Drop Dead Gorgeous :"Daggers"

The only album I've owned by this band was their 2007 "Worse Than a Fairytale," which was pretty dark and emotionally crushing. I had to go back and listen to that album again after a few minutes into this one to make sure it was the same band. Part of the difference here is the modern production sound that pushes them in a more Bad Omens direction. The vocals are less painfully emotional and carry more of the current pop sound these bands have been adopting; there are some heavier riffs, and the vocals do build into a more aggressive exclamation by the end. 

"Sink Your Teeth" has this newer anthemic quality that finds them not really sticking to their guns. I don't hear this as them pushing their original sound forward but trying to find their relevance in today's environment, which might have been done more organically; they could have gone heavier, but this is the direction they chose; "Six Feet:" almsot has more of a pop-punk feel. "Ghosts" starts off with a more harcore energy attacking the song before the chorus. 

I played "Burn" three times, and it never stuck with me; there is a predictable pop-punk ebb and flow from the verse to the chorus build-up. What they do now works best on the song "Feels Like Forever," which taps into more emotional honesty as they reflect on their drug use. Overall what they are doing works for what it is I am just not sure what this is works for who they are as a band even taki9ng into consderation that almot 20 years have passed since the album I want to compare this to . I will give it an 8. 

pst524

Ghostemane : "Am:FM"

The creepy Trap rapper opens his new album with nu-metal guitar and sung vocals that wink in the direction of Deftones; they are high and airy until the roared chorus that owes more to Johnathan Davis. It works for what it is and feels fresher since it is not 98. But where he is stronger is on "Miasma," that bleeds out of "Deus Ex Machina,"  where he is rapping against the denser bass hits behind him that are more metallic than, say, dubstep; it builds into something that is at least darker and angrier than Limp Bizkit. His trap rap vocal style is unique as it shifts through varied colors.  

"Zero Day" finds the songwriting becoming increasingly effective, though lyrically it's a page out of the first wave of this sort of thing as he complains about everybody saying fuck this and fuck that, but now it's time to do something about it; however, it works with the energy of the song. This guys is so skinny I don't take him too seriously taking about being violent. "Bucketlist" is a great song and paves the path for what this album needs to do. "Jupiter" works off more hip-hop sounds than aggressive ones. This does make for a wider dynamic range. He ebbs into some passages of sung vocals to give this one more layers. 

"Hyperdrive" has a darker electronic vibe going into it, before a breakbeat takes off with the song. It's more of an instrumental interlude in comparison to the other more vocally driven songs. "Mean Girls" finds him back in his sweet spot. Not the album's most dynamic song as it drones on the one beat, but it works for what it is. "Cyberia" goes for an almost more industrial sound but might be closer to the Prodigy in this regard." Get Gone" brings more shadows to the ambiance. With a blown-out bass line booming under the vocals. 

"NSFW" works off a pulse of dense bass, and is one of the album's most deliberate tracks even when his rapping races over it. "Noose Knot" finds him returning to an emotive, breathy singing style. The chorus is particularly strong. "A Fire in the Skye" closes the album; it uses much more melodic sounds with delicate almsot whispered vocals. It is his version of a ballad. This album is not the most original thing you have heard, but it is done in a way that makes all of this feel fresh, I will give it a 10. 

7

pst523

What the Line-Up For Welcome to Rockville 2027 Should Be

The Welcome to Rockville lineup is dropping next week, so I 'll get a jump on it and tell you what the lineup should be. A large  percentage of people who go just show up to party, and the music serves as background static for them to  take selfies with people they will never see again. This is not for those people; this is for people who actually care about music and have more refined ears than just whatever is on the radio, since that is all garbage anyway.  

Festival line-ups are boring; they all look the same, much like a reflection of commercial rock radio that has played the same beer commercial-sounding songs for the past 30 years, and we wonder why concerts are so expensive; it's due to the music industry trying to recoup its losses. The economy is not getting any better o are people going to just be complacent and spend their shrieking entertainment budget on a band they have already seen three times. Welcome to Rockville and its sibling festivals are terrible at retreads. As  someone who has worked in the music industry for almost 20 years and listens to over 600 new albums a year, I know the pulse of where music is heading, so here is what the lineup for Welcome to Rockville 2027 should be after taking into consideration the touring schedules of bands that would have conflicts, like Iron Maiden, who is already playing Tampa on May 1st, but allowing room for unexpected reunions and other surprises. 

 I get the general public has not really shifted its taste in the past 20 years os you have to give them names that carry some nostalgia, but not the same ones adnauseum; you can still cater to the MySpace crowd and have the nu-emo pop-metal bands and TikTok revivalists for the kids and still bring in fresh faces with a draw. Sure, there are some idiots whose taste is limited to Monster Energy drinks and Slipknot and won't know half the names here, but they are going to be too broke paying off their Probation officer to  keep a festival alive andd relevant, so here's what the lineup should be for 2027

In switching it up here is how the bands are broken down by genre, taking out the what at times has been a 60 of artists who crawled from the wreckage of the Myspace era.

