Corey Taylor strikes again. The all-American-rock-accentuated-by-hints-of-metal sound of Stone Sour’s third studio album will bowl over fans with a gust of listenability. Audio Secrecy is a multi-layered tribute to alternative music, and is best described by Stone Sour’s frontman: “It’s heavy, it’s melodic, it’s dark, it’s slow, it’s light and it’s beautiful. You’ll hear something different with each listen.” Testament to Stone Sour’s fan clout, the triple-Grammy nominated band, which includes Slipknot’s Jim Root on guitar as well as Josh Rand (guitar), Shawn Economaki (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums), recently headlined the second stage at 2010’s Download festival. Audio Secrecy is likely to propel the band further forward to the ‘bigger and better’. (more…)

Metal’s favourite doll killing maniacs have injected some uber-attitude into the scene with the release of their second Roadrunner album Women and Children Last. Murderdolls’ driving duo Joey Jordison (Slipknot) and Wednesday 13 (whose band goes by the same name) have put together an album that brings horror-punk-metal to the masses with a vengeance.

Women and Children Last is permeated with the “scum, filth, anger and greed… chaos [and] darkness on a violent binge” that is mentioned in album opener The World According To Revenge. The vision of Joey Jordison (guitar, drums) and Wednesday 13 (vocals, guitar) is realised with the boisterous bellow of speedy guitar riffs and accelerated punk drumming with a touch of metal bashing along the way, which is set to “ piss people off and shake things up”. Jordison went on to tell Kerrang! that “Everything is such a product or a fucking formula these days… Fuck formula! Fuck the norm! (Kerrang! Exclusive! Murderdolls are back). And goal achieved: Women and Children Last is pure, perfect, unadulterated pandemonium. (more…)

Metal’s head-banging cellists are currently playing their way into metal heaven. Apocalyptica’s new album, 7th Symphony, marries Brutal to Beauty in a truly magnificent ceremony. The symphonic tone of the Finnish quartet is typical of the style of metal coming out of Scandinavia at the moment. The classical music training common to many of Scandinavia’s metal heroes is evident in Apocalyptica’s technically advanced compositions. Fourteen years ago the band grabbed the metal community’s attention with their expert covers of Metallica hits and in 2010 Apocalyptica continue to impress with innovative creations. (more…)

I am most pleased to reveal that Jaume Collet-Serra’s Orphan recently ended a severely dry spell of horror film boredom. I am a horror junkie and nothing of late has been spine chillingly awesome. Gruesome … yes. Scary … sort of. Predictable … of course. Orphan is a psychological horror as opposed to the supernatural kind and the reason the film is successful is because it is a character-driven story that is played out exceedingly well by the cast.

The film’s protagonist is the Coleman family, consisting of parents Kate and John, and children Daniel and Max. The family is recovering from the loss of Kate and John’s third child, which was stillborn. Kate used alcohol as a coping mechanism and her addiction and recent recovery there from sets her up as untrustworthy – so naturally when things go seriously awry no one takes Kate’s suspicions seriously – in true horror form. The Coleman family is typical: close but flawed and thus easy for an audience to relate to. In order to fill the void ensuing from their loss, Kate and John decide to adopt a child. And in comes nine-year-old Esther. (more…)

Today, two of my favourite things met up, had a chat and raised the roof. No doubt ‘WTF?’ is scrolling through your head at this very moment so I will rid you of the expletive. Spotify has hooked up with Glee and now my life is complete. I have been known to get excited, ecstatically excited, but today I managed to scare even myself. I have been waiting for this moment since the day that Kurt taught the football thugs to overwhelm their opponents with a song and dance recital of Single Ladies (Put a ring on it). Result: paralytic; on the floor; laughter – that was me. Quick interlude: on the subject of Beyoncé; the only thing to ruin my Glee karaoke session was the elimination of Kurt’s Single Ladies cover from the soundtrack. Tangible disappointment. No doubt Queen Diva herself would not give up the rights to her song, or some such thing. But even that biyatch could not dampen my spirits. Back to the point: today DevilDriver, In Flames, Nightwish and co. made way for my Gleek identity, which stays in the closet (unless I am spotted humming a Glee tune as I walk down the street). The Glee cast’s version of LG’s Bad Romance is one of my favourites, and was made all the more endearing when my metal-head hubby said “WTF is ‘caught in a Bankomat’” – undoubtedly his hearing skills were tainted by a bad experience in Florence that involved Bankomat auto-tellers refusing to let us draw cash. It was traumatic. And more to the point, now “caught in a Bankomat” has replaced “caught in a bad romance”. I am sure LG would appreciate the creative license I have taken with her lyrics. (more…)

