Tracklist:
53. Factory 81 – Peace Officer
54. Scars on Broadway – They Say
55. Simon Sayz – Hey You
56. Sinisstar – Freak Of Nature
57. Sloth – Dead Generation
58. Sparta – Taking Back Control
59. Sprottenrock – Couchparty (German)
60. Stereomud – Sunlight
61. Strata – Piece By Piece
62. Superheist – Pulse
Download Vol. 5 here.
Previous volumes:
-Chad 2
Tracklist:
43. Ours – Sometimes
44. Darwin’s Waiting Room – Feel So Stupid
45. Pressure 4-5 – Melt Me Down
46. Double Drive – 1000 Yard Stare
47. Project 86 – The Spy Hunter
48. Dracma – Blanco Y Azul (Spanish)
49. Ra – I Believe
50. Dredg – Symbol Song
51. Reach 454 – New Scar
52. Revelation Theory – After the Rain
Download Vol. 4 here:
Previous volumes:
-Chad 2
All too often great bands go unnoticed. Sometimes they are from another country. Sometimes they are simply too small to get much attention. I pride myself on tracking down every band I can possibly find as you can never have too much music. Lately, I’ve noticed people posting (sometimes pretentiously) music on Facebook. I wanted to create a sampler to showcase some of the best artists I’ve run across on my explorations into aural pleasure. With that said, please enjoy my first volume of Bands You Should Know.
Tracklist:
01. 8Stops7 – Regression
02. Amplexus – End of An Era
03. Deepfield – Into the Flood
04. Drop To Zero – Silver Streets
05. Egypt Central – You Make Me Sick
06. Element Eighty – Parachute
07. Geist – Wer Wenn Nicht Ich
08. Kamikato – Irgendwann
09. Karnivool – All I Know
10. Kidney Thieves – Black Bullet
11. King Mungi – Languish
12. Onesidezero – Instead Laugh
13. Orkest – #
14. Pete – Sweet Daze
15. Project 86 – Cement Shoes
16. Pulse Ultra – Big Brother
17. Spineshank – Smothered
18. Spiritfall – My Reason
19. Spoken – Fall Further
20. The Butterfly Effect – Slow Descent
I claim no ownership of these songs. I am only sharing these mp3s in order to garner support for these bands. If you like the music, please buy the CD or MP3s.
Download link
(note: link only active until November 16th)
-Chad 2
Harmonix continues to up the bar with their Rock Band franchise. Coming “later this year,” Harmonix has announced that the average Joe Schmoe will be able to create and upload songs to Rock Band. Some of you may be wondering what the big deal is as Rock Band already has a music creation mode.
This is different.
Artists will be able to upload their song masters and convert them to Rock Band-ready tracks. A website has already been launched promoting the so-called Rock Band Network. In addition to a $99/yr membership fee, users will also receive software that will help them convert music into downloadable content via the Xbox360 or PS3. The best part of this whole equation? Artists get paid. You read that right. Artists will receive 30% of all sales generated from their track which they may list at $1, $2, or $3. The average song on Rock Band is downloaded around 50,000 times. Even at 30% profit, an artist/band would stand to make roughly $15,000. Granted, most musicians are not going to get their tracks downloaded 50,000 times, it is an interesting point to ponder.
A whole slew of other questions will arise as the RBN hits full stride in 2010. For instance, will record labels be more attracted to bands using this system or less attracted? From a marketing standpoint, how will the industry get their cut from this? Is RBN a way of foregoing the battle against piracy and simply choosing a different method to make money from music?
I’m excited to see the system in action and anxious to sample some of its offerings.
-Chad 2
Dredg
The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
Release Date: June 9, 2009
The first thing you’ll realize about Dredg is the pure and unadulterated talent of vocalist Gavin Hayes. Formed in 1993, Hayes and company have flown under the corporate radar as they released four albums that crush anything else I’ve heard up to this point. As with their previous releases, Dredg once again manages to combine an aggressive sound with visceral, thoughtful lyrics and beautiful musicianship.
I definitely wouldn’t use words such as “catchy” or “radio-friendly” with Dredg though I would wager that many people will walk away with that impression upon first listen. Dredg isn’t really a band you can listen to once and pick up all their subtleties. Dino Campanella plays his drums with quiet abandon. Often, his technique and expertise gets swallowed up by the twangy guitars and audible bass lines.
Some critics and fans have complained that Dredg didn’t seek to think outside of the proverbial box with this release as they once did with their second studio album, El Cielo. I believe the band is simply pushing forward and maturing as a group. When not producing instrumentals that sound as though they’d be more at home in a Tim Burton film, Dredg proves to fan and casual listener alike that they truly love making music. And in that love they illustrate their profound ability to produce music. The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion is one of the few albums I’ve ever listened to that managed to engulf me completely and utterly. You owe it to yourself to buy this album.
