Monday, November 28, 2011

New Video - My Media Collection

So I have begun to record videos of me showing off my media collection.  I am starting with some current vinyl releases and will eventually show off my entire vinyl and CD collection, and at some point will start to include my video games, DVDs, comic books, etc.  This video is just an intro to all that, laying the groundwork for what's to come.


Hopefully everyone will enjoy seeing my collection!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Gamut - Vinyl Confessions tonight!!!

As is Gamut tradition, the 3rd episode of each week is a theme - tonight's theme is Vinyl Confessions!  Named after the classic Kansas album of the same name, it means that every song you hear in the show tonight is something that has been pressed to vinyl.  You may be surprised at how much new music is on vinyl, as well as what classics are on vinyl that you may not have been aware of!  Tons of awesome wax in the show this week, so tune in tonight at 9 PM EST via http://www.untombed.com to listen in!

Tonight's playlist!
Impending Doom - There Will Be Violence (Deathcore)
Whitecross - Red Light (Classic/Commercial Metal)
Daniel Amos - My Room (New Wave/Rock)
Place of Skulls - Cornerstone (Doom Metal)
The Way - Do You Feel the Change? (Jesus Music)
The Crucified - Mindbender (Crossover/Thrash Metal)
Tourniquet - The Threshing Floor (Progressive Thrash Metal)
Grave Robber - Fear No Evil (Horror Punk)
Frost Like Ashes - Born To Pieces (Black Metal)
Vector - Mannequin Virtue (New Wave/Rock)
Leviticus - Let Me Fight (Classic Metal)
Further Seems Forever - How To Start a Fire (Emo/Modern Rock)
False Idle - High Hopes (Punk)
Theocracy - 30 Pieces of Silver (Progressive Power Metal)
Detritus - Point Of No Return (Thrash Metal)
Joy Electric - Burgundy Years (Synthpop)
Guardian - I'll Never Leave You (Classic/Commercial Metal)
War of Ages - The Fallen (Metalcore)
The Esventy Sevens - What Was In That Letter (Rock)
Deliverance - If You Will (Thrash Metal)
Mortification - Impulsation (Progressive Death Metal)
Barnabas - Subterfuge (Female-fronted Progressive Metal)
Petra - He Came, He Saw, He Conquered (Hard Rock)
Vengeance Rising - Fatal Delay (Thrash Metal)
Jetenderpaul - Seapoon's Casket (Indie Pop)
My Silent Wake - Cruel Gray Skies (Doom Metal)
Love Song - Freedom (Jesus Music)
The Dark Romantics - Lonely...Alone (Indie Pop)
SinBreed - Dust to Dust (Power Metal)
The Blue Letter - We'll Cutn Down the Trees and Name Our Streets After Them (Post-Hardcore)
For Today - Seraphim (Metalcore)
Becoming the Archetype - Into Oblivion (Progressive Death Metal)
Anberlin - Godspeed (Modern Rock)
Hands - Cube (Progressive Post-Hardcore)
InnerWish - Sirens (Power Metal)
Bloodgood - Self-Destruction (Classic Metal)
A Plea For Purging - Heart Of a Child (Metalcore)
Mad At The World - There Is No Easy Way Out (Synthpop)
Stryper - Surrender (Classic/Commercial Metal)
First Strike - Hard Times (Hard Rock)
Final Axe - Baptized In Blood (Classic Metal)
Carrying the Fire - Bleednig Hearts and Bloody Hands (Hardcore)

Check out the Untombed website @ www.untombed.com !  You can tune in easily via the web-based player on the front page, link to the stream via your regular audio player, read album reviews, get music news, and link up to other great resources, including Divine Metal Distro, your one-stop source for all things Christian rock and metal!  Don't forget, station chat has moved to Untombed.com at the bottom of the site, so make sure you sign up or use a Facebook or Twitter account to sign in and chat w/ me and other listeners during the show!

