Ink Static Music Reviews

 Various countries across the world really have a knack for amazing Metalcore, don't they? Especially Australia. Now obviously, the biggest Metalcore band from down under is Parkway Drive, followed by The Amity Affliction, I Killed The Prom Queen, and others. One band I'm surprised doesn't get brought up as much, though, is Northlane, at least here in the states. Starting as a Djent act before evolving into more of a Metalcore act with Nu Metal and EDM tendencies by their most recent album prior to this one, 2019's "Alien", I'm kinda surprised more people weren't hyped about them. Especially since that was their biggest album to date.     And that leads me here to "Obsidian", which is probably going to be an important album for the band, since it's their first as a completely independent act, without a label to help promote it. So how did it turn out?     Well, for starters, this album continues the techno-metal style they were going for ...

Welcome back to another song review Friday! I've got 11 songs to get through, so let's start with... Kirk Hammett- "High Plains Drifter" (instrumental rock)      Ah, Metallica. One of the greatest metal bands ever, influential to many, tons of classic albums, you name it. So what am I to expect when their lead guitarist puts out a solo single? Well, 1) no singing and 2) Spanish guitar? Yeah, I was shocked to hear the first half be dominated by Spanish influenced acoustics, which if done right can be very pretty in sound. So of course Kirk is able to do it right. For those who prefer his more electric side, that's what the second half consists of, along with some symphonic elements and a solo. So yeah, good stuff. Stand Atlantic- "Switchblade" (nu-punk, "hyperpunk")      StAt are taking a very interesting direction with what they call "hyperpunk", which takes pop punk and adds elements of Trap and Hyperpop to it. For the most part, it...

 "Further Joy" by The Regrettes  So, if I'm gonna be honest, I don't listen to a lot of Garage Rock. The over simplicity of it tends to leave a lot to be desired for me. But I'm always willing to make an exception if I find them interesting. Case in point, The Regrettes, who infuse riot grrl messages with Strokes-like composition. It's this blend here that garnered these musicians a strong following over the years and has made them stand out from the crowd. So I was kinda shocked when I heard the lead single for this album "Monday" sorta abruptly abandon that sound for a more 80s influenced indie pop sound. Wait, doesn't that sound familiar? Yeah, I'll get to that in a sec. With the following singles going in a similar direction, it became apparent this was a different Regrettes, so what do we get?      So, let's talk about the sound change first. After listening to it a few times, I picked up on the After Laughter era Paramore vibes with...

 Well, these past few days have been very interesting to me, to say the least. Time to ring up my first single review collection and start off with... "Afterlife"- Five Finger Death Punch (hard rock) ... sheer predictability. Everyone pretty much knows 5FDP at this point, so I'll spare you the details. It's the same tough guy machismo, fake anger hoopla we've come to expect from the band, so much that it's not fun to talk about anymore. So I'll leave it at that. "junkie"- LØLØ (nu punk) So, up until now, the only song that had LØLØ and I was familiar with was the Panic! At the Disco song "Ms. Jackson". So now she's made a move to Hopeless Records and is integrating herself into the new breed of pop punk. So with this song... it basically indulges in the "drugs as a metaphor for how toxic a relationship is" cliche and at this point, I'm tired of it. I also don't find her to be that charismatic of a vocalist to hold ...

 Side projects. There are many "requirements" to a good one, the biggest being that it has to be musically different from a musician's main project. Some have been very successful, like Gerard Way tackling Britpop on his solo album "Hesitant Alien" or Tom DeLonge taking on Post-hardcore with Box Car Racer, while others aren't as good, like Alex Gaskarth and Mark Hoppus with their post-punk project Simple Creatures.  So in comes Josh Ramsey, the frontman of Canadian Pop Rock band Marianas Trench, a band that I like to say is Canada's answer to Panic! At The Disco. The similarities are endless, from starting in pop punk to becoming a powerhouse band, a charismatic frontman with a range that puts other male vocalists to shame, etc. But the key difference is MT is still a band, while P!ATD is at this point a solo project. Oh, and the music quality is better and more consistent.  Anyway, due to the pandemic, Josh had a lot of free time in his hands, so he dec...