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rockerintraining
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Name: adam
Gender: Male
Interests: Music, music and...oh, yeah, music. That about covers it.
Expertise: Whadya think? I'm 17!!! I know everthing
Occupation: Always being right. It's a fu
Message: message me
Member Since:
5/27/2007
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| Alright, so, it’s been a while, and I know that I promised weekly or bi-weekly updates, but things have come up. Anyway, I’m not just gonna review a CD this time, I figured I’d bring y’all up to date on some of the things going on here in the Rath household. I guess the biggest thing is that Dad is only gonna have a job for another year and ten months. Yeah. He’s basically getting laid off, since DHL is gonna drop their air shipping line and just hire UPS. Can you say major suckfest? Yes, you can. Anyway, at least he’s guaranteed a paycheck for almost another two years. But……after that, who knows? This kind of has some major implications for my college, as that’s right about when I transfer up to UNT.
Whatever. God has a plan, and He will provide. But……it’s just kinda up in the air, I guess right now. If you guys could pray for that, I would be much obliged.
Moving on to some thing a little lighter, I did manage to meet my summer goal of attending my first metal concert the other night. That’s right, friends, Adam went to go see Demon Hunter and Living Sacrifice, both of whom were awesome. So, here comes the full story.
Thomas, Sally, Nigel and I left here at around four thirty and got to the white rabbit at around five fifteen or so. We planned to be there early for what we thought was a six o’ clock door opening time. Unfortunately, it turned out that the door didn’t open till seven and the show didn’t start till eight. Sucky. Very sucky. So, we stood out in front of the White Rabbit for about two hours or so in the hot sun waiting for them to open the gates, making very stupid but mandatory jokes which involved us just forcing our way in and ‘storming the gates of hell’. When they finally let us in, we made our way to the front, right by the stage and, consequently, the speakers. We stood around for an hour and listened to pop-punk (I like how they played pop-punk before Demon Hunter and crappy hardcore before Mae) and then the Advent kicked things off. I honestly didn’t like them that much, wwwaaayyyy too stupid –core for me. Unfortunately, someone tried to start a mosh pit during the first song and it kind of……failed epically. Anyway, I found it funny how, throughout the entire set, the band was super crazy and the crowd was just kind of standing around watching. Anyway, they did like five songs and then The Famine got on. Now, first off, I am not at ALL a fan of stupid –core bands. But I must say that The Famine really impressed me, so much so that I ended up getting a shirt and both their debut ep and the full-length cd. I can’t honestly understand why I like them so much; they pretty much do the same thing as all the other underoath clones out there. For some reason, I think they do it way better and I find them super catchy. Also, they were the first band that I moshed to. Speaking of moshing, let me to take a minute to describe the ‘pit’ for those of you who don’t know what one is. Basically, everybody who doesn’t want to be in the pit clears one huge pit in the center of the room (called the ‘pit’) and everybody else goes in and starts running into each other/pushing and shoving. It’s kind of like rugby minus the ball and you’re not trying to knock the other guy over. And if someone does fall, you’re supposed to help them up. The moshing was kind of sporadic, mostly because of the small size of the crowd: the pit would start up for a minute or so and then die down again as everybody got tired and migrated to the edge for a breather. I did get knocked down during the first song, but it was near the edge and right at the point that everybody wanted to stop moshing, so I got back up again without any trouble. Anyway, the famine did five or six songs including ‘The South Will Rise’ which is an awesome song, and they ended with ‘Stitched in Plastic’ which is probably the reason they impressed me as much as they did because the guitarist threw down a really, really awesome solo at the end of that one. So…The Famine got off, I got ripped off for some much-needed bottled water and then Living Sacrifice got on and they were awesome. The only songs that I recognized of theirs were ‘Symbiotic’ and ‘3x3 We Carried Your Body’, so I guess that they did mostly their older stuff, but it was