WU TANG CLAN AINT NUTTIN TO FUCK WIT.

Alright, It's Wu-Tang. Download it, listen to it, love it. I can't think of a finer way to kick off free music week! It's the RZA, the GZA, Ol Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah and the Method Man!





http://www.mediafire.com/?mvovuljzkzd

Deepest Apologies, Brave Few

So, I have been completely neglecting my responsibilities to the internet as of late, and doing a lot of things that involve me getting a higher education. It's not fun, but it's expected. We'll see where it takes me.

Anyways, to atone for my most foul of transgressions, I'd like to announce the upcomming...

FRRRREEEEEEE MUSSSIIICCC WEEEEEEKKKKK!

Oh yes, you heard me. Each day this week, beginning on Monday, I will be posting a free album! That should make up for the lack of albums, right? If not, too bad.

Anneke Van Giersbergen & Danny Cavanagh - In Parallel

Some Guy loves to share. You love people who share and therefore you're going to love me. Some Guy also wishes to express his deepest apologies for being such a slacker lately. Some Guy has to go to collage and stuff and they actually make Some Guy do work! Alright, enough with the third person; previously all I've ever done is borrow other blog's download links to stuff, but not this time. For the first time ever, I actually bought an album without pirating it first to make sure it doesn't suck. And here it is in delicious 320 KB/s MP3s.

This album is a live mostly acoustic collaboration between two wonderful musicians, Anneke van Giersbergen (Agua de Annique, ex The Gathering) and Danny Cavanagh (Anathema). All three of those bands are quite awesome, so I figured that this would be REALLY AWESOME with the two of them working together. And I'm not disappointed, it was money well spent.

The album opens with, a Massive Attack cover? If I didn't read the track list that would really have surprised me. And it's a pretty damned good cover as well (Better than the original I'd say). In fact I'd go as far to say that I love every single song on this album more than the original, and that's not just me being blinded by fanboyism. Well, every song except for the song that closes the album, Jolene. The Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' cover of that song is amazing. The highlight of the album would have to be A Natural Disaster. It's a billion times better than the version from the Anathema album of the same name.

I'm convinced that this duo could cover Brokencyde and it would sound good. This is about as good as a live album can be. The production quality is great (There isn't even any annoying noise from the audience!) It will be a fine addition to your ever growing collection of illegally acquired music. This thing had to be shipped over the Netherlands just for you. You better like it, and if you do, buy it.

Download link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G36BNM2A

No password. Mediafire needs to lift that pesky 100 MB per file for free users thing. Or I could share in shittier quality. I think it's obvious which one needs to change though.

Some Guy OUT

Diablo Swing Orchestra - Sing Along Songs For the Damned and Delirious

Some Guy here once more with something that I know I've been waiting awhile for. It's about time an album comes along that is so damned good it makes me squee like a girl when I first listened to it. The squeeing continued for many more listens and I still find myself squeeing about how brilliant this album is.

Diablo Swing Orchestra impressed me when I first heard the Butcher's Ballroom sometime last year. They were one of the first avant garde metal bands I'd listened to and have been one of my favorites since. Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious is everything I loved about the Butcher's Ballroom and then some. It's like expecting a delicious cupcake, but then when you taste this cupcake you discover instead of frosting it is ice cream and the center is filled with fudge. With that fattening yet delicious simile out of out of the way, we can get to some content.

Actually just skip to the download link. I am not even joking I do not want you to read this little review. You already know what it's going to say, this album is pure brilliance. A delicious mixture of great guitar riffs and horns with soaring female vocals and some pretty damned good male vocals now. That's one of the biggest differences between this album and The Butcher's Ballroom. The male vocals add a whole other level to this and overall make things considerably more interesting. Furthermore there seems to be a bit more frequent usage of a trumpet on many songs. Drumming is also quite awesome at times.

All in all it's just a brilliant album. You should download this immediately. When have I ever steered you wrong?



Download link: http://rs562.rapidshare.com/files/279663856/d14b105vv1n60rch357r4-545f7d4d.rar

No password.

Some Guy OUT

Ensiferum - From Afar

Some Guy is back with another review. "The Man" didn't like our last one and made Blogger take it down. Damn "The Man" always keeping us down. I am but a humble blogger trying to make myself less bored by writing mediocre reviews of things and posting them on the internet. Anyways today we've got the new Ensiferum album "From Afar". Kind of a lame title, but metal is all about being so lame it's not a big deal.

This album is the Ensiferum you know and love, or you hate, but probably love. The first thing you'll notice about this album is all the symphonic stuff going on. I think it fits in pretty nicely, although it does seem like a strange idea. This is folk metal here people, folk metal shouldn't be layered with keyboards and other silly things. It's about using weird folk instruments and being awesome. Lyrics continue to be about generic folk metal topics, but if you listen to metal for the lyrics you might have a serious problem (Not that some metal bands don't have brilliant lyrics, I mean.) .

A few tracks really stand out as being pretty sweet. Stone Cold Metal is probably my favorite with its badass banjo solo. Yes, a mothafucking banjo solo. Now that's something I'd like to hear more often. Numerous songs are as usual ridiculously catchy and make me want to sing along. The metal nerd within me can't help but enjoy this. I don't see it winning any awards any time soon but the fan will enjoy it. I wonder if they will keep the heavy symphonic elements on the future releases? We'll see, we'll see!


Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/274090385/Ensiferum-From_Afar-_Advance_-2009-FNT.rar

No password, I'd upload this to Mediafire but well I'm lazy.

Some Guy OUT

Get Bent - Demo 2008

Hey, just here for another quick post for 5 songs really worth listening to!

Not going into full album critique mode, I'll keep it short and just say that Get Bent gets a lot of things right that other modern-era punk bands miss on occasion. The pace is just right, the shout-a-long lyrics are fun, and the passion is definitely present. The biggest tragedy here is that Get Bent are only planning to produce one more 7" EP, slated to come out some time in 2009. I, for one, will definitely be picking it up.

Sorry for not having time to stick this album on mediafire, but it's actually a blessing in disguise! The site I will be linking to, ifyoumakeit.com, is a GREAT resource for lesser-known punk bands looking for some fans!

Here is the link: http://www.ifyoumakeit.com/album/get-bent/demo/

To get your download, click above, and on the righthand side, there will be an orange "download" square. Clickity click.

Enjoy! And while you're on ifyoumakeit.com, my suggestions would be Iron Chic's demo, Thousandaire's self-titled EP, and "Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit", by Snowing. Enjoy!

Kixpo 2009

Hey internet,

Not really a review, and not really an article. Just sharing a link to a groovy mixtape from a thing called Kixpo. It happened in 2009. Alright, so useless information aside, here's the tape. You can play it right from the browser, or download the whole thing as mp3 files.

Link!
http://kixpo2009.bandcamp.com/album/kixpo-2009



Notables: The group Maxx Moon is one half Astronautalis, the indie-rap fellow who's album The Mighty Ocean & Nine Dark Theaters we reviewed last month.

Hometowns - The Rural Alberta Advantage

Hey, blogosphere! I missed you! Likewise, I am sure. I spent the last week or so in a variety of places, most notably rural Ohio. Needless to say, not so fun. Some Guy and I have finally overcome the kind of apathy that is just potent enough to stop a guy from posting anything on his little corner of the internet for a whole week! We're here to make that right as rain.

To do this, I am bringing you a little slice of the Canadian woods with the Rural Alberta Advantage, or, RAA as they sometime call themselves. Some of you know I like indie rock, and some of you know I like folk punk. What RAA does, much to my delight, is find a happy medium between the two. The bands (for all intents and purposes) debut album, Hometowns is a sonic pizza. The doughy crust is baked from the persistent, yet never overpowering drum beats. The sweet, tomatoey sauce is the mashed up pulp of guitar hooks cleverly woven under delicious and melty lyrical cheese.

Silly analogies aside, I really enjoyed Hometowns. For me, the biggest success on the album was "Don't Haunt This Place", a track featuring expertly done male/female vocal harmonies (this may or may not be a recurring theme, recently. Deal with it.), a classical string section, and some of the craziest drumming you'll hear this side of "Stomp!"

Though I feel like a shit for having to identify it, the low point of Hometowns has got to be "Sleep All Day". Though only featuring drums, a tambourine and a synthesized piano, Sleep All Day is clearly the least... involved track on the album. This is actually saying a lot. It's by no means an awful track, worthy of skipping every time through. I just think it could have used... something. Anything! I'm certainly no expert, as always.

Basically, RAA takes great things from indie rock and folk punk, and sticks them into a pizza, I guess. So if you like your pizza cooked this way, or any way close to this, go for it! I doubt you'll be disappointed. If you are, I am truly sorry, it was never my intention! This album download link comes very, very, VERY highly recommended from me.

We got asked to take down the link by the bands record company, Saddle Records. They were neat enough to provide us with some free tracks to share, though, so here are "Don't Haunt This Place" and "Frank, AB". Being completely honest, this record is worth the 9 or so dollars it'll cost you on iTunes or whatever, or even a hard copy from the record company, itself, found here. Thanks for understanding, loyal listeners!



P.S., I think I'll be starting a twitter thingy for the blog, since the people who follow me get pissed when I self promote new posts. Traffic is traffic, though!

Awesome Band You Should Probably Listen To: I Would Set Myself on Fire For You

I’m sure you’re all well aware that I’ve been quite lazy with this blog again. I’m sure this makes all of you clench your fists with rage. I’m sure that the only reason you come to this blog is because you love me. Or just to mooch our download links, one of the two. Probably the latter or a combination of both, but that’s not very important. What is important is that I, the magnificent Some Guy, have something for you.

To make up for how our last Awesome Band You Should Probably Listen To’s download link was asked to be taken down (Although that slick Alan worked out a spiffy deal with the publicity people, so that seems to have worked out quite well actually), I’ve got another one for you today. I don’t think there is a chance of such things happening again. Oh no, I’m quite sure that this band isn’t together anymore and therefore does not have a PR group that will make us remove download links. That would be like a zombie hiring a lawyer. Wow, that was a brilliant analogy; I deserve a pat on the back for that one.

Now that I’ve got my two paragraphs of stupid out of the way, we can actually begin to discuss why I’m making this blog post in the first place. I Would Set Myself On Fire For You is a screamo band from Atlanta, Georgia. Yes, they are a screamo band with a silly name, but that doesn't mean they aren’t amazing. I wouldn’t be telling you how amazing they are if they weren’t amazing now would I? What separates this from complete shit like the similarly named I Set My Friends on Fire or Alesana? Well, first of all it sounds absolutely nothing like them. They are completely different in just about every way, except for the genre name.

