Rating Scale:
$$$$$- worth every penny
$$$$- a solid investment
$$$ - if you can spare the change
$$ - only if you can burn money
$ - keep that pocketbook shut
Artist: AEROSMITH
Album: "Nine Lives"
Label: Columbia
Rating: $$$
Aerosmith strikes again. Their new album, "Nine Lives," has already spawned three singles and super rotation on MTV and radio of "Falling In Love (Is So Hard On The Knees), "Hole In My Soul" and "Ain't That A Bitch." The tunes are typical Aerosmith, except when they get into some Far Eastern sounds on "Taste Of India" and "Full Circle," which add a different dimension to this album. If you're an Aerosmith fan, you'll like this album, but some of their past albums are much more original - like "Pump" and "Get a Grip." Still, this album is also a good listen, and it's been added to my collection of Aerosmith albums.
Artist: OBITUARY
Album: "Back From The Dead"
Label: Roadrunner Records
Rating: $$$
After a three year hiatus, the death metal band Obituary has "returned to the land of the living" so to speak. Defined by Allen West's and Trevor Peres' grinding guitars, and the guttural vocals of John Tardy, "BFTD" has the most aggressive and brutal death metal songs written by Obituary to date. The band's success comes form the marriage of catchy metal riffs and crunchy multi-tempo chord changes. I found this to be a typical hardcore, death metal album, with not much change from song to song, which makes it a bit tedious after a while, but for Obituary fans, they continue to produce the sound that's kept them on top since they released their first album in 1990.
Artist: Various
Album: "The OZZ FEST - Live"
Label: Ozz Records
Rating: $$$
The first release from Ozzy Osbourne's new record label, "Ozz Records," is "The Ozz Fest - Live." The first single to go to radio is Sepultura's "Attitude," one that probably marks the last Sepultura recording with founding member Max Cavalera. The album was taped at the Phoenix, AZ show on 10/25/96 and Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion in Southern California on 10/26/97. The album features one song from each band that played the tour on those two dates. I attended the Phoenix show (see October issue of AMZ), and in my opinion there were a lot better songs played at the concert than the ones chosen for the album. Maybe it was recording problems or background noise or some other outside factor that influenced the choices, but I only rate this album a $$$ because of the tracks chosen to include on it. If Ozzy decides to produce an album from Ozz Fest '97, hopefully the best tunes will be included on the record.
Artist: STAVESACRE
Album: "Absolutes"
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Rating: $$$$$
This is the second album for Stavesacre, and it really has some
soul-searching lyrics and great music. I heard a number of the songs off this
album live (see concert review) and must say this isn't an album made in the
studio. What you hear is what you get on stage too! There are no really weak
cuts and several, like "Shiv" and "An Eclipsing" are excellent. Very fresh
and invigorating to listen to.
