Desperado Deadeye

Rise Against - Wolves - Album Review

Rise Against has been one of my favorite bands for quite some time now. Their often politically charged yet incredibly catchy lyrics combined with top notch musicianship have more than earned them that spot in my heart, along with (significantly more important) critical and commercial success.

Their last album, The Black Market, was the first misstep in their discography in my mind. Far from a bad album, but it’s one that felt like it didn’t have much of an edge to it or impact for the most part.

After a few listens, Wolves feels like the album I wanted The Black Market to be. It has some continuation of the non-political, more radio rock songs from the last few albums, while, as I had hoped and expected, many songs with a more aggressive and political side.

The album can really be divided into it’s more politically charged songs, and those that are (mostly) non-political.

Starting with the less political songs, the album’s opener, the title track, is a great song that will undoubtedly get crowds moving at concerts with its quick riffing. The followup however, House On Fire, immediately struck me as a song that could’ve fit on The Black Market. It reminds me of Methadone or Tragedy + Time from that album, but a bit better than those. It’s undeniably catchy, and I’ve found myself coming back to it much more than I though I would.

Not all of these songs are perfect however, like the aptly named Far From Perfect. It’s not bad, but it is definitely the lowest point of the album for me. It’s another song in the same vein as many from TBM, but where House On Fire was an improvement, Far From Perfect is not. The great opening riff unfortunately gives way to a softer, and fairly trite song. Surprisingly, the song Politics of Love is not political either, nor is it particularly special. Musically it doesn’t really do much new, and the lyrics are alright, but they are delivered very well.

Moving on, the political songs, which take up the rest of the album, are where Rise Against has always shined brightest. Unsurprisingly, given the band’s politically left leanings, there are many songs on the album that are anti-Trump, but there are other verses about the state of society in general right now.

The lead single, The Violence, is a great track, with it’s simple yet infectious riff and Tim McIlrath’s vocal delivery of great lines, such as “The bombs are getting closer everyday/ 'That can never happen here' we used to say/ Have these wars come to our doorstep?/ Has this moment finally come?”, and the questioning of whether or not we are all made to be violent, or if we just aren’t being strong enough to become better.

The following song, Welcome to the Breakdown, is a direct response to Trump’s election, and it’s evident all throughout. The breakdown we’re being welcomed to is our current state of affairs, but, the pre-chorus offers word of resolve for everyone to hold their ground no matter what happens. 

What may be my personal favorite track, Bullshit, directly calls out multiple facets of our society at the moment. It calls out apathetic people for allowing bad things to happen (Trump? They’re talking about Trump.), who are then too afraid to “face the storm [they] helped create”. Yet it also talks about how we divide and make enemies out of ourselves, when we’re more alike then we think. I love the line, “They say we're divided and we are conquered/ But our enemies have never been each other”. This song calls it all out for the bullshit that it is.

The rest of the songs are less jam packed, but still have poignant messages.

Parts Per Million is clearly about global warming and pollution, and how people choose to ignore or not believe it is happening. 

Mourning In Amerika blasts the current state of society and of the media, with great lines like, “ Change channels, manufacture doubt/ When the only thing we'll fight for ever day/ Is a better seat on a crashing plane”, and another line about the radio blasting hysteria.

How Many Walls, unsurprisingly, is another song against Trump, and probably his supporters as well, with lines like, “How many walls can you put up?/ How many guns 'til you feel safe?” and, “ As the monsters lost in history/ Now are acting very tough/ As we bow down”.

The album closer, Miracle, is less explicitly political, but it offers a great message, saying that we shouldn’t wait for a miracle to start changing the world around us for the better. While the album has been a bit distraught and angry at the times we’re in, it does offer one line that think is a great on to have in the closing song: “When the weight we carry breaks us we're tempted to stay down/ But every road to recovery starts at the breakdown”.

This album is as great as any other Rise Against album lyrically. Musically though I do find that, unlike their other albums, it never really carves out it’s own sound, feeling more like a composite work of their previous styles. There’s not a whole lot of experimentation going on on Wolves, but, and I may be biased, that might not be the worst possible thing. Rise Against is very good at what they do, and I can’t complain at all. Wolves is the album expected, and it’s the album I wanted from the band right now.