pretty epic. The lead guitarist threw down some epic face-melting-ness, their vocalist was awesome and probably the most epic win I’ve ever witnessed took place. Here’s how it went down: Some stupid kid was doing that retarded ‘hardcore dancing’ thing (punching and kicking the air/generally being stupid and making a fool of himself) during one of the moshing lulls and everyone was getting annoyed, namely cause you can’t mosh with someone doing that in the middle of the pit. You’ll get punched if you get anywhere close to him. So, this big guy (a lot taller than me and probably a little heavier) in a Death t-shirt comes up to him, grabs him and tosses him back into the crowd and starts up the mosh pit again. It was the definition of epic win. Anyway, Living Sacrifice got off after doing two songs from their forthcoming album and Demon Hunter’s roadies got on stage for the soundcheck. One of them had way too much fun with the crowd. His mike check went kinda like this: “Mike check one. Testing one, two, three. SAN ANTONIO!!!!!!! *crowd cheers* TEXAS!!!!!! *crowd cheers* STEAK!!!!!! *confused cheering* SPURS!!!!! *wholehearted cheering* CALIFORNIA!!!!!!! *crowd boos* TEXAS!!!!! *crowd cheers*” etc, etc. Anyway, Demon Hunter opened with Storm the Gates of Hell and I can say that I moshed to that song. They were pretty awesome: really tight and their vocalist was spot-on on both the growls and the melodic parts. Also, their guitarists (who sang harmony) were excellent. The songs I remember them doing were (in no particular order): Storm the Gates of Hell Lead us Home Follow the Wolves I am You Carry Me Down Soldier Song Beheaded My Heartstrings Come Undone And a coupla others that I don’t remember. It would have been a perfect set if they had done Thorns, but, alas, twas not to be. After they got off, we went outside and got some autographs. I asked Demon Hunter’s guitarist to sign my pick and he just said: “Well, let’s make it more authentic’ and gave me his and signed it. I got the other guitarist to sign it too, and got another pick signed by Living Sacrifice’s guitar duo. Then we came home and my ears were still ringing, but it was definitely worth it. An awesome concert. Well, I guess that’s it. Next week (or in the next couple of weeks): A review of Iron Maiden’s ‘A Matter of Life and Death’. Stay tuned. Rock on! -Eggs- | | |
| Mmmkay...so....Adam promised an update last week, but didn't get around to it what with all the other stuff (ie graduation) going on and whatnot. Sorry 'bout that, and here comes my (not-so) long awaited pop-punk feature. CD: Hawk Nelson is my friend
Artist: Hawk Nelson
Genre: Pop/punk
Year: 2008 Notes: From the first time I heard Hawk Nelson's Letters to the President back in my sophomore year, I have been a big fan of this group. Needless to say, I was a little skeptical when Hawk released the title for their new album in one of the group's podcast episodes. I mean, seriously, who names thier album '*insert band name here* is my friend? How lame is that? Despite this, however, I downloaded their single when it came out and must admit that it grew on me. Hawk had adopted a slightly different sound (something they seem to do with every album), combining their more punky tone from Letters to the President with the pop/rock sound of Smile, It's the End of the World. When I listened to the album after Shauna gave it to our family as a four-month-late Christmas present (thank you, Shauna!), that same sound was present throughout. I like this album better than Smile, however, as Letters to the President was probably my favorite album of theirs. This is a decent album with some catchy stuff on it. Nothing particularly new or innovative, but, then again, it is pop-punk. There's honestly only so much you can do with that genre and not end up sounding stupid. Overall Impression: Certainly not bad, but it kinda makes me wish that Hawk would stop experimenting and go back to their Letters-era stuff. A solid album with some good songs/riffage nonetheless. Favorite song: Turn it On. I could swear that the opening riff of this song came straight from a Rage Against the Machine album. Add to that a catchy chorus and some cool breaks and you have this song. Favorite Lyrics: I don't wanna look inside myself, cause then I'll have to change somethin' else - 'Let's Dance' Cautions: None. Final Thoughts: It's alright. A pretty good album, certainly not the best, but definitely not the worst. | | |
| Alright, so, I realize that I am overdue for an update/review. But things were really hectic last week what with the play and all. So, this week and next week, I'm gonna do a double feature review. This week, I'll take a look at some power and prog metal and next week I'll give you my opinion of some pop-punk. It will be muchly fun. Here we go. CD: A Twist in the Myth
