Mar 09

Depeche Mode and Touring the Universe

By bruce talking about bands No Comments »

Some time ago I overheard someone complaining about Depeche Mode’s live performances, without actually attending one.  What can a 3 men in their late 40’s, be up to in a live performance?  Or better after the unfortunate event of David Gahan’s sickness, are they still good at it?  Do they still have what it takes to perform to some of the world’s poppiest tracks?

This was a good initiative for me, to book a flight ticket and a concert ticket, and go and check them out for myself.  So I’ve been to the concert, and can confidently say that it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to, the presentation, sound mixing and atmosphere of the concert were the best they could have ever been.  Both Martin Gore and David Gahan still have what it takes, much more than new and upcoming young artists have.  Most probably, David Gahan is one of the most energetic and charismatic performers of all time, on the same level of Queen’s front man, Freddie Mercury.

The concert, featured some of the best tracks from their latest album Sounds of the Universe, and also a number greatest hits from the past, such as Enjoy the Silence, Personal Jesus and Walking in my shoes.  Two hours felt like two minutes, or even less unfortunately.  The well mixed sound was accompanied by a huge big screen covering the whole back of the stage, projecting images and short clips of the band while performing, and other images and clips related to songs being played.  An unforgettable experience, and to conclude, Depeche Mode still got what it takes!

If you’ve been to one of Depeche Mode’s Touring the Universe concert, make sure you order the live CD of the concert you’ve been too.  This is surely the best memorabilia you can get of a concert you’ve been to.  Nice initiative from the band.

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Mar 03

Behind the Sun album review

By bruce album review, new album release 2 Comments »

Behind the Sun is a self titled debut album of a five piece rock band, which originates from Israel.  The album, released in mid 2009 contains 12 great tracks, and is the fruit of one and a half years of hard work.

As such there is no way to describe this band’s original musical style.  Although their heavy music have elements of Opeth, and their slower pieces and guitar work have influence of a 70’s rock band, they still managed to distinguish themselves with a style of their own.  At first the album might sound a little bit mono tone, maybe because of the lack of keyboards and other sound effects which usually create an overdose of ‘atmosphere’ in an album.  But after listening to it a couple of times, and understand the lyrics, you  realise that this is a true work of art, which can be quite addictive.  Once you start listening to it, it is impossible to stop it in the middle and change the cd.

Forget about power chords, since their guitars are as melodious as they can be, which is a great plus for this album and band.  Their progressive guitar solos mixed up with fast and up beat drum works can distinctively get hold of your attention.  A perfect example of such master piece can be heard in the middle of the sixth track, Running Water.  The vocals and singing style also blend very well with the music style, as can be noticed in their second track, Wishful Thinking.  One can instantly feel how much passion, while at the same time anger, there is their front man’s Gad Erez voice.

To make sure the album is a complete work of art, one must also make sure to get to know more about the lyrics, and understand where these five men are coming from, the beautiful land of Israel.  Yet, man  himself ruined and abused this heavenly land, like many other places.  Their lyrics address the breakdown of what we call today’s modern society, corruption, politics, terrorism and mostly of all, war.  So much for progress!

Well done to Behind the Sun, for starting up their career with such  great album.  The band have a very good potential and I won’t be surprised if they engage a good deal later on in their career, and surprise us more with even better music at a later stage.  Keep up the good work.  Well it’s time for you to listen to the real thing.  Click here to access their MySpace page, and listen to their music.

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Feb 26

Cover versions… and some do it really wrong!

By bruce talking about bands, talking about music No Comments »

So, after my last post Cover Versions… some do it right!, obviously I had to post the worst cover versions I’ve ever heard of. I’ve also received a number of emails from people giving me ideas, and I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Well, after studying a long long list, I managed to shorten it down to four songs, I couldn’t make it to three songs, sorry.  And here they are;

4th Place: Limp Bizkit – Behind Blue Eyes

Behind Blue Eyes was released by The Who, in their 1971 album ‘Who’s Next’. First of all, Fred Durst’s voice in this song is really out of place and blowed up. Secondly, Limp Bizkit removed the best part from the original song and replaced it with a stupid robotic sound and voice. Come on guys, screwing a 70’s song is already bad enough, removing the best parts from it is totally unacceptable!

