The Best Metal Band of the 2000's

I am very surprised it took me this long to review this band/release.  I have enjoyed their music on Octane for years and their latest release is a few years old.  I guess it has been out so long I didn't want to review as something new, but the more I choose to keep on playing the release I just had to review the band.

The band is Avenged Sevenfold they are a heavy metal/ hard rock band out of California.  A7X (the slang name for the band) started in 99 but I didn't know of them until 06 with their release Bat Country.  The track is incendiary with shredding guitar work and pounding double bass drums.  The next big release Nightmare got me fully into the fold.  A dark metal tune perfectly balanced with dominating metal rifs and haunting lyrics.

So in 13 when Avenged Sevenfold released Hail to the King I was primed and boy does the release exceed my expectations.  First off there are no filler tracks.  Each song on the release could be a hit.  I guess what I like most about this band and this release is that it is kind of timeless.  Truly I could see me listening to this in the 80's, or 90's with thinking it was fresh and the greatest Metal.  The guitar work is on fire and once again with great Metal bands the lyrics take you with them on the story they tell for each song.

Do I have a hard time calling them the best, yeah my love of Disturbed has been mentioned on this blog many times but if you want the purist Metal band that I feel will really stand the test of time you need to check out Avenged Sevenfold and their release Hail to the King.

Til next time, listen to the best your ears deserve it.

An improperly named Solo Release

I grew up listening to ELO.  I remember the sounds from AM radio.  The band even did a great soundtrack to a very bad movie Xanadu.  ELO was a very textured diverse group.   They took what the Beattles did with strings and added synthesizers and created a unique sound.

One of the founding members and main song writers of the band was Jeff Lynne.  Jeff Lynne led the band and wrote their hits.  He was also a very successful producer and worked with Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and was part of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.  I have always liked and enjoyed Jeff Lynne's work.

Listening to XM I was excited to hear that Jeff Lynne was back with the group ELO.  There have been no new releases in over a decade.  I found the release on Itunes and was surprised at the title, Jeff Lynne's ELO.  What this means is Jeff Lynne wrote and preformed all the music tracks by himself.  I really like Jeff Lynne but felt a little cheated, it isn't ELO.  The Band ELO had incredibly talented musicians who brought their own feel to tracks written by Jeff Lynne.

Now the release is a very good solo album.  As I wrote before I really like Jeff Lynne.  A few tracks that stand out after a listen are Love and Rain, Dirty to the Bone, I'm Leaving You and One Step at a Time.  This is a great headphone album, which means you can plug or bluetooth in and zone out to the music.  I enjoyed the release, it just isn't ELO.

Til next time, listen to the best -  your ears deserve it.