of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks (Album Review)

of Montreal is a band that has been thriving in the indie pop/rock scene since their beginning in Anthens, GA in 1996. Paralytic Stalks is the band 11th studio album to date, you can view their complete discography Here, and their 6th release on Polyvinyl Records, since 2004. Paralytic Stalks was released on February 7th 2012, with only 9 tracks but still almost an hour in length because if all of the extremely long songs including 'Ye, Renew The Plaintiff' at 8:45 long and the album closer 'Authentic Pyrrhic Remission' at an astonishing 13:13. The album was released digitally, on CD (which is how I acquired it), on cassette, and on vinyl. The band is made up of an assortment of musicians playing a wide variety of instruments. The main member is Kevin Barnes who not only produced and wrote all of the songs, but is also the lead vocalist for the band. He arranged all of the tracks and also preformed all of the tracks. As for professional reviews, this album did fairly well, with it getting a 3 1/2 stars by AllMusic, 3 stars by Rolling Stone, and peaking at 121 on the US Billboard 200. As for a TheAltMusic rating I am only going to give it a
2.9 Out Of 5 Stars
because to start off, I have never really been a fan of the whole psychedelic indie pop genre, but I think that musically, and to people who enjoy that genre of music would love the album. I just felt that to start off, I just don't care for Kevin Barnes voice, it just always seems to be off key. The lyrics on the album were OK, nothing ground breaking but still very thought out, as they should be for a band who has done this 10 times before. My favorite song on the album would have to be 'Wintered Debts', and even though it is over 7 minutes long, I think it is one of the best song writing, and display of Kevin's vocal talents, which I did enjoy in this track. The song has an amazing melody, which you can listen to HERE. If you like of Montreal, and haven't picked up this album with artwork that is just downright strange, which is most likely some sort of abstract art but I just don't know what exactly it is supposed to represent, I suggest that if you listen to them, like them, and haven't already bought the physical release, I can't even stress this enough to purchase it. I bought mine at Best Buy but you guys can use my link to amazon and buy it Here. I want to know what you guys thought of the album, so leave a comment on this blog telling me, but that's all I have for this one, so until the next one make sure to
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Anti-Flag - The General Strike (Album Review)

Anti-Flag is a four piece straight up punk-rock outfit formed in 1988, coming out of the greatest city in the world, Pittsburgh,PA. Hometown Hero's. The General Strike is their 9th studio album following such past releases like Die For The Government in 1996, A New Kind Of Army in 1999, Underground Network in 2001, Mobilize in 2002, The Terror State in 2003, For Blood and Empire in 2006, The Bright Lights of America in 2008, The People Or The Gun in 2009, and now their most recent release, The General Strike on March 20th, 2012. This is the band's second release on the record label OneSideDummy. The album has 12 tracks totaling almost a half-hour of hard hitting punk rock. This album was self-produced, written, and recorded in Pittsburgh,PA in 2011. Anti-Flag consists of Justin Sane on guitar and vocals, Chris #2 on bass and vocals, Chris Head on guitar and vocals, and Pat Thetic on drums. They have had the same line-up on every single album but their debut album, Die For The Government, which featured Andy Flag on bass, and Chris Head had not joined the band yet. So far the band has only released one single from the album, which is The Neoliberal Anthem. I think I am a big Anti-Flag fan to begin with just because they are a hometown band that has really gotten big over the past decade and a half. This album is by far their best, whether is was lyrically or musically, and I even really liked the cover art. I am going to give this album a rating of

4.7 Out Of 5 Stars

Because even though they are known for their controversial music, this album really expressed that, hitting against the government and media in particular. The vocals on the album are classic AF but with a more melodic hardcore twist with it. Any hardcore or punk fan would love this album. The album art, which also goes for most Anti-Flag albums, was extremely well done and very detailed and thought provoking. The General Strike is one of the best albums of 2012 so far. My personal favorite songs on the album are Turn A Blind  Eye, which you can listen to Here, because it is a short song while also fast paced and catchy mixed with powerful lyrics to go along with it, and The Ghost Of Alexandria, which you can listen to Here, because of the fact that this is hands down the catchiest song on the album and I am a sucker for catchy rough punk-rock. If you are an Anti-Flag fan but didn't pick it up yet, you can do that through Amazon.com by clicking this Link, or by buying straight from them with this LINK to their web store. That's all for right now, so make sure to leave a comment on this review by clicking the comment link at the bottom left so, until my next review,

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Legacy - With Peace In Mind (Album Review)

