Album Review: Mastodon-Once More 'Round the Sun

Anyone who regularly reads this blog or knows me personally knows that Mastodon is my all-time favorite band. Ever since I heard "Iron Tusk" for the first time when I was 14, Mastodon's music has captivated and delighted me consistently. With being an avid follower of their music for so long, I know that the only thing to expect from Mastodon is that every album they make has a unique sound that differs from anything they've done previously. Their sixth LP, Once More 'Round the Sun, is the most accessible record they've ever released, which is both a good and bad thing for the future of the band.

Once More 'Round Sun takes the more rock-n'-roll based sound that was established on 2011's The Hunter and takes it to the next level. About half of this record carries such a strong vintage rock sound that it sounds like material Thin Lizzy or Deep Purple would've released in their heyday. Even with Once More 'Round the Sun carrying the most drastic change in sound of their career so far, Mastodon's strength as a band remains in the songwriting department. Guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor remain the gold standard for guitar/drum duos in music. Hinds continues to effortlessly crank out memorable riffs that range from punchy sludge to Jimi Hendrix-esque psychedelia while Dailor still manages to be as unpredictable and chaotic with his drumming as he was when the band started.

The one area where Mastodon has really improved on with Once More 'Round the Sun is the hooks. The Hunter was their first time making a record with a lot of traditional clean-sung hooks and it showed in places ("Octopus Has No Friends", "Curl of the Burl".) On Once More 'Round the Sun, they've really worked out the kinks in that department and by working out the kinks, I mean they let Dailor-the best singer in the band by far- sing a majority of the choruses. The hooks on "The Motherload", "Ember City" and lead single "High Road" are undeniably infectious and have been embedded into my brain since I heard first heard this record a couple of weeks ago. Arena-ready hooks may sound like an odd touch for Mastodon, but they fit their new sound perfectly and anchor most of the album's stronger tracks.

The new rock-based formula Mastodon uses on this record certainly does not come without its drawbacks. Troy Sanders' vocals don't adapt well to the change in sound in the slightest. Sanders' vocals, which have been so powerful in the past, sound pretty weak for a vast majority of the album and take away from the quality of the musical compositions. The shortcomings of Sanders' vocals on Once More 'Round the Sun isn't even really his fault. As someone who's seen Mastodon live within the past couple months and thoroughly enjoyed the Killer Be Killed record that was released in May; I can confirm that Sanders can still sing just fine. The fallman for Sanders' underwhelming vocals is producer Nick Raskulinecz. Raskulinecz's clean production style just doesn't gel well with Sanders' raw, raspy vocal delivery. Sanders' vocal deficiencies really come out on the album's slower tracks such as "Asleep in the Deep". "Asleep in the Deep" musically reminded me of the amazing "This Mortal Soil" from Blood Mountain and until the stunted vocals from Sanders came in, the song was damn near perfect. Raskulinecz's production not working for Sanders is especially strange because Dailor and Hinds- who's vocals on the title track and "Halloween" are the best he's ever done- sound excellent throughout. Unforunately, Sanders has the heaviest workload of Mastodon's trio of vocalists, so the fact that his vocals are so crappy undoes much of the positive effect Raskulinecz's production had on the vocals of Dailor and Hinds.

Though the vocals were my biggest beef with this record, I'd be remiss to not point out the couple of tracks on here that just flat-out don't work. "Aunt Lisa" and "Diamond in the Witch House" fail spectacularly in completely different ways. "Aunt Lisa" is actually a perfectly fine track up until the last minute when Mastodon decides to unload the biggest WTF moment in their history by having an all-female choir repeat the phrase "Hey ho, let's fucking go. Hey ho, let's get up and rock-n'roll" behind a shockingly heavy riff (which doesn't improve things in the slighest) for the remainder of the song. If my facial expression had been captured the first time I heard this, it would've went viral and become the new go-to "derp face" meme. On the other hand, "Diamond in the Witch House" is a track that fails against all odds. It's easily the least accessible track on the album with an over seven-minute runtime and a guest spot from the always awesome Scott Kelly of Neurosis-who's previously been featured on such Mastodon classics as "Aqua Dementia" and "Crystal Skull". Instead, "Diamond in the Witch House" is essentially the most boring Neurosis song ever made. Even though it's Mastodon's lone attempt at making a sludge track on the entire record, there's not a single noteworthy riff throughout which causes the song to plod along in no man's land for what seems like hours. "Diamond in the Witch House" is hurt even further by it's placement on the record. It not only closes the record with a thud, it also kills the momentum that the two excellent preceding tracks ("Ember City" and "Halloween") built up. About the best thing I can say about ""Aunt Lisa" and "Diamond in the Witch House" is as at least they're better than The Hunter's lowlight "Creature Lives".

I'm going to be completely honest, I would like Once More 'Round the Sun more if it was by a different band. It may sound like nitpicking to some people, but the entire time I was listening to this record I couldn't help but be somewhat underwhelmed because I know Mastodon is capable of making much better music than the material that is on here. Mastodon is at their best when making heavy, raw music with progressive undertones and there's just not very much of that on Once More 'Round the Sun. The musicality that has made them such a fixture in modern metal is still present, they're just too polished and too infatuated with making old-school rock-n'-roll records now to have the same awe-inspiring power that they had from Remission through Crack the Skye. They're far too talented of a band to put out something that's complete and utter shit, but ultimately I don't like the more straightforward direction Mastodon has been going in of late. They're becoming more and more of a shell of their former selves in their post- Crack the Skye years and as a longtime diehard fan, it sucks to watch. Despite all of my grievances with this album and my general discontent with the direction their music is headed in, I can't deny that Once More 'Round the Sun is still a quality record with a handful of really brilliant songs on it. This will undoubtedly appeal to more people than any other record Mastodon has put out before and in the process, should expose a lot of new listeners to the brilliance of their discography. Even if it's not with an album that's I absolutely love, it's great that Once More 'Round the Sun will be the record that finally gives Mastodon the level of mass exposure they should of got a decade ago.
       
4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.The Motherload
2.Ember City
3.Once More 'Round the Sun

2014 NFL Position Rankings: Top 20 Centers

Centers wrap up the offensive line portion of this 2014 NFL position ranking series, here are the 20 best o-line generals in the league in my humble opinion.

20.Scott Wells (Rams)

19.Eric Wood (Bills)

18.Brian De La Puente (Bears)

17.Nick Hardwick (Chargers)

16.Jonathan Goodwin (Saints)

15.Travis Fredrick (Cowboys)

14.Stefan Wisnewski (Raiders)

13.Chris Myers (Texans)

12.Nick Mangold (Jets)

11.Evan Dietrich-Smith (Buccaneers)

10.Mike Pouncey (Dolphins)

9.Roberto Garza (Bears)

8.Ryan Kalil (Panthers)

7.Maurkice Pouncey (Steelers)

6.Manny Ramirez (Broncos)

5.Max Unger (Seahawks)

4.Dominic Raiola (Lions)

3.Jason Kelce (Eagles)

2.John Sullivan (Vikings)

1.Alex Mack (Browns)

Concert Review: The Variations-- Beverly, MA-- June 28th, 2014

The Pickled Onion in Beverly, Massachusetts was exploding with energy last night as the Variations rocked the house with three powerful and consistently engaging sets.

