Carajo Review Frente a Frente (2013) Genre: Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Groove Metal, Nu Metal, Punk

Carajo

Frente a Frente (2013)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Groove Metal, Nu Metal, Punk

These guys have been around for awhile here in Argentina and I have all of their albums, but I never had seen them live in a show for some unknown reason. So I finally got to see them play a live gig here at Cosquin Rock (2015), and they knocked my socks off. They played a super heavy set, with mostly songs from this album so I knew that this production in particular was going to be  super good, so here I go with my review of this admirable production.

Vocals and Lyrics: Corvalan gets better over time; you can see a progression from previous albums, but there is still room to improve. 8.5

Instrumentation:

Guitar: Hernan Langer, is maturing in his guitar playing, becoming more of a  well rounded axe-man, you can see a progression over time from there earlier stuff, and he plays a couple solos on this album which is well welcomed.

Bass: Corvalan’s bass playing is average on this album.

Drums: Andres Vilanova is a solid drummer. 7.6 

Melody and/or Structure: Some really good Riffs, and on one song “Venganza de los Perderdores” we have a Riff that is fused with melody, this is a new level of sophistication for these guys.   9 

Sound, Production and Feeling: Heavy sounding album with some interesting surprises like some string sections on a few tracks that are absolutely stunning in how well placed they are.    9.5 

Songs: Song writing grows in sophistication; each song has some interesting instrumental aspect or a cool production aspect to it , there is  a lot of attention to detail. 15

The Bad: 

Originality: The Band is growing out of there punkier influences heading to a darker and heavier phase.  9 

Overall:  58.6

Mudvayne The End of all Things to Come (2002) Genre: Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Nu Metal

Mudvayne

The End of all Things to Come (2002)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Nu Metal

I had high expectation for this album, the bands first production “L.D. 50” had blown me away, especial with the bass players work. So to my surprise what made this band stand out in the metal crowd, to have a kick ass bass player, was lower in the mix this time around, WTF. But I’ve learn how to appreciate this album over time, and it’s a solid metal album.

Vocals and Lyrics: Chud takes some vocal risks on this album heading for higher notes, and it would be interesting to see if he can pull off some of these songs live, he does a great job and I can forgive him for some of his lyrical shirt comings. 8.5

Instrumentation:

Guitar: Guug’s guitars are pretty well worked, but he does the same stuff he did on their  last album: chugging Riff and limited use of pedal effects.

Bass: Ru-d’s bass playing as I said early is lower in the mix but you can hear some of his crazy jazz type noodling in the background.

Drums: Spug colossal drummer a bit more aggressive on this album brining in some thrashyness here and there7.3

Melody and/or Structure: More sophistication in their composition and more use of melody.  9

Sound, Production and Feeling: It’s pretty much a straight forward metal sound for this album they take no risks here on this album, they are catering to a metal crowd. 8

Songs: Each track is very enjoyable; my favorite is “On the Move” which is a bonus track. 15

The Bad: We need more Ru-d

Originality: The band is still trying to consolidate and establish their sound. 9

Overall:  56.8

Queens of the Stone Age Lullabies for the Paralyze (2005) Genre: Stoner Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock

Queens of the Stone Age

Lullabies for the Paralyze (2005)

Genre: Stoner Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock

Man it’s a hard act to follow “Songs for the Deaf”, and to be honest this album is somewhat of let down but it grows on you over time, from what I’ve read band was going through some turmoil and Nick Oliveri was fired from the group, so we have Queens in a transition phase, good thing Era Vulgaris is just around the corner.

Vocals and Lyrics: Josh does his traditional trademark vocals, nothing to breath taking for this album. While Mark Lanegan doesn’t participate as much on this album as he did on the previous ones.  9 

Instrumentation:

Guitar: Good guitar work on this album, plus the addition of Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and Lap Steel.

Bass: Oliveri is gone, so his  lumbering bass lines are too.