Artist: Blind Guardian
Genre: Metal/Power Metal Notes: I came across this band in a Facebook discussion thread on the Rock Vs. Rap group. Someone posted a link to a youtube video of their live performance of 'Valhalla'. After watching the video, I immediately decided that I had to get the song. Imagine my annoyance, then, at iTunes when I realized that they didn't carry the album that had 'Valhalla'. I waited a while, unfortunately, before I purchased this album as a result and it was with a little apprehension, since I hadn't ever heard anything on it before. The apprehension was eased, however, at first listen. 'This Will Never End' is easily one of the best intro tracks I've ever heard, featuring awesome guitar work and catchy vocal melodies, a tradition which Blind Guardian carries throughout the duration of the album. Some other notable tracks are Otherland, featuring an epic operatic chorus, Fly, which is a song written from the perspective of an author asking the reader to enter the world of his creation and includes the tip of the hat to James Barry with the line about "Second one to the right and straight on till morning light", and Skalds and Shadows, an excellent folk ballad about a bard telling stories around a fire on a cold winter's night. Overall Impression: Power Metal. Need I say more? This album is pure epicness, with it's many medieval allusions, impressive guitar work and catchy melodic hooks, this is power metal. All in all, an excellent album. Favorite Song: 'Fly' without a doubt. Again, I love the imagery the lyrics create, and I like how it's blended with a swing beat and some really epic guitar heroics. Favorite Lyrics: 'Second one to the right and then straight on till morning light'-Fly Cautions: There are some New Age worldviews prevelant in songs such as 'Turn the Page', but that's about it. It's not really an album to just sit back and consume without thinking because of the views that end up cropping up on a few songs, but as long as you're thinking about it and don't let it affect your thinking it's a good album. Final Thoughts: Go forth and buy it......NOW!!! What're you waiting for? Go! And now, for some prog metal: CD: Systematic Chaos
Artist: Dream Theater
Genre: Metal/Progressive Metal Notes: I picked this CD up kind of on a whim because they had it at Target. I had heard good things about Dream Theater (indeed, it's not really possible NOT to have heard good things about Dream Theater from anyone who has actually listened to them) and I must say that this CD lives up to all of them. The CD opens with the extended instrumental jam intro to In The Presence of Enemies pt 1, which lasts around five or so minutes and leaves the remaining five minutes of the song to follow the normal verse/chorus formula typical of any rock song. During that five minutes, however, guitarist John Petrucci displays his technical prowess as well as his compositional ability, switching from frantically alternate picked shredding to wide sweeping melodic sections seemingly without effort. Forsaken is easily the most accessible song on the album, as it is of about normal running time and doesn't have any of the odd time signatures/huge tempo changes that are Dream Theater's trademark. Nonetheless, Petrucci takes the opportunity to throw down a very impressive (if not extended) solo. If you have never heard Dream Theater and aren't into prog, I would suggest downloading this song before you do anything else. Get the whole album at some point, but start with this song. On the ballads Repentance and Prophets of War, Dream Theater takes some time to tip their hat to progressive pioneers Pink Floyd with the clean guitar tones and grand melodic leads that defined the genre back in the seventies. Overall Impression: A good album. It leaves you with the general impression that you have just finished an epic journey of some kind. Like the feeling one might get after watching all three of the Lord of the Rings movies in a row. Favorite song: Forsaken. Although I do like the almost seventeen minute epic 'In the Presence of Enemies pt 2', I can listen to all of Forsaken on break at HEB. Cautions: Since Dream Theater is (I think) a Christian band, there really isn't any. I must advise that you listen to In the Presence of Enemies pt 2 all the way through in one sitting, though. The song follows the story of someone who turns away from God and, consequently, dedicates himself to Satan at the beginning. By the end, however, the story teller has realized that he messed up and returns to God once again. If you don't listen to that part, however, the song is very creepy and you might go to your parents and tell them that Adam has been recommending evil satanic devil music to you. And we don't want that, now do we? Final thoughts: Definitely a must-have for anyone looking to get into progressive metal, or metal of any kind, for that matter. Rock on! -Eggs- P.S. I will have a update for the play week posted in a few days, before I do the pop-punk reviews. | | |