Out of the four times I've seen The Variations play since mid-April, this was the best set I've seen them play by a pretty wide margin. From the opening notes of "A-Punk" to the final moments of raucous closer "Shout" , the band was absolutely on fire. What really makes The Variations standout in the sea of local cover bands is the variety of material they play. Instead of the same old 15-20 song 60's/70's soft rock rotation that dominates a majority of the area's cover acts catalogs, The Variations cover everything from late 50's rock n'roll (The Isley Brothers, Chuck Berry) to 2000's alternative/indie rock bands (Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse) with the same level of precision and enthusiasm.  The band is able to tackle this deep of a catalog by having three members of the band perform lead vocals. Guitarist/keyboardist Nick Russo, bassist Jeff Medoff and drummer Jimmy Legere are all gifted, versatile vocalists who manage to bring a different flavor to each track they perform. While The Variations ability to gracefully and organically move across generations with their music is impressive, the band is at their best when they're showing off their musicality. Tracks like "Sunshine of Your Love", "Take Me Out" and especially the instrumental jam-heavy "Rockin' in the Free World" do an excellent job of showcasing the immense level of talent each member of the band possesses. You can also tell the band has the most fun playing these tracks as they get to really let loose and just rock everyone in the audience's face off. I've seen a lot of cover bands in my day and The Variations are by far at top of the heap. If you live anywhere on the North Shore, you need to check out one of their shows ASAP.

The Variations Upcoming Shows (July-August):
Friday July 18th at Murphy's in Salem. MA (8-10)
Friday July 25th at Village Tavern in Salem, MA (9-12:30)
Saturday July 26th at Fibber McGee's in Beverly, MA (9-12:30)
Saturday August 9th at Village Tavern in Salem, MA (9-12:30)
Saturday August 23rd at The Pickled Onion in Beverly, MA (9-1)   

Check them out on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/TheVariationsBand

Score:
The Variations 14/10

Setlist:
Set 1:
A-Punk (Vampire Weekend cover)
Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf cover)
Soul Kitchen (The Doors cover)
Sunshine of Your Love (Cream cover)
Listen to Her Heart (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
Gloria (Van Morrison cover)
Lonely Boy (The Black Keys cover)
Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry cover)
Call Me the Breeze (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Centerfold (J. Geils Band cover)

Set 2:
Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes cover)
Badfish (Sublime cover)
Could You Be Loved (Bob Marley and the Wailers cover)
Only Wanna Be with You (Hootie and the Blowfish cover)
Island in the Sun (Weezer cover)
The Break-Up Song (Greg Kihn Band cover)
You May Be Right (Billy Joel cover)
Save Tonight (Eagle-Eye Cherry cover)
Twist and Shout (The Isley Brothers cover)
Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison cover)
You Really Got Me (The Kinks cover)
Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover)

Set 3:
American Girl (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)
Tell Me Baby (Red Hot Chili Peppers cover)
Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry cover)
867-5309/Jenny (Tommy Tutone cover)
What I Got (Sublime cover)
The Joker (Steve Miller Band cover)
Float On (Modest Mouse cover)
Take Me Out (Franz Ferdinand cover)
All the Small Things (blink-182 cover)
Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind cover)
Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show/Darius Rucker cover)
What I Like About You (The Romantics cover)
Shout (The Isley Brothers cover)

50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #28

28.Killswitch Engage-As Daylight Dies (2006)

Timing of release is the only reason As Daylight Dies- the fourth LP from Massachusetts metalcore act Killswitch Engage- qualifies for this list. As Daylight Dies had the daunting task of following two undisputed metalcore classics in 2002's Alive or Just Breathing and 2004's The End of Heartache; which in turn caused the record to be judged by incredibly lofty standards and, eventually led to the record ultimately getting buried within KSE's discography. While As Daylight Dies isn't quite as strong as either of their aforementioned landmark releases, it plays off the same strengths that made those records special. This record is also historic for being the last memorable piece of work they did with Howard Jones as their frontman. Jones-who left the band in 2010-spends all of As Daylight Dies showcasing his stellar vocal range behind guitarist Adam Dutkewicz's energetic and consistently catchy riffs. As Daylight Dies isn't the crowning achievement of Killswitch Engage's career, but it's still one of most fun, well-crafted and all-around best metalcore releases ever made.

Standout Tracks
1.Daylight Dies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l337PIKMKo
2.For You (no YouTube link)
3.Unbroken http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dXDSoe2s6c

Album Review: Riff Raff-Neon Icon

After numerous delays, Riff Raff's first major-label LP Neon Icon has finally arrived. Since Neon Icon is by no stretch of the imagination a normal record, I'm going to go against my typical writing style and do my first ever track-by-track review. Normally I'm against track-by-track reviews, but I feel like its the only way to properly evaluate the balls-out insanity of Neon Icon. Without further ado, I present to you a landmark review for a landmark album.

1."Introducing the Icon": It only takes about 5 seconds into Neon Icon for the first belly laugh to occur as Riff Raff uses this stereotypical California surfer dude accent to document a conversation between two guys discussing how great of an artist Riff Raff is. As for the actual rapping, it's the perfect introduction not just for this album, but for Riff Raff in general. The verses are loaded with random pop-culture references, the bass-heavy beat is guaranteed to shake any set of speakers and the energy level is off-the-charts. "Introducing the Icon" is a top-flight Riff Raff track that perfectly sets the tone for this entire record.
Best Riffism: "Hey Julia Stiles, Save the Last Dance" 


2."Kokayne": "Kokayne" is the first of the many times on Neon Icon where I began to wonder what in the sweet fuck I was listening to. Electronic musician and Riff Raff's boss at Mad Decent Records, Diplo, throws down a surf rock guitar-driven beat while Riff spits bar after bar about his love for the white pony (or rice as he likes to call it.) Riff Raff rapping about cocaine over music that sounds like what I'd imagine The Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" would sound like if it was recorded in 2014 may sound like a joke, but it's 100% real and it's 100% glorious.
Best Riffism: "I then done spent a grand on a ham steak. I should charge you ten grand for a handshake."

3."Wetter than Tsunami": Another banger with great quotes galore, an in-your-face trap beat, and perhaps the best hook of the entire album. "Wetter than Tsunami" is basically the not quite as great version of "Introducing the Icon".
Best Riffism: "Step inside the club and I smell like Power Ranger"

4."Jody 3 Moons": Basically all you need to know about this skit is that Riff Raff talks to the audience as the moon for a minute and a half about the pro's and con's of human life, being nice to everyone you meet and how it's okay to cry when life gets tough. Not since Lil B's magnum opus "I Love You" has such a powerful message been put into song.
Best Riffism: "Hey everybody, this is the moon talking to you. I'm calling in from outer space, it's a pretty far distance."

5."Versace Python": "Versace Python" is the first time on Neon Icon where Riff Raff tries his hand at combining pop and hip-hop. The clean-sung hook is actually pretty catchy and Riff's tongue-twisting rapping style sounds pretty good over a more mellow beat than he usually flows over. Out of all the pop-tinged tracks on Neon Icon, "Versace Python" is by far the most successful.
Best Riffism: "Now I'm in Chinatown, bok choi"

6."Lava Glaciers": I'd like to blame Childish Gambino for single-handily screwing up what is otherwise one of the finest tracks on the record. His overly serious verse tries to mimic Kendrick Lamar's flow and rhyme scheme from "The Art of Peer Pressure", and it's just embarrassing to listen to. Gambino's spot on this track is a brilliant example of everything I dislike about him (thinking he's far more clever than he actually is, annoying flow, references to his previous songs) on the same verse. Even though Gambino showed some improvement as a rapper on Because the Internet, I wish he would just go back to being Donald Glover and stick with his true calling in the world of comedy. That being said, Riff's hysterical verse and Harry Fraud's wild beat with the creepy 50's sample that seems to have been pulled straight off the radio from Fallout 3 are more than enough for this track to overcome the disastrous Gambino guest spot.
Best Riffism: "Ate the pork chop sandwich with the tartar sauce, in the packet that I found in my purple Prada pocket protector."

