Faith No More @ the Masquerade Music Park 7/31/15

I was reluctantly indifferent to the thought of seeing the band again after being less than impressed by their last album. The show in contrast to the previous nights under sold Slayer show was sold out. So not liking crowds and hearing the horror stories of how packed the Scion Fest was few years ago , there was even more inner resistance. My fiance had already gotten  her ticket, so the problems to over come became the Refused management who was  less than responsive and the venue wasn't much help either despite having a previous working relationship with them, so I was getting prepared in my head to walk home. I had left my phone at home and my iPod is MIA, so along with being taken off one of my medications the inner world was getting bleaker by the minute. However our friend who bought a ticket from a scalper pitched in with my fiance and helped me gather funds to do like wise. We stood around in the humidity which was every thing you could expect from Georgia in July, the over cast sky did not empty. The crowd was a diverse mix generally older than not, some hipsters , some metal heads some fringe punks, the shirts worn ranged from black metal bands to Jawbreaker. The p.a. began playing 60s pop as the road crew dress like they were in a cult decorated the stage with flowers.

The band took the stage and opened with the first single of their new album, which came across better live than on the album. Then I got two songs from "Angel Dust" the playfully perverse anthem "Be Aggressive" and "Caffeine" which packed a little more of a punch though when compared to music of today Faith No More doesn't strike me as a metal band or even that heavy. Sure they rock and have an explosive edge to their dynamics which gave the show plenty of momentum. They were quick to switch gears on this jerking you back into the soulful " Evidence" where Patton's voice showed little signs of his age and proved him to be  one of the best vocalists to come out of the 90s scene. Sure  " The Real Thing" came out in the 80s, but the bulk of his career was realized in the rise of the alt rock movement. Speaking of the 80s "Epic" was next. He really nailed  the nasal tenor hook in the chorus. The first moment that was less than perfect for me was when they dipped into their new album and played"Sunny Side Up" one of the new albums less ballsy and not quite as focused songs. They bounced back from this with one of the shows better moments "Midlife Crisis" and "Everythings Ruined" from "Angel Dust" at one point Mike Patton asked the audience what they like to do since they seem to be able to do every thing in the Georgia heat, he reported back from the crowd response that some one said twerk, which lead to a him trying to twerk and  mention his enthusiasm for twerking.  In "Midlife Crisis" they broke the song  down into a more disco version. Then from "Album of the Year" came the well executed  "Last Cup of Sorrow" . The slow jams vibe was followed by their cover of "Easy" the first of two covers, the second being the cover of Burt Bacaharach's "This Guy's In Love With You", another b-side that is a live staple for them.  After "Separation Anxiety" off the new album came  came the "King For  Day Fool For a Lifetime" songs, "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" and "King For A Day".
Much like "Mother Fucker" , the song "Superhero" went over better live making it seem like it belonged along side Faith No More's other work. They closed with "Just a Man" which was dynamic enough of an ending, I would have preferred one more off " the Real Thing" perhaps "Surprise Your Dead", but that didn't happen. After beginning this Top 100 albums of the 90s I became  rather sentimental and Faith No More was at one point in time one of  my favorite bands, so it was good to have some of my faith restored in them after the disappointment their last album caused.

Cradle of Filth : " Hammer of the Witches" review & Video for "Right Wing of the Garden Triptych"

I think the argument as to if Cradle of Filth is still a black metal band has been long buried and we have accepted they are like Dragon Force for Halloween. They throw around more thrashy/power metal riffs than black metal ones. It just happens that Dani Filth is singing and not some dude trying to mimic Helloween. The keyboards and symphonic elements aren't up in your face as heavily on the first few songs. For the most part " Enshrined in Crematoria" is a more tightly written song than the opener. The parts that do have some what of a blast to them don't hold the same kind of menace as they do when delivered by a real black metal band. The guitar players shredding has improved. The symphonic element do not take the spot light until midway into "Deflowering the Maidenhead". Some of Dani's shrieks seem awkward in their placement toward the end of the song.

The Andrew Loyd Weber carries over into "Practicing the Blackest Majick". His vocals seem to work better in the lower range it sounds like he more control over his voice there. This is the first song that I would say goes above dialing it in from a songwriting perspective. There is a pretty cool bass break and the thrashing riffs that follows actually strikes me as heavy. The title track slows it down into a more convincing chug, with the last minute and a half being the most interesting part, leaving the first five minutes to wade in luke warm riffs. The intro of " Right Wing of the Garden Triptych" sounds promising if not like Nightwish. Then they rely on speed which is always what they have done to some extent, here it is more obvious. The slowed bridge that sounds more like Dimmu is one of the albums best moments, but then again it might just be time for another Dimmu album, which they started in March and are shooting for an end of the year release.Aside from a few touches on "Vampyre at My Side"They really don't indulge their more Gothic side on this album, int fact that is played down in favor of the metal.

"Onward Christian Soldiers" is not the gospel camp fire song, as surprising as this may be. It does have a better groove than most of the songs here find. Then come the bonus tracks which I'll go ahead and count as part of the album as with the interludes it will make it ten songs and that makes it easier for me to score. "King of the Woods" speeds along. The best part of the song starts when the lower vocals come in before the bass break, other wise there are some parts that are too power metal,this would be really heavy Kamelot album, but for this band it's stepping in a much more mainstream meta direction. "Misericord" is one of the albums best moments not sure why it was relegated to a bonus track.

I know for a fact I can hold out til the new Dimmu and don't need this on my iPod. They get credti for becoming both better song writers and musicians its just a shame they couldn't attempt that as a black metal band. I'll around it up to an 8 as it does what the band set out to do.

Chelsea Wolfe's First Band - Red Host

So her new album is called "Abyss", it's allegedly metal, with Russian Circle's Drummer and the guitarist from Deafheaven onboard, But rather than waiting around for that thought I would give you a taste of her first band Red Host, which is slightly more metal than where she went for her first solo album "Mistake In Parting" that had an almost grunge like feel. "Hole in the Head" you can hear where elements of these riffs resurfaced even on "Mers" Dude's harmony vocals are a little rough, but you can hear where her vocal style here is pretty much in line with what she does today