There is all kinds of great things about this band. Elements of post rock are very noticeable at times. Screamo, mixed with post rock? Yes, it’s right here. In that download link below. The music ranges from chaotic and wild to calm and atmospheric. Adding further depth to the band, they have 3 vocalists. Several times these vocalists sing together. One of these vocalists is a pretty girl who plays the viola. Violas are quite awesome, much like violins and cellos. Adding one to a band makes it insta-awesome, but there are some exceptions to this. Everything about this band is perfect. The lyrics are great as well. I don’t know what else you could ask for in a band. Even their name, although silly, is awesome.

The positives go on and on, and yet, there are no negatives besides they only have two albums out, and the fact that the female vocalist will probably not want to hook up with me IRL. Although the last one may not be true, I don’t think it’s classy to stalk girls from bands and ask them out. Anyways, here’s those download links I’m sure you all wanted.

In this download link you get:

(There doesn't seem to be cover art for this one for whatever reason)

I Would Set Myself On Fire For You - I Would Set Myself On Fire For You

I Would Set Myself On Fire For You - Believes in Patterns

And a sexy little TXT file promoting our blog, which I’m sure will be your favorite part.

No password as usual.

Download link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=V6SG9BDV

Some Guy OUT

All The Damn Kids - Another Story to Tell

Today, I'm taking a swing at All The Damn Kids' new EP, Another Story to Tell. All The Damn Kids (Henceforth ATDK) are a 5 piece group from Sheffield, UK. Upbeat and electric, ATDK have found a mix of a lot of different elements, and it suits the songs they write. Dance, pop, indie, and traditional rock all have their place on this three track EP, blending to create a fun, involved album.

Throughout the album, ATDK provide a sort of power-pop that is not over done, as is so often the case. Due respect is given to the "traditional" instruments, as drums, bass and guitar aren't simply playing second fiddle (Hah, music pun) to overly-synthed keyboard riffs. This is what really won me over on this album; it's not so caught up in trying to be "modern" and "experimental" that they forget that people, above all, want to hear music that they enjoy listening to.

This is especially obvious on "Indie Is A Dirty Word", the second track on this three song EP. Everything meshes incredibly well, and once the individual parts blend together, all that's left is a fun listen which is only accentuated by the vocals, lead and secondary. Three of ADTK's five members are given vocal parts, according to their band page, providing a lot of fun three part harmonies.

While I know it's just three tracks, I see big things for ATDK. Another Story to Tell is proof that they are certainly capable of writing and playing great songs. Apart from a UK tour, All The Damn Kids are planning on producing and electronically distributing a new single, followed by a four song EP. I really cannot wait to see what these guys do, as they still have plenty to prove to listeners around the world, as well as record execs (can you believe they're unsigned?).

So, yea, I recommend this album, though I'd prefer to think of it as the pre-dinner cocktail that precedes the feast that All the Damn Kids is sure to be over the next few years.



To get your hands on a copy, send an email to allthedamnkids@hotmail.com though if you absolutely cannot wait, head over to their myspace page and give 'em a listen in the little music window thing. I've never been a really big myspace guy.

Jonesin' -- Hi, We're Jonesin'

Knowing where to start with Jonesin's album, Hi, We're Jonesin' is a little bit difficult. It's a lot of things: electronic, synthetic, groovy, trippy, deep, cute, but most of all, it's fun.

Jonesin' is Matt and Jenny Jones, who are (I assume) in some way related. (I don't know how, exactly, as I can't seem to find out for certain. My top guesses are Brother/Sister, or Married. Anyone who knows, correct me!)

The majority of Hi, We're Jonesin is a crazy blend of synthesizer melodies and dizzy drum beats. Both Matt and Jenny feature on vocals, creating a interesting contrast between a somewhat traditional male voice, and a hypercute, high pitch female part. There are songs, especially Ice Cream where the cuteness is so strong, it might actually cause facial injury due to smiling. Some people might actually slip in to happiness comas. Such is the energy on this record.

Jonesin' is a different musical venture for Matt Jones, a member of Master Slash Slave (Also referred to as Master/Slave, not sure which is proper.) The two bands, when listened to together is an experience, as described by Jones, "kind of like having a shot of good whiskey followed by a smooth beer."

In addition to being a smooth beer, Hi, We're Jonesin' is also a fun listen for a PLETHORA of reasons! The almost ethereal quality of songs like "Hey Aliens!" is incredibly captivating and intriguing, while tracks like "Bummer Summer" make you want to dance your way around the room, and end with the splits and jazz hands. Between extraterrestrials and dance numbers, Jonesin' manages to ask the big questions in "What If?", an almost conversational song which is all metaphysical and shit. I've been throwing the word "versatility" around so much lately I feel like I've got an 80 dollar suit and a budget meeting to get to, but that doesn't make it any less true; Hey, We're Jonesin' is versatile.

To sum up, I like this band, and I love this album. It's an enjoyable 38 minutes (ten tracks). I'm not gonna give it a rating (I'm going to try and move away from that whole system for a while, see if it works out), but I will absolutely recommend it to those who enjoy some crazy music, or awesome music, or crazy awesome music.