Alternate links to listen to the stream in a separate player (Winamp recommended, though Real Player, VLC, iTunes and others work as well):
http://207.192.71.70:8000/listen.pls
http://radio.fuhell.com:8000/listen.pls

Here's the link for Windows Media Player:
http://207.192.71.70:8000

Also our stream can now be heard on Nintendo Wii! If you have a Wii, here is what you do:

1.go on the net via your Wii console
2. type "www.Wiihear.com" into your browser address box
3. type "207.192.71.70:8000" into the Search box
4. Click the play arrow

It can take 5-10 seconds to load up & buffer, so please be patient when using this feature :)

You can also stream the station via xyzmp3.com on your PSP, PS3, Wii, iPhone, or even your TiVo!  Plus you can stream the show via your Windows Mobile phone with the free GSPlayer application, or your new Windows Phone 7 device via StreamyThing!  Listen in from your Android device via the "A Online Radio" or StreamFurious applications, as well as the new beta version of Winamp for the Android platform!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Hands - Give Me Rest (2011)


When I listen to hardcore, I am usually listening for one of two reasons.  One, I am listening for the primal energy and heart that comes from more old-school hardcore, where it's early punk rock made angrier and heavier because they just needed it to be more in-your-face due to whatever it was they were trying to express.  Two, I am listening for the simplistic heaviness and "oomph" of modern hardcore with its down-tuned guitar sound, overly bassy tones, intense group shouts, and powerful presentation.  And while there are certainly crossovers between early hardcore and what is considered hardcore in today's world, the aesthetics are still often separate between the two.  Hardcore bands of today are often striving to be faster, heavier, and more "brutal" than their hardcore brethren of yore, sometimes neglecting one of the elements that makes hardcore so vital, so intense: unbridled passion.


Now, hardcore isn't the only form of music teeming the passion.  No, there is plenty of passion to go around in nearly all forms of music.  The difference, though, is that sometimes hardcore music can be almost entirely carried by the passion injected in and through it.  Not that hardcore musicians are limited musicians, because many of them create catchy, interesting riffs and songs that stay with you, not just content to simply pummel you with loud audio.  But there are hardcore bands whose musical aesthetic is faceless and nameless, and their acclaim is solely based upon their chosen "platform" or lyrical bent, and the copious amounts of passion they put forth in their work.


Hands 3rd full-length release doesn't suffer from this disease of indistinguishable (or passionless) hardcore, for a myriad of reasons.  First and foremost, while the band started off as a reasonably melodic, passion-filled hardcore band, their earliest material was devoid of any defined personality or lasting impact.  Indeed, "The Everlasting EP", while being a good listen from beginning to end, is hardly memorable.  Its songs are too "samey" and often go on far longer than they need to.  By all accounts, though I don't yet own it myself, "The Sounds of Earth" was a major step up for the band, with a more muscular sounds that retained the melodicism of the EP and brought more atmosphere along with it, as well as more succinct songs.  "Creator" was another step in the right direction, offering better riffs and a more honest, gut-level take on the proto-progressive hardcore the band was attempting to play on their debut.  With "Give Me Rest", the band has thrown away the "hardcore handbook" entirely, creating an altogether unique and engaging listening experience.  While traces of the hardcore-infused sludge/metal are still present, they are tempered with loads of atmosphere and feeling.


Immediately noticeable is the fact that the music presented is so spare.  This is not to be taken as a bad thing following how "Creator" made ample use of guitar riffing and melodic playing.  Rather, it is a seemingly deliberate attempt at making more out of less, as if the simple melodies and instrumental passages were meticulously constructed.  No drum hit or cymbal crash, no bass string pluck or guitar strum is wasted in any way.  Each note is purposeful, doing its job in constructing the bare minimum necessary to propel the song.  That's not to say there aren't a few more complex riffs, because there are.  But those riffs seem to be specifically placed every 2-3 songs to build momentum, only to allow the atmosphere of the surrounding tracks to be the dominant theme.  All instrumental performances here reflect that minimalist ethos, and the album is stronger for it overall.  Of particular note is the drum work by Josh Silbernagel - his rhythms and playing here may seem overly simplistic at first, but it's deceptively so - it makes sense in context of the material and makes for the perfect accompaniment to the bass and guitar, as well as the vocals.


Lyrically, the album is very personal, but not so much that it's difficult to glean meaning or purpose from the songs.  This album appears to reflect a spiritual journey that seemingly starts during a crisis of faith, a point at which the narrator is both wrestling with his own faith and questioning the moral center of the world around him.  The story shifts into a mode of recognizing one's own "filthy rags", then repentance for said indiscretions, then into a somewhat militant view of the world (typical with young Christians judging the world through what they perceive as the eyes of their Creator), and then a more softened perspective at the end, much more at peace and harmony with their faith and their environment.  It's a fantastic journey that is at times tense, other times quite subtle and serene.  Vocalist Shane Ochsner is in fine form here, with both emotive and accurate clean singing, as well as a combination of more hardcore vocal sounds, from a higher pitched scream to a lower toned, more "throaty" growl, reminiscent of the heavier material from "Creator".  His performance on this album is impeccable.