The great Korn debate has been raging for as long as the band’s conception in 1994. The California quartet (now that drummer Ray Luzier has officially joined the Davis-Munky-Fieldy trio) has recently released its ninth studio album, Korn III-Remember Who You Are, which is sure to intensify any Korn dissention amongst fans. Korn preferences are as variable and plentiful as there are Korn songs. Davis and his cronies evoke reactions both passionate and extreme, and what else is to be expected from a band that pushes the limits pertaining to emotion, thought and music to the most severe of degrees. Korn is a band with a history and listeners cannot help but adjudicate each new record within the context of that history – by comparing it to the band’s previous albums rather than recognising it as a fresh and unique entity – although unfair to the band perhaps, it is inescapable.

The title of the new album is suggestive of the fact that Korn has gone back to its roots, its past, personally and musically. Title track Oildale (Leave Me Alone) is a reference to a town located a couple of miles outside of north-northwest of downtown Bakersfield (where the band is from) – a further reference to the past and to roots: Korn in the 90s. Korn III-Remember Who You Are certainly embodies a sense of ‘old Korn’; the likes of Korn, Life is Peachy and Follow the Leader. Fans will revel in the assaulting groove of Fear is a Place to Live, the brilliant discord of Lead the Parade, the abrasive heaviness of Let the Guilt Go and the gut-wrenchingly angst of Holding All the Lies. Are you Ready to Live is a stands out as the track that best epitomises the raw, neurotic internal angst of Korn, which has been translated into the welcomingly familiar sound of callous base thwacks, systematically violent drum rhythm and the tormented howls and growls. Korn III-Remember Who You Are is uncomfortable, and that is what fans want from a Korn album: to have their boundaries pushed, prodded and even destroyed. And yet the album just seems to lack a little something – that little bit of magic that is essential to the spark required to light the Korn fire of awesomeness. The ‘Fuck You’ is there but just not loud enough. Irrespective, the band continues to sell out venues worldwide and Korn III-Remember Who You Are is likely to sell, stimulate and aggravate.

Listen to Korn III-Remember Who You Are on Altsounds.com

Tonight, London witnessed Deathstars blitz and boom their way through an awesome set with warlike force, blowing away the Islington Academy and its nearly-sold-out audience. Industrial metal is the name of Deathstars’ game, and stomping guitar riffs and visual ecstasy dominated the evening. Whiplasher Bernadotte’s face sparkled with glitter and his pornographic tongue whipped with sexual innuendo; Cat Casino’s theatrical illusiveness was as haughty as his feline namesake; Skinny Disco discoed (and windmilled) his skinny ass into oblivion; Nightmare Industries put a capital H back into Horror by frightening the crowd into delirium; and Bone. W. Machine bashed away at his drums with bone-chilling vigour. (more…)

It has arrived. Finally. Verdict: awesome.

Deftones, characteristically, requires more than one listen to realise the full impact of any album produced by the band. Music and lyrics are multi-faceted, the depth of which is uncovered only after some pretty intense consideration and contemplation. The complexity that is Deftones lies in the band’s contrasting imagery that is reflected in its sound. And the band’s sixth album is no exception. Diamond Eyes sees beauty, hope and positivity juxtaposed with violence and brutality and then wrapped up in the merciless sound of metal – metal that is as heavy as all hell but as dreamy and atmospheric as a Dali painting. (more…)

Callejon’s lastest album is a monster. The Cologne/Düsseldorf band, birthed from the German metal scene, have been around since 2003 and have since released two EPs and one full-length album (Zombieactionhauptquartier).