Once again, I can't provide a download link, since Jonesin's people were awesome enough to send us this album for free, but here is a list of resources for those interested in the band!

"Rollerskates" Video
Master Slash Slave's website
Jonesin's MySpace (A lot of free tracks can be found here on the little myspace player thing)

P.S., Matt Jones mustache rules. Is that how you spell it? Or Moustache?

Why? - Eskimo Snow

Some Guy again with more music! And it’s an actual review of a new album rather than a recommendation. I’ve been kinda lazy lately but no more! I’m going to try to contribute more often here, although it’s quite likely that I’m just going to continue to be lazy and write something like once a week. Hopefully not. But knowing me it’s a serious possibility.

I’ll skip the stupid crap (And by skip I mean save it for later) and get straight to the review! Recently one of my bros from the internet informed me that the new Why? album, Eskimo Snow, was leaked. My face changed from one of passive disinterest to ZOMGZ NEW WHY OMGZ OMG LINK LINK LINK. There was also some drooling in anticipation on my keyboard when I waited for the download from Rapidshit to finish. In case you all don’t know Alopecia is one of my favorite albums ever. The unique blend of hip hop and indie rock is something that my ears would love many times over and over again.

Sadly this new album goes in a bit of a different direction. I guess I kinda wanted another album like Alopecia, but different. This is waay different. While Alopecia mixed hip hop and indie rock amazingly, this one has little to no hip hop elements at all. At least the lyrics are just as creative as ever. There’s no line that strikes me as being completely and totally amazing however (Such as Alopecia’s “In Berlin I saw two men fuck in the dark corner of a basketball court.”).

There are a few standout tracks here. For example, the 3rd song on the album, Against Me, is quite awesome. Towards the end it is very hip hoppy, and then we have my favorite song on the album, Into the Shadows of My Embrace. It has a cool song title and somehow manages to not sound all pretentious and douchey. It’s probably my favorite because it sounds quite Alopeciaish. And there I go again making up adjectives. I need to stop that, unless they are positive adjectives.

The music is still pretty good for what it is. I’ve never been a huge indie rock fan (Most of the genre doesn’t do much for me at all, actually), but this album is still enjoyable. I’m sure those who really like the genre will like it even more than me. I’m also sure that people who adored Alopecia will also be a bit disappointed by this abrupt change, but eh what the hell. It’s still not horrible. It also shows yet again that the band is capable of changing their style without totally screwing up unlike some. So I guess this is pretty good compared to what it could have been. It’s also worth note that this album was written roughly around the same time Alopecia was. I wonder what their next album will sound like?

I give Eskimo Snow a 7.8 out of 10 for being a creative diversion from what I’m used to and having a few amazing songs but not being another Alopecia.

Now I know what you’re thinking, where’s the download link? Well that’s the thing. I can’t find one on the internet. I’m not going to upload my own because this album isn’t out yet and I am paranoid about the FBI raiding my home finding the 81 GB of mostly illegally acquired music on my hard drive and then taking it away from me. I would cry so you are going to have to locate the download link elsewhere. However I will check back every so often to find a download link and when I do find one you know where to find it.

OK I found one, but I can’t guarantee it will exist for very long.

Download link: http://depositfiles.com/en/files/i8x4cvi66

No password

Some Guy OUT!

No Go Know - Time Has Nothing to Do With It

Great news, intrawebs! By some bizarre stroke of luck, or perhaps simple pity by the kind folks over at XO Publicty, we are now on their press release list! This means we get to sample albums by some amazing bands who you may be hearing for the first time! For a full list of their clients, head here.

To the matter at hand, then. No Go Know, a Portland, Oregon based rock trio consisting of Scott Taylor (lead guitar, vocals), Mark Mcintire (bass guitar, back up vocals), and Sam Smith (drums), have put out their third full length release, Time Has Nothing to Do With It. One of XO's bands, I was a little skeptical when I got the email, as I was told to "think Built to Spill, Fugazi, Pink Floyd"; that's quite a lot to live up to.

Tall order aside, I really got into Time Has Nothing to Do With It. It's a loooooong record; two discs, each with 9 tracks, totaling just under 90 minutes of playtime. While there is still a lot I don't know about No Go Know and this record, the 5 or so times I have listened to it straight through in the past two and a half days is testament to its ability to keep a listener entertained.

With only three musicians, No Go Know is able to create a complex and unique sound that's as versatile as it is enjoyable. There is something for everyone on the album. Similar to the weather in New England, wait five minutes and it will change. Borderline pop-track "Thicket of Thieves" leads straight into a guitar driven rock song, "Love is War". Just three songs later, "Our Bodies Will Float" gives listeners a melodic ballad, sung sincerely and wonderfully by Taylor.

This album really is an adventure, and while the constant sonic shifting may have some would be listeners off balance, anyone who enjoys a good jam should pick up this album. I think it's a testament to the skill of all three musicians that 90 minutes of music is collected and released like this, and nearly all of it is the quality you'd expect out of a big name band like Built to Spill. Of course, like every album, it's got it's weak points, but they don't detract so much from the overall of the album enough to tarnish it's enjoyability. Yea, I think that's a perfect word for this album; enjoyability.

