DARK TRANQUILLITY "Where Death is Most Alive"

DARK TRANQUILLITY "Where Death is Most Alive" - (this double cd was culled from their recent double DVD and features a full concert from Italy on Halloween 2008. the sound quality is dang spiffy, with just enough of a raw edge and the audience is mixed in just right. in point of fact, this double disc is pretty sick. plenty of classic tracks on here - "The Wonders at Your Feet", "Therein", "Punish My Heaven", "The Treason Wall" and "Final Resistance", as well as newer anthems like "Lost to Apathy", "The New Build", "Focus Shift", "Nothing to No One" and "Terminus (Where Death is Most Alive)". They even throw in several surprises like "Dreamlore Degenerate", "FreeCard" and "Edenspring"!!! unfortunately, they did not play "Doberman", "Zodiyackal Light", or "The Sun Fired Blanks" or enough tracks from the "Character" or "Damage Done" records, like "Monochromatic Stains"!!! yes, they did not play "Monochromatic Stains". it is CRAZINESS!!! like if -


ACCEPT did not play "Balls to the Wall" or if

THIN LIZZY did not play "Jailbreak" or if

DEEP PURPLE did not play "Smoke on the Water" or if

LYNYRD SKYNYRD did not play "Freebird" or if

RATT did not play "Round and Round" or if

ASPHYX did not play "Vermin" or if

CHARLEY PRIDE did not play "Kiss an Angel Good Morning".


but if you can get past that faux paux (hey that's French for something) than this double cd is teats) Click to Buy From FYE!

BAT WITHOUT WINGS (1980)

BAT WITHOUT WINGS ( * * * ) - This is one of the weirder Shaw Bros. films, with a maiden being captured by the villain Bat Without Wings, whom they all thought was slain, but is now is back to violate and dismember the womenfolk. the maiden's betrothed, her father and a kung fu fighter team up to rescue her. crazed kung fu flick from 1980 has plenty of intrigue and plot twists, as well as a bit of gore, bodily dismemberment and people melting. but most notable is that the Bat Without Wings (who can actually fly, despite his name) looks like a cross between Gene Simmons and King Diamond!!! Heck, I think Gene Simmons even considered filing a lawsuit against producer Run Run Shaw, but do think anything came of it. story is a bit hard to follow, but the killings are unique and there is an eerie atmosphere you would expect from something like the classic "Tombs of the Blind Dead", and not from a kung fu flick. good stuff and great stunts from the director of "Killer Clans" and "The Magic Blade"… Click to Buy From FYE!

COCK SPARRER "Here We Stand"

COCK SPARRER "Here We Stand" - (this band has been around for well over 30 years and still keeps it real. "Here We Stand" is Cock Sparrer's first studio album in a decade and I may be going on a limb here, but it is quite possibly the GREATEST PUNK ALBUM EVER!!!! The production is perfect, the guitars crisp, and these working class sing-along anthems of drinking, love lost and anger are universal themes that everyone can relate to. the best songs are the first six and the last two, but they are all solid. "Do You Have a Nice Life Without Me?", "Suicide Girls", "Sussed" and "Better Than This" are anthems that usher in the new decade proper. the bestest tracks, though are "Too Late", "Gotta Get Out", "So Many Things" and the single "Spirit of '76", the latter of which has to be in the top five for best punk songs ever! the bonus DVD features the head of Pirate Press Records sharing stories of Cock Sparrer's first US tour in 2000 and talking about how they are just about the greatest thing that ever was. there is a brief making of the album segment and raw live footage of "Gotta Get Out", "So Many Things" and their classic, the quintessential punk rock anthem - "We're Coming Back". sure, they are older, but they are still angry and still out-rock everyone. get this and a 12 pack and crank it up, as Cock Sparrer are still the best punk band that ever was!) On Sale Now at FYE!

