Fear Not - "Fear Not (25th Anniversary Edition)"

Fear Not - Fear Not (25th Anniversary Edition)
1993/2017, Roxx Productions

1. Give It Up
2. We Have a God
3. Mr. Compromise
4. Til the End of My Days
5. Suicide Sunshine
6. Money Money
7. Easy Come Easy Go
8. There Is Love
9. Mad World
10. Take a Hold
Bonus Tracks:
11. You Got Love
12. Love is Alright

I'm glad that Fear Not's one and only release has been reissued. I'm also glad that Roxx put some real time and effort into this one. I've mentioned how this band missed being the next big thing by a couple years. This edition highlights everything the band got right and why it's such a shame they never got the recognition they deserved. Everything here clicks. The guitar tone is nasty and thick. The production is spot on. The song-writing is top notch and ultra-catchy. The cover has been reworked into something more metal and it looks great (though I never had a problem with the old cover art). We've even got some bonus tracks that sound pretty good - a bit more modern, for sure. Kind of like what the band might have done in like '95 or '96 had they had the chance to do another album. Oh! And the liner notes! Full booklet with lyrics and an interview from Larry Worley! Were they just the Christian version of Skid Row? Um... a little... but they pull it off with finesse and style and this album is fantastic. I'm glad I can finally replace my original version (it suffered from water damage and CD rot).

Useless Fact: I guess except for a few shows here and there the band never got to actually go on tour. Another shame...

Favorite Albums of 2017

Here we are… another year over. 2017 has been a pretty crap year for everyone it seems. Personally, it was pretty challenging but not working retail made it a bit more bearable. Also, the music was pretty dang good! As usual I’ll be picking five main ones, three honorable mentions, and then various and sundry.

TOP PICKS OF 2017

Xandria, Theater of Dimensions – It’s too bad Dianne Van Giersbergen left/got kicked out. It seemed like they’d really found their groove as Theater is probably the best Xandria album I’ve heard so far. It pretty much dominated the first part of the year.

Cooper, Alice, Paranormal – Like I said, it seems like a pretty by-the-numbers Coop disc. It features a couple songs written by the original Alice Cooper band. But despite not risking much it’s such a blast to listen to with good, fun songs and lots of energy. Isn’t he like… in his 70’s at this point?

Bent Knee, Land Animal – This pretty much came out of nowhere. I’d never heard of Bent Knee before but they’ve been around a while. Land Animal is their forth album. It’s eclectic and fierce and all over the map stylistically. If there was one album that was completely different from anything else I heard this year it was this one.

Paramore, After Laughter – It seems like any time Paramore comes out with a new album, it ends up on my year-end list. It’s rare to have a band as consistent as this. Four albums in a row that I’ve loved. That’s a rare feat and I’m happy to add Paramore’s dour-yet-bubblegum-but-really-sad-also-it’s-the-eighties album to the list.

Galactic Cowboys, Long Way Back to the Moon – If Bent Knee had the most challenging album of the year, Galactic Cowboys had the most comfortable. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The boys have come back from a seventeen-year hiatus with a quality album that’s just as good as the stuff from their heyday. Not that they actually had a heyday, mind you. This was a fantastic way to cap off the year and I hope this isn’t a one-off reunion.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Ayreon, The Source

Living Colour, Shade

Sons of Apollo, Psychotic Symphony

FAVORITE ALBUM FROM 2017 THAT TECHNICALLY WON’T BE OUT UNTIL 2018

Deliverance, The Subversive Kind – I was a backer for this album because Deliverance is one of my favorite bands of all time. This particular effort was billed as a return to the band’s thrash roots. Boy howdee is it ever. I think this is probably the band’s heaviest album to date. This won’t be out for a bit yet but I’ve been grooving on it since October.

FAVORITE ALBUM FROM 2016 THAT I DIDN’T GET TO HEAR UNTIL 2017

Lady Gaga, Joanne – I’ve had kind of a spotty relationship with Lady Gaga. Loved The Fame and The Fame Monster. Hated Born This Way. Liked ARTPOP okay but I didn’t think it was anything spectacular. Joanne, however, is brilliant. Gaga has matured significantly for this album and it shows. The title track is one of the best songs she’s written, period. Now I heard some great albums from 2016 in the first part of 2017 (Testament, A Tribe Called Quest, and Flotsam & Jetsam spring to mind) but Joanne was the one that really stuck with me. Especially since the more melancholy vibe of the album kind of fit with what I was going through with my father dying in February.