Drums: Joe Castillo is on the Drums, does a good Job. 7

Melody and/or Structure: Josh keeps this album interesting structure wise and his use of melody is masterful. 9

Sound, Production and Feeling: There isn’t that much attention to detail that they had on the previous album, it sound pretty much like a straight up rock album with a stoner twist. 8.5 

Songs: Even though I’ve been bitching about this album, but I must say  it's solid as hell, its good from start to finish. 14

The Bad: Not much experimentation or super rockers -1

Originality: It’s a transition album 8

Overall:  54.5

Mudvayne L.D. 50 (2000) Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Heavy Metal

Mudvayne

L.D. 50 (2000)

Genre: Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Heavy Metal

When a first saw and heard these guys for the first time, it seemed to me that they were just some Slipknot knockoffs. Just out of chance I found a live DVD of the band on sale at book store, and it was super cheap, so I purchased it. Man that DVD was super raw and intense and I discovered a very interesting and technical metal band that could really put on a super show. So on a trip to the States a bought this album and I listened to it pretty much none stop on my very long trip back home. So here we go with my review of this fantastic album.  

Vocals and Lyrics: Kud has a large array of vocal weapons at his disposal growls, yells, shouts and good general singing. The Lyrics are little to forced and fabricated at moments, Kud is no Corey Taylor or Jonathan Davis.   8

Instrumentation:

Guitar: Gurrg Guitar work centers around chugging riff and a limited use of pedal effects, he should try to experiment more.

Bass: Ryknow’s bass playing really impacted me how he used a fretless bass for super heavy music it the first and only time that I’ve heard this. It made me rip the frets of my 5 string bass and try some of the crazy shit the he does. He’s really good at slapping and at the use of melody

Drums: sPaG the man behind Ryknows onslaught this guy also does some pretty cool and super heavy stuff 7.5

Melody and/or Structure: Riff, interesting structures and a couple of epic song keep this album interesting, melody wise there could be some more room for this. 8.5 

Sound, Production and Feeling: It’s a very organic and heavy album, the bass is high in the mix which I like, but might put some metal heads off. 9 

Songs: It’s  good from start to finish. 14

The Bad:Nothing

Originality: Man I had low expectation for these guys and this album was a real surprise, especially if you are bass player like me. 10

Overall:  57

Queens of the Stone Age, Review of Songs for the Deaf Genre: Stoner, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock/Metal

Queens of the Stone Age

Songs for the Deaf (2001)

Genre: Stones Metal, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock/Metal

Man this album blew me away the first time I heard it, and it pretty much blows me away each time a listen to it now. I had to go to work to Paso de los Libres for a month this year, it’s a very isolated city here in Argentina near Brazil and Uruguay, which has no rock music, what so ever, and much less a live music scene, so I had this album and Slipknots Chapter 5 running 24/7 on my tablet, this help me rediscover the brilliance of this production.

Vocals and Lyrics: Josh’s trademark is vocals are fantastic as usual and the guest appearance of Mark Lanegan on a couple really helps the albums dark and somber moodiness. 10

Instrumentation:

Guitar: The guitars on this album are great Josh’s riffs, licks and solos serve perfectly each song, and as a nice plus Dean Ween plays on a couple tracks.

Bass: Nick Oliveri’s simple but lumbering bass playing was the basic model for me to copy when I had my own stoner metal band.

Drums: Dave Grohl should scrap the Foo’s and start drumming full time for these guys.  7.8

Melody and/or Structure: The equilibrium between these two aspects is what sets this band from the rest Josh use of melody is enviable, and the guy can pack some really interesting riffs in each song.  10

Sound, Production and Feeling: This is the first album that I have encountered the stoner sound, and it fascinates me, the dark, low end sounding production. Josh manages perfectly the dark and sexy mood of the album not letting you have everything at once, and there are a ton of production treats in this album. 10

Songs: Every song on this album is a classic. You can divided the songs in two groups: the Rocker and the experimental stuff, it’s all good.  14

The Bad: Nothing. 

Originality: This album probably is a defining record for Stoner Metal, a album that tons of bands use for reference and it was a break though album for these guys they gain relatively mainstream status.  10

Overall: 61.8