The Gamut - theme episode tonight, "Epics and Long Songs"!

Long-time Gamut listeners will remember that every 3rd Sunday used to be a "theme" episode - well, now new listeners can get in on the fun because "theme" Sundays are back!  Tonight is all about epics and super-long songs!  This may be the shortest playlist in Gamut history, but the show is still full of awesome music, including an 11-minute epic from Theocracy - "I Am" from the band's up-coming "The World Will Bleed" album debuts in The Gamut this evening!  Tune in tonight at 9 PM EST via http://www.untombed.com to listen in!

Tonight's playlist!
As I Lay Dying - Condemned (Metalcore)
Theocracy - I AM (Progressive Metal)
Kekal - Escapism (Avant-Garde Metal)
Agathothodion - Man Born Blind (Black Metal)
Veni Domine - The Chronicle of the Seven Seals (Progressive Metal)
Mortification - EnVision EnVangeline (Progressive Metal)
Virgin Black - The Everlasting (Gothic Metal)
Paramaecium - The Birth and the Massacre (Doom/Death Metal)
Deuteronimium - Tales From the Midst of the Battle (Progressive Death Metal)
Kinetic Element - Reconciliation (Progressive Rock)
Michael Phillips - Mirrors Within Mirrors Pt. 2 (Progressive Hard Rock)
Thy Pain - Wounded Heart (Melodic Death Metal)

Check out the Untombed website @ www.untombed.com !  You can tune in easily via the web-based player on the front page, link to the stream via your regular audio player, read album reviews, get music news, and link up to other great resources, including Divine Metal Distro, your one-stop source for all things Christian rock and metal!  Don't forget, station chat has moved to untombed.com at the bottom of the site, so make sure you sign up or use a Facebook or Twitter account to sign in and chat w/ me and other listeners during the show!

Alternate links to listen to the stream in a separate player (Winamp recommended, though Real Player, VLC, iTunes and others work as well):
http://207.192.71.70:8000/listen.pls
http://radio.fuhell.com:8000/listen.pls

Here's the link for Windows Media Player:
http://207.192.71.70:8000

Also our stream can now be heard on Nintendo Wii! If you have a Wii, here is what you do:

1.go on the net via your Wii console
2. type "www.Wiihear.com" into your browser address box
3. type "207.192.71.70:8000" into the Search box
4. Click the play arrow

It can take 5-10 seconds to load up & buffer, so please be patient when using this feature :)

You can also stream the station via xyzmp3.com on your PSP, PS3, Wii, iPhone, or even your TiVo!  Plus you can stream the show via your Windows Mobile phone with the free GSPlayer application, or your new Windows Phone 7 device via StreamyThing!  Listen in from your Android device via the "A Online Radio" or StreamFurious applications, as well as the new beta version of Winamp for the Android platform!

The Gamut - tomorrow night's playlist!!!

The Gamut is full of awesome music and huge variety, as always!  Tune in Sunday evening at 9 PM EST via http://www.untombed.com to listen in!