| So, in light of recent developments (namely the fact that no one xangas anymore), I have come to a decision. I suppose you can think it of a last-ditch effort to drum up some business, but I am going to start a weekly/bi-weekly (whichever I have time for) CD review. This will be where I take a CD probably already in my collection (I don't really want to buy a new album every week, now do I?) and tell both of my readers what I think of it. Hopefully this will get both of you into some new and different bands, and also save you from wasting some money on a terrible CD. So, without any further adue, here I go: CD: Powerslave
Artist: Iron Maiden
Genre: Metal/Classic Metal Notes: Honestly, I was worried when I first bought this album on iTunes that I had wasted about five bucks since the CD is only eight tracks long and iTunes charges fourteen dollars for it. Regardless, I bought it mostly because I wanted to hear Iron Maiden's version of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which iTunes didn't sell seperately and which comes in as the longest song currently in my collection at 13:14. Shortly after burning it into CD format and popping said CD in the player in my car, however, I realized that, if anything, I had made out like a bandit on this purchase. Track one, Aces High, opens with a very angular, intermittant beat behind a rather slow, angular guitar riff. But it quickly picks up pace, however, and becomes an almost folk tune for a few seconds before charging into the first verse and chorus at full speed ahead. A breakdown worthy of a metal juggernaut like Maiden comes next, with a trade-off guitar solo between Dave Murray and Adrian Smith ending the bridge and summoning the second verse and chorus. Vocalist Bruce Dickenson's scream as the outro starts can only be described as 'epic'. And that was only the first track. By the time that track 8 (the reason that I had bought the album in the first place) rolled around, I had almost forgotten about it among the flashing guitar work, brilliant harmonies, catchy hooks, bombastic drums and awesome basslines. This song definitely stands out, however. The longest track on the album, it is based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name and, although much of it is paraphrased, there are some lyrical sections directly out of the poem and composer Steve Harris does a good job of staying close to the original. Overall Impression: This is classic metal at it's best: pure gold in sonic form. I was somewhat disappointed when I arrived at my destination and had to get out of the car and stop listening. This CD is most definitely one of the best things to ever come out of the eighties, which isn't really saying that much, but it is an excellent album. Plus it has the added bonus of not-too-creepy album art. This is definitely one of the few CD's I could listen to over and over again without getting tired of it. Favorite Song: Aces High. I like the imagery and the subject matter; that it's about fighting the Germans over London in World War II. Plus it has an awesome solo and breakdown. 2 Minutes to Midnight, Back in the Village and Flash of Steel are also excellent tracks. Heck...they're all good. Just buy the whole thing. Cautions: Honestly, there isn't that much to worry about with this CD. There is some violent imagery on 2 Minutes to Midnight, which also happens to be a very anti-war song. A lot of the other songs have to do with war and fighting, so some of the rest of it is kind of violent, but it's not even close to watching the Lord of the Rings. Really, though, unless you are somehow tempted to worship Osiris as the God of the Dead by listening to the title track (it is a song about that particular egyptian myth), I can't honestly see anything wrong with this album. Final Thoughts: Go forth and buy it......NOW!!! What are you waiting for? Go!!! Turning to other news, there is no other news. Bible study was earlier this evening, and it was fun. I dominated at poker for a little while, that was kind of fun. Umm...I'm learning Through Fire and Flames by DragonForce...and I think I'm gonna get an iPod on Friday. I think that poor old Albus may finally be going out. Sad day. I guess that's about it. Rock on! -Eggs- | | |