7."Tip Toe Wing in My Jawdinz": This is the first time I've ever said this about a Riff Raff song, but this shit is just too ridiculous for me to enjoy it. The hook is repetitive and annoying, the eerie beat falls incredibly flat and there just isn't enough good lines (though the 2-3 lines that do hit are absolute gold) to make this track worthwhile.
Best Riffism: "I'm at a slumber party, girls only, got you mad. But you can sleep outside, here's my Versace sleeping bag".
  
8."Maybe You Love Me": The most notable thing about "Maybe You Love Me" is receiving  confirmation that Mike "Cooler Then Me" Posner is still alive. I thought for sure that dude died after that horrid and completely absurd guest spot on 2 Chainz's "In Town" a couple years ago. Posner's grating voice on the hook and bridge is the primary reason this cracked-out love ballad misfires. Not even Riff's references to having iguana shoelaces and taking his beau on a trip to Mississippi because her "attitude is shitty" can cancel out the sheer aura of awfulness that Posner brings to this song.
Best Riffism: "Hot like five saunas, my shoelaces is iguana"
   
9. "Aquaberry Dolphin": After the underwhelming "Maybe You Love Me", Riff bounces back in a big way with "Aquaberry Dolphin"- which I found to be the crowning achievement of Neon Icon.  With a runtime of just over two minutes, Riff is forced to drop a brief verse and that concise approach leads to his sharpest and most consistenly amusing verse on the entire record. Mac Miller is equally to thank for the success of "Aquaberry Dolphin"; pulling double duty on the boards and on the mic for this track. Miller's killer piano-driven beat (complete with dolphin sounds!) and goofy verse (which features brilliant quotables like "I don't mean no blasphemy, Jesus eats at Applebee's) perfectly complement Riff's absurd style. "Aquaberry Dolphin" has managed to unseat "Chop Another Rock" as my all-time favorite Riff Raff song.
Best Riffism: "Aw shit look who it is, the white Wesley Snipes." 

10."The Bloomingdales at Windshire Palace":  Riff shows off a level of sophistication he's never shown in the past by embodying his inner Brit on the second skit of the album. I wouldn't be surprised if the majestic beauty and charm of this bit was enough to get him immediately knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Best Riffism: "My grandfather just knitted me some stockings. Yes he did!" 

11."Time": Good lord is this song a trip. Even for someone who is as consistently strange and unpredictable as Riff Raff is, I never expected him to make a full-blown country song, but boy am I glad that he did. I had to pause this song numerous times the first time I heard it just to collect myself from laughing so hard at the intentionally cheesy lyrics. It really can't even be put into words just how odd and hilarious this track is. "Time" is legitimately more enjoyable than any of the pop trash that passes for country in the modern era.
Best Riffism: "I got no wife, I got no kids.  No one to come home to, no one to cook for me. And when I'm sick, it's a catastrophe."

12."How to Be the Man": "How to Be the Man" is kind of old news now as it was the first single released off Neon Icon last fall. Nonetheless, the track is still quite enjoyable and is exactly the type of material you've come to expect from good ol' Jody Highroller over the years.
Best Riffism: "Floatin' through the sky, M-M-Mary Poppins."

13."Cool It Down": Certainly a step up from the last pop/rap hybrid "Maybe You Love Me", but it still underwhelms on the whole as Riff just kind of coasts through the verses behind a subpar beat. The out-of-place Amber Coffman hook doesn't do much to help matters either.
Best Riffism: "I done shook dice with Pete Rose"

14."VIP Pass to My Heart": Out of all the bizarre experiments on Neon Icon, none crashes and burns harder than "VIP Pass to My Heart". It's a straight-up autotuned pop song with lyrics that are corny as all hell without even being remotely funny. Not to mention, the song basically just repeats the same handful of lines for its entire three and a half minute duration. "VIP Pass to My Heart" is the only track on all of Neon Icon that I feel is truly awful.
Best Riffism: None

15."How to Be the Man" (remix): The remix term can be used loosely here as the same DJ Mustard beat and hook of the original "How to Be the Man" are used on the remix. However, this track still manages to be noteworthy thanks to guest spots from Riff's fellow Houston MC's Slim Thug and Paul Wall. Anytime 2/3 of the trio that brought the world the classic "Still Tippin" are on the same track, it's guaranteed to be Boss Hogg on candy.
Best Riffism: "Rap Game Sady Hawkins, got a ticket for jay-walking"

Even with a few misses along the way, Neon Icon manages to be an incredibly entertaining and diverse record from Riff Raff. Neon Icon is just such an over-the-top spectacle that it demands to be listened to by anyone who fancies themselves a hardcore music fun. Whether you love him or hate him, there's no denying that there is no other artist right now that makes music that's as giddily odd and irreverent as Riff Raff does. Long live the Neon Icon.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Aquaberry Dolphin (feat. Mac Miller)
2.Time
3.Introducing the Icon    

2014 NFL Position Rankings: Top 30 Guards

The NFL player ranking madness continues today with the sneakily deep position of guard. Here are my picks for the 30 best in the league entering 2014.

30. J.R. Sweezy (Seahawks)

29.Mike Pollak (Bengals)

28.Justin Blalock (Falcons)

27.Mackenzy Bernadeau (Cowboys)

26.Richie Incognito (Free Agent)

25.Jon Asamoah (Falcons)

24.Kraig Urbik (Bills)

23.Willie Colon (Jets)

22.Alex Boone (49ers)

21.Roger Saffold (Rams)

20.Kevin Zeitler (Bengals)

19.T.J. Lang (Packers)

18.Brandon Brooks (Texans)

17.Ramon Foster (Steelers)

16.Travelle Wharton (Free Agent)

15.Ben Grubbs (Saints)

14.Brandon Fusco (Vikings)

13.David DeCastro (Steelers)

12.Kyle Long (Bears)

11.Mike Iupati (49ers)

10.Geoff Schwartz (Giants)

9.Andy Levitre (Titans)

8.Logan Mankins (Patriots)

7.Matt Slauson (Bears)

6.Larry Warford (Lions)

5.Jahri Evans (Saints)

4.Marshal Yanda (Ravens)

3.Josh Sitton (Packers)

2.Louis Vasquez (Broncos)

1.Evan Mathis (Eagles)

Concert Review: Monumentour (Fall Out Boy+Paramore)-- Mansfield, MA-- June 22th, 2014

As a huge fan of technical and complex music, it's nice to sometimes sit back and just enjoy fun, catchy music. Despite not being a huge fan of any of the acts playing the Monumentor; I decided to go with a couple of my friends who are fans of both headliners (Fall Out Boy and Paramore) and ended up having a much better time than I anticipated.

Though the night was successful overall, it certainly did not start off that way. Opening band New Politics was a complete drag to sit through. The biggest takeaway I had from their set is that they need to fire their sound guy immediately. The only thing you could hear for most of their set was the vocals, a snare drum and bass- which was turned up to a ear-shattering level. The guitar was audible for maybe 10 seconds throughout the set. It's kind of odd to see a rock band with prominent guitars on their studio recordings choose to all but forgo them in their live performance. Despite the fact that there was no guitar in the mix, their guitarist changed guitars after almost every song. Fall Out Boy and Paramore didn't even have as many guitar changes as New Politics did and they've released much more material and feature guitarists that you could tell were actually plugged into amps. About the only redeeming thing about New Politics was their drummer. The few times the bass and vocals let up, he showed off some pretty damn impressive drumming. It's a shame that his talent was lost in the shuffle behind the suffocating bass and below average vocals. New Politics is a bland modern pop/rock band who will go down in the history as the band with the single worst sound mix I've ever heard out of the hundreds of bands I've seen in the nine years I've been going to shows.