FAVORITE REISSUE OF 2017

Fear Not, Fear Not – I haven’t reviewed this one yet but it’s a pretty easy pick. Fear Not was a commercial Christian hard rock band that missed the big time by about two years. This debut came out just as alternative and grunge was altering the music landscape. It’s unfortunate because this reissue proves just how great this album is. Everything clicks, from the guitar tone to the production to the songs themselves. The cover art is also a bit more befitting a rock band as well.

FAVORITE RANDOM ALBUM I HATED FROM MY YOUTH BUT GREW TO LOVE IN 2017

P.I.D., The Chosen Ones – I liked Back to Back waaaaay back in the day and I bought The Chosen Ones this year because I wanted to hear some old school Christian rap that I hadn’t already heard a million times. I remember that I didn’t like this when I bought it originally but I couldn’t tell you why. This time, however, I got it. Whatever “it” is. Of all the old Christian rap I got this year, this one rose to the top of the heap as one I wanted to listen to again and again. I also really liked No Room 2 Breathe by Dynamic Twins but this year was the first I’d ever heard it.

ALBUMS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2018

Marmozets, Knowing What We Know Now

Ty Tabor, Alien Beans

Eraserhead, Eraserhead

And there you have it! What were some of your favorite albums from this year?

Galactic Cowboys - "Long Way Back To The Moon"

Galactic Cowboys - Long Way Back to the Moon
2017, Mascot

1. In the Clouds
2. Internal Masquerade
3. Blood In My Eyes
4. Next Joke
5. Zombies
6. Drama
7. Amisarewas
8. Hate Me
9. Losing Ourselves
10. Agenda
11. Long Way Back to the Moon
Bonus Tracks:
12. Believing the Hype
13. Say Goodbye To Utopia

I was pretty excited when Galactic Cowboys said they were going to reunite with the original lineup and do a new album. It wasn't long after they announced it that the album itself was released. I am pleased to say that it's awesome. It really is... and a great way to end they year. This new releases eschews the alternative rock sounds of the band's later era to focus on a sound that would comfortably fit between Space In Your Face and Machine Fish. It has a lot of the harmonies that characterized the first two albums with a bit more of the song structure of Machine Fish. "In the Clouds" was the first song the Cowboys ever wrote and it definitely sounds like something that would have been on the debut. "Next Joke" has the sickest breakdown in the middle - one of my favorite breakdowns of all time (right up next to the one in Deliverance's cover of "After Forever"). "Zombies" has become a favorite of both my daughters (which is no mean feat with the older one!). And the title track is epic and spacey - just like you would expect and want from the band. In fact, it's amazing how much this just sounds like the Galactic Cowboys of old. They didn't reinvent their sound or anything but.... it's so good! In my review for Alice Cooper's Paranormal how it didn't break any new ground but was still so good and that's kind of the case here. Long Way Back to the Moon is kind of a "by the numbers" Cowboys album but.... it's sooooo good! Comfortable and new at the same time. Honestly, it's the kind of thing I needed after kind of a crappy year (in general, not necessarily in music). It's not lost on me that the band commented on this exact phenomenon in "Believing the Hype" a hilariously meta-tune about getting the band back together. I really hope this isn't just a one-off reunion for the guys because I could go for a couple more of these.

Useless Fact: The band signed to Mascot for this album (making them label mates with Ayeron). In an interview they said they'd rather have a label do things for them instead of having to do everything themselves with crowdfunding. Hey, in this case I can't argue with the results.

Bushong, Tim - "O Come Emmanuel"

Bushong, Tim - O Come Emmanuel
2016, Rockhill

1. O Holy Night
2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
3. Joy to the World
4. Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
5. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
6. Do You Hear What I Hear?
7. Skating
8. What Child Is This?
9. Santa Claus Won't Come This Year
10. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
11. The Ballad of John Roberts

O Come Emmanuel was a gift from my good friend Uvulapie. Tim Bushong is a name one might recognize from bands like Lovewar and The Bleed (later Rex Carroll and the Bleed). This album does both things that I look for in Christmas music. First, it has some songs you don't hear very often ("Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" and "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). Second, the songs you have heard have their own unique twist. Songs like "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" are pretty familiar but Tim blings them out with some amazing instrumentation. Also included... a cool rock/jazz version of "Skating" from A Charlie Brown Christmas. I also enjoyed "Santa Claus Won't Come This Year"... and original? I think? It's a solid Christmas album all around and I'm very thankful that I have a cool friend like Uvulapie that sends me random stuff sometimes!

Useless Fact: I am kind of at a loss to understand The Ballad of John Roberts. Who is John Roberts? I have no idea.