Legacy, although good, are the very definition of a generic metal-core band. They have the pig squeals, the deep growls, and the catchy pop-punk melodys. This band is a fairly new band, who has been around since 2010 coming out of Toledo, OH. This is the bands debut full length album and they released it off of inVouge records on March 27th 2012. The album was produced by Landon Tewers of The Plot In You. The members of the band are Gabe Lopez on vocals, Lupe Lopez on guitars and clean vocals, & Marcus Springer on bass. Their general manager is Tyler Smith of The Word Alive. The album has 10 tracks which are 1.Intentions 2.Disbeliefs 3.Blindfolds 4.Illusions 5.Burdens 6.Vices 7.Fears 8.Demons 9.Curses 10.Barriers. Out of all the tracks on the album, I feel the song Vices was hands down the most powerful on so many levels whether it was lyrically, screams, and the amazingly catchy courous. If you would like to get a taste of Legacy, you can listen to the song HERE. After considering all of the things this band has going for it, and seeing that it is only their debut album, which is always more or less an experimental album. I am going to give this album an overall rating of

4.2 Out Of 5 Stars

because of the fact that the lyrics are pheomonal whether most of the album's musical aspects were fairly generic. As for the album art, I found it simple yet intreaging with amazing detail, which I really liked. The musical portion of the album was somewhat repetitive but with a lot of promise and I think that with future releases this band will really stand out of the crowd of the general population of metalcore/post-hardcore. I puchchased the album off of their website HERE, which I recieved an autographed poster. If you really like their music I would like you to go out and buy their music, and help support them. You can also purchase it off of amazon.com by clicking this LINK. I am really proud of these guys and really hope to see more. Thats all right now, so until next time,

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Torche - Harmonicraft (Album Review)

So Torche, a Miami, FL band formed in 2004, consisting of Steve Brooks on guitars and vocals, Jonathan Nuñez on bass, guitar, synth, and he recorded and produced the album, Andrew Elstner on guitars and vocals, and Richard Smith on drums/percussion. This is their 3rd full length studio album, 8th release overall; after their 2 studio albums, 4 EP's, and 2 Splits; and their first album off of Volcom Entertainment. Their past studio albums are Torche in 2005, Meanderthal in 2008, and now Harmonicraft was released in 2012 on April 24th. The album consists of 13 tracks totaling roughly 40 minutes. The album is what is called Sludge Metal. I would more or less consider the album pop-metal, pop-rock, or just plain alternative. To be 100% honest I never cared for Torche, and I didn't like this album the first or second time I listened to it. The CD was on sale at Best Buy at the time and AP had placed it as one of the Most Anticipated Albums of 2012, so I thought I would buy it. As of right now, after listening to the album 9 or 10 times in preparation for this review, I have come to the conclusion that I liked it to an extent, my top 3 songs on the album are Kicking, Snakes Are Charmed, & Walk It Off. My favorite song Kicking, which you can listen to HERE. After much consideration and listening I am going to give this album an overall rating of
3.8 Out Of 5 Stars
because of the fact that nothing really held its ground in this album. From start to finish the drums and guitars sounded repetitive and on some tracks all you heard were instrumentals the entire time. As vocals go they deserve a big fat MEH because they were nothing special, basically they lacked passion as did the lyrics. Now I'm not saying all the lyrics were bad but just most of them felt meaningless to ME, they are probably important to many other people. As for the artwork, I hated it, first off since I buy physical releases, there was no booklet and the artwork overall just seemed pointless and not really in any relation to the music. The album could be very powerful at some parts and very cool and relaxing at others, don't just take my word for it and go listen to them yourself too, I am just trying to lead you in the right direction. This band is for fans of bands like Thrice, Mastodon, or even High on Fire. If you like Torche a lot and you want to buy the album, which I strongly encourage, you can do so with this link to Amazon.com. That's all for this one so,
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Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme (Album Review)

Alcest is a one man band run by Stéphane Paut aka Neige , although there are touring members and one other full member of the band which is Winterhalter on drums. The original solo project was created by Neige in 2000 in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France as a black metal band, which has now evolved into more of a post-metal sound with his more recent, slower, music. This is Alcest's 3rd full length album the first being Souvenirs d'un autre monde in 2007, Écailles de Lune in 2010, and now Les Voyages de l'Âme released on January 6th, 2012. The album was released off of Prophecy Productions and consists of 8 tracks totaling roughly 50 minutes of music. The album title in english means The Journeys of the Soul, and most of the track titles along with the lyrics are all in French. I don't speak French so I thought I wouldn't like the album but his voice and instrumentals were so pure and symphonic and beautiful that it didn't even matter what the lyrics were, although I have read the english translation of the lyrics, and they are all very thought out poetic lyrics. So far the album only has one single and music video out and that is for the song 'Autre Temps'. Although the entire song is amazing, my favorite song is 'Beings Of Light' because of the beautiful eireeness of the song plus the awesome combination of black metal into the song. You can listen to the song HERE. My other favorite song on the album would be the song Faiseurs De Mondes which has more of a metal sound to it with amazing screams encorporated into the song which you can listen to HERE. My overall rating of the album is a