Paramore,the first of the Monumentour's co-headliners to perform, were up next. My pop punk listening was at its peak when Paramore blew up with 2007's Riot!. Being so immersed in the scene at the time, I remember hearing stuff like "Misery Business" and "crushcrushcrush" and thinking that there was pretty much no way that they wouldn't become huge someday. Though Paramore's music has never consistently clicked with me, they do have a handful of songs in their discography that are really great. I had practically no expectations for their performance going so it surprised the hell out of me when Paramore came out and played a consistently engaging and energetic set. A lot of people would argue (and I don't entirely disagree) that the Farro brothers-who famously left the band with a lot of controversy in 2010- were the real masterminds behind Paramore's music, but Haley Williams is just as essential to Paramore's success. She has a huge voice that is perfectly suited for this type of music and a bubbly stage presence that you can't help but smile at. Paramore certainly took a huge blow when the Farro brothers left the band, but Williams is managing to keep them afloat with relative ease. The setlist was also a bit more adventurous than I expected as well with a pretty even split between their last three albums and a fair number of lesser-known tracks to compliment their plethora of smash singles. That being said a lot of their bigger tracks like "Ignorance", the aforementioned "Misery Business" , and above all, "Decode"- which was the best showcase of both Williams' vocal ability and the band's often overlooked guitarwork and drumming- were the highlights of the set.  I'd probably never go out of my way to see Paramore again, but they are undeniably good performers with the musicality, energy and genuine passion for their craft that allows them to absolutely own any venue they perform in.

Fall Out Boy had the honor of closing out the evening. Unlike Paramore, Fall Out Boy was a band that I was pretty into at one point in time. I gave From Under the Cork Tree a solid number of spins in my middle school years and the idea of hearing some material from that record live was the main reason I decided to go to this show. I really didn't know what to expect from Fall Out Boy's set as had I heard mixed reviews of their live shows and I haven't really enjoyed a record they've made since From Under the Cork Tree. Any skepticism I had about Fall Out Boy as a live act was erased the minute they got on stage and burst into "The Phoenix". To be completely candid, I was actually taken back a bit by just how good Fall Out Boy was live. Unlike another iconic pop punk act (**cough cough blink-182 cough cough**) that went on a long hiatus, Fall Out Boy still has brilliant chemistry as a band. They're clearly having fun on-stage together and not just continuing to make music simply to get a paycheck. Fall Out Boy's ringleader, Patrick Stump, is a very interesting frontman as he doesn't really talk to the crowd much in-between songs (bassist Pete Wentz handles that duty) yet dominates the room when he's doing anything else on-stage. The break from Fall Out Boy seems to have really benefited Stump as a vocalist. In the past, he was known to be pretty sloppy with his vocals and would often slack off on certain notes in each song. Now Stump sounds damn near flawless on every track. His delivery is impassioned and he nails every note that is thrown at him for the duration of the set. Perhaps the most surprising thing about my immense enjoyment of Fall Out's Boy performance is the fact that the setlist was primarily focused on material from their 2013 comeback album Save Rock and Roll; which I found to be a wildly uneven record. A majority of the material was far more energetic and a lot of the hooks were really massive and infectious when put into a live setting. The more rock/punk-oriented sound of Fall Out Boy definitely appeals to me more, but there's no denying that these guys have a knack for crafting straight-up pop music. While the Save Rock and Roll material was surprisingly effective live, the older material was still easily my favorite part of the show. There were no real surprises as to what was played, but it was still great to see nonetheless. "Dance, Dance" and "Sugar, We're Going Down" had the strongest crowd sing-a-longs of the night while my all-time favorite Fall Out Boy song "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me" was every bit as glorious as I expected it to be. I would've loved to have seen a couple of songs from Save Rock and Roll swamped out for some additional cuts from From Under the Cork Tree, but that's a relatively minor complaint in the grand scheme of the performance. Fall Out Boy put on one of the most pure fun performances I've ever seen and are right up there with My Chemical Romance as the best live pop punk act of their era.

Side notes:
-I'm fairly certain that I was one of the oldest people in attendance that wasn't a parent. An overwhelming majority of the crowd was between the ages of 13-18.
-Trinidad James' "All Gold Everything" was played not once, but twice over the PA in-between songs.
-The biggest WTF moment of the night was when these two girls wearing Viking helmets walked in front of my seats during New Politics. Since this wasn't an Amon Amarth show, I was deeply confused by the presence of these helmets. 
-Paramore had confetti and/or streamers drop five times during their set. There was so much confetti in the venue that some of it was still floating around after Fall Out Boy had wrapped up their set.
-It really pissed me off that Paramore had their three touring band members essentially buried behind them. The three current "real" members of the band were in the front of the stage while the other the touring musicians (two guitarists and a drummer) were put on top of their lightboard backdrop. This may seem like a nitpicky complaint, it's just that I don't like to see a band make it seem like the touring musicians are inferior to the permanent members.
-It's comical to see ex-Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie drumming in Paramore now. Never would've guessed this would've been in the cards after he left Underoath in early 2010.
-Fall Out Boy had a pretty sweet drum solo duel between Stump and Andy Hurley about halfway through the set. The "Raining Blood" intro played prior to Hurley's first part of the solo was a nice ode to his metal roots.
-Fall Out Boy was about to hit curfew, so they couldn't leave the stage for their planned two song encore and just played straight through. They managed to finish ahead of the Xfinity Center's 11:00 curfew with only seconds to spare.

Scores:
New Politics 3/10
Paramore 7.5/10
Fall Out Boy 8.5/10

Setlists:
New Politics (jacked from setlist.fm):
Give Me Hope
Berlin
Fall into These Arms
Break Dance
Just Like Me
Tonight You're Perfect
Harlem
Yeah Yeah Yeah

Paramore:
Still Into You
That's What You Get
For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic
Ignorance
Pressure
Decode
The Only Exception
Last Hope
Born for This
Misery Business
Let the Flames Begin
Part II
Proof 
Ain't it Fun

Fall Out Boy:
The Phoenix
The Take Over, the Breaks Over
A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"
This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
Alone Together
Death Valley
Sugar, We're Going Down
Miss Missing You
Dueling Drum Solo (Patrick and Andy)
Dance, Dance
Young Volcanoes
Just One Yesterday
Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
We are the Champions (Queen cover, first verse and chorus only)
Save Rock and Roll
I Don't Care
My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em' Up)
Thanks fr the Mmrs
Saturday

2014 NFL Position Rankings: Top 30 Tackles

The most underappreciated guys on the football field will be honored over the next 3 installments of my 2014 NFL player ranking series, starting today with the top 30 tackles. 

30.Riley Reiff (Lions)

29.Anthony Castonzo (Colts)

28.D'Brickashaw Ferguson (Jets)

27.Demar Dotson (Buccaneers)

26.D.J. Fluker (Chargers)

25.Doug Free (Cowboys)

24.Cordy Glenn (Bills)

23.Zach Strief (Saints)

22.Anthony Collins (Buccaneers)

21.Michael Roos (Titans)

20.Branden Albert (Dolphins)

19.Andre Smith (Bengals)

18.Orlando Franklin (Broncos)

17.Jared Veldheer (Cardinals)

16.King Dunlap (Chargers)

15.Anthony Davis (49ers)

14.Sebastian Vollmer (Patriots)

13.Phil Loadholt (Vikings)

12.Jake Long (Rams)

11.Russell Okung (Seahawks)

10.Eugene Monroe (Ravens)

9.Ryan Clady (Broncos)

8.Nate Solder (Patriots)

7.Andrew Whitworth (Bengals)

6.Tyron Smith (Cowboys)

5.Duane Brown (Texans)

4.Trent Williams (Redskins)

3.Jason Peters (Eagles)

2.Joe Staley (49ers)

1.Joe Thomas (Browns)

