Tracklist: “Oh Baby” 5:49
“Other Voices” 6:43
“I Used To” 5:32
“Change Yr Mind” 4:57
“How Do You Sleep?” 9:12
“Tonite” 5:47
“Call the Police” 6:58
“American Dream” 6:06
“Emotional Haircut” 5:29
“Black Screen” 12:05
Japanese edition and digital re-release bonus track
“Pulse (v.1)” 13:42
History: “American Dream” is LCD’s first studio album in seven years. (The last was 2010’s This is Happening.) This is also a reunion album after the split in April of 2011 after their farewell concert at Madison Square Garden.
LCD Soundsystem Live at Madison Square Garden, NYC in 2011
American Dream is the second longest studio album by the band. It is also the most polished sounding of the band’s releases. “The album’s lyrics deal with depression, social issues, fear, and ending of friendship and love.” The sound is also is a mix of Dance, Disco, New Wave, Punk, Synthpop, and Rock. (Like a mix of their past albums with a refinement of the sound mixture that James has since made his own)
Track-by-track:
“Oh Baby” – Starts off with a constant metallic clang and layers are slowly added in, like drums and a bass synth, after a minute we get the first words. “Oh Baby” despite up tempo beats the song becomes melancholy. He asked to be awakened by his lover.
“Other Voices” – This track is very Talking Heads-y; the bass line is very funky. “Your still a pushover for passionate people” is one of the phrases that is repeated throughout the track
“I Used To” – Is another Talking heads sounding song.
“Change Yr Mind” – A strange mix of some industrial sounding beats a dance bass, the bellowing of an out-of-tune guitar tones and post-punk vocal delivery.
“How Do You Sleep?” – A drum pattern and arpeggiated synth make this song a dreamscape with the vocals a little more drawn out with an almost loud howling from the distance. This track has a different vocal cadence and that is varied from James Murphy’s normal flow. As the track progresses so do the layers build to another dance freak-out.
“Tonite” (My favorite song) – Now for the Grammy winning song… We get an 80s bass synth. The song has a very Giorgio Moroder sound.
“Call the Police” – This has a dream pop feel to it and it was also the first single.
“American Dream” – This also has a dream pop feel to it.
“Emotional Haircut” – Has a post-punk feel to it.
“Black Screen” – Is a mostly ambient track with vocoded vocals.
“Pulse (v.1)” – Is an instrumental that wouldn’t sound out of place on 45:33
Final Thoughts:
This album is my favorite from the band. It is a mixture of everything James has done in past albums and polished it to what I feel is the perfect example of what LCD Soundsystem is… Everything is here, the rhythms, the hits, the experimentation, heartfelt lyrics. So if this is your first exposure to the band this album is a great place to start.
Black Heaven – Vinyl // CD // DD // Bundle Packages
Nuclear Blast Records – Released March 16th, 2018
Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler
A Journey into Black Heaven
Line Up:
Mario Rubalcaba (drums)
Isaiah Mitchell (guitars & VOX)
Mike Eginton (bass)
Review:
Greetings music heads this is that old sonic wave rider The Ancient One and I want to tell all of you about San Diego’s heavy psyche rock trio Earthless and their upcoming album Black Heaven. Originally signed to the independent record labels Gravity Records and then Tee Pee Records, Earthlesshas been Blowing minds since 2001 with their own brand of almost entirely instrumental heavy-psych rock that many of other great musicians/bands credit as inspiration in their own music. To date they have released a slew of split albums with the likes of Witch, Danava, Lecherous Gaze, Premonitions 13, Radio Moscow, and Harsh Toke. This is accompanied by2 live albums and 3 studio albums with their 4th“Black Heaven”, the subject of this review.
Released on March 16th, 2018 on the Nuclear Blast record label with songs that have more vocals than all their previous releases combined, Black Heaven is a leaner meaner Earthless album . Though I cannot be certain because I don’t have any contacts in Nuclear BlastRecords or Earthless I suspect the band’s association with the Rock Giant is why the bands latest album have significantly shorter songs. Is this a bad thing, absolutely not!! Isaiah has a fantastic bluesy voice that is also on display with his other band Golden Void.
