11: Temple of the Dog (Self-titled) ★★
Straight away, it's easy to hear the Soundgarden force behind the band. (In case you aren't aware of the 1992 happenings in Seattle, Temple of the Dog (TotD) is made up largely of Soundgarden members.) That's not meant to be a slight against TotD. But I do have to wonder why someone would even record an album as a different band (while using some members from their original band) and wind up having much of the same distinct sounds of the original band, Soundgarden. No, this isn't an exact copy but the similarities are impossible to ignore. Aside from the aforementioned (and obvious) influences, some SRV and Tool sounds find their way on this record. And maybe, just maybe there's a little Candlebox tossed in there, too. While not as rockin' as Cornell's main focus (at the time), this album is much more bluesy and melodic. It's certainly a foreshadowing of things to come in Chris' musical career.
12: Lamb of God "Wrath" ★★★1/2
What an amazing opener this album has. It's easy to assume that this record wouldn't appeal to a majority of listeners, but the first track would catch many folks pleasantly by surprise. But, the wait for the calm to end and the storm to begin isn't a long one. In less than two minutes, Lamb of God is playing at full force. The speed, complexity, and agression are fitting to my ear palate, but the vocals are just too throaty / shouty / non-musical for my personal taste. That's only me though. Overall, there is a very heavy, sinister feel throughout this album. The leads take on a Dragonforce sound from time to time, which isn't at all a bad thing. Toward the end of Wrath, a dungeon-esque Tool vibe creeps out.
13: The Black Keys "Attack & Release" ★★★1/2
There's a nice bluesy feel from the get. The best I can describe it is it sounds like the music of yesterday, made today. About 85% of that sound is great, but I get a sense of manufactured patina. The track "So He Won't Break" has to be on a soundtrack somewhere. And if it's not, it will be - it just has to be. Surprisingly, the longer the album plays, the more genuine the antique feel of the album sounds. I don't know exactly what made me turn the corner, but I got the sense that these fellas just really dig music of the days gone by.
14: White Zombie "Astro-Creep: 2000" ★★
For someone who seems to pride himself on raw, gritty, warts-and-all product and appearance, Rob Zombie has one helluva polished album in this. While I don't find that necessarily a point against him or the band, I do find it mildly incongruous. After listening to the first three songs, the droning metal-slide and guitar dj'ing become tiresome. As a pick-me-up, the orgasmic opener for "More Human Than Human" does the trick ... just like it did for me in high school, too. I do have one major complaint about this record, and all bands who do the same or similar thing on their own records: STOP putting long periods of silence between songs (and even worse) and between the beginning and end of the same song. It isn't clever and you're not fooling anyone into thinking that it is.
15: Slayer "Undisputed Attitude" ★★1/2
When I happened to glance at the song lengths, I began to already from a negative opinion of this album before even listening to a single cord. The longest song is 4:53 which happens to be nearly a minute and a half longer than the second longest song. "What kind of uninspired crap is Slayer trying to trick fans into buying?", was my first reaction. So, I did what all knowledge seeking, fact hungry people do, I did my research.
After reading what Wikipedia had to say about Undisputed Attitude, I changed my tone. This is an album of mostly punk covers, with one original Slayer song, "Gemini" (which has some strong momentary similarities to the Metallica song "...And Justice For All") and two songs from another band a member of Slayer was in. It's nice to see a very major band pay homage to the unknowns out there.
So, if punk isn't fast enough, agressive enough, or rage-inducing enough for you, this album is exactly what you're looking for. But this record isn't for my tastes specifically. For starters, I'm not too much of a fan of the typical shouting that is Slayer's vocals. That, combined with not caring too much for punk music really excludes me from being a fan. However, the concept, execution, and production are all Aces 10.
15: Slayer "Undisputed Attitude" ★★1/2
When I happened to glance at the song lengths, I began to already from a negative opinion of this album before even listening to a single cord. The longest song is 4:53 which happens to be nearly a minute and a half longer than the second longest song. "What kind of uninspired crap is Slayer trying to trick fans into buying?", was my first reaction. So, I did what all knowledge seeking, fact hungry people do, I did my research.
After reading what Wikipedia had to say about Undisputed Attitude, I changed my tone. This is an album of mostly punk covers, with one original Slayer song, "Gemini" (which has some strong momentary similarities to the Metallica song "...And Justice For All") and two songs from another band a member of Slayer was in. It's nice to see a very major band pay homage to the unknowns out there.
So, if punk isn't fast enough, agressive enough, or rage-inducing enough for you, this album is exactly what you're looking for. But this record isn't for my tastes specifically. For starters, I'm not too much of a fan of the typical shouting that is Slayer's vocals. That, combined with not caring too much for punk music really excludes me from being a fan. However, the concept, execution, and production are all Aces 10.