2014 NFL Position Rankings: Top 20 Tight Ends

Here are my picks for the 20 best tight ends in the NFL going into the 2014 season:

20.Jordan Reed (Redskins)

19.Dwayne Allen (Colts)

18.Jared Cook (Rams)

17.Zach Ertz (Eagles)

16.Coby Fleener (Colts)

15.Charles Clay (Dolphins)

14.Kyle Rudolph (Vikings)

13.Jermichael Finley (Free Agent)

12.Owen Daniels (Ravens)

11.Dennis Pitta (Ravens)

10.Heath Miller (Steelers)

9.Greg Olsen (Panthers)

8.Julius Thomas (Broncos)

7.Martellus Bennett (Bears)

6.Jordan Cameron (Browns)

5.Antonio Gates (Chargers)

4.Jason Witten (Cowboys)

3.Vernon Davis (49ers)

2.Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)

1.Jimmy Graham (Saints)

Concert Review: Meshuggah-- Boston, MA-- June 18th, 2014

The House of Blues in Boston was treated to a special show last night as Swedish metal pioneers Meshuggah brought their 25 Years of Musical Deviance tour to town with absolutely spectacular results.

While Meshuggah celebrated a huge milestone as a band with this tour, I celebrated a personal milestone as the opening act for this tour, Between the Buried and Me, became the first band that I've ever seen 10 times live. It's hardly surprising that BTBM was the first band to reach this milestone as they've been one of my favorite bands since Colors was released in 2007 and I've only missed two of their tours that have come to Massachusetts since October 2008. This landmark performance was unsurprisingly yet another spectacular show put on by Between the Buried and Me. Even after seeing them so many times, their musical precision still manages to amaze me. This setlist in particular really showed off their chops with "White Walls", "Telos" and arguably their most technically impressive track, "Ants of the Sky", making up 3/5 of their hour-long opening set. These tracks are not only some of the most musically impressive songs in their catalog, they are amongst their best songs period. It was especially a pleasure to see "Telos" live since I had only seen them play it once on Summer Slaughter two years ago. The piano-driven mid-section is right up there with the final 5 minutes of "White Walls", the bass solo in "Disease, Injury, Madness" and the guitar solo in "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" as one of the most striking portions of any of their tracks in a live setting. With a band that is as complex and strange as BTBAM, I'm always curious to see how they get received as an opening act. During the previous 4 times I'd seen them as an opener, the crowd was either polarized (The Cool Tour, Coheed and Cambria) or went absolutely nuts (Children of Bodom, In Flames) for them. Thankfully, last night was in the former camp. A fair number of people even seemed to be there exclusively for BTBAM; as they got just as raucous of a response as Meshuggah did. Seeing Between the Buried and Me is always a special experience and I look forward to continuing to go see them every time I get the opportunity to.

After a half-hour wait to accommodate numerous banners and a more elaborate stage setup than usual to commemorate their 25th anniversary, Meshuggah took the stage then proceeded to rip the faces off everyone in the audience for the next 90 minutes. I don't know if it was because I was standing closer to the stage or the illness I was battling at the time altered my state of mind, but Meshuggah was somehow MUCH heavier than the first time I saw them. Not since the first time I saw Dying Fetus in 2011 have I been that blown away with how skull-crushingly heavy a band is in a live setting. The use of 8-string guitars and incredibly loud, powerful drums makes Meshuggah a unique force to be reckoned with.In addition to being much heavier, Meshuggah had a much better setlist than the first time I saw them. Fan favorites "Future Breed Machine" and "New Millennium Cyanide Christ" were surprisingly left out of the set the previous time I saw them so it was great to get the chance to finally see them. "Future Breed Machine" was an exceptional opener that perfectly while "New Millennium Cyanide Christ" was one of the single heaviest live songs I've ever seen. The fact that this tour is celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band gave Meshuggah a chance to dust off some rare tunes from their 1991 debut full-length Contradictions Collapse. Having not heard that record before, I was really surprised by how different that material was from the trademark progressive, groove-laden sound Meshuggah has become known for over the years. Both tracks ("Greed" and "Cadaverous Mastication") they played from Contradictions Collapse, were still heavy as shit, but they were faster and thrashier than anything they've done since. This early material being present in the set was a nice touch that exposed a side of Meshuggah that I previously didn't know about. One thing that was exactly the same as the last time I saw Meshuggah was the intensity of vocalist Jens Kidman. The way he stalks the stage is unlike anything I've ever seen before. He looks like he's ready to kill someone at anytime when he's performing and his vocals perfectly match the fierce presence he has on stage. Meshuggah is a band who's power and knack for crushing riffs and atmosphere isn't fully appreciated until you see them live. Their live shows are a big part of the reason they've enjoyed such a longevity and built such an iconic reputation in the scene. Here's to another 25 years of Meshuggah!         

Scores:
Between the Buried and Me 10/10
Meshuggah 9/10

Setlists:
Between the Buried and Me:
White Walls
Telos
Ants of the Sky
Lay Your Ghosts to Rest
Fossil Genera-A Feed from Cloud Mountain

Meshuggah:
Future Breed Machine
obZen
The Hurt That Finds You First
Do Not Look Down
Cadaverous Mastication
Greed
Gods of Rapture
Neurotica  
New Millennium Cyanide Christ
Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion
Bleed
Demiruge
Straws Pulled at Random

Encore:
(Mind's Mirrors)
In Life-Is Life
In Life-Is Death

Album Review: Every Time I Die-From Parts Unknown

For the entirety of their 15+ year career, Every Time I Die has been one of modern metal's true workhorse bands. They tour rigorously to promote each new release and with the exception of the three-year gap between New Junk Aesthetic and Ex Lives, have released a new record every two years since 2001. When you get to the point Every Time I Die is at in their career, the drive and effort needed to create high-quality music can waver. Every Time I Die not only avoids the pitfall of a seasoned band slacking off well into the second decade of their career, but they manage to create an incredibly energetic and punishing listening experience on their seventh LP From Parts Unknown.

From Parts Unknown sees Every Time I Die playing with a level of raw aggression that hasn't been seen since their 2003 breakout album Hot Damn! When they released debut single "Thirst" I expected a heavier album than usual from them, but I'd be completely lying if I said I expected to hear something that's as relentlessly pummeling as From Parts Unknown. The level of pure, unadulterated bedlam that exudes from From Parts Unknown is similar to the whirlwind material the likes of Converge- whose guitarist Kurt Ballou produced this LP- and The Dillinger Escape Plan have released throughout their respective careers. A majority of the songs on here are around two and a half minutes, which allows them to pack a barrage of riffs and Keith Buckley's impassioned vocals into short, wild bursts. Tracks like "Overstayer" and "Exoterium" are especially crushing with southern-tinged riffs and breakdowns that make the listener want to get up and start a pit in their living room. It's great to see Every Time I Die making music this powerful and unapologetically heavy over a decade after the raw musical attack that was Hot Damn! was released.

While the chaos From Parts Unknown offers up is undoubtedly great, the record really hits its peak when it lets up a bit and offers up some variation to the chaotic formula most of the album follows. "Moor" is certainly the most surprising track on the album as it starts off with a bizarre piano line and subdued clean vocals from Buckley before it turns into all-out pandemonium at about the halfway mark. The Crowbar-esque riff that bookends the heavy portion of the track is honestly the meatiest, sludge-inspired riff Every Time I Die has ever written and it beautifully transitions into a refrain of the piano portion from the intro to close out the track. A winding, manic tempo-shifting track like "Moor" is perfectly placed at the dead center of the record to give the listener a little bit of a breather after suffocating them with non-stop intensity for the first five tracks. Another one of the few tracks to feature primarily clean vocals, "El Dorado", is the highlight of the entire record. The riffs are triumphant, Buckley's excellent versatility as a vocalist is on full display and most importantly, it perfectly converges the raw sound of early ETID with the more melodic sound of their New Junk Aesthetic/Big Dirty-era material. These brief detours from the straight heaviness that embodies From Parts Unknown offers just enough of a reprieve to keep the otherwise unhinged atmosphere of the record fresh and satisfying.