While the 40 minute album is broken into six tracks, to me it all seem to blend together into two parts with interlude track “Voit Rush” acting as sort of a road sign telling me were I am at in the journey. What catches my attention most about Black Heaven is that more than half of the songs have guitarist Isaiah Mitchell also taking up the microphone as vocalist. Which I think he does a bang up job at. Yet for all that has changed Earthless has remained true to their original mind-bending blend of krautrock and Japanese heavy-blues rock with still some of the freshest and finest Riffs, meanest basslines and Cosmic Drumming on this great Universe!!
Line Up: JE (VOX, Guitars)
SLI (Guitars)
MEI (Bass)
C.RIP (Drums)
SEB (VOX)
Previous Releases:
2010 – S/T Black Space Riders,
2012 – Lights In the New Black,
2014 – D:REI,
2015 – Refugeeum
2016 – Beyond Refugeem
Musical Influences: Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, The Chameleons, David Bowie, Bauhaus, Tom Waits, Slayer, Motorpsycho
Hello once again friends, this is The Ancient One and today I’d like to tell you about some out of this world music by a Quintet of space rockers from Münster, Germany called the Black Space Riders. In 2008 founding members JE, SLI, SAQ and C.RIP sought to give the music world music that could truly be called PSYCHEDELIC SPACE ROCK and created what they call a “NEW WAVE of HEAVY PSYCHEDELIC SPACE ROCK”. After listening to their current Album AMORETUM Vol. 1 released January 26th, 2018 and with their past releases I gotta say the band and their style of rock are aptly named.
What I enjoy most about the music is the detached far away sound. To create their take on the psychedelic space rock sound Black Space Riders seems to have combined desert rock, electronic music, a bit of 80’s new wave and some Post Punk with powerful vocals with anthem-like lyrics on the 2 most recent albums. If I were to compare them to anyone I’d say that I’m often reminded of Pink Floyd, and David Bowie with a harder edge.
When I first gave AMORETUM Vol. 1 a spin I was really not impressed with the first song however what followed changed my mind as I quickly realized Lovely Lovelie was a cornerstone for the rest of the album to be built on to give the listener a good starting point. It’s also a play on words. Lovely Lovelie – Lovely Love Lie get it. I didn’t because maybe I am a Doofus. Also its not a single song in a collection of songs that are put together simply because the sound fits with the occasional filler song to make the album longer. Rather its part of an album with a theme created by Black Space Riders. Although theme albums are nothing new to me, Black Space Riders may quite possibly have delivered a Magnum Opus with this one!
Refusing to be swallowed by the darkness AMORETUM Vol. 1 is the follow up to their July 2015 album “REFUGEEUM”that came out when it seemed the world had gone mad with fear and hate in Europe. Continuing to rage against that darkness with in us all Black Space Riders have mounted up and released AMORETUM Vol. 1 which is about conflict and seeks to inspire us to overcome our dark side. Specifically the conflicts between fear, hate, and rejection, darkness on the one hand, and love, empathy, and care light on the other. This album and band seem to be very relevant with acute razor-like lyrics that seek for positivity and rejecting hate…universally!! The superb musicianship by these veteran rockers shine with each new release and is again evident with Amoretum Vol. 1
Rather than bore you all to death with a track by track description of all the songs I am going to provide you links to my favorites on YouTube and Bandcamp and let you decide for yourselves.
Track Listing with Lyrics
LOVELY LOVELIE
Get back to your beds, hide in your hole
You lovers collapse while facing your fall
A paradise will no longer exist,
peace and love can no longer resist
Erupting fear breaking the wall
Lovely lovelie
Our garden, destroyed, taken by storm
We‘re bringing the harm, the hideous swarm
A love so deep, now determined to die,
wrapped and muffled by hate
Get back to your beds, here comes the storm
Lovely lovelie
Get back to your beds, hide in your hole
A love so deep, now determined to fall
Get back to your beds, facing your fall
Erupting fear tearing down every wall
Get back to your beds, hide in your …
Lovely lovelie
Lovely, lovely lie …
Another Sort of Homecoming
The times were terrifying
and coldness wrapped me up
I‘d been sent to see, to seek, to save
A long way to the top
How they turned their lives
into a mellow mass:
how they shed their feelings and their souls
forgot about the past
So, day by day
I denied my moaning heart
and repelled temptation, brave and strong,
to join and fall apart
Now it‘s time to change
My longing growing strong
Leave this place and coming home again
is what I really want
GO! Time to return to my ground
GO! I have to leave these souls I found
GO! Time to rest under the shield
GO! Energy!