3rd Place: Eminem – Sing for the Moment

Sing for the moment is a cover version of the song Dream On, which Aerosmith released in 1973, as a single and as a track in their first album ‘Aerosmith’. Apart from changing the musical style (a drastic switch to rap) and feel of this song, Eminem even changed the lyrics and used only the chorus. With all the respect towards rap and its followers, we’re fed up of listening to anger and society problems which gangs bring around. Please move on and grow up!

And the top 2…

I was very confused which should be the first placed song, i.e. worse cover version ever. I am sure there are many other out there, but these particular two, deserve both 1st place, therefore there is no second place!

1st Place: The Braids – Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody was released by Queen, in their 1975 album A Night at the Opera. It is considered to be one of the greatest songs ever, because of its unique and diverse style. I don’t want to comment much about the cover version, since there isn’t much to say. But how can you change a rock anthem, one of the greatest songs of the last decade into a hip-hop song? It’s unbelievable how the copyright owners even gave the go ahead for this massacre!

1st Place: Scissor Sisters – Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb was released by Pink Floyd, in their 1979 album The Wall. Like Bohemian Rhapsody, Comfortably Numb and the whole The Wall album, are considered master pieces, rock anthems and greatest songs of all times! One can never dream, or even try to imagine how such a song could have been better, since there is no place for improvement. But thanks to the Scissor Sisters, it seems that the world was longing for a electronic Bee Gees version of this song. What a shame!!!

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Feb 23

Cover Versions… some do it right!

By bruce talking about music 3 Comments »

Although I do not understand the scope behind remixing songs, I do understand and appreciate cover versions.  In layman terms, remixing a song boils down to adding a house or techno or even R & B beat to a song, and instead of using the same lyrics or try to adopt them, you mostly use the chorus.  With cover versions things are different.  A cover version can give a new image and feel to a song.  There are bands who are capable of doing it, while unfortunately others don’t, and they totally destroy a song.  In this blog I’m posting the top three cover versions, who actually transformed an original song into a better one, by giving them an appropriate face lift.  It is not that the original song needed it, as when the original song was released they couldn’t have been written in a different way.

The Gathering – In power we entrust the love advocate

This song was originally released from Dead can Dance in their 1984 EP called Garden of the Arcane Delights.  When compared to the original version, thanks to Anneke’s haunting vocals, more robust drums recording and the introduction of keyboards make this song sounds more complete and is able to deliver more feel.  The original version is quite silent and unpolished  compared to The Gatherings cover.

Lacuna Coil – Enjoy the Silence

This song was originally released from Depeche Mode in their 1990 album Violator.  Although I really love Depeche Mode,their music style and almost all 80’s music, Lacuna Coil managed to transform this song into a stadium rock anthem.  Depeche Mode are still able to transform this song into a stadium anthem, electronically, but only in live performances since the original version is much less hyper.  Again, thanks to female vocals, the introduction of guitars and heavier drum rolls instead of drum machines, make this song more catchy and needs to be played real loud!

Marilyn Manson – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

This song was originally released from Eurythmics in their 1983 album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).  With all his weird ways of doing it, Marilyn Manson managed to transform this song into a dark, gloomy and angry song, which obviously makes it more catchy.  With a catchy guitar solo, angry / screaming voice and industrial like sound effects, make this song a ‘dream’ song.  Well done Marilyn!

Stay tuned as in the next blog post we will post the worst three cover versions ever, in other words, how to screw up and destroy a song!

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Feb 11

Niky Gravino and the Laughing Shadows, WOW!!

