Slipknot Continue to Release Great Songs with Messed Up Videos…

I’ve liked Slipknot’s music since the beginning, really. I was going through my angry teen phase when their eponymous album was released (although, without the “angry” side – I was always more curmudgeonly than angry). Their musical aggression and interesting interviews always kept them on my playlists. As new albums were released, and the band evolved, they remained there. Side-projects emerged – Stone Sour the best by miles. But always Slipknot remained waiting in the wings to drop a new album just when fans were starting to get impatient.

Their fifth album, The Gray Chapter will be released on October 21st by Roadrunner Records. Two singles have already been released: “The Devil In I” and “The Negative One”. Both, naturally, have really messed-up, horror-influenced music videos. And may even one-up Marilyn Manson, this time around. Here they are:

THE DEVIL IN I (the better of the two, in my opinion)

THE NEGATIVE ONE

I must confess, also, to still not really understanding the value that Clown adds to the songs. Every so often, he hits a bit drum. In previous songs, it was with a baseball bat. He never seems to add much to the groove or overall quality of the song. It seems he is just an angry dude in a clown mask, who sometimes helps out with the artwork and “artistic direction”.

New Asking Alexandria Music Video…

… shows the band’s ‘softer’ side. Unlike “The Death of Me”, which is one of the best hard rock/metal songs ever written, “Moving On” has a bit more of an ’80s ballad vibe, with an added modern sheen. The song is also from From Death to Destiny, and is one of my favourites from the album. Here’s the video:

Music Video: “Rusted Nail” by In Flames

In Flames is one of my favourite bands – their last couple of albums haven’t had as much of an impact on me, though. Reroute to Remain and The Quiet Place are still two of my favourite albums. They recently unveiled a new video for “Rusted Nail”, the first single from their upcoming album Siren Charms. Here it is, via Metal Hammer:

It’s not bad. Not their best, but still pretty good. Think it’ll grow on me after a few more listens. A softer sound for the band, too, which is interesting.

Music Saturday: HEARTIST and ASKING ALEXANDRIA (a bit of a rambling piece…)

As I’ve mentioned in the past on here, one of my other passions is music (in fact, this is a passion that has dominated far more of my life than books and reading). I used to spend hours each day investigating new bands, albums, songs – subscribing to multiple magazines (even importing them from the US). I even ran a little fanzine, “MWRI” – a Terry Pratchett reference, “Music With Rocks In” (even then, I was a SFF fan). Recently, however, I’ve been listening to less new music.

Partly, this grew from an impression that things were starting to stagnate a little in the rock and metal communities. “Heavier and Louder” were the order of the decade, it seemed. I like plenty of groove and melody, though, so when ever some of my favourite bands started to conform to the “bludgeon thy listener unto death” gospel of rock, I lost ever-more interest, narrowing the number of bands I followed religiously. True, this is just a personal impression resulting from exposure to what felt like endless hardcore clones. Nevertheless, I felt slightly disillusioned with the scene I had called home since I bought Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion I and Iron Maiden’s Fear of the Dark as a kid (I should thank Chris Green, a school friend, for lending me his discman and these two albums when I was ill – eternal gratitude). Although, I think Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA was the first album I loved (not as “hard” rock, but still part of the same larger community, I’ve always thought).

Over the past couple of years, though, melody and groove seem to be making a massive come-back, as bands and fans remember that it’s rock and roll, and that there’s nothing wrong with writing hooks. One of my favourite bands, Five Finger Death Punch, have been releasing consistently excellent (and progressively better) albums each year. Trivium rediscovered their love of classic, Metallica-esque metal, and released a stunning album. And so on. Recently, I finally discovered to new (for me) bands that write in the bounds of my tastes: HEARTIST and ASKING ALEXANDRIA.

Music: The Unguided

Just a quick post – one of my favourite bands, Sonic Syndicate, seems to be going through some major line-up changes. In fact, they’ve lost their two original vocalists (Richard Sjunneson and Roland Johansson) as well as their founding guitarist (Roger Sjunneson – apparently, they had a strict “R”-first-name membership policy…). Anyway, the three former members have got together in a new band, The Unguided. I haven’t heard much of their music, but it’s quite similar (if heavier and slightly-less-polished at this point), so I’m hopeful this new band will have a promising and long career. Here’s a video for their latest single:

The Unguided’s new album, Hell Frost, is out now (CD, MP3, etc.), as their debut EP, Nightmareland.

Music Video: “Burn It Down” by Linkin Park (Warner Bros.)

I’m having a rather Linkin Park-themed day, with their music videos playing in the background on repeat, and thanks to IceBergInk’s Scott, I discovered that the video for their latest single, “Burn It Down” has finally been released! The song’s from their upcoming album, Living Things (released end of June), which I’m very much looking forward to.

“American Capitalist” by Five Finger Death Punch

I started my reviewing ‘career’ (for want of a better word) with music – rock and metal, to be exact. It is my other passion alongside reading, but after a few years of reviewing albums that progressively started sounding ever-more like cookie-cutter bands, one day I just decided to shut it all down. Record labels were informed that I would no longer accept review copies, and after catching up on what I’d already received, I would simply stop.

Roll on a couple years, and I find myself toying with the idea of getting back into it a little bit. There are fewer bands who come close to exciting my musical tastes, but 2011 proved to be a pretty stellar year for rock and metal music. Sure, the trend remains “heavier is better and hang the melody”, but there are a few bands still waving the standard for blending technical skill, melody, heaviness and originality.

So, I offer a rare, short music review, if you’ll indulge me…

Five Finger Death Punch (5FDP) are an American hard rock-metal band, and with their third album, American Capitalist, they have hit their stride. The album’s an absolute beast! The band’s sound is muscular, polished, confident, and has a superb mix of melody and brutality.