Music Update

Since I can't stand Cris Collingsworth, the one of the primary voices of Madden 09, I always listen to music while I am playing. Here's a rundown of my play lists of the time. These albums are in no particular order.


Terry Reid

I came about this artist through the dalai Lamar
and our viewing of The Devil Reject's.
I guess this is an artist that just fell through the cracks for me. Maybe arrogantly, I consider myself fairly well versed in classic rock. So I'm not sure how this guy slipped through. He sounds a lot like other singer/songwriters of his time. His wikipedia entry reveals some interesting facts.




Between the Buried and Me - Colors

I'm proud to say that XM 42 liquid metal introduced me to this gem. (thanks Katie). Since this is my blog, I am declaring Between the Buried and Me - Colors album of the year for 2007. This album is truly a journey. They cover just about every music style (including bluegrass) even if for a brief moment. I love albums like this where the track number really doesn't matter. The album is really well mixed as a 64 minute track. If I had to pick my favorite track, it would probably be track 5 - Ants in the Sky. It is basically prog-rock with an especially great riff that I think could save the earth Wyld Stallion style. They help prove that heavy music doesn't have to be brutal, but instead can be melodic and dynamic.
This is a band I would not only want to see in concert, but I might actually pay for an album. I haven't explored their entire catalog yet, but I can't wait to hear more.


Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

This is another liquid metal find. If you didn't already know, I am an XM junkie. It is totally worth the cost. The name Genghis Tron initially pulled me in and the music kept me on board. The quest for metal not made for children is pushing toward this kind of rock. I've heard the term "technical rock" loosely tossed around this kind of band. Although I think they are technically gifted and structure their songs to an impeccable degree, there is too much emotion in the lyrics and the changing style creates a dynamic that certainly isn't "technical". They use slightly more keyboards than Between the Buried and Me to create more of a digital sound. Again I cant wait to check out more from GT.



Austrian Death Machine - Total Brutal


Ok. Enough with my serious musical tastes. It's time to have some fun with this one. I was doing an amazon search for new metal, and saw this band name and album cover and had to check it out. Austrian Death Machine, of course, is a tribute to Ahnold and his action movies. The marriage of Ahnold-style action and strait heavy metal downbeats and power cords makes perfect sense to me. I wish I wouldn't have read the reviews on amazon because they pretty much hit their mark. The voice they used for Ahnold isn't that great except for the guttural Ahnold distress sounds, but its a side attraction to the metal. I don't agree with the comparisons to Dethalbum except maybe in the comedic spirit of the album. Tim Lambesis, the singer of As I Lay Dying (meh), created this side project as a joke or novelty. Any band or singer that can execute self-deprecating humor as heard on the track "So Far, So Good, So Let's talk" about it is on the right path in my book. Sadly this metal is more pure and better than some bands' honest efforts. If you are curious about this band, I highly suggest you start with the opening track "Get to the Choppa" and then give "I am a Cybernetic Organism, Living Tissue over Metal Endoskeleton" a listen, then move on to my dark horse favorite "Screw You (Benny)" (name this film in the comments for a prize), the last track worth committing some time to hear is "If it bleeds, we can kill it". This song is sort of a response to the Predator's badassness. "It's not a Tumor" is decent as well. So if you want some light hearted screaming and heavy guitars, then Austrian Death Machine is for you. The Governator is gonna kick ass in T4. WOOT!