Emmanuel Jal is an atypical rapper, and Warchild is an atypical rap album. Jal, a former Sudanese child soldier, mixes hip-hop with soul and traditional African music to tell his story. (4.5 stars)
- Read the full Emmanuel Jal - Warchild review
While never a fan of Francis' old band Dispatch, I have been strangely drawn to his solo albums as they have a sort of pull to them I didn't find in Francis' previous endeavors with his old band. Francis has managed to create a totally separate sound from what he was doing with Dispatch. (3.5 stars)
- Read the full Pete Francis - Iron Sea and the Calvary review
This album is a great snapshot of what makes Dropkick Murphys unique It's filled with all the things that made the band so popular: a lot of hard-driving songs about hard times. Make sure you crank the volume when you put this on. (4.5 stars)
- Read the full Dropkick Murphys - The Meanest of Times review
You know what sucks more than Hatebreed? A Hatebreed tribute band like Cataract. This trendy group has rightfully earned their membership at Metal Blade by proving they are the closest thing to Hatebreed beside Hatebreed themselves.
- Read the full Cataract review
Everyone's looking for a higher concept and the big statement. Whatever happened to bands like AC/DC and Skynyrd who just knew how to bring the rawk when it needed to be brought? These songs will rock the hell out of you and thank God. (4.5 stars)
- Read the full The Mother Truckers - Let's All Go To Bed review
Urine-soaked progressive death metal has never seemed so poorly crafted once fans of the genre look at Farmakon's mindless ideology. Be sure to keep those rubber sheets close!
- Read the full Farmakon - Robin review
III confronts a variety of cultural failings with rage, sadness, regret, and even defeated acceptance. It is a testament to the band's talent that such a gamut of emotions comes across clearly in such a short album length while still being entertaining too.
- Read the full Cursed - III: Architects of Troubled Sleep review
Not since father and son rockers John and Julian Lennon has there been two musicians who not only look but also sound alike. But like the Lennons this is the case with Kenny Loggins and his son Crosby.
- Read the full Crosby Loggins and the Light - We All Go Home review
The live show was phenomenal but it could have been the crowds everlasting love for Animosity that had me pumped for this band when I saw them and not so much the music.
- Read the full Animosity - Animal review
This documentary, while interesting, is a bit of an odd duck, especially for the American market. There are basically three groups of people who will enjoy it; those who were there in England in 1978, rock critics and historians, and hard-core fans of Genesis. (3 stars)
- Read the full Genesis - Remembering Knebworth 1978 DVD review
Tony concludes his week long look at Def Leppard with a career retrospective aided by an study of their comprehensive greatest hits release, "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection"
- Read the full Def Leppard - Rock of Ages review
There might never have been a more ironic album title outside of Poison's Greatest Hits, maybe. This is the kind of cheese Chumbawumba spun a few years ago, and it's bound to have the same effect. (2.5 stars)
- Read the full Baskervilles - Twilight review
Try mixing terrible performances, quality that pisses on your senses, bare-bone extras, and over two hours of wasted time into one sh*t-filled package that'll make Kreator fans wish they never even considered coughing up money in the first place.
- Read the full Kreator - At the Pulse of Kapitulation review
Do you like Lettuce? Even if you don't like the vegetable, you should get to know and love the band. This is a band that is funk to the core, largely influenced by Parliament. You don't need to listen long to hear the influence (4.5 stars)
- Read the full Lettuce - Rage! review
Even the big Southern Rock bands in their heyday of the mid-'70's couldn't tear it up the way the North Mississippi Allstars are doing right now. Some say 'the South's gonna do it again' but I say the North Mississippi Allstars have been doing already (4 stars)
- Read the full North Mississippi Allstars - Hernando review
666: Satan's Soldiers Syndicate also marks nearly two decades since Desaster emerged from Lucifer's home, and with all those years gone, they can still reload fantastic instrumentation like it was nothing.
- Read the full Desaster - 666: Satan's Soldiers Syndicate review
Tony continues his look back at Def Leppard. Today he revisits their 2003 tour for X where they played to a near sold out crowd at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Tony was floored that they were able to sell 11,000 plus seats for a show that had zero promotion.
- Read the full Def Leppard Live 03 review
It's sad to see a band with a little bit of talent or ability in a particular style of music insist on doing a second-rate imitation of something else. Harsh words, perhaps, but I'd say it's true. (2.5 stars)
- Read the full Nights Like These - Sunlight at Secondhand review
Every time 'Delusions' penetrates my hearing orifices, I'm brought to a new world in which stellar forms of music's many backgrounds can bend, twist, tangle, and flow within each other and to the beyond. Not a perfect 10, this one goes to 11.
- Read the full To-Mera - Delusions review
When people talk about defining albums of the 80's they often mention London Calling, Purple Rain, The Joshua Tree, and Thriller- and hopefully in not too distant future, they'll mention Hysteria. (5 stars)
- Read the full Classics: Def Leppard - Hysteria review