-Chad 2
I’m a sucker for a backstory regardless of the medium. Movies, stories, even bands. For some reason I just have to know the history of whatever I’m watching, reading or listening to. That is probably the reason I’m such an addict to How It’s Made.
I came up with the idea for Band Name Origins after realized that some of the music we listen to is performed by artists bearing names such as KoRn. That got me curious as to how some of my favorite bands actually concocted their names. So here we go…
1.) Godsmack
Year Founded: 1995
Name Origin: Originally, many believed the band was named after the Alice in Chains song of the same name. According to the band, they arrived at the name after one band member made a particularly inappropriate comment and another remarked “God will smack you for that one”. Hence forth one would receive a “Godsmack” for bad behavior.
2.) Metallica
Year Founded: 1981
Name Origin: For a band that got really anal over the whole Napster fiasco, the way they picked their name is irony at its best. Lars Ulrish stole the name from “Mr. Metal” of San Francisco, Ron Quintana. He was getting ready to launch a metal fanzine and had a few names. He asked, as any good person would do, his friend Lars for help, and after hearing the name “Metallica,” Lars quickly suggested a different name and kept “Metallica” for himself!
3.) Breaking Benjamin
Year Founded: 1998
Name Origin: The band derived their name from an incident when Benjamin Burnley (vocalist) was covering a Nirvana song during an open mic night at a club when he dropped the microphone, breaking it. The person who owned the microphone came on stage and said, “Thanks to Benjamin for breaking my fucking mic.” In 1999 the band changed its name shortly to plan 9 then in late 2001, after various line-up changes, the band changed its name back to Breaking Benjamin.
4.) Project 86
Year Founded: 1998
Name Origin: Andrew Schwab, vocalist of the band, always liked the sound of 86. He felt that “it meant to reject, separate, or dismiss. As if to say we will be ourselves despite what everyone else is doing, despite rejection.” Pretty deep.
5.) Red Hot Chili Peppers
Year Founded: 1983
Name Origin: Originally known as Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem (I shit you not…), the Peppers wisely decided to change their band name in light of their unexpected success. Flea and the other chose the name to represent their style of music. How that works exactly, I’m not really sure.
I love music. I live music. I have some guilty pleasures (like listening to Godsmack) and I worship the sound of drums. I scavange the internet constantly looking for new bands to listen to. Sometimes they come from the unlikeliest of places such as Kent, Oh or Germany. So, here are some of my favorite bands that you’ve probably never heard of, but should. I’ll post Youtube videos if available, MySpace links if not.
1.) Butterfly Effect: An Aussie band with a serious kick. Their vocalist, Clint Boge, needs to improve on his live vocals, but their bassist more than makes up for it with crushing bass lines.
2.) Geist: Those of you who know me, know that I am huge fan of German rock. Not that progressive, industrial garbage, but real German rock. I suppose that could be construed as an oxymoron, but it does exist. I refer to this band as the Pearl Jam of Germany.
3.) Flypside: I don’t really know how to describe Flipsyde. A mix of rock, funk, and hip hop topped with a sprinkle of Caribbean beat. Their lyrics are the most impressive thing about them. Check out the song “US History” to find out exactly what I mean.
4.) Strata: I love this band, simple. Be careful though, their S/T album and their current album are two worlds apart. I mean, completely and totally different:
5.) Drop to Zero: Every morning, in the shower, I listen to 88.9 the AlterNation. Every once in a great while a song would come on that I adored. I could never remember more than the line “walk these silver streets.” Inevitably, I would enter those words in google along with “lyrics” and turn up nothing. It was infuriating. Finally, after probably the 30th time I’d heard it play on the radio, the DJ said something akin to “and that was local band Drop to Zero.” I dug up their Myspace and bought their CD immediately. Listen to Silver Streets.
6.) Superheist: Like I said, I’ll search anywhere for new, good music. Sometimes those adventures take me to Germany, sometimes they take me to Australia. Suprisingly, there is quite a rock movement down under. Superheist has been around for quite some time. I love their drummer’s work on the high hat!
7.) Ours: This band is kind of hard to explain. Blending subtle hints of early Radiohead with latter-day Deftones. And perhaps a pinch of the Cure. Regardless, check them out:
8.) Dredg: I’ve heard them be compared to everyone from Tool to a hard rock version of the Dave Matthews Band. I shit you not. I couldn’t find an album version of this song on Youtube, but the live should suffice.
If you know of any bands I might like, please feel free to post them!
-Chad 2