FINAL SCORE: 8.8 / 10

BEST SONGS

Bullshit

Welcome to the Breakdown

Gorillaz - Humanz - Album Review

(Warning: this is a very long one. Summary is at the bottom if you don’t want to read it all)

This is gonna be an interesting review for me, if for no one else. My reviews up to this point have been almost entirely about rock and metal music, reflecting my general listening habits. But I have also been a fan of Gorillaz for a few years now, even though Gorillaz is about as far from rock/metal as you can get. But I respect the originality and innovation on display in so much of their music, and I love the virtual band concept as well. Just for context, my favorite Gorillaz album is still Demon Days, with Plastic Beach as a close second. Both are great in their thematic focus that is shown throughout the album, with themes of politics and environmentalism on display on both albums. With this in mind, I was hoping for a similar level of thematic focus on Humanz, especially with interviews with Albarn stating essentially that many of the songs were written as a response to  being in a world where Trump is president (which at the time of the recording was only hypothetical). So for Humanz, I was expecting a focus on political and social themes with the level of tightness and eloquence of Demon Days.

I do have to say that Humanz is certainly not very focused musically or thematically though. However, this does not mean the album isn’t good, not by a longshot.  It’s hard to cover this album in broad strokes, and yet I don’t want to just dive headfirst into a track-by-track critique, so I’ll mention the few broad strokes about the album first.

So Humanz strengths lie in its infectious beats that are in nearly every song. Even the songs I like less have a great rhythm, in one way or another. Many of the guests are top notch as well, with my personal favorites being Peven Everett, Popcaan, Mavis Staples & Pusha T, Kali Uchis, and Rag’n’Bone Man, Zebra Katz & RAY BLK.

However, the weaknesses of Humanz are much more apparent on a first listen, namely the overabundance of guests. There are hardly any songs where 2D’s (Albarn’s) voice carries an entire song, the few instances being Busted and Blue (the only song with no features), and most other songs relegating him to a chorus at best, or even just a short bridge verse. I’m aware that Gorillaz have always collaborated with other artists, but it feels like they went a bit overboard on Humanz, causing the ever hard to define Gorillaz sound to be nearly non-existent, drowned out in a sea of other talented artists. And there are even some songs where I think certain guest artists actually decrease the overall quality of the song, which I’ll get into later.

The other major malady that I kept noticing throughout Humanz was the lack of any momentum building, or really any variation within individual songs. This makes me sad, because there are many songs that, if they had a bridge that added just a bit more energy, or a different rhythm, they would go from songs that are simply solid to really great songs. I’ll also point these songs out later.

While it’s much easier to talk about the broad negatives of Humanz in comparison to the positives, I’ll say once more, this doesn’t mean I dislike the album. The songs are so varied that it’s really difficult to discuss what I like about it in broad strokes, so from here, I’ll go into what songs I liked and why, as well as the ones that fall short and why they do.

Well, here we go, track by tracking a 26 song album (although I’m not gonna mention the Interludes. They’re there but they don’t really add anything, so it’s really 19 songs).

The album starts off fairly strong with Ascension, featuring Vince Staples. I’m just gonna say here that I haven’t heard of him before, and the same can be said of almost all of the guests on Humanz for me. But his voice has a unique sound to it, and his flow and rhythm are really good. The only thing that holds this song back for me is that I don’t much care for the lyrics of the chorus. It’s overly repetitive and I’m not a fan of the main line being about dropping asses. However the verses are great to counterbalance it a bit.

Strobelite, featuring Peven Everett, was an immediate favorite for me. The beat is fun and funky, and had me bobbing my head on the first listen. Everett’s soulful vocals are also just fantastic.

Saturnz Barz, featuring Popcaan, is another favorite song of mine, but it reached that point over time, with me not liking it very much at first. Popcaan’s vocal style and rhythm are great, if a bit hard to understand at times. And 2D’s parts on the chorus and bridge are just amazing, bringing a down and somewhat eerie tone. This combined over the fantastic beat makes for one of the best songs on the album for sure.

Momentz, featuring De La Soul, was a song I was looking forward to, since they’re also on Feel Good Inc., arguably Gorillaz most well-known song as well as my personal favorite. Unfortunately, Momentz falls short for me. Not bad, but one of the weaker songs on the album. Lyrically it doesn’t do very much at all, and its beat is okay at best. It also feels a bit disjointed, with the various parts of the song not really meshing or flowing together very well.

