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REVIEWS
MUSIC
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F O R A L I M I T E D T I M E O N L Y
HEAVY VALUE
PIERCE THE VEIL
MISADVENTURES
ATREYU
LONG LIVE
GHOST
MELIORA
SLAYER
REPENTLESS
MARILYN MANSON
THE PALE EMPEROR
ANTHRAX
FOR ALL KINGS
GODSMACK
1000 HP
LAMB OF GOD
VII STURM UND DRANG
Alter Bridge
The Last Hero
Alter Bridge’s fifth studio
album is a fine slab of hard
rockin’ goodness. At the heart
of
The Last Hero
is the magic
which vocalist/guitarist Myles
Kennedy and guitarist Mark
Tremonti seem to conjure up
when they get together. Alter
Bridge’s strength lies in their
ability to take an idea like
My
Champion
–
which wouldn’t
sound out of place on an '80s
movie soundtrack
–
and follow
it up with
Poison In Your Veins
,
which feels contemporary in
comparison. A difficult thing
to do, but Alter Bridge
–
as is
the case here
–
make it sounds
effortless.
(Napalm Records/Rocket)
Simon Lukic
Devin Townsend Project
Transcendence
Devin Townsend’s body of work
equals that of Frank Zappa. Kanye
West aside, there is arguably no
modern day composer with a
back catalogue as intriguing as
Townsend’s. By his own account,
Townsend has always kept a
tight grip on his musical output,
but with
Transcendence
he has
relinquished control, giving his
band mates greater input. This
decision adds to the overall
feel of the album, making the
experience more a band effort
rather than a solo project. Despite
this,
Transcendence
is a deep,
multi-layered creation that anyone
familiar with Townsend’s work will
devour.
(Inside Out/Sony)
Simon Lukic
John K Samson
Winter Wheat
Since Canadian band The Weakerthans'
dissolution last year, the world's been
lacking the intoxicating narratives
delivered in the unmistakable timbre
of vocalist John K Samson. His solo
material was always a neat bonus to
The Weakerthans' catalogue, but now
his band has retired, a new album
from Samson is truly an event worth
celebrating.
Winter Wheat
offers
nourishing variations on tone and
topic, the most brilliant of which falls
on
Select All Delete
(an instructional
dissection of modern tech anxiety).
The real heartbreaker lies in the double
whammy of
17th Street Treatment
Center
and
Virtue at Rest
, in which
recurring feline confidante Virtue The
Cat makes her final appearance. Just
gorgeous and good for the soul.
(ANTI) Emily Kelly
Darkthrone
Arctic Thunder
After a three-year absence,
Norway’s most contentious
heavy metal band return with
another studio album. Starting as
a thrash metal act in the late '80s
and then navigating their sound
through the annals of death
metal and black metal styles,
the last decade has seen Fenriz
and Nocturnal Culto settle on a
traditional heavy metal format.
This time around,
Arctic Thunder
takes Darkthrone’s sound back
to the origins of extreme metal,
recalling the style of Hellhammer
and Celtic Frost.
Arctic Thunder
finds the duo mining the past
to great affect, so kick back and
enjoy the ride.
(Peaceville/Rocket)
Simon Lukic