Another sort of coming home
SOUL SHELTER (Inside Of Me)
Bringing back the sunshine
Remembering the light
A place attacked from outside
I keep this place inside
Inside of me, inside of me
Garden of completeness
A warm and tender light
A place attacked by darkness
Don‘t hide this place inside
Soul Shelter – Inside of me, inside of me
Soul Shelter – Inside of me, inside of you
Silent is the inside
All quiet now and clear
Knocking from the outside:
denial, hate and fear
Soul Shelter – Inside of me, inside of me
Soul Shelter – Inside of me, inside of you
MOVEMENTS
Just a glimpse of something lost,
flickering in my mind
Like a memory from the past, echoing
Ground control, lost control, no control
In a place where I belonged:
echoes from the past
In a time I called my home, wandering
Ground control, lost control, no control
How I missed the ones I loved,
moments passing by
Still I‘m waiting for the call, remembering
Ground control, lost control, no control
Movements
Comes a time, comes a time of reunion
Comes a place, comes a place of communion
Comes a time, comes a time of affection
Comes a place, comes a place of attraction
Comes a time, comes a time when we meet again
Comes a place, comes a place where we meet again
Comes a time, comes a time when we love again
Comes a place, comes a place where we live again
Stop and rest – consider and remember
Stop the quest – rethink and now remember
Rest, remain – and realize amazing
grace, retain – the echoes of your living
Go and see – now realize the beauty
Go and turn – now realize the grace
Go, return – get hold of all the beauty
Go and feel – compassion to embrace
Movements
Comes a time, comes a time when we meet again
Comes a time of reunion
Comes a place, comes a place where we meet again
Comes a place of communion
Comes a time, comes a time when we love again
Comes a time of affection
Comes a place, comes a place where we live again
Comes a place of attraction
Realize the grace
Realize the beauty now
Echoes from the past
Passion to embrace
Movements
COME AND FOLLOW
Follow me, take my hand
Don‘t look back, just trust my way
Follow me, leave this place
I will take you far away
Watch my shades: familiar shape
with sweetest taste of the unknown
Bite into tender doom
Worship and adore my throne
Beautiful but treacherous
Rotten to the bone
Serpentine but sensual
A queen of hearts dethroned
Now you love, now you know:
adoration brings the light
Idolize, now you‘re lost
I take you to the other side
Beautiful but treacherous
Rotten to the bone
Serpentine but sensual
A queen of hearts dethroned
Come on follow me into the darkness
Come and follow me, follow my love
Come on follow me, beauty is transforming
Come on follow me into the dark
FRIENDS ARE FALLING
Open your arms after closing your thinking for ages
Missing the trust that you lost on your way to the stars
Fighting the hating has taught you to hate for ages
Remind you your mission was based on a vision of love
Open your mind to the memory of love and affection
Missing your friends who vanished while you‘ve been
away
Yearning for turning to someone so close and familiar
Remind you your mission was based on a vision of faith
Falling, friends are falling
Falling and lost in a vision of trust
Falling but lost in my vision of trust
Open your heart to some gratitude,
kindness and friendship
Empathy melting the ice that‘s enclosing your soul
Yearning for turning to someone so close and devoted
Remind you your mission was based on a vision of trust
Falling, friends are falling
Falling and lost in a vision of trust
A vision of love and a vision of trust
Open your heart after closing your spirit for ages
Missing the feelings you lost on your way to the stars
Fighting the hating has taught you to hate for ages
Remind you your mission was based on a vision of love
Falling, friends are falling
Falling but lost in a vision of trust
My vision of faith and my vision of trust
Falling but lost in my vision of trust
Falling for ages, falling from the stars
FIRE! FIRE! (Death Of A Giant)
Facing the past, deeply crooked for ages
Annual rings of a life, witnessing hope
Murder and death, lovers and birth, closely entwined
The battle of darkness and light, observer of life
Here on the hill, bound in hostile surroundings
Cracks in the bleeding wood: scars and remains
Here all alone, shelter and symbol of freedom:
a giant, so massive and old: gentle but strong
Tearing down to the ground
Burning heat, smoking coal
Fire! Fire!