With that in mind, and seeing as how XO Publicity has been cool enough to let us provide a single for you all (We can't give away any of their clients for free, as that would CERTAINLY be bad for business! Sorry, mates.), you'll get a "purchase" link straight from No Go Know's record label, The Union Records. The free single is on the page I will link you to, as well.

For scoring purposes, I give Time Has Nothing to Do With It by No Go Know a solid...

8.5


http://theunionrecords.net/index.php/Band-Gear.html (Purchase Time Has Nothing to Do With It, along with all of No Go Know's other work-- hard copy or electronic download-- here)

And, before, I lied. The single can be found HERE, assuming they don't change their front page before you click this link.

Titus Andronicus -- The Airing of Grievances

Oh lordy do I love this album.

Named after the Shakespeare Play, a thrilling tale about vengeance, inter-racial babies, pies made out of people, and the execution of a clown, Titus Andronicus have delivered us an amazing album that I struggle to classify. Is it indie rock? Maybe. Probably. But The Airing of Grievances
is first and foremost an exercise in ROCKING THE FUCK OUT.

So, what is The Airing of Grievances? It is guitar, and it is keyboard, and it is drum, and vocals, and sometimes there's a cello or a trumpet, and POWER. It's not metal, or even real traditional rock, but it hits you hard. This album would make Mother Teresa to thrash her arms all over the place and sing along. Vocalist Patrick Stickles does some amazing stuff throughout the album, most notably on the tracks Albert Camus and Upon Viewing Brueghel's "Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus". I really just cannot tell you with words what he adds to this album, which could have sold as purely an instrumental record. He's unhinged, he's raw, and he has shit that he wants you to hear. Lyrically, The Airing of Greivances has more than it's share of moments, but when it boils down to it, that's not what this album is about. Thankfully, Stickles' pipes more than makes up for it. There are tracks when you can't understand a word of the entire chorus, even while staring at the lyrics, and it's still alright, because you're singing along with him, words be damned!

Let's talk instrumentals. Really good. Really good, most of the time. They fall flat in a couple of places (hey, no one's perfect, especially on a debut album!), most obviously on Bright Eyes' reject song, No Future Part One. Strangely enough, the first thirty or so seconds on No Future Part Two is some of the best instrumentation on the entire record, and that is what I love about this album, more than the half-hearted literary asperations or general "smartness" of it all; it changes at every turn, and will keep you guessing. Still, I prefer to just crank it up, and flail the ol' extremities until I flail anymore.

Most of the flaws are tiny. One or two of the weaker songs can get repetitve after a few listens, especially the aforementioned No Future Part One. The production of the record seems half-hearted, even for a low budget band, which can be offputting to some**. There is the occasional monologue, taken from Titus Andronicus (the Shakespeare Tragedy) or Albert Camus' "The Stranger"**.

The Airing of Grievances ends strong, with Albert Camus, my favorite track, personally. Begining with Abraham Lincoln poisoning the milk of school children, and ending with a big "Fuck you!" to Death itself, it's certainly the most dynamic track on the album.

So, here it is. Final verdict time. I give, Titus Andronicus' debut album, The Airing of Greivances...

9.3/10

http://www.mediafire.com/?1kom13qwoqm
No password, friends. Enjoy.


**Personally, I like these things about the album, but I know not everyone feels the same way.

Awesome Band You Should Probably Listen To: Grayceon

I feel kinda bad for that massive review of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. I suppose I really get carried away with game reviews, so it’s back to music for a little while. And today I have something quite wonderful for you, the person reading this.

Sometimes, an awesome album just isn’t enough. Sometimes, I feel the need to do plugging of the more extreme variety. Perhaps this is due to boredom of the highest caliber, who really knows. Today, I, the amazing Some Guy, am here with a band that will violate your eardrums with amazingness. Well violate isn’t exactly the correct word here. It’s more like the warm sensation you get after somebody hugs you.

Grayceon is an American progressive metal band that doesn’t sound at all like anything else in the genre. There is nothing about them that sounds like Dream Theater, Opeth, or Ayreon. What we have here is something unique and interesting. I can’t think of a single band that sounds like them, and they are so great I feel the need to plug them.

Now there are a few things that make this band interesting. First let’s start with the obvious. They make frequent usage of a cello! Any band that uses any stringed instrument often is instantly awesome, but oh there’s more. Instead of having just one vocalist, they have two, a female soprano and a dude. Songs are lengthy and frequently change between metal and a more quiet often atmospheric sound. Drumming is great throughout and will always keep you entertained if the awesome guitar and cello somehow aren’t capable of doing so. If that isn’t enough to impress you I don’t know what will. The only thing dislikeable about this band is how the songs are all fucking huge, and therefore their entire discography is only 10 songs. I’m amazed at how not popular this band is. It’s a crime!

Grayceon - Self Titled

Grayceon - This Grand Show Is Eternal

Grayceon + Giant Squid split (You get a shitty Giant Squid song as a bonus! Their other stuff is so much better they should be embarrassed about this song. It really is that shitty)

I have been asked to remove the download link so I did. You guys are going to have to buy them if you want them (Which you should, because they're awesome).

Modest Mouse- No One's First And You're Next (Exclusive Pre-release Review!)

Special treat today, kiddies.