All in all, this is my contender for hardcore album of the year, even though truth be told, it's probably more post-hardcore in aesthetic and execution.  Still, when I have the CD in constant rotation in my van for 2 weeks straight, including a day trip 2.5 hours away from home where I ended up listening to the CD 5 or 6 times in a row on the way home, it's fair to say that once you "get" what this band is serving up, you'll be addicted to this album like I have the last few weeks.  The one caveat I would have is, purchasing the album on CD or digitally is probably the best choice.  I am a vinyl enthusiast and will definitely be purchasing the vinyl version when I get a chance, because the songs here flow so well together and so seamlessly at times, listening to the album from start to finish, uninterrupted is the primo way to experience this opus.  Highly recommended to all fans of hardcore - this is what hardcore music can be when you think outside the box and allow creativity to rule versus merely "following the script".


90/100

Sunday, November 6, 2011

The Gamut is back tonight!!!

The Gamut is back in full effect after a week off, and there's lots of great music in the show, so tune in tonight at 9 PM EST via http://www.untombed.com to listen in!

Tonight's playlist!
Seventh Star - Thick and Thin (Hardcore)
Crux - Generation X (Punk)
Saviour Machine - A World Alone (Gothic Metal)
Galactic Cowboys - Just Like Me (Progressive Metal)
Whiteheart - Dominate (Hard Rock)
Soul-Junk - (zayin) threewise (Indie Pop)
Besieged - The Years Between (Metalcore)
Whitecross - When the Walls Tumble Down (Classic Metal)
Krig - Chaos In the Air (Death Metal)
Jimmy Hotz - Observations of a Larger Reality (Progressive Rock)
Wigtop - March of Souls (Techno-Industrial)
Kekal - Longing For the Truth (Black Metal)
Norma Jean - A Small Spark vs. a Grat Forest (Metalcore)
Luminaria - Imao (Gothic Metal)
Floodline - Surrender (Progressive Metal)
Eternal Mystery - Insanity Plea (Grindcore)
Starflyer 59 - Something Evil (Alternative)
Once Dead - Flesheater (Thrash Metal)
For Today - Words of Hope (Metalcore)
Glamdring - Consecrate (Black Metal)
Rosanna's Raiders - Love the Lord Your God (Female-fronted Hard Rock)
Fourth Estate - Crazy Ivan (Instrumental Rock)
Saints Never Surrender - Inspiration (Hardcore)
Angel 7 - Power of Belief and Love (Black/Power Metal hybrid)
Dumpster - Divining (Alternative Rock)
Stryper - More Than a Man (Classic Metal)
Mortification - Human Condition (Progressive Death Metal)
Disciple - Dive (Groove Metal/Hard Rock)
Living Sacrifice - Dealing With Ignorance (Thrash Metal)
Dogwood - Out of the Picture (Punk Rock)
Rehumanize - Rick Warning (Grindcore)
Joy Electric - J.E. Picturephone (Reflect You, I connect You) (Synthpop)
Common Children - Storm Boy (Alternative)
Sweet Comfort Band - Get Ready (Classic Rock)
Vociferor - Unworthy (Black Metal)
Inked In Blood - Compassion Is My Own Descent (Hardcore)
Heaven's Force - In League With the Priest (Thrash Metal)
Blenderhead - Power Trip (Hardcore Punk)
Narnia - Inner Sanctum (Power Metal)
Underneath the Gun - Muckracker (Deathcore)

Check out the Untombed website @ www.untombed.com !  You can tune in easily via the web-based player on the front page, link to the stream via your regular audio player, read album reviews, get music news, and link up to other great resources, including Divine Metal Distro, your one-stop source for all things Christian rock and metal!  Don't forget, station chat has moved to Untombed.com at the bottom of the site, so make sure you sign up or use a Facebook or Twitter account to sign in and chat w/ me and other listeners during the show!

Alternate links to listen to the stream in a separate player (Winamp recommended, though Real Player, VLC, iTunes and others work as well):
http://207.192.71.70:8000/listen.pls
http://radio.fuhell.com:8000/listen.pls

Here's the link for Windows Media Player:
http://207.192.71.70:8000

Also our stream can now be heard on Nintendo Wii! If you have a Wii, here is what you do:

1.go on the net via your Wii console
2. type "www.Wiihear.com" into your browser address box
3. type "207.192.71.70:8000" into the Search box
4. Click the play arrow

It can take 5-10 seconds to load up & buffer, so please be patient when using this feature :)

