puresinner

Ignore All Detour Signs Encore Screening Review @ Sinema 14/10/11

2011-10-17T10:27:00.001+08:00

Having missed the first screening of Ignore All Detour Signs back in September, I was eager to jump on the opportunity of the second screening at Sinema located at Mt. Sophia. Having not bought the tickets earlier, I was pretty upset that I would have climbed 666 steps for nothing, but the dudes at Sinema were cool enough to let go two tickets for me and my friend.

Before I let you in on my impression on the documentary, here's a little synopsis for those who don't know what it is about. Ignore All Detour Signs(IADS) is a documentary that covers the trials and tribulations of Singapore band, I Am David Sparkle, as they prepare for their slot at South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival along with a minitour of the US.

Initially, to be perfectly honest, I thought that the documentary was going to be a bore and something really artsy fartsy. Yet, I was proven wrong as it was actually tastefully edited and never strayed away from the main subject matter of the whole documentary while still maintaining a certain dark and gloomy vibe overall. IADS manages to capture and display a band's dream and their courage to do anything to get themselves a place on the world stage. It also displays the friendship between the members even through the hardships they've faced just to play their music to more people. The soundtrack was also peppered with fellow labelmate, Amberhaze, so that makes another reason to catch IADS.

I am not so much of a movie reviewer so for anyone who needs a quick jolt of motivation and for any aspiring musicians (and I really mean ANY) out there, IADS is the documentary to catch. Just hope there's another screening in the near future.

Puresinner has reviewed I Am David Sparkle's sophomore album, Swords, click here to read it. We would also like to wish I Am David Sparkle an awesome Japan tour next month.

aenimic: This post was supposed to be up on the night of the second screening, but photobucket is being a real bitch. so I'm sorry for the late post. Whatever it is, do catch IADS if you ever get the chance. Sorry for no photos from the screening other than that one photo on my instagram. Here is also a ten minute snippet of the QnA session after the screening, youtube "Ignore All Detour Signs" to get the full QnA session.

Singapore's Best Alternative Halloween Party

2011-10-14T10:34:00.000+08:00

Sick of "Thriller" themed parties and Haunted Carnivals? Well, I've got just the right answer for you. Head on over to the Singapore Dark Alternative Movement's most anticipated event of the year. SDAM is known for their year round of Industrial and Goth club shows but Halloween is when they raise the dead with the heart pounding beats of dark Alternative music.

This year, they're back at HYDE (57B Clarke Quay) for some horrifying classics. In conjunction with the Breast Cancer Awareness month, feast your eyes with Kittenita (as "Skinless Julia" of Hallraiser) as she performs the Bellydance Horror like no other. Classic horror films compiled by Rocky Raccoon will be played throughout the whole event and veteran DJ Saito Nagasaki will keep you company with the familiar beats of EBM/Industrial/Futurepop spins.

As a treat for all you darklings, the first 30 guests will receive a decapitated gingerbread man and the first 10 guests will receive a free Halloween make-over by the professional make-up artist, Aries Yagami. So be sure to come dressed as terrifying as you can get cause things are going to get real ugly at HYDE.

HYDE BAR (3rd Floor)
57B Clarke Quay
Singapore 049846
+(65) 6532 5510
http://www.hyde-bar.com/
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56294831231

Singapore Dark Alternative Movement (SDAM)
http://www.sdam.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/5512868844/

10 Most Saddest Songs of All Time

2011-10-02T20:57:00.000+08:00

Bring out those tissues and handkerchiefs, puresinner has a list of songs to share with you about deaths and loneliness. This is my take on the saddest songs of all time by my favourite artists.

The Cure
Disintegration

Post-Rock pioneers, The Cure carries a lot of dark music and cryptic lyrics in their years of writing. A song which starts with the portrayal of selfishness of a person ended in a huge guilt. It hurts him dearly and even if he pretends wanting to be forgiven, he knows he doesn't deserve to be forgiven.

Elliott Smith

Between The Bars

A man with a low voice and coincidentally prefers to have a low profile, Oscar nominated Elliott Smith is truly missed. Composed with just a simple acoustic guitar, this emotional heartfelt song of loneliness can be felt from the pain he exudes through his music everywhere in his song. When you watch his performances, it's as if the audience isn't there and he's singing in the dark, in his lonely little world.http://youtu.be/p4cJv6s_Yjw

TOOL
10,000 Days

One of a few musicians who often names his musical creations by his mother's name, Maynard James Keenan is a very dedicated son. His grief and pain can be heard from this track and the anger of wanting to blame on someone for her wheelchair bound state for 27 years (equals to 10,000 days) until her death. All he wants is for her to be free from suffering and return home to heaven.

Nine Inch Nails

Hurt

Trent Reznor has always sang about loneliness and hate for many years and until he got married, which also marked the end of Nine Inch Nails. "Hurt" talks about a life being left by the ones he love most. The pain is what makes life real but not the people closest to him. You can almost hear his cries in every recording of this song and he keeps it sacred in his live shows. The song was also covered by the late Johnny Cash which most critics has reviewed it as the most tragic song sung by Cash because of his death soon after.

http://youtu.be/fb4qyuR7_cc

Dave Matthews
Gravedigger

On Dave Matthews' solo work, "Gravedigger" tell tales of beyond the grave. When you're strolling through a graveyard and you'll see all those names with the date of births and the date of deaths. You'll begin to link the stories behind the tombstones of a mother burying her two sons who was sacrificed in a war and a little boy who died in a bike crash. Matthews sees the gravedigger as the grim reaper, asking him to have some mercy on his death.
http://youtu.be/B75TieFknO4

Garbage

It's All Over But The Crying

What makes it harder for a breakup is when you know you still love them but you will never live to have a future with them. Shirley Manson cries about it being all over, life goes on but it still sucks. Every time I have a hard time in my relationship, this song keeps playing in my head.

Radiohead
Lucky

British band Radiohead makes the list of a few saddest songs sites with all different tracks. I choose "Lucky" because it affects me most ever since I first heard it and it still shares the emotion of losing something or someone from your life.

Pearl Jam

Last Kiss

A cover that made Pearl Jam's highest achievement in the Billboard Top 100 to date, "Last Kiss" echoes vocalist Eddie Vedder into a strong sympathy of pain for this teenage tragedy. The song was written in the early 1960s by Wayne Cochran, Joe Carpenter, Randall Hoyal & Bobby McGlon knowing that tragedy songs are big on making money. It was then unsuccessful but a few artists has since covered it. The song sings about a teenage couple out on a date and ended short after a traffic collision.

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Under The Bridge

One of the band's most successful singles, "Under The Bridge" tells the story of singer, Anthony Kiedis' battle with drugs in the city of angels. His struggle with heroin under the city's bridge where he usually gave in. He sings of his regrets when at that time felt like a whirlwind of adventure. It then ends with a group of choir singing together to Kiedis' hymn.

The Smashing Pumpkins

Tear

Another one of those mournings of a son, Billy Corgan also wrote this song after the event of his mother's death. There wasn't a real statement by him saying so but the album was written at the time of her death and it might have had an influence on it. The song might appears to be Corgan questioning his faith in god because of the pain he caused him, tearing him away from his loved one. This is by far one of the best Smashing Pumpkins tracks and the most emotional.

http://youtu.be/5Ds-fPZUdb0

Notable Mentions:

"Dead Souls" by Joy Division
"Hell Bent" by Kenna

Russian Circles Releases New Track "Mladek"

2011-09-30T09:33:00.000+08:00

For a track that's based on a supposedly "awesome" European dude, Mladek sounds a little like a punk rock track at the start. But the real awesomeness doesn't really show until the change of pace at the 1.50 minute mark, where the trio reminds fans that they're still the same guys who has created amazing tracks like Carpe (from Enter, 2006) and Harper Lewis (from Station, 2008).

Mladek definitely picks up from the 1.50 mark and keeps the off-kilter drumbeats going with the signature looping of Mike Sullivan and the contribution from Brian is still intense as ever with a booming bassline that seems to slide in and out in between guitar riffs.

Definitely a must-listen for Russian Circles fans, this track has gotten me really excited for the upcoming album.

Empros is set for release on October 25.

The full track can be streamed AND downloaded on this link.

Photo from MAGNUM MAG. From left: Brian Cook, Dave Turncrantz, Mike Sullivan.

"Hide & Seek" for Free Download

2011-09-30T07:42:00.000+08:00

D'in Cheung Releases his debut solo album and it's up on dincheung.bandcamp.com and reverbnation.com/dincheung now. Hide & Seek expresses D'in's love for Electronic music and guitars. The 9-track (excluding hidden tracks) album is avaible free on digital download or any price you decide where all proceeds go to the Japan Tsunami Charity fund. The album is also available in CD copies both Japanese and International versions for USD$8.

"Hide & Seek is a self recorded Electronic album I'd value and it's a job well done" - Septermber 12th, 2011

puresinner has the privilege of reviewing it earlier this month. You can check on the link below for the full review:

http://puresinner.blogspot.com/2011/09/din-cheung-hide-seek.html

Aliceffekt - Blam, Le Passage Sacrilege Review

2011-09-14T00:03:00.000+08:00

Label: 16d Records
Release date: August 6, 2011

Devine Lu Linvega is an illutrator, programmer, creates a language and also distributes his own music under the moniker of Aliceffekt. This Montreal based talent, goes a long way and travels far to get his inspirations.

Tracklist:

BLS01 - Looking forward to yesteryear with XC3N, Xyno & Chan
BLS02 - Passage.4 _ CanalSemestre
BLS03 - Passage.5 _ SemestreMaster
BLS04 - Passage.6 _ MasterDistributor
BLS05 - E Jumpstyle
BLS06 - Solar Flares and better

Aliceffekt recently took the stage at Montreal's famous Kinetik Festival 4.0 where bands and DJs of Industrial/EBM/Eletronic music worldwide shared this five day event. Vermillionth (available for digital download on xxiivv.com) was released based on that performance. Following that release is Blam, Le Passage Sacrilege, and it is available just after three month on the official website.

Devine Lu Linvega

First track starts off short with a distorted conversation clip that leads to a more upbeat track. As Aliceffekt is known for its noise dance tracks, its glitchy mad beats aren't going to be easy for the most seasoned club goers to understand. In fact, it is the reason why Aliceffekt's music has been categorized into the Industrial scene. A Post-Industrial chaos that draws it's experimental structure from pioneering acts such as Throbbing Gristle. Every track crosses into the next track perfectly seeing that all of his works are usually recorded for live performances. This is an album worth listening to when you're up for some headbanging or just kicking out some dance moves no matter what your mood brings you.

Blam, Le Passage Sacrilege is available for free download here at 320kbs mp3.

4 out of 7 sins

D'in Cheung - Hide & Seek Review

2011-09-12T11:24:00.005+08:00

Released: September 28, 2011
Label: None

Tracklists:

Pulse of A Living Dream
Sui Generis
Dreamer
Fairytale
Silent Suicide
Hide & Seek
Crying for the Lonely Star
Aurora Borealis
If Life...

D'in on right with Masquer

A man of a thousand talents with musical collaborations from the United States, Russia, Singapore to Hong Kong, D'in Cheung has mastered genres from Pop Rock, Goth to Metal. Born in the city of Singapore, D'in spent most of his time living in Hong Kong. Forming bands like Masquer and Crazimalz (TVB performance) which landed him a successful place in the music industry. After years of putting together his solo debut, Hide & Seek will finally see the light of day later this month.