I've got my dirty little hands on the (as of press time) unreleased Modest Mouse album, No One's First, And You're Next (to be abbreviated as "NOFAYN" from here on out)! This album is set to come out on August 4th, 2009, so you can imagine how stoked I was to get my hands on some new tunes by the whole Modest Mouse gang, including frontman Isaac Brock, and Guitarist Johnny Marr. (Two of my biggest icons, by the way.)


Following the (in my opinion) disaster that was Modest Mouse's last album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, I had huge hopes for NOFAYN. I was really, really, REALLY looking for a good album to sink my teeth into; I expected a return to the great sounds of The Fruit That Ate Itself and Building Nothing Out of Something. What I got, was an EP (albeit a long one-- 8 tracks totalling just under thirty three and a half minutes) which was a sort of hodgepodge of the two sides of Modest Mouse.

Say what you will about Isaac Brock, but he's no fool. We've seen him glimpse true success with songs like "Float On" and "Dashboard", which were two very pop oriented tracks. The return of the "old" style on this album (Plunky bass, darker mood, almost angry vocals, et cetra. A great track to hear what I'm refering to is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAJ4rtCSFMg&feature=related) is noted, but it's not entirely enough. There are still elements of the failed twangy-pop sound which, along with an overpowering horn section, featured prominantly on We Were Dead. This is most obvious on the track, "Perpetual Motion Machine", my least favorite on the album.

Alright, I've gotten most of my complaints out of the way, and this album really does feature some great tracks that feel like they were written and preformed at the level that we all know Modest Mouse is capable of being at, given their niche. Songs like "King Rat", "Guilty Cocker Spaniel", and "Whale Song" are both reminiscent of earlier works by the band, and infused with fresh style, making them new and exciting to long time fans. King Rat, in fact, has a big-name music video coming out sometime in the future, directed by the late Heath Ledger, and animated by the legendary Terry Gilliam. I honestly cannot wait.

So, do I recomend this album? That depends. I feel silly, making the distinction, but it's pretty necessary. For estbalished fans of Modest Mouse who are familiar with the band's unique style, absolutely! It's a great addition to any collection. To someone, (not unlike my blogbuddy, Some Guy) who either is less than enthused about hearing another shitty replay of "Dashboard" on the radio, or doesn't know the first thing about Modest Mouse? I would say hold off. Not that it's a bad album as a standalone, or anything, it's primarily that its success is in the fact that it really combines several different facets of the "Modest Mouse Experience". It's a listening challenge, especially if you want to hear everything that's going on at any one time in a given track. To a lot of people, it'll simply sound "cluttered".

So, final verdict time. I give Modest Mouse's new EP, No One's First, And You're Next a...

8/10

One final note: There will not be a download link until the official album release date of August 4th, 2009. If you are intensely curious about the album, and just HAVE to have it, please contact me, and I will arrange it somehow.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Some Guy here finally with something for you to read. I’m sure you’ve all been horrified when you click a link to this blog and still see Alan talking about disgusting fruity drinks. I’ve got something today that everybody loves reading about, video games! I’m actually considerably more knowledgeable concerning video games than I am music, but nobody on the internet seems to understand this. Anyways let’s get to it.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is an interesting little first person shooter from Ubisoft. I was bored the other day and I couldn’t find any other games to torrent, so I was delighted when I noticed that this had a few thousand seeders. I just couldn’t help myself! It’s also apparently the prequel to the other Call of Juarez game which I haven’t played.

What makes this game interesting is that, it’s not in WW2, the future, or any other cliché FPS settings. No, it’s in the old west. Isn’t that awesome? There’s like cowboys and horses and stuff. This game plays like a bad western movie, except that it’s actually entertaining. The two main characters, brothers Ray and Thomas McCall, are total badasses. They go around shooting all kinds of interesting people including Union soldiers in the Civil War, cliché western types, deputies, Mexicans, Comanche, among others, riding horses (Usually while shooting people), engaging in one on one duels with bad people, saving pretty girls, and then shooting some more people. Of course, it’s an FPS. What do you expect to be doing?

The presentation in the game is top notch. Cutscenes are frequent, but are usually short and to the point. The graphics are pretty, but not Crysis. Sadly you can’t turn off the shadow effects though, so owners of crappy PCs are going to be angry. I usually turn off shadows anyways because the lowest setting is usually all my computer can handle so shadows look like blotchy blobs of shittiness. Some of the desert environments seem a little boring, but it’s a freaking desert. What do you expect it to look like? The mountain forest area is awesome looking. Water also is quite pretty to look at, as is the game’s primary female Marisa. Sound effects seem about right and the voice acting is pretty well done. When I’m playing PC games I usually don’t listen to the music in them so I don’t know what that’s like.