Tonight's playlist!
Tortured Conscience - Modern Day Pharisees (Death Metal)
ReinXeed - 1912 (Melodic Power Metal)
Halcyon Way - On Black Wings (Progressive Metal)
Carrying the Fire - Free At Last (Hardcore)
Fear Not - Give It Up (Hard Rock)
Behold the Kingdom - Valley (Deathcore)
Kekal - Futuride (Avant-Garde Post-Metal)
Terraphobia - Soldiers of the New Millennium (Thrash Metal)
Believer - End of Infinity (Progressive Metal)
Blood Covenant - Fall Babylon (Black Metal)
Golden Resurrection - Standing On the Rock (Melodic Power Metal)
Dirge For Today - There are flowers on your grave (Blackened Folk)
Decision D - Diabolic Shadow (Technical Thrash Metal)
Joy Electric - The Electric Joy Toy Company (Synthpop)
Oh, Sleeper - Son of the Morning (Metalcore)
Menahem - Prisons Without Walls (Progressive Metal)
The Scurvies - Don't Let Me Go (Punk)
Swine Suicide - Howls of Worship (Black Metal)
POD - On Fire (Rapcore)
Crossforce - Out of the Darkness (Classic Metal)
Project 86 - The Spy Hunter (Modern Heavy Rock)
Eisley - Oxygen Mask (Female-fronted Indie Pop)
Becoming the Archetype - Path of the Beam (Progressive Extreme Metal)
Random Eyes - New Flow (Melodic Power Metal)
Sotahuuto - Tohuaja (Modern Death Metal)
Saint - To the Cross (Classic Metal)
Stairs to Nowhere - Silent Times (Between Torpedoes) (Indie Rock)
Staple - The Songwriter (Post-Hardcore)
Woe of Tyrants - Break the Fangs of the Wicked (Melodic Death Metal)
Incrave - Unveil the Truth (Melodic Power Metal)
Pastor Brad - Turn Up the Light (feat. Ken Tamplin) (Hard Rock)
The Moshketeers - Locked In Chains (Thrash Metal)
Omar Domkus - Tianenmen Square (Female-fronted Alternative)
Nomad Son - At the Thresholds of Consciousness (Doom Metal)
Job - A Psalm for the First Caust and Last Refuge (Experimental Doom Metal)
Seven Kingdoms - Somewhere Far Away (Female-fronted Power Metal)
Thy Will Be Done - Mourning Without the Sun (Metalcore)

Check out the Untombed website @ www.untombed.com !  You can tune in easily via the web-based player on the front page, link to the stream via your regular audio player, read album reviews, get music news, and link up to other great resources, including Divine Metal Distro, your one-stop source for all things Christian rock and metal!  Don't forget, station chat has moved to Untombed.com at the bottom of the site, so make sure you sign up or use a Facebook or Twitter
account to sign in and chat w/ me and other listeners during the show!

Alternate links to listen to the stream in a separate player (Winamp recommended, though Real Player, VLC, iTunes and others work as well):
http://207.192.71.70:8000/listen.pls
http://radio.fuhell.com:8000/listen.pls

Here's the link for Windows Media Player:
http://207.192.71.70:8000

Also our stream can now be heard on Nintendo Wii! If you have a Wii, here is what you do:

1.go on the net via your Wii console
2. type "www.Wiihear.com" into your browser address box
3. type "207.192.71.70:8000" into the Search box
4. Click the play arrow

It can take 5-10 seconds to load up & buffer, so please be patient when using this feature :)

You can also stream the station via xyzmp3.com on your PSP, PS3, Wii, iPhone, or even your TiVo!  Plus you can stream the show via your Windows Mobile phone with the free GSPlayer application, or your new Windows Phone 7 device via StreamyThing!  Listen in from your Android device via the "A Online Radio" or StreamFurious applications, as well as the new beta version of Winamp for the Android platform!

Golden Resurrection - Man With a Mission (2011)

Christian Liljegren (aka Christian Rivel) is a busy man.  And not just busy like having plenty of stuff going on.  I mean busy as in, the guy apparently doesn't sit still.  If my count is right, Christian has either spearheaded or been involved in the recording of some 15 albums since Narnia released their debut in 1998.  So by my count, that is more than 1 album on average per year.  Sure, there have been years where he hasn't released any material, and heavier periods (like 2004-2006 where he was involved in at least 5 different albums, 3 just in 2005!), but suffice to say, the man has kept himself busy, professionally speaking.  Add to that the fact that he runs his own record label(s), and you have one busy guy.  He left Narnia, presumably so he could be less occupied, but aside from less constant touring, I think Christian is probably still busier than the average metal musician.

