OverKast

OverKast is a local band whose vocalist I befriended recently. They play faith-based hard rock with a late '90s-early 2000's feel to it. Sounds like Disciple and Pillar on the Christian end, Breaking Benjamin and Seether on the mainstream end. As usual, I'll offer a few examples of their music to let you get an idea of what they play. They're currently working on a new album, so if you have a couple extra bucks, I'd encourage you to donate. I'll include the link to their campaign after the music.

From their 2009 self-titled album, here's "The Edge"

Also from their self-titled album, here's "Unwanted". Definitely hear some Alter Bridge/Creed influences here.

From their demo CD, here's "To Live For"

And a song from their upcoming album, "You're Not Alone", recorded live at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle

If you like what you hear, please consider donating to help them record their next album.

Donation Page: https://myevent.com/overkastmusic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/overkastmusic3/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/overkastmusic

Christian Music Corner: Stavesacre

Stavesacre seems all but forgotten nowadays. Although they were never big like Creed or P.O.D., they consistently put out excellent music from 1995 to 2009. Stavesacre was formed by members of the crossover thrash/punk band The Crucified, as well as members of hardcore punk bands The Blamed and focused. But their musical style doesn't really reflect much of the thrash or punk origins, instead going for more of a hard-rock sound more in the veins of Project 86 and... well, I'm not really sure. It's hard to categorize Stavesacre or offer a similar band for comparison. So, as with my previous posts, I'll just link to some of their songs and let you judge for yourself.

Here's a song from their first album, titled "Threshold":
From their second album, here's "Colt .45":
From their third (also my favorite) album, here's "Sundown Motel":
Also from their third album, here's "Gold and Silver":
From their 4th album, here's "Witch Trial":
From their 5th and final album, here's "The Trouble With Being Born":
Like with other posts, if you don't like one song, try another. There's quite a variety out there, and many of their songs are available on YouTube for your listening pleasure. Let me know what you think!

Living Things

Well, I'm gonna be leaving for another vacation later today, thus I decided to go ahead and post one last thing before I go as a brief goodbye.

I used to totally adore Linkin Park back in the day. Hybrid Theory and Meteora were the jam and the soundtrack to almost any party we threw as kids. Nu metal craze was at its peak (or at least what everyone thought nu metal was) and there wasn't a single kid who wouldn't like one or two LP songs. But the band's omnipresence couldn't last forever and like any other act, Linkin Park slowly started to lose their momentum. Most significantly some time around Midnight.

Minutes to Midnight was supposed to show the band's poppier, more melodic sensibilities and show they're capable of stretching their sound. Linkin Park wanted to become a bigger band, U2 for the 21st century. And the album itself wasn't all that bad, some of its songs belong to the better part of the band's catalogue. Unfortunately, though, it also marked their transformation into a more mainstream and generic act with songs like Leave Out All the Rest or Shadow of the Day. Besides, collaboration with Micheal Bay certainly didn't help. (Not to speak about Chester Bennington's sideproject Dead by Sunrise, what was that supposed to mean?)

So they did what most actual bands would do. With fear of fading into irrelevance, they tried experimental stuff in order to find a new distinct sound, their own thing. And they succeeded. There were a lot of people who enjoyed the hell out of A Thousand Suns. For me, unfortunately, that album was a complete misstep and marked the moment I lost my faith and interest in the band almost completely.

Two years later, Linkin Park released their fifth studio album, named fittingly Living Things, as if they wanted to assure everyone they still exist. And I gotta admit, it came out as a rather pleasant surprise.

First of all, this is their rawest album since Meteora. Once again, the band isn't afraid to let the anger out and show us Chester Bennington's screaming capabilities. He's still got it. As a result, any song from Living Things has more energy than all the tracks from A Thousand Suns combined.

On the other hand, this record isn't the sound of progress. Rather, it's a consolidation of forces. The band took all the ingrediences that paid them off in the past, big guitar riffs, catchy choruses, rap and their newly found electronic self, added them into one mix and voilà, it works pretty well together. However, if you wanna find something even remotely new and unheard, look elsewhere.

Nonetheless, this is a solid record, which, I'm pretty sure, will appeal to most of their old fans. And if that was the goal, then LP succeeded quite well. I must say I didn't expect I would enjoy Living Things so much. I can totally see the appeal to my fifteen-year-old self. Although the days of Hybrid Theory and Meteora are long gone, Linkin Park's latest effort does quite a good job of bringing back the memories.

Best tracks: Lost in the Echo, I'll Be Gone, Castle of Glass

Rize of the Fenix

Six years after their sophomore album, the D are finally back. Was it worth the long wait?

Well, of course. There are some absolute gems on the record, like the title track, for example. But as a whole, it isn't quite the stunner fans were hoping for. There are some tracks that came out rather boring and left you wondering if they were treated with the same amount of care as the rest. Furthermore, if it were up to me, I'd leave out the spoken tracks for good. Nevertheless, Gass and Black are still both extremely accomplished musicians and when they unleash the guitar mayhem, it's always one hell of a ride. Besides, any '70s metal band would've been lucky to have "Hollywood Jack" on the mic. And then, there's Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters' frontman adds a whole new layer to most songs with his drumming skills.