From Parts Unknown quite simply gets the job done. While Every Time I Die really hasn't made a bad record thus far, the recent streak they've been on is truly remarkable. Ever since their fifth LP New Junk Aesthetic came out in 2009, Every Time I Die has really hit their stride and become an unstoppable musical force. If From Parts Unknown is any indicator, that won't be changing anytime in the near future. 

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.El Dorado
2.Moor
3.Exoterium             

 

Movie Review: 22 Jump Street

History has shown that comedic sequels often fall way short of the quality of their predecessors. Disappointing second and third installments of films like Airplane!, Wayne's World and The Hangover, all managed to tarnish the reputation of the classic originals. 22 Jump Street is a rare gem that not only breaks the mold of underwhelming, inferior comedic sequels, but also offers an improvement on the original.

22 Jump Street is a sequel that relentlessly and wittily rips the concept of making sequels. The film  pokes fun at the cliches sequels take on (retreading the same concept as the original, bigger budget, more explosions) while also embedding those same traits into its own DNA. The film takes essentially the exact same plot as 21 Jump Street-Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are forced to go undercover at a local college to bust up a drug ring- and just lets the good times roll with non-stop laughs from start to finish. The script from Michael Bacall, Rodney Rothman and Oren Uziel is far too strong for the nearly-identical premise to become even remotely stale. The self-aware humor is razor-sharp throughout as the film not only rips on the blatantly rehashed story arc, but also allows for the actors to mock themselves. Tatum, Hill and Ice Cube all take shots at their personas and past film roles- with Tatum getting the best dig at himself with a brilliant allusion to White House Down early on in the film. When you have actors that are open to anything you throw at them and a script loaded with clever gags that mock stereotypes and traditional Hollywood formulas; the results are guaranteed to be spectacular.  

Where 22 Jump Street manages to be exactly the same as the original is the strength of the pairing of Hill and Tatum. The chemistry that Hill and Tatum have is reminiscent of a very strong romantic pairing. The writers take advantage of the pair's rare chemistry by really playing up the bromance angle of the story here. They bicker like an old married couple throughout and have their fair share of hiccups in their relationship along the way, but by the end of the film, their bond is stronger than ever. Sound familiar? Since Jenko and Schmidt become closer this go-round, Hill and (especially) Tatum really take their performances to the next level. Tatum is infinitely more comfortable with his comedic chops in this installment than he was in the original. 21 Jump Street was his first true comedic role and while he did an outstanding job with the part, you could tell his skills weren't quite sharp enough to hang with a hardened comedy veteran like Hill. Here Tatum matches Hill's immense comedic presence in every single scene. Tatum seems to really have found his calling as a comedic actor and will hopefully delve into more roles in the genre outside of the Jump Street series in the near future.

Not to be outmatched by the comedy dream team of Hill and Tatum is supporting players Ice Cube and Jillian Bell-who manage giant laughs in every scene they're in. Ice Cube reprises his role as Schmidt and Jenko's stone-faced boss Captain Dickson with even better deadpan delivery than he did in the original. The plot twist in the middle of the film pushes Dickson into the forefront of the story and with this expanded role, Cube manages to garner some of the biggest laughs of the film including a freakout scene at a restaurant that is one for the ages. Bell-best known for her great supporting turn on Comedy Central's Workaholics-has only about 15-20 minutes of screen time here, but she makes the most of them as the snarky roommate of Schmidt's love interest Maya (Amber Stevens). It's great to see Bell get exposure in a tentpole film such as this. The masses will now get a chance to be acquainted with the uncanny scene-stealing ability Bell has displayed for four seasons on Workaholics. 22 Jump Street sets the bar high not only for 2014 comedies, but for all modern comedies. The satiric wit of the script, the brilliant ensemble of actors and the onslaught of laugh-out-loud moments are more than enough to make 22 Jump Street the finest comedic sequel of all-time.

4.5/5 Stars   

2014 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Wide Receivers

50.Doug Baldwin (Seahawks)

49.Ruben Randle (Giants)

48.Terrance Williams (Cowboys)

47.Cordarelle Patterson (Vikings)

46.Emanuel Sanders (Broncos)

45.Hakeem Nicks (Colts)

44.Harry Douglas (Falcons)

43.Riley Cooper (Eagles)

42.Jeremy Maclin (Eagles)

41.Michael Floyd (Cardinals)

40.Golden Tate (Lions)

39.Danny Amendola (Patriots)

38.Cecil Shorts (Jaguars)

37.Greg Jennings (Vikings)

36.Brian Hartline (Dolphins)

35.Dwayne Bowe (Chiefs)

34.Julian Edelman (Patriots)

33.Mike Wallace (Dolphins)

32.Marques Colston (Saints)

31.Keenan Allen (Chargers)

30.Kendall Wright (Titans)

29.Eric Decker (Jets)

28.Stevie Johnson (49ers)

27.Percy Harvin (Seahawks)

26.Justin Blackmon (Jaguars)

25.Steve Smith (Ravens)

24.Wes Welker (Broncos)

23.T.Y. Hilton (Colts)

22.Michael Crabtree (49ers)

21.Randall Cobb (Packers)

20.Pierre Garcon (Redskins)

19.Torrey Smith (Ravens)

18.Anquan Boldin (49ers)

17.Antonio Brown (Steelers)

16.Victor Cruz (Giants)

15.Jordy Nelson (Packers)

14.Reggie Wayne (Colts)

13.DeSean Jackson (Redskins)

12.Alshon Jeffrey (Bears)

11.Roddy White (Falcons)

10.Demaryius Thomas (Broncos)

9.Vincent Jackson (Buccaneers)

8.Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals)

7.Andre Johnson (Texans)

6.Dez Bryant (Cowboys)

5.Julio Jones (Falcons)

4.Josh Gordon (Browns)

3.Brandon Marshall (Bears)

2.A.J. Green (Bengals)

1.Calvin Johnson (Lions)

Album Review: Iggy Azalea-The New Classic

Since Iggy Azalea made her rapid rise to stardom with smash single "Fancy", the internet and general music populous has ripped her to shreds; writing her off as a gimmicky white female rapper with no talent. After digesting all of her debut LP The New Classic, I can safely that I do not agree with that assessment at all. Yes, the southern drawl she raps with is inauthentic (Azalea is from Australia) and her lyrics leave be a lot to desired, but neither of those things really bother me that much. Her music is heavily rooted in trap and in the world of trap all that matters is a good flow and punchy, memorable beats- both of which Azalea has in spades. Anyone doubting Azalea's ability to rap should be silenced immediately after listening to "Goddess"; where Azalea goes off with a level of confidence and fire that would put a large number of her mainstream male counterparts to shame.

Azalea's charisma and flow are infectious, but they can't fully save The New Classic from its faults. The trap verses with pop hooks formula that is used throughout backfires when Azalea herself does the hooks. Her in-your-face persona and lack of singing ability makes a majority of the hooks she does herself (save for the aforementioned "Goddess") fall flat compared to the hooks that pop artists Rita Otra, Watch the Duck and Charli XCX do on other spots of the record. This formula also leads to some huge misfires in "New Bitch", "Change Your Life" and "Don't Need Y'all". No amount of skilled delivery and solid production can take away from how obnoxious these tracks are. The New Classic certainly doesn't live up to its namesake, but this is ultimately a promising debut that shows off Azalea's strong skills on the mic. With a bit more emphasis on the rapping side opposed to the pop end of her sound and more consistent hooks, Azalea could amount to something truly great.