2010 was another busy year for Mr. Liljegren, as he released the 2nd Audiovision album, guested on the 2nd 7days release, AND put out the debut of his latest endeavor, Golden Resurrection.  The album hailed a return of the neoclassical metal he had become known for in Narnia, but bumped up the speed and intensity factor a bit, resulting in a strong showing and a fine debut album.  Just 11 months (to the day!) later, Christian and company are back with their sophomore outing, "Man With a Mission".  Still present are Tommy Johansson's sweeping neoclassical playing and Christian's strong vocals.  The big difference here, however, is that everything has been amped up save for the speed.  In fact, the album has considerably slowed down to where the number of "speedy" songs has dwindled to just a couple.  Most of the material is mid-tempo, or meets somewhere in the middle between the speed of power metal and neoclassical, and a more traditional metal stomp.  This isn't wholly unique, by any stretch, but does give Golden Resurrection slightly more identity than they had before.  In a way, it's like they've taken a Hammerfall approach that says, "Speed isn't always better, sometimes it's just more."

In terms of guitar work, Tommy is on-point as always, and brings some fairly strong riffs with a good melodic sense.  His lead playing is always skillful and technically adept, while also being melodic, and that shows here, perhaps a bit more strongly than on the debut.  He also adds some vocal work here and there, harmonizing with Christian in background and group vocals, as well as doing a few lead vocal trade-offs with Christian at times (including on the bonus tracks).  Christian is in fine form here as well; I firmly believe he has only improved with age, and his material with Divinefire was (I feel) his strongest work up to that band's original demise in 2008.  Golden Resurrection has continued this, with Christian nicely transitioning back and forth between his smooth-as-butter "golden" voice, and his more gritty, aggressive tone that he uses at times to accentuate the tempo, mood, or power in the songs.  Bass work by Stefan is solid, though it's often difficult to pull out of the mix.  In other words, his contribution is less overtly obvious than the rest of the band, but when you hear his rumbling underneath, it's easy to see he contributes.  Drum work by Rikard is also quite good, with a good use of varying tempos, not content to just double-bass drum his way through the album.  He is quite solid and provides competent rhythms behind all the music, and doesn't showboat or take over the music.  Special mention must be made of keyboardist Kenneth Lillqvist - the man certainly knows his way around his instrument, and he provides an excellent backdrop for Tommy's guitar, sometimes acting as a "second lead", other times merely providing a melodic framework for Tommy's guitar pyrotechnics so the song doesn't lose the melodic sense in the midst of all the fireworks.

Lyrically, the band trudges the usual territory of faith in Christ, power through faith in Christ, empowerment through Christ, etc.  There are a couple of exceptions, such as "Golden Times" which is more of a reminiscence than an overt statement of faith, and "Flaming Youth" which is directed a bit more specifically at, well, the youth and their direction.  But if you're no fan of "Christian metal" because of the lyrics, this won't win you over, and will probably be one more album on the pile of records that turn you off.  I would challenge those listeners to keep an open mind, however.  While Christian isn't the most adept lyricist out there, he tries, and he is earnest in what he is singing, even when his stuff tends to veer into "maximum cheese" territory.  So while the lyrical themse on the album tend to be a touch redundant at times, they're at least consistent.

The digital release of the album includes 2 bonus tracks not available on the physical CD: "Point Of Know Return" (a Kansas cover), and "The End Of the World", which is a fitting and timely tribute to the late Gary Moore.  Both songs are well done and show the band from a slightly different vantage point.  Actually, I quite like their take on "Point Of Know Return" after listening to it a few times, with Tommy providing the bulk of vocals and Kenneth's keyboard shining throughout.  If the band decides to change things up again after this release, a metalized Kansas-like progressive direction would be something I could see (and would welcome) from this group.  Likewise, "The End Of the World" is a strong closer, though perhaps just a touch overlong.  It starts with a lot of guitar wizardry by Tommy, obviously paying homage to Gary's underrated guitar playing skills, particularly in light of his time in Thin Lizzy, no doubt.  Once the song actually gets underway, after a 2 minute solo-fest, we are treated to a mid-tempo rocker with a strong, aggressive vocal by Christian and some guitar flourishes by Tommy.

