HELLO EVERYBODY!

8 months. EIGHT months since I've posted in this blog. School, marching band, time are all huge factors in his hiatus. I went to Canada for a week in the summer, then marching band took most of my time, starting in June and the season ended this month. Now, it's all about school, school, and school. Sucks, but I can't do much about it.

Through out the months, though, I've gathered quite an appreciation towards the music I've heard. New and Old. I mean to review alot of them, but once the time comes. I've been wanting to study for the SAT's lately (taking it in a week or two, and I haven't study for it yet), so that'll get in the way. Plus, I have to do virtual school, and that is just a pain in the ass. The life of a high school senior is what is going in my head right now. I can make it a movie if I wanted to, but with what time, heh. Well, off to do my duties as a student, but don't lose hope yet, guys. For I will return soon!

(P.S. I have not lost hope for this blog. I will bring back the static in this blog!)

(P.P.S. This is for future reference: I don't mind if my readers give me any feedback. Questions, comments, concerns are all accepted. Just comment on a post, and I'll give you my attention. Just saying!)

Until next time, goodbye.

This "aint no" circus.

I haven't really heard much from this band, except for that one song everybody has heard, either on the radio, video games, and such, but what intrigues me the most is that many people have been telling me this band is really good and their live performances are to die for. (Not exactly.) This band is Cage the Elephant.

Cage the Elephant is an American rock band, from Bowling Green, Kentucky, which formed around 2006. This is a 5 member band, and they are: Matthew Shultz (lead vocalist), Brad Shultz (rhythm guitar), Lincoln Parish (lead guitar), Daniel Tichenor (bassist), and Jared Chamption (drums). 3 members of this band first created a band called "Perfect Confusion." Thing is, they broke up some years after and then, the 3 members formed Cage The Elephant with other friends. They were signed with Relentless Records in 2007 and that's where they created their debut album, which was released in 2008. Some years later, they released their second album in 2011. Let's review them, shall we?

"Cage The Elephant" 2008

You know, I can imagine this album to be on full blast on a car's radio and someone drives through a long expressway with friends in the back ground, Maybe they're heading to the beach. Nonetheless, this is a fun album to listen to, no doubt about it. The song that almost everybody has heard, Aint No Rest For the Wicked reached 83 on the U.S. Track List, and it might not sound like much, but coming from this band, it's a milestone. I like how the vocalists mixes in well with the music itself, and it doesn't sound like the vocalist is everything in the album. They mix in the guitars well with the drums. For example, Tiny Little Robots and Soil to the Sun have the mix that I'm talking about, so if you don't really understand what I'm saying, just listen to those songs. Not going to lie, this album is pretty amazing. I'm giving this a 10 out of 10. It's a fun album to listen to, and I recommend buying it.

"Thank You, Happy Birthday" 2011

This is the long awaited album from Cage the Elephant. For 3 years, fans have been asking for more , and they finally gave them what they wanted. It's somewhat of a change from the last album, but it's not a bad change, actually. I can sort of dig this album. It's pretty much heavier than the last album, and that can either upset fans, or bring more fans. But when I say "heavier," I mean theres more emphasis on the guitar than the other instruments. But again, they mix the instrumental elements together to make it sound good. Honestly, I love Shake Me Down and Sell Yourself. I think this band deserves more radio time, but not just with their singles, with the other songs that have better reception. This album is a 9 out of 10.

I'm happy to say that I give this band a 10 out of 10. I expected this band to suck because the radio would overplay Aint No Rest for the Wicked over and over again and it got annoying. Giving them a second chance was worth it, I might even buy both albums, they were really good. Give them a chance, it'll be worth it.

Until next time, goodbye.

This will be a quickie.

I don't exactly have much time to do anything. I'm on break from school but I'm still pretty busy, and I have no idea why. Well, this review will be short and simple. I didn't really intend it to be, but when I saw the discography of this band, they only have one album. 2 EPs, but one full-length album. And having 6 band members, I'd imagine they'd be motivated since they did form 2005. Well, they've been working on a new album, so that's good news. But as of right now, I'll give them my score from they have now. This band is We Came as Romans.

