“Originally Steel Druhm was going to write this review, but I used my Inception-like powers to convince him I should handle it. I’ve spent the days since, chewing on my nails, wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into – no pressure at all! What to write?” Don’t screw this up, rookie!
“Devil To Pay is the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Steve Janiak. A Bend Through Space And Time is their fifth album, and follows up 2013’s Fate Is Your Muse. Both records focus lyrically on the metaphysical and anything one hallucinates about when in a drug-induced coma, as Janiak was a few years ago.” To sleep, perchance to jam.
“I’m not a fan of gimmick band names. I’m also not a fan of gimmick album names, or gimmick song titles, or gimmick bands in general. It’s just all too gimmicky. Maybe I’m just a cranky old fella (Angry Olde Guy?), but if I want comedy in an album I’ll throw on my old Howie Mandel cassette. So when I see an album called Jewel of the Vile, by a band called Necromancing the Stone, complete with saucy cover art, I groan.” Romancing the groan?
“One day a man was trapped out on a ledge – don’t ask why – with no way to get down except to jump. The fire trucks came and laid out a net for him, but he wanted something safer. They brought a pile of mattresses, but he still wasn’t satisfied. “Use the new Zodiac record!” he called down. The firemen nodded in understanding.” Living on the ledge!
“The country of Sweden is home to 9.9 million people. Judging from the number of bands that come out of that land, 10 million of those individuals are musicians. And good ones, too. In this latest version of his band, Karmakanic founder and bassist Jonas Reingold (also of The Flower Kings) attempts to use as many of them as possible. No less than twelve artists get credited on Karmakanic’s fifth full-length release, DOT.” I once knew a Swede that wasn’t in a band. He was actually in 5 bands.
“Dear mother: my battle for acceptance in the brutal world of AMG Amalgamated Blogworks, Ltd. goes on. I’ve survived the gauntlet of milquetoast prog submissions and am a better man for it. There is no respite for the “New Guy,” however: this week my inbox greeted me with a fist to the face in the form of a French power metal album and I fear I may not survive this next phase. Power metal and France typically do not go hand in hand.” The struggle goes on and on.
“I could spend all 700 words of this review talking about why Wolverine is a horrible name for this band. As most of us northerners are aware, wolverines are vicious beasts capable of bringing down prey far larger than themselves. They have a gluttonous reputation, and almost no other creatures want to mess with them. Wolverines certainly wouldn’t be in a band that featured keyboards, or harmony backing vocals, or heaven forbid a fretless bass solo.” What’s in a name, you ask?
“Airbag is a great name for a band. I’d never heard of them until a week ago. Comparisons to Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree are enough to get this prog geek’s ears up, and here we are, listening to their fourth album, Disconnected. Giving your album the same name as the classic Fates Warning record is cheeky indeed, but my hopes are high that this band can pull it off.” He’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes.
“The evolution of a band can be a compelling tale, or it can be a train wreck. In the former category, we have Opeth (death metal kings to natty 70s prog worshippers) and Anathema (middling doom metal to dreamy, proggy house band at the Hallmark card factory). In the latter, Queensryche (well, Geoff Tate in particular, who went from legendary prog metal frontman to weirdo). Dark Suns has been evolving too, and they hope to fit in with the former acts.” Evolution is often overrated.