Overall, this is a strong second album by the group.  After my initial disappointment that the speed and power of the debut isn't present here, I think that actually works in their favor in the long run, as the market is currently overloaded with a glut of also-ran power metal bands.  I'm betting Christian and Tommy know that, and this album seems like a conscious shift away from the speedy European power metal sound to a more hybridized sound that combines classic European power metal with traditional heavy metal and hard rock, which I think will give the band plenty of crossover appeal.  It also gives their songs a bit more collective identity this time around, so while the songs start to bleed together a bit mid-way through, this sees the band moving in the right direction.  Recommended for fans of melodic, power, or really any traditional European style of metal.

80/100

TV Time - Star Trek: Voyager

Who would have thought after mid-1969 that Star Trek, then just a freshly cancelled TV series, would have grown steadily to become a juggernaut of a franchise, spawning 11 movies (across 3 iterations of the franchise), 5 follow-up series (including an animated continuation of the live-action original), and a multi-billion dollar industry including toys, props, costumes, novels, comic books, video games and conventions worldwide?  I suspect if Gene Roddenberry were alive today, he would even be surprised at the level the Star Trek saga has become ingrained in the cultural lexicon.  Despite the long-running popularity of Star Trek in some form or another, some iterations of the franchise have been regardless as "lesser" in the Trek canon, often unfairly.  One of the more slighted portions of the Trek universe has been the unfairly maligned Star Trek: Voyager series.


Voyager comprised many firsts for the Trek universe.  It is the first show to feature a female captain, the first to feature a ship designed for scientific exploration (versus diplomatic missions like the Enterprise), the first ship to incorporate bio-electric circuitry (the "gelpacks"), and the first to put the crew in a long-term situation where zero Federation support is available during the course of the show's run.  After the ratings for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were less than what Paramount was probably expecting, Rick Berman and company were probably looking for ways to recapture much of the finge "Trek audience" that weren't rabid fans, per se, but were fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation because of it's emphasis on exploration and "bottle episode" plots, while still weaving in drawn-out plotlines, character development, and a general underlying theme.  Personally, I feel they accomplished this with Voyager.


In case you, the reader, are one of the folks who never saw Voyager, here's the synopsis.  Captain Catherine Janeway has been given command of Voyager, a starship from the new "Intrepid class" whose chief mission will be scientific exploration.  However, their initial mission will be to thwart the Maquis, a group of cessationists who were protesting (and fighting against) the Cardassian occupation of the Bajoran system.  The Maquis vessel had gone missing in an area of space known as The Badlands.  During the course of the mission, both the Maquis ship and Voyager got caught up in a subspace phenomenon that pulled the ships over 70,000 light years into a region of space yet explored or charted by the Federation known as the Delta Quadrant.  The area of space where the Federation is based (on Earth) is known as the Alpha Quadrant, for comparison's sake.  Once they were thrown into the Delta Quadrant, they encountered several new races, one of which was the being responsible for bringing them that far, who died shortly after their arrival.  Due to this being's death, they were unable to be transported back to the Alpha Quadrant, and thus was born the show's primary underlying plot line - getting back home.  Both being stranded and needing to rely on each other for survival, the Maquis and Federation crews banded together and became one crew aboard Voyager to find a way to get back home, despite the fact that at maximum warp, it would take some 70+ years to do so.

You've come a long way, baby... 

It is in this goal, and the determination of the crew to find ways of shortening their trip home, that the show finds its initial footing.  However, viewers are quickly drawn into the myriad storylines, and are quickly prompted to care about the characters in the ensemble cast due to the vulnerability of their situation, their determination to get home, and their "humanity", indeed, even for those characters who aren't even human.  Alien crew members who joined the Voyager crew early on whose "humanity" was evident early on include the Ocampa named Kes, and her love interest, the Talaxian junk dealer known as Neelix.  Perhaps the most shining example of character "humanity" is the "Emergency Medical Hologram" doctor, played expertly by Robert Picardo.