By bruce talking about bands, talking about music, talking about musicians No Comments »

While traveling around the world, I ended on a rock (as the locals call it) in the middle of the Mediterranean sea called Malta.  On a 24Km long and 14km wide island, you don’t expect much to happen.  What’s for sure is that in Malta there is a vibrant music scene.  Once there I attended a live gig of a band called ‘Niki Gravino and the Laughing Shadows’.  Cool name ay?

Some brief history about the band (from what I’ve learnt), the band was previously known as ‘Niky Gravino and The Vile Bodies’.  Niky Gravino (front man, vocalist, guitars and some keyboards) is the mastermind behind all the music composition, lyrics and even production.

They released their first album called “The Politics of Double Beds”.  The album is an impressive symphony of synths, electro beats, catchy guitar riffs accompanied by Gravino’s vocals.  The new band line-up also features a female vocalist, but unfortunately there is no recorded material yet.  Well, one might ask, so to whom can you compare Niky Gravino, or what style does he exactly play?  Hard to tell, as his album features electro music, slow music and also a hint of rock music.  Though there is a good mixture of Depeche Mode accompanied by sounds effects and sometimes even vocals a’ la Marilyn Manson style.  Still, it is difficult to describe this band unless you actually listen to them, which I strongly suggest.

Obviously music can’t be enough, since Gravino’s live shows have always been accompanied with fancy dress codes and make up.  From the band’s Facebook fan page you can listen to the whole album, but I suggest you should buy this album and support the band.  Unfortunately it seems that Maltese bands lack financial support.

DJ’s, make sure you play this album loud in clubs around the world!  This band deserves much better than what they already have achieved.

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Feb 06

Act Noir, Shape a new Start

By bruce album review, new album release No Comments »

4 years after their first release, the all Italian band Act Noir release their second album, Shape a New Start.  Released in January 2010 under Milan’s Eibon Records, the new album features the new vocalist Gaetano Notarnicola.  Their music and vocals blending sounds like a mixture of Depeche Mode, A perfect Circle with a spice of Placebo.  Although their electro rock roots still remain strong, this time their musical direction is more melodic.

The overall album construction is like a spiral in which the electro music, rock and vocals fit very well together.  It all starts with the loud ‘Shatterproof Beauty’, featuring good heavy guitar riffs and drum works, accompanied with very catchy electro beats.  The way guitars and synths exposure changes, fit well the vocals style.  With a mixture of heavy electro beats in ‘Set Fire’, excellent drum loops and guitar melodies in ‘Wrong Places’ and a perfect balance of synths and guitars on ‘Redemption’ make this album a must listen to.

The closing track, ‘The Higher I Went, The Deeper I Feel’ is most probably the best track on the album.  After this electro rock journey, it is only appropriate to close with a slow, melodic and atmospheric track, which suites well the theme of the lyrics.  The lyrics explore the need to shape a new start, as the album title suggest.  Personal redemption of the past and the need to make changes and amendments is a need which cannot be ignored.  A journey back to the roots of humans and a look forward to start the much needed change!

and I cannot see the end
all my efforts all my hopes
to give this world another go are lost
down in the deepest blue
where everything is staying still
and no one wants to rise above and see the truth

The album is available from Eibon Records, where some samples from the album are also available.

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Jan 30

In the Woods… first release; HEart of Ages

By bruce album review, talking about music No Comments »

In my teens I used to own a number of black metal albums from Cradle of Filth and some other black metal bands.  Although I do appreciate the talent needed to play such genre of music, I never managed to stick to such fast and noisy music while not understanding a word from the lyrics.

But I just listened to Heart of Ages, an album from the Norwegian band In the Woods… This was their first official album, released back in 1995.  Surely they left a good impression and this was their stepping stone to attract a huge number of worldwide fans.  Unlike today’s releases, Heart of Ages has that “not so perfect and polished” sound, which makes it sound more realistic.  Also, this album cannot be classified as black metal.  It’s an interesting and experimental blend of progressive Heathen metal, black metal and a hint of doom metal, and an influence of classical music as well.  The slow and athmospheric parts contain clean guitars, dark atmospheric keyboards, clean male and female vocals, which blends really well with the fast and high pitched guitar riffs and grunts.  Therefore this makes it impossible to label these seven symphonies as one genre type.