Submission, featuring Danny Brown and Kelela, is another great song that has just one bit I’m not huge on. Kelela’s voice is fantastic, and the lyrics are also great. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of Danny Brown’s contribution to the track. Lyrically the bridge is good, but his voice is just, I don’t know, weird. It clashes a bit with Kelela’s beautiful voice on this track, and brings it down just a bit for me.

Charger, featuring Grace Jones, is pretty much the only song on the album that uses a guitar sound. It uses the same gritty riff throughout the whole song, so it’s a good thing that it’s an infectious riff. 2D’s vocals sound oddly loose here, almost like he’s drunk or something, but that’s not a bad thing really, it works with the rest of the song’s feel. Grace Jones contributions to the song aren’t huge, although her voice is great. A personal favorite that I could see other people not liking as much, and I would understand that.

Andromeda, featuring D.R.A.M, was another immediate favorite, and as such was a great choice for a single. A more dance-y track, something that wouldn’t be out of place playing in a club of some sort. The beat is simple yet infectious, getting you to bob your head and bounce your feet almost immediately. 2D’s vocals are great, and so are D.R.A.M’s. One of the best songs on the album.

Busted and Blue, being the only song on the album to have no features on it (despite having a section with a female vocalist, who is uncredited in the title. After some research it appears that it is Kelela), had a lot to live up to for me, in terms of the expectation of delivering a more classic Gorillaz sound. The song itself is a very quiet, subdued one, with minimal instrumentation and lyrics that seem to be about technology, but I’m not entirely sure what it’s going for. I want to love this song, but I can’t really. I like it, but it exemplifies the problem I stated earlier about songs feeling like they never really go anywhere, it sort of just wanders aimlessly until it ends.

Carnival, featuring Anthony Hamilton, is a track that, if it were a minute longer, would be amazing, but it’s still great at its 2 minute runtime. Hamilton’s great voice combined with the darker sounding, drum-heavy beat create an imposing and eerie atmosphere that I really like. It’s unfortunate that the song feels like it ends just a bit too soon.

Let Me Out, featuring Pusha T and Mavis Staples, was another immediate favorite for me. Pusha T’s rhythm and flow are fantastic in the verses, as are the lyrics. Mavis Staples voice on the chorus is amazing, and the politically charged lyrics throughout the song are great as well.

Sex Murder Party, featuring Jamie Principle & Zebra Katz, is another song that I wish I liked more than I did, but it falls just short. The drumming beat throughout the song is great, and 2D’s voice on the chorus is fantastic. However, I don’t quite get what the lyrics are really going for here, and that holds it back a bit for me.

She’s My Collar, featuring Kali Uchis, is fantastic. An immediate standout on first listen, and a song that I like more than most of the singles. It’s beat is fantastic, and 2D takes center stage on the song, with Kali Uchis only coming in for the bridge and final chorus. Uchis’ voice is great, and the lyrics for the song are good as well.

Hallelujah Money, featuring Benjamin Clementine, is an interesting experiment if nothing else. It doesn’t do much for me musically. Clementine’s voice is interesting, but the rhythm of the song feels off, almost spoken word but not quite. The implicitly political lyrics are good, but this isn’t really a song that I come back to.

We Got the Power, featuring Jehnny Beth, is great. It stands in stark contrast to most of the darker toned songs on the album, providing a pop-tinged message of power through unity. I’ve seen many people say they don’t like the song because of that, but I love it because of that. After most of the album has been darker or political, it’s a good change of pace just before the regular album ends.

Now this is where the regular album ends, but the deluxe version includes 6 (really 5, with another interlude) more songs. So let’s get to them.

The Apprentice, featuring Rag’n’Bone Man, Zebra Katz, and RAY BLK, is awesome. One of my favorites for sure. I can see why it was relegated to the deluxe album, because as great as it is I can see that it doesn’t exactly flow with the other songs on the album. The song itself has an amazing beat, and all of the artists on this song have incredible voices that bring a soulful sound to the song. The only negative I have is the bridge, and not because its bad, not by a longshot, but I feel it clashes with the verses and chorus a bit. The bridge is explicitly political in its lyrics, and the verses and chorus are less so, if at all. Overall though, another favorite track.

Halfway to the Halfway House, once again featuring Peven Everett, has a great beat and Everett appears once again with his great voice. However, I may just be missing something, but I don’t quite understand the lyrics of this one (like why is “Cherryage fountain” repeated again and again?). Not a bad song, but one that I wouldn’t call great.