Sajid Akbar

In this album, D'in captures an Electronic ambience throughout the entire album even with heavier guitar tracks such as "Silent Suicide", which has a structure similar to a progressive rock band I have heard before. "Dreamer" has a slow flow of gentle serenity and is my favorite track even though it's also the shortest track in the album. Biddy Low of Breakbeat Theory guest vocals on "Fairytale", a heartbreaking love song lyrically with a smashing guitar solo. Another guest vocalist is Sajid Akbar, an acoustic musician who contributes in "Hide & Seek", the title song. Somehow, I find his vocals a little restricted here, although it's quite apparent that the man has the ability to sing well. Not every track on this album sounds the same and every time you go through it, it draws more of your attention into understanding the layers, the music and the emotion of the project.

Hide & Seek is a self recorded Electronic album I'd value and it's a job well done among the hype of gimmicky club imitators invading the current music industry. The album will be available for download soon with updates from puresinner.

D'in Cheung

4 out of 7 sins
* Credits to the photographers. puresinner does not own any of the images.

The Birthday Massacre - Imaginary Monsters EP Review

2011-08-06T12:34:00.002+08:00

Toronto Synthrock band, The Birthday Massacre, recently made their upcoming Imaginary Monsters EP available for streaming on their myspace page. Imaginary Monsters features 3 new tracks and 5 remixed Pins and Needles tracks.

Tracklist

Forever
Burn Away
Left Behind
Pale (Kevvy Mental & Dave Ogilvie 'Rubber Unicorn Mix)
Control (tweaker mix)
Shallow Grave (Combichrist 'Good For Her' Mix)
Pins and Needles (SKOLD mix)
Shallow Grave (Assemblage 23 mix)

The 3 originals included in this EP are tracks that did not make it onto Pins and Needles and it definitely shows in the composition. As compared to the TBM tracks in the past, which were heavier and fast paced, these tracks feature a more softer and soothing approach even when there are heavy instrumental elements (Burn Away).

As for the remixes, I was glad to see names like tweaker and SKOLD remixing the tracks but the best remix would be last track on the album, a remix by Assemblage 23. In comparison to the other remixes on the EP, this track feels natural instead of feeling tacked on and brings a different dimension to an already great track.

Overall, this EP is a good addition to what was released in Pins and Needles but with three pretty lukewarm originals and 5 decent remixes, it is really not something worth going crazy over unless you're out to collect all of TBM's releases.

4 out of 7 sins

The EP is also available for streaming on TBM's myspace page. Click here to listen to it.

Puscifer releases single "Man Overboard"

2011-07-30T10:43:00.002+08:00

I can't believe I didn't do a post on this when it was out. Basically, this track brings back alot of the dark charm from the C is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference HERE) EP, and it's everything a Puscifer/MJK fan would ever ask for. The light guitar accompaniment coupled with the thump and hiss drumbeat, it's really reminiscent of The Undertaker.

Man Overboard is available for download on iTunes and Conditions of My Parole will be out on October 18.

Mastodon Releases First Single "Black Tongue"

2011-07-26T11:56:00.006+08:00

It's been two years since the critically acclaimed Crack The Skye was released, and now Mastodon has released their latest single, Black Tongue, with an accompanying video showing the process of creating the album art for the upcoming album, The Hunter.

On first impression, the vocals on this track is not reminiscent of anything Mastodon has ever done. In other words, it's too clean and clear but I'm kinda digging it overall with the music, cause that's where Mastodon rips it apart. And on a more fanboy comment, I love that part when Troy sings "You've run out of light/life/lies, you've run out of time", then an epic guitar section comes in.

So the new album will be released on September 27 and I'm psyched about it. Super psyched.

The Aggregate Requiem

2011-07-23T23:38:00.000+08:00

The Singapore Dark Alternative Movement presents their first benefit gig for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. A charity to stamp out prejudice, hate and intolerance everywhere against subcultures.

Presale tickets are now sold at Inokii at Far East Plaza (Scotts Road) at $10.

For more information on the charity, visit The Sophie Lancaster Foundation at htp://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com

Time: 5-10pm
Place: Se7en1nch (Clarke Quay near Zirch and facing the taxi stand)
Price: $15 (incl. 1 free drink)
Acts: D.E.A.D, Bear Culture, Murderfreak vs Ænimic, Savvia Lenore and a very special guest appearance as the opening act

Familiar Names, New Sites

2011-07-08T09:00:00.001+08:00

So it's official that the Singapore Dark Alternative Movement (SDAM) didn't only change their logo but went for a complete virtual overhaul and redid a new website for their upcoming events and articles regarding the dark alternative/goth scene in Singapore.

If you're unfamiliar with what SDAM does and what they are, I will give a small synopsis of what they do. SDAM ,basically, is a community of people with an interest in dark arts, music and literature. They will organise events that welcome people with similar interests to come together and hang out at several pubs and clubs while basking in the glitches and thumps of Industrial/EBM throughout the night. For more on what they specialise in and what they did for the dark alternative scene in the past, click on their swanky new logo.

And the another update to top up the whole week of new sites is the new Metal Horde Singapore website. Metal Horde Singapore (MHS), as many of you would've already derived from the name, these group of individuals handles the Singapore Metal Scene (as well as international Metal) news and music reviews. Click on the image to get your dosage of sweet, melodic brutality.

Upon further investigation, I've found out that the current main man of SDAM is also helping out with Metal Horde Singapore on top of his involvement in SDAM. So if you're interested in finding out more about him and all the other projects that he might have dipped his finger in, visit his personal website at http://dalsixvisser.com.

The RSS feeds of the aforementioned websites have been added to the right sidebar named "Links", so you can just click on that tab and you can view what has been recently updated on those sites.

So that's about it for now, check back for more reviews and news and long periods of nothing in between reviews and I would like to apologise for the awkward colour scheme and background to the site, I'll get to it soon.

NEW APC TRACK PERFORMED LIVE!

2011-07-05T10:25:00.007+08:00

Apparently APC has a new song out and it still has all the signature melancholy. I can't wait to hear the track when it's recorded illegally in HD and posted on youtube cause waiting for a band fronted by MJK to release something has gotten me pretty demoralised lately.

Especially with the recent "we're writing" comment made for the next Tool album on antiquiet.com.

Zed - The Invitation Preview

2011-07-05T10:08:00.005+08:00

Not much is known about this band but hell, does it bring me back through time. I am in love with the vocals and the guitar riffs. Definitely a must listen to 90s rock lovers, most of the songs reminds me alot of Soundgarden's Louder Than Love era and that's the best compliment any band can receive in my books.

Check them out here: Zedisded

That distortion is just full of crunch I can feel it in my teeth! I've only listened to a few of the tracks through their band camp website but I will try to get a full album review up once I'm done with all the delayed reviews of past releases.

In Each Hand A Cutlass - A Universe Made of Strings

2011-07-04T17:57:00.011+08:00

Released: June 24, 2011

The long awaited album by Singapore's rock supergroup has finally been released. So is it worth the wait?

Tracklist:

The Escape
Inspector Cutlass
Glaciers
The March
Helmets and Fiery Endings
Chocolate and The Lovelorn Girl
Marauder
White Boxes
End of The Line
Hammering The Bones
A Universe of Strings

In Each Hand A Cutlass(IEHAC) consists of Daniel Sassoon(guitars), Roland Lim(guitars), Jordan Cheng(drums) and Amanda Ling(keys/samples). They've recently changed their bassist, so I'm not too sure on whether the new bassic is part of the studio recording or just the live band line up.

Now on to the tracks in the album. Intro track, The Escape creates a build up of sounds to the hard-hitting and catchy, Inspector Cutlass, which features an addictive drum intro that builds up into a barrage of guitars and groovy bass slapping that just goes all out to hook you in and makes you wanting for more.

Next up, Glaciers, one of IEHAC's most epic compositions in the whole album. Clocking in at a little more than 8 minutes, it begins with a dreamy intro that slowly pulls you in and bashes you aurally with its abrupt and loud bridge/breakdown. This song is slow at its build up but once it has reached its climax, you'd definitely place it on repeat.

Next interlude, The March, brings us to the emotionally-charged Helmets and Fiery Endings. Other than the bridge in the track which features a little of that synth/keyboard from Amanda Ling, the guitar playing carries most of the song with its melodic riffs and fills. Following up next is the feel good track, Chocolate and The Lovelorn Girl. To be honest to label it "feel good" is a tad wrong, but as compared to the other compositions in the album, Chocolate and The Lovelorn Girl is more of a lush and soothing journey of textural sounds woven together than a sonic attack to our eardrums. Thus the "feely goodyness" of it.

IEHAC's ambitious approach to songwriting really takes center stage with tracks Marauder, White Boxes and my personal favourite, Hammering The Bones, which features an intro that will certainly raise eyebrows. With its infectious guitar and synth combo that captures your attention, it later teeters off to a purposefully off-timed bridge that's later patched back together fluidly with a crunchy guitar riff and thumping drum line. Definitely a must-listen for progressive music lovers.

In a full overview of the album, A Universe Made of Strings is progressively self-indulgent but still tries to maintain a certain catchiness and familiarity to each of the songs. It might turn off some conventional rock lovers but for those who would like to listen to creativity being tested, they will love A Universe Made of Strings.

However, the few downfalls in the album is that it sometimes gets a little too self-indulgent and the guitar wizardry takes too big of a space on the album cause there times in the album that I felt like there should be something else in place but it usually gets cut short by the brilliant guitar work. I'm not trying to tell IEHAC how they should write their songs, but after listening to the album, I think some of us would agree that the song writing of the album mostly revolves around guitar parts rather than the accompanying instruments.

6 out of 7 sins

In Each Hand A Cutlass: The Amaranthine Voyage

2011-06-13T12:07:00.007+08:00

Daniel Sassoon, Jordan Cheng, Amanda Ling, Roland Lim

Experimental rock band, In Each Hand A Cutlass will be performing on the 24th of June, 2011 at Esplanade Recital Studio. For more details, click here.

I'm not too sure if this is an album release or just a gig to remind people how awesome they are, but irregardless of the reason, you have to be there if you're a fan of experimental and ambient music that covers a broad range of genres. So be there to get your dosage of quality music.

I apologise for the lack of words for this gig, but I really have not much to mention other than to be there and experience the awesomeness yourself. However one thing I do wonder is, where's the bassist?

For more In Each Hand A Cutlass, visit myspace.com/iehac

Update: Their album, A Universe Made of Strings, will be released on the night itself.

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

2011-06-13T11:01:00.009+08:00

Released: April 12, 2011
Label: RCA

I don't know if I just have a strange affinity towards cleanly produced pop-alternative-rock or I'm just drawn to Dave's good looks or just the charming choruses that you will remember all the way to your deathbed, but the latest Foo offering has definitely made me wanting for more.

Tracklist:

Bridge Burning
Rope
Dear Rosemary
White Limo
Arlandria
These Days
Back & Forth
A Matter of Time
Miss The Misery
I Should Have Known
Walk

Wasting Light wastes no time in delivering the good stuff with the intro track Bridge Burning, second single (or was it first?) Rope and followed by the beautiful Dear Rosemary. Just when you thought that those were the only good tracks you'll get in the whole album, you'll be surprised by the gritty and fuzzy, White Limo, that brings you all around Kickass Ave, and drops you off at Arlandria for a more balanced Foos experience with a guitar and drums only verse and a sing-along chorus that will stick to you longer than a coffee stain.

These Days is classic a Foo Fighters "half-ballad-half-rocking out" track a la Resolve out of In Your Honor Disc 1 (2005). After a close 5 minutes of feeling a little melancholic, Back & Forth and Miss The Misery brings back a little of the energy from the first half of the album with the latter being a real firecracker with its tasteful layering of guitar parts and almost unforgettable chorus (duh).

So in classic Foo Fighters fashion, the second half of Wasting Light does lack a little of the energy of the first half and shows a more mature Foo Fighters, but that is not to say it lacks the quality. I Should Have Known and the latest single, Walk, definitely shows a mature side of a band that knows how to express themselves in different ways and not just by wailing and shouting and crashing into their instruments.