Good combination indeed!

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Jan 21

X: THC presents… An Album and Film experience, WHAT?!?!

By bruce news, talking about bands No Comments »

While searching for something new and original, I’ve ended up chatting with Mark Schenkel, who pointed me to an innovative band called X:THC.  What is so special about this band, why are they innovative?  They are working on a new concept of music, an album and film experience at the same time.  Sounds weird, original or what?  But let’s just wait and see, I surely have high hopes for this project.  Since I’ve spoke to Mark, I’ve been checking my mailbox everyday, waiting for their new film / album to arrive, so I could check it out, listen to it.  What’s for sure is that they are also evolving and redefining their live shows within the model of the music industry, to create an unforgettable live experience for the fans to enjoy.

From the little glimpse I’ve had of this album, the band combines downtempo broken beats, soulful chill, and indie rock songwriting to create a lush, electronic soundscape.  The album X: The Human Condition, conjures also shades of post-punk and new wave, with a twisted and hypnotic sound.  Well let’s wait and see till we listen to the whole thing, but again, I’m confident in this project.  Well are you curious by now?  Wanna have a taste yourself?  Then sit down and relax, and enjoy the below video.  Stay tuned with this blog for a proper review of this great concept album, and interviews with members of this original band.

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Jan 10

Win Massive Attack Greatest Hits CD; Collected

By bruce competition No Comments »

I haven’t written on the blog for quite some time due to the festive season, and organizing my CD collection.  While organizing and documenting my collection of CD’s and DVD’s, I’ve discovered that I have a number of duplicate CD’s (yeah when you buy a lot that’s how you end :P ).  The duplicate CD’s are not new, but they are in very good conditions, like new!  Instead of selling them, I decided to keep them and from time to time make a competition on this blog, and send the CD’s to the winners.  So for this Massive Attack competition, all you need to do is to answer the following question:

What are the nick names of the current members of the Massive Attack band?

Send me an email with the subject “Massive Attack Competition” and answer to the above question on bruce@muzikablog.com with your answer.  The competition will close on 31st January 2010.  The first draw with the correct answer will be awarded the CD.

massive-attack-collected

Stay tuned for more competitions!

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Dec 07

This Empty Flow – Magenta Skycode

By bruce album review, talking about bands 1 Comment »

I think that This Empty Flow is one of the most under-rated band ever, unfortunately.  A couple of years ago a friend of mine lent me one of their records, Nowafter.  Listening to them is like listening to a mixture of The Cure and Pink Floyd, with a mixture of great beats and soul touching vocals.  They are sad, slow, melancholic, Wintery (I like the word), ideal for this time of the year when it is cold, rainy and dark outside.

After getting hooked with the band, I bought all of their albums, except their 1996 masterpiece, Magenta Skycode.  Cool title isn’t it?  Unfortunately it is a very rare album (in fact mine is second hand) and it doesn’t come cheap, like many other out of print records.

Unlike many other albums, where you specifically like 2 or 3 tracks while the other are still good, but not that good, all Magenta Skycode tracks are excellent, and I cannot imagine how they could have been done in another better way.  With the melancholy of Useless, incredible keyboard loops and space like sound effects on Towards Distant, fast, up beat and head banging Snow Blind  and the sad sad Sweet Bloom of the Night, make this album a must have.

Magenta Skycode was released in 1996 and like all other great music albums, it is an album that never grew old and will always sound good, even after 13 years.  If you are looking for a copy of Magenta Skycode, look no further since Eibon Records released a remastered version of this album.  Eibon’s release includes also an additional CD (2 cd pack) which includes some rare tracks, studio-outtakes and other goodies we fans love.  Click here to check it out.

This_Empty_Flow

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