Pan.A.Ce.A – We the Broken
Susquehanna Entertainment

Rating:

Pan.A.Ce.A is back with their follow-up album to their February 2009 release All Or Nothing entitled We the Broken, and they are back with a vengeance! Weighing in with 13 brand new tracks, We the Broken picks right up where All Or Nothing left off and packs a good punch. The overall sound of this album is definitely melodic, but it’s also not shy on the “Hard” in Hard rock, and really, the balance between the melodic aspects and the heavier aspects couldn’t be better. One thing in this record that kind of popped out for me is the relationship between the bass parts by Matt Jaffin and drum parts by Kevin Harry. The overall musical and vocal qualities are excellent all around and they mix perfectly, but on this record, I got a lot more drums and bass (which I enjoy, being a bassist myself). The first taste of this relationship you get jumps right of the speakers in the first fifteen seconds of the first track “Too Little Too Late” with a great drum roll/fill at the start, then the bass becomes prominent as the verse begins with the vocals. From there, the musicianship stays at an excellent skill level and, again, Tim Farley’s vocals really mix well with the music (even coming in with a mid range scream near the end of “Too Little Too Late” and later in “No More Secrets”). As usual, there are some tracks on this album I would recommend for your listening pleasures. The recommended tracks from We the Broken include: “Too Little Too Late” (Track 1), “Stay” (Track 4), “No More Secrets” (Track 8), “The Fix” (Track 11), and “Everything Is Different (When I’m With Her)” (Track 12). Now, these are recommended tracks from the whole album, but really, all of the tracks on this album are solid and worth listening too. Overall, We the Broken is an excellent album I recommend to any previous Pan.A.Ce.A fans as well as any Hard rock fans out there.

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When Summers Gone – December
Self-Released

(4/5)

Rock music is a genre that has lasted throughout the years because of great bands and their ability to write enjoyable music. Today, Rock music is spread out over a wide variety of different styles that separate them by their different sounds. What does a smart band do? Break down the borders and transcend having to be labeled as one specific style of Rock. That’s what When Summers Gone has done with their debut album entitled December. Formed of multi-instrumentalists Dave Graziani (Vocals/Guitars/Piano) and Chris Lepri (Drums/Bass), When Summers Gone has combined the sounds of multiple bands including Alice In Chains, Incubus, and Sevendust with some more influence by bands such as Machine Head, The Deftones, and even some Bruce Springsteen and created Hard rock that brings back meaning to the genre. On top of that, December is a concept album that combines 8 individual tracks to create a story about “a character who loses a friend at a young age and is forced to deal with complex emotions, all while growing up”. I have a feeling that this story will hit home to more than one person who listens to this great album. As mentioned, this album is made up of tracks that can act on their own as well as being part of the story, and though each one is as important as the others, there are a few I would recommend listening to to get a good feel for When Summers Gone including, but not limited to “Welcome Home” (Track 2), “Hangover” (Track 4), and “10/6″ (Track 7). Each of these three tracks shows a different sound that When Summers Gone is bringing to the table and that shows the relationship of all of their influences. All in all, December is a great album for Hard rock fans and I suggest it to anyone looking for some more Hard rock for their music arsenal.

Peacemaker – The Reconstruction of the Ossicular Chain EP
Red Rocket Entertainment

(4/5)

Just when you think Rock could be at the end of its rope and not have much new material left to offer, it’s always nice to find a newer band that proves you wrong. Peacemaker’s EP The Reconstruction of the Ossicular Chain proves that they are one of those bands. With the mix of mainstream Hard rock, a little bit of Southern flavor, and a dash of Stoner rock grit all thrown into a blender, Peacemaker is a great band in my book. Getting right into it, with 4 songs on this EP, it’s hard to choose an overall favorite, but each song does bring a similar sound, but their own individual qualities as well. For example, “Trip the Light Fantastic” (Track 2) has a fairly similar groove to the other 3 tracks, but it’s the only song on this EP that really slows down to a Pink Floyd-like softness/groove that includes a guitar solo that drips with emotion. There are other great solos, but none that slow down like that particular one.

Overall, Peacemaker has a great sound and their EP The Reconstruction of the Ossicular Chain is a great example of it. I recommend this band to anyone who likes straight forward Hard rock with Southern and Stoner groove to it and I can’t wait to hear the full length album that comes from this EP!