Rock-41

 Metal-37 

Stuff for the kids- metalcore/.numetal/hiphop-37 

warpTour=pop-punk/ emo mostalgia-6 

Here we go.... 

 Thursday

Apex

AC/DC

Lenny Kravitz

 The Darkness

 Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats

 Starbenders

 Twisted Teens

 Octane

 Kid Rock

 Twisted Sister

 Ugly Kid Joe

 Monster Magnet

 Wednesday 13

 The Cruel Intentions

 Vortex

Brand New

 Thursday

 Destroy Boys

 Modern Life is War

 bodywash 

 Poison Ruin

 Inferno

A Tribute to Peter Steele and the Legacy of Type O Negative  featuring members of Life of Agony, Carnivore AD and Sun Don't Shine

Life of Agony

 Prong

 Carnivore AD

 Hangman’s Chair 

 Sun Don’t Shine 

 Restless Spirit

 Garage-

Twin Temple

 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

 Crippling Alcoholism

 Blackwater Holylight 

 King Dude

 Hoaxed

 Friday

 Apex

 Pearl Jam

 Them Crooked Vultures

 The Pixies

 Garbage

 Veruca Salt

 Sponge

 Octane 

 The Misfits

 Iggy Pop

 Bad Religion

 Spiritual Cramp

 Tiger Army

 School Drugs

 Vortex 

 Idles

 Viagra Boys

 Whores

 Ingrown

 NO/MAS 

 The Linda Lindas 

 Inferno

Neurosis

 Emma Ruth Rundle

 Chat Pile

 Kylesa

 RWAKE 

 Terminal Nation 

 Garage

 At the Drive in

 Butthole Surfers

 Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

 Mac Sabbath

 Blitzkid 

 Demon Pussy 

 Saturday

 Apex

 Rush

 Muse 

 President 

 Novelists

 Protest the Hero

 Hidden Mothers 

 Octane

 Queen With Adam Lambert

 Paramore

 Gunship

 Skynd 

 Ours

 Freeze the Fall 

 Vortex 

 Faith No More

 Superheaven 

 Scars on Broadway 

 Ashes Divide 

 WARGASM 

 Spaced 

 Inferno

 Opeth

 Katatonia

 Ulver

 Igorrr 

 Daath

 Oh, Zorn

 Garage 

 Scour-featuring Phil Anselmo

 Royal Thunder

 Portrayal of Guilt 

Cloak

 Age of Apocalypse

 Disfear

 Saturday 

 Apex

 Eminem 

 Suicide Boys 

 Run the Jewels

 Die Antwoord 

 House of Pain 

 Jane Remover

 Octane 

 Nine Inch Noize

 Boy Harsher

 Cold Cave 

 Aesthetic Perfection

 Brtualismus 3000 

 Pixel Grip 

 Vortex 

 Fontaines DC

 High Vis

 Vowws

 Love is Noise

 Dead Pony

 Homefront

 Inferno

Scars on Broadway 

 County Morgue

 Dropout Kings

 Ten56

. Last Ten Seconds of Life

 Splitchain

 Garage 

Tomahawk 

 Author & Punisher

 Black Magnet 

 Glitched 

 Tayne

 Sister Kill Cycle 

 Sunday

Apex

 The Cure 

 Gary Numan

 Placebo

 Chelsea Wolfe 

 Twiligh tSad 

 Grave Pleasures

 Octane 

 Danzig

 H.I.M

 Fields of the Nephilim

 KMFDM

 Lords of Acid

 The Night Eternal

Vortex

King Diamond 

 Fight

 KKs Priest

 Savatage

 Forbidden

 Cagefight

 Inferno

 Dimmu Borgir

 Blood Incantation

 Paths of Possession

 Undeath

 Jungle Rot

 Combichrist 

  Garage

Loathe

 Drop Dead Gorgeous

 Internal Bleeding

 100 Demons

 Balmora

 xForever Warx

pst522

Prong : "Prong"

 

I did not expect them to come out of the gate thrashing; their best work found the band deviating from the thrash genre that wa dominant in the late 80s and bringing a staccato groove to the occasion that was ahead of its time. Come to think of it, this band's name does not come up enough in conversations about the roots of nu-metal. It feels like they are trying to find their place in the musical climate of 2026. "New Commission" follows a similar formula to the opening track, but with a catchier chorus. "The Uprising" has a harder sound and a pounding beat that resonates more closely with who they are.

"Uncertain Truth" is the best song so far; it's way more melodic and hooky, perhaps almost too much so for purists of their classic sound. "Fear the Sun" has more of a metallic chug; it's one of the more polished songwriting choices so far that still feels true to who they are. 'Common Resolution" is more like the punk side of Killing Joke, who is obviously an influence on this band. They continue down this punk road with "Doomed World". The vocal phrashing sounds like them but not the riffs. The doubling down on thrashing speed for "Proportionate Response" , it works better than some moments so far. 

"Trangression" comes much closer to what you want from these guys. I listened to " Simulated Drowning" three times without remembering what I heard, leaving me to think it had to be the most hookless, bland thing on the album. The last song had a chorus melody that stood out, so it was a better song, more of the Killing Joke vibe to it. Overall, I give this album an 8; they are trying to thrash way too much and that was never what they were about, that said, they still know how to write a song, and that shines through half the time. Dropping on Napalm Records November 6th.