| Mostly since it seems like no one reads it anyway. Oh well. Screw it. Not much going on lately.......except that I got the awesomest amp on the face of the planet. Actually, it would be second awesomest since the head version with a 4x12 rectifier cabinet would be better, but that one wouldn't fit in my room. And besides, no one actually knows what I'm talking about anyway. Anyway, I got off work around 1:00 on Friday, picked Ben up from a friend's eagle project in Schertz and we headed down to heaven on Earth aka Guitar Center. It was pretty crazy there. Imagine, if you will, a fairly loud speaker system blaring alternative rock/metal in every corner of the store. Not too bad, just yet. Then add five to ten people on five to ten out-of-tune guitars with five to ten big amplifiers who think that they're each the next Eddie Van Halen and are trying to out do one another and be heard over the alternative rock/metal blaring out of the store's speaker system. Now, I like loud music. I love concerts. But concerts are organized, in other words, the band is (in theory) playing together. But this was utter chaos through a half stack. Yeah, not pretty. Anyway, we get down there and I bring in my old amp to trade in and the guy looks at it and says that they're having a sale and with the trade-in, he'll give me the ValveKing for $325 including tax. For a $430 amplifier, I figured that was pretty darn good so I tell him that I'll take it. Then, he asks to see my drivers license and asks if I'm eighteen. I say 'No, I'm only seventeen." He says that he can't take the trade-in unless I have someone eighteen or over with me to approve it. So, I had to call mom down and have her come in to approve the trade-in, which was lame. Fortunately, she was at the goodwill on Bitters and 281, so she just came down a little ways and signed for the amp and did all that good stuff. So, with a mild to severe headache, I was finally able to drive back to the Goodwill, pick up the girls (whom mom had left there to shop) and head home. On the way, I decided that I was tired of the metal kick that I have been on for the past couple of months and decided that I needed some pop-punk. Unfortunately, something happened to most of my pop-punk CD's and they ended up......somewhere. I know not where. So, I stopped at Best Buy to see if they had the new Stellar Kart. They didn't, but they did have Everything in Transit by Jack's Mannequin and Do You Feel by the Rocket summer. So, I talked the girls into paying for half of TRS's Cd and I bought Jack's Mannequin and everybody was happy. Then we had pizza for dinner and everybody was really happy. Let's see...what else...oh, yeah, there was the senior game night or whatever last week at the Meadow's house, which was cool. I had to go right there from work, but it was still good. Shakespeare, lol. We played 2 truths and a lie, the couch game and apples to apples. It was basically amazing. Last night, I closed, which was crazy. The whole store was a freaking disaster zone till about 10:00pm, when it finally started to slow down a little. At 9:30, Ronnie (the manager) had twelve lanes opened, and would have like to have the other two opened. That's how busy we were. I also set a record with carts. I pushed 25 all by my onsey, and 40 with Pj and Shane steering. So be proud of me. Anyway, I finished up parking lot at around quarter after eleven and came in to ask Ronnie if I could sign out and go home, since we closed at 11:00 and that was when I was scheduled to. Well, I found Ronnie and he had a basket of returns for me to take back. And I ended up not leaving till almost midnight. It was kind of fun, though. There wasn't anybody else in the store, it was just the few of us baggers who had closed and the overnight stockers. So here I am on Easter sunday, very happy that HEB's closed and updating my Xanga to aviod doing all of the journalism and other homework I have left. Anyway, I suppose I should sign off now. Rock on! -Eggs- Edit Edit Edit Okay, so, I don't usually bother with the featured question, but this time, I read it and was like, wow. I wanna answer that. So here goes: If you could put together a dream team of five bands to preform for you and friends, who would they be? 1) Disciple
2) Alter Bridge
3) The Showdown
4) Cellador
5) My Chemical Romance. Okay, I'm done. If that concert would ever come to San Antonio, I think I would die and go to heaven. Rock on! -Eggs- | | |
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