We Came as Romans is a hardcore band from Michigan formed in 2005 signed with Equal Vision Records. The band has 6 members, Eric Choi (drummer), Brian "Lou" Cotton (rhythm guitar), Andrew Glass (bass guitar), Joshua Moore (lead guitar), Kyle Pavone (vocalist), and David Stephens (unclean vocals). Before releasing their debut album, To Plant a Seed, they had 2 EP's, Demonstrations and Dreams. I won't be reviewing Demonstrations since it is no longer available anywhere, the ones who have it are in luck, they can sell it and make major money. But right now, it's not out to the public, so I'll still review with what I have. Let's get to it.

"Dreams EP" 2008

This 4 song EP isn't that bad, but isn't that great either. If you recall from my PTH review, I dislike high pitched vocals. And that's what you mostly get from this band. But the screaming vocals balances it out, so it isn't that bad. I also like the little keyboard touches they have, but you have to really hear it to find it. Overall, for an EP, it isn't that bad. But, like every other 'core' band, the yelling gets annoying and sometimes even starts a headache. The two vocalist make a good balance, but they seem to use more of the unclean vocalists. Even when you hear the clear vocalist, he's so high pitched, you can't really hear what he's saying. In the end, a 7 out of 10.

"To Plant a Seed" 2009

Now this is their debut album. I can't really say much because honestly, they sound like your average 'core' band. This album is no different. But they do have their originality. It could probably with the style they perform their music. Normally, 'core' bands just have your average screaming and harsh guitar riffs, but this band also adds like, a synthesizer sound in this album, and it works for them. You don't see 'core' bands using much synthesizer/keyboard sound, but this band really do use it and make it sound good. For example, Broken Statue, the intro for We Are The Reasons, and I Will Not Reap Destruction are good examples of how they incorporate that keyboard sound and it really does sound well together. I can also see myself use this album in particular to listen to while working out and such. I give this album a solid 8 out of 10.

That's pretty much it for this band. In total, I give this band an 8 out of 10. Not bad, but they could be better. Heads up, there will be a new album from this band coming out sometime later this year, but they haven't announced a title for it yet. But whenever you see the release date, make sure get a copy of it by then because I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it.

Until next time, goodbye.

(P.S. I haven't written a review in forever. I'm really sorry guys, it's not that I don't have the time, it's that there are ALOT of bands I would like to cover and I wish I can just lay them down onto paper using my brain, and having words appear so I can write it down later here. But expect some more reviews. Trust me, in time, they will come. Patience.)

-phew- It's been a while.

I'm back. I've been missing this blog for some time now, and every time I look at it in my favorites, I always plan to start again, but never do. Well, now I'm back, and I'm staying. One small change though. I might not have the complete discography of a certain band, but with what I have, I'll give a review about that and have an insight of the band, like I always do, but I just won't have the entire discography. Well, let's start this out simple. This band doesn't have a singer. What does that mean? This is an instrumental band. Some people might not really like instrumental bands, but other haven't even heard of one, so I'll introduce you guys to one. You might know the drummer and the guitarist of this band, and once you search up the rest of the members, you'll recognize them immediately. This band is Liquid Tension Experiment.

Liquid Tension Experiment is an instrumental progressive metal band found in 1997. The band members are Tony Levin, bass guitar, John Petrucci, electric guitar, Mike Portnoy, drummer, and Jordan Rudess, keyboards. Theres only 2 studio albums with these men, Liquid Tension Experiment and Liquid Tension Experiment 2. The others are just live albums, and there's another album with these guys, excluding John Petrucci since his wife was giving birth so he had to be there at that time, and the band changed their name to Liquid Trio Experiment. I only have the two Liquid Tension Experiment albums, so let's go straight to it.

"Liquid Tension Experiment" 1998

I find this album to be fun. The first song, Paradigm Shift, is just so entertaining to listen. The only thing that's pretty bad about this album is that it stretches out too far and all of their songs are 4+ minutes, except for 2 or 3, but this album consists of 13 songs, so it's pretty much a long album. The most recognized song in this album, and in my opinion the best song, is Universal Mind. Mostly because it comes after a sad type of song in the set list, State of Grace. But once after that song is finished, the upbeat Universal Mind comes in and you forget about everything and just want to jam out. When I show this band to my friends, Universal Mind is what I put on and everyone seems to like it, and I'm glad. Then, after, theres 5 songs called Three Minute Warning I, II, III, IV, and V. Articles say that these songs were just jam-outs that this band were doing for fun and they just recorded the whole near 30 minute jam and cut it up into 5 pieces, in total being 27 minutes and 94 seconds. This album is a 9 out of 10, it could've been a perfect 10 score, but it seems to drag at some times.