4.6 Out Of 5 Stars

because I felt that only an extremely talented musician could create a masterpiece like this. I want everyone to at least give either this album or even just a few songs a listen. If you like Alcest then I strongly encourage everyone of you to go pick up LVDL Here at Amazon.com, or at your local record store. His vocals are perfect as is his writing and music production. Make sure to go check out Alcest if you have not, but that is all I got for this one but un till the next review, comment, and

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The Koffin Kats - Our Way & The Highway (Album Review)

The Koffin Kats are a 3 piece band from Detroit who have been around since 2003 and have been writing songs about drug use, self loathing, and all things evil ever since. The band's lineup consists of Vic Victor on lead vocals and upright bass, Eric “e Ball” Walls on drums, and after the departure of founding member and guitarist Tommy Koffin, in 2010, is now filled with EZ Ian on guitars and backing vocals. Our Way & The Highway, released on January 24, 2012, marks TKK's 6th studio album, and their first release off of Sailors Grave records, following Koffin Kats in 2003, Inhumane in 2005, Straying From The Pack in 2006, Drunk In The Daylight in 2008, and Forever For Hire in 2009. Most people consider their sound as psychobilly punk n roll, and I really don't think I could have put it any better than that, because with the look, sound, and lyrics they are just a rugged bunch of punk rocking psycobillies. It was reviewed by Alternative Press in the February 2012 issue with the Anthony Green cover story. AP gave it a 3/5 stars and they really hit a lot of strong points. The drumming on it is amazing along with most of the interesting instruments on the album. I am giving this Koffin Kats album an overall rating of

2.7 Out Of 5 Stars

because of the fact that even though the musical instruments on the album were very interesting and fun to listen to the album really lacked in many parts. Granted I am not a fan of the psycobilly genre, and that my be the leading reason why I didn't care for this album as much as I would have hoped. They lyrics and the vocals on the album was pretty bad, I didn't car for his voice but maybe some people might like it, and the lyrics I honestly just felt as if they didn't put enough time into it. My favorite song on the 14 track album was 'For The Good Times' which you can listen to HERE. Make sure to judge them yourself and don't hate them cause I gave them a bad rating. If you genuinely like them and want to purchase their CD as I did you can do that either through their record label Sailors Grave, like I did or through Amazon.com. Make sure to support them if you like them because this band tours non-stop and that cost a lot of money, so if you want to ever see them live or if you just want them to NOT break up, I suggest you buy the album. That's all I got on this review, more to come but until then,

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Best Coast - The Only Place (Album Review)

The new Best Coast album The Only Place was on sale at Best Buy for $7.99 and it was also listed as one of Alternative Press Magazine's Most Anticipated Albums of 2012, so I decided to give it a go. I have never listened to Best Coast before buying this CD, however I did know it was a female fronted by Bethany Cosentino who also plays guitars, the only other member being Bobb Bruno, who plays drums, guitars, and bass. The album was released off of Mexican Summer records on May 15th, 2012. The album has 11 tracks and is roughly 34 minutes long. The vocals on this album were all spot on and even though most tracks seemed very similar musically, I thought the music aspect of this album was very good also. The album art for this album is taken from a sheet music piece cover from 1915 entitled 'I Love You California'. Best Coast is located in CA, and that is very present within the lyrics of the album. The album was produced by Jon Brion, who also plays a few instruments on the album as well. This is their second overall record, the first being Crazy for You which was also released off of Mexican Summer. The band has been around since 2009 and has gained a pretty large fan base in that short amount of time and I hope to see more from them. But over all I am going to give Best Coast's sophomore record an overall rating of

3.0 Out Of 5 Stars

I am giving it this rating because I guess I didn't care for their brand of laid back surf-rock as much as I would have of hoped I would. A lot of the songs were very much the same, and I thought the lyrics could have been a lot more stronger, but overall I didn't hate it but I definitely don't think its in the running for any Album Of The Year awards. That's all I got on this album, so until tomorrow, If you want to buy the album CLICK THIS

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