Burning down to the ground
Timber heart, holy wood
Fire! Fire!
Facing the day, changing the soul of perception
Father of life, father of fire and death
Cold is the night , warm is the shine of the torch
Review: In a world filled with an overload of bands out of nowhere, most as forgettable as their music, it is always amazing to me when a gathering of forces manages to coalesce into a force to be reckoned with and have the means combined to put their vision forth with a barrage of what has been described by this band themselves as “a genre defying mix of hard-hitting metal riffs, off-beat ska rhythms, melancholic piano, accordion, catchy female vocals, with a hint of electro” enquote. They further describe their influences as ranging all the way from Alice Cooper to Alter Bridge, from Diablo Swing Orchestra to Living Colour and even as far as Jason Becker to Lordi. Quite the range of sources to pull inspiration from and with this first full length release, they have it all and THEN SOME in the mix. Quite the build-up before I heard note one and as I was researching Ward XVI, I came across this descriptor of what I was just getting ready to devour. And it read…
“The gates of Whittingham Asylum have been struck open and for the first time in history the high security Ward XVI invites members of the public to meet face to face with the UK’s most violent serial killers. The ward’s longest-standing resident Psychoberrie, listed as the UK’S most dangerous criminal, will give an insight into her life prior to her incarceration. With assistance from medical staff Lex Whittingham and Dr. Von Stottenstein and fellow inmates Min and Jake she will tell the story of the reckless life led by herself and former partner Beardy McStumble and the narcotic induced murders that took place prior to his own decapitation. This is a sordid tale of deceit and manipulation…”
Needless to say, I was intrigued beyond description by this point and I pushed play and cranked it up, ready for what the next 63 minutes held in store and 16 tracks later…
Complete with interludes interspersed between to give further info into the tales spun as Psychoberrie regales us with a clear carry that is her weapon of vocal delivery, each song is the chapter of another as we follow Psychoberry on her road of darkness, told as only she could tell it. Opening with the sound of an old cassette recorder loaded, tape rewound, and it starts with a discussion where in we find out she has been in ‘treatment’ for two years states clearly, she is not insane with a laugh and the story begins with a progression sounding dreamlike as she tells us to ‘take her hand’ as she reminds you that she is more than you can dream along this medium tempo walk and then exactly 1 minute 10 seconds in, pace doubles as the twin guitars punch in over a twisting bass line and key flow that melts perfectly into the hyper-speed drumline as Psychoberrie bids us ‘Welcome to the show!!’ As a fast fade leads right into an almost spacey sound with cymbal washes and that ever present bass rumble gives the body underneath as the keys come up during this build-up before the pick-slide brings in the might behind ‘The Art Of Manipulation” that is an even quicker tempo than the previous and gives the perfect example of what is to be expected from this gathering of six that has created something beyond merely ‘spectacular’ here. “The Flight” is a fast-track that took me immediately to Lords Of Acid with the key-line between verses and this is done in such a manner that Praga Khan himself would be smiling ear-to-ear as Psychoberrie describes being ‘So high, so high’.
“Crystal Ball” carries an almost circus feel with the accordion progression that flows in unity with the tale that seems to be a warning from a fortuneteller, letting us know of Psychoberrie’s tactics that will take you down if you don’t pay attention. Another hyper-speed time shift just past halfway and it is seamless in execution, where ‘Hold Me’ open with a melancholy straight piano jag that let’s the soaring guitar notes and cymbal taps draw you even deeper within to catch her every word as she will ‘suffocate your soul’ and asks to hold her, because she can’t hold herself and the last minute and a half is where the rest of the band get to shine bright with the complexity and intricate weaving in and out and back and forth of each solidifies the way they fit exactly together as a band, even as the song fades out. “Blackened Heart”, “Run For Your Lives” and “Adrenochromania” further showcase the virtuosity of each band member and utilize even further their penchant of mixing as many musical ingredients together to deliver the utmost with each track, and even ‘Inner Demon’ that starts off with sole bass notes quickly coalesces into another instant classic that can stand alone apart from the story of the album, much like each track can and DOES!!