Videodrom, the band’s second album, is viciously loud and proud. Callejon are loyal to their mother tongue and the nuances of the German language naturally complement the band’s paradoxically melodic and brutal sound. Each song on Videodrom is a thoughtfully constructed piece of musical art constituting many subtle variances that work together to burst forth a bold musical statement.

The raucous expression invested in Videodrom‘s opening (and title) track sets the tone for the album. It showcases singer BastiBasti as savage growler, metalcore screamer and melodic songster; a status reiterated in every one of the album’s songs. The frontman’s singing prowess is accompanied by a fusion of explosive riffs, intense drumming, head-swinging rhythm and timeous breaks. The breakneck speed of songs including Kinder Der Nacht, Immergrun and Sexmachine contrasts with the slower pace of Mondfintrernis. Sommer, Liebe, Kokaine is ferocious, and Dein Leben Schläft and Dieses Lied Macht Betroffen demonstrate the band’s inclination for metal groove and vocal harmony. All that the album stands for cumlinates in the ambitious 8 minute long final track Gott Ist Tot, which begins in the form of a metal ballad but develops into a full on metal assault: sublime.

Videodrom will leave the band’s loyal fans with metalrific grimaces of awe on their faces and to those who have yet to discover this metal gem: do it … do it now!

Flyleaf show why they are a platinum selling band at tonight’s sold-out gig hosted by London’s Islington Academy. The band perform their hearts out for enthusiastic fans who have travelled from far and wide to witness the Texan rock-metallers in action.

The gig starts later than usual and while I sit twiddling my thumbs, I observe a dude playing Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on some electronic contraption. Mr Dude a.k.a Mr Dad overshadows two ten year old girls, protecting them from any thugery: how sweet – a tad odd for a hardcore gig in north London, but still sweet. As well as obseving, eavesdropping is another great way to pass time at gigs, especially when waiting in lengthy queues or sitting through a sound-check. And I was presented with a gem this time: a group of teen girls next to me discussing whether sandwiches would be thrown at opening act The Crave, as had been done on a previous occasion. When the crowd’s agitation is signalled by booing after each the-band-is-not-ready-to-come-on-stage-yet song blearing in the background, one of the girls declares “there will be sandwiches”. Sadly (as it would have been a fun spectacle) there are no sandwiches and The Crave is met with rapturous applause and excessive cheering. Even the weirdness of Savage Garden’s Truly Madly Deeply blasting through the sound system, accompanied by a mirror ball, just before The Crave take to the stage does not deter the crowd. I, however, am left in a state of wonderment as I tried to decipher whether the high-school-dance song/disco-ball thing is supposed to be a contrived tongue-and-cheek intro or a rather coincidental techie error. More to the point, The Crave do the job of a supporting band and achieve what their opening song dictates: they shake the crowd up, to the max.

With the crowd hyped for Flyleaf, the band’s reception couldn’t be more massive. Singer Lacey Mosley appears as a gorgeous grunge ballerina in a red dress and docs, punctuated by the occasional pirouette. Lacey wastes no time blabbing and launches straight into Fully Alive, followed by Beautiful Bride – the opening track on latest album Memento Mori. Lacey’s vocal angst contrasts with the charisma of guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya, who looks like westerm story book Jesus but with some tats and piercings … oh, and eyeliner – sweet getup. Cassie and In The Dark prove that classifying Flyleaf as an alternative rock band is not a clear cut matter: Lacey is dynamite in a small and attractive package – her screams are powerfully heart wrenching and provide a tinge of metal to the band’s rocky sound. As the gig heats up, the crowd proves itself to be a single mass of unified vocal force, as fans belt out word after word. The live performance of Chasm and Again do both songs justice as they sound far ‘bigger’ and heavier than the recorded versions. I’m So Sick oozes gravitas and fans are reminded why they love Flyleaf. The band end their set with an alternative version of John Mark McMillan’s How He Loves Us, which is well received by an adoring audience and hints at the band’s Christian ethics.

A great performance by a favoured band.