Wasting Light, as a whole, is an amazing Foo Fighters album and whatever you're looking for, whatever your mood is, this album has got what you need.

7 out of 7 sins

New Icarus Line Track!

2011-06-13T10:39:00.006+08:00

photo courtesy of buddyhead.com

Thanks to Buddyhead.com for the heads up to their new track.

First impressions on my first listen to this new track is that, I really dig that kickass guitar, bass and drum groove. I love how the guitar sounds, especially the rhythm parts. I can only imagine how it sounds in the final studio (LP) version.

Let It Fall (Live Band Demo Sunset Sound) by The Icarus Line _ Miracle

And here is the link to the Buddyhead article.

-+-+-

On other news, I'm gonna try to make frequent updates from now on cause I've finally acquired my pink card of freedom. So here's to more interesting news on the alternative side of the music universe. So check this space for future updates. Thanks.

Billy Howerdel Talks About Possible New A Perfect Circle Album

2011-05-10T16:36:00.002+08:00

As fans of A Perfect Circle already know, the band is back and performing at big festivals (Rock On The Range, Lollapalooza) this year. But the main question has always been "Will there ever be a new APC album?". That answer has finally been given (kinda) by mastermind/guitarist of APC, Howerdel in an interview with Gotham Radio.

The full interview can be HEARD here.

Cosmic Armchair Releases Free Remix Download

2011-05-05T01:26:00.002+08:00

Just a few more days into deciding the future of Singapore, Cosmic Armchair has put up a remix of Marching of the Day to remind you to vote wisely on the General Election 2011. Here's a video of the Marching of the Day (Election Mix):

The Electronic-Pop duo has also made the remix available for download at their ReverbNation page here. Cross The Line (Club Remix) is also available for download.

Cosmic Ben & Cosmic Jane

Gibson Interviews Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle

2011-03-30T23:19:00.009+08:00

Photo: Gibson.com

With the recent announcements of tour dates, A Perfect Circle is pretty much back from the dead (albeit the small shows that were performed back in 2010). So it came as a nice surprise to see that Gibson went to conduct an interview with one of the main songwriters and founding members of this supergroup.

In the interview, he covers on the process of getting his signature sound from the records back on stage, how ASHES dIVIDE changed his method of approach to playing and composing his music and his favourite guitars for studio recording as well as what he brings on the road along with him. He also discusses about this new song that he's composing currently. Any APC news is good news to me!

Full interview can be read here: Gibson.com

Foo Fighters Releases Single

2011-02-27T12:55:00.006+08:00

Just last week, I was impressed with their "non-single" track, White Limo. 4 days ago, Foo Fighters released their first official single, Rope, off their upcoming album, Wasting Light.

The track can be heard from this url:
http://rope.foofighters.com/

Based on first listen-through, this track is definitely more radio friendly than White Limo and has a very strong resemblance to QoTSA tracks in the sense that it's pretty groovy. But, Dave and gang definitely kept true to the Foos formula in that chorus, just listen to it. And there's a [proper] solo somewhere near the final chorus, lolwut?

Wasting Light is set to be released on April 12th. Looking forward to it!

Foo Fighters Releases New Video and Album Tracklist

2011-02-17T09:32:00.004+08:00

Foo Fighters recently released a new music video for White Limo, a track from their upcoming new album Wasting Light. The video features members of Foo Fighters (lol), Lemmy Kilmister and Dave's wife, Jordyn.

Personally, this new track really reminds me alot of the first, self-titled album and that gets me really psyched to get it once it's released.

Here is the tracklist for Wasting Light:

01. Bridge Burning
02. Rope
03. Dear Rosemary
04. White Limo
05. Arlandria
06. These Days
07. Back & Forth
08. A Matter of Time
09. Miss the Misery
10. I Should Have Known
11. Walk

This is also the first album from the Foo Fighters that actually features Nirvana's bassist Krist Novoselic. In an overall view, it's pretty much a Nirvana reunion sans Kurt Cobain (RIP), considering Pat Smear joined The Foos during their Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace tour.

Soundgarden Begins Work On New Album

2011-02-17T09:09:00.005+08:00

Been awhile since we've heard from these Grunge giants, the last time was during their small tour in 2010 where they actually played the creepily awesome Beyond The Wheel without Chris sounding like he's being grated like cheese. Video can be seen below and courtesy of Soundgarden off of their youtube channel.

They posted the following update on their official website:

"Over the past few months, we've been busy jamming, writing and hanging out together — exploring the creative aspect of being SOUNDGARDEN. It feels great. We have some cool new songs that we are going to record very soon.

"Thank you for all of the support!

Loudest of Love,

Ben, Chris , Kim and Matt"

Just seeing Kim's name included in that statement is already making me anticipate this album very badly. Here's hoping that the album will be released sooner than later cause they might just part ways again.

Photos of their recording process can be viewed here or from their official Facebook page.

The last new material that came from Soundgarden was in the form of a single called Black Rain which was included in their 2010 compilation album, Telephantasm. Kim Thayil also wrote and composed a new piece which is available on iTunes called The Telephantasm.

Of Fire and Spirals (BDO Perth 2011)

2011-02-13T15:45:00.003+08:00

Prelude

Touching down in Perth at about 40 mins to midnight on February 4 with a bad sinus irritation and Skylar, I wasn't really in the best shape for a day out in the sun and sweat. But for the sake of catching several top tier bands perform at a music festival for the first time, I just had to push on and consume as much paracetamol as possible.

Amanda "fucking" Palmer's secret Perth show

Enough about how I felt, the trip to Perth was a very fruitful one as Amanda Palmer sneaked a ninja gig the night before BDO, Adam Jones crashed into my goth shopping trip with Skylar and I get to catch 2 bands that I really love in a single day.

I'll start with the Amanda Palmer secret show at Perth's Cultural Center. Freezing my balls, ass and everything for an hour before she arrived to the little man-made pond with 4 additional members. "Are you guys waiting for Amanda Palmer too?" she asked the hopeful fans sitting around the show area before she made her way down to the "stage".

I am not really a Dresden Dolls fan, let alone listened to any Amanda Palmer music, but I have to say she really does put in alot of effort to entertain the fans even if it's an unpaid show. Based on that night, she's a true performer with overflowing charisma that I could ever dream to have. Armed with just a ukelele and a few percussive instruments, she made an otherwise empty setting into a lively area of performance and music.

We managed to capture some photos and a video of her performance that night, though the quality soundwise might be a little low due to the unorthodox location of the performance (right beside the Fringe World stage, that had a myriad of bands and performers doing their own thing).

At the end of the whole performance, Amanda invited everyone to purchase her latest EP which costs only 69c off of her website and to take a few photos with her and her friends but as for me, I was already rushing back to the confines of my bunking. Reason being, the night was too cold and I had little to warm myself with. Makes me wonder how Amanda was able to keep going with just a bustier and bra on. Respect!

Das BDO Perth 2011

Waking up feeling less than ready for a day of frolicking around and headbanging to my favourite bands, we reached Claremont Showgrounds at about 12.40pm, the place was filled with music and people. Given a free energy drink that tasted nothing like an energy drink, we moved into the Blue and Orange stage areas in search of the Merch stand.

Right: Orange Stage, Left: Blue Stage

The merch stand had a variety of hoodies, t-shirts, caps from most of the bands that were performing that day. Prices ranged around AUS$80 - $30. Got myself a Tool t-shirt and off we went to catch the band that was performing at the Orange Stage.

Dead Letter Circus 12.30-1.20pm (Orange Stage)

Dead Letter Circus, an alternative rock band hailing from Brisbane, was performing on stage. Eventhough we've never heard of their music before, the guitar riffs and crashing of the drums was enough to take more than a little glance at the band. Band's main vocalist, Kim Benzie reminds me alot of Richard Patrick (Filter) by way of body structure. High-pitched wailing with cleverly constructed musical parts and a really tight live set up, Dead Letter Circus is definitely a band to check out if you're looking for new poison for your eardrums.

Click here to listen to Dead Letter Circus.

Airbourne 1.20-2.10pm (Blue Stage)

Taking the Blue Stage right after Dead Letter Circus, Airbourne wastes little to introduction and jumps straight to their anthemic rock music to pull in the crowd. Not letting such an opportunity of catching one of the most electrifying rock n' roll bands in action slide, I moved to the Blue stage and was really impressed by Joel's unlimited energy throughout their 50 minute set. Midway through their set, Joel climbed the rafters to take his spot at the top to play a guitar solo. At about 6-7 storeys above ground, he plays his solo to the cheers of
his fans.

After ending his feat of bravery for rock n' roll, Joel climbs down and proceeds to open cans of beer...by smashing them on his head. Fizz and sweat, these cans were thrown to the outreached hands of Airbourne's fans. As exciting as their set was, the crowd was not as huge as when the next act took the Orange stage. Respect to Joel for putting up a hell of a show for the lucky fans and bystanders that actually gave Airbourne a chance to fire up BDO 2011.

Joel on the rafters

Lupe Fiasco 2.10-3.00pm (Orange Stage)
With a kickass band to back him up, Lupe had control of the huge crowd of jumping, kissing, making out, grinding, bopping, pushing pre-adolescent fans who went crazy for each song he churns out, especially when he took out his shirt. Apologies to all Lupe fans for my complete ignorance to the music that he makes, but all I could think of was to get to the front of the Orange stage by the end of his set, to be in front when Deftones takes the stage at 3.50pm in the fucking scorching afternoon.

Bliss n Eso (3.00-3.50pm (Blue Stage)

Apologies to all Bliss n Eso fans too, I couldn't care less to pay attention to their music other than to listen to the sick DJ scratch breakdown that they had in the middle of their set. The rest was just filled with "DEEEEEFFFTOOOOOONEEES, DEEEEEFFFFFTOOOOOONES" chanting coming from the Orange Stage.

Deftones 3.50-4.40pm (Orange Stage)

The first out of three most anticipated bands of the day for Puresinner. Deftones came on stage with new bassist Sergio Vega, whom does a good job filling in for Chi Cheng. He even heard a fan shouting at him "Where's Chi?". From his lips movement (too loud, couldn't hear his voice), he mentioned "He's getting better." Breaking out with hits from older albums and a few from the latest album, Diamond Eyes, fans were mesmerised by the on-pitch Chino vocals and intense guitar parts that Stef can never fail to deliver.

After a number of songs in, Chino came down from the stage and sang with the crowd. Girls went crazy as they wanted to get their hands on Chino, while the guys rushed forward to get a chance to sing on the mic. Great showmanship never fails to make a simple, no-prop rock show interesting.

Chino making fans go wild

Donning shades and armed with his guitar for slower tunes, Chino was really at his best performing level. I have no negative issues to point out from the Deftones set. Crowd was good, sound was amazing, nothing disappointed. Now comes the long (or so we thought) wait for the main bands of the day, Rammstein and Tool.

Birds of Tokyo 4.40-5.30pm (Blue Stage)

Sorry for the fans of Birds of Tokyo, I stayed at the Orange stage for this one. So I didn't get a chance to hear what kind of music or were they good.

John Butler Trio 5.30-6.30pm (Orange Stage)

Never listened to them before, but being at the front for their set makes me realise that this trio is an amazingly talented group. John Butler kicking out jams on acoustic guitars (note: acoustic guitars) that would make electric guitar musicians just cower and cry (caught Rammstein's Richard Z admiring John Butler's solo playing at one point), while Byron Luiters handles the lower end of things with his double bass and electric bass guitars and Nicky Bomba belting out delectable drumbeats.

