Every Rush Album Ranked

Hey everybody! As many of you know, the news came about a week ago that Rush drummer Neil Peart had passed away. Rush is my favorite band of all time, and I felt that the best way for me to commemorate Neil would be to discuss his body of work in the best way I know. So today, I will be ranking the albums of Rush from worst to best. Bear in mind that there really are no bad Rush albums, but nevertheless, some are certainly better than others. So let’s just get started:

19. Rush (1974)

Yes, believe it or not, Rush’s classic self-titled debut comes in at the bottom for me. Why? Well, the easy answer is, no Neil Peart. In all seriousness, Peart really was behind much of what made Rush such a remarkable musical force for their 40-year career, and listening back to this album, the absence of Peart’s creative brilliance isn’t exactly subtle. John Rutsey was certainly a solid drummer in his own right, but let’s face it, he was no Neil Peart. And drumming aside, Peart’s knack for conceptual, fantastical writing would play a major role in setting Rush apart from other hard rock outfits in the 1970s. But before Peart came along? Yeah, Rush was basically a cheap Zeppelin rip off. In fairness, as far as cheap Zep rip offs go, Rush’s early music was serviceable, but they certainly weren’t reinventing the wheel, as they would go on to do in the coming years. And Geddy and Alex’s songwriting could be pretty hit-or-miss on this album. While “What You’re Doing,” “Before and After,” and of course “Working Man” are genuinely pretty solid hard rock tunes, it is painfully obvious that tracks such as “Need Some Love” and “In the Mood” were written when the band were very young. Rush wasn’t a bad debut album overall, but without the addition of Neil Peart, I don’t believe Rush would have ever had the success or longevity that they have achieved.

18. Test for Echo (1996)

Throughout their career, Rush have gone through many changes in their sound and approach. They began with a generic 70s hard rock album, then released a string of prog albums throughout the 70s, began the 80s with a pair of more mainstream rock albums, released a number of synth-laden new wave albums for the remainder of the 80s, a couple more experimental albums in the 90s, and then three heavier, “return-to-form” albums in the 21st century. However, their 1996 release Test for Echo doesn’t seem to fit into any of these categories. While most of Rush’s releases feel stylistically intentional and purposeful, on Test for Echo, the band just seems kind of lost. This is one of the few instances in Rush’s career, where I struggle to describe what is sonically unique about this album, because there really isn’t much there. It still certainly sounds like a Rush album, but honestly, that’s it. It has heavier moments, that sound similar to their previous release, Counterparts, and more electronic moments, harkening back to the band’s 80s sound, but there’s not much in terms of sound and style for Test for Echo to call its own. “Driven” and “Resist” stand out as highlights, and a couple of the best songs the band has ever written, but there’s little else that’s truly memorable about this album.

17. Presto (1989)

Here, we have the only other album in Rush’s discography that is somewhat lacking in individuality. Like Test for Echo, there’s really not much to be said about the sonic character of Presto, other than that it is, in fact, a Rush album. The main reason that I ultimately selected to rank this one above Test for Echo is that while on Test for Echo, the bandfeels lost, on Presto, the band seems to be in more of a transitional place. Having just put the bow on their synth rock phase, the band seem to be trying to figure out where to go next with Presto. That being said, we don’t really get an answer until the following album, hence why Presto is still ranked pretty low. But apart from seeming slightly more purposeful than Test for Echo, we also have tracks such as “The Pass,” “Presto,” and “Superconductor,” making Presto worth a repeat listen every now and again.  

16. Hold Your Fire (1987)

It was actually really hard to put Hold Your Fire this low on the list, as there truly is a lot to like about it. It’s hard to describe, but Hold Your Fire has a very distinct sound. The synths are layered very thickly, and with very bright tones, giving this album a very grand and majestic overall sonic character. Like with every other album from Rush’s synth era, Alex Lifeson favors inverted chords, extremely bright tones, and lots and lots of reverb, and in the case of Hold Your Fire, this tends to complement Geddy Lee’s keyboard work quite well. This sound consistently carries throughout the album, which leads us to its major downfall…every song sounds pretty similar. That being said, there aren’t any bad songs to speak of, and “Force Ten,” “Time Stand Still,” and “Tai Shan” stand among my all time favorite Rush songs. But the rest of the songs on Hold Your Fire tend to blend together. Any time a song from this album shows up on shuffle or a playlist, I usually enjoy it. But put them all together, and you have a pretty uniform blob of epic, majestic synth rock.

15. Signals (1982)

Okay okay, stop booing and let me explain myself. While many consider Signals to be the best album from Rush’s synth era, I’ve always found it to be somewhat underdeveloped by comparison. While the next three albums displayed flawless production, and a seamless fusion of Geddy Lee’s synth work, Alex Lifeson’s guitar playing, and Neil Peart’s dabbling with electric drums, Signals is at times plagued with what seems to be a battle between Lee’s and Peart’s desires to try their hand at new wave, and Lifeson’s preference for heavier, guitar-driven music. Overall, this is still a really solid album, stacked top-to-bottom with classics, such as “Subdivisions,” “The Analog Kid,” “The Weapon,” and my personal favorite, “New World Man,” and the fact that I’m singing this much praise for an album this low on the list is really a testament to how great this band really is. But at the end of the day, I don’t feel that the band truly mastered the synth-driven version of their sound until the following album.

14. Snakes and Arrows (2007)

For being a band that took off in the mid 1970s, it truly is remarkable that Rush continued to make good music well into the early 21st century. Think about it. How many bands from the 70s have released any worthwhile music in the last couple of decades? While Snakes and Arrows is certainly nowhere near being a top-tier Rush album, it’s certainly worth your time. “Far Cry” and “Working Them Angels” are in the same weight class as some of the band’s classic works, with the former serving as a regular in the band’s live shows from the release of Snakes and Arrows to the band’s final tour. This album is seriously chalked full of great moments. The album’s greatest downfall is its abundance of instrumental tracks, most of which don’t live up to the standard set by the likes of “La Villa Strangiato” and “YYZ,” and a handful of otherwise forgettable filler tracks. But all that aside, it’s still impressive that the band was able to write music this solid so late in their career, and there are even better examples still to come.

13. Counterparts (1993)

Ah, the early 1990s. One of the most drastically pivotal times in the history of rock music. The new decade meant the death of new wave, glam rock, thrash metal, and almost everything that the “rock” label represented in the 1980s, all at the hands of a raw, heavy, sludgy new genre by the name of grunge. As Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden took over the world of rock radio, other bands did what they felt was necessary to stay relevant in the new era. What resulted was a trend of hard rock and metal bands crossing over and attempting to write grunge. Some bands did this well. Others, not so much (NEVER AGAIN, METALLICA. NEVER AGAIN). On paper, Rush, in all their weird, nerdy, prog glory, should have failed the most spectacularly at making grunge music. But oddly enough, Counterparts is one of the better grunge crossover albums to come out of this time period. While other bands dove head first into grunge, earning them the “sellout” stamp from purist fans, Rush managed to keep everything that makes them Rush intact, while drawing influence from the popular bands of the time. One of the highlights of the album, “Stick it Out” is a heavy, riffy, Soundgarden-style romp that manages to keep the unmistakable Rush groove at the center of it. Other highlights such as “Animate” and the heart string-tugging “Nobody’s Hero” make this an interesting and highly enjoyable stylistic experiment from Rush.

12. Power Windows (1985)

Remember when I said that the handful of albums following Signals were better developed? Well, I present to you exhibit A: Power Windows. Two albums after Signals, I think it’s safe to say that Rush had the new wave thing down. Power Windows is sleek, well-produced and performed, and overall features slightly better songwriting than Signals, in my opinion. Nearly every song here is a winner, and songs such as “The Big Money,” “Grand Designs,” “Mystic Rhythms,” and “Marathon” are beloved staples of the synth era, with “Marathon” being one of my all time favorite Rush songs. With Power Windows being this consistently good, it’s hard to believe that it falls just short of being the best album from the synth era, but more on that shortly.

