Album Review: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis-The Heist

Seattle MC Macklemore and his producer Ryan Lewis's path to success is a bit unusual. Macklemore has been quietly making and self-releasing music since 2000 (with a hiatus in the mid-2000's to get sober), but all of a sudden strictly online word-of-mouth his second full-length The Heist debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 charts. I was amongst the legions of people that never heard him before until recently so with this incredible wave of success and hype, I decided to check out what all the fuss was about. I can say that The Heist is definitely a worthwhile release and yet another solid 2012 hip-hop album.

The Heist is one of the more conscious hip-hop records I've heard this year. Macklemore spends the majority of the album speaking about drug addiction, alcoholism, equality for same-sex marriages, and finding what really matters in life. No matter what the subject matter, He approaches it with sincerity and honesty. He's been through or strongly believes in all of the issues he talks about the album which gives this is the authenticity that makes every song more effective. What makes The Heist and Macklemore in general interesting is his ability to have a lot of different styles. There are some songs where he flat-out spits at thunderous speeds with wordplay galore (like he does on the album's addictive standout "Can't Hold Us"), other songs where he mellows out and raps slow with a lot of emotion ("Wing$, "Neon Cathedral") and pretty much everywhere in between. I always like to see rappers that have a lot of range and Macklemore is absolutely one of those artists The production from Ryan Lewis is also impressive. Most of his beats are very subtle and understated with pretty heavy use of violin and piano, which perfectly fits Macklmore's primarily calm style. There are songs where he goes outside the box with his beats, such as the aforementioned "Can't Hold Us", which is very upbeat and almost seems like it has some gospel influences.

Even though The Heist is solid, There are a few things that hold it back from being great. The biggest issue is most of the hooks. They are way too poppy for the type of music that Macklemore is making and the placement of all of them are really awkward and seem forced. This becomes less of an issue in the second half of the album, but the first half is plagued with mostly terrible choruses. I also didn't like how some of the guest artists were used. For example, Ab-Soul only does the chorus on "Jimmy Iovine" and wasn't even given a chance to drop a verse. Ab-Soul is a great rapper and when some one godawful like Buffalo Madonna gets more time to do his thing in a song, It's doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Schoolboy Q is given a whole verse on "White Walls" and it's definitely a good one, but it just didn't really work well within the context of the song. I get what they were trying to do with the contrasting styles of Macklemore and Schoolboy Q, It just kind of backfires.

The Heist is a nice effort from Macklmore and Ryan Lewis. It definitely puts them on the map and gives them a nice building block for a long career in the hip-hop industry. This album reminds of a more poppy version of Atmosphere, Grieves, or someone else on Rhymesayers (If Macklemore was to ever sign to a record deal, It would probably be with Rhymesayers. His style fits in way too perfectly with their artists.) The production is low-key, but crisp and Macklemore is a skilled rapper with a big heart and a gift for expressing his emotions honestly and effectively. With a little bit of a slicker execution and some other small tweaks, We could be looking at one of the most important conscious rappers to hit the hip-hop scene in a long time.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Can't Hold Us feat. Kevin Dalton
2.Wing$
3.Jimmy Iovine feat. Ab-Soul

Movie Review: Skyfall

James Bond is such a storied and historic franchise that has been around for decades. It has been following a similar formula for a number of years to varying levels of success. This was a franchise that needed a change and Skyfall provides that. Skyfall is kind of the anti-Bond Bond movie. There was a different vibe and more of a flare for bigger action sequences, which I thought was refreshing. The action sequences are all done on an exciting grand-scale level and are really well-shot and executed. Another thing that separated this from other Bond movies was them showing Bond actually getting beat up. Bond gets outsmarted and gets the shit kicked out of him on a regular basis throughout this movie. The best thing about this movie though is the presence of a legitimate villain. Javier Bardem is a real nemesis for James Bond and he absolutely nails the role. His character, Raoul Silva,is a genius and his background with the MI-6 gives him an edge on Bond that challenges him as a character. Silva doesn't even enter the movie until an hour in, but his presence is so immense that you feel like he's in the entire movie. Bardem just lights up the screen every minute he's on it. I also liked that the romantic vibe from the last two was dropped. James Bond has an image of being a womanizer and I'm glad they went back to that in this movie. The larger emphasis on the romantic angle in the past two Bond films felt really forced and inorganic. Skyfall is definitely the best of the Daniel Craig Bond movies. This is a great action film that has brought some energy and originality to the franchise. I haven't seen enough of the Bond films to say this definitively, but Skyfall is the best James Bond movie I've seen.

4/5 Stars

Concert Review: Lamb of God, Boston, MA, November 25th, 2012

In January, I started off my 2012 concert going by seeing Lamb of God at the Paradise in Boston. It was only fitting that I (potentially) ended my 2012 concert going by seeing Lamb of God yet again at the House of Blues in Boston last night.

