rock and roll

EP Review: DZ Deathrays - "No Sleep"

Submitted by M. Drew on Monday, Mar 19th 2012

Somewhere between the rock and roll of the White Stripes, the distorted two-beat fuzz of Nine Inch Nails' last album "The Slip," and the cadences of the Gorillaz lies the "No Sleep" EP from upstart Australian power duo DZ Deathrays.
Now, let's not get carried away too early. While the EP contains elements, that doesn't mean it is equal to the sum of all of them. Rather, the DZ Deathrays pick and choose their moments on this five-cut sampling of their talent

Album Review: Zeroking - "Kings of Self Destruction"

Submitted by M. Drew on Friday, Mar 9th 2012

Zeroking touts itself as an all-out rock and roll band, but there's more going on here than just that. Based in West Virginia, the band is heavily influenced by the rock and roll ideal of the West Coast, and uses that as a base to launch their curious and devil-may-care mix of rock, piano and brass (or a close facsimile to them,) and down home country twang.

Album Review: Van Halen - "A Different Kind of Truth"

Submitted by M. Drew on Tuesday, Mar 6th 2012

Approximately 11 trillion words have already been written in anticipation of, and response to, Van Halen's new album, "A Different Kind of Truth." Those words have ranged between an instant haranguing under the guise of the album being far too late, and an automatic sterling review as a revival of one of the signature bands of rock and roll's arguably best era.

Interview: Pickin' and Talkin' With Hank Williams III

Submitted by M. Drew on Thursday, Mar 1st 2012

The dichotomy of Hank Williams III can't be denied. He is both living legacy and self-made musician, an ambitious talent who refuses to be penned in by the conventions of any single genre or idiom. Hank 3 is a man who takes joy in his music, and more than anything else, enjoys sharing it with both his friends and his fans. I had the distinct privilege of getting some time to talk to Hank about music, recording and a host of other subjects.

Album Review: Ringo Starr - "Ringo 2012"

Submitted by M. Drew on Monday, Jan 30th 2012

Travel with me to a place less soaked with entrails and not nearly as dominated by despair. This place is full of legendary legacies and the tenets of breezy, feel-good rock and roll. This latter Elysiam is the easy going land of Ringo Starr.

Album Review: Autumn - "Cold Comfort"

Submitted by M. Drew on Friday, Dec 2nd 2011

Autumn's new album "Cold Comfort" is a work befitting its creator's name. Varying between pleasantly warm and icily fragile, "Cold Comfort" is both a promise of uneasy transition and muted optimism. That said, this album would have been more complete if there had been one breakthrough moment at the end of it. There are those who would counter that autumn as a season seldom announces winter's arrival with anything but a whimper.

Concert Review - Selfish Needy Creatures

Submitted by M. Drew on Wednesday, Sep 21st 2011

To get to this show, I had to board a boat. Wait, a boat? Yes, a boat. Essentially, the show was a rock and roll river cruise, which is an astoundingly simple and yet profoundly novel concept. You got metal in my recreational boating! You got recreational boating in my metal! It continues to amaze me that this kind of synergy isn’t more realized by adventuresome promoters. Tell me you wouldn’t go to a metal show at a paintball park. In any event, it was like attending the “70,000 Tons of Metal” cruise, but much much colder and smaller. So, more like “7 Tons of Metal.”

Album Review: The Foo Fighters - "Wasting Light"

Submitted by M. Drew on Friday, Apr 29th 2011

One of the pitfalls of reviewing the Foo Fighters is that because of their long-standing popularity and success, it is all too easy to slip into the circular logic of "it's good rock and roll because it's the Foo Fighters, and it's the Foo Fighters because it's good rock and roll."

That said, it might be hyperbole to say that "Wasting Light" is the paramount Foo Fighters release since the self-titled debut in 1995, but the new album certainly exceeds the musical accomplishments of any other FF release in the new millennium.

Ashley Purdy of Black Veil Brides

Submitted by M. Drew on Thursday, Oct 21st 2010

With their surprise debut at #1 on the Billboard Independent charts, Black Veil Brides are single-handedly trying to resurrect the type of metal/glam fusion that made Motley Crue and KISS rise to stardom. Cloaked in black and layered in shadowy makeup, the band is well on their way. I had a chance to get a few minutes with bassist Ashley Purdy and get some questions answered.

“We Stitch These Wounds” soared to #1 on the billboard independent chart a week after its release: Did you expect that kind of reception, or did its first week performance exceed what you thought?