11. Roll the Bones (1991)

That’s right, purists and elitists. I took this, the album you loathe, the album you see in your nightmares, and I put it almost half way up the list. Why? Because Rush can do whatever they want, that’s why. Sure, they never seemed like a likely candidate to do a pop rock album, but dammit if they didn’t do it really REALLY well. When an unconventional band like Rush dabbles in pop sensibilities, it’s easy for the snobs to cry “sellout.” But “Roll the Bones” is unlike any pop rock that had ever been made before, or has been made since. Songs like “Dreamline” and “Bravado” manage to be fun and infectious without sacrificing the technical proficiency and smart lyricism that has always made Rush a prog favorite. I even love the title track, rap and all. The pop approach to this album, and particularly this song, are done in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, which unfortunately flew over many heads. If you’re one of the many people who just hates the song “Roll the Bones” with a fiery passion, chances are I won’t change your mind, but what I can do is implore you not to sleep on the rest of the album.

10. Vapor Trails (2002)

Once again, Rush really had no business making music this good so late in their career. But hey, I sure won’t complain. Kicking off the top ten, we have Vapor Trails, something of a comeback album, following the band’s first and only hiatus, which came about in the wake of a series of extreme tragedies in the life of Neil Peart. After some time spent travelling and healing, Peart returned to the studio with his bandmates, and they cranked out the best batch of songs they had written in a very long time. It took Vapor Trails some time to catch on as a favorite, mostly because of the production. The original release of the album came in the midst of a period in music known as the “loudness wars,” where producers and mixing engineers took an approach to music, specifically rock, that involved overusing compression to make records as loud as possible, and crushing any subtlety and dynamic range. As a result, the original mix of Vapor Trails is nearly unlistenable, and literally headache-inducing. And the fact that it is the longest album in Rush’s discography certainly didn’t help. Thankfully, in 2013, the band released a remixed version, which breathed new life into this album. While “Earthshine,” “One Little Victory,” and “Sweet Miracle” have always been favorites of mine, hearing them remixed has given me a whole new appreciation for them, as well as the rest of the album. When these songs aren’t being completely smashed, wall-of-sound style, you can truly hear the subtler, intricate instrumental elements beneath the crushing power chords, and it adds an entire layer of complexity to the music. I have always thought the songwriting on this album was stellar, but hearing the remixed version definitely bumped Vapor Trails up a few spots for me. If you initially dismissed this album because it sounded awful, I urge you to give the remixed version a try. If you haven’t heard this album at all…I don’t say this often, but don’t even bother with the original. The remixed version is all you need.

9. Clockwork Angels (2012)

As if I needed yet another example of Rush’s late music being ridiculously good. Here, we have the final album from Rush, and this thing is seriously better than some of their classics. As I’ve said, at a certain point, most older bands don’t put in this kind of effort, or release music that would’ve been up to their standards in the 70s and 80s. But with Clockwork Angels, Rush actually gave us the heaviest album of their career. Even though they would go on to tour for several more years, it’s very possible that they knew this would be their last album, and went in extra hard for it. But either way, the conceptual writing and heavy, proggy instrumentals haven’t been at the forefront of Rush’s work to this extent since Hemispheres. Songs like “Caravan,” “The Anarchist,” and “The Wreckers” are easily the best they’ve written in my lifetime, and I don’t think they could’ve possibly concluded their discography with a better song than “The Garden.” Again, who knows Rush knew this would be their last album when they were writing it, but we truly couldn’t have asked for a better sendoff than Clockwork Angels.

8. Grace Under Pressure (1984)

And here, we have what is easily my favorite album from Rush’s synth era. After the band seemed to struggle to ease their way into this sound with Signals, Grace Under Pressure saw them dive in head first to the synth-laden new wave sound that would define most of the 80s for Rush (much to Alex Lifeson’s chagrin, but oh well, we like it even if he doesn’t). And it paid off. As far as Rush’s post-Moving Pictures releases, this one is easily my favorite top-to-bottom listen. With tracks such as “Distant Early Warning,” “Afterimage,” and “Red Lenses,” being among the songs that first got me into Rush, and “Red Sector A” being one of my all time favorite Rush songs, Grace Under Pressure was one of my earliest favorite Rush albums when I first became a fan.

7. Fly by Night (1975)

Here we have perhaps the greatest improvement a band has ever displayed in a sophomore release. The addition of Neil Peart to the fold made a day-and-night difference in the quality of work being created by this band. As I said at the very beginning of this list, Rush started out as a pretty generic 70s rock band, and Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson weren’t exactly the best lyricists. But Neil Peart’s nerdy, literate approach to songwriting, and his unparalleled drumming ability took Rush from a decent hard rock band to a prog rock powerhouse, unlike any other band to come out of this time period. “Anthem,” “Beneath, Between & Behind,” and of course “Fly By Night” are essential Rush classics, and “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” marked their first attempt at writing longer, multiple-movement conceptual pieces. Fly by Night is certainly rough, geeky, weird, and corny, but it was a groundbreaking album for Rush, and only the beginning of a string of classic releases, consisting of some of the greatest progressive rock music ever created.

6. Permanent Waves (1980)

At the beginning of the 1980s, Rush decided to tone down their over-the-top prog style in favor of a more mainstream rock approach. And while they dialed it back with the 20 minute songs, and the space battles and fantasy adventures, they were able to successfully strike a balance between making complex, prog-centric music, and accessible, radio-ready rock music. Permanent Waves is best known for “The Spirit of Radio,” one of the biggest hits in the band’s entire catalogue. Clocking in at just under five minutes, this infectious, radio anthem features multiple small musical passages in differing time signatures, successfully packing Rush’s taste for over-the-top musical indulgences into a sleek, accessible package, for consumption by a much broader audience than any of their previous releases. This would serve as a blueprint for how Rush would write singles for years to come. However, at the end of the album, we have “Natural Science,” a nine-minute epic, packed full of everything fans of early Rush love. This album functions as a perfect blueprint for writing prog music that is accessible and unintimidating, while also being complex and interesting to prog fans.

5. Moving Pictures (1981)

Following Permanent Waves, Rush went even more mainstream with Moving Pictures. And while this album was a big, bold step away from their prog side, it is a rock classic in every sense. Almost forty years after the album’s release, “Tom Sawyer” and “Limelight” are still rock radio staples, “Red Barchetta” and “Witch Hunt” stand as two of the best songs in Rush’s catalogue, and “YYZ” is considered one of the greatest instrumental tracks in the history of rock. This is one of those classic albums where every single track is as beloved as the last, and it’s no wonder that so many consider it Rush’s best. Even though it isn’t a top three Rush album for me, as it is for many Rush fans, it is certainly the band’s most accessible album, and for anyone who is completely unfamiliar with Rush, but is interested in getting into them, I highly recommend starting with Moving Pictures.

4. Hemispheres (1978)

By now, you’ve probably figured out that I’m partial to early Rush. The weirdest, proggiest, nerdiest music that Rush ever created is also my favorite. Take Hemispheres for example. There are only four tracks on the album, the first being “Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres,” a continuation of the final song on A Farewell to Kings, and an 18-minute epic, taking up the entire first side of the record (something Rush did two other times in their early discography, but more on that momentarily). On the other side, we have classic singles, “Circumstances” and “The Trees,” as well as “La Villa Strangiato,” a 10-minute jazzy instrumental piece, showcasing the best of all three band members. Altogether, what we have here is a true prog masterpiece, which sums up why I love this band quite nicely. So how is this only at number four? Well dear reader, because Rush have three more prog masterpieces that are even better.

3. 2112 (1976)

What we have here is by all accounts one of the most essential albums in the history of progressive rock. Once again, we have one song occupying the entire first side of the album. And I’m not exaggerating when I say this track is the greatest 20 minutes ever captured on record. I’m speaking, of course, of “2112,” an epic dystopian tale about a kid living in an authoritarian future, who discovers a guitar and begins making his own music. This track is truly the pinnacle of Rush’s conceptual writing, and is my favorite song of all time. So why then is this album only my third favorite from Rush? Well, let’s talk about side B. We have “A Passage to Bangkok,” The Twilight Zone,” and “Something From Nothing,” which are all good songs, but aren’t in the same weight class as some other deep cuts from Rush’s early years. We also have “Lessons,” written by Alex Lifeson, and “Tears,” written by Geddy Lee, which both serve as reminders of why Peart was the lyricist for this band. Overall this is still a fantastic album, but some lesser cuts on the B side keep it just short of top-to-bottom perfection. So now, onto two albums that I feel achieve that.