"Liquid Tension Experiment 2" 1999

Now this album is way shorter, only 8 songs. But this time, all the songs are 4+ minutes long. The shortest one being 4:01, and the rest are way more. That's the only downfall to an album, where the music seems to last forever, and you expect the song to finish, but it's keep on going. Well, I can't really say that to this album much, because in some of the long songs, such as Acid Rain and When the Water Breaks, they seem to drag but the song itself changes from soft to hard in a heartbeat. Let's look at When the Water Breaks for a moment. It's the longest song in the album, being 17 minutes (16:58), it can seem to drag. But the song has solos from each person in the band, and they're all unique. Each person adds a quality in this song, so, even if it is long, it's still a worthy song to listen to. The other songs are also worthy to listen, but other just seem either too boring or drag. The album is an 8 out of 10 just because most of its songs are meh, excluding some really good songs.

This band deserves a 9 out of 10. The talent in this band is amazing, the only thing is that they don't have anything new. Their latest stuff is the Liquid Trio Experiment, and will be reviewed some other time. Each person are doing their own thing now, so don't expect much from this band, but expect from the band members to announce what each of them are doing and what they will be doing in this future.

Until next time, goodbye.

If you haven't noticed yet,

I'm in hiatus right now. I'll come back maybe next month or so. For sure, after marching band season. After that, I'll have alot of time. Until then, goodbye.

The Worlds Best (and only) Virtual Band.

It's been a while since I've reviewed anything. I just didn't have a computer with internet access, so I couldn't do anything. Well, now that I'm back, I can finally do what I love the most. Listen to music and tell people what I think. This time, I'm pretty sure almost everyone has heard of this band. You can say they're unique in their own sort of way. This band is Gorillaz.

Gorillaz is a virtual musical project created by Damon Albarn in 1998. As you see, the band members are animated. That is because the co-creator of the band, Jamie Hewlett, designed and animates the band. The band itself consists of 2D (Lead vocalist/keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (Bass), Noodle (Guitar), and Russel Hobbs (Drums). Each band member have their own background that contribute in the formation of the band. They each have their own story, which is created by Albarn and Hewlett.

I first heard Gorillaz one day during the summer of 2005. I was at a summer camp program and we had a trip to Super Wheels. In Super Wheels, I would skate around the rink, with a DJ in the back playing popular music at that time. That's when I first heard DARE and Feel Good Inc. I then skated to the DJ and asked him who were the artists for those 2 songs. He said "Gorillaz." When I went home, I went on the computer and searched up "Gorillaz" on Google. That's when I started liking Gorillaz. Now, I listen to them every so often. I like their music, and so should you. Unto the review!

"Gorillaz" 2001

This is the first time I found out that they first had a self titled album before "Demon Days." Well, anyway, listening to this album, I can say that this is a good album to listen to and just chill. I'm pretty sure if you search "chill" in any internet radio, you'll find a Gorillaz song, and it might be from this album. The only thing I can say is, maybe three or five songs from this album might be known, while this album has a total of 15 tracks. I first thought the singles from this album were from their second album. Well, now that everything is clear to me, I don't really care. This is an excellent album to listen to if you just want to relax. Perfect examples are Tomorrow Comes Today, New Genious, and just almost every song in this album. 8 out of 10. Buy it, it's worth it.

"Demon Days" 2005

Now this is the album that everyone knows. It contains Feel Good Inc., DARE, Dirty Harry, and Kids With Guns/El Mañana. I'm telling you, this is where the Gorillaz went to fame. Some might say otherwise, that they went to fame with their self titled debut album. But I don't agree with that statement. Well, going back to the music, I can say that out of every song in this album, only one song got me looping it over and over again in my iPod. All Alone. I have no idea why, but it just happened. Other than that, the songs in this album are great. This album even got a 4 out of 5 stars from "Uncut Magazine" and received #4 from Spin magazine's "40 Best Albums of 2005." Come on, what else do you need? 9 out of 10.

