If it wasn't enough to be the front man two two popular rock bands he feels the need to have a side project, Puscifer. Maynard James Keenan announced in May 2009 through his Twitter page that there is "new music coming soon from Puscifer". This "new music" was then confirmed to be a new(digital-only) EP due for release in early November 2009. This new EP is substantially different from any other releases from Puscifer. While Puscifer's earlier work was more post-industrial and Puscifer's new EP "C" is for (Please insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference HERE) puts more emphasis on on the trip-hop aspect with some industrial. The first track of the new EP is a never heard before track Polar Bear, a track a little reminiscent of something by Portishead only with male vocals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QL7z_q-68o . However Keenan makes this track all his own with his vocals which are the star of the track. With the lyrics about loneliness and isolation it is clear that this track is meant to have a chill to it and it does. Prior to the it's release The Mission was released as a single. The Mission (M is for Milla Mix) is the second track, which is a duet between Keenan and Milla Jovovich who plays Alice in the Resident Evil film series. It is difficult to understand what the lyrics mean, which is a change from the previous track. The next two tracks are live versions of tracks preformed in the Club Nokia from Puscifer's first album "V" Is for Vagina. Being live versions of songs by Maynard James Keenan the two tracks are drastically different from their original form. This is definitely a positive as the first one a reborn version of Momma Sed keeps the mood of the original and taking it lower and a little more depressing(in a good way). The second, Vagina Mine also has duet vocals with Keenan and Juliette Commagere. Potions (Deliverance Mix), the fifth track sounds more like it should be part of an A Perfect Circle EP, but nonetheless and good track which is a song about what seems to be a lost love. "C" is for (Please insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference HERE)'s final track and one of the best is The Humbling River. Which is has Keenan's silky smooth vocals with some female harmonization, a satisfying way to end which is already a great EP.
9.3
Arcade Fire has had their share of acclaim in the past with Meteors 2008 Best International Album award as well as the Juno Awards 2008 Alternative Album of the Year award for Neon Bible. With The Suburbs they humbly up the ante. Released in August 3, The Suburbs topped the U.S. Billboard 200 just eight days later. The album begins with the self-titled track, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAitZuh4ueg and this has to be one of the greatest opening tracks of all time. This just is about as addictive as heroine, and with a track as exceptional as The Suburbs, track two Ready To Go keeps the tempo however less catchy than the self-titled track. With the lyrical content of this album it is obvious what the concept is. According to Win Butler the lead vocalist, the album "is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs - it's a letter from the suburbs." The third track is not as impressive as the first two nonetheless the fourth track Rococo keeps the album progressing. The problem with this album start to surface with most of the rest of the album, and that problem is that some of the tracks are just sub-par, this really holds the album back. Tracks five and six are a good example, The Suburbs bounces back with Half Light a two part song. Both parts are good with the second half being slightly better. Suburban War, the ninth track starts the second half of this album off a more somber tone and this really puts the second half in perspective. Tracks like Wasted Hours and Deep Blue keep the serious tone but it's not to the second two part song Sprawl does the true definition of this album show itself with the first half being so cold and isolating, while the second half is more up beat. To put this in perspective Sprawl I is the cold of a long night and Sprawl II is the sunrise. Concluding with The Suburbs (continued), an eighty-seven second homage to the opening track adding a little bit of female vocals to the chorus as it fades away.
7.9
Concept albums always seem to be the better albums, and this is definitely the case with Dr. Octagon's Dr. Octagonecologyst. The concept of Dr. Octagonecologyst is of an extraterrestrial, time-traveling surgeon and part-time gynecologist from Jupiter. With lyrics as abstract, and filled with non-sequitur and juvenile humor as Dr. Octagonecologyst is, it is obvious that this album is meant to be enjoyed as an unrated, comedic sci-fi B movie. The album starts with the Intro, a seventy-five second pornographic scene which is the running theme with most of the skits in Dr. Octagonecologyst. 3000, the first song off the album and what a good one it is. It really sets the tone for the rest of the album. After a short commercial skit for Dr. Octagon's services in the form of I Got to Tell You, the track that will be stuck in the head of most it's listeners is Earth People. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjKHQeRSvjk After such an addictive song as Earth People, No Awareness, the fifth track, has a calm and somewhat mature beat compared to the rest of the album. However the album keeps the same tone through out. Real Raw, the next, and is the longest track of the album for a reason. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw0afYrPz8Q Just six tracks into Dr. Octagon'n Dr. Octagonecologyst it is evident that it has set a goal for itself as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. The next track is a skit, General Hospital, in this skit a patient dies on Dr. Octagon. Dr. Octagonecologyst is one of the few albums where it can show a good amount of diversity while still remaining in the confines of it's concept. The skits are spaced evenly through the whole album like In A Visit to the Gynecologist, Dr. Octagon impersonates a female gynecologist and examines a patient. Dr. Octagon puts some melody into the second half in tracks Girl Let Me Touch You and Blue Flowers Revisited which is a slightly altered version of the original Blue Flowers, the eighth track. The track halfsharkalligatorhalfman is preceded by an excerpt from the film Cabin Boy. The album begins with 3000 and ends with 1977 which is a pre-recorded track that is actually from 1977.
9.6
Due to the requests to put preview links to the reviews I've decided to put a preview link to the latest review, Cynic - Traced In Air.
8.1
8.2
When Muse made their first LP debut Showbiz, they had no real identity other than being Radiohead's shadow. Ever since Muse hit mainstream success with Absolution they have broken away from the previous Radiohead comparisons. With Black Holes and Revelations they strive to top Absolution and for the most part they have. With fewer tracks than Absolution this album is more about quality then quantity. Released one year after the UK general elections in 2005 it is safe to assume that Black Holes and Revelations is definitely politically charged. The album starts of with Take a Bow which is about as political as Karl Rove. With lyrics such as "Bring corruption to all that you touch" and "You will risk all the lives and their souls" you can see that Take A Bow was inspired by the U.S's campaign against terror and the UK's involvement. In typical Muse fashion with any fast paced song a drastically slower paced song is not too far behind. None of which are of the same caliber of their faster songs. Which is a downfall for Muse as well as this album. For Black Holes and Revelations those songs are Starlight, Soldier's Poem, Invincible, and Hoodoo which is the best out of the four. The remaining seven tracks is where this album shines. With Map of the Problematique and Knights of Cydonia being the best two tracks on the album that is where your attention should be.
6.8