2. A Farewell to Kings (1977)

Here, we have one of the nerdiest albums Rush ever released. From top to bottom, A Farewell to Kings is tinged with a medieval theme, complete with whimsical, finger-picked acoustic guitars. The highlights are “Xanadu” and “Cygnus X-1,” both clocking in at over 10 minutes long, and about…you guessed it…epic mythical adventures. Good stuff. The aforementioned medieval theme is ever present on tracks such as “A Farewell to Kings” and “Madrigal,” and “Closer to the Heart” stands as one of the band’s all-time classics. A Farewell to Kings is far from the band’s most accessible work, but for anyone who is a fan of the proggy, nerdy side of Rush, this album is thoroughly enjoyable from top to bottom, and compiles everything that I’ve always loved about this band to the fullest.

1.Caress of Steel (1975)

At last, we have my favorite Rush album of all time. Caress of Steel is an album you don’t always hear much about, and has garnered a reputation as the album that almost killed Rush. Immediately following the weird and quirky, but reasonably accessible Fly by Night, Rush released what is without a doubt, the weirdest, nerdiest, least mainstream accessible album in their entire catalogue of work. Audiences weren’t ready for it, and it tanked. Had they not redeemed themselves with 2112 the following year, their label would have surely dropped them. But the things that made this album a commercial failure are exactly the things that I love about it. We get “The Necromancer,” clocking in at nearly 13 minutes, and “The Fountain of Lamneth,” clocking in at 20 minutes, both epic, fantastical, multi-movement adventure songs, together taking up the vast majority of the album, leaving room for only three normal-length songs (which are pretty great too). To me, Rush is a trio of virtuoso musicians who write complex, weird music about fantasy and adventures. And by that definition, Caress of Steel is the most Rush album they ever released, and as such is my favorite. Rest in peace, Neil. Thank you for the music.

Neil Peart
1952-2020

Poppy – I Disagree Review

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first review of 2020! Kicking off the new decade, we’ve got a bit of a weird one. We’ll be discussing the third studio album from YouTube electropop star, Poppy. Now you might be wondering why I would bother with reviewing this album, especially right after rebranding from “music reviews” to “rock reviews.” Well for one thing, Poppy an extremely interesting and refreshing artist whose musical output I’ve thoroughly enjoyed thus far. And beyond that? This is a metal album. No, really. So the question is, how could a metal album from a pop artist who excels in predominantly electronic instrumentals and bubblegum pop hooks possibly sound?

                  Holy crap, you have to hear this album. Until another artist comes along and proves me wrong, I am entirely convinced that this is the best possible combination of electropop and heavy metal imaginable. It’s hard to compare it to anything, for the simple reason that I’ve never heard anything quite like it. When we’re talking about girlpop vocals over metal instrumentals, the easiest comparison to make is Babymetal. But while Babymetal comes off as somewhat gimmicky (not that I don’t love them), Poppy is committed to making something completely unique and all her own with I Disagree. Everything about this album overflows with creativity and originality.

                  Musically, Poppy’s indulgence in the metal genre certainly dominates the sonic character of I Disagree, but her familiar electropop sound is still present, and blended with the metal characteristics quite tastefully. This album remains musically interesting, as the balance between electronic and metal characteristics varies from song to song. We get songs such as “Concrete” and “Bite Your Teeth” with pure nu-metal instrumentals, softer pop songs such as “Nothing I Need” and “Sick of the Sun” that offer a break in the heavy, chaotic sound of this album, while maintaining primarily guitar-driven instrumentals, and songs such as “BLOODMONEY” and “Fill the Crown,” which combine these two styles in a loud, chaotic way, which feels somewhat inspired by 90s industrial rock, and these songs seriously make me want to hear Poppy collaborate with Trent Reznor. Perhaps the most impressive thing about all this is that if you separated the pop melodies from the metal instrumentals, both of these elements would be extremely interesting and enjoyable on their own, drawing a sharp distinction between Poppy and more gimmick-driven pop metal acts. Poppy’s sense of melody is as irresistible as it has ever been, and her backing band (whoever they are) can REALLY play and write. The guitar and drum work on this album are nothing short of impeccable.

                  While the unique collection of sounds and styles that make up this album are primarily what make it so worthy of discussion, the lyrics are really solid as well. The running theme on this album seems to be Poppy’s experience trying to free herself from what the music industry wants to make her do and be. Being that Poppy rose to fame as a pop artist, I can’t imagine any of the executives she reports to being very keen on the idea of her making a metal album. “Sit / Stay” is the most obvious example of this theme, as it compares pop stardom to being forced to obey commands like a dog. Apart from this, we get compelling observations on our society in “I Disagree” and haunting apocalyptic imagery in “Don’t Go Outside. At no point does Poppy reinvent the wheel with her lyricism in the same way that she does musically, but the lyrics on I Disagree are consistently serviceable, and great at times.

                  When asked about the diverse collection of sounds that make up I Disagree, or any of Poppy’s releases, Poppy has described her music as “post-genre.” Initially, I found this assertion to be a little bit pretentious, but upon hearing I Disagree, I can honestly say that Poppy’s music is completely deserving of this title. While genre fusion has existed for as long as popular music has existed, I have never heard an artist so fearlessly blend whatever sounds they are feeling influenced by at the time. I Disagree lacks the safe, controlled feeling that comes with most genre crossover projects, and reimagines new ways to combine pop, electronica, heavy metal, and anything else that might sound interesting. Because why should art have rules? This refreshing approach to creating music is something that has been much needed in the pop world and the rock world alike.

Score: 10/10

Favorite Song(s): Concrete, Fill the Crown, BLOODMONEY, Don’t Go Outside, I Disagree

Least Favorite Song(s): Bite Your Teeth

My Top 10 Albums of the 2010s

Hello again! I hope you all enjoyed my top ten albums of the year list, and are having a wonderful New Years Eve! With the decade wrapping up, I wanted to follow up my top ten albums of the year list with a list highlighting my top ten favorite albums from the 2010s. At the beginning of the decade, I was 13, and now I’m 23, so this decade has been an extremely vital formative period in my life. So I consider this list almost like the soundtrack to this chapter. The goal of this list is to highlight as much of the music I’ve loved this decade as possible, and to represent every period of it. And with that in mind, I have set a couple of parameters for this list: First off, the list will include one album from each year of the 2010s. Second, I will not be including more than one album from any artist. With this in mind, I would like to shout out a few honorable mentions, specifically highlighting albums that would be serious contenders, were it not for these rules:

Prequelle – Ghost (2018)

Some Nights – Fun. (2012)

Paramore – Paramore (2013)

Fear Inoculum – TOOL (2019)

Feel Your Feelings Fool! – The Regrettes (2017)

It was hard to exclude these albums from the final list, as they have all been very important to me in their own ways. But now, let’s get on with the list!

10. Dictator – Scars On Broadway (2018)

Kicking things off, we have Dictator, the second studio album by Scars On Broadway, the solo project of System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian. Sadly, the 2010s came and went, and still no new System album. But hey, a bunch of songs that Daron wrote for a potential System album, released under the Scars On Broadway moniker is really the next best thing. And damn, this thing is really good. On the one hand, hearing how great these songs are makes the fact that we’re probably never getting a new System album even more sad, but on the other, I’m really glad Malakian has Scars as an outlet to release his unused System ideas, that might not otherwise be heard. And these songs really do live up to the intensity, creativity, and unapologetic topicality we’ve come to expect from Malakian’s writing, so it’s really fortunate that Scars On Broadway has given fans an opportunity to hear them. Don’t get me wrong, a part of me will always hold onto hope for new System music, but as far as consolation prizes go, Dictator is a pretty good one.

9. Light Me Up – The Pretty Reckless (2010)

This list wouldn’t be a true representation of my favorite music of the decade without paying homage to my years as an awkward, angsty teenager with a massive crush on Taylor Momsen. I was that little classic rock kid that thought nobody understood me because I listened to Zeppelin and AC/DC, and I was thrilled to discover a new hard rock band with a sound that would’ve fit in perfectly with that era (and the fact that they were fronted by a pretty girl with a killer voice didn’t hurt either). Even though The Pretty Reckless have now largely become a nostalgia act for members of my generation, I still thoroughly enjoy Light Me Up every time I listen to it. In a decade full of classic rock throwback bands, some of which are too derivative for their own good, The Pretty Reckless have always managed to draw from rock and roll’s history, while keeping Momsen’s own personality and individuality at the center of it all. Light Me Up may not make many “best of the decade” lists, but it was an incredibly important album for me, and I’m proud to shout it out here.