Did someone forget to deactivate me AGAIN?

The thing about Voyager that makes it so endearing is that the cast is so well chosen for the show based upon the characters they play.  Half-Klingon, half-human B'Elanna Torres can be at once fired up and yet still tender, accentuating both sides of her personality.  Janeway is a strong lead with a commanding presence, yet she reveals her layers and gives viewers a reason to rally behind her as the captain.  Ensign Harry Kim may have the nickname "Starfleet" from Belana, and his "by the book" approach may seem a bit silly in the face of the odds the crew faces, but he's just such a nice guy that he's hard not to like.  Tom Paris' renewed sense of responsibility and desire to experience life is infectious, and who doesn't like Neelix and his over-eager personality and "people-pleaser" mentality?  Then there's Kes, who, despite only being on the show for 3 seasons, manages to capture a child-like wonder (indeed, for a race that only lives between 7 and 9 years, at 2 she is still very much a child) that is inspiring.  Let's not forget Chakotay, who nicely balances his Maquis bravado with his previous Starfleet sense of duty, and then The Doctor, who brings much comedy to the preceedings.

Captain, I have a delightful Leola Root Stew you simply must try...

Now in 2011 (10 years after the show's run ended), though the show looks a touch dated due to changes in hairstyles, updated CGI and special effect techniques, Voyager still looks pretty good and still manages to impress, though not in the same way TNG did years after its debut.  Still, it's no slouch when it comes to the visual department.  Depending on your chosen format for viewing, some of the visuals may be a touch "jittery".  Now that Voyager is on the Netflix Instant service, that's where I'm watching it (though I do plan on purchasing either a DVD or perhaps BluRay set at some point), like the intense orange lighting in portions of Engineering on the ship.  It's slightly off-putting at first, but you get used to it, considering the timeframe when it was made and the limits of the effects technology at that time.  In terms of sound, the modern Trek series have always been good about sound editing, and Voyager is no different.  Rarely do you need to either crank the volume up, or turn it down in order to avoid being "blasted" by your TV, or to catch that lingering word or phrase.  The show has always had well-balanced sound.  A handful of the early episodes are unintentionally funny at times, in part due to the cast sort of feeling their way through their characters - like when Kes freaks out due to being unendingly hungry and Neelix throwing her over her shoulder to haul her off to the doctor - her reaction is priceless.  But then TNG suffered from a very "stiff" cast for about the first season and a half or so, which makes this less a complaint and more an observation.

I guess the thing that makes me most nostalgic about Voyager is that I never properly finished it.  Voyager, like the other modern Star Trek series, was in syndication, and not long before it moved exclusively to UPN is when I stopped watching because we had no UPN affiliate where I lived.  So while I watched long enough to see the introduction of the much-lauded Seven of Nine character (Jeri Ryan's calling card), I didn't get to see much of her character development before I was unable to watch the show.  I wasn't madly in love with Jeri like most other Trek fanboys were - honestly, with what little I saw, I preferred her in Boston Public after Voyager ended.  That said, I am anxious to see the development of her character fully, as I understand it was an interesting evolution from dyed-in-the-wool Borg to a more fully realized individual.  And perhaps that's the thing that Voyager boasts, at least as much as The Next Generation - that ability to take a cast of characters and propel them into a situation that forces you to care about them from the word "go", and then keeps you interested by making them as real as possible within the context of the fantasy world they were created for.  That, and the blissfully utopian view of society that Gene Roddenberry espoused, are the endearing qualities that give Voyager a leg up over much TV sci-fi fare, and certainly allows the show to hold its own against its other Trek alumni.  If you haven't jumped on the Voyager bandwagon, now's a good time to start.