Richard Z. Kruspe of Rammstein watching JBT

Hailing from Fremantle initially, the support was pretty big and I have to admit that John and the band deserves every bit of it. Not really huge on stage presence as most of the members are doubling up as backing vocals while John handles the main bulk of singing. Their live set never failed to entertain through the basis of any music performance, which is the music. Huge respect to the John Butler Trio, I will be looking forward to discovering more of their music.

Iggy Pop and The Stooges 6.30-7.30pm (Blue Stage)

Amazing how this 63 year old man could still prance around and spit at cameras whenever he wants. He's 63! Most 63 year olds usually tone down their performances when they grow older, but not for this godfather of punk. He went all out, though the Rammstein crowd from where I was waiting were getting really impatient to get him off the stage and catching their German Sextet earlier. Respect for Iggy Pop, legendary in both the punk scene and the physical fitness scene (if there is one).

Rammstein 7.30-8.30pm (Orange Stage)

Here they are, German and proud as they flew Germany's flag while Till sung the opening lines for "Rammleid". Epic and huge, Rammstein blasted hits from old albums as well as from the latest album. Guitar riffs smashed faces in, fireworks nearly made our ears bleed, fire that scorched those that were standing right in front of the stage and stage theatrics that never fails to entertain the fans.

Du Riecht So Gut

Benzin

Big negative point would be the incessant push from the back trying to get to the barricade. Those guys need to relax, cause the view from the barricade is as good as when you're about 2 spaces back. Really bad group of fans, rowdy and unreasonable. I know it's Rammstein, I know it's heavy and hard-hitting music, but that doesn't mean you should kick the person whose already gotten the front row. Just stand where you are, you aren't that far from the barricade if you've actually used your brains.

Till The Chef cooking Flake

Ok, enough ranting. Rammstein was brilliant! Tight on stage, sounds just like their album, maybe better due to the extended parts and Till actually getting better at singing and burning fans (yes, he did!). Sonne, Benzin, Ich Will, Waidmann's Heil, Rammleid, Du Riecht So Gut, Feuer Frei!, Mein Teil, Weiner Blut, Links 2-3-4, Keine Lust and Pussy were played. All hits, for 60 minutes. Intense and bone crushing. Rammstein is a band that you MUST experience at least once in your lifetime (that's if you're into heavy music).

Feuer Frei!

At the end of their last song, Pussy, with Till saddling a huge cannon spewing white foam, Till invited the whole band to stand at the front of the stage and he thanked the fans.

Le Chant de Sirenes (15 minutes of the sirens sounding between Rammstein and Tool)

During this time, I was making my way to the Blue stage to catch the band that was the main reason I flew to Perth.

Tool 8.45-10.00pm (Blue Stage)

Before writing anything else, this is the setlist:
1. Leary Speech/Jambi
2. The Pot
3. Vicarious
4. 46&2
5. Eon Blue Apocalypse/The Patient (YEAH!)
6. Flood
7. Schism (ext)
8. Lateralus (ext.)
9. Ænema
10. Stinkfist

Entering the stage with a huge martini glass, Adam Jones, Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor and Maynard J. Keenan took their more than familiar spots on stage and the show was on. Before they came on stage, the Timothy Leary speech made me anticipate Third Eye as an opener (and that would be amazing), but alas, Jambi was played instead.

It was an awesome visual and aural experience from start to end as Adam Jones fed off the basslines from Justin and Danny Carey spoiling everyone's headbanging moments each time with his off-kilter drumbeats. One problem though, I could not hear Maynard most of the time from where I was standing (and it wasn't even that far from the stage). That would be the only problem and disappointment for the whole live set.

The whole time, I was just standing there in awe as I absorbed every single laser, flash of light and musical note that Tool delivered. It was then that I realised that Tool is definitely an experience to watch live and thus, that gives weight to their reasons for not making a live DVD after so long. I just stood there rooted, it was beautiful.

Extended Schism was amazing, but the true mind blowing moment was Lateralus. Extended with a new riff from Adam Jones that has never been played before for other extended Lateralus in the past, I just hope that is part of a new song they're developing. Danny Carey was spot on for each and every track, it's amazing to watch him drum with extreme precision though Maynard only awarded him a 62 for his drumming on the extended part of Lateralus.

At the end of the whole set, Maynard mentioned "..because this is the last big day out, I am going to do something out of character, and smoke a cigar." and he lit up a cigar and smoked it. Very out of character as Maynard has been known to be against smoking. Oh well, it WAS the last day of the BDO tour for them.

P.S Sorry, we didn't get alot of photos for Tool as my camera's battery depleted.

End of BDO 2011

Experiencing several bands that I've always wanted to catch live was amazing, though my body was beat and I was really tired from the lack of sleep from the night prior to BDO, I could never forget catching Rammstein and Tool on the same day.

Hope you've enjoyed my recollection of Puresinner's trip to Perth to be a part of BDO 2011. More photos are available for viewing on our flikr website. Next up would be Deftones Live In Singapore!

Back from Big Day Out Perth 2011 Preview

2011-02-08T18:38:00.004+08:00

On 3rd of February 2011, both me and Skylar embarked on our journey to Big Day Out Perth 2011. While we were in sunny Perth, we got the chance to be entertained by Amanda "fucking" Palmer's ninja sideshow, met the elusive Adam Jones in one of the goth/alternative fashion stores located along Roe Street and finally, got our first experience at an international music festival, BDO 2011.

I am trying to gather my words to write a good recollection of everything that happened during BDO 2011, so I will try my best to make a brief yet solid recollection of it by my next post (which will happen later today, or if time doesn't permit by this weekend). For now, I will just leave a few photos to tantalise your appetite.

Amanda Palmer performing at Perth Cultural Centre

The Orange & Blue Stage

Airbourne

Deftones taking the stage after Lupe Fiasco


John Butler Trio

Rammstein

That's all for now, but do check back as I will try my best to review each of the shows I got to catch at BDO 2011 in the upcoming post.

Year of the Rabbit

2011-02-02T00:00:00.003+08:00

Happy Chinese Year and happy holidays to all you sinners out there. As you can see we have finally updated the blog with new designs! Our friend, Iva Sadon has done a great job in designing the blog logo. We hope you'll continue to vist our blog and enjoy reading our reviews as well as the new layout here on puresinner.

We'll be at Australia's Big Day Out 2011 in Perth this weekend. Can't wait to see Deftones, Rammstein and Tool! Hope we'll have some good footage to share on this blog.

Also, don't forget to check out our January write-ups of I Am David Sparkle, Amberhaze and Peaches!

Amberhaze - Raleigh EP Review

2011-01-29T00:00:00.025+08:00

Released: January 11, 2011
Label: KittyWu Records

Giuliano Gullotti, or better known as Amberhaze, is a multi-instrumentalist born in Messina, Italy but found his muse on the shores of Singapore. His debut full-length album, Then We Saw The Stars Again, got his musical project signed under KittyWu Records back in 2009. Since then, he has gained a reputation for his unique ambience-meets-shoegaze brand of music and has performed many shows throughout the island including Singapore's BayBeats, a festival gig promoting independent local and newcoming musicians.

Recently, sailed off to the Canada, Giuliano said "This is my first winter in a while. After living on the equator for so long, you forget what makes cold seasons so special: the light changes, the nights grow longer, things become still and then it starts snowing..
I hadn't seen snow in a while, either. Or leaves falling". It might just be the weather over there that helped him get the inspiration for his latest release, Raleigh EP.

Pumpkinseed has a chilling start that brings images of a broken down, vacant room that was made for a child. The when the distant drums comes crashing in, everything just gets much more moodier and darker, making you feel like you're all alone with nothing but a broken music box in front of you. Definitely something that tugs on your loneliness and leaves you wanting for more.

However, the next track, Howland, leaves plenty to be desired in terms of musicality. It is a brilliant ambience track, but it never really did hit the high note that Pumpkinseed managed to leave in our eardrums. It has a low hum for most of the track, and near the end when everything starts to settle together in classic Amberhaze fashion, it just never really did reach a level where you just want to crumple and cry.

In From Foxtpoint To Vermont Square, dark reverberish piano mating with haunting strings synths makes a return. This track reminds us alot of the works of Clint Mansell's Moon, and as huge fans of Clint Mansell here at Puresinner, we have to give this track a thumbs up.

The C.P.R. (Beyond Christie), which is supposedly the ending to the industrial drums-laced The C.P.R. With nothing but a long engine hum, it's not exactly something that everyone would enjoy listening to. Finally, Vermont Square (First Snow) ends with a less intense track to the whole package. A bit of a letdown.

Giuliano Gullotti

With all six tracks, this EP makes it a worthwhile listening because firstly, it's free. Why else would you not get the EP? And secondly, it's something that you would definitely want to switch on loud in headphones with the lights down and just lie down and absorb every single note, static and chime this instrumentalist has to offer. Raleigh EP manages to dive deeper into what made Then We Saw The Stars Again a brilliant instrumental album.

5 out of 7 sins

I Am David Sparkle - Swords Review

2011-01-29T00:00:00.024+08:00

Release date: December 3, 2010
Record label: KittyWu Records

Taken their name off a Malaysian artist, M. Daud Kilau, the band does not actually compose the same genre as him. I Am David Sparkle are the forefathers of Singapore Instrumental/Post-Rock of today. Swords sees the band's second full-length effort after four years of releasing EPs and compilations.

Amran Khamis, Djohan Johari, Farizwan Fajari, Zahir Sanosi

From the opening with Wild Horses to the end with Sleep, Amran and the guys have sent us through an ocean filled with beautiful glowing sea creatures (that are angsty at times. A truly magical and powerful soundscape adventure. Compared to their début, this album has less pre-programmed sounds and samples and personally, I think this is mellower than their début.

The distant sounding of drums in Wild Horses kind of gets you prepared for the ultimate guitar intro. You don't even have to wait for the vocals to be able to feel the emotions cause there won't be any vocals to support any gap anywhere in Swords. It is a very intense intro track to an album full of more intensity. Ghostfuck and A Bad Corpse (Your Majesty) is a two-song epic that has to be divided into two to avoid the risk of exceeding any listener's intensity threshold. Though the latter track is heavier and much aggressive than the former it is still as intense as the intro track.

Heights could easily be a good opening track for playing live as well as Machine which I think they have. Then there's Jangan and Everybody Loves Somebody two of my favourite tracks on the album, steps back from the harsh guitars and falls to a softer dreamy side of the band. Sleep reminds me of what Radiohead would write. Which is not a bad thing at all.

I have been listening to this album for almost a whole month trying to understand how to explain these tracks. But seriously, listen to it and you will understand. Not much words should explain Swords as much as their music can.

After reading this far into the review, you must have noticed how many times the word "Intense" have appeared, it's not due to our lack of a better word but that is exactly what this album is. Pure intensity and intertwining guitar lines that just seems to go everywhere and anywhere and bass lines and drums that keep mashing on your ear drums. MUST HAVE!

6 out of 7 sins

Peaches DJs at Home Club

2011-01-28T00:00:00.008+08:00

Since Peaches' performance at Zirca last year, everyone wanted more from her. Now, she's back, a year later, at Home Club performing a DJ set. Guess she wanted more from Singapore too.

Friday night's Beat! features Joe Ng and Ginette Chittick on deck along with Peaches as the guest DJ of the night. Appearing on stage in nude leotard and a very "booby" shoulder pad outfit. Crowd went crazy and the show is on. A full house at Home Club, temperature rose and everything became hot and wild. Here are some pictures and videos that my lovely friend, Iva Sadon and I captured for you sinners:

Tool Rehearses for BDO Australia 2011

2011-01-09T09:33:00.004+08:00

It's been a long time since we've last heard from Tool, other than their mini 2010 tour and the upcoming BDO mainstage set in February. These are a few clips to get those mouths salivating for an awesome year of Tool touring and hopefully an album release.