8. Clockwork Angels – Rush (2012)

The final album from my favorite band of all time. Let’s face it, most bands from the 1970s who hung around into 21st century haven’t exactly given us much to write home about in terms of new music. They’ll tour every couple years, play the greatest hits, and occasionally release a mediocre album that only their diehard fans will buy. Rush, on the other hand, never lost their creativity, energy, or passion for what they did. And for their final outing? A dystopian steampunk epic about the importance of thinking for oneself. Because how else would Rush wrap up their nearly perfect catalogue of work? This album is seriously way better than it had any business being. It is one of the heaviest albums Rush have ever released, and the instrumentation and atmosphere provide an epic payoff that makes Clockwork Angels the most fitting and satisfying swan song Rush could have possibly given their fans. I won’t lie to you, I cried when my favorite band announced they were packing it in. But I’m so thankful that they went out on such a high note.

7. Everything Will Be Alright in The End – Weezer (2014)

One of my favorite albums of the decade, and one of the greatest redemption albums of all time. Following one of the most notoriously massive nosedives in music history, Weezer proved that they could still make great rock music with Everything Will Be Alright in The End. When some bands decide to attempt a “return to form” album, they tend to take the easy route, and basically create a carbon copy of their most beloved album. And while this album certainly calls back to the style of The Blue Album in many ways, it also stands on its own in Weezer’s discography. With epic hooks, thick track layering, and soaring lead guitar work, Everything Will Be Alright in The End is without a doubt the biggest sounding Weezer album to date. This truly is the album that Weezer fans held out hope that they would one day hear. And now that they’ve gone back down the toilet, we could sure use another album like this. But hey, Van Weezer certainly looks promising.

6. Magma – Gojira (2016)

It’s always risky when bands shake things up, but in the case of Magma, it paid off. With their most recent release, Gojira completely shed their death metal origins, and dove headfirst into the prog tendencies that have always laid beneath the surface of their complex and highly technical sound. Magma was a somewhat divisive release within the Gojira fanbase, but as an avid prog fan, I really loved the album. I would honesty commit the high crime of calling it one of my favorite Gojira albums to date. Gojira have always been very technically intricate in their writing and instrumentation, making them a perfect candidate to explore prog, and this effort truly did not disappoint. Who knows whether or not Gojira will continue in this direction in the future, but if Magma is any indication, I am eager to hear what Gojira come out with in the 2020s.

5. Save Rock and Roll – Fall Out Boy (2013)

Ever since Mania (which is admittedly one of the worst albums of the decade) came out, Fall Out Boy’s two previous albums have been lumped in with it as “the pop era,” and critically panned. I, for one, am not going to let this slide, as I clearly remember 2013, and refuse to let pop-punk elitists (which are a thing, for some reason) pretend we didn’t all love Save Rock and Roll when it came out. And you know what? I’ll just say it. This is my favorite Fall Out Boy album. In a decade that has been marked with some pretty egregious pop-rock releases, Fall Out Boy have given us easily one of the most successful demonstrations in recent years of how to write great pop-rock. Nearly every song from this album is highly infectious and memorable, and I still come back to it today. Features from Big Sean, Courtney Love, and of course, the incomparable Elton John, add stylistic dynamism and make Save Rock and Roll a defining album for this decade in pop and rock music.

4. STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS – FEVER 333 (2019)

If you read my top 10 albums of the year list, chances are you fully expected to see this album here. I’ll keep this brief, as pretty much everything I have to say about this album is in that post, but in short, this album is definitely worth your time, and FEVER 333 are one of the most memorable breakout rock acts in recent years. Keep a close eye on this band, as their aggressive rap-rock style and passionate lyrics are bound to change the rock world for the better.

3. After Laughter – Paramore (2017)

Aside from maybe hair metal, I can’t think of a rock subgenre that went from being the dominant style of popular rock to a decade party costume as fast as pop-punk. By the time the 2010s rolled around, it quickly became clear that the once immortal titans of pop-punk would either have to evolve with the times, or fade into obscurity. And while many of these bands would have probably been better off just going with the latter option, Paramore not only successfully evolved with the times, but in my opinion, their music got even better. After Laughter is undoubtedly my favorite Paramore album to date, for a number of reasons. While their emo colleagues Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco dove headfirst into millennial pop, Paramore took their sound in an 80s new wave inspired sound, peppered with spacious and bright production, and popping, almost whimsical guitar and percussion work. In the case of After Laughter, we hear this upbeat, delightful sound contrasted against frontwoman Hayley Williams’ most personal and vulnerable songwriting to date. Throw in the most irresistibly infectious batch of melodies Paramore have ever written, and you’ve got easily one of my favorite albums from the decade, from one of my favorite bands of the 21st century.

2. Meliora – Ghost (2015)

If I’m being perfectly honest, Ghost are the main reason I elected to implement a “no repeating bands” rule for this list. As I said, I want this list to represent as much different music that I have loved this decade as possible. The thing is, if this list were purely reflective of the albums I enjoyed and came back to the most from the decade, all four of Ghost’s studio albums would be contenders. But alas, I must pick only one. And I truly feel that Meliora is the album that best represents everything that people love about this band, and why they have become an undeniable staple for rock in the 2010s. The impeccably executed conceptual writing and mesmerizing theatrics that we’ve come to expect from Ghost are taken to the next level on Meliora, and complimented by the most epic and impressive instrumentation we’ve heard from them to date. Clean production, nu-metal bass tones, and even a dabble in balladry were a little bit more than some of the band’s purist fans could handle at the time of the album’s release, but as the band branched out and displayed their versatility, they saw notable growth in their fanbase. Ghost is without a doubt my favorite band to come out of this decade, and if you are even remotely curious about them, I highly recommend giving Meliora a spin.

1. Wasting Light – Foo Fighters (2011)

I had to make a lot of tough choices, while compiling this list. This, however, was not one of them. My number one favorite album of the 2010s is without a doubt the Foo Fighters’ 2011 masterpiece, Wasting Light. The Foo Fighters’ post-90s output has a reputation for being carried almost entirely by hit singles, rather than top-to-bottom enjoyable full albums. And while these criticisms aren’t exactly wrong, somehow, right in the middle of this string of critically lukewarm albums, the Foos managed to crank out what is in my opinion the best album of their career. Seriously, every song on this album is on par with the band’s greatest and most beloved hits. It’s very rare for a band to put out an album without even one lackluster song, but with Wasting Light, the Foo Fighters have done just that. From fist-pumping ragers such as “Bridge Burning” and “White Limo,” to moodier, more somber tracks such as “Miss the Misery” and “I Should Have Known,” to reflective, emotional cuts such as “These Days” and “Walk,” the quality and diversity of Dave Grohl’s songwriting are at their peak on Wasting Light. This is without a doubt my favorite album of the decade, and one of my favorite albums of all time.

My Top 10 Albums of 2019

Well at last, we find ourselves at the end of 2019. And I couldn’t have asked for a better year to start writing this blog. There has been an abundance of incredible music released this year, and I have truly enjoyed listening to and writing about as much of it as was humanly possible. Right now, it’s time to run through what I believe to be the ten best albums of the year. Bear in mind that because I started this blog in July, there may be several albums on this list that I didn’t review. Since there was so much music that I loved this year, choosing only ten albums to highlight was near impossible. So before we get into the top ten, I’d like to list some honorable mentions that I truly wish could’ve made the list:

South of Reality – The Claypool Lennon Delirium

High Crimes – The Damned Things

Dedicated – Carly Rae Jepsen

Infest the Rats’ Nest – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Age of Unreason – Bad Religion

And now, let’s jump into my top 10 favorite albums of 2019!

