Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Alter Bridge "AB III"

Alter Bridge
AB III
Reviewed by Lisa Selvaggio

      Alter Bridge is one of my favorite bands, one of the few out there right now that are genuine in every respect.  Lyrically, the band has always been able to profoundly express an entire gamut of emotions, from hopeful to hopeless, inspired to indifferent.  They're one of the few modern bands who can write songs that mean something, that go above and beyond, to make you feel, whether it's the nostalgia that comes with "Ghost of Days Gone By," the sinking feeling of defeat with "All Hope Is Gone," or the perseverence found with "I Know It Hurts."  To say that musically they are a powerhouse of talent would be to state the obvious.  On the disc as well as in concert, these new songs are energetic and alive, pure Rock with a pinch of Prog.  It's all in their words and in their music, and on AB III, the group shines true and their energy is abundant throughout.  The listener is left wanting more yet satisfied with this final product all the same, as the band has put out yet another artful collection of songs that are flawlessly performed.

Rating: 5/5
     

Deicide "To Hell With God"

Deicide
To Hell With God
Reviewed by Rob Acocella



Deicide is back with their 10th studio album, To Hell With God. What is there to say about Deicide that most of their fans don't already know? For one, it's another chapter of what I call "Hollywood Satanist" lyrics wrapped up around a big package of blast beats and furious guitar solos.

I've never been the biggest fan of Deicide, but I do have a couple of their albums from the old days. The technical ability that they display is key to appreciating the music. Death Metal often suffers from everything winding up garbled into one continuous tone, with limited chances to pick up on actual melodies aside from in the solos and song intros. Deicide is no exception here, and it's not like you're going to be making out much of the actual words here, which, as a side note, is kind of backwards since Benton obviously has a message to get across.

My own musical tastes aside, this album is great if you take it for what it is. It's a no-frills continuation of what Deicide does best. They may have strayed once or twice along their career, but their core fans got exactly what they knew they wanted from To Hell With God. As I mentioned earlier, the solos really do rip, and give the listener a much needed break from the audio onslaught of each track. Holding it up to older Deicide albums I'd say the quality of writing and playing is right up there with Legion and Once Upon The Cross.

Overall, for me personally, I give it a 3/5 but in this particular case, don't let me hold you back from checking it out if you are already a fan of Deicide's "tried and true" approach to their music.