YesMisterBloodVessel – Racing The Relapse
Self-Released

(3.5/5)

Ok, Rock fans, if you like bands such as Nine Inch Nails, The Beatles, U2, and Filter all combined, you’ll definitely dig YesMisterBloodVessel’s debut album entitled Racing The Relapse. YesMisterBloodVessel is the solo project of Christian Peppas who, according to this album, is a great multi-instrumentalist and a great songwriter. In the 8 tracks that are on Racing The Relapse, it’s easy to see that Christian does pull inspiration from many different styles and bands (as mentioned above) and puts them together well with the additional help of various other musicians to round out the sound. With each track on this album being individual and bringing their own style, it’s hard to choose favorites, but there are a couple that I would recommend listening to. The tracks I like the best are “Victim” (Track 1), “Aries & Leo” (Track 2), and “Relativity” (Track 6). My overall favorite track is probably “Victim”, but like I mentioned before, each track has its own identity, so all 8 tracks are vital to making this album what it is. All in all, Racing The Relapse is a great Rock album that I would recommend to anyone who likes different Alternative rock styles that are put together to make a very individual album.

Face Time Police – The Definition of Deviation EP
Self-Released

(3.5/5)

When looking at music today, it’s easy to find music that can be labeled in multiple styles, but no bands that truly transcend genres as the “Pop Macchiato” (Pop music marked or “stained” with other elements) band, Face Time Police with their new EP entitled The Definition of Deviation! Honestly, there’s no true way to explain this EP without including some version of the word “diverse”. Each of the five tracks brings out a different style including a sort of bouncy Pop-Rock track, a thumping club mix, an acoustic ballad, etc. In my extensive arsenal of music, I have NEVER heard a band that changes so much. It really takes “play what you want to play” to a whole different level. However, it pays off; this album is great! Out of the five tracks recorded on this album, my I really enjoy “None of the Below” (Track 1), “Nothing Left to Break” (Track 3), and “Of Man and Monster” (Track 5) the most. These three tracks seem to be the ones that fit well together with “None of the Below” being a pretty heavy/bouncy Alternative Pop song, “Nothing Left to Break” being the heartfelt acoustic ballad, and “Of Man and Monster” an Alternative-Punk-Metal mix. With this mix (plus the club thumping song “Seashells” and the Alternative Hip-hop track “Minute Made”), FTP is really freeing themselves of categorization and limitation. This is a smart move as far as I’m concerned.

Overall, liking 3/5 of the songs makes The Definition of Deviation a great EP in my mind. FTP have proven to be a great band with a lot of potential! On a side note, I have some extra respect for this band because they are a 100% DIY band. These guys write all of their music, record all of their own music, design the logos, they produce their own stuff, they do all the marketing, shoot and edit their own music videos…everything. Honestly, this is the first band I’ve heard that does EVERYTHING by themselves, and I commend them for it.

Echovalve – Echovalve EP
Red Rocket Entertainment

(4/5)

The mainstream Rock scene is still producing bands here and there that I like and Echovalve is another one! If their EP, entitled Echovalve EP, is a true representation of what their next full length album will sound like, I’m really looking forward to hearing it! With only three tracks, it’s hard to choose a real favorite, but the one track that sticks out a little more to me is “Because of You” (Track 1). It just has an interesting feel that appeals to me a little more. The other two tracks, “Intoxicating” (Track 2) and “Too Late” (Track 3), go along with “Because of You” in their heaviness, but “Because of You” has some extra flair to it. Overall, Echovalve EP is a great EP and I suggest it to any fans of Rock music and I, again, can’t wait to hear their next full length!

The Raygun Girls – Dirt Collector
KillZone Records

(4/5)

If you’re a fan of Hard rock with an underlying Gothic sound in the style of bands such as Evanescence and Lacuna Coil, you need to check out New York band The Raygun Girls and their newest release entitled Dirt Collector! This 12 track album contains influences that range from The Ramones to Nine Inch Nails that lead to the mixture of the singing expertise of female vocalist/lead singer Cila and male vocalist/guitarist Geoff (singing backup) with the rest of the great musical crew that is bassist/backup singer George and drummer Doc. Together, these four individuals have come together to create and excellent album. Although it is hard to choose any of the songs over the others, some I have come to enjoy include “Dirt Collector” (Track 1/Title Track), “Paranoia” (Track 4), “Burning” (Track 5), and “Accelerate” (Track 10). Each of these tracks are great in their own rights and also help to identify Dirt Collector as a great Hard rock/Goth rock album. Overall, I suggest this album to anyone who is a fan of the aforementioned bands as well as anyone who is looking to get deeper into this style of music.