British melodic death thrashers Sylosis opened the show. I just got into them within the past couple months (their new record, Monolith, is one of my favorites of this year) and I was really excited to get to see them for the first time. They absolutely killed it. The whole band was tight as hell and they sounded exactly like they do on record. Josh Middleton is a severely underrated guitar player and every single solo he played was awesome. I was pleased to see how strong the reception was for them. The whole crowd was into their set right out of the gate and the pits maintained in intensity throughout their set. Boston was also fortunate enough to get an extra song from them, but their 25-minute set time still seemed way too short. Sylosis was a perfect way to open the night and I really hope they blow up in the near future, They are the next truly special metal band in my opinion and they are far too good to continue to fly under the radar.

Hellyeah was up next and as I expected, They pretty much sucked. They killed any momentum that Sylosis had built up. Their vocalist, Chad Gray, is such an assclown that it made their set almost amusing. Seriously that guy has to be one of the biggest faux-tough guy douchers I've ever seen in my life. His rants to the crowd about metal, drinking, and "the cowboy attitude" were almost as painful as his feeble attempts at screaming. It's a shame because the music wasn't too bad at times, but the vocals and general douchebaggery from Gray killed their set. It was cool to see Vinnie Paul play live, but besides that Hellyeah was pretty fucking bad.

After Hellyeah finished up, My friends and I went talked to Sylosis at their merch table (one of my friends also found a pick their guitarist threw on the ground randomly by their merch table). Rhythm guitarist Alex Bailey and drummer Rob Callard were both super nice guys and were stoked that we dug their music. They signed my ticket and also confirmed they will be back to the U.S next year, more than likely on a festival package tour (Mayhem Fest perhaps?).

We headed back down to the floor after that and In Flames started a couple minutes later. They brought back the momentum that Hellyeah had killed. I don't what the fuck show some people earlier on the tour saw when they said that In Flames was stagnant and the crowd was dead for them, In Flames was on fire last night and the crowd was going ballistic the whole time they were on (especially during "Reroute to Remain", "Cloud Connected", "Take This Life" and *gasp* "Embody the Invisible", so much for no one knows old In Flames anymore). Andres Friden sounded great and was his typical hilarious stuff in-between songs. The highlight was when was joking with the people in the balcony that we're sitting down saying that it wasn't the movies and there was no popcorn being served tonight (I don't remember the direct quote, but it was far funnier than what I am describing). Clearly I would've have loved to hear way more old stuff, but like I've said in the past, In Flames is such a great live band it does not matter what songs are played. Even though they are not the band they used to be in terms of quality of their studio material, In Flames is still amazing live.

It had finally come time for Lamb of God to hit the stage. As they have done the previous three times I've seen them, They savaged the audience for an hour and fifteen minutes. Their typical energy and immense stage presence was in full effect once again. This time was especially special because it was Randy Blythe's first tour since being freed from jail in the Czech Republic on false manslaughter charges. He seemed even more excited and energized on stage than ever before, Which I didn't think was previously possible. The setlist was pretty typical from them with the classics like "Laid to Rest", "Ruin", and of course "Black Label", with the notorious wall of death, mixed pretty with the newer stuff like "Desolation", "Ghost Walking", and "Set to Fail". I was stoked to finally hear "Omerta" and a deep cut like "11th Hour" live. Those were definitely amongst my favorite songs of the night and I was glad they decided to mix the set up a little bit this go-round. Lamb of God never fails to bring the house down live in a club setting and last night was no exception. If this does end up being my last show of the year, It's hell of a show to end the year on.

Scores
Sylosis 9/10
Hellyeah 3/10
In Flames 9/10
Lamb of God 9.5/10

Setlists:
Sylosis:
Fear the World
Altered State of Consciousnesses
Reflections Through Fire
Teras
Empyreal

In Flames:
Sounds of a Playground Fading
Where the Dead Ships Dwell
Reroute to Remain
Embody the Invisible
Cloud Connected
Fear is the Weakness
The Mirror's Truth
System
Deliver Us
Take This Life
My Sweet Shadow

Lamb of God:
Desolation
Ghost Walking
Walk With Me In Hell
Set to Fail
Ruin
Now You've Got Something To Die For
11th Hour
The Undertow
Omerta
Contractor

Encore:
The Passing
In Your Words
Laid to Rest
Redneck
Black Label


 

Movie Review: Prometheus

 "This could've been so much better." That's was the main thought I had the entire time I was watching Prometheus. The prequel to Alien shows signs of brilliance (particularly in the second half) , but at the end of the day it rarely rises above good. The things that work here are eerily similar to things that work in the original Alien. Prometheus greatest success is in the atmosphere of the film. The visuals are spectacular, dark, and tense and are able to create the sense of imminent danger throughout. Ridley Scott is a master of creating creepy and landscapes and it's good to have him back at the helm of this franchise. The acting is also pretty damn good. Noomi Rapice does a solid job in her first leading American role as the hero of the story Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and Charlize Theron makes a good (human) villain as the corrupt businesswoman on board Meredith Vickers, but Michael Fassbender shines brightest as the android butler of the ship David. Even in a strong cast including Rapice, Theron, and Idris Elba, Fassbender easily outacts everyone. With every movie he is in, He continues to show how special of an actor he is. Every problem with Prometheus lies in the script. The whole story is really underdeveloped. The mythology and origins of the Alien franchise are only narrowly explored. The origins of the alien and "The Engineers" are really cloudy and not particularly well-thought out. Considering the movie is centered around exploring an alien planet, You really don't find out much about basically any discovery that they make. There is a lot of intrigue in the mystery, but not really much in the way of satisfying or thorough answers. Prometheus is still worth seeing, but the numerous flaws in the script prevent this from being great.

