The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 181

So just crappy rock lol, got it.

(I do like 2 Hinder songs though, Better Than Me and their cover of Eddy Money's Take Me Home Tonight).

 

The best version of that cover.

 

Power Trip
Nightmare Logic
2017



@Michael Schmidt and I were paired for session 12 and he assigned me the album Nightmare Logic by Power Trip. I had heard of them before, but I had never heard any of their music. All I knew was that they were a metal band.

This is the second full-length release from the Texas-based Power Trip. Their first, Manifest Decimation, was released in 2013. From the album's opening track Soul Sacrifice to its closing track Crucifixation, this album absolutely never lets up. I was promised riffs and this album delivered them in spades. Every single track on this album is fantastic. Most of the tracks have solos and I enjoyed the relatively long intros that a few of the tracks (Soul Sacrifice and Nightmare Logic, to name a couple) had. The intro and outro of Waiting Around To Die was also really cool.

Musically, Power Trip seems to have perfected thrash metal and this album really feels timeless to me. I don't think it would've been too out of place in the 80s or 90s, but it doesn't feel dated at all. I don't tend to listen to much thrash metal, but this is definitely an album that fans of any type of heavy metal could (and should) enjoy.

The album is pretty short at only 8 tracks and 33 minutes and that 33 minutes really flies by. Something that I thought was pretty cool is that the outro on the closing track was the same as the intro on the opening track. It bookends the album really well and it made me want to play the album again (which I already intended to do because the album is awesome).

I definitely want to check out their first full-length album and I'll have to keep an eye on their touring plans, because it seems like they'd be a blast to see live.

My favorite tracks on the album so far are Soul Sacrifice, Executioner's Tax (Swing Of The Axe), Nightmare Logic, and If Not Us Then Who. That's half of the album right there and I could have easily included the other four tracks - that's how good this album is.

Thanks for introducing me to Power Trip @Michael Schmidt !

 

haha there's 2 guys with flames on shirt. which one?

 

I thought Fat Bottomed Girls was butt rock

 

This is what I'm here to see. Also Manifest Decimation is equally amazing.

 

I listened to both and not bad, but I still prefer the Hinder version. I think his raspy voice and more heavy rock guitars fit the song better. I also saw on youtube that Hinder also covered Thunderstruck and Born to Be Wild lol. All pretty good covers. This band should just have been a cover band tbh.

 

I’m jealous of Kev getting to hear Ride The Lightning for the first time this week.

 

The first 4 tracks are maybe my favorite stretch on any album.

 

Yeah that runs ridiculous, Fade To Black is probably my favourite Metallica song full stop. That albums doesn’t have any bad tracks it’s all great.

 

There really aren't, that is why even though I understand Master of Puppets and Black album arguments for their best album, I still protest haha.

Fade to Black is so great and when I saw them live last summer, was the best sounding song they played that night which I didn't expect.

 

Mine is Until It Sleeps lol

 

The only non St Anger song without a guitar solo lol! Until it Sleeps is a good song, but you will see the light sometime this week.

 

That just means you need to listen to more Metallica!

On a Metallica related side note, Metallica is coming to Cleveland next February! First time in about 10 years.

 

Only time I’ve seen it live it was without Lars on drums, it was when he was ill and they had Joey Jordison Dave Lombardo and their drum tech fill in for him. I think it was the drum tech that played that song and he did it justice (I say think because this was over 10 years ago and I was drunk).

 

oh man, sounds like they went all out for a Lars fill in. That'd be really cool to see.

 

It was an awesome set and probably the best set I’ve seen by them. It was at a festival which was why they had so many people around to help cover. Seeing Joey in full Slipknot getup play with the rest of Metallica was definitely a sight to behold.

Edit: I just found a video of the whole set, Joey was just in his mask.

 

Fun fact: in film writing class, I used Until It Sleeps as the theme song of my movie about a serial killer fighting his inner demons lol

 

Anywho before we overthrow his thread with lots of metal talk again.

My albums to review this week are definitely not metal and are the following Alt Country albums courtesy of @Jdaniels

Lucero - All A Man Should Do
Rhett Miller - The Dreamer

And I’ve given him the following 90’s/00’s alt rock albums:

Eels - Electro-Shock Blues
Idlewild - 100 Broken Windows

 

I have two one off requests to do this week (I took on 7 albums again, go me.) So I will be doing them first. The first one comes from my buddy @Nate_Johnson

Reggie And The Full Effect- 41

I am always a fan of someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and can have a sense of humor. They are some of my favorite people. Now imagine if that person made an album. You would get this. This album is amusing and charming, yet also very well made. As soon as you begin listening, you can tell that these guys just have fun making this album and want to make you laugh while you enjoy the music; and this is accomplished in spades.

As soon as the album starts, these songs struck me as quirky yet finely tuned. This isn't some joke band that is terrible at playing the music they are trying to gather laughs from you with; these guys are actually very skilled. This is very evident on the first string of songs, especially the third track 'Alone Again' which was the song that solidified me wanting to keep going with this album. There was something oddly hooking about this song, and familiar at the same time. Come to find out that Jerry Pauly of Pentimento had guest spots on this song with some very sweet backing. There are quite a few guest spots on this album, including shredding guitars from Ray Toro of My Chemical Romance, which instantly had my attention as well. This album has some very catchy, almost pop like songs on them that I can see myself returning to a lot, including 'Maggie' and 'New Years Day'. Each song has its own appeal, and no song sounds mundane or stagnant after the other, the sequencing on the album is great and the whole album runs like a curiously quirky well oiled machine. Closing track "Off Delaware" is perfection, with this sweet dark piano into that ends up intertwining with these rather surprising dark and emotional lyrics, in one of the more serious moments amongst the goofy parts of the album.