"

pst521

Gothtober- Mousecunt : "Orgasmic Mouse"

 This Iranian band is pretty wild, they play a verse chaotic style of death rock. To their credit, they have more in common with Alien Sex Feind if they were having a circle jerk with Marilyn Manson than with Christian Death, and they are playing a more surrealist style of goth than just punk rock with effects on the guitars. They have my attention so let's see where it goes. The abstract collision of sound also brings Street Sects to mind at times. The vocals are more dramatic, swinging from a lower muttering to higher, unhinged sing-song verses. The guitar hass balls but rather than a metal chug, it's more of an angular accent. The drummer approaches things with a looseness that is like they are delving into free form jazz. While it does not find a groove you can dance to at goth nite, it is very interesting. 

The higher dramatic whine of the vocals leads the way into "You Know About Art" which should have been the opener, as it is the thesis statement for this album, and the lyrics explain a great deal about where this band is coming from and help this make sense. "Mon Too" is the most goth moment so far; it's more about emotional complexity than it is Halloween, but it's dark enough to compensate for that and also carries more melody and less chaos, making it perhaps the best song of the first four. "The Orgasming" is more rock, though considering I review metal sixty percent of the time, the double bass is a little sloppy but forgivable. I think the jazzy sections are more who this drummer is. 

"Your Repulsive Husband " is more of a cathartic art turned dark sound. It works for what it is.  "Godspeed" is the first song that touches on death rock's punk roots. I like the lyrics to this one. Things get more abstract for the song 'Cunt". It has an almost Skinny Puppy feel minus the industrial beats. The last song picks up where the previous song left off but with a marginally more perverse undertone. It lacks the more defined bass that someone like Christian Death would drive this with, but in doing so creates a more abstract atmosphere which is unsettling in it's own way. I have listened to a ton of goth music this month, and these guys have found their own unique spot in the genre.I will give this one a 9.5 and see how it grows on me if you like your goth with the empahsis on weird, then this is for you.

 

pst520

xforever warx : "Upon the Week and Broken"

 This album from the straight edge band from Salt Lake City hardcore crew came out bakc in March. They play a very metallic and in-your-face brand of hardcore. I am typically not into straight edge bands, but if they can bring it without preaching at me, then I am fine with it. They are obviously very influenced by Slayer, judging by the opening track. There is the taunt thrashing groove almost so much so that the lines between wehre thrash and hardcore are blurred here, so perhaps just admitting they are a crossover band might be the best apporach. The second song has more of a breakdown riff at the end but that is not really their thing. 

They are back to awaiting the hour of reprisal on "The Highest Truth". The coarse shouted vocals sometimes lower into more of a growl, but I have not really been paying attention to what the lyrics are. There is a little more of a hardcore roar to this one. They pour on the hyper-aggressive thrashing speed with "Apotheosis". This is angrier and does not groove as much as the first three songs. Double bass is used sparingly, which is a more hardcore trait. All but one song stays under the three-minute mark. 

Double bass does not really make itself known until going into"Sacrificed' I knew a drummer being in a band this influenced by Slayer would have pulled it out at some point. They are back to the slap-your-momma grooves with this one, and you know the kids are out karate chopping to this. They bust out some mean as fuck riffs here. The mean grooving riffing is crafted in a way that flows, putting them above most bands of this sort. I will give it a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. 

pst519

Master Boot Record : "Computer Metal"

 In a world where the rise of the machine is coming to fruition, with AI now cranking out tunes, adding a layer of guitar to provide a more human element to this project's computer metal is essential. The bigger challenge for my ears is that this is all instrumental. It's not my first dance with them, as "Hardwarez" earned a 9, putting it in the top tier of this brand of aggressive synth-driven music. Two songs in, I am unsure if they are going to fully realize the songwriting potential here or are they just going to make heavy sounds. There are some cool riffs, but cool riffs alone does not a good song make is the mantra here. 

"Plug and Play" finds them backing off a little to introduce more synthwave sound. It's happy in the way power metal is that I am not a fan of, though it works better in this context. However, this compromises the mission a bit, as heavy is what sets this project apart from the pack, with acts like Perturbator also bringing a more metal dynamic. He hammers you harder on "Firmware" but it does not hook me in. It is more often than not a heavier album than what I recall from the last time I gave this project a shot. "Boot Section" has more of a neo-classical flair. It is impressive playing for what it is. Though no more of a song than what Yngwie Malmsteen does. 

"Turbo Button" races faster with the devil down a Spanish highway. More of a thrasher but on the more technical side. "Voodoo2" is darker; it almost feels like if a King Diamond song was turned into video gamee music. "CRT" locks into an effective groove. But the last song treads ground we have already heard on this album before. Overall for this album to keep my attention as much as it did says something I will give this a 9, and see if I feel the need to revisit what they do, but if you're into aggressive synthwave, this is worth your time. Dropping on Metal Blade Records.

pst 518