Archive for essential punk rock albums

RANCID – “let the dominoes fall” is Punk Rock to devour

Posted in 1990's punk rock music, Album Review, current punk rock music, essential punk rock albums, extreme music today, punk rock album reviews, punk rock albums, punk rock music, punk rock music 2009, punk rock music today, punk rock songs, recent punk rock albums with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 9, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

fullsizeRancid“let the dominoes fall” took me by surprise as I walked the CD aisles at Target today. Why is this? Well, for one, it was actually there, in stock. Secondly, the humane price of  $7.98 was screaming out at me to – buy now! $7.98… that is cheaper than buying two happy meals for my daughters. Talk about value… there are also 19 songs on the new Rancid CD as well. It is a cool treat to finally not get ripped off by the retail CD prices… when I find a great deal, I tell people. The liner notes in this Rancid CD are a bonus – it is a very large Rancid poster (depicting the CD cover of band and logo). This poster is so large, it is suitable for hanging on your wall of choice. (Sorry, I did not take an actual measurement of this poster, take my word for it, it is large). On the backside of the poster you will find all the lyrics to the songs. 

As for the songs – excellent stuff, this Rancid Punk Rock is. What I like most about Rancid, is there are no hidden agendas – just Punk Rock comin’ at ya’ the way it should be… with plenty of Old School Punk Rock sound and feel to rejoice over. I always found the Ramones and Misfits to be an instant cure to the doldrums and stagnant complacency, that an ordinary day may bring. Rancid fits this bill for me as well. I need Punk Rock as much as any of my Metal Music genres I revere. To make my point about curing the doldrums… my first listen to the tune “LA river” and I was stoked. “LA river” now and forever will get me moving, this songs beat and lyrics are instantly memorable and very addicting. In my opinion, Rancid does a convincing and yet, modest job at airing out some social commentary… “this place” tackles the subject matter of monster corporations causing the demise of Lake Shore foundries. “civilian ways” is for me, lyrically, a commendable Punk Rock statement. This song touches on the life of a U.S. soldier returning home from war… only this soldier now finds civilian ways to be foreign. Rancid does not overstate themselves while staying true to their music, the lyrics of “i ain’t worried” is a proud rallying cry for the Punk Rock genre.

Overall, “let the dominoes fall” has proven to be an excellent Punk Rock CD for me, Rancid has 19 tunes here for a reason… they’re all credible. Truth be told, I listened to this CD four times today alone… not counting the number of times I listened to “LA river”, which was many times more. I highly recommend Rancid “let the dominoes fall” to all Punk Rock fans and all Extreme Music fans across the globe. Rancid are: Tim Armstrong on guitar & vocals, Lars frederiksen on guitar & vocals, Matt Freeman on bass & vocals and Branden Steineckert on drums. Rancid “let the dominoes fall” was released on June 2, 2009, on Hellcat Records/Epitaph Records.

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BLACK FLAG “LIVE ’84” – extreme, real and essential Punk Rock

Posted in 1980's live punk rock albums, 1980's punk rock albums, 1980's punk rock music, Album Review, black flag albums, essential punk rock albums, Extreme, legends of punk rock, live punk rock music, Punk rock, punk rock album review, punk rock albums, punk rock music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2009 by Metal Odyssey

Black Flag “Live ’84” is a listening lesson of the early days of Extreme Music. There is no denying… Black Flag is Punk Rock. In my Metal opinion, when I think of the Punk Rock bands that laid out the blueprint for Hardcore and Extreme Music, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Misfits and Black Flag come to mind instantly. Each of these bands are so instrumental in the development of the Punk Rock, Extreme and Hardcore movements. Listening to “Live ’84” and I cannot help myself by becoming absorbed by the distortion, feedback, speed, heaviness and pissed off sound and attitude that engulfs me. Nothing beats listening to a vintage, live, Punk Rock album like this. The raw solos and low production only add to the real Punk spirit of this live Black Flag album. Henry Rollins as with each member of Black Flag, bestowed the take it or piss off approach to their music, I personally hear and feel it on “Live ’84”. For me, I am taking it… every Black Flag second of it.

I know this sounds like a cliche here… they just don’t make Punk Rock like this anymore. Heck, they don’t make bands at all like this anymore – bands that aren’t encapsulated and sheltered by their respective genre and packaged up for a massive marketing campaign for the masses. To review the songs on this Black Flag album would be a waste of my Metal time. Take my Metal word for it… this is an essential, live, Punk Rock album from Black Flag. The sum of all the musical parts here, make for an unquestionable exposure to what Punk Rock was supposed to sound like in 1984. Grit, angry, blue collar, loud, very, very fast, non-synchronized (in parts) and maddeningly abrupt musically. There is my music review for “Live ’84”. I will say that “Rats Eyes” is my favorite track, it is extremely heavy and maniacal – just Punk perfect. Take it or leave it, Black Flag is as essential to the history of Heavy Music as is the blast beat. Henry Rollins, made for as formidable a front man, as there ever existed in Punk Rock or any Heavy Music genre for that matter. Listen to this album and you might just agree with me on this.

19 songs are on “Live ’84”, only 3 tracks clock in under 2 minutes each. There are 9 songs that clock in at over 4 minutes each – with the opener “The Process of Weeding Out” coming in at 8:37. Black Flag were not your stereotypical Punk Rock band when it came to the playing times of tunes. If a martian came down to Earth, asked me for a prime example of Punk Rock and/or Extreme Music from the 1980’s, well, I would definitely hand this alien a copy of Black Flag “Live ’84”. To give proper credit where it is due, I would also hand over to this smelly space creature… a copy of the Misifts “Earth A.D.”, which was released in 1983. I think what makes me gravitate towards Black Flag “Live ’84” is hearing the brutal Punk Rock belief, in the music these guys were playing, throwing heavy caution to the wind, while not giving a crap what the commercial music world and sappy pop critics thought or said.

A Metal Odyssey roll call of the members of Black Flag, as they appear on “Live ’84”: Henry Rollins on lead vocals, Greg Ginn on guitar, Kira on bass, Bill Stevenson on drums and Tom Troccoli and various audience members on backing vocals.

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