One of 2005's suprise hits was He Is Legend(Solid State Records) and their debut album I Am Hollywood; it got them a ton of touring slots all over north America, comparisons to the mighty Every Time I Die(and they're almost as skilled on their individual instruments, as a listen to IAH will reveal) and a big ol' fanbase who love them some metal. Now the lads from North Carolina have announced they're heading into an unnamed studio in March to begin work on their sophomore album, and I for one am excited. [IVM]
Apparently The Juliana Theory didn't quite fulfil their contractual obligations to Tooth & Nail Records; the Nail will release A Small Noise, a greatest-hits package from Juliana, February 7th(tentatively). No idea what will be on it, but it better have all the best tunes from Emotion Is Dead.
A small teaser from this year's Starflyer 59 album(they do literally one a year almost) has been unveiled on their myspace page; the song's called 'Nice Guy'.
Speaking of new stuff on myspace(who isn't putting up new stuff on myspace?), another of 2005's breakout artists, Mute Math, have unleashed a song called 'Chaos' over here.
Cornerstone Festival has announced the opening slew of confirmed bands for the 2006 edition; they pulled out Sixty Bands in Six Days starting Christmas Day. Some of the highlights: P.O.D., Headnoise(a certain sd supporter loves them), No Innocent Victim, Underoath, MxPx, Project 86 and Israeli/Canadian act Man Alive(more on them later). It'll be a great four days this summer - July 5th-8th.
Man Alive's Open Surgery(The Militia Group), in fact, is one of several new albums I've picked up lately and been spinning nonstop; full of catchy hooks, actual lyrics instead of just random rhymes and a punk spirit that's undeniable, this one's a winner. Other recent grabs of note:
- Nodes of Ranvier, The Years to Come: once you get past the Lamb of God similarities(and they're relatively few), this is a heck of a metal record.
- Danger Doom, The Mouse and the Mask: DJ Danger Mouse combining his beats and production with the rapping of MF Doom? Unstoppable!! Plus the skits are screaming funny.
- Sleeper Set Sail, Eyes Like Forest Fires: the proper full-length debut for the St. Catharines quartet rocks me with beautiful textures and skill waaaay beyond their years(they're just out of high school!).
- Nile, Annihilation of the Wicked: can you say, "Blast beats everywhere underneath raging Nile-rivers of guitar and lyrics entirely about ancient Egypt?" Death metal at its best.
The date and I were watching Wedding Crashers last night(passably funny movie - Will Ferrell stole the entire flick with one unforgettable scene) and what do you suppose was the song behind the end credits? The Weakerthans' 'Left and Leaving'. I thought that was pretty rad.
Didn't really get much out of them under their old name, but whatever: Number One Fan have changed their name to, um, The Robins. Yeah, I think it's weird too.
If you're not yet stoked on P.O.D.'s upcoming sixth album Testify, give 'Goodbye For Now' a listen over here. I actually am excited.
I didn't even know he was in a band: producer Aaron Sprinkle(Tooth & Nail's de facto in-house knob-twiddler) and his band Fair are in the studio now; T&N will release their debut album in the springtime. How 'bout that.
Posted by mike at January 4, 2006 05:26 PM