3.5/5 Stars     

NFL Thanksgiving Predictions

Houston Texans over Detroit Lions: The Lions have been playing much better recently thanks to Matthew Stafford waking up a bit from his slow start and they are playing at home, but the Texans defense are going to be out for blood after a poor performance in their narrow overtime win against the Jaguars last week. It also doesn't help the Lions subpar secondary that Matt Schaub is coming off a 527-yard performance against Jacksonville. It should be pretty close, but I like Houston in this matchup.

Washington Redskins over Dallas Cowboys: The outcome of this game will depend on what Cowboys team comes out tomorrow. It it's the team that came out last week against the Browns, Then the Redskins will take this. The Cowboys are lucky to be 5-5 considering their spotty play throughout the year and Washington is coming off a great performance last week against the Eagles and are looking to pickup another win in the division. The Redskins do have a weak secondary and Dallas can throw it, but I believe Robert Griffin III (coming off an excellent game last week where he only threw one incompletion) will outplay Tony Romo on the road. RG3 won the game last week with his arm, I think he will win this game with his feet and get the Skins a narrow victory in what looks like could be an offensive shootout.

New England Patriots over New York Jets: The Jets almost took one from the Patriots a few weeks ago in Foxboro, but I don't think this game will be that close. The Patriots did lose Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez also might not play again, but Tom Brady has so many weapons on offense that he can hurt you no matter what. The Jets are coming off a solid outing last week against the Rams and they tend to play the Patriots to close games, but I don't think they have enough off a defensive presence to stop the Patriots. Look for the Patriots to ride their running game past the weak Jets run defense to victory.

Update

I am currently in the midst of the last few weeks of the semester at school so I've been busy and will only continue to become increasingly busy until about mid-December. Combine that with the lack of albums I've listened and movies I've seen recently and it's made my writing pretty infrequent over the past month. I am going to try to bang out as many reviews as possible as I use my brief Thanksgiving break to catch up on some records from this year I have checked out and hopefully see a few movies as well. I assure you I will put as much time as I can possible put into my reviews over this time period. Thanks for reading as always and check back for some new content soon!

Chris Maitland

Album Review: Deftones-Koi No Yokan

Deftones returned with a vengeance in 2010 with Diamond Eyes after staying relatively quiet for a while following their lackluster 2006 record Saturday Night Wrist. Bassist Chi Cheng's tragic car accident seemed to rejuvenate the band after years of underwhelming releases (or as what I like to call that period of their career, the post-White Pony funk). Their resurgence of creativity and energy continues on their latest release Koi No Yokan, A dreamy and experimental release that is a worthy addition to the Deftones catalog.

Koi No Yokan is actually very different from it's predecessor Diamond Eyes. Where Diamond Eyes was crushing and sometimes melodic, Koi No Yokan is primarily mellow with only the occasional heavy moments. Koi No Yokan is essentially vocalist Chino Moreno letting his indie/dream pop influences run wild and take control of the music and it works to varying results. There are tracks like "Tempest" and "Rosemary" that are beautiful. Moreno's emotion-filled vocals and some great atmospheric riffing from Stephen Carpenter drive these tracks and make them something special. The problem is that the other strictly slow songs like "Entombed", "Graphic Nature" and "What Happened to You?" plod along and are just immensely boring. These songs are just way slow, stagnant, and indie-based for my liking. As expected being the ignorant whore metalhead that I am, I found myself gravitating more towards the heavy songs on the record. "Poltergeist" and "Leathers" are straight chaos while "Goon Squad", "Swerve City", and "Gauze" are a bit slower and refined, but still retain that heavy edge that sets them apart from the calmer material. Don't get me wrong, Their slower stuff is great most of the time, but their heavy stuff just always grabs you with it's combination of intensity and beauty and just about always manages to make a lasting impression.

Koi No Yokan is a solid, but somewhat disappointing record. This record is in the same vein of Saturday Night Wrist except much better in the execution. This is the indie, mellow side of the Deftones getting out after the release of their heaviest record in 15 years with Diamond Eyes. I respect them trying out different things with each record and this record will especially please fans of their softer material. Personally, I prefer their heavier side. My biggest complaint about this record is the lack of skull-crushing riffs from Stephen Carpenter and Chino's trademark shriek, but Diamond Eyes had plenty of both of those so it's completely cool that they favored their more artsy, melodic side on this record. Just like Diamond Eyes though, I have a feeling that Koi No Yokan will take some time to grow on me and it very well could end up being one of my favorite Deftones records. Koi No Yokan shows that the Deftones aren't going anywhere anytime soon as they continue to reinvent themselves almost twenty years into their career.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Leathers
2.Poltergeist
3.Goon Squad