Recent CD purchase/review thread:

[WEREWOLF]

The only thing I like discussing as much as MMA is music. I hope a lot of you guys contribute to this thread. It doesn't matter what kind of music you listen to, just post any recent CD you have purchased and give your thoughts.

I picked up the new Nine Inch Nails disc 'With Teeth' today and as a stand alone album it is very good. However compared with NIN's early work it falls short. It is better than the overly indulgent 'The Fragile' but not as good as 'Pretty Hate Machine', 'The Downward Spiral' or my personal favorite 'Broken'.

To really appreciate Reznors' soundscapes, 'With Teeth' should be listened to on headphones. My favorite tracks off the album are Love is not Enough, Only, and Right where it Belongs. Reznor is in top form with his morose introspective lyrics.

This is the second Dual Disc I have purchased. The DVD content on the Dual Disc includes the video for 'The Hand that Feeds' and an interactive discography.

If you are a NIN fan this is of course a must buy as it's their first album in over 5 years.

[Cbear]

I love the dual discs. Finally they are giving us more value for our money on cds. The last couple cds I got were Judas Priest adn Coheed & Cambrias new dual discs. I've bought something since then but can't recall what it was.

[dogofwar]

I'm not big on the disc....I really like The Fragile although there probably wasn't a need for it to be a double disc....but this one didn't really do much but maybe it will grow on me.

[just Brian]

Someone recently started a thread about Anthrax. It inspired me to buy new CD of Among The Living. I used to have it as a cassette and I remember listening to it alot when I was younger. I'm glad I bought it again. I'm really enjoying it, it's quite funny because all those songs immediately come back, lyrics and everything...it's total recall.

I love the one about Judge Dread, I am the law. The first verse kicks ass -
Fifteen years in the academy
He was like no cadet they'd ever seen
A man so hard, his veins bleed ice
And when he speaks he never says it twice
They call him Judge, his last name is Dredd
So break the law, and you wind up dead
Truth and justice are what he's fighting for
Judge Dredd the man, he is the law
DROKK IT!

I was only vaguely familiar with the comic, but the song is great.

[Shamrocked]

I just couldn't bring myself to pick up the new Nails disc today. I own their entire catalog, but frankly whenever I try to listen to NIN now it bores me. I sampled most of the tracks from the new disc on iTunes, and it sounded exactly as I expected.

I did pick up two completely opposite discs today. The new disc from Force of Evil (Mercyful Fate without King Diamond) Black Empire and the new release from Aimee Mann The Forgotten Arm. The Force of Evil disc is pretty solid, but as with their debut the lyrics tend to be exceptionally cheesy. I really got into Aimee Mann when I picked up the soundtrack to Magnolia. I love her songwriting, and even though her vocal range is pretty limited her singing is tolerable and her band is always tight.

Recently I picked up fantastic new albums from Porcupine Tree, James LaBrie and Jake E. Lee.

Any fan of the last Dream Theater album Train of Thought (as a side not the new Dream Theater disc Octavarium drops June 7) should pick up James LaBrie's new disc. Several of the tracks sounds like they could easily have come from the same sessions, and the guitar player on the disc is on par with Petrucci. He's fast like Petrucci or Paul Gilbert, smooth like Reb Beach and tasty like George Lynch.

The Porcupine Tree is an aquired taste for most, but if you like your prog atmospheric or enjoy the softer side of Opeth this disc is for you. It will lull you to sleep and then kick you in the balls.

Jake claims he hadn't even picked up a guitar in over a year before recording his new collection of covers for Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records, but you can't tell by listening to him. The songs range from Willie Dixon to Montrose and all would sound right at home on any Badlands disc. Jake said he was convinced to do the album for the chance to record with Aynsley Dunbar which was a good call, since Aynsley's a tasty as ever. The singer, Chris Logan, even has a sort of Ray Gillen/Rob Lamothe/Glen Hughes vibe. He doesn't have Ray's range, but at times his vocals remind me of Voodoo Highway era Gillen.

[dogofwar]

Aimee Mann completely rocked on the Magnolia soundtrack...Directtv is having a freeview concert of hers playing this month.

[f2rc]

I was a huge fan of NIN as a kid. i have everything they(he) have ever done, including all the remix discs and singles, and some live recordings of that tour he did with Bowie. There have also been some really great reinterpretations of his music by Coil, Aphex Twin, Foetus, ect. that are really worth checking out if you like NIN. i recomend "Fixed" (Remix version of "Broken") and "Further Down The Spiral" and "Closer to God" (Remixes from "The Downward Spiral").

I was debating picking up the new one, what with the fragile being such a huge disapopintment.

Hey Werewolf, did you ever see the videos they made for Broken ? pretty sick stuff...

[WEREWOLF]

"Hey Werewolf, did you ever see the videos they made for Broken ? pretty sick stuff..."


Yeah, I have the NIN video collection called 'Closure' released in 1997. It has all their videos uncut up to that point including 'Happiness in Slavery'. NIN, Tool and Marilyn Manson have made the most visually stunning vidoes I have ever seen.

Speaking of sick, the Danzig video collection 'Archive De La Morte' contains the x-rated version of 'It's Coming Down'. Now that's a disturbing video.

[WEREWOLF]

Here are two more CD's I have picked up recently:

Amaran- Pristine in Bondage
This is Amaran's brilliant follow up to their excellent debut 'World Depraved'. They are basically an agressive sounding melodic metal band with very clean female vocals. Unusually harmonic dual guitar work punctuates their music. Somewhat Maidenesque. Favorite songs are 'Atrophine' and 'Without Stains'.

Hanzel und Gretyl- Scheissmessiah
Hanzel und Gretyl are a bizzare mix of guitar heavy industrial hard core with elements of techno and opera. Some of the songs are sung in German others in English by a very effective female vocalist who sounds extremely pissed. There is also a male vocalist on a couple of tracks. Their lyrics are a mix of tounge in cheek Nazism/Satanism. This is one of the best, most entertaining bands out there IMO. Favorite songs are 'Fikk Dich Mit Fire' and 'Blut! Sex! Fire!' Their prior CD Uber Alles is also great.

[Tony Montana]

Damn, I had no idea NIN had a new CD! I'll have to go download it immediately