You can also stream the station via xyzmp3.com on your PSP, PS3, Wii, iPhone, or even your TiVo!  Plus you can stream the show via your Windows Mobile phone with the free GSPlayer application, or your new Windows Phone 7 device via StreamyThing!  Listen in from your Android device via the "A Online Radio" or StreamFurious applications, as well as the new beta version of Winamp for the Android platform!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

ReinXeed - 1912 (2011)


Tommy Johansson is a smart guy.  After a couple early attempts at putting the ReinXeed project together, he finally got started with a full album release in 2008 and has been going at breakneck speed ever since.  He has released 4 albums under the ReinXeed moniker so far, one each from 2008 through 2011, as well as participating in both Golden Resurrection albums in 2010 and 2011.  He also recorded a compilation called "Swedish Hitz Goes Metal" which takes classic pop hits from Ace of Base, ABBA and other Swedish pop stars and metalize them.  This idea is not new, as Helloween did an ABBA cover (along with several other varying styles) a few years back, but certainly the man has done his fair share of making a name for himself within the European metal scene over the last 4 years.

The other thing that Tommy has done is consistently improve upon himself during that timeframe.  By all accounts, each ReinXeed album is an improvement over the previous release.  While I can't speak for the 1st 2 ReinXeed releases, as I haven't acquired or heard them yet, I will say that 1912 is a step up from Majestic both in terms of songwriting and overall performance.  While Majestic was a fine album of neoclassical power metal, it had a hard time (like many of its peers) of separating itself from the pack, though the guitar work certainly helped it gain ground.  1912 puts ReinXeed in another league, however, by doing more interesting things melodically, pushing Tommy vocally in terms of combining that pop sense of melodicism with the, erm, "majestic" (sorry, pun intended) feel that this style demands, and by improved songwriting that makes the album a more interesting listen throughout.  Where Majestic was content to take the rote neoclassical and power metal formulas and add Tommy's fretboard magic on top, 1912 becomes a much more fully realized release, due in part to the concept and storyline of the sinking of the Titanic.  Much like the blockbuster film on the same subject, this album takes the event and turns it into a more personal and interesting affair than simply the sinking of the world's largest cruise ship.

Musically, this album is quite the tour de force.  Tommy is in fine form, pumping out melodic, unique, and catchy riffs that allow the songs to be both firmly grounded, but also weightless and majestic due to the bombast.  Lead playing is as good as you've ever heard from Tommy, with a nice combination of both tasteful licks and shredding leads to keep guitar solo fans happy.  Drum work by Viktor Olofsson is quite good, with plenty of galloping rhythms, and his playing here is rife with precision.  Bass by Nic Svensson is also good, though a bit less audible in the mix.  Additional guitar work by Matias Johansson and Calle Sundberg is as it should be, with precise playing that is at once emotive and powerful.  Tommy is no slouch on the keyboards as well, with several nice spots where he allows that instrument to shine without taking center stage or over-utilizing it.  Lyrically, the album is strong as well, with the perspective of a passenger of the sinking Titanic through most of the songs, as well as an outsider's perspective on a couple tracks reflecting on the size, scope, and historical impact of the Titanic itself, as well as on the fact that the ship was supposed to have been "unsinkable".  One contrast I find particularly enjoyable is how the sinking of the ship is somewhat overwrought in the lyrics, and an event that likely didn't take long (in the sense of the passage of time) is looked at very carefully and from multiple angles, which takes on a bit of a "slow motion" effect from the story perspective, contrasted with the speedy and melodic power metal being played.  This juxtaposition works surprisingly well, and gives the album a unique feel to it.

Some of Tommy's melodies are quite unique and interesting, like the chorus melody in the title track.  They are somewhat remeniscent of Blind Guardian's "A Night At the Opera" album in their sort of unique approach, and also in their somewhat grandiose execution, complete with vocal and instrumental layering.  ReinXeed doesn't come off as a clone, however, which helps keep the material fresh, despite the similarity.  Honestly enough, other than perhaps the album's longevity (all this bombast can be slightly tiresome after a while), or perhaps the somewhat disjointed flow of the lyrics (going from chronological storyline to musing about the Titanic and back to storyline), I don't have anything negative to say about this album.  ReinXeed has done what every band should do from one release to the next: namely, to improve upon what they've already done and add new elements to their proven formula so it doesn't become stale.  The band has accomplished that in spades, as I think "1912" is a significant enough step up from "Majestic" that fans of the band and newcomers alike will find plenty to love here, and will be impressed by the band's overall success with fusing the concept and story to the music.  Highly recommended, if not essential for fans of the band and melodic power metal in general.

92/100