10. Distance Over Time – Dream Theater

Starting things off is a pretty well-established band within the progressive metal scene. With their fourteenth studio album, Dream Theater managed to create perhaps their most sleek and accessible album to date, without sacrificing the prog characteristics that made them famous. While we are treated to pleasant melodies and a relatively unintimidating run-time (for Dream Theater, anyway), the band hasn’t sacrificed longer individual tracks, complex progressions, and of course, virtuosic guitar work from the incomparable John Petrucci. For those of us who enjoy the longer, more strange and conceptual side of Dream Theater, Distance Over Time more or less amounts to a mid-tier DT album. But hey, a good album from Dream Theater is a great album by all other metrics, right?

9. In Cauda Venenum – Opeth

I guess you could say 2019 was a pretty good year for prog. But while Dream Theater released an album that more or less met our expectations for them at this point, Opeth’s In Cauda Venenum has been something of a redemption album for the band. While purist fans have felt somewhat alienated by the band’s transition from death metal to prog rock over the last decade, the latest entry in this chapter of Opeth’s career is so good, even the grumpiest of metal elitists have been surprisingly receptive to it. In Cauda Venenum is an endlessly impressive exercise in prog rock, featuring an exceptionally diverse sonic palette. Opeth’s traditional hard rock texture is tastefully peppered with multilayered vocals, acoustic guitars, pianos, and strings. Heavier moments are balanced out by softer, but equally intense ones. Oh, and we even get a jazz song. Any fan open-minded enough to look past the lack of growling must admit that this is one of the most ambitious and accomplished albums in Opeth’s discography. I’d confidently call it my favorite since Ghost Reveries.

8. How Do You Love? – The Regrettes

If you don’t know about this band, it’s time to change that. The Regrettes are a riot grrrl band from LA that took the underground punk world by storm with their 2017 debut album, Feel Your Feelings Fool!. Not as aggressive as many of the bands commonly associated with the riot grrrl genre, The Regrettes incorporate elements of 50s and 60s surf and garage rock into their primarily 90s punk influenced sound, creating something that is really all their own. With their sophomore release, How Do You Love?, they have somewhat moved away from the riot grrrl feminist themes of their debut, and created an album entirely about love. And while How Do You Love? Isn’t nearly as bold and explosive as Feel Your Feelings Fool!, it is every bit as much fun. The focus on romance comes off with a very endearing, awkward indie film charm, and is supplemented by a handful of softer, ballad-like songs. However, we are still treated to the upbeat instrumentation, infectious melodies, and clever lyrics that put this band on the map in the first place. The fact that frontwoman and primary songwriter Lydia Night is a teenager only makes How Do You Love? that much more impressive.

7. OK, I’M SICK – Badflower

Very rarely does a new band release a debut album that sounds so complete, competent, and fully formed. World, meet Badflower. This noisy and chaotic California quartet really hit it out of the park with OK, I’M SICK, setting a standard that will indeed be tough to beat. This album is one of the most vivid looks at mental illness we’ve seen in rock music to date. Frontman Josh Katz pulls no punches in describing his struggles and lamenting his personal demons, including depression, anxiety, stage fright, sexual frustration, parental abuse, addiction, and even political unrest. All presented in a whirlwind of haunting melodies, drastically changing dynamics, and chaotic production, including fuzzed out guitars and tasteful electronics. OK, I’M SICK isn’t always a pleasant ride, but it’s one worth taking.

6. WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish

Call me a bandwagoner all you want, but I truly believe Billie Eilish is the most refreshing thing to happen to mainstream pop music in a very long time, and I really love her album. While the credits in the liner notes of most pop albums from recent decades contain literally hundreds of names, this album is credited to Billie, her brother Finneas, who co-wrote, produced, and played all instruments, as well as two mixers, and one mastering engineer. Five people made this album happen. And it’s better than pretty much anything else that came out of the pop world this year. The songs here have a lyrical vulnerability that is accentuated by the minimalist production and instrumentation. Modern trap production, complete with pounding bass and percussion, provides an intriguing contrast against Eilish’s haunting legato vocal style. On softer songs, pianos, guitars, and even ukuleles provide an entirely different instrumental texture. All of this works together to convey a full range of emotions, and tell stories that are clearly very deep and personal to this young woman. If you’re in search of some kind of hope for the future of popular music, look no further.

5. The Gereg – The HU

Let me just start by saying that this is one of the most interesting breakout acts to come out of rock and metal in recent years. Hailing from Mongolia, The HU are a folk metal band that primarily feature traditional Mongolian string instruments, but play them in heavy metal fashion, while the vocals consist almost entirely of throat singing. Lyrically, The HU are interested in traditional Mongolian folklore and epic battles. This eclectic collection of sounds and ideas amounts to pretty much the most badass thing ever. The HU are a band who have carved out an entire corner of the market all their own, and after hearing this extremely solid debut, I am excited to see what they do next. 

4. Order in Decline – Sum 41

Talk about a pleasant surprise! Let’s be honest, when any 2000s pop-punk band comes back with a new album in the current decade, it’s usually crap. And Sum 41 has certainly been one of the worst offenders. I honestly wasn’t expecting to like this album at all. But while their contemporaries, such as Blink-182, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At The Disco, have all gone full-blown millennial pop, Sum 41 went hard in the opposite direction with Order in Decline. Sum 41 wear their love for 80s metal on their sleeve in a big way on this album, and the result is their heaviest, most energetic album to date. Lyrically, we also see the band at the most mature and reflective that they’ve perhaps ever been. I know most of you probably haven’t listened to Sum 41 in years, except for “In Too Deep” occasionally popping up on your Throwback Jamz playlist, but trust me when I urge you not to sleep on Order in Decline. If I didn’t write a music blog, I probably would’ve skipped over it myself, but I’m so glad I didn’t miss out on what is easily one of my favorite albums of the year.

3. We Are Not Your Kind – Slipknot

(Sorry people, this was the highest resolution pic I could find)

While we’re on the topic of pleasant surprises, this album was way better than I thought it would be too. I may have had higher hopes for this one than Sum 41, but still, with the last two Slipknot albums being less than stellar overall, I figured we would have another mixed bag on our hands. But ladies and gentleman, I can honestly say that We Are Not Your Kind is one of the band’s best albums to date. Slipknot are as adventurous and ambitious on this album as they’ve ever been, and for the first time since Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), they delivered an album that is absolutely breathtaking and captivating from start to finish. Featuring impeccable pacing and flow, sublime production, instrumentation, and soundscaping, and some of the band’s best songwriting, We Are Not Your Kind is sure to go down in music history as essential listening, not only for Slipknot fans, but for metal fans of all persuasions.

2. Fear Inoculum – TOOL

This was a big one, to say the least. Perhaps the most anticipated album of all time, Fear Inoculum was without a doubt the nail-biter of 2019. After TOOL made us wait 13 years for this album, the disappointment would’ve been devastating, had this album been less than stellar. Luckily, TOOL delivered an album that is not only up to their standard of excellence, but is their single most ambitious to date, and one of their best. As someone who enjoyed the more prog-centric direction TOOL took on Lateralus and 10,000 Days, I was thrilled to see that trend continued on the band’s latest outing. With songs such as “7empest” and “Pneuma” standing as some of the band’s best to date, it is fair to say that TOOL have yet to lose their luster. Clocking in at nearly an hour and a half, Fear Inoculum isn’t the easiest listen, but it is certainly a rewarding one. Who knows if the next TOOL album will be this good, but something tells me we won’t have to worry about that for quite awhile.

1. STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS – FEVER 333

All things considered, there has been a lot of amazing music released this year. But without a doubt, my choice for album of the year goes to FEVER 333, another new artist, who released their debut album in January of this year. With the aggression and passion of Rage Against the Machine, and the melodic sensibility of Linkin Park, FEVER 333 pull no punches in delivering the message that they feel America needs to hear. In today’s socio-political climate, it is more important than ever that we have bands that are unafraid to speak truth to power, and that is exactly what FEVER 333 does on STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS. The music is mercilessly heavy, groovy, and infectious, while the lyrics are smart and topical. Taking all of this into consideration, I truly believe there hasn’t been a better or more important album released in 2019.

READER REQUEST: Harry Styles – Fine Line Review

Greetings! I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season! Today, we’re talking about a release that I initially wasn’t going to cover, due to a few end-of-year projects currently in the works (coming soon!), But this particular release turned out to be wildly popular, and on top of that, I received a request for it. I’m speaking, of course, of Fine Line, the sophomore solo album from One Direction star Harry Styles. In 2017, Styles established himself as a capable solo artist with his self-titled debut album, which actually really surprised me. It was a smart, infectious soft rock album that displayed Styles’ versatility in a way that his contributions to One Direction never had. So how does Styles’ sophomore release measure up?