Out of Body, featuring Kilo Kish, Zebra Katz, and Imani Vonsha, is a strange song. Kish’s voice is... odd, and I’m not really sure how to describe it at all. It’s not bad, as once the song gets going, her rhythm and flow are great. But the song itself just doesn’t do much for me outside of great vocal rhythm.

Ticker Tape, featuring Carly Simon & Kali Uchis, is a slower affair, but a solid one for sure. 2D’s voice is great, as are Carly Simon’s & Kali Uchis’. The lyrics are great as well. I feel like this song is closer to what Busted and Blue could’ve been.

Finally, the album closes with Circle of Friendz, featuring Brandon Markell Holmes, is odd. The vocals from Holmes are fantastic, but the song consists of very few unique lines, and musically, it doesn’t really go anywhere. It kind of works as a thematic close to the album, but doesn’t really stand on its own very well.

And there you have it. All of my thoughts on Humanz. The album is far from perfect, but it’s pretty darn good. It’s certainly not better than Demon Days, and just barely edges out Plastic Beach for me. It’s an album that is well worth your time. Whether you’ve been a fan of Gorillaz or not, there is probably something on this album that you can enjoy.

(Also I can’t wait to see Gorillaz live in October, if nothing else I have Humanz to thank for allowing me to actually do that.)

FINAL SCORE: 8.62/10

BEST SONGS

She’s My Collar

The Apprentice

Andromeda

Saturnz Barz

Strobelite

Album Review - Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Not gonna lie, never listened to a full Mastodon album before now. I’ve heard a few songs that I’ve liked here and there, but while I’ve continuously heard much praise for Mastodon, I always felt that they weren’t bad, but seemed to be overrated.

However, when I heard about Emperor of Sand, I listened to the singles as they came and liked them enough to check out the full release. And I was not disappointed.

Emperor of Sand is an interesting album, incorporating a somewhat running theme/story about a man who has had a curse / death sentence placed upon his head and his journey dealing with it. This apparently came about as a result of multiple band members having people with them dealing with cancer or passing away, and the album has elements allegorical to cancer and chemotherapy.

This theme goes right into the album opener and first single, Sultan’s Curse. Lyrically you can find themes with a bit of reading between the lines, and musically, it’s full of great riffs and heavy vocals.

I should also mention that 3 vocalists are utilized on this album: Sanders, Hinds, and Dailor. Through reading other reviews I’ve learned that Dailor is responsible for the cleaner vocals, and I’m unsure about who’s who for the other 2, but one or both of them supply the heavier vocals and the other’s voice I have a hard time describing. They’re all great, but I really love the cleaner vocals on this album. I’m sure older fans of the band would disagree, because apparently they used to not do that, but as a new fan, I love it.

The clean vocals are showcased extremely well on the track Show Yourself. It’s a track that I thought was alright on first listen, but I keep finding myself going back to it. It has a more rock feel than metal, and that variety is not a bad thing. Also, the song has an awesome solo.

However, the heaviness is certainly brought on other tracks, in various forms. Precious Stones has some awesome riffing, like almost every track on the album, and a straightforward, no frills, metal sound. One of my favorite tracks, Steambreather, has a very sludgy feel to it with its down-tuned, loose riffing in the verses.

The album also has a few songs that invoke a more progressive metal sound, such as Roots Remain, and Ancient Kingdoms. Roots Remain is a highlight of the album in every way: strong lyrics & singing, riffing, and especially drumming. And that solo and the end is absolutely amazing. Ancient Kingdoms also has all of the same strong points, while holding its own unique sound. 

The album closer, Jaguar God, is another track that exemplifies the prog metal sound, and definitely one of the strongest tracks on the album. And it’s a fitting closer. It's the longest song on the album by far, clocking in at nearly 8 minutes. It starts of with some lighter singing and instrumentation, before transitioning into a slightly heavier sound. The rest of the song is filled with bouts of quick riffing mixed in between sustained thrashing, before going back to a somewhat softer tone with great soloing before closing out.

The album is not without its weaker moments however. I’m personally not a huge fan of the songs Andromeda or Scorpion Breath. Andromeda has some fast and heavy riffing and softer vocal moments like many of the other songs, yet has an oddly disorganized feel to it to me for some reason. Scorpion Breath suffers from the same, hard to describe malady. It also features a guest on vocals, Scott Kelly from the band Neurosis, but to be honest I’m not a fan of his voice. It kind of reminds of the vocalist from Dillinger Escape Plan, who I’m also not big on. I should say that I wouldn’t call either song bad, just not as strong as the others on the album.

