Pentatonix - "Christmas is Here!"

Pentatonix - Christmas is Here!
2018, RCA

1. What Christmas Means to Me
2. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
3. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
4. Grown Up Christmas List
5. Greensleeves (Interlude)
6. Sweater Weather
7. When You Believe
8. Waltz of the Flowers
9. Here Comes Santa Claus
10. Making Christmas
11. Where Are You, Christmas?
12. Jingle Bells

So...maybe it's time to give it a rest with the Christmas albums. I can't believe I'm saying this but...I'm kind of disappointed with this one. Part of that has to do with the song selection. I mean, this is their third Christmas album in six years. I never cared for "Grown Up Christmas List" or "Where Are You, Christmas?" to begin with and these versions only make them slightly more palatable. Then we've got the two non-Christmas songs, "Sweater Weather" and "When You Believe." The former of which is okay but the latter is from Prince of Egypt. Another song I wasn't wild about originally (love the movie, though!). The rest of the tracks? It's Pentatonix. It's Christmas. You pretty much know what you're getting. "Making Christmas" (from The Nightmare Before Christmas) is the standout track which really showcases the originality that I fell in love with in the first place. I don't know. Maybe the problem is on my end. I like this okay but it's definitely the bottom of the three.

Useless Fact: Let's see, I've already mentioned that Avi left and that he and Kristen didn't get along. So... I've got nothing. At least Mitch shaved off that awful mustache.

McKennitt, Loreena - "An Ancient Muse"

McKennitt, Loreena - An Ancient Muse
2006, Quinlan Road

1. Incantation
2. The Gates of Istanbul
3. Caravanserai
4. The English Ladye and the Knight
5. Kecharitomene
6. Penelope's Song
7. Sacred Shabbot
8. Beneath a Phrygian Sky
9. Never-Ending Road (Amhran Duit)

When this album first came out I didn't think it was as good as her previous albums. I have no idea why - I think that the problem was on my end. Listening to it now I love it, naturally. "Caravanserai" and "Penelope's Song" are some of her best. "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" kind of reminds me of "The Bonny Swans" a little bit. I'm glad I went back to this one. I have a lot of memories of listening to this album and working at Coutrywide Home Loans in Florida way back in the day. Just before the secondary loan market burst. Boy that was a sucky job. Anyway, this album is great like the others and past me was a moron.

Useless Fact: My edition has another remix of "Beneath a Phrygian Sky." It's okay but I prefer the original.

Amaranthe - "Helix"

Amaranthe - Helix
2018, Spinefarm

1. The Score
2. 365
3. Inferno
4. Countdown
5. Helix
6. Dream
7. GG6
8. Breakthrough Starshot
9. My Haven
10. Iconic
11. Unified
12. Momentum
Bonus Tracks
13. Say the Word (Acoustic)
14. Dream (Acoustic)

I was a little concerned about this album at first. Neither single, "365" nor "Countdown," seemed to really do anything for me. I didn't think they were bad, just unremarkable maybe. Thankfully, all my fears were laid to rest listening to the album itself. Even those two tracks were a lot better in the context of the whole album. Helix continues to work the ground laid down by Massive Addictive (where they really defined their sound) and refined on Maximalism. New vocalist Nils Molin is a suitable replacement for Jake E. Though I do miss him. I can't tell if I prefer Jake to Nils or if I'm just old and resistant to change. The Rock Critic said once that it's okay to be a one trick pony as long as you're really good at your trick. Amaranthe proves that they are the absolute masters of their trick. Occasionally I wonder if they'll be able to keep up this level of consistency and quality. I also wonder if I'll ever get tired of their "trick." Though, it's been several albums and I still can't get enough of Gama Bomb's trick. And as Helix has demonstrated to me - I can't get enough of Amaranthe's trick either, so who knows?

Useless Fact: My CD comes with two acoustic bonus tracks. I didn't have a chance to listen to them because I forgot they were on the CD proper and not part of the album download. Also, Itunes will import "Say the Word" as "Helix."

Gama Bomb - "Speed Between the Lines"

Gama Bomb - Speed Between the Lines
2018, AFM

1. Give Me Leather
2. A Hanging
3. 666Teen
4. Bring Out the Monster
5. R.I.P. U
6. Motorgeist
7. Alt-Reich
8. Stay Rotten
9. We R Going 2 Eat U
10. Kurt Russell
11. World Gone to Hell
12. Faceblaster

Hey, I finally got ahead of the curve on a Gama Bomb album! It's a good thing too because I think this is their best so far. That's high praise considering I thought Untouchable Glory was their best. I've mentioned a time or two about the band sometimes having problems making each song distinct. Well... they've long since gotten over that. Every song here stands out and has a catchy chorus or gang vocal that sticks in your brain. Dare I say there's even a little bit of progressiveness in "Alt-Reich." Maybe. Just a drop. "Alt-Reich" is also an example of a lot more socially conscious lyrics on this release. The band has always had a track or two like that but I think it's a lot more prevalent. here. "Alt-Reich," "We R Going 2 Eat U," and "World Gone to Hell" are the best examples. As much as I like the nostalgia, horror, and silliness, it's cool to hear some tracks that are vicious and fast but also carry a message (that I agree with more often than not). It's actually very in line with old school thrash which could be very socially conscious at times (just look at some old Anthrax records). Every time a new album comes out I always think about when I said I didn't know if wanted album after album of this in my Citizen Brain review. I was so wrong. As long as the band stays this awesome I will never tire of it.