                  Right off the bat, I’ll go ahead and say I don’t like this album nearly as much as I liked Styles’ first. His flirtations with rock, which were what won me over on that album primarily, have been significantly dialed back on Fine Line, which can comfortably be classified as a pop record. That being said, it doesn’t really sound like a pop record from 2019 (and I mean that in the best of ways). The guitar-driven pop sound that was established on the self-titled album is still quite prevalent here. Contrast that against some acoustic-centered ballads, and you have an overall very organic sounding record, with a surprising lack of heavily electronic tracks. This may not be exactly the sophomore album I would’ve wanted, but it’s still certainly a refreshing sound for a pop album in the current musical landscape.

                  While Fine Line is a step down from self-titled in terms of overall originality and versatility, it is overall a more cohesive, thought out project. The songs on this album seem to tell a story about a complicated, rocky relationship between Styles and an unnamed significant other. The songs have a very natural musical and lyrical flow, and showcase a reasonably diverse collection of sounds and moods, even if not to the extent of Styles’ first record. Several tracks include thickly layered choir vocals, adding power and dynamism to the hooks, the best examples being “Sunflower, Vol. 6” and “Treat People with Kindness.” “Watermelon Sugar” is a funky, danceable number featuring a New Orleans-style horn section, definitely standing out as a highlight on the album. Guitar work on “She” borders on psychedelic. However, the strongest and most memorable cuts on the album are the ballads. We have “Cherry,” a heartbreak song driven by a gently finger-picked acoustic guitar, and featuring tasteful harmonica work, as well as “Falling,” a beautiful piano ballad, and perhaps the most personal and introspective song Styles has released to date.

                  We also hear a few tracks that more or less border on generic millennial pop, and these are pretty easily the weakest tracks on the album. While tracks such as “Lights Up” and “Fine Line” aren’t bad per se, they certainly fall through the cracks when measured up against some of the more unique cuts on this album. Fortunately, these tracks are few enough not to bring the entire project down.

                  Overall, Harry Styles played it much safer with this album than his last, but Fine Line is still a sufficiently enjoyable pop project. Even if Styles took this one in a direction I wasn’t as crazy about, he still checks all the boxes: irresistible hooks, snappy instrumentation and production, and cliché, yet clever lyrics. And he does it without giving into many of the tired writing and production tropes that have plagued pop music for the past few years. For a newcomer’s introduction to Styles’ solo work, I would recommend his self-titled debut, as frankly, it is better. But if you’re a fan of any of Styles’ past work, there’s no reason you won’t enjoy Fine Line.

Score: 7/10

Favorite Song(s): Falling, Cherry, Watermelon Sugar, Sunflower, Vol. 6

Least Favorite Song(s): Lights Up, Fine Line

MINI-REVIEW: Camila Cabello – Romance

Happy holidays, everybody! For today’s review, I’ll be keeping it pretty brief, as I’m currently working on my top ten albums of the year list, and don’t really have the time to dedicate to a full review. I wasn’t even planning to review any albums this month, but I felt this one was worth at least mentioning, so let’s just jump right in.

                  Overall, Camila Cabello has delivered a very solid follow up to her 2018 debut, Camila. We hear more insanely infectious dance-pop songs with a Latin flair, such as “My Oh My,” “Señorita,” and “Liar,” as well as ballads that are sure to tug at the heart strings, including “This Love”and “First Man,” two of the best songs we’ve heard from Camila thus far. Camila set out to give listeners a cohesive look into the ups and downs of being in love, and for the most part achieves this goal.

                  The biggest pitfalls of Romance are the most glaring when the album is directly compared to Camila. Now that may not seem entirely fair, but this is how sophomore albums have always and will always be judged. While Camila clocks in at just barely over half an hour, this album has a fuller length, being well over 40 minutes. This works best when an artist expands their sound and shows more versatility, which Cabello hasn’t really done here. As I said earlier, we largely get more of the same. The difference being, now we have two or three virtually interchangeable versions of each song, whereas every song on Camila felt individually purposeful. None of these new songs are bad at all, but some certainly fall through the cracks. Apart from this, we get a few songs that very blatantly copy other popular artists such as Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift. With Cabello having such a distinct sound of her own, there really isn’t a point to this.

                  In terms of production, this album is much more polished and refined than Camila. And while on the surface, this seems like an improvement, I felt as though the stripped down instrumentation and minimally edited vocals on that album really allowed Cabello’s personality to shine through. Not a flaw so much as personal preference, but a point in favor of her debut album, nonetheless.

                  Overall, if you enjoyed Camila Cabello’s debut, chances are you’ll like Romance. For me, it doesn’t quite have the top-to-bottom replay value of the debut album, but the best moments more than justify the album’s existence. That being said, with the exceptions of a few really good songs, the qualities that make Cabello’s music so enjoyable aren’t quite as effective as they were on Camila. Romance isn’t a sophomore slump by any means, but it doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor either.

Score: 7/10

Favorite Song(s): This Love, First Man, My Oh My, Señorita

Least Favorite Song(s): Shameless, Living Proof

Coldplay – Everyday Life Review

Oh look, a new Coldplay album. Because they’re still a thing for some reason. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Coldplay. Throughout the 2000s they consistently released some of the greatest pop rock music of my lifetime, and albums such as Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends and A Rush of Blood to the Head still hold up incredibly well today. However, the entirety of their output from the 2010s has been, to use technical music critic language, really really boring. I won’t say I hate any of it, mainly because in order to hate it, I would first have to care. More than anything, it’s just bland, safe, vanilla pop rock, that almost rivals Maroon 5 and Imagine Dragons in its lack of ambition or imagination. Long story short, you could say I didn’t exactly dive into this new album with very much hope.

                  And I certainly didn’t feel very reassured to discover that this album consists of two disks, Sunrise and Sunset. Fortunately, my next discovery was that the entire album clocks in at only 53 minutes, with each disk being under half an hour long. Hardly worth putting on two separate disks in my opinion, but hey, I was just glad I didn’t have to listen to an hour and a half of 2010s Coldplay. So did listening to this album convince me that the two-disc format was necessary, or even justifiable?

                  Well, no. I can honestly say that nothing is gained from this album being divided into two discs (except maybe a little bit of inconvenience for those listening on hard copy). And I guess I can’t really take points off for this, but it was just an unnecessary formatting choice. Judging by the decision to name each of the disks, and the amount of brief interludes and instrumentals that are included, it seems that Coldplay’s ambition for this record was to create an epic, two-disc magnum opus, in the vein of Mellon Collie or Stadium Arcadium. But again, with a run time that doesn’t even hit the one-hour mark, this really isn’t possible. The main issue here is the shorter songs and interludes. Many of these feel like unfinished ideas that could use more work. On top of that, every one of them either features a stripped back, finger-picked acoustic guitar approach, a lush combination of piano and strings, or a gospel choir. On their own, any one of these short tunes actually sound pretty good, but recycling through these three textures for the duration of this album gets pretty stale, especially when there are as many of these pieces as there are full length songs (which is another issue of its own).

                  The strange layout of this project aside, I will say that much of the music actually pleasantly surprised me. When you trim the fat and focus on the full-length songs, most of them are pretty solid. “Trouble in Town” is a powerful statement on race relations and police brutality, featuring a haunting instrumental section and vocal melody, as well as an audio recording of a real instance of abuse of power. Not a comfortable song to listen to by any means, but then again, maybe that means the band got their message across. “Daddy” is a beautiful and heartbreaking song, sung from the perspective of a son, who longs to have a relationship with his negligent father. As implied by the title, “Old Friends” is an endearing message to an old friend, reveling sentimentally in the good old days. The only seriously weak lyrical moment is “Guns,” a song that begins by lamenting gun violence in America, but by verse two, devolves into a word salad of generic talking points a bout a myriad of unrelated topics.