As I said before gameplay is quite standard for an FPS. There are a few neat little things about this game that are somewhat interesting, however. In between the game’s missions you can opt to do some little side quests that add a bit of variety to the game. Unfortunately, because it’s an FPS, these tasks usually just involve killing people; then getting money, which you use to buy shinier guns. Yes, I mean that literally. The best guns in the game are shiny. Speaking of the guns, there’s an OK variety of them. Sadly there aren’t that many different kinds of them though. Basically every gun in the game is a rifle, a shotgun, or a revolver. Each character also gets special weapons (Thomas gets a bow and some throwing knives while Ray is able to pick up Gatling guns and use dynamite). However I’m sure they could have added a few other kinds of guns. Like CROSSBOWS! They totally used crossbows in the old west. Alright alright, I guess the developers used what they had available with the time period. I can’t complain about this. Another bit of a nice touch is how each of the different brothers plays. Ray is a master of killing stuff up close and can use two pistols; he’s also strong and can blow stuff up. Thomas on the other hand is more agile and is more dangerous from a distance and can also kill silently with the knives and bow.. He also has a lasso! And a kickass beard, and that’s why I always used him. Also, both of the brothers can do this neat little bullet time like move where everything slows down and they shoot things super accurately. One on one duels with the big bad guys are also frequent, as you master the art of moving the mouse quickly and then clicking.

The storyline isn’t going to be winning any awards, but it’s pretty interesting at least. The two brothers start as soldiers in the Civil War on the Confederate side and you kick Union ass. And then they desert and go home to visit their mom, only to realize that they place is being raided by Union soldiers. They grab their little brother William then go out west to do cool old west stuff, where they get caught up in all kinds of mischief before they finally hear about some legendary hidden treasure and things just go from there. It’s all about the quest to find this hidden treasure so they can rebuild their gigantic farm back in Georgia. I like how the game’s main characters aren’t really “the good guys.” They’re generally not very nice fellows and just kick ass for money and help whoever can help them. Their little brother William is a preacher so he’s always going on and on about God and Jesus and stuff, trying to get his brothers to turn to the ways of Jesus and stop being assholes. Of course they refuse because they are total badasses and badasses don’t need the power of Jesus; they have the power of badassery. Other interesting characters include Barnsby, the crazy ex Confederate colonel that’s determined to hunting down the brothers and hanging them for deserting the South in the war. He’s a bit of a nutjob. Also there’s Marisa, the pretty Mexican girl. She’s really just a pain in the ass, but so are real women.

Of course the game isn’t all good. If it was good I’d probably have been using lots more words and going on and on about how great it is. And here’s where shit gets critical. My biggest complaint with this game is that it’s too god damned short. What is up with these game developers thinking that a 6 hour main quest is long enough? They could have done a lot more with this, it really makes me angry. The next equally annoying thing (Which I guess might not be a bad thing to some) is that it’s too easy. The game tells you exactly where to go and exactly where to go all the time. You don’t have to find anything for yourself, except for the little bonus secrets scattered throughout the game. The AI ranges from being smart enough to being complete bumbling morons who can be staring right at you and not do anything. The CoD-like health system also seems a bit off. Furthermore while the fact that there’s two characters, they really aren’t that different. Aside from having different weapons and you have to do different stuff in the story with that character there really isn’t much that separates the two. Personally I would have loved an option to play as William and destroy my enemies with the power of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. Hopefully the people who make mods are reading this. I would also like to add that the game claims to be open ended, but the open endedness amounts to being able to do a few side quests between missions to get some extra cash to buy shinier guns. If you’re going to jump on that bandwagon at least do it right. Another tiny complaint is that this game is LITTERED with clichés. My favorite one is how whenever one of the characters makes a comment about how quiet it is, AMBUSH. However I’m almost quite sure that this is done on purpose, but it still makes me angry. One on one duels kinda suck and basically amount to a bit of luck and fast clicking. I can’t even imagine how much they suck on consoles. The banter between the two brothers also gets kinda old fast.

I didn’t get a chance to test the multiplayer yet because I am a cheap ass and torrented it. Anyone want to see if we can get a game working on Hamachi?

Overall, it’s a good game. It’s not going to reinvent the FPS genre, but it’s a nice little diversion for six hours of your time. With a few minor improvements it could have been something wonderful, but in the end it ends up being good, but nothing special. I enjoyed it and may buy it if the multiplayer is good enough (Which is why YOU should get your ass on Hamachi and play with me!).

I’m going to give it a 7.5 / 10 for the awesome presentation, refreshing setting, cool characters, and average yet entertaining gameplay.

VitaRain! Because Vitamin Water is so trendy.

Rain is a form of water. A dirtier, more acidic, fall-from-the-sky-and-make-muddy-puddles form of water.

Vitamin Water, the trendy sports drink of those who give a shit about their antioxidants and whatever the hell else, now has a competitor! VitaRain, Kirkland Brands' (known for producing generic versions of everything to ever exist, and then selling them at Costco stores) new drink is like Vitamin Water. A dirtier, more acidic, fall-from-the-sky-and-make-muddy-puddles form of Vitamin Water.

It comes in 4 FUN flavors, like their version of Strawberry-Kiwi, called "ALERT". What that means is, you'll be incredibly ALERT that this stuff tastes awful. It left a nasty aftertaste that was akin to drinking pure sugar-water in terms of consistency. You can almost taste all the acids and "minerals" thrown into this vile vial (LOLWORDPLAY). The label shows no mention of anything that can be called a vitamin, the question of how good they are for you is definitely raised.

One compound in particular, Pantothenic Acid, commonly known as Vitamin B5, is a man made substance known for giving many who consume it nasty diarhea. Well, fuck. That is just nasty.

I feel like I should mention that I drank this stuff nearly 2 hours ago, and the taste is still lingering in my mouth. Several glasses of water, a mouthwash rinse, and a thorough tooth brushing all failed to exorcise this taste-demon.