That really sums up Emperor of Sand: there’s really not a bad song on it. It’s an album full of monstrous riffs and solos and varying yet equally excellent styles of vocals, that takes elements from multiple sub-genres of metal and blends them together into an incredibly strong package that is well worth the listen.

Also, fun fact: the band is out of Atlanta, GA. So I gotta support any great rock/metal bands from my state. We have so few.

FINAL SCORE: 8.77/10

Best Songs:

Roots Remain

Jaguar God

TWRP - Ladyworld - ALBUM REVIEW

Ah, the first of many new music reviews in 2017. And, as I’d hoped, we’re off to a good start.

If you recall, TWRP’s last EP, Guardians of the Zone, was my 2nd favorite album released in 2016, so TWRP’s followup, Ladyworld, has a lot to live up to, at least for me. And it thankfully does continue TWRP’s trend of releasing amazing, funky music.

What I find amazing about each of TWRP’s EP’s is that they all have a distinct feel to them, while being musically similar. Ladyworld has that same familiar feeling, yet the band does feel like they’re improving with each EP and changing things up just enough with each release. Ladyworld stands out in that it has a very upbeat feel to it, which doesn’t seem like it should be different from previous EP’s with that descriptor but it’s the best one I could think of.

The opener, Overture, is a fun instrumental that sets the stage for the rest of the EP very well, in terms of setting up the tone. Slick guitar riffs, funky bass, and a bit of synth hits, and then we move right into the title track, which is a great, fun song, with a killer guitar solo, which is followed by an odd but funny spoken word bit. 

R.E.S.P.E.C.T Her is a solid, fun, synth-filled track. Atomic Karate is an interesting track, with its slow funky start, piano, and spoken word opening. Lyrically it’s a bit silly, but in a good way. The song has some of my favorite bass on the EP as well.

Body Image is a bit slower tempo, but it is just amazingly funky. Food Bar is an instrumental that picks up the pace a bit. It’s relatively simple, but fun to listen to nonetheless.

Finally, the album closer, Built 4 Love, is the obligatory Ninja Sex Party track, and just like all the others so far, it’s one of the best songs on the EP. Dan’s vocals shine as always, and the guitar and synth work here is amazing. And the saxaphone bit near the end that then transitions into the song going back to the same rhythm of Overture is amazing.

Overall, Ladyworld is a great EP. I wouldn’t put it above Guardians of the Zone, at least not right now, but Guardians was a slow burn and I anticipate the same for Ladyworld. And if my opinion of it only increases as the year goes on, then we’ll have another album of the year contender on our hands.

Top 10 Songs of 2016 #1 - Allegaeon - Proponent for Sentience III - The Extermination

Finally, the top 10 list is finished. And what a song to put at the very top. Allegaeon’s new album is one that I would describe as “a death metal masterpiece”, and Proponent for Sentience III - The Extermination is the grand finale of the album (not counting the bonus Rush cover that comes after it).

 The opening part, with its soft guitar sound and haunting, Stephen Hawking-esque spoken word section, is ominous and intriguing, and then the solo it transitions into, as well as the riffing that follows, will melt your face off.

Lyrically, the song is also the finale of the album’s robot and AI oriented concept, with this song covering how the AI enabled robots come to the decision that humanity should be exterminated. The lyrics are so well written and haunting in parts. I love the chorus, especially:

“Now as we overwrite, erase the law of three, Leave nothing left behind except seven billion bodies. Justify the actions here, not a misanthropic crusade. The majority will benefit, so erase this carbon plague”

There’s also other chilling lines throughout, such as the last line of the spoken word opening: 

“The human race, who for centuries have looked to the stars for answers, have always questioned whether or not God exists. He does now.”

This song, album, and band are phenomenal, and you should check them out if you’re looking for something well constructed and heavy. An easy pick for song of the year.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

Allegaeon - Proponent for Sentience III - The Extermination

TWRP - Makin’ a Move

Avenged Sevenfold - Exist

Anthrax - Blood Eagle Wings

Metallica - Spit Out The Bone

Megadeth - Dystopia

Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 #2 - TWRP - Makin’ a Move

*Looks at rest of list* *One of these things is not like the others*

Yeah this song, and really this band, doesn’t seem like something that would be up my alley, but they absolutely are. I’ve always been able to appreciate a funky jam, and that’s just what TWRP delivers on a consistent basis.