3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Goddess
2.Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)
3.Black Widow (feat. Rita Otra) 

2014 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Running Backs

List 2 of 15 is here today with my picks for the 50 best running backs in the NFL heading into 2014.

50.Robert Turbin (Seahawks)

49.Montee Ball (Broncos)

48.Ahmad Bradshaw (Colts)

47.Bryce Brown (Bills)

46.David Wilson (Giants)

45.Jonathan Stewart (Panthers)

44.Bobby Rainey (Buccaneers)

43.Vick Ballard (Colts)

42.Donald Brown (Chargers)

41.Mike James (Buccaneers)

40.Pierre Thomas (Saints)

39.Toby Gerhart (Jaguars)

38.Chris Ivory (Jets)

37.Darren Sproles (Eagles)

36.Lamar Miller (Dolphins)

35.LaGarette Blount (Steelers)

34.BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Bengals)

33.Andre Ellington (Cardinals)

32.Danny Woodhead (Chargers)

31.Shane Vereen (Patriots)

30.Rashad Jennings (Giants)

29.Andre Brown (Texans)

28.Ben Tate (Browns)

27.Darren McFadden (Raiders)

26.Steven Jackson (Falcons)

25.Joique Bell (Lions)

24.Stevan Ridley (Patriots)

23.DeAngelo Williams (Panthers)

22.Maurice Jones-Drew (Raiders)

21.Zac Stacey (Rams)

20.Le'veon Bell (Steelers)

19.Knowshon Moreno (Dolphins)

18.Giovani Bernard (Bengals)

17.Fred Jackson (Bills)

16.Ray Rice (Ravens)

15.Ryan Matthews (Chargers)

14.Chris Johnson (Jets)

13.DeMarco Murray (Cowboys)

12.Doug Martin (Buccaneers)

11.C.J. Spiller (Bills)

10.Reggie Bush (Lions)

9.Eddie Lacy (Packers)

8.Alfred Morris (Redskins)

7.Frank Gore (49ers)

6.Arian Foster (Texans)

5.Matt Forte (Bears)

4.Jammal Charles (Chiefs)

3.Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks)

2.LeSean McCoy (Eagles)

1.Adrian Peterson (Vikings)

Album Review: Son of Aurelius-Under a Western Sun

Just a few months ago, I was wondering what the hell had happened to Son of Aurelius. After a great debut in 2010's The Farthest Reaches and a few tours to promote it, they pretty much disappeared from the scene. After years of inactivity, my prayers were answered as Son of Aurelius announced the release of their second full-length, Under a Western Sun, in early May. With such a long gap between releases, you naturally become skeptical about what the quality of the music will be, but Son of Aurelius put those fears to bed with a challenging and consistently gripping album that showcases their immense talent as a band.

Let me start off by saying that Under a Western Sun is a massive change in sound for Son of Aurelius. Those looking for another round of progressive technical death metal inspired by Greek mythology are going to be sorely disappointed with Under a Western Sun. Save for a couple of slabs of straight death metal ("A Great Liberation, "The Prison Walls"), Son of Aurelius is now primarily a progressive metal act with some melodic death metal undertones. While the change in sound is sure to agitate some extreme metal purists, it should also win them a ton of new fans.

Easily the most drastic change for Son of Aurelius on Under a Western Sun is the presence of new vocalist Riley McShane. Where previous vocalist Josh Miller exclusively screamed, McShane does mostly clean vocals with only periodic harsh vocal parts. McShane's high-pitched, almost operatic vocals (think of him as Mike Lessard from Last Chance to Reason and The Contortionist with a higher voice) takes some time to get adjusted to, but they ultimately work well for the band's new style. As the album progresses, McShane's performance gets more impressive. McShane especially shines on the last two non-instrumental tracks on the record,"Long Ago" and "Under a Western Sun". These tracks are able to showcase his powerful vocal range that allows him to hit incredibly high notes with ease. McShane's cleans are his main weapon, but he's got some pretty impressive screams as well. Harsh vocals don't make too many appearances on the first eight tracks of the album, but once "A Great Liberation" rolls around his screams start entering the fold more, and the album really starts to fire on all cylinders. His screams are a welcome contrast to his singing and have a similar bite that Miller's had on The Farthest Reaches. While McShane's cleans are more than solid on their own, the tracks where he divides time between singing and screaming are without a doubt the most enjoyable on the record.

Just like The Farthest Reaches, where Under a Western Sun really shines is with the instrumentation. The band somehow manages to improve on the technical wizardry they displayed on The Farthest Reaches with smoother tempo shifts, more blistering guitarwork and better crafted progressive sections. The band takes advantage of their improved songwriting and musicianship by placing instrumental tracks throughout the album. Guitarist Carey Greare sets the tone for the entire record with the haunting yet heavy opener "Return to Arms" while bassist Max Zigman solidifies his place as one of the best in modern metal with his jaw-dropping bass lines on "Submerge & Surface". These instrumental tracks aren't just an excuse for Son of Aurelius to showcase their instrumental proficiency, they also make the album flow a lot better and bring some variance to help break up the 72-minute runtime. It doesn't matter if it's a death metal chunk riff or a beautiful melodic passage, Son of Aurelius plays it to perfection.

Under a Western Sun successfully ushers in a new era for Son of Aurelius. The strides they've made on this record with their musical compositions are staggering and it's slightly hard to believe that this is the same act that released The Farthest Reaches. With a record that's as long and dense as Under a Western Sun, it will take numerous listens to fully appreciate all the nuances of the music and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if my rating improved upon subsequent listens. Hopefully it won't take another four years for these guys to release their next record.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Long Ago
2.Under a Western Sun
3.The Prison Walls   

2014 NFL Position Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks

I'm not going to lie, life without football is pretty agonizing for me. Starting last year to fill up the dead space between the draft and the start of training camp, I decided to rank who I thought were the best of the best of the best currently playing in the NFL. Well my friends, the 2014 edition of this heavily-anticipated list is being rolled out starting today with quarterbacks! Over the new few weeks, I'll be posting my rankings for who I believe the upper echelon of players are at each and every position (yes, even kickers and punters!) on both sides of the ball. I hope you enjoy this series and I would love to hear your thoughts on each list in the comment section below.

Notes on the lists:

1.Rookies are excluded from these rankings

2.Each player is judged on where they currently stand in my opinion, not what they once were, are going to be, etc.

3.Each player is listed as member of the team they will play for in 2014, not who they played for in 2013.

Now that the ground rules have been set, here are my picks for the 25 best quarterbacks in the NFL headed into the 2014 season.

25.Mike Glennon (Buccaneers)

24.Josh McCown (Buccaneers)

23.Carson Palmer (Cardinals)

22.Sam Bradford (Rams)

21.Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins)

20.Joe Flacco (Ravens)

19.Andy Dalton (Bengals)

18.Eli Manning (Giants)

17.Alex Smith (Chiefs)

16.Jay Cutler (Bears)

15.Robert Griffin III (Redskins)

14.Nick Foles (Eagles)

13.Colin Kaepernick (49ers)

12.Matthew Stafford (Lions)

11.Russell Wilson (Seahawks)

10.Tony Romo (Cowboys)

9.Andrew Luck (Colts)

8.Philip Rivers (Chargers)

7.Cam Newton (Panthers)

6.Matt Ryan (Falcons)

5.Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers)

4.Aaron Rodgers (Packers)

3.Drew Brees (Saints)

2.Tom Brady (Patriots)

1.Peyton Manning (Broncos)

50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #29

 29.God Forbid-Earthsblood (2009)

God Forbid broke up in August 2013 after being the single most unheralded act in metalcore for almost 20 years. In a discography that is loaded with overlooked gems, their 2009 release Earthsblood stands out the most. Earthsblood saw God Forbid entering a more traditional melodic death metal territory than their previous four releases. Dallas Coyle was given more times to shine with his unique clean vocals, the riffs are consistently catchy and immense, and above all, the compositions are a lot more complex and memorable than anything they had done in the past. Earthsblood is the work of a veteran band that had a strong command over their sound and successful expanded it without ignoring their roots. I can only hope at some point in  the near or distant future that this record and God Forbid on the whole will get the recognition they deserve. These guys are way too good to stay a relatively well-kept secret forever.

