Fireworks

BEST MUSIC OF 2012

by on January 2, 2013 at 8:42 AM
Posted In: Reviews, Thoughts And Opinions

Now that it’s a few days into 2013 I thought it would be a good time to bless the world with another of my “Best Of Music”! First of all, I’ll remind you that you won’t find any Beiber or Gaga or any other over marketed pop crap on this list. My music leans towards metal and the remnants of nu-metal.

That being said, it seemed for the most part that musicians thought the world was going to end in September so they didn’t try too hard this year. I didn’t purchase albums from alot of my favorite groups for this reason. Either they were too soft, too rap heavy, or just too repetitive. I expected much more with 2011 having dynamic albums from Korn, Staind, Hed Pe, The Dreaming, Cavalera Conspiracy, and Trust Company. Anyway, some of the best include:

1. Nonpoint: Nonpoint – even with membership changes this band continues to put out hit after hit. Many of the songs remind me of earlier Nonpoint songs where Elias semi-raps.

2. Slaves on Dope: Over the Influence – Finally I got to hear more music from this group (or at least the other half of it) Great music and it sounds as good as I expected it to.

3. Cradle Fallz: – Rap metal done right. If you miss the better nu-metal from the 90’s and early 2000’s then buy this album! It’s all here!

4. Stone Sour: House of Gold and Bones Part 1 – Every album from Stone Sour gets better and better. More rifts and heavier music than some of the past albums!

5. Villebillies: Appetite for Dysfunction – More variety on this one album than tons of the sucky pop albums out there. Their styles range from rock to country to rap to bluegrass to techno all on one album.

6. Project 86: Wait for the Siren – Like Nonpoint this is the first album for the band after a huge membership change as well. Great creativity on this album with the fusion of celtic music with their typical hard core rock.The only downside are there are a few too many softer songs.

7. Slash: Apocalyptic Love – I have to admit that I’m not a big Slash or Miles Kennedy fan. That being said, this is definitely one of the best albums of 2012. I was blown away with the double boom of the vocals and guitars. I almost miss hair bands….almost.

8. Julien-K: There are some REALLY great songs on this album from the former Orgy crew. It took longer for me to get into this album because it’s more techno and retro 80’s than their first album and some of the songs seem to run too long. I like the majority of the album however, but I would say get the Deluxe Edition because some of the remixes are better than the originals

Honorable Mentions:

P.O.D.: Murdered Love – There are some great songs on this album but I found myself thinking “this songs sounds like.. (RATM, Nickelback, Skindred, etc) too many times instead of thinking “this is a great P.O.D. jam.” The confusing sorta F-word from a successful Christian band for whatever their reasoning turned me off too.

Soulfly: Conquer – Don’t get me wrong this is a good album but not as creative as their older work. The draw of Soulfly is it’s unique blend of world music with heavy metal. It’s missing from most of this album making it sound like any number of metal bands. If you purchase this album buy the deluxe edition. The three extra songs are full of the usual Soulfly magic.

Taproot: Episodes — This album probably made it onto the “Worst of” for many people. But…if you can edit the songs by shortening the intros and outros and getting rid of the damn awful distracting Stephen Hawkins voice then the songs are really solid. But how the album is now it’s extremely hard to listen to.

So—if you’re in the music industry PLEASE put out some good music this year. I need it!

– Mourning Daily

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Yellow School Bus

My School Bus Road Rage

by on April 1, 2011 at 5:00 AM
Posted In: Thoughts And Opinions

What is the most annoying thing about driving near yellow school bus? Could it be the 5-10 stops on a single street? Children taking forever to get off or on the school bus? No, I believe it is the yellow school bus that are going 10 or more mph below the posted speed limit are the most annoying!

Yellow School Bus

For example: 485 is a interstate in NC that has a 60 mph speed limit. Plan carefully to avoid getting on the interstate during “school bus time”. You honestly believe you will travel 60 mph on that road. Then you realize you are going to be stuck behind a yellow school bus. When that happens, you would be lucky to be traveling 45 mph. It does not exactly scream good times had by all.

Yellow School Bus
Buses should not travel on roads where they do not or can no drive the posted speed limit. They usually can get to where they need to be on a road that runs parallel to the faster ones.

So, lets ban together and see if we can either get faster school bus  or get the school bus  off the faster roads.

– MD

P.S. – Now I am not complaining about the drivers of these school bus . They are doing a fantastic job with the equipment given them. The drivers are given the routes and they abide by them the best they can.

Other than the speed issue… I believe that the drivers are doing a amazing job. Think about it…. The have to deal with a overcrowded bus full of loud children.

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Corn Crop

Is The Bigger Corn Crop To Ease Food Inflation Or Is It To Ease Fuel Inflation?

by on March 31, 2011 at 8:58 PM
Posted In: Thoughts And Opinions

Here is the numbers: The Agriculture Department reports that farmers intend to plant 92.2 million acres of corn this spring, a 5 percent increase over last year. That would make it the second-biggest corn crop since 1944, after a record-setting planting in 2007.

Corn Crop

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Is the “bigger corn crop” for food corn? Or is the “bigger corn crop” set aside to become fuel additive corn? I was told that ethanol blended in gasoline decreases the MPG efficiency of the vehicle. It costs more to the consumer in the long run. For instance, it must be transported by truck. It takes MORE energy to produce than it creates. A limiting factor to is it depends on a one season crop. ( What if corn fields flood, suffer drought, severe wind storms, cold etc..)