Sia - "Everyday is Christmas"

Sia - Everyday is Christmas
2017, Atlantic

1. Santa's Coming For Us
2. Candy Cane Lane
3. Snowman
4. Snowflake
5. Ho Ho Ho
6. Puppies Are Forever
7. Sunshine
8. Underneath the Mistletoe
9. Everyday is Christmas
10. Underneath the Christmas Lights

While scoping the internet one day I heard Sia had a new Christmas album. Of the current crop of pop music I can honestly say I don't hate Sia. Also, all of the songs were originals. If it's something I'm looking for in new Christmas music it's a) originals or b) completely new spins on traditionals. The first song and video for the album was "Santa's Coming For Us" which, despite the kind of foreboding title is a fun, upbeat song with a cute little video. It stars Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard and reminds me a lot of Hall & Oates "Jingle Bell Rock" video from back in the day. The rest of the songs are pretty catchy as well. "Candy Cane Lane" and "Puppies Are Forever" have sort of an old Motown vibe. The only thing I have against this album is that the last three songs are kind of slow paced. Not bad, mind you, just slow. I could have used another upbeat ditty towards the end for sure. Aside from that, I definitely recommend it. Especially since the songs on here haven't been played to death.

Useless Fact: The videos for "Candy Cane Lane," "Ho Ho Ho," and "Underneath the Mistletoe" form a little trilogy about a little girl, her dog, and a mutant snowman.

Evanescence - "Synthesis"

Evanescence - Synthesis
2017, BMG

1. Overture
2. Never Go Back
3. Hi-Lo
4. My Heart is Broken
5. Lacrymosa
6. The End of the Dream
7. Bring Me To Life (Synthesis)
8. Unraveling [Interlude]
9. Imaginary
10. Secret Door
11. Lithium
12. Lost in Paradise
13. Your Star
14. My Immortal
15. The In-Between (Piano Solo)
16. Imperfection

When I heard Evanescence was going to put out an album full of old songs redone with orchestra and what not, I was pretty ambivalent about it. Add to that the fact that the You Tube concert my wife and I watched wasn't mixed very well. I had no idea about how I was going to feel about this album when I bought it. I must say, though, I am quite surprised - I really enjoyed this. It stands as a display of just how good Evanescence's songs are and how good Amy Lee's voice is. Sometimes I think people don't take them seriously because they're perceived as sort of faux-goth. Make no mistake, these are good songs and good arrangements. It's impressive that none of the passion or power of these tracks has been lost. Even without the crushing, heavy guitars they still have the power to reach me. It actually reminded me a little bit of Origin with the more industrial elements. There are two new songs on here as well, "Hi-Lo" and "Imperfection." The latter of which was kind of a grower, honestly. Hopefully we don't have to wait another six or so years for a new album.

Useless Fact: For some reason the CD case doesn't list tracks 8-11. It just goes right from 7 to 12. Weird.

Sons of Apollo - "Psychotic Symphony"

Sons of Apollo - Psychotic Symphony
2017, Inside Out

1. God of the Sun
2. Coming Home
3. Signs of the Time
4. Labyrinth
5. Alive
6. Lost in Oblivion
7. Figaro's Whore
8. Divine Addiction
9. Opus Maximus

I'm not one of those people that claimed that Mike Portnoy was really the brains behind Dream Theater. However, Dream Theater's Pornoy-less albums have been.... ugh. Not great. I found myself wondering whether Portnoy was really the brains after all. I also don't want to have to say of Sons of Apollo's debut something like "Wow... this is kind of what I've wanted from Dream Theater."

But...

Wow... this is kind of what I've wanted from Dream Theater. While Portnoy is maybe the most recognizable name in this group (at least to me) it's filled with experienced and talented players. Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, ex-Dream Theater Derek Sherinian, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, and Billy Sheehan. Quite a list there. So what do I mean when I say "this is kind of what I wanted from Dream Theater?" Well with all of that progressive virtuosity on display in songs like "God of the Sun," "Labyrinth," and "Opus Maximus" (an instrumental track), there are some serious monster hooks on this thing. "Coming Home" and "Alive" come to mind - but every song has something to keep you coming back. Everyone gets a chance to shine and Jeff Scott Soto's vocals are on point. He's got such a smooth delivery but it matches the music perfectly. It's got that perfect meld of progressiveness with pop/metal hooks. I also like the nice, thick guitar tone as it just makes the album sound stinkin' heavy.
Now, to be fair, I don't know if the boys here are breaking any new ground or anything. Fans of this genre will be pretty comfortable here with little in the way of genuine surprises. However, for me, the songs are great and while it might not be too innovative, it's an absolute blast to listen to.

Useless Fact: "Figaro's Whore" is marked as "explicit." "Figaro's Whore" is an instrumental. Let that sink in for a minute.