                  While this album is easily more spirited and ambitious than anything else Coldplay have released in the last decade, that doesn’t necessarily make it all that interesting. Musically, this album is pretty sleepy, top to bottom. I know Coldplay is known for making music that is relatively slow and soft, but at least classic tracks such as “Clocks” and “Viva la Vida” manage to be very epic and dynamically interesting in their instrumentation. And on this album, while the shorter interlude tracks follow the same few stylistic patterns I mentioned, the full length songs are all very soft and atmospheric. One noticeable change from the band’s most recent material is that the electric guitar is extremely prevalent on these songs. However, the lead lines don’t seem “written,” so much as improvised and crammed into the final mix. And while this tends to work for bluesy hard rock music, it feels somewhat out of place on a Coldplay album.

                  There are only two major musical deviations on this album. The first one, “Arabesque,” is a swinging, New Orleans style jazz tune, featuring a horn section and a saxophone solo. This is perhaps the strongest musical moment on the album. The other, “Cry Cry Cry” is a 60s doo wop inspired track, featuring artificial record hiss for maximum cheese. This track overall is okay at best, and is more or less ruined by a strange, high-pitched voice, accompanying the voice of lead singer Chris Martin. We also have the lead single, “Orphans.” Without a doubt the weakest moment on the album, “Orphans” is more or less a lame pop song in the style of this band’s last several singles from recent albums. You could easily replace this song with “Sky Full of Stars” or “Adventure of a Lifetime,” and nobody would even notice. The last two songs, “Champion of the World” and “Everyday Life” are the closest we get to classic Coldplay. Nowhere near as good, but a welcome return to form and satisfying end to the album, nonetheless.

                  Everyday Life is without a doubt the best Coldplay album since Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The use of horns, choirs, and strings, while a little bit repetitive, still makes for a much more interesting sonic palette than anything we’ve heard on their last three albums. And many of the songs are really good…some of the best they’ve written in a very long time. However, this isn’t enough to save Everyday Life from being a jumbled and confusing album. In order to make this album more coherent, the band needed to either trim it down to a regular length, single disc LP, or fully committed to the two-disc epic idea, and finished some of the songs that clocked in at roughly a minute and a half (though they would’ve had to make some of these songs MUCH more sonically and dynamically diverse for that not to be a miserably boring experience). So depending on which way you look at it, this album is either overly bloated, or incomplete. Either way, what we’re left with is a solid rough draft in need of thorough revision.

Score: 5/10

Favorite Song(s): Trouble in Town, Daddy, Arabesque

Least Favorite Song(s): Orphans, Guns, Cry Cry Cry

READER REQUEST: Periphery – Periphery IV: Hail Stan Review

Hello friends, and welcome to another reader requested review! This time around, we’re taking a look at djent icons Periphery, and their latest album, Periphery IV: Hail Stan. Released in April of this year, Hail Stan is the sixth studio album by Periphery, and the fourth in a series of self-titled albums. The album was incredibly well received by fans and critics alike, hailed by many (see what I did there?) as the band’s best album yet. So are the praises being sung of Hail Stan deserved, or is it all hype?

                  I’ll preface this review by saying that my relationship with Periphery’s music has been somewhat complicated. As a fan of prog metal, I’ve always been impressed with the instrumental ability and writing displayed by this band. That being said, I’ve never been a fan of the metalcore inspired vocals and melodies that are found in much of Periphery’s music (although admittedly, this has less to do with the quality of the music itself, and more to do with my personal tastes). I also think that their tendency to release albums so close together has been less than beneficial, especially when we’re dealing with hour-long albums. And more often than not, I’m left feeling like the finished product could have easily been cut down to 45 minutes or so without losing anything meaningful. But with Hail Stan coming nearly three years after the band’s previous release, is there a noticeable difference in quality?

                  Absolutely. I didn’t think I’d be saying this, but the hype surrounding Hail Stan is actually pretty well deserved. It is clear that the band really put time and thought into this project, as it is pretty easily their most ambitious, adventurous, and accomplished release to date. In terms of both writing and instrumentation, Periphery have really taken the reins off of their usual formula and set themselves free to create. And the result, while not without its flaws, is still quite interesting and enjoyable.

                  The highlight of the album is the opening track, “Reptile,” a seventeen-minute epic about a stoner kid leading humanity in an apocalyptic battle with an alien race (as a Rush fan, I was destined to like this one quite a bit).  As compelling musically as it is lyrically, it fluctuates dynamically between softer, slower moments and heavier, more intense moments, with flawless pacing, keeping the track from dragging or losing the listeners attention. Along with the traditional rock/metal instrumentation which is the backbone of this track, other elements such as strings and electronics pepper areas of this track, making for a diverse sonic palette. Without hesitation, I would call “Reptile” Periphery’s most accomplished piece of music to date.

                  The rest of the album can be a little more hit-or-miss, but more often than not, the hits outweigh the misses. When the band was writing this album, it seems they had a bit of a writer’s obsession with epic songs about apocalyptic warfare, as this theme also appears on tracks such as “Garden in the Bones,” “Crush”, and even “Blood Eagle,” an unforgiving thrasher about Vikings (what’s more badass than that?). While musically, this is probably their heaviest album to date, those electronic elements I mentioned earlier are fairly prevalent through much of this album. And while synths and electronics can be dangerous territory to explore in heavy music (Asking Alexandria, anyone?), Periphery manages to execute it rather tastefully. Tracks such as “CHVRCH BVRNER,” “It’s Only Smiles,” and “Crush,” expertly incorporate electronic songs that provide interesting contrast against the heavy and aggressive guitars and drums. And on that note, the instrumental writing on this album is on an entirely new level for Periphery. The majority of this album is riddled with fast, yet tasteful drumming, and we hear virtuosic, John Petrucci-like guitar solos in nearly every song.

                  While there are very few outright missteps on Hail Stan, there are a handful of songs that really just don’t do much for this project on the whole. While the first half of the album is consistently interesting and exciting, the second half can get a little slow. “Follow Your Ghost” fits within the sonic character of the album, but doesn’t do much else with it, making it a pretty obvious filler track to me. Equally forgettable, “Sentient Glow” is plagued with plodding instrumentals and fairly standard cookie cutter apocalyptic metalcore lyrics. Another longer, multi-part suite, the album’s final song, “Satellites” is an effective closer overall, but it falls short of the masterful pacing and writing displayed on “Reptile.” While the track ends rather epically and puts a nice bow on the album, this last impression is ruined by an abrupt, and absolutely unneccesary exclamation of “Suck my balls.” While most of these songs fit into the musically heavy and lyrically epic style of the album, “It’s Only Smiles” is pure emo cheese both musically and lyrically, and sticks out like a sore thumb on the album. On top of this, as I’ve said before, the metalcore vocals and melodies associated with this band aren’t really my thing, and this album hasn’t exactly changed my mind. And while I acknowledge that this is really a matter of personal taste, I also feel as though this style is somewhat dated in 2019.

                  Is Periphery IV: Hail Stan an album that I will still be coming back to a year from now? Honestly, probably not. But personal taste issues aside, this album is a major creative milestone for Periphery. Even being someone who isn’t crazy about djent, I enjoy the majority of this album, and find more to like about it than to dislike. The writing and instrumentation draw influence from classic progressive metal, and incorporate those elements beautifully into the overall sound of the album. Even if djent isn’t for you, this album is worth a try for anybody who enjoys prog music.

Score: 7/10

Favorite Song(s): Reptile, Crush, Garden in the Bones, Blood Eagle

Least Favorite Song(s): It’s Only Smiles, Follow Your Ghost

Kanye West – Jesus Is King Review

Well would you look at that! Kanye West’s highly anticipated, and repeatedly delayed new album is here. Mr. West has certainly been a hot topic in recent years. On top of being seemingly ever-present in the headlines for his usual controversial statements and actions, West has also been releasing music very consistently. Just last year, he released a new solo album, Ye, as well as Kids See Ghosts, a collaborative effort with Kid Cudi. And on top of that, Jesus Is King was slated to come out that same year, before being delayed. More often than not, I’m against artists putting out so much music in such little time, as the quality is almost always compromised, but all of these recent releases from West have been under a half hour long, and fairly simple, by comparison to albums such as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and The Life of Pablo. Honestly, Ye and Kids See Ghosts are both pretty solid releases. So how does Jesus Is King compare?