Using it makes SOOOO much sense to take a food crop for humans and livestock and turn it into a fuel additive. IF we must have ethanol to thin the gas, then why not use something like switchgrass? Switchgrass—a native North American perennial grass (Panicum virgatum) that often grows on the borders of cropland naturally—and proving that it can deliver more than five times more energy than it takes to grow it. Growing and harvesting switchgrass should not in any way contribute to the rising costs of our edible food, which corn is, and switchgrass is not! This could be win-win. There are alternatives out there… We do not have to use corn as a additive fuel.

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On a side note: We most likely will keep using corn for fuel because our government wants to increase the ethanol blend to 15% from 10%.

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Lets get back on track…. Do you think that the increased corn crop will be used for human consumption or for fuel?

– MD

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SOULFLY - Omen

BEST MUSIC OF 2010

by on January 6, 2011 at 4:02 PM
Posted In: Reviews, Thoughts And Opinions

It is the inevitable time of year when those annoying “best of” the year before blogs start to pop up where people with no expertise start naming their favorite movies, music, etc… and here is no exception. But having attended over 400 concerts over the years and owning just shy of 1,000 cds, I think I have some say on the subject. 2010 was one of those rare years that I had a cd by one of my favorite groups drop every month. Be forewarned that these are ROCK albums and not Beiber, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha or any other of those mediocre artists that have been force-fed to us by the media until we believe that they are talented. These are true rock bands that are often overlooked and not given the recognition they deserve:

January

– DAY OF FIRE: Losing All — The third album from my favorite formerly satanic singer turned Christian (sorry Mr. Welch). A little lighter than the previous two albums but still manages some great rock songs.

DAY OF FIRE- Losing All

February

– TOBYMAC: Tonight — Still producing the hits, just one of his albums provides more variety than some bands obtain their entire careers.

TOBYMAC - Tonight

March

– RAINTIME: Psychromatic – I’ll admit that I bought their first album just because of the heavy rock remake of Micheal Jackson’s “Beat It”. After previewing this album, I bought it because of their songs. The band has grown exponentially on this outing and is a band to watch for the future.

Raintime - Psychromatic

April

– KOTTONMOUTH KINGS: Long Live the Kings — Adding a new official member to the group (although some other members seem to have left) sparked new life into the band. The songs are back to the trademarked “rip hop” rap/rock fusion as opposed to more recent albums which were some rap songs and some rock songs together on one disc. One of my favorite albums this year because of the range of musical styles (even though the topic is usually the same 🙂

KOTTONMOUTH KINGS - Long Live the Kings

– SEVENDUST: Cold Day Memory — With the return of the long-lost prodigal guitarist Clint Lowery, the band successfully returns to their style from long years past. At first I was against the lighter style, but after a few listens I realized that these songs are still heavy and are some of the most solid songs that Sevendust has put out in years.

SEVENDUST- Cold Day Memory

May

May was the biggest month for me with Soulfly, Nonpoint, Taproot, and Anew Revolution all releasing cd’s this month.

– SOULFLY: Omen — An almost perfect album (if you love heavy music) Cavalera and crew continue to create the best world music versus heavy metal out there.

SOULFLY - Omen

– NONPOINT: Miracle — Nonpoint continues to consistently put out great albums. Featuring a new guitarist the sound has changed and the influence of Mudvayne (producing) is obvious, but it’s still a great Nonpoint album.NONPOINT- Miracle

– TAPROOT: Plead the Fifth — An excellent title for a fifth album, the experimental sound of their earlier albums has returned that was missing from their last album. Although it’s not for everyone, it’s great to hear it again.TAPROOT - Plead the Fifth

– ANEW REVOLUTION: iMerica — With their sophomore album this group comprised of ex-SLAVES ON DOPE members and ex-UNLOCO singer Joey Duenas proves that they have what it takes to be a lasting metal band. Especially with the hit “Banging My Head”

ANEW REVOLUTION - iMerica

June

– HED PE: Major Pain to Indee Freedom (Best Of) — Although almost all of the songs on here can be found on other albums and some of the songs are not what I would call their “best”, it’s a great collection if you do not own their others. The selling point for me was the bonus Dvd which features an awesome live concert.

HED PE- Major Pain to Indee Freedom Best Of

July

– NEWSBOYS: Born Again — “The boys are back” with new vocalist Michael Tait of DC TALK/TAIT. The dynamic pairing proved to be golden as the best elements of both groups fused together seemlessly into one catchy Christian rock album.

NEWSBOYS - Born Again

August

– DISTURBED : Asylum — The juggernaut returned again with another smashing album that manages again to be one of the few heavy metal bands that gain mainstream attention.Disturbed-Asylum

September

– STONE SOUR : Audio Secrecy — SLIPKNOT’s Corey Taylor manages another impressive album with the group that lets his vocal talents get the spotlight they deserve.

STONE SOUR - Audio Secrecy

October

– Hed PE : Truth Rising — The legendary Hed (pe) release another unique album from Suburban Noize Records. Like their other releases you never know what you’re going to get, but with their fusion of multiple style of music genres you know that it will sound amazing. The highlights of the album include the additions of guitar solos that let Jaxon flex his strings and the guest vocals of SEVENDUST’s Lajon Whitherspoon.

Hed PE - Truth Rising

November

– ALTER BRIDGE: III — There are some lasting rocks songs on this album even though there are a lot more lighter songs than I wish. But considering that I got the cd with 16 songs for only $7.99 it was a beneficial purchase.

ALTER BRIDGE - III

 

December

– PROJECT 86: XV — Probably THE most undervalued band out there, it’s been a long wait to finally get a live album from one of my favorite bands especially considering that all the songs are some of their best songs ever. Great way to end the year.

PROJECT 86 - XV

So there’s MY list of the best music of 2010. Like it, hate it, or just indifferent to it, at least you looked at it. Maybe you”ll even try out some of the albums for yourself.

– Mourning Daily

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