Makin’ a Move was the first song released from the Guardians of the Zone EP, and what a song to start with. It’s my personal favorite from the whole EP, with Groove Crusaders being a very close second. The album is superb, but let’s talk about Makin’ a Move in particular.

It’s another TWRP song featuring the same amazing female vocalist that has appeared on other songs (whose name I don’t know), which almost guarantees a standout song. The instrumentation is amazing, with funky bass and other instruments providing a distinctly disco feel. And the outro of this song still gives me chills even 8 months after its release.

The song is amazing and never fails to boost my mood, and you need to check it out, as well as the rest of TWRP’s music.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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TWRP - Makin’ a Move

Avenged Sevenfold - Exist

Anthrax - Blood Eagle Wings

Metallica - Spit Out The Bone

Megadeth - Dystopia

Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 #3 - Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage

The Stage was a truly surprising album from Avenged Sevenfold in many ways, and one of the biggest surprises on the album was Exist.

For starters, the song clocks in at almost 16 minutes, the longest song A7X has even done and gargantuan by most bands’ standards. The song itself, as stated by the band, is meant to be a musical representation of the big bang, which I can see. The song starts off relatively quiet before transitioning into several minutes of blazing solos and heavy riffing (probably representative of the big bang or maybe the formation of planets). The song then goes softer again for some great vocals with beautiful lyrics, vocal delivery, and instrumentation. The song then picks up again near the end for some fantastic guitar work and a spoken word section delivered by Neil DeGrasse Tyson about hope, the earth, and space exploration.

Exist is a truly amazing song, a feat for this band, and something that should not be missed.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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Avenged Sevenfold - Exist

Anthrax - Blood Eagle Wings

Metallica - Spit Out The Bone

Megadeth - Dystopia

Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 #4 - Anthrax - Blood Eagle Wings

(NSFW WARNING: Music video contains VERY graphic violence, not for the faint of heart or queasy stomached)

Anthrax’s new album, as I mentioned in my review, was probably my favorite album from any of the big 4 thrash bands in the last year, and Blood Eagle Wings was an immediate standout, even before watching the near vomit-inducing music video. (It really is a good music video with a great idea behind it actually, you just have to get past the graphic content)

Blood Eagle Wings stands in stark contrast to every other song on the album right from the beginning. The song has a slower tempo and darker tone that exists throughout, with less kinetic energy throughout, barring the absolutely amazing bridge and solo.

The song itself is lyrically dark and the video does an interesting take on them, with the main message being that society is ultimately built upon bloodshed and violence.

A truly amazing song from what was a surprisingly amazing album. Well deserving of this spot.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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Anthrax - Blood Eagle Wings

Metallica - Spit Out The Bone

Megadeth - Dystopia

Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 #5 - Metallica - Spit Out The Bone

Holy crap what a song! Before Metallica’s new album dropped, people that heard the leaks were hyping up Spit Out the Bone like crazy, and it surprisingly did live up to the hype.

Spit Out the Bone is musically amazing. Fast, head-pounding rhythms throughout, with incredible solos and a fantastic bridge near the end as well. As in many other places on the new album, the vocals here are better than they’ve sounded in a very long time, with both the more aggressive and more melodic sides of James’ voice on showcase in this song. 

Lyrically its great as well, with the song being (somehow yet another) song to tackle issues with technology. Spit Out the Bone talks of a technological dystopian future is brought on by humanity’s growing dependence on technology, until the point it takes over.

There are some amazingly strong lines here as well. “Disappear like man was never here”, “Reinvent the earth inhabitant”, and many other lines in the verses are great and serve to get across the point of humanity ultimately creating their own demise.

Fantastic song, for me it was easily the best song off of Hardwired... to Self-Destruct. 

Now that we’re in the top 5, the real fun begins. I’ll say this: I love this song, and I could only put it at #5. There’s some amazing stuff ahead of this one.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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Metallica - Spit Out The Bone

Megadeth - Dystopia

Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 #6 - Megadeth - Dystopia

Coming in at #6 is the title track of an album that somewhat surprised me with its quality. I like Megadeth, but generally their albums follow a pattern for me of having a few great songs and the rest are, well, less than great to say the least. Thankfully Dystopia was a surprisingly great album overall, and the title track perfectly embodies what the album is all about.