In conclusion, VitaRain is shit, don't buy it, even if you like Vitamin Water and want to spend the savings on tipping the pool boy or the maid or plastic surgery.

I give VitaRain a...

.5/10

(The .5 is because the bottle is recyclable. Fuck yea, the planet rocks!)

Awesome Albums You Should Probably Listen To: Deadboy & The Elephantmen - We Are Night Sky

Some Guy here with his first Awesome Album You Should Probably Listen to on KBFWWSS! An AAYSPLT on KBFWWSS? That just sounds ridiculous. AAYSPLT on 2BGRM also sounded ridiculous but that didn’t stop me from doing so. I’ve noticed that Alan’s reviews are infinitely better than mine and are considerably lengthier. I don’t know how to feel about this, perhaps I should try to one up him? Nah, I’m going to keep doing what I do, write mediocre reviews of stuff on the internet.

I know Alan is supposed to be in charge of the indie rock stuff but I just couldn’t resist this one. Today we have Deadboy & the Elephantmen’s album We Are Night Sky. How is that for a band name? I actually think it’s kind of lame. And that ampersand? No, you just don’t do that. Ampersands in band names make things more confusing than they should be. Anyways I’m sure you are sick of my mindless rambling and would like to know something about what the band sounds like / is.

Deadboy & the Elephantmen is another project of Dax Riggs, formerly of sludge band Acid Bath and the bluesy Agents of Oblivion (And technically this band because they’re no longer together, now he just does solo stuff.). Dax plays the guitar and sings in that amazing baritone of his, while the incredibly hot Tessie Brunet handles drums and backup vocals. I could probably go on for a long time about how hot she is, but I’m not going to. Instead I’m going to comment about just how great this album is. It’s kinda hard to describe really. Dax’s (Hmmm that looks kind of stupid. How do you make something possessive if it ends with an x? Daxes? Dax’? I’m confused) guitar is tuned waaaaay down compared to that of the average indie rock band, creating a sort of stoner rock sound. Drumming is simple and won’t impress you, but Tessie is just so hot you won’t care. Lyrics are anything but typical for the genre; most of them are somehow related to death. Several tracks are a bit on the heavy side, a nod to Dax’s roots in extreme metal most likely.

Overall it’s just an interesting album / band. As with every other band Dax has been in, they only made two albums. His solo stuff is good but damn, it’s just not as good as this band (Or Agents of Oblivion or Acid Bath for that matter). He really needs to stop this whole “Let’s make an awesome band then only make an album or two!” thing.

You’ll love it. And if not well it’s not like you actually paid for it so just delete it from your hard drive and pretend like it never happened.

Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?njdjjxjujjt

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Some Guy OUT

Wilco (The Band) makes Wilco (The Album).

I'm going to try something a little different here. I'm going to be reviewing Alt-Country / Indie-Rock band Wilco's new album, Wilco (The Album). What's going to be different, is I'm going to talk less about the album as a whole, and focus on three individual songs: "Wilco the Song", "You Never Know", and "I'll Fight".

First up, we have "Wilco the Song", a rock-based tribute to the band. This sounds like the earlier style of Wilco, on albums such as A.M. Rhythmic guitar and steady drums follow front man Jeff Tweedy's chorus of "Wilco, I love you baby". Apart from sounding arrogant to the point of ridiculousness, this guitar driven track seems to exist only to answer the question "What should the first song be?" It's boring, and repetive almost to annoyance; with two guitars, one is just relegated to wailing in the background, one or two chords throughout the entire song. Even the bridge with the church-like bells and dissonant feedback can't save this song from being just slightly above-average. The best word to describe it is simply "ordinary", and that's unfortunate.

"You Never Know" is a decent song that sounds like the first really original work on the album. The vocals are simple, yet distinct, and the track is led with a strong, but not overpowering piano part. I really wish they skipped the chorus, though. Tweedy's poor execution on the held notes just highlights how little is really going on in the song. Some parts feel like they just don't belong, like the whacky synth overlay about three minutes into the song. It's not a bad effort, and it has some strong points, but as a listener, I spend the entire chorus waiting for it to be over.

Finally, "I'll Fight" is a song that I feel belongs next to some of Wilco's most praised work. A predominately vocally driven track, "I'll Fight" features some really interesting synth organ bits in the back ground instead of a normal rhythm guitar. I really like that, as it goes really well with the sort of ethereal violin bits that are scattered throughout the track. In a way, this song feels like the spiritual successsor to "Jesus, Etc.", a track off of Wilco's critically acclaimed 2004 album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". The vocals sort of float back and forth between a states of certainty, ("I'll Kill, I'll Kill, I'll Kill, I'll Kill for you, I will") and uncertainty ("I'll die alone on some forgotten hill / abandoned by the mill"). It really is a song that highlights what Wilco is really good at, which is taking country elements, and mixing them with traditional indie rock style.

So, on the whole... yeah, it's not a bad album. It's certainly not a great album, either. It has songs that could one day appear on a "Wilco: Best Of" record, and songs that we'd all like to forget, including Jeff Tweedy and his band of Guitar toting Merry Men. It's worth picking up, if nothing else, just to have.

I'll give Wilco (The Album) a:

6.8/10

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?umj2izvmynm
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