This is a very fun release. It has a fun spirit to it, it keeps your attention, and it never takes itself too seriously while also having some fun moments and some serious ones. The music is great, and the vocals are great. I could see myself returning to this one quite a bit in the future. They are opening for Senses Fail starting in a couple days, and I wish I could have gotten to go to that show not just for Senses but now to see these guys too. Stand out tracks: 'Alone Again', 'The Horrible Year', 'New Years Day', 'Maggie', 'Off Delaware'.
8/10

Next album comes from our resident newbie @suicidesaints

Glasseater- Everything Is Beautiful When You Don't Look Down

This 2003 album starts with one of the nicest opening shreds I have heard in a lot time. 'Greetings...Goodbye' is the first song on the album, and it comes right out of the gate to let you know that Glasseater isn't playing around. I had never even heard of this band before this recommendation was made to me, but as soon as I heard this song begin I had high hopes for the album. The vocal harmonization on this song sets a great precedent for the rest of the album, with some heavy guitars mixed with crooning guitar picking for the verses with some very personal lyrics like " i'm saying goodbye, you has these beautiful eyes, and the way you carried yourself. you made the impossible possible you opened my heart
and shine light on the darkness. i fell for you, you can't just break me in two, goodbye to you." Strong, emotional lyrics and a banger of a song to open the album, complete with some unclean vocals to add some passion to that final verse.

This song has some awesome pop punk sound to it, and some post hardcore screams sprinkled through out the songs. Sometimes they are very effective, such as in the great third track 'Falling Apart'. This album is at its best when it is using personal lyrics to its advantage, such as in the intro track and this one as well. Not to say there are not some less than stellar lines written in these songs, a couple of the more 'high school' esque lyrics made me frown, but they more than make up for it when the album gets personal. Musically, they are on point with shredding cords, especially when the heavy unclean vocals mix in with them before the vocals become more up beat and poppy and the guitars turn into these catchy riffs that you are bound to find yourself humming. This is best shown in 'At Your Own Risk' which opens a lot like Senses Fail's 'Shark Attack' before mixing in with Silverstein style vocals and lyrics. There are a few times on the album where the songs start to blend together, however the very next track usually seems to redeem it with some banger of a song. And with lyrics like "Why cant you see me through different eyes, why cant you love me with a different heart?" as sung on 'Break Away', these guys are bound to hit your sore soft nerve points somewhere with a relatable lyric in one of these songs. If you like Senses Fail and Silverstein, this album would be up your alley.

Overall I enjoyed this album; you can tell they tried hard and it paid off. Its not perfect by any means, but by god its a head banging shredding album and I loved pretty much every moment with it. I would recommend it to any fans of bands like Silverstein, especially their older work. This album is probably a hell of a time to see live, as some of these songs would do amazing in a GA admission venue or a festival tour setting. They are just bangers and fun ones at that, definitely a damn good listen. Stand Out Tracks: 'Greetings...Goodbye', 'Falling Apart', 'At Your Own Risk', 'Break Away'
7.5/10

 

I’m really glad you liked Reggie!

 

So am I!

 

The Shark Attack comparison is all I needed to give these albums a listen too!

 

I was recommended the Smashing Pumkins seminal double album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness released in 1995 by @bachna84 . This is a band that needs no introduction. They had several hits in the ‘90s and have become a major influence in a lot of alternative, rock, punk, indie, and even metal bands alike. This is band that simply crossed over to a lot of people for many different reasons.

My relationship with this band, and by extension, Billy Corrigan has mostly been relegated to the hit songs and that one Zwan song. My older sister was a big ‘90s grunge and alternative fan. I found a lot of good music at an early age because of it. A seven-year age difference will do that. Once I got introduced to Live, The Cranberries, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and many others, I was on my way to finding my own path through Third Eye Blind up to Green Day, NFG, and Blink-182 pop punk.

Throughout this childhood journey, I never went through any Smashing Pumpkins records. I would hear certain songs (some hits, some not) and dig the music, but then the vocals would come in and either be not what I was looking for or be a little too repetitive. Those early takes lead me to pretty much miss out on their discography.

So how do things stack up today? To be honest, not much has changed for me and this band. The only difference is that this time I really wanted to fall in love with this record and this band. I wanted to have those moments so many in this community have had. I wanted it to click. My feelings for songs like 1979 and Tonight, Tonight have not shifted, and really sum up this record from my vantage point. Musically, I am really into it and love the sounds. There is muddy grunge. There are riffs that are clearly coming from metal and punk. But the vocals still don’t work for me and I understand that is probably not a popular take.

I am really glad I was given this record to go through because it really is a musical journey and you can hear how this band influenced so much of what followed in rock music down the road. It's pretty undeniable in that sense. I will still go through their other records just to hear how things progress over time. I think I owe it to myself to do that for a staple act such as them. For me, the Smashing Pumpkins may end being my candy corn band. That being every year I give it a shot hoping it clicks, but really end up having no change in opinion. And maybe that’s ok. Even if I don’t ever get to have the moments like so many have had with them, at least I can appreciate what they have done for rock music as a whole.

 

Just a heads up, but @duritzfan13 and I haven't been in communication since the new pairings dropped. I sent them a note, but we may not be in for this next session.