BLOODLINED CALLIGRAPHY "Ypsilanti"

BLOODLINED CALLIGRAPHY "Ypsilanti" - (their 2nd album has more pessimistical lyrics and is harsher and angrier than the first couple releases. the meanest songs are "Is You Asking or Is You Telling?", "Take It or Leave It", "From Here on Out" and "If Heaven Ain't A Lot Like Ypsi, I Don't Wanna Go". Evidently, Ypsilanti is a town in Dakota Territory. again, the religious and straight edge stance is a bummer. I know that straight edge is all about being sober and beating people up, but you can beat people up whilst drinking as well, so all the straight edge kids need to give beer a chance. not much else to say about this, as I am starting to get burned out on this metalcore stuff. they are all starting to blur together and it is beginning to get both monotonous AND repetitive. but if you want some christcore that makes Living Sacrifice sound like Celine Dion in comparison, I guess this is for ewe…) Click to Shop at FYE!

BLOODLINED CALLIGRAPHY "They Want You Silent"

BLOODLINED CALLIGRAPHY "They Want You Silent" - (think this be the debut disc from this christcore act and it is a step up from their "The Beginning of the End" EP. granted, the message is still too positive and uplifting, but there are a couple strong tracks here, like ""Shall We Dance" and "Sundress". one track was excruciating, though - "Know When to Hold Em" which features whining female vocals. now, I don't mind women in hardcore, as someone has to sew patches on your jacket and someone should watch the merch booth but when they start whining, it makes you want to play windmill and throw elbows in someone's face, and not in a friendly way. overall, if you are open-minded you might dig it, but I would rather hear Despised Icon, Dead to Fall or One Life Crew..) Hear the Album for Yourself Here!

BLACK ANVIL "Time Insults the Mind"

BLACK ANVIL "Time Insults the Mind" - (just when you thought that there was only enough room for Anvil and Anvil Chorus in the metal world, here comes Black Anvil! granted, this has been out awhile, but Relapse done did re-issued it proper. may take a couple spins to get over the dry production, but then it will hit you like an anvil that this band rocks. they sound kind of black metal, but not like that weak and boring stuff that permeates Norway like snow, as there is enough of an old speed metal and even a bit of a doom vibe to it to not insult your ears like most of that arsonistic ,pompous pop music. in a bombshell, it is like a cross between Early Man and Cadaver's "Necrosis" album. vocals are raspy and a bit generic, but at least there are no weeping moments. best tracks are "Deathsomnia" and "On This Day Death", with the bestest being "Release the Kraken" and "L.T.H.L.T.K.", which I think means "Live to Hunt Love to Kill" but ain't fer shore. They end things up with a sick version of Celtic Frost's "Dethroned Emperor", which of course has been covered by everyone from Slaughter (Canadian Slaughter not the horrid glam act from the ex-Vinnie Vincent Invasion singer) to Brutal Truth to Obituary to Vomit Snack, but Black Anvil really nails it. the vocals are deeper and gruffer on the cover track and I think they should use that approach on their next disc, as it sounds so much more heavy. overall, a solid debut and I think that these guys can cause some serious damage if given the right exposure…) Click to Buy on FYE!

BLOODLINED CALLIGRAPHY "The Beginning of the End"

BLOODLINED CALLIGRAPHY "The Beginning of the End" - (think this was the debut EP from this death metalcore act. it has five tracks and though it is mostly heavy, there are a few strikes against it. it appears that they are a religious band and they are straight-edge and the songs are all about "feelings" and "unity" and the kind of stuff that may work for an oi band but ruins hardcore, as it should all be about drinking brew and punching people. and if you are going to be religious, it would work better if they were zealots, singing songs about setting heathens on fire and leveling their cities, schools, hospitals and orphanages. alas, worse than all of this, is that there are two songs with emo whining in them. that is a "no-no". dang, and I thought that a band with a song called "The Saddest Girl to Ever Hold a Martini" would be all about drinking and nihilism instead of this "positive message" yarn…) View This and More at FYE!