                  Listening to a new Kanye album is always an adventure. With West being a notoriously erratic and bipolar individual, who has been open about his struggle with mental health issues, his music can go in any number of drastically different directions from album to album. With Jesus Is King, West, who has recently declared himself a born-again Christian, takes his signature style in a more gospel-tinged direction, both musically and lyrically. Gospel choirs and church organs can be found all over this album, adding to Kanye’s usual sonic palette, but not quite replacing it all together. These elements are just a few ingredients in the Jesus Is King soup, along with pianos, guitars, electronic beats, samples, sound effects, and even a saxophone solo from Kenny G. Often, many of these are layered on top of each other, creating intense, chaotic sounds, in typical Kanye fashion. While the finished product is not as loud, overwhelming, or just plain weird as the overall sonic character of an album such as Yeezus, it is still clear that Kanye’s passion and creativity in the area of production have not faded.

                  This album is just as intriguing lyrically as it is musically. Any speculation that Kanye’s newfound faith is simply a phase or a publicity stunt is immediately put to rest upon first listen. These songs display a surprisingly competent understanding of the Bible that puts most of the insincere crap that comes out of the contemporary Christian music scene to shame. I usually make an intentional effort to keep my religious and political views out of these reviews, but being a person of faith, I can especially appreciate any music containing Christian themes, that doesn’t fall into the dull, cookie cutter pop tropes that plague CCM today. In “Selah,” Kanye cites several different biblical passages and connects them to positive changes in his own life and outlook. “God Is” is a powerful and moving declaration of how Kanye views God’s impact in his own life, standing as easily one of the highest points on this album. A slower, but every bit as earnest cut, “Use This Gospel” reveals Kanye’s reverence for Biblical teachings, and the importance that they carry in his view (I know we’re talking about lyrics right now, but again, that Kenny G sax solo is pretty sweet). A notable contrast from the rest of the album, “Hands On” laments the judgment and skepticism Kanye has received from Christians. Not an unusual take on the subject, but certainly interesting in the context of an album that is enthusiastically pro-Christianity, and something the majority of CCM is more than happy to sweep under the rug.

                  You’ve probably figured out at this point that I really like this album. That being said, it definitely isn’t perfect. The most glaring blemish is a song called “Water,” which sounds more like a church camp spoken word poem than a Kanye West rap song. Lyrically, it comes across as rather empty compared to the rest of the album, and musically, it’s fine, but forgettable. “Hands On” is a great song overall, but overly filtered and compressed vocals from Fred Hammond are somewhat grating to my ears. “Closed On Sunday” is a sweetly produced, dreamy yet dark-sounding pop tune that offers intriguing commentary on Christianity and modern culture. However, “Closed on Sunday, you my Chik-fil-A” is probably one of the worst lines in Kanye’s entire discography. The album begins and ends rather abruptly, which is forgivable on such a short album, but the opening choir track, “Every Hour” jumps in so awkwardly that you think you accidentally started in the middle of the song. I certainly wouldn’t have minded a bit more of an intro.

                  When Kanye announced he was working on a Christian album, it raised some eyebrows, needless to say. I was certainly open to the possibility that Kanye could pull off something really good, but on the other hand, this is Christian rap we’re talking about (anybody remember KJ-52? If not, I envy you). But with Jesus Is King, Kanye gives listeners a genuine look into his philosophical transformation, set to music that lives up to West’s standard of writing and production quality. Kanye diehards are sure to enjoy it, and hey, if you’re a parent looking for some clean, positive, Christian music that your kids actually want to listen to, Jesus Is King just might do the trick.

Score: 8/10

Favorite Song(s): God Is, Selah, Hands On, Use This Gospel

Least Favorite Song(s): Water, Closed On Sunday

Opeth – In Cauda Venenum Review

New music from Dream Theater, Tool, and now Opeth? I must say, 2019 is a pretty exciting year to be a prog fan. Opeth’s 13th album is the latest installment in a very polarizing strand of Opeth releases. As a band who made a name for themselves and built a fanbase in the late 90s and early 2000s as a progressive death metal band, their transition to progressive rock has been upsetting to some purists, as one might expect. Even fans of the band who were more open to this change in sound have largely had lukewarm reactions to the band’s output from the past decade. So how does In Cauda Venenum fit into Opeth’s discography?

                  Well, it more or less continues the streak they’ve been on. This is 100% a prog rock album. While there’s certainly a satisfactory amount of musically heavy moments, this album also overflows with softer, more restrained moments, as well as unexpected styles and instrumentation choices. All vocals on this album are melodic, no growling to be found. Opeth’s death metal approach to writing and performing is gone without a trace on this album. And while I’ll gladly admit that the band’s earlier releases, particularly Still Life and Blackwater Park are their best, I certainly won’t complain about the bands more recent direction either. And as for In Cauda Venenum?

                  Honestly, this album is really doing it for me. Whether you love or hate Opeth’s current sound, they have certainly found their footing within it. Not only does this album contain a fairly even mix of soft and heavy music, almost every individual song does as well. Opeth have always been an effective prog band, because of their ability to write longer songs that stay consistently dynamically interesting. And this album is no exception. While this album lacks heaviness when compared with the bands earlier work, it certainly isn’t lacking in intelligence and creativity, and for me, those have always been a much more integral part of what makes Opeth great.

                  So while the heavier musical passages on this album aren’t nearly as heavy or aggressive as on their earlier releases, how do the softer passages compare? Well, these actually account for some of the most interesting moments on this album. These moments showcase instrument choices such as beautiful acoustic guitar work on tracks such as “Heart in Hand” and “The Garroter,” string sections on “Next of Kin” and once again, “The Garroter” (interesting song, that one. More on that momentarily), and gorgeously haunting piano on “Lovelorn Crime.” The Garroter is the stylistic black sheep of the album. A heavily jazz-influenced tune, it opens with a virtuosic acoustic guitar solo, features dynamically intense strings, reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” as well as an extremely jazzy electric guitar solo, unlike anything one might expect to hear on an Opeth album. None of this is to discount the more upbeat moments of the album. Tracks such as “Charlatan” and “Dignity” are unforgivingly heavy prog rockers that remind you just what band you’re listening to, with intense, blistering guitar and drum work. The vocal performances are beautifully mesmerizing, and often hugely layered in a choral fashion, creating moments so powerful, you don’t even miss the growling.

                  This album is just as well-written lyrically as it is musically. That being said, it will probably bum you out a little bit. And yeah, I know Opeth and nihilism go together like peanut butter and jelly, so I didn’t really expect any different, but at least during the band’s death metal era, you got some pretty good headbanging therapy to balance things out. This album’s lyrical content overflows with self-loathing, distrust of others, political anger, bitterness towards internet culture, and death. Lots and lots of death. Add in a couple of songs about forced marriages and parental abuse, and this ain’t exactly The Beach Boys. Not that this is necessarily bad, but it can certainly be draining after a runtime of over an hour.

                  Sequencing issues with this album, while minor, only magnify the project’s more draining qualities. The slower, softer songs bring out the negative sentiments within the lyrics the strongest, and in the last leg of the album, we get four of these in a row. And these aren’t bad songs, not at all. “Universal Truth” features melodies and instrumental lines that are hauntingly dissonant in a way that is almost reminiscent of medieval folk music. “The Garroter” features the aforementioned jazz qualities, which keep it extremely interesting. “All Things Will Pass” is a heavy slow-burner that wraps the album up quite effectively. The only complete throwaway is a song called “Continuum,” the slowest and most lyrically miserable song on the album. Yeah, this one’s a chore. But apart from that, these songs do deserve to be on the album, but perhaps should have been mixed in with songs earlier on in the album, which would make for better musical contrast

Opeth will probably never make an album as good as Blackwater Park again. But who would honestly expect them to? This is why it is important for bands to evolve. When a band has exhausted a certain sound or style, the best thing they can do is to shake things up and keep things fresh. Opeth’s most recent music surely isn’t in the same weight class as their early 2000s output, but it is clear that the direction they have been taking their most recent music is done in the interest of creating the best music they can at this point in their career. I think they’ve grown into their prog rock sound quite nicely, and a few minor sequencing issues aside, I would consider In Cauda Venenum Opeth’s most accomplished album of this decade.

Score: 8/10

Favorite Song(s): Next of Kin, Dignity, The Garroter, Charlatan

Least Favorite Song(s): Continuum, Garden of Earthly Delights

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