Useless Fact: The liner notes in this album are inspired by the covers of old pulp novels. I kind of wish they would have put lyrics in their too, though.

Bowie, David - "'Heroes'"

Bowie, David - "Heroes"
1977/1999, Parlophone

1. Beauty and the Beast
2. Joe the Lion
3. "Heroes"
4. Sons of the Silent Age
5. Blackout
6. V-2 Schneider
7. Sense of Doubt
8. Moss Garden
9. Neukoln
10. The Secret Life of Arabia

UVULAPIE: After cruising through the absolutely stunning Hunky Dory it seems we’ve hit a wall with "Heroes."  Old Man and I keep telling each other that we need to write this review but it’s not getting done, mostly because the album is pretty weak.  Finding myself with an extreme need to avoid a current work project I decided that the time had come to kick this one off.  Soooo…. "Heroes".  One of the so-called Berlin-trilogy albums.  I’ll start off and say that the album cover reminds me of artwork from the dark Daniel Amos classic Doppleganger.  I’ll second-off and say that some of the synthesizer instrumental tracks on side two, like “Sense of Doubt”, “Moss Garden” and “Neukoln,” sound a lot like the “just messing around” crap I used to make in the late Eighties when I bought my first synthesizer.  Either I’m a genius like Bowie or Bowie was flying high and decided to record his experimenting/noodling around with this then (1977) new toy.

OLD MAN: Y'know, I really enjoyed "Heroes" at first. "Beauty and the Beast" is a cool track and I was already familiar with it through Deliverance's cover. The title track is a classic. Absolutely love "Sons of the Silent Age." Then the album kind of crashes and burns in the second half with all these ambient tracks. I mean... I feel like no one had the courage to tell Bowie "no" here. These are just boring and tedious. And there's like...four of them in a row. "Moss Garden" sounds like the generic music they would pipe in at a spa. Seriously, I was so disgusted with the back half of this disc that I didn't listen to it for a couple months. I suppose if I wanted to play devil's advocate I could say these probably have some kind of connection to World War II and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Doesn't make them any less boring. The last track, "The Secret Life of Arabia," is not ambient (thank goodness!) but it's almost an afterthought. The song (and the album) just sort of peter out. Like "I guess we're done here" - fade out. I guess when you have a reputation as a "risk taker" that must means some risks don't really pay off.

UVULAPIE:  I will say that the album, as a whole, is dark and twitchy, similar to what I suspect a drug addiction would be like.  There’s pretty much just half an album here which means I’m comfortable with just writing half a review.

OLD MAN: Word.

Useless Fact: "Heroes" (the song) was inspired by Bowie watching his producer and his mistress at the Berlin Wall. 

Coheed and Cambria - "Vaxis - Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures"

Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis - Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures
2018, Roadrunner

1. Prologue
2. The Dark Sentancer
3. Unheavenly Creatures
4. Toys
5. Black Sunday
6. Queen of the Dark
7. True Ugly
8. Love Protocol
9. The Pavillion (A Long Way Back)
10. Night-Time Walkers
11. The Gutter
12. All on Fire
13. It Walks Among Us
14. Old Flames
15. Lucky Stars

With Vaxis Coheed and Cambria returns to the mult-part sci-fi epics after a brief breather with The Color Before the Sun. You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a return to the Keeping Secrets and Good Apollo era upon hearing "The Dark Sentancer." It's one of those dark progressive songs which are the band's stock and trade. It's got a "No World For Tomorrow" vibe to it. Aside from that, however, I'd venture to say that this album is far more informed by Afterman and Color than most people would want to admit. For one, while the story is about being trapped on a prison planet, the album isn't really that dark. There's too much hope and Claudio's just not a wounded musician anymore - he's a family man in a happy marriage. That stuff has a tendency to brighten up your writing. I feel like this disc is a lot more focus on big hooks and strong, stand alone songs. You'll notice there's not multi-part epic here. Now... this album is amazing. Each track has a huge hook that will stick in your brain forever. "Black Sunday" and "Night-Time Walkers" are the only two songs that I didn't really care for. But two out of fifteen isn't that bad, especially since the other stuff that's here is just so good. "Unheavenly Creatures," "The Gutter," "Old Flames," man... some of the best stuff they've done. This is part one of five so I'm hoping Claudio and the boys can keep this momentum up for the next four albums. Definitely a contender for one of my picks for the year.

My wife and I sprung for the super deluxe box set for this one. It comes with a mask, a huge hardbound book with the album story and lyrics, a poster, and a black card (for VIP stuff at concerts). It's HUGE! But it's cool to have and I have to read the rest of the story.

Useless Fact: A lot of fans (myself included) suspect that maybe "The Pavillion (A Long Way Back)" was originally written for The Color Before the Sun. It's basically about Claudio wanting to quit the band so he can spend more time with his family.