Tuesday 26 January 2010
Tuesday 19 January 2010
El magazine cover numero deux!
Just another random design cover.I was going to take the Metal Hammer approach and just keep the main focus on the cover star but thought it'd looks a bit too plain (took fucking forever to photoshop those pics together, even editing the band members to appear they're standing close together!) I've even changed the name of the magazine to 'Carnage' because I thought a one worded title would be better, plus more can be put on with a shorter title ;). Yet again some font issues yadda yadda yadda but its only another draft!
Sunday 3 January 2010
Mudvayne - Mudvayne (2009)
It was only the previous November that Mudvayne released The New Game, an album panned for its 'mainstream' ideas that fell short of what everyone expected from the band that dub themselves 'math metal'. Remarkably the Illinois quartet are back to represent their heaviest material in years. Sounding further away form the mainstream than ever before, Beautiful and Strange sets the ball rolling with a riff although not digestible for a radio-friendly audience but one that will be stuck in your head for sometime. Giving credit where its due New Game had its fair share of standout tracks but not a lot to call home about. A heavy dose of crunchy guitars and shredding bass drown the sorrows of Mudvayne's past mistakes, re-introducing a sound not heard as well since the LD50 era. There are no obvious stand-out tracks, which works in its favour as each track stands out in its own right, even the risky titled Heard It All Before. A thunderstorm of a song, with a gloomy intro that turns into an aggressive tirade of riffs exploding with the screams of vocalist Chad Gray sounding as angry as ever before. Even closing track Dead Inside is excusable as the aggression and the drive is there, even if it is merely an acoustic song. It ends with a similar soundbite heard in the opening, representing the full circle the band has come.
And so Mudvayne represents the bands return to their roots; the sound of a band yet again hungry. This CD could do for Mudvayne what Death Magnetic did for Metallica. It just goes to show the what great care that has been taken with this album and thats just in terms of production and musicianship so far. It has been heavily reported that the album has cleverly been released with an album sleeve with artwork only visible under black light. Expect the limited edition copies to be a must have for Mudvayne fans across the world but be quick! there's only 1000!
Personal favs: Beautiful and Strange, Heard It All Before, Scream With Me, 1000 Mile Journey, Dead Inside
Reviews TBD
Got a hold of some new albums I'm going to have a go at reviewing, some not long released, some yet to be released (not going to let on where I got them tho hehe) I'll put them up in the next few days but so far I'll be reviewing:
*Mudvayne (self titled) - Just debuted poorly on the Billboard 200 in America. Is it the staleness of the charts to blame? Or is the album in fact, crap?
*Puddle of Mudd (Vol.4: Songs in the Key of Love and Hate) - One of the bands whose career took off thanks to a number of things; their smash hit single 'Blurry' being on Limp Bizkit frontman's record label (Flawless Records) and the sceptical reason being that they took off on the the coat tails of the 'nu-grunge' trend pioneered by Stadium acts Nickelback and Staind. Last album Famous flopped, but judging by the lead single it looks like this may well be the final nail in the coffin. Only the rest of the album will tell if this will be the case
*30 Seconds to Mars (This is War) - Bravely touring UK arenas with this album next month Jared Leto and co. released their 3rd album several weeks back. So far I've only heard the first single 'Kings and Queens' and must say the optimism shows in its epic production. I look forward to hearing whether they are able to sustain interest with This is War.
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