The track opens with a riff and solo that I swear, if turned into 8-bit video game music, would fit in perfectly in a Mega Man game. The guitar work throughout is phenomenal really, with the main riffing being ridiculously infectious and solos that will melt your face off. Dave’s vocals and lyrics even are actually great on this song as well.

Dystopia is as good as I’ve heard Megadeth sound in a long time, and this song was an easy pick for top 10 of the year.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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Megadeth - Dystopia

Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 #7 - Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Avatar’s newest album was one that came out of nowhere for me, since I only discovered the band this year through Spotify, but it turned out to really be a highlight of the year for me.

Tooth, Beak & Claw is ultimately my favorite song from the album, although The Eagle Has Landed is a very close second and I almost put it here. Tooth, Beak & Claw is a fittingly wild ride. The song starts with some very strange but interesting vocals before transitioning into a riff that can only be described as “if metal and surf rock were combined”. It’s a fantastic riff, and the surf rock vibe comes through strong, especially with the clapping to the beat that the song uses in places. The song’s solo is also awesome, if a bit short.

Lyrically its very strong as well, getting the avian theme of the album across very well, but also including lines that can have meanings outside of the theme.

A fantastic song from a fantastic album. Certainly one of the most unique songs and albums to release this year.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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Avatar - Tooth, Beak & Claw

Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 

#8 - Tremonti - Dust

As I talked about in my review, Tremonti, in my opinion, has proven themselves to be one of the best rock bands that is active right now. I attribute much of this to their instrumental skill, with truly amazing riffing and solos in many of their songs, but their quality is also due in large part to their songwriting.

The title track of their 2016 album, Dust, really was a great choice of a title track. It immediately stands out from its opening, somber sounding notes. The vocals are incredibly strong and powerful, carrying an emotional weight throughout, with excellent lyrics to boot. The riffing here won’t blow your mind in terms of its showcasing of technical ability, but it doesn’t need to; its job is to provide the backing to a powerful, emotional song. But then the song does include a great solo anyways, but it is built up to in a way that does carry a great impact, and its just a great solo on its own.

Fantastic song overall. I still find it ironic that I like this album, really a side project for Mark Tremonti when he’s not working on Alter Bridge stuff, to be better than Alter Bridge’s new album.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016 

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Tremonti - Dust

Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions: 

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 5 Games of 2016 - #4 - Overwatch

Overwatch was a game that caught me by surprise this year. Generally the ever increasing amount of hero-based shooters or MOBAs just makes me roll my eyes and groan as a new, rapidly growing trend in the gaming industry speeds by while I sit on the sidelines completely disinterested.

But Overwatch seemed different. I played the beta because it was free so why not, and found myself having a lot of fun. All of the heroes have great designs, both visually and in terms of gameplay, the maps and modes were (if limited), very fun, and I found myself coming back for more matches at a rate I haven’t played an FPS at since Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Overwatch is a team-based competitive shooter, where two teams of 6 square off in matches that involve capturing a point and/or moving a payload to a certain point by standing by it. A relatively simple concept, made more interesting by the interactions of the game’s heroes.

There are 4 classes for heroes: attack, defense, tank, and support. Attack and defense are self-explanatory, tank heroes are designed to take a beating in order to help their less bulky teammates advance, and support characters are your healers.

But there’s great variety in each class, so much so that you’d be hard pressed to find someone who can’t find a single character in each category that they like playing as. I generally hate playing support, but a few characters I have no problem playing as, like Zenyatta, and monk-like robot who can attach orbs to teammates to heal them or to enemies to make them take more damage, or Lucio, who can heal teammates or make them move faster just by being nearby.. I generally still prefer offense, and often go with my favorite character, Reaper, the ultimate edge-lord character (but in a tongue-in-cheek hilarious way) who dual wields shotguns and is just a blast to play as, but I also find myself loving some of the tanks, such as Reinhardt, a massive man in a robot suit that wields a hammer and giant shield.

Overwatch is not perfect, however. Overwatch’s biggest problems are its lack of content and its microtransactions, and these are the main reasons why this game isn’t higher on my list.