Stand-out tracks for me from this opus would have to be “Toy Box” with the accordion intro and carnival-feel and when the bridge of the songs hits with keys, guitar and vocal harmonizing, it gave me chills of the best kind. “Cry Of The Siren” is another with a touch of electro that is thick and brutal in progressions and time shift and is easily the MOST intricate composition here. And then there is the final track, seemingly the descriptor of where the name of this powerhouse configuration of souls came from and is as haunting as anything I have heard and is the absolute book-end to wrap what is a prelude of what is yet to come. Remember, this is the tale that brought us to the point of ‘two years later when Psychoberry began this diatribe. Whittingham has corroded remember??
From the gauge of this record, there is nothing but amazing things ahead for WARD XVI and I demand you help get the word out, play it for ALL around you and support them if you are granted the chance to witness this live…. Another one of those rare moments when I get to use the ‘I-X’ scale and this is one that blows off the chart with a……what else, XVI!!
The Music Factory, Battle Creek, Michigan – February 17th, 2018
Review by Eric Layhe
Photos by Eric Layhe & Terry “The Ancient One” Cuyler
Review: Speaking as a fan of Progressive Metal, this show was basically a dream come true.
On a chilly February night in Battle Creek, Michigan, a seemingly endless crowd of people representing nearly every age demographic (albeit almost entirely male) crammed themselves into a fairly small music venue for the opportunity to see a group of veritable giants of the music industry play- but more on that later. The night consisted of three musical groups, each of a different distinct sort of progressive metal. As we entered the venue, the stage was packed with instruments, including two normal-sized drum sets and Mike Portnoy’s drum kit, which is so ridiculously large it should have its own zip code and no fewer than five keyboards including a full-sized Wurlitzer Organ.
This jam-packed stage presented something of a challenge for the first act, Dark Trilogy. Dark Trilogy are an instrumental, progressive metal band from South Bend, Indiana with (rather fittingly) three members. Nevertheless, they seemed a bit cramped on the already jam-packed stage setup. That said, I have to say that they made the most of it, delivering a short but well-crafted setlist consisting mostly of shredding prog that gave each member more than enough opportunity to showcase their considerable talents, the peak of which was an excellent drum solo featuring entertaining theatrics and an impressive display with LED drumsticks!!
After a relatively quick reprieve between bands and the removal of one drum set, second act Sifting took the stage. Sifting are a Progressive Metal band from Los Angeles, California. Sifting, the touring opener, has a very radio-friendly but still proggy sound, as if Avenged Sevenfold took some songwriting lessons from Claudio Sanchez of Coheed & Cambria. From the first note, it was immediately apparent why Sons of Apollo chose Sifting to tour with them; While they are indeed a young band, they have immense talent, expertly blending complex guitar work with classically-influenced songwriting and well-executed vocal harmonies.
After the clearing of one more drum set, finally leaving enough room for a band to perform, Sons of Apollo took the stage, and they did not disappoint. For the uninitiated, Sons of Apollo is a Supergroup, comprising of former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian, Mr. Big Bassist Billy Sheehan, Former Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra and former Journey vocalist Jeff Scott Soto. This virtuoso pedigree made itself apparent right out of the gates with their album’s opener, “God of the Sun.” The band transformed and contorted with incredible aptitude to fit each and every song from their epic album “Psychotic Symphony”, including several covers (see below). In Sons of Apollo’s case, each member (debatably barring Portnoy) had an entire song peppered throughout the setlist to showcase their world-class talents.
Sheehan and Sherinian each had an original (and possibly improvised) solo section for each of the two, while Thal had a beefed-up cover of Henry Mancini’s famous theme to “The Pink Panther” and Soto had given himself the previously-thought-to-be-impossible feat of covering Queen. He began by mimicking the now-famous call and response schtick popularized by Freddy Mercury and then transitioned into a downright exquisite cover of Queen’s deep track “Save Me”, tastefully backed by Thal on guitar.
The aspect of the show that was most impressive was just how comfortable Sons of Apollo felt with each other on their very first tour. The entire group, even the famously stoic Derek Sherinian, were smiling like goofballs through the entire set, and were playfully joking with each other throughout the show, with special mention going to the mesmerizingly energetic Jeff Scott Soto. Most important, they were clearly having the times of their lives, and if you want to as well, do not miss Sons of Apollo on their continuing tour.