 

Standout Tracks

1.Walk Alone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svFk_szvslE
2.Bat the Angels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbGNsZbd0dY

3.The Rain (w/The Discovery intro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21MfqtMbMdc

50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #30

          30.Machine Head-Unto the Locust (2011)                                                                              

The turnaround Machine Head has made after their mid-career nu-metal meltdown in the late '90's/early 2000's is remarkable. The band not only got its groove back, but started to pump out the best material off their entire career starting with Through the Ashes of the Empire in 2004 and continuing with their 2007 masterpiece The Blackening. Their most recent release, Unto the Locust, showed just how far Machine Head has come as a band as they followed up the most-acclaimed album of their career with another powerhouse record. Unto the Locust took the epic scale and unfiltered aggression of The Blackening and refined it a bit by adding more melody and experimentation to the mix. The willingness to experiment with things like acoustic guitars, strings and even a children's choir, gave Machine Head a variety to their sound that they never had in the past. From slow operatic build-ups that descend into all-out bedlam ("I Am Hell") to tender ballads with a heavy edge to them that let vocalist Robb Flynn show off his clean singing skills ("Darkness Within") to typical Machine Head groove fests ("Be Still and Know"), Unto the Locust encompasses almost the entire musical spectrum in its nearly 50-minute runtime. Unto the Locust lives in the shadow of the behemoth that is The Blackening, but it has more than enough power to stand out on its own.

Standout Tracks

1.I Am Hell (Sonata in C#) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJt_Uh2uI9E

2.This is the End http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyZTqzZFtG8

3.Be Still and Know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw96olokWPE     

50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #31

31.Doom-Born Like This (2009)

MF Doom has made many notable albums both by himself and with high-profile collaborators including Madlib and Danger Mouse over the course of his nearly 20-year career. In a discography that features classic albums such as Madvilliany, Operation: Doomsday, and Mm.. Food, Born Like This is a forgotten gem. While not packing quite as much of a punch as any of the aforementioned records, Born Like This is still an essential record from hip hop's favorite supervillian. Born Like This has all of Doom's mainstays: quirky lyrics, bizarre samples and complex rhyme schemes, behind production that has a little more of a bite to it than Doom's typical jazzy, low-key style. Doom is an artist that won't stop evolving and trying new things no matter how deep into his career he gets. Born Like This is Doom's rage-soaked experiment with more biting, pointed material shows he can be abrasive as all hell without straying from his uniquely abstract persona.

Standout Tracks
1.Rap Ambush http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOMxDVrNlVw
2.Lightworks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpWW9ctBbTc
3.Batty Boyz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc0oKCxiOSk

Movie Review: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Ever wondered what Seth MacFarlane's absurd style of comedy would be like in the Old West? A Million Ways to Die in the West delivers the long-awaited answer to that question and the answer is quite well. MacFarlane makes his live-action acting debut as Albert, a cowardly sheep farmer who is the laughing stock of his small frontier town in 1880's Arizona. Albert is forced to change his ways when he falls for the mysterious new girl in town (Charlize Theron); who happens to be the husband of Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Nesson), the most feared outlaw in the territory. In order for Albert to stay alive, he needs to defeat Leatherwood in a gunfight and prove to everyone- including himself- that he is more than just a lowly sheep farmer. A Million Ways to Die in the West packs nearly two hours of MacFarlane's hijinks into this classic American backdrop and a majority of the nearly endless gags work. All of the random cameos, sex jokes and toilet humor you've come to expect from MacFarlane are present with some sharp satire of the culture of the American frontier for good measure. Despite the immaturity of much of MacFarlane's humor, he pays a surprising amount of detail to capturing the atmosphere of classic westerns. MacFarlane really captures the spirit of old westerns with the classic frontier setting and grainy cinematography that beckons back to the genre's heyday of the 1940's-60's. MacFarlane does a serviceable job in his on-camera acting debut as the story's hero while on-camera love interest Theron kind of gets lost in the shuffle in a supporting cast full of comedy heavyweights including Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Silverman- who gets the biggest laughs of the entire film as a Christian prostitute who is waiting until marriage to have sex with her long-time boyfriend (Giovani Ribsi, who is also great). The proceedings of A Million Ways to Die in the West get a little bogged down with the romance, but the constant stream of humor is able to patch over a majority of the flaws with the central love story. It may lack the firepower and sheer number of belly laughs that Ted had, but A Million Ways to Die in the West is still a silly yet consistently amusing romp that serves as a worthy second entry in MacFarlane's budding film career.

4/5 Stars

Album Review: The Black Keys-Turn Blue

Ohio blues rock duo The Black Keys have been an unstoppable force in the past few years. Since the release of Brothers in 2008, The Black Keys have enjoyed a level of success that has been matched by only a handful of other modern rock bands. Their ascent from longtime underground darlings to mainstream superstars in recent years seems to have taken a toll on them with the release of their latest record, Turn Blue, which is easily the weakest collection of tracks they've released thus fur.

Turn Blue sees The Black Keys largely turning in their typical bluesy garage rock sound in favor of a more stripped-down, psychedelic sound. In the process, The Black Keys mute their biggest strength as a band: killer guitar riffs. Keyboards, not guitars drive a vast majority of the tracks on Turn Blue. The keyboard-driven sound is effective at times- namely on the spacey, almost Pink Floyd-esque "Bullet to the Brain", but on the whole the more subdued musical approach doesn't work for The Black Keys. The keys also seem to have drained the dynamic energy out of their sound. The Black Keys have always sounded lively in their past material. On Turn Blue, they sound dreary and kind of bored with the music they're creating. It's a sudden and mostly unwelcome change of heart for a band that has made a name for themselves with a riff-heavy, uptempo sound.

Where Turn Blue is able to somewhat salvage itself is when The Black Keys just be themselves and let the guitars drive the songs. Album opener "Weight of Love" is one of the most staggering pieces of music they've ever crafted. Vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach channels early blues artists like B.B. King and Buddy Guy with his emotional crooning and stunning solo to conclude the track. "In Our Prime" and "It's Up to You Know" don't quite reach the heights of "Weight of Love", but also triumph with their power and impressive musicality.  The highlights of Turn Blue reaffirm that The Black Keys strengths as a band lie in making songs where the guitar is at the forefront of the music.

Turn Blue is a mixed bag with a few brilliant tracks to save it from being completely forgettable. The Black Keys took a risk straying from their signature sound and it mostly backfires. Restrained, melancholy tracks driven by keyboards are simply not their forte. I appreciate their desire to do something different and try to make a more mellow, emotional record, but it rarely succeeds in achieving its goal and mostly comes off as a forced and uneven effort. The Black Keys are a high-energy band with an impeccable ability to write guitar licks, and when you keep both of things caged up for 3/4 of the record, the results are going to be underwhelming.  Turn Blue isn't a death sentence for The Black Keys; just a small blemish in an otherwise pretty impressive discography.

3/5 Stars  
Standout Tracks
1.Weight of Love
2.In Our Prime
3.It's Up to You Now