped years before. But for some reason, I hadn’t tied them to the whole djent thing. And, frankly, I still don’t. Meshuggah is Meshuggah. Honestly, they stand on their own.

As part of that dive into djent, I found a blog with a whole host of recommendations. And there, they mentioned Cloudkicker. A one man project, releasing music on Bandcamp, I promptly went and started checking out Ben’s music. There were a number of EPs, and one full length previously release. And then there was Beacons.

This is instrumental music. Some people have a hard time with instrumental music, for reasons that continue to evade me. I’ve pretty much always loved instrumental music, both with a love of classical music (Baroque music especially), but also because of my love of Rush growing up. Songs like “YYZ”, “La Villa Strangiato”, and others were some of my favorites. And now, here was more guitar driven instrumental music. I ate it up.

Disclaimer: I’m not sure that I would, personally, toss Cloudkicker into the djent camp, but I think that label is pretty stupid anyway.

Nonetheless, what we have on Beacons is guitar heavy, instrumental music, with loads of dynamics. Yes, there are heavy, chugging sections. But these are balanced by clear, non-distorted guitars, quite passages, and moments that build strong atmosphere. Beacons just flows, right from start to finish. It tells a story through the music and the titles. The beauty of instrumental music is that it affords each person to create their own story.

It is the flow of Beacons that creates such a powerful narrative. It feels less like a collection of songs, and really harkens back to the idea of a whole composition, with each song more of a movement. While there aren’t necessarily recurring motifs throughout the album, it still has a cohesive feel that permeates all the tracks. The playing is excellent, Ben is a wonderful guitarist. Much of the other instruments are programmed, but surprisingly don’t really feel like it. This really has to do with the strength of the writing and just how engaging it is.

I love pretty much all Cloudkicker albums. But Beacons stands apart. It is a powerful piece of music that still feels fresh, engaging, and powerful. It is an emotional journey, and an album I recommend to everyone without hesitation.