Boogie Matrix Mechanism – Animated Reality
Unsigned

(3.5/5)

In the past, I’ve never been a big fan of jam bands, and that remains the case today, but that doesn’t mean I won’t give them a chance. As far as Boogie Matrix Mechanism goes, I’m glad I gave them the chance I did. Their newest released entitled Animated Reality is a pretty good album that combines Reggae, Rock, some Ska, and other various styles of music as well as the skills of each of the seven members in the band. Making up this band are the efforts of singer Brian Bell, rhythm guitarist Bob Maltby, bassist Benjamin Durham, lead guitarist John Kuntz, keyboardist Jim Kahmann, drummer Eric Lowden, and percussionist Aaron Armstrong. Together, these guys have created a sound that has an overall groovy feel and a general, Santana-like smoothness. Again, it’s not my personal favorite, but there are a few tracks on Animated Reality I do really like such as “OxyMoron” (Track 1), “Blame the Dog” (Track 3), and “Mushroom Hunting” (Track 6). Each of these three song examples are unique in their own way just as each of the other six tracks on the album are. My personal favorite is probably “Blame the Dog” because of its overall Reggae style groove sandwiched by a fast paced beginning and end. “OxyMoron” is another really good one because of the combination of Hip-Hop style vocals with a, kind of, Ska-like Rock music in a similar fashion that that of the band OPM. The last one I listed, “Mushroom Hunting”, is a good one for its 10:48 worth of pure Psychedelic existence. It’s certainly not hard to put together the lyrics with the song title and style of the song. All in all, Animated Reality is a good album that is for anyone who is a fan of jam bands like the Grateful Dead.

Into The Presence – Into The Presence
Razor and Tie Records

(4/5)

It’s not very often that I come across a band that totally sticks out to me in a way that I can’t even categorize them with any other band I’ve heard, but this was the case with Into The Presence. Made up of singer/guitarist Luis Maldonado and drummer Tim Alexander (of Primus, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer fame), Into The Presence has recorded and released their debut Into The Presence with the musical help of bassist Paz Lenchantin and cellist Ana Lenchantin. To be honest, Into The Presence has opened my eyes to a whole different sound than anything I’m used to with the combination of a, kind of, Pop/Alternative rock music sound and the interesting singing style of Luis that can really only be described by listening to the music. This band is very unique and Into The Presence is a great album with a lot of great tracks. Of the 10 tracks that are on the album, I find myself connecting a bit more with the first half, but I still can’t peel myself away from the strange vibe presented by the whole album. Some of the songs I like the best are “End Game” (Track 1), “Lovers” (Track 2), “The Garden” (Track 3), “Broken Words” (Track 4), and “Radio” (Track 7). Overall, I may like a few tracks more than others, but in the end, I think the entire album is great and can be and should be enjoyed by a wide variety of music fans!

Day Minus 7 – Day Minus 7 EP
Red Rocket Entertainment

(4/5)

There are a lot of bands on the mainstream circuit that keep me away from most of the mainstream acts these days and keep my ears in the past and on the underground, but every so often, I’ll hear a band that reminds me that there’s hope in new music. Day Minus 7 is one of those bands! All it took was the 4 tracks on their new EP, Day Minus 7 EP, to show me that there is still some enjoyable music that parallels the mainstream sound; it just takes the right approach. Honestly, I wish this EP was a full album because I can’t stop listening to these four tracks over and over again. With the small number of tracks on the EP, I can’t exactly choose which ones are my favorite, but I can tell you why I like each one. The overall sound of the EP is a pretty standard Rock sound that is best shown by “Hate You” (Track 1) which has a faster pace and really catches your attention to start off the EP. After that is a slower Rock-style song entitled “Alive” that has an overall slower feel with a more intense chorus and bridge. The third track is the classic “love” song entitled “All I Wanted” that starts off with the acoustic guitar part and breaks into another slow Rock feel with a slightly more intense chorus. To round out the whole package, the fourth track, “Never Free”, has a great, kind of slower Hard rock feel for the most part with that classic build up for the chorus with a great message in the lyrics to go along with the great music. Overall, this EP is a good one for any Rock fan. There’s nothing over the top or crazy on it that would drive anyone away, and it just sounds good.