Thanks Maynard!

Webzine Turned Magazine: Zetalambmary's debut release

2011-01-07T23:19:00.007+08:00

ZETALAMBMARY started off as a music blog by Wraith and Zen. They are the sole contributors to reviews, news and articles. Anything and everything on Metal. Now three years later, January 2011, they have come up with a physical copy available to all metal fans in Singapore.

The magazine will be sold at:

Inokii
#03-30, Far East Plaza, Singapore.

A list of more available locations will be updates soon. Check back for more information on the debut issue.

UPDATES:

"Due to unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances, printing process is kind of interrupted at the moment. Hardcopies will probably only be out by early February." - Zetalambmary on Facebook.com

Goodbye 2010

2011-01-01T17:49:00.008+08:00

Last year, we have made this blog public to everyone and anyone with an interest in local and/or alternative music. We thank those who visit us often to read, watch and mock our amateurish posts. Without you, we will not continue.

We now record live shows on a High Definition camera. I have a few videos uploaded from the December shows at Home Club. Feel free to check them out:

Electromashick - December 17th

IDENTITE: 10 YEARS OF RSC FEAT. I AM DAVID SPARKLE - December 31st

Happy new year friends and foes. Here's to MMXI!

KMFDM Takes Over The Internet

2010-12-10T21:07:00.001+08:00

After being away since Blitz, Sascha and Co. returns with the unique rebellious sounds of KMFDM. This time, they're taking over the net.

Click here to listen to the track.

Looking forward to Zilch's 2011 release.

The Noose - APC (Live 2010) & Interview with MJK

2010-11-17T00:27:00.001+08:00

Finally found the HD version, so I've decided to share it here.

An interview with Maynard on Carson Daly discussing his first steps into the wine business and his current vocal prowess as compared to his past vocal achievements.

Lunarin Goes Acoustic @ Esplanade Library (13/11/10)

2010-11-17T00:11:00.006+08:00

When I first heard of Lunarin's latest gig at Esplanade Library, I knew I had to be there. Having been to their acoustic shows twice (something from STOMP.sg and the other being an acoustic set at the Esplanade Library too), they've always made awesome acoustic versions of their album tracks and they've introduced more unreleased material through acoustic shows than their shows. With the mention of them playing Midas (from Duae, their latest album), I was psyched to make it to the show even when I wasn't feeling all too great that particular afternoon.

Reaching a little around 2.45pm, I managed to catch the finishing bits of Kevin Matthews' set and as much as I'm not a fan of the usual vocals+acoustic guitar+songwriting+vocalist thing, I have to admit that Kevin has one hell of an amazing singing voice. That dude could lull me to sleep with his smooth falsetto parts and perfectly pitched singing. I have to apologise for my lack of knowledge on his music as my main priority of being there has, from the start, being Lunarin's acoustic performance (Sorry Kevin, Debra and Vanessa).

Entering the rather small performance area a little after 3pm, Lunarin had two other members in the lineup, Victor Ong on Cello and Natalie Soh on Violin. These two additional instrumentalists proved vital in creating that almost haunting ambience to Lunarin's acoustic set.

from left: Victor Ong (cello), Linda Ong (bass/guitar), Ho Kah Wye (guitar), Loo Eng Teck (drums, keys, backing vocals), Natalie Soh (violin). Photo credit to Vanessa Faith Tan.

Setlist:

Ghost
22
Right of Sleep
Wednesday
Midas
Coralline

Videos of each performance can be viewed under the Media Archive section.

Personal favourites of the afternoon were 22, Wednesday and Coralline.

Right of Sleep being one of two low points of the whole acoustic set (the other being the duration of the set) and eventhough I really enjoyed the track's chorus being catchy and all, that's when I realised why this track never stuck on to me. Lunarin has never played something as fundamentally pop as this. Then I started to squirm and writhe with distaste to the thought of this song being cultivated in the dark mountain caves where Lunarin records their dark masterpieces of melancholy and despair.

I kid with that comment, but in a nutshell, Right of Sleep can be reviewed as "Too pop, doesn't work for me, might work for others."

Other than that, I found the other 5 songs to be real solid acoustic pieces and I sure hope that there'll be an acoustic EP in the near future. Watch the videos and you'd agree with me.

Deftones Butcher Groupies In Latest Music Video

2010-11-01T21:39:00.005+08:00

Deftones took us into a beautiful underworld with their 3rd single, Sextape, back in September. They've returned with a new single off their current album, Diamond Eyes (album review here), and this time they've opted for a much more darker and sex-laced approach to their music video. Although no killing is involved, you get to see a topless Chino, so enjoy!

You've Seen The Butcher is the fourth single off Diamond Eyes.

A Perfect Circle on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

2010-10-29T08:30:00.003+08:00

The band were just on Jimmy Kimmel Live not too long ago and here is the video:

You only get the quick updates, here on puresinner.

A Perfect Circle Updates!

2010-10-28T21:13:00.004+08:00

This is "Passive" with a little whirlwind:

Jimmy Kimmel appearance:

More updates after Maynard does...

Wes Borland has done it again!

2010-10-26T23:19:00.005+08:00

Wes Borland

Recent news has said that the Limp Bizkit guitarist, Wes Borland has temporarily left the band to join Electro-Industrial band, Combichrist. Limp Bizkit has yet to release their upcoming anticipated album, Gold Cobra. This would supposedly be Borland's forth time departing with the band.

Courtesy of rock-zone

More A Perfect Circle Rehearsal/Fooling Around Vids

2010-10-25T12:42:00.001+08:00

Practicing Weak and Powerless:

Practicing a song that I can't figure out what, maybe Imagine (based on Skylar's observation):

And a couple of more Maynard with a lemon and packet of pretzels and Billy's voodoo doll:

A Perfect Circle Is Officially Back!

2010-10-23T10:03:00.001+08:00

Well, being a huge fanboy of this band, I was very excited by this 37sec clip posted on youtube by Maynard.

It's awesome to see Josh and Billy Howerdel back along with the hands of (supposedly) James Iha on the rhythm guitar. Hoping that there'll be new tracks once they've gotten past the "warm-up" club gigs.

+100 to APC for using Ableton!

ABIII - Alter Bridge

2010-10-22T17:10:00.004+08:00

Release Date: October 11, 2010
Label: Roadrunner Records

Alter Bridge releases their first concept album and the third in their discography. It's pretty hard to imagine how they will be able to outdo their 2007 masterpiece, Blackbird, but surprisingly, AB III manages to get on par and maybe even better than their sophomore studio effort.

Tracklist:

Slip To The Void
Isolation
Ghost of Days Gone By
All Hope Is Gone
Still Remains
Make It Right
Wonderful Life
I Know It Hurts
Show Me A Sign
Fallout
Breathe Again
Coeur d'Alene
Life Must Go On
Words Darker Than Their Wings

Began as a band that culminated from the instrumental remains of Creed; Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips recruited Myles Kennedy and Alter Bridge grew to a massive (albeit underrated) alternative rock/metal band that surpasses any bands that their current members have been a part of.

In 2007, Blackbird was released and personally, it is one of my best albums in 2007. Sadly, Alter Bridge doesn't get much coverage from music media and the release of AB III was pretty much unknown to the general rock masses. However, anyone worth their alternative rock/metal salt, would know about the AB III's release and that Alter Bridge is back with bone crushing riffs and boner inducing ballads.

Considering that AB III is a concept album, it begins its story with a pretty awkward approach in "Slip Into The Void". Programmed bassline and Myles's vocals crooning over it for about a third of the track before the usual signature crunchy guitar riffs, velvety bassline and crashing drums fall in at the 1:30 mark that would plaster a smile on every head banging Alter Bridge fan.

Just when I was pretty confident about Filter's The Trouble With Angels bagging the best rock album for 2010 (check review here), AB III makes it a difficult decision to make with head banging tracks "Isolation", "Still Remains", "Coeur D'Alene" and "I Know It Hurts" and tones down the aggression in tracks "Wonderful Life", "All Hope Is Gone" and "Life Must Go On".

Mark Tremonti also seems to have discovered a newfound balance for his amazing guitar playing skills to match the music that accompanies it. Comparing to Blackbird, his solos don't really seem to be as long and elaborate, but when it comes forth, you'd better be ready to have your face melted.

Brian Marshall, Mark Tremonti, Myles Kennedy, Scott Phillips

Alter Bridge is a mature rock band that is not all about aggresssion nor all about sappiness too. In AB III, they've managed to balance out their dynamics very acutely by having more structure to musical parts and more post-production work on the music, but in all of its glory, the intensity that was present in Blackbird is missing in this album which can be pretty disappointing to those who are expecting a Blackbird II, me included.

AB III is not a bad album at all, in fact, it is pretty amazing and has me putting it on repeat since release date (similar to The Trouble With Angels) but comparing it to Blackbird makes it less of a masterpiece and 1 short of being perfectly sinful.

6 out of 7 sins

Listen to ABIII online

2010-10-08T01:31:00.002+08:00

Want to hear how the latest Alter Bridge album sounds like before going out and purchasing it?

Click here

puresinner is excited to provide a review on ABIII.

A Perfect Circle Interview @ Antiquiet

2010-09-28T10:20:00.005+08:00

It's been awhile since this great band has surfaced with anything big, but after the recent announcement of tour dates and touring lineup, Antiquiet conducted an interview with Billy Howerdel. It's quite a good read, so check it out.

Here is the interview: A Perfect Circle Interview @ Antiquiet

Cosmic Armchair - A Second Look EP Review

2010-09-25T18:09:00.008+08:00

Released: August 24, 2010
Label: Stratos Records

I first learnt about this band through the Singapore Dark Alternative Movement (S.D.A.M.) events. Keyboardist, Benjamin Ang often performs as a DJ at those events. Together with vocalist, Jane Lau, the Electronic/SynthPop duo, Cosmic Armchair releases their second EP, "A Second Look".

Tracklists:

Don't Leave Me Here
Conversation
Just One Look
Take You Home
Grey (Second Look Remix)

Upon seeing their performance at Baybeats this year, I'm starting to like what the band is trying to show us. First track "Don't Leave Me Here", gives a brand new revival to New Wave. It's the kind of song with an 80s influence with less cheesiness in synthesizers.

"Conversations" is a direction most local musicians will never represent themselves. There's a recording of a girl speaking in a Singaporean accent repeating in the background. I think it's a brilliant idea. It's better to promote yourself as an Asian than to imitate other culture that you're not, especially for Singapore artists.

I really like how the album is so soothing to the ears with cleverly composed keyboards and vocal parts which can be heard in "Just One Look" and "Take You Home". "Grey (Second Look Remix)" which was previously featured on their debut EP, "A Different View". Compared to the original version which sounded more like FuturePop to me, this one has more of an Electronic feel to it.

The band has justified that they're a serious Electropop band with the quality recording of "A Second Look" and also as an impressive live act. Overall, I think I have spent my money well on getting this EP. My first impressions on them weren't so good but they certainly have progressed from their earlier performances and the debut EP. They certainly deserve more support for their future efforts.

6 out of 7 sins

Pins and Needles - The Birthday Massacre Review

2010-09-25T18:03:00.002+08:00

Released: September 14, 2010
Label: Metropolis Records

Tracklist:

In the Dark
Always
Pale
Control
Shallow Grave
Sideways
Midnight
Pins and Needles
Two Hearts
Sleepwalking
Secret

The first single, In The Dark, a melodic yet heavy piece welcomes us into the world of Pins and Needles. Angelic vocals from Chibi, heavy guitars and drumming and synthwork that builds a wall of sound around everything, makes this an amazing choice for a starter and a single.

However, the heaviness does not last long, as tracks Always, Pale and Control follows up after In The Dark albeit addictive drum parts and powerful synth composition.

