Musings on the past and present state of music, film, and pop culture. Get off my lawn.
Jerry Cantrell’s ‘I Want Blood’ Review: Alice in Chains vocalist/guitarist shines on a sullen yet gorgeous new solo album. Jerry Cantrell is one of the most consistent and tasteful songwriters in the business. His work in Alice in Chains shows a distinctive talent for off-kilter sonics, emotive vocals, and a sublime mix of heaviness and […]
Greg Puciato ‘Mirrorcell’ Review: ex-Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist indulges his love for 90s grunge and 80s new wave on sophomore solo album. The Dillinger Escape Plan may have broken up in 2017, but former frontman Greg Puciato has still been plenty busy. In the ensuing years he’s released two albums from his electronic project The […]
Albums Revisited: Alice in Chains’ ‘Sap’ Turns 25: Seattle Grunge stars acoustic EP remains one of their most satisfying efforts. February 4th marks the 25th anniversary of Sap, Alice in Chains 5 song EP, which filled the gap between 1990’s Facelift and their 1992 full-length epic Dirt. And while Sap didn’t get the same attention and […]
20 Years Ago Danzig Made A Techno Album For Disney’s Record Label: remembering Blackacidevil, Glenn Danzig’s lost industrial techno album. When Glenn Danzig parted ways with his “classic lineup” in 1995 (guitarist John Christ, bassist Eerie Von and drummer Chuck Biscuits), it wasn’t on the best of terms. He would also jump ship from Rick Rubin’s American […]
Deftones ‘Gore’ Review: alt-metal titan’s latest rewards repeat listens. [rating=4] Sacramento’s Deftones have plugged away valiantly for nearly three decades, eclipsing, obliterating and transcending any affiliation with their late-90’s nu-metal peers. They’ve embraced elements of more experimental musical movements, integrating them into new and unusual shapes within their metal underpinnings. It speaks volumes to the […]
Albums Revisited: Alice in Chains ‘Facelift’ Turns 25 On August 21st, 2015, Alice in Chains’ début album ‘Facelift‘ celebrates its 25th anniversary. Good god. Really? I feel old. It’s interesting to look back on ‘Facelift’ and see just how important it was in the scheme of 90’s alternative music. Pre-dating Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’, it helped establish […]
Owl ‘Things You Can’t See’ Review: power trio blasts through six incendiary tracks on their new EP. [rating=4] Vocalist/Bassist Chris Wyse is quite the rock journeyman: he’s played with everyone from Metallica to Ozzy Osborne, and just wrapped up a 10-year stint with The Cult (not to mention his current gig playing with Kiss guitarist […]
April 5th, 2015 marked the 13th anniversary of the death of Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley. The singer passed away in 2002 after battling heroin addiction. Eerily, fellow Seattle grunge icon Kurt Cobain would take his own life on that same date in 1994. But while Nirvana are still seen as alternative icons, Alice in […]
Albums Revisited: Alice In Chains ‘Jar Of Flies’ Turns 20: A look back at one of the biggest selling E.P’s of all time. I feel quite old today, because tomorrow Alice In Chain’s ‘Jar of Flies’ celebrates its 20th anniversary. Wasn’t I just in college, moping around to the sullen yet gorgeous acoustic driven tunes […]
Review: Alice In Chains “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.” A solid (if slightly homogenous) effort from the veteran Seattle band, but it falls short from “Black Gives Way To Blue.” [rating=3] When Alice In Chains reformed in 2005, it inspired skepticism. The loss of vocalist Layne Staley seemed insurmountable, and his shoes seemed impossible to fill. […]