Overwatch really does lack content for the $60 price tag I paid for the console version. There aren’t many maps, and even fewer game modes. There’s also no single player campaign, and, while I seem to be becoming a part of a minority that still prefers games to have good single-player portions, it is a shame, because I’d love to see the interesting characters in the game fleshed out. The good thing is that Blizzard has occasionally updated the game since release with new characters, maps, and game modes, all for free, which is nice. Maybe the game will be worth $60 sometime down the road.

And it’s microtransactions are akin to something you’d find in a free-to-play game, unfortunately. You can unlock skins for all the characters, voice lines, emotes, and images to spray on walls during games through loot boxes. You get 1 for free each time you level up, but of course this is far less frequent the more you play the game, which is where they let you pay extra money for more boxes. Did I mention that the loot is randomized and you can get small amounts of coins that can eventually be used to buy a specific item that you want, as well as duplicates of items you already have, which then give you a small amount of coins. It’s terrible and I hate it, but I will admit that I have paid some money to get some of the amazing skins that are in the game.

Overall, Overwatch is an incredibly fun game to play and worth your money if its on sale at least, it’s just held back by a general lack of content and microtransactions. It really didn’t seem like my kind of game and it sucked me in for countless hours, and that says something.

OVERALL SCORE: 9/10

Top 5 Games of 2016

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Overwatch

Top 5 Games of 2016

#5 - Fire Emblem Fates

It’s been so long since I last played Fire Emblem Fates that I nearly forgot it when it came time to think about the best games I’ve played in 2016. But that isn’t saying anything about it’s quality, it’s just been almost 10 months since I played it because I blew through the game because of how good it was.

Fire Emblem Fates follows the same, top-down turn-based strategy formula as previous games,with a few improvements (at least from my point of view), such as the removal of weapon durability.

Fates also took a pokemon-esque approach, releasing two versions of the game with (surprisingly very) different stories and making one game somewhat harder than the other, then releasing a third path later on. This is done in an interesting way in-game, as the first few chapters are the same all sides, but there’s a pivotal moment where you must pick one of two sides, or pick neither,and this determines the path you take. 

They first released Birthright and Conquest, and later released a digital download for the third story path, Revelations. Revelations is definitely the best, as you can get all the characters from both games, and answers questions raised in the other two as well as bringing entirely new elements to the table, but you should definitely play through both Birthright and Conquest first.

The RPG action is fun, smart, and well executed. The story and characters, while often cliche, are enjoyable enough to keep you going down a pretty interesting ride.

Overall, Fates was a game that was greater than the sum of its parts and of its faults, and I found myself putting over 60+ hours into the game as a result.

SCORE: 9/10

Top 5 Games of 2016

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Top 10 Songs of 2016 

#9 - Alter Bridge - The Other Side

As I mentioned in my album review, The Last Hero is a great album. Alter Bridge have really set themselves up as a benchmark for the hard rock genre with their talent, and The Other Side is exemplary work. 

The Other Side was an immediate standout for me when listening to The Last Hero. While most songs on the album tend to fall into the categories of up-tempo rockers with generally positive lyrics or slower, more ballad-type songs, The Other Side sits in neither category. You can tell from the opening notes that it’s a bit of a darker affair, with the slower, more plodding guitar work throughout partnered with lower, and still fantastic, vocals from Myles Kennedy. Add in some great lyrics and this song was a no-brainer for a top 10 spot.

“If you believe yours is the only way Then you're the fool who lives to die Well you deserve the Hell you're gonna pay On the other side Once you reach the other side”

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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Alter Bridge - The Other Side

Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Top 10 Songs of 2016 

#10 - Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Highly Suspect really is remarkable in the amount of success they’ve achieved in such a short time. 2 albums, 2 Grammy Nominations. They didn’t win either but at this rate I won’t be surprised when they do.

My Name Is Human was the lead single and probably the best song off of their new album, The Boy Who Died Wolf. It’s hard to describe, but it’s fantastic. The vocals are as strong as ever, the guitar is slow and plodding with a dirty sound that just works so well, and all together its a song that is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.

TOP 10 SONGS OF 2016

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Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

Honorable Mentions:

Volbeat - Seal the Deal

Best Songs Of 2016 - Honorable Mention / #11 - Volbeat - Seal the Deal

The last honorable mention before I get into the real top 10, Seal the Deal is an absolutely awesome, hard rocking song. Great riffing, even better solos, and great vocal delivery. It’s just a good fun time, and I find it hard to skip over this one whenever it comes up on shuffle.