Shallow Grave manages to salvage the album with the almost classic TBM sound. Beginning with a dreamy synth part, programmed bassline and electronic drum beats that gets cuts off to bring in the crunch of Rainbow's riffs and the actual drums. This track is everything to love about TBM, the lyrics are so catchy that you could just sing along to the simplistic chorus "We put her down in a shallow grave/She wears a dress like a body bag every day/And this way she won't have to run away/And she can keep her regrets at bay every day". As grim as the lyrics appear to be, Chibi's light and sweet sounding vocals makes it seem like everything is alright with putting someone in a shallow grave.

After an almost unmemorable first half, the title track really makes it concrete that TBM still has awesome synthrock in them. Coupling heavily delayed guitars with a deep running bassline that seems endless, and an almost psychedelic synth running in sequence during the chorus and ending with a heavy guitar, bass and drum outro. Pins and Needles definitely left me wanting more and that's exactly what Two Hearts and Sleepwalking brings forth.

Just when it is starting to get really exciting, the album ends with Secret, a track that follows the in the same vein as Movie (from Walking with Strangers, 2007). Dreamy guitars, synths, bassline, basically dreamy everything. A good end to the album and a great track to follow after the three headbanging tracks before it.

It is not to be misunderstood that Pins and Needles is a letdown, as it is actually pretty well done in terms of composition, production and technicality of synthwork. However what holds it back is the band's desire to move towards a more easily accessible sound, an easily accepted mainstream sound in tracks such as Pale, Always and Midnight.

Rewind back to Violet (2004), Chibi's vocals had an almost haunting aura to it, the instrumental compositions had a more "haunted alice in wonderland carnival" ambience to it too. As a fan, I have to say I miss the earlier TBM.

5 out of 7 sins

Filter - The Trouble With Angels Review

2010-08-25T12:48:00.001+08:00

Release date: 18 August 2010
Label: Rocket Science Ventures/Nuclear Blast

2 years since Anthems for The Damned, Filter returns with The Trouble With Angels and alot of speculation was made if it could really be "this year's defining rock record" as mentioned by Richard Patrick, the only constant member since the creation of Filter back in 1993. Apparently, it might just be.

Tracklist:

The Inevitable Relapse
Drug Boy
Absentee Father
No Love
No re-entry
Down With Me
Catch A Falling Knife
The Trouble With Angels
Clouds
Fades Like A Photograph (Dead Angel)

Most rock music lovers would remember Filter as the band that brought the mellow "Take A Picture" and would expect The Trouble With Angels to follow the same vein as that hit single. Be ready to be disappointed, as this album is far from mellow and even at it's softest point with tracks like No Re-entry and Fades Like A Photograph (Dead Angel), Filter manages to keep the music unique and away from what would be acceptable by mainstream radio.

The Trouble With Angels begins with its first single, The Inevitable Relapse, and from this choice alone, you would either love this album or hate it. For me, it hits the right spot with its infectious chorus, "drink it, drink it, snort it, smoke it, everything I love about it" , the coarse wails of Richard Patrick and the cleverly executed drum parts.

Not letting the tempo and heaviness seep away, Drug Boy, Absentee Father and No Love follows through with the same hard hitting attitude from The Inevitable Relapse. The only rest you'll get would be No Re-entry, where the music takes a step slower and serenades the ear drums with its heavy chorused guitars, light drumming and an almost heart wrenching vocal performance from Richard.

That is where the strength of the whole album becomes apparent, each and every track in The Trouble With Angels captures the emotions through its melody and composition. When the song is sad and dreadful, you would feel it too, and when the song just wants to smash someone's head, it will actually make you feel the same way too.

Down With Me and Catch A Falling Knife carries the album back up from sappiness with the same great heaviness introduced in the opening tracks. Following straight after is the title track, The Trouble With Angels, and Clouds which brings forth the best vocal performance from Richard and a well-balanced composition between heavy guitars and dreamy, ambietic choruses.

Ending all troubles with any angels, Fades Like A Photograph (Dead Angel) is most probably the slowest and mainstream song in the whole album. A remake of a soundtrack made for 2012, Filter definitely chose the correct song to end an album, with its dreamy guitar lines and piano parts that just lulls you to sleep. A good rest from all the angst and aggression present in almost the whole of The Trouble With Angels.

Richard Patrick

This album has been on repeat since I've gotten it on release day. However, as I've mentioned before, Filter's new release is a love or hate thing. At puresinner, we're definitely loving this album and it may just possess the lasting effect to be "this year's defining rock record".

6 out of 7 sins

Mirror of Retribution Tour: ChthoniC, Live in Singapore Review

2010-08-20T00:15:00.005+08:00

August 14, Republic Polytechnic - I was to go to a school, on a Saturday evening. Not my school though. I was on my way to see a Taiwanese Black Metal band, ChthoniC. The show was held at the polytechnic's Cultural Centre Studio.

I was there an hour earlier before showtime. Entry was delayed until about 7:45pm. I was disappointed to see no tour t-shirts were sold. Only the usual t-shirts which are all SGD$30. MourningSound Records has provided pre-orders online before the day of show.

A Singaporean Gothic metal band, Meltgsnow was the opening band. ChthoniC came on stage soon after and the crowd participated in a mass of headbanging cult. Fans were insane enough to throw Taoist hell bank notes on stage (can be seen in the video below), which I think was suppose to be based on the current album's concept of Taoist folklore.

The band performed "Rise of the Shadow" as the first track off the Mirror of Retribution album. Other songs off their latest release includes "1947" and "Sing-Ling Temple". Most of what I can hear, Freddy sung in their native language despite also having an alternate version in English. Even their setlist was written in Chinese.

The band was nice enough to have a meet & greet session after the show. I was one of the lucky few and the last to be taken pictures with the band until the lights go out. The remaining queue had no choice but to be in the dark. Nonetheless, the show was something I don't want to miss, even as a casual fan.

Lunarin - Duae Review

2010-08-19T00:26:00.003+08:00

Release date: August 20, 2010
Label: None, Distributor: Aging Youth Records

Lunarin unleashes their sophomore effort, Duae, 4 years after The Chrysalis. Plenty have changed but does these changes make Duae a better record?

Tracklist:

For Apollo
Midas
Zero Point Red
Saturn
Red
Coralline
Icarus Rising
Serpentine
To Forget
The Sky (Algiers)
Solus Nebula
The Inquisition

For starters, it is quite amazing to know that Duae was mostly recorded and mixed from a home studio set up. Though the quality of some of its tracks does bear its flaws, Lunarin manages to keep it together with their masterful riffing and unique songwriting. Hailing from Singapore, there aren't many bands that dares to venture out to the more darker side of alternative metal the way Lunarin has tried in Duae.

Duae, starts off with a haunting piano piece, For Apollo, which draws you in for the face crushing intro riff of Midas. Reminiscent of Dry from their debut, Midas slows down to its verse as Linda sings "Touch me, can you taste me? Can you break me down?". Off-timed breakdowns with otherworldly riff-age from Kah Wye and Linda, Midas leads you Lunarin's first single, Zero Point Red (which has been reviewed here).

Saturn, the second semi-instrumental track, bridges listeners to the much more complex parts of Duae; Red, Coralline, Icarus Rising and Serpentine brings forth the meat of most of Duae. Red, the second longest track in Duae at 8 mins 39 secs, is probably the most ambitious track in the whole album. With the introduction of Mandala pads, dual vocal layers at the 6 min mark (or whatever it's called) and an intense off-timed breakdown towards the outro, you may get pretty amazed at what a home studio could do.

Coralline is the first track that has a second vocal backing from another member of the band and is a return to the old Lunarin sound from The Chrysalis era. However, the next two tracks, Icarus Rising with its addictive chorus and heavily-chorused guitars and Serpentine's dual vocal parts are tracks that further cement the fact that Lunarin has definitely grown over time and aren't releasing Duae based on the same formulae used for The Chrysalis.

As the album nears closure, To Forget, The Sky (Algiers) and Solus Nebula eases the adrenaline jolt from earlier tracks with two of the tracks being instrumentals and The Sky (Algiers) serving as a mellow bridge between the tracks. The Inquisition, the finale track for Duae and the longest track in the whole album, makes sure that the aggression of Duae does not die out by the mellowness of the previous 3 tracks with its intense drumming, and heavily riffed guitar and bass lines.


Loo Eng Teck, Linda Ong, Ho Kah Wye

Ending near the hour mark, Duae is an album that shows alot of the ambitions from Lunarin. Some of them are met, while there are others that fall short of expectation, but overall, Duae is worth listening to if you enjoy music that is outside of the genre-riddled rock/metal spectrum of music. Lunarin manages well with their home recording efforts, but there are certain areas where you could not help but think that the track should have underwent some sort of polishing, notably the sounds of some of the drum parts (crashes,splashes, etc) are pretty fake due to the fact that it was recorded through a digital set and the drowned out guitar parts in some of the tracks when it should have been made to the top of the mix. The latter could have been intentional, but one could not help but wish it would be the other way around.

As far as strengths and flaws are shown, Lunarin has done a great job in Duae and those fans that have been waiting for 4 years for it are definitely in for a treat.

6 out of 7 sins

That Friday The 13th Show @ Home Club (13/08/10)

2010-08-15T02:49:00.002+08:00

When I received the facebook invite for this show, I almost burst with excitement upon seeing the list of bands that were included. Zero Sequence, In Each Hand A Cutlass and Lunarin. 3 giants of the alternative rock scene in Singapore, 1 location at the price of $15 and with the inclusion of a pre-release of Duae for whoever that attends the gig, I just had to go even if I was pretty tired that night.

Note: I wasn't able to capture photos that would be decent enough for posting up during this gig and only partial videos were recorded due to depletion of my cam's battery. Apologies.

Arriving late to the show, I just managed to catch the last song being played by part of Zero Sequence. Apparently, there was no Zero Sequence set that night, but instead was pleasantly surprised by what seems to be Simon Yong's (guitarist, Zero Sequence) solo project. With 3 other members from Zero Sequence backing him for this new project on stage, Simon skillfully showcased his guitar prowess. It's a shame that I had only managed to catch the final song of their set, because I was really enjoying that last piece and I bet that it was quite a good set to begin with, though this depends entirely to the individual.

Crowd started to build up when In Each Hand A Cutlass began setting up their equipment on stage. I have only caught In Each Hand A Cutlass twice (one being the Waterfront gig) and both times I was pretty impressed with their brand of Post-Rock. Making her live debut with IEHAC, Amanda Ling was included in the line up as the new keyboardist/programmer. Another thing I've noticed is the missing guitarist, Farid. As I'm not really that well-informed on the tracks that were played by IEHAC, I could just notice the difference from what have been played by them in the past as compared to present through the energy and amount of ambience.

Honestly, I preferred the last two shows I've seen them performed as compared to this set. Not trying to be a Post-Rock purist or whatever but, IEHAC used to incorporate much more ambience and lesser "raw rock" energy than they had now. Wonder if it has anything with the inclusion of Amanda, but overall, the set boasted loads of riffage and good guitar co-ordination between Roland Lim and leader of the pack, Dan Sassoon that impressed me and made me envious of their prowess.

Next up, the main performer of the night.

Lunarin, supporting their sophomore release Duae, made sure that their setlist consists mostly of tracks from the new album. It is definitely not the first time that I've been to a 2010 Lunarin gig, so the tracks have pretty much been polished out for live performance this time as compared to the previous time (most notably, the Substation gig). Crowd was good, though I would have preferred if the screaming was toned down abit. Yes, support is support, buuuuuut...incessant screaming to draw attention to self and away from the band is a little questionable. Don't you agree?