"Plastic Beach" 2010

After 5 years, Gorillaz finally made a new album. I've known people that love Gorillaz and once they announced a rumor of a new album and when a single was leaked onto the internet, you would not believe the reactions I've seen when people found out about a possible new album. When the album came out, I went to FYE and noticed a line with everyone holding a "Plastic Beach" album, and it took my by surprise. Gorillaz have a huge fan base. Well, enough of that, this album was a really big change from the album before. It's a different sound, but in a good way. Thing is, after 5 years, trying to get back to Gorillaz, it took a while to get used to this album since this one was different than the last. All in all, this album deserves a second chance if you don't like it to begin with. 7.5 out of 10.

Well, that's it for the Gorillaz. Right now, they're touring around the world, calling the tour "Escape to the Plastic Beach world tour." I would love to escape to a "Plastic Beach." Overall, Gorillaz get an 8 out of 10. Their music is super chill, so if you're in need of chill music, this band has got it. For any other questions or stuff, just go to gorillaz.com/

Until next time, goodbye.

What a fist.

This is one of the first bands I got into when I first started listening to metal. I love their sound, it's hard-hitting, it's loud, and it's awesome as hell. I used Pandora to find them. I searched up Slipknot, and I got Korn, gay Disturbed, and then I got this band. I loved their sound, way better than Disturbed, for sure. This band is Five Finger Death Punch.

Five Finger Death Punch is an American heavy metal band forming around 2005. It consists of 5 band members: Ivan Moody (vocals), Zoltan Bathory (lead guitar), Jason Hook (guitar), Matt Snell (bassist), and Jeremy Spencer (drummer). They only have 2 studio albums, and there will be a new album coming out around 2011. The studio albums are The Way of The Fist and War is The Answer.

When I first heard of this band, I had their singles stuck in my head. I liked, scratch that, loved how Ivan sang. If I can have any wish in the world, I would wish for more wishes and when I start wishing away, I would wish to have an awesome voice like Ivan does. If you've never heard of this band, then go find The Way of The Fist in your local media store and listen to it. Let me explain why now.

"The Way of The Fist" 2007

The first three songs I heard from this album, in Pandora, are Never Enough, The Way of The Fist, Death Before Dishonor. I fell in love with this man's voice. It's just so perfect, why can't the type of vocals be used in other bands, instead of just average yelling? If anything, they should get voice lessons from Ivan, they'll even notice it's friggin' awesome. Well, since they're pretty much a new band, it took them a while for FFDP to make a new album. Still, this album had awesomeness written all over it and FFDP fans wouldn't ask for more. Until they released their latest album last year, that's when the fans went hysterical. Imagine, this is an award winning album, if you haven't heard this album, you just have to. Some songs to acknowledge, Can't Heal You is one of those songs that don't only make you want to scream out, but if you read the lyrics, you'll appreciate the emotion Ivan tries to pour on you. "The deeper you get, the farther you fall down. The closer I get, the more you dissolve." There's also The Bleeding. It's supposed to be a song where emotions just fall into the right place and everything tends to be sad. In order to get the most out of this song, listen to the acoustic version, it was meant to be for acoustic. Overall, this album is an 8 out of 10. Even if it was good, the songs seem to sound the same.

"War is the Answer" 2009

If you think "The Way of the Fist" was a great album, you haven't heard this album yet. It's just their second studio album and it bleeds pure sickness. I find it way better than their previous album and they have only made 2 albums overall. If they made such a success with their first two album, imagine the possibilities for this band to go very far. Hopefully, they won't go so far that they go mainstream, because if they stick with the way they make their music, they can be very popular. I've heard this album a couple of times non-stop. It's more satisfying than the previous album, I never got bored. Even if when I heard the instrumental piece, Canto 34, I didn't get bored. Listening to the very first song, Dying Breed, I got goosebumps. Continuing with the track list, No One Gets Left Behind is an awesome song to find the guitar/drum tabs and just jam out to. Walk Away seems like a soft song, but you can classify it as the power ballad in this album, and it sounds really good in the album. Hell, all the songs in this album are really good. This album is a 10 out of 10!

Overall, this band is a 9 out of 10. Since they only have made 2 albums, just imagine the rating other music reviewers will give them. Five Finger Death Punch doesn't really have much publicity in the public, but they will have their time to shine, I'm sure of it. Next time you see their name pop up in TV, or the computer, or you see someone with an FFDP shirt, that's when you know this band is reaching out. Recent news, the band will enter the studio by the end of this year to work on a new album. Their website: http://www.fivefingerdeathpunch.com/

Until next time, goodbye.