This time around, the band moved from their "Led Zeppelin" roots to a more '80s rock sound, adding some synths here and there, bringing a slight change of style. As always, there's a story that pervades throughout the album. As the title suggests, it follows the band as they reunite, after their last album had bombed, and against all odds and in spite of all the evil critics try to carry on their once disrupted quest for world domination. Needless to say, the lyrics are as hilariously inapropriate/borderline vulgar as ever.

To sum it up, there's still some room for growth and hopefully, the D are yet to release their opus magnum. The Pick of Destiny will have to hold the title of their best record to date a bit longer.

Best tracks: Rize of the Fenix, Deth Starr, Roadie

Write This Down

If you've never heard of Write This Down, I'd recommend checking them out. They are a Christian rock band from Minnesota. Anyway, they just released a song for their next album, entitled "Crash and Burn". Check it out:



Here's the first song I ever heard by them, which I immediately fell in love with:

Let me know what you think!

Weapons

Here we go. Better late than never...

I'm far from what you'd call a typical lostprophets' fan. While I enjoy their debut and sophomore albums enourmously, I actually think they were getting continuosly better with time and that Liberation Transmission and especially The Betrayed are the best showcase of the band's capabilities.

But while on The Betrayed the band successfully stretched their range to both heavier and softer, more melodic sound, Weapons marks a safe return to their comfort zone. Lostprohets find themselves right back where they left once the Liberation Transmission tour was over. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though. Weapons is the closest they've been to Start Something, still the most popular album among their fans, ever since it came out. Needless to say, the fans are generally pleased with the newest effort.

The record takes off with Bring Em' Down, and just like we've come to expect from this band, the first track is also the heaviest. Weapons then races on, hardly ever losing pace (perhaps only in the rapping parts on Better Off Dead) and presenting one anthem after another. The band's pop sensibilities come to display on Heart On Loan or Somedays, while their experimental side shows up on the final track, Can't Get Enough. As usually, the closer doesn't quite fit with the rest of the album musically, which only makes it all the more interesting.



If anything, the album proves one thing. When it comes to writing big, catchy, stadium ready choruses, lostprophets have almost no equals. And they're remarkably consistent. They may never get rid of the 'kerrang band' stigma, but they are driven and there's at least the sense of honesty to everything they're doing. And then, there's the sentimental aspect. Lostprophets were one of the bands that helped to shape my taste in music and thus I tend to look past some of their imperfections. I'll always have a soft spot for them.

You shouldn't by any means miss the deluxe version of Weapons, which contains some great bonus 'Garage Sessions' songs. Especially Safe Yourself would make a killer track, had it been included on the regular edition. And if you want to read a track by track guide to the album by Ian Watkins, head over to NME.com.

Here's to hoping they'll tour the continental Europe someday...

Best tracks: Bring Em' Down, Jesus Walks, Can't Get Enough

The Buzzhorn reunion

Well, I'm very happy to announce that The Buzzhorn are reuniting.

Who are they? A little known band that once had a song on Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 game soundtrack (which also featured The People That We Love by Bush). The song is called Ordinary and even after all those years since a first played the game, it's still one of my all time favourites. It's a shame that their only major label album, Disconnected, didn't get the promotion it deserved, because they could have been a much needed breath of fresh air in the alternative rock scene. Needless to say, The Buzzhorn disbanded shortly after the release...

However, all of a sudden eight years after, they decided to reform. The line up will be "consisting of 2 original members Ryan Mueller – vocals and Todd Joseph – bass. According to their announcement the band will start rehearsing and writing new songs on the 1st of November 2011." [1]

Ordinary
I used to know the lyrics by heart...


Rhino


This news just made my day. Your thoughts?

Band Recommendation- Fono

I discovered this band after a friend threw in one of their CDs in a trade we did. They sound to me like Gin Blossoms or maybe earlier Goo Goo Dolls.

Here's one of their most popular songs, "Drift Away":



Here's another song, "Now She's 24":



Here they are performing "Collide" live:



Let me know what you think!

Busy Bein' Born

I just found out that Middle Class Rut released a new music video last month. I keep an eye on the band since Sam introduced me to them.

Keep Me Conscious

A couple years back, I discovered a little-known band called Cherry S/T who had just released new album A Diary to Burn By. It was a pleasant mix of hard rock and electronica and I gave it a humble amount of spins back in the day. Especially the song "Nightmares in 3D" got stuck in my head.

When listening to the song again today, I payed a visit to their last.fm profile to find whether they're still releasing music. To my surprise, they are. Although under a new name Keep Me Conscious. Last year, they've released Sounds of Rescue EP, which is difinitely worth checking out. Hopefully, they are currently working on new songs for their next album.




Cherry S/T
Nightmares in 3D


Band's MySpace

Thousand Foot Krutch

Although you know I don't like hard rock, I must admit that this group suggested by Sam has many songs that don't sound too bad. Here is his entire discography on the best quality (320 kbps).

Band's Myspace