So back to the performance, Lunarin was tight. Impressive performance by all members and especially Eng Teck (drummer). Multitasking as a backing vocalist and playing drums and inclusion of Mandala Pads and double pedals this time around, he has definitely outdone himself for Duae. All the videos for this performance have been uploaded on The Oracle's Youtube Channel. Check it out here.

This was definitely an awesome gig to be at and I would have regretted missing it. A full review of Lunarin's Duae will be made available here at puresinner closer to the official release date of the album (20th August 2010). Looking forward to catching them again at Baybeats 2010.

Do pardon the excessive Lunarin news on puresinner recently, we will return back to various music news again soon. Thanks for reading.

Night Festival: Lunarin at Substation

2010-07-18T15:42:00.002+08:00

July 17, Substation - The Night Festival, happens two nights-yearly to celebrate Singapore’s arts and heritage district located at the Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Management University, Peranakan Museum and Substation. I took the second night and head to Substation. My mission was to worship the Unholy Trinity, Lunarin.

It has been two years since their last performance at the Waterfront, Esplanade. Now, ready to release their second full length album, Duae, the band gears up for a series of gigs waiting to unleash in the coming months.

Substation has changed their balcony venue to a not so appropriate place for audiences. The band was to play at the theater room without the audience inside. Instead we were made to watch from the alley way looking through a hole in the wall at the side of Substation. The band began playing after midnight. A slight delay from soundcheck and the previous band. All the wait was worthwhile when I could see bassist, Linda Ong and guitarist, Ho Kah Wye. Linda joked about no drummer playing tonight. Just a very cheap and good drum machine. "Bitch" was the response the drum machine made.

Setlist and link to the live videos:
1. The Inquisition - http://youtu.be/Pxpa8P5fSkU
2. Dry - http://youtu.be/1rPJt_luhso
3. Silverpiece - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jNF2DjrFBA
4. Midas - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M78WqHOuAc0
5. Red - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1JO-fuKd7Y
6. The Tower - http://youtu.be/Vo7sNA3xtfA
7. Serpentine - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UcjbEOgLGY

First song, "The Inquisition" wasn't a familiar song to me. It should be their first time playing it live. The song stretches to a nine-minutes long and the screechy chorus is something new compared to Linda's feminine vocal style from the previous releases.

The set went on with some old favorites such as "Dry", "Silverpiece" and "The Tower". Also new tracks such as "Midas", Serpentine" and my personal favourite, "Red". Halfway through "Midas", a venue crew told us to get into the theater room because of the rain. Finally up close with the band and revealing the man behind the drums. Loo Eng Teck, the well-toned drummer plays with such admiration. It would be a waste if we were stuck outside the whole set without seeing how he played.

Ho Kah Wye, Loo Eng Teck & Linda Ong

At about half passed one in the morning, the band ended. Merchandise of old and new tee shirts were sold and also their debut album, "Chrysalis". Fans were then able to greet them outside the venue.

The band has improved so much after so many times I have seen them. I have been following them almost every gig they performed since their debut album and it has never been a disappointment let it be acoustic or live. Lunarin is a very well crafted Singaporean band you must experience it yourself. They will be playing their next show at Homeclub on the 13th of August alongside, Zero Sequence and In Each Hand A Cutlass. For more information please visit: myspace.com/lunarin.

puresinner is pleased to be able to record the whole set and hopes to continue the same untill the end of days.

Ozzy - Scream Review

2010-07-11T18:00:00.003+08:00

Released: June 11, 2010
Label: Epic

3 years after Black Rain, Ozzy returns with a new axeman and a new 11-track LP. So does Scream, Ozzy's tenth studio album, succeed in creating anthems reminiscent of the era of Bizzard of Ozz?

Tracklist:

Let It Die
Let Me Hear You Scream
Soul Sucker
Life Won't Wait
Diggin' Me Down
Crucify
Fearless
Time
I Want It More
Latimer's Mercy
I Love You All

After Black Rain, I kind of had the feeling that Ozzy has lost his touch with his brand of catchy rock/metal anthems. Although he had Zakk Wylde back then, Black Rain just felt like it lacked punch somewhere. There might be people that would disagree, but personally, I didn''t think that Black Rain the best that Ozzy can write. So now with Scream, I was abit skeptical on whether Ozzy will be improving his music for the benefit of his fans or just churning out another album just to tell the world that the Prince of Darkness is still alive and hopping.

With all the assumptions of Scream being another mediocre album, I was impressed when I gave it a listen.The level of heaviness introduced in this album is just earth shattering. Let It Die, Diggin' Me Down, Crucify and I Want More proves that Ozzy has not forgotten how to treat his loyal fans to killer riffs, face melting solos and catchy singing.

On the musical side of Scream, Gus G is an amazing guitarist, no comparison to the great Zakk Wylde as both are great in their own way, but this guy has amazing chops that just makes the music to Scream have a life of its own. Guitars aside, Tommy Clufetos (formerly of Rob Zombie) is another reason to love this album for its music. He manages to make fitting drumbeats for almost all of the songs on Scream and lends alot to the overall heaviness of Scream.


Ozzy Osbourne

Pretty much, everything on Scream is good and listenable even with Ozzy's recent obsession with vocal enhancements that make him appear like a weak vocalist. However, I think he really should not try those vocal parts that are just not "Ozzy".

With 49 minutes of rocking out, you will amazed that you will left craving for more even after I Love You All trails off. So put this album on repeat, get those spare bats to chew on and a spare neck cause you'll definitely need it after headbanging to almost every song. Ozzy did not just release Scream to tell the world that The Prince of Darkness is still alive, but he went the extra mile to tell the world that he's back with music heavier than Hell.

6 out of 7 sins

Hole - Nobody's Daughter Review

2010-06-27T12:58:00.002+08:00

Released: April 23, 2010
Label: CherryForever/Mercury/Island Def Jam

Nobody's Daughter, the fourth studio release by Hole in almost 12 years. Having been a fan of Live Through This and Celebrity Skin, I just had to check this album out and review it.

Tracklist:

Nobody's Daughter
Skinny Little Bitch
Honey
Pacific Coast Highway
Samantha
Someone Else's Bed
For Once In Your Life
Letter To God
Loser Dust
How Dirty Girls Get Clean
Never Go Hungry

Nobody's Daughter begins with the title track which is pretty mellow considering this is a Hole album. Clocking in at 5 mins and 19 seconds, Skinny Little Bitch brings some of the old, grungy attitude back to this album. Based on those two tracks, Courtney's voice seems a little more like an old lady's whine nowadays rather than the rugged, coarse voice that she was known for. So that's quite a downer, especially when Honey kicks in. Courtney's voice borders annoyance and shows the lack of range in her voice more than any other tracks in the album.

After Honey and Pacific Coast Highway, I was expecting a bunch of fillers in the later tracks. However, Samantha, Someone Else's Bed, Loser Dust and How Dirty Girls Get Clean are great listens. Someone Else's Bed, though a tad mellow manages to capture me with its catchy chorus and that sweet solo that goes on near the end of the track, definitely worth a listen.

Overall, Nobody's Daughter lack the raw energy that Hole used to have and in place of that comes a mellow Courtney Love with a bunch of strings and songs written by external members. I wouldn't say the album is horrible cause I actually did enjoy certain tracks in the middle of the album tracklist, but it still doesn't help that most of the tracks in this album is mid-tempo and doesn't deserve the band name. Nobody's Daughter is not a brilliant Hole album, but it is a decent Courtney Love album.

4 out of 7 sins

Sweethead - Sweethead Review

2010-06-20T18:47:00.005+08:00

Released: November 02, 2009
Label: Strange Addiction / The End Records

From playing for Failure to A Perfect Circle to Queens of The Stone Age to creating side project, Enemy, Troy Van Leeuwen creates Sweethead, his second side project with up and coming vocalist, Serrina Sims and the rhythm section (Norm Block and Eddie Nappi) of the Mark Lanegan band. Sweethead can be regarded as the female equivalent to QoTSA with it's groovy basslines and drum sections, seductive vocals and trance-inducing guitar riffs. Saying that it is similar to QoTSA doesn't mean that Sweethead lack originality in its tracks, in fact, it is the other way around.

Tracklist:

The Sting
Turned Our Backs
P.I.G
Amazing Vanishing Conquest
Running Out
Sinkhole International
Remote Control Boys
Meet In The Road
Other Side
The Great Disruptors
A.W.O.L
The Last Evening

Sweethead begins with The Sting, a catchy, dancey track that is laced with all the good stuff from Troy Van Leeuwen via a raunchy, fuzzy guitar solo and intertwining fills that seem to weave in an out of the thumping bassline. Next up, Turned Our Backs might trigger similarity accusation from fans of Nine Inch Nails that might mistake the drumbeat to be a complete duplication of Wish (Broken EP, 1992), but the track manages to be unique with Serrina's singing as well as the very distinct Troy guitar tone which is almost present in the whole album.

While Sweethead has loads of high-energy, personally I would say that the band really shines in its down tempo and darker tracks. Amazing Vanishing Conquest, Running Out, Other Side and The Last Evening are a few of my personal favourites from the album. Serrina Sim's low and slightly coarse voice coupled with the great combination of guitars, bass and drums just makes each of those tracks have an almost dreamy ambience and you can't help but sway and hum to those tracks.


Norm Block, Serrina Sims, Troy Van Leeuwen, Eddie Nappi

Sinkhole International and debut single, The Great Disruptors, manage to balance out the album's sound by bringing it back up to speed and maintaining the whole LA rock n' roll/stoner rock sound. But with all the praise I have for this album, some of the tracks (Remote Control Boys, A.W.O.L, Meet In The Road), though enjoyable to listen to on boring evenings, fails to leave a lasting effect.

12th track, The Last Evening ends the album with low wailing guitar solos and fills, the seductive yet calm voice of Serrina Sims backed by the fuzzy bass tone and dark "reverbish" ambience. It almost made me feel like I was being cradled in a wall of sound and laid to bed with its short and sweet dosages of dreamy guitars. A great end to the album.

Overall, I would say Sweethead is a great album but loses points in some of its forgettable tracks. A balanced album throughout, I would recommend this album to whoever that enjoys QoTSA, Stoner Rock and everything Troy Van Leeuwen related.

5 out of 7 sins

Grosse Freiheit - Unheilig Review

2010-06-13T06:03:00.003+08:00

Released: February 19, 2010
Label: Vertigo Records (Universal)

For those Neue Deutsche Härte fans that only listen to Rammstein, they don’t know what they’ve been missing out on. Neue Deutsche Härte bands are getting better attention these days, and gone were the days of just grunting "Du Hast" to heavy, aggressive guitars. Unheilig brings forth a new beast with Grosse Freiheit and fans don’t even have to understand German to enjoy this amazing album.

Tracklists:

1. "Das Meer" 3:39
2. "Seenot" 4:22
3. "Für immer" 3:22
4. "Geboren um zu Leben" 3:50
5. "Abwärts" 3:30
6. "Halt mich" 3:47
7. "Unter Feuer" 5:03
8. "Grosse Freiheit" 3:48
9. "Ich gehöre mir" 3:34
10. "Heimatstern" 4:10
11. "Sternbild" 4:28
12. "Unter deiner Flagge" 4:10
13. "Fernweh" 4:38
14. "Neuland" 4:31

Unheilig delivers an epic stage sound created by the sole member Der Graf (The Count). He tries in creating a more orchestrated and melodic approach to writing Grosse Freiheit (Great Freedom), as compared to 2008's Puppenspiel. Unheilig's direction in Grosse Freiheit seems to be leaning towards a dramatic and almost operatic sound with a theme about the seas. Breaking from the usual Industrial Metal structure doesn't mean the usual Industrial staples are absent in Grosse Freiheit as they are still abound in tracks such as Unter Feuer (Under Fire), Abwärts (Down) and Ich gehöre mir (I Belong To Me).

