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Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier |
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Written by Liu
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Tuesday, 24 August 2010 18:00 |
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Universal Music Enterprises
Four years after their last studio album and fresh off of a massive world tour that saw them visiting every corner of the Earth, Iron Maiden has finally delivered their latest studio opus, the daunting Final Frontier. Following their long runnng evolution, The Final Frontier is another album rife with a myriad of layers and deep complexities that continue to unravel even after the twentieth listen. If you're one of those that are frustrated with the band's growing propensity towards a progressive direction, then jump off of the train now. The band isn't writing for you. They aren't writing music for the diehard fan either. They're writing for themselves and they refuse to hold your hand in the matter. They're going to throw you into the deep end of the pool and your only options are to swim or drown.
Like the last album, A Matter Of Life And Death, The Final Frontier is packed to the brim with lengthy epics. Of the ten album tracks, six go past the seven minute mark. It was also the same way on the last album. Brave New World and Dance Of Death each had four tracks of similar length. Clearly a pattern can be seen emerging. The band obviously has the most fun in creating these massive songs and over time have chosen to concentrate more and more on them when it comes to songwriting. These have always been their greatest strength in my opinion and this direction has been working well for them. If it doesn't work for you, then you can always listen to something else.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:19 |
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Read the full review [Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier]
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Review and photos from Enthroned and Destroyer 666 show in Seatle - 2010/08/19 |
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Written by Chris Slack
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Friday, 20 August 2010 18:18 |
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I got to the show too late to catch Irony’s set but they are a pretty good local (Bremerton?) band should anyone be wondering. Ceremonial Castings was solid, though some of their appeal has worn for me as I have seen them at least 10 times. They are great guys and good friends so don’t met my jaded attitudes prevent you from checking them out as they are quite good! Funeral Age was pretty good but the “vocals” during a cover of Dissection’s classic track “Where Dead Angels Lie” were a disgrace. The guitar solos were spot on though so they get points for that. While Pathology is pretty good at what they do it seemed too much like the generic “brutal death metal” to get me into their set. I spent most of that one outside talking with my smoker friends. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:20 |
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Read the full review [Review and photos from Enthroned and Destroyer 666 show in Seatle - 2010/08/19]
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Scorpions photos from Ridgefield, WA on August 7th |
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Written by Chris Slack
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Sunday, 08 August 2010 17:39 |
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Photos are now online from the Scorpions concert on August 7th at the Sleep Country Amphitheater in Ridgefield, Washington. The 20,500 seat venue was sold out and definitely full, at least while the Scorpions were playing. They put on an awesome show even though the setlist excluded anything from the Uli Roth (my favorite) albums. Dokken would have been decent if I was able to mask out Don Dokken's vocal performance but since there was no way to do that I couldn't wait for their set to end. I didn't try getting a photo pass for this one until it was way too late so all photos were taken with my Canon A710 point and shoot from my seat in the 12th row (Shutter priority mode) and cropped liberally. Rudolf Schenker never made his way to the right side of the stage so portraits of him were very limited. Links to the full photo sets (and setlists) will follow. Please check them out when you have the time, feedback is always appreciated.
Scorpions photos - Dokken Photos
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Last Updated on Sunday, 08 August 2010 17:44 |
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Read on for setlists [Scorpions photos from Ridgefield, WA on August 7th]
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Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time |
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Written by Liu
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Monday, 09 August 2010 20:05 |
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Nuclear Blast
It's been four years since Blind Guardian released A Twist In The Myth which saw the band trying out new things. The end result got a mixed reaction. While I found much to enjoy from the album, many others thought it was poorly written and disjointed, not up to the pedigree that the band had built up to that point. In any case, it was another step in their evolution and if its only positive was being the impetus that drove the band to write At The Edge Of Time, then I'd have to call it a success.
Now, if you're not already a Blind Guardian fan, then this album isn't going to sway your opinion. At this stage in their career they aren't looking for the approval of their detractors, instead forging ahead for those chosen few who already understand the majesty from which their music is born. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 09 August 2010 20:37 |
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Read the full review [Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time]
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Written by Liu
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Wednesday, 04 August 2010 17:07 |
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Epic
I get kind of maddened whenever Ozzy Osbourne manages to scrape out another studio album. Regardless of the quality of the album (which tends to be pretty low given his output in the last two decades), the fanboy lemmings always crawl out of the woodwork, hailing the album as a great return and that the man still has "it". No, he does not have "it". In fact, I'd argue that he never did have "it", instead surrounding himself with excellent songwriters and stealing all of the credit. Anyway, all of that can be discussed on another day, for now we have an album called Scream to deal with. |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 August 2010 21:35 |
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Read the full review [Ozzy Osbourne - Scream]
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