Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

So, why exactly was Candyman 3 made? Did some studio exec realize that there weren't enough minority slasher pics being made, and greenlight this second sequel to poor Danny Robitaille's story? I'm not sure. What I do know, from listening to Adam Gorgoni's score to the film, is that ...

Pipe Dreams is the debut CD from Long Island, NY-based band Alien Canopy. Joined in February 2001, they are considered an original psychedelic retro/rock band, blending the sounds of classic rock with a modern influence. I find it reminiscent of Rush, or Blue Oyster Cult, with a pop influence. The ...

Is Allure having an identity crisis? On their first CD since 1997, the girls who seemingly wanted to be En Vogue now sound like they want to be Destiny's Child. Not that either are bad aspirations, but this New York quartet of girls (Alia, Lalisha, Akissa and Linnie) really ...

"The War of Art" is Minneapolis-based American Head Charge's debut release on American/Island Records. They bring a unique blend of metal, played with an immense fury that approaches the obscene. The album was produced by the infamous Rick Rubin and created in the basement of his legendary Laurel Canyon home, ...

Anathema's seemingly existed for an eternity… in fact so too does their music, much of which embraces those hallowed darker moments going back to the instru- mentally strewn days of yore with their ethereal and Baroque-like quality. Place yourself momentarily within an unimaginable context of classic Pink Floyd with ...

Their name was written in the annals of Punk infamy many moons ago (1977). Now the unlikeliest of landings on North American shores captures the mighty UK legends in rare form some twenty plus years after they first appeared. "Live From The Justice League," features sixteen bonafide Punk ...

Angra, for all intents and purposes, is a new band with a new beginning eg: "Rebirth." The remaining guitarists, Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt, two-fifths of the original band, were left with the daunting task of having to carry on after the rest of the band decided to walk away ...

To many, myself included, the name Apocalyptica might've only represented a one-off gimmick made up of classical musicians who sought to redesign Metallica songs… and true enough, they did so in impressive fashion, effectively transferring mighty Metal riffs to streamlined and delicate visions that at once enlightened and bewildered listeners. ...

From California's foggy bay area comes the unique rock trio, Atomic Mint. The group is comprised of Lead Vocalist/Guitarist Brianna Wanlass, and backed by a funky rhythm section which includes bassist Dave Hermacillo and drummer Amadeo Donofrio. Their sound is diverse and original, a breath of fresh air in the ...

Well it happened only seconds into the first cut "Pitbound (The 4th Trial of Acolyte)" and then the thing just stopped… I look down and there's blood flowing from my disc drive… I realize right then and there I might be in for way more than I bargained for. Let's ...

Since Iron Maiden's emergence in the early eighties, Bruce Dickinson carved out his unique sound and became a vocalist by which you could define a decade of music. After ten years of success with Iron Maiden, Bruce left the band to begin his solo journey; this album is a culmination ...

First off, these guys got a lot to say, on and off the disc! But I'll tell you one thing, I'd rather make their acquaintance through the pages of the cover insert then run into them in a dark graveyard! "Apparition's" an exercise in Death Metal technicality. I wrote ...

With good four-piece hard rock bands becoming an endangered species, Bushs' new album, Golden State, is a sign that someone out there still knows how to do it right. Bush has always managed to dabble in several different styles of writing without straying so much that the music suffers. Their ...

At only thirteen years of age Aaron Carter has managed to become a true teeny bopper pop star. Originally from Tampa Florida, Aaron was born on December 7th, 1987, twin to sister Angel. Aaron's singing career began at age seven, when he and some friends formed a band called Dead ...

There are certainly likenesses stemming from this kind of music, to one Kenny G. "Night Sessions," a soothing instrumental-led movement that employs dignity with grace and finesse for a record that was seemingly completed in the perfect atmosphere where the many illuminative moments occurred in the hills, after dark, at ...

After the relative success of last year's 'American Volume Dealer', Corrosion of Conformity is back with their first live album. The band is based out of Raleigh, NC and consists of Pepper Keenan on Guitars/Vocals, Woody Weatherman also on Guitars/Vocals, Mike Dean handles bass guitar, keys, and vocals and the ...

Recorded an mixed at the famed Abyss studios, produced by Peter Tagtgren, drenched in blood curdling screams and demonic attributes, "Diabolis Interium" has all the makings for a state of the art Black Metal release and it delivers-delivers the evil right to your doorstep. While this is Dark Funeral's ...

Just in time for the holidays, or maybe just a tad late, I give you, The Devil. Or at least a figurative interpretation thereof… if we're to believe what our eyes tell us -- since deriving the lyrical components here are all but crippled at the onset, this is a ...

Considering that "Dream Theater's" sixth studio offering, "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" (6DOIT) is essentially a concept album about mental conflicts of various kinds, it's almost fitting that there is a schizophrenic quality about it. The album sprawls over two discs, the second reserved for the 42-minute, eight-part title song. ...

The "silence", to coin a phrase, is deafening. Yet they employ it with such care. So what do you get when you combine the sheer brutality of At The Gates or Arch Enemy with the autumnal motives of Cemetery or Sentenced? Here's a hint: nine mind-numbing tracks of Melodic Death ...

Well at first I didn't know what to make of this… One minute I'm expecting an onslaught of barroom brawling and mug-raising anthems and what I get hit with turns out to be impacts me more than I could've imagined-this weird Dixieland drawl and finger-picking Waylon Jennings type thing comes ...

Think of it as 90's female-fronted rock minus the angst. Firebug serves up a blend of alternative and roots rock with plenty of blues on the side. "Fragile" is the Chicago-based group's follow-up to "Buzzin' High," which received some buzz of its own on college radio stations across the U.S. ...

At first glance I must admit to putting up the Cross sign with my fingers for fear of dread and senses dulling monotony, but looking onward, first I had to see what exactly is behind this thing called… Green Carnation? Bold enough for a name like that and even bolder ...

Produced by Greg Street under Atlantic Records, Six O'Clock (Vol. 001) is a compilation of 21 rap songs, featuring popular artists such as Outkast, Jermaine Dupri, Trick Daddy, Erick Sermon and many more. With a complete playing time of over 73 minutes, the album provides nonstop rap that keeps heads ...

He's been writing songs and doing the voice training thing ever since he was a young teen in his native France. Now, Gregori deems himself ready to show the world the sum of all his work in a brief collection of reasonably hooky and danceable love songs on his debut, ...