Der Graf

Opening track Das Meer (The Sea) projects the sounds of the shore and a ship with a gramophone playing a maritime melody in the background. As he chants the words “Come with me to the sea, to board on a ship, to see the world, to sail with the tide, to sail into the storm”, the orchestra joins in to begin a grand intro to the album. Next track, Seenot (Distress), begins with heavy guitars that is almost reminiscent of other Neue Deutsche Härte bands but with Unheilig, the vapid and aggressive nature of the intro riff is calmed down with the velvety vocals in the chorus. This is the main "pull" factor in Unheilig's music, the ability to mix heavy instrumentals with dynamic singing and beautiful string arrangements.

Für immer (Forever), Geboren um zu Leben (Born to Live), Halt Mich (Hold Me) and Heimatstern (Home Star) are the down-tempo ballads of the album. A bit more of a downside to me personally, but easier to promote as singles. A personal favourite, Sternbild (Constellation) amplifies itself with more string instrument parts and the chorus singing “do not forget me” and the accompanying "woahs" just drives this song to a higher level for me.

Finale track Neuland, an extended instrumental version of Das Meer takes you further into the whole emotion of being in the open seas conveyed in Grosse Freiheit. The intricate piano playing with matching guitar riffs replaces the vocals in the intro track. A solid end to a well crafted album.

Having been putting Grosse Freiheit on repeat for a very long time, I can safely say it leaves such a huge impact and the album doesn’t bore you from start to end. His vocals are strong enough to carry on his own music and it doesn’t shy away when it gets challenging. If you're speculating if he's really that good, wait till you hear him live. Der Graf is as good as any Industrial vocalist and musician gets, but you might just be turned off or find him amusing by the eccentric stage moves. Grosse Freiheit would be a great start if you're looking into discovering the unique sounds of Neue Deutsche Härte.

82% unholy

Diamond Eyes - Deftones Review

2010-06-13T02:40:00.003+08:00

Released: May 4, 2010
Label: Reprise/Warner

It has been more than a year since Chi Cheng’s car accident that landed him in a coma. Since then, he has been semi-conscious and undergoing treatments. Amidst the unfortunate event, the remaining members of Deftones recruited former Quicksand bassist, Sergio Vega as a substitute for their sixth full-length album, Diamond Eyes.

Radio single and title song Diamond Eyes sent me into a daze on my first listening. I know I had to hear more from the new album. It certainly serves as a good start to another outstanding accomplishment. The chorus shows a concept from White Pony (2000) and a listen to the whole album will make you agree on that. They recorded without using Pro Tools and it adds a raw feel to it.

Tracklists:

1. "Diamond Eyes" 3:08
2. "Royal" 3:32
3. "CMND/CTRL" 2:25
4. "You've Seen the Butcher" 3:31
5. "Beauty School" 4:47
6. "Prince" 3:36
7. "Rocket Skates" 4:14
8. "Sextape" 4:01
9. "Risk" 3:38
10. "976–EVIL" 4:32
11. "This Place Is Death" 3:48

Cunningham, Delgado, Moreno, Vega and Carpenter

Rocket Skates was initially the band’s first single. It was made available for free download through their MySpace page earlier in February. There are many memorable tunes in here, like You’ve Seen the Butcher, Beauty School, Sextape, Risk etc. Each of those songs gives a strong feeling of gloom though it does give away kind of steamy sensation with Chino Moreno’s croon buttered throughout Diamond Eyes. There isn’t much aggression and hate to complain about and Moreno mentioned in an interview, “The songs on the album do not feature songs about complaining, hurting, or how life sucks".

This is one of their best releases since 2000. Buy or steal, I highly recommend you to listen. Perhaps you might feel a bit empty and lost without Cheng in it. It is a brave move to continue without him. For the first time their line-up changed. Nonetheless, I can see hope in Cheng waking up again. He is after all progressing well towards recovery. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see the light of Eros sooner than later.

6 out of 7 sins

Geneva - Russian Circles Review

2010-06-06T16:46:00.003+08:00

Released: October 20, 2009
Label: Suicide Squeeze/Sargent House(Vinyl release)

After just a year from Station, the chicago post-rock trio returns with Geneva. This time around, the music returns to its dark and intense origins as compared to the rather mellow Station. Eventhough Geneva is a solid release for an album that is released in just a year, fans of the debut album(Enter) will be satisfied by what is delivered in Geneva.

Tracklist:

Fathom
Geneva
Melee
Hexed All
Malko
When The Mountains Come To Muhammad
Philos

Geneva opens with a mash of string instruments sustained into creating a wall of sound behind the thumping of the drums in Fathom which later gives way to an awesome bassline around the 2.20min mark and closes with the liberating sounds of Philos, the soft-to-loud final track in Geneva. Russian Circles proves that they're not just a one-trick pony with the amazingly beautiful Hexed All that mixes string instruments with the light plucking of guitar and bass and even lighter drumming that seems to be just right to carry forth the emotions.

Just about when you think that Geneva has gone mellow, Malko is brought in straight after Hexed All with its intertwining guitar riff that lifts off the sadness created from Hexed All. Further into the album, a little bit of steam is lost in When The Mountain Comes To Muhammad, but that is only apparent in the earlier part of the track as when its nearing the end, the track picks up its pace and slams into gear another sonic bash to your eardrums.

Personally, I would say the bass work in this album is phenomenal. The basslines are killer, so keep an ear out to capture those brief but amazing moments of musicianship from Brian Cook.

Brian Cook, Mike Sullivan, Dave Turncrantz

No other instrumental band or post-rock band I've listened to have managed to reach the level of musicianship as Russian Circles, and I'm not referring to the technicalities in instrumentation, but mainly on their ability to create music that sticks to you without being over-pretentious. You will realise that Russian Circles do not aim to impress with complexity and technicality, but with melody and composition.
Overall, Geneva is a great big step ahead as compared to their sophomore effort, Station and is nearly as mind-blowing as their debut back in 2006. Geneva manages to balance the lush serenades introduced in Station along with Enter's aggression and dark ambience. It doesn't fail to deliver, and if you've listened to the first two Russian Circles releases then Geneva is a must-have/must-listen.

6 out of 7 sins

How To Destroy Angels - How To Destroy Angels EP Review

2010-05-06T03:59:00.004+08:00

Released: June 1, 2010
Label: The Null Corporation

When Trent Reznor laid NIN(live) to rest back in September 9 2009, most fans were left sad and craving for more goodness from T.Rez and his juggernaut biceps of synthology and angst. To their delight, shortly after the end of Live NIN, T.Rez announced that he would be working on new material alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig and the elusive Atticus Ross. This band would later be known as How To Destroy Angels and this is their debut EP.

Prior to the release of the EP, fans were treated with teaser trailers of each of the bandmember tweaking/twiddling/playing instruments with a backing beat. Following these teaser trailers, a music video for The Space In Between was released via Pitchfork.com.

Videos for all trailers and the music video can be viewed here on HTDA's official Vimeo page.

So, after all the hype, the question is "Is the music good?".

Tracklist:

The Space In Between
Parasite
Fur Lined
BBB
The Believers
A Drowning (Check this out)

Opening with a mellow drone and the whispering voice of Mariqueen in The Space In Between, How To Destroy Angels(HTDA) EP is a mixed bowl of ambience from depressive NIN and also the experimental sounds of Ghosts I-IV. This is not saying that the EP is just another NIN release tagged with a new name, there are several new sounds in this EP that will still satisfy NIN fans without being a repetition of the past.

With Trent Reznor leaving the vocal parts of HTDA to Mariqueen, it is a breath of fresh air albeit a pretty forgettable one. Mariqueen, although matches the music with her breathy vocals (A Drowning, The Space In Between) , it just seems that her vocal parts are a little too processed and lacks clarity (BBB, Fur Lined) to be properly heard and would normally be overlooked as the music would overpower. Sometimes, you just feel like you want Trent to sing again.

Atticus Ross, Mariqueen Maandig, Trent Reznor

As expected with any release from Trent, HTDA's EP instrumentals are varied and layered with great detail. None of the tracks feel like it was made just for the sake of being made and all the bits and pieces of sounds inserted into each track contribute to the overall emotion and drive. Eventhough the instrumentals manage to captivate listeners with its diversity, it does lack tempo change from track to track (except for Fur Lined). Making it seem like the whole EP is one long single track, which is not entirely bad but might bore listeners after repeated listens.

Overall, HTDA's debut EP is a sign of good things to come. Even with its lack of tempo differences between tracks and Mariqueen's ability to be heard behind all the noise, you will have a good feeling that the LP (early 2011) is going to be something great to listen to. Unless you expect a NIN industrialyzer, you won't be disappointed by this EP. SO go ahead and download the EP here, it IS free anyway.

5 out of 7 sins

Krieg - KMFDM Review

2010-02-28T00:53:00.002+08:00

Released: January 5, 2010
Label: KMFDM

When KMFDM, self-proclaimed creator of the Ultra Heavy Beat, released their next remix album, Krieg, I was pretty excited to give it a listen due to how much I enjoyed Blitz (2009 studio album) and the awesome Brimborium (Remix album to Tohuvabohu back in 2007) and Ruck Zuck EP of 2006.

Tracks in this remix album vary from Industrial beats to 70s Disco vibe to Industrial Metal. All in all, most of the music you’ll hear from this album will be leaning towards its Industrial Music roots. To keep things fresh in Krieg, KMFDM recruits an impressive lineup of musicians, from the likes of Combichrist, Prong, Ivan de Plume, tweaker and KMFDM’s very own Andy Selway. However, with such a diverse lineup, not all the tracks will cling onto you instantly or maybe, never.

Tracklists:

Bait & Switch (All 4 One Mix)
Strut (Disco Balls Mix)
Potz Blitz! (Harmonic Tremors Mix)
Bait & Switch (Sacred Cow Mix)
Never Say Never (Naughty Habit Mix)
People of The Lie (Requiem Mix)
Bitches (Pop Will Eat This Mix)
Never Say Never (Confessional Mix)
People of The Lie (Crooked Illusion Mix)
Davai (Cyrillic Mix)
Never Say Never (Candy Apple Mix)
Davai (Bloody Fog Mix)

Steve White, Jules Hodgson, Sascha "Kapt'n K" Konietzko, Lucia Cifarelli, Andy Selway

Opening with the Club-Industrial beats of “Bait & Switch (All 4 One Mix)” by Combichrist, you will then be greatly surprised by the Andy Selway remix of “Strut” that comes straight after with its classic Disco hooks. With all the different variety of sounds that will follow after the first few tracks, “Davai (Cyrillic Mix)” fails to move away from the original sound of the track which is quite disappointing considering that this track came from Tweaker. However the 2^nd remix, “Davai (Bloody Fog Mix)”, is a much better remix with its intense amount of synths and extended beats.

The remixes that do justice to the original track or does an even better job than the studio tracks are “Potz Blitz! (Harmonic Tremors Mix)” by Seismologist, the haunting sounds “People of The Lie (Requiem Mix)” by Koichi Fukuda of Static-X and my personal favourite, “Bait and Switch (Sacred Cow Mix)" by Prong with its heavy hitting guitars and drums that seem to make the track their own instead of KMFDM’s. Trust me, listen to both versions of “Bait & Switch” and you’ll be amazed at how intense the remix is.

Aside from the difference in quality of instrumentations and arrangement, the lyrics in the remix tracks are no different from the studio version.

Overall, I’m very impressed with Krieg as it delivers year-old tracks that don’t even remind me of its age. Give this album a listen irregardless of whether you like or hate Blitz, it might just make you love the tracks again or realise what you’ve missed out on in 2009.

puresinner

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