The Gamut - tonight's playlist!!!

The Gamut is full of awesome music and huge variety, as always!  Tune in at 9 PM EST via http://www.untombed.com to listen in!

Tonight's playlist!
Renascent - Scenes of a Tragedy (Melodic Death Metal)
Whitecross - Straight Thru the Heart (Classic Metal)
Vector - Fine Line (New Wave/80s Rock)
Plague of Ethyls - Blaze (Female-fronted Grunge)
Every Man's Hero - No One Ever Said a Word (Hardcore Punk)
The Color Morale - Hopes Anchor (Melodic Metalcore)
Uthanda - Wrapped Around Your Heart (Alternative/Ballad)
Bon Voyage - Diary (Female-fronted Indie Pop)
King James - The Calling (Metal)
Exegesis - Guerreros Del Rock (Symphonic Extreme Metal)
LSU - Shallow (Alternative Rock)
Golden Resurrection - Glory To My King (Power Metal)
Outlander - Worlds Away (Progressive Hard Rock)
In the Midst of Lions - Opposition (Deathcore)
Blessed By a Broken Heart - She Wolf (Heavy Modern Pop-Metal)
Hguols - My Eyes Have Opened (Instrumental Black Metal)
Sever Your Ties - Things Are Better (Left Unsaid) (Melodic Hardcore/Screamo)
Divinefire - Secret Weapon (Power Metal)
Deitiphobia - Crucifixion of Will (Industrial)
Starflyer 59 - Blue Collar Love (Shoegazer/Alternative)
Benea Reach - River (Sludge/Extreme Metal)
Stir - Joe's Son (Hard Rock)
Enshrouding - Final Ravages (Black Metal)
Morella's Forest - Star Gazer (Female-fronted Alternative/Dreampop)
A Hope For Home - Restoration: The Return From Exile (Progressive Hardcore)
Scaterd Few - Kill the Sarx (Gothic Punk)
Petra - Counsel Of the Holy (Hard Rock)
Darkness Before Dawn - Material Existence (Melodic Death Metal)
Asher (CA) - Unavoidable (Female-fronted Melodic Metal)
Crimson Moonlight - The Cold Grip Of Terror (Black Metal)
Post Mortum - Goodness Gracious (Nu-Metal)
Rehumanize - Repent and Believe (Grindcore)
Nobody Special - Sliding Backwards (Punk)
Haven - Deliver Me (Classic/Power Metal)
Goodnight Star - Dubparty (Synthpop)
In Grief - I Am (Progressive Death Metal)
Step Cousin - Standing On the Mountain (Groove/Thrash Metal)
Flee the Seen - Wardrobe Full of Fiction (Female-fronted Post-Hardcore)
Mortification - Elastisized Outrage (Metal)
Jimmy Hotz - Beyond the Blues (Progressive Rock)
Recession - Get Killed (Chaotic Metalcore)

Check out the Untombed website @ www.untombed.com !  You can tune in easily via the web-based player on the front page, link to the stream via your regular audio player, read album reviews, get music news, and link up to other great resources, including Divine Metal Distro, your one-stop source for all things Christian rock and metal!  Don't forget, station chat has moved to Untombed.com at the bottom of the site, so make sure you sign up or use a Facebook or Twitter account to sign in and chat w/ me and other listeners during the show!

Alternate links to listen to the stream in a separate player (Winamp recommended, though Real Player, VLC, iTunes and others work as well):
http://207.192.71.70:8000/listen.pls
http://radio.fuhell.com:8000/listen.pls

Here's the link for Windows Media Player:
http://207.192.71.70:8000

Also our stream can now be heard on Nintendo Wii! If you have a Wii, here is what you do:

1.go on the net via your Wii console
2. type "www.Wiihear.com" into your browser address box
3. type "207.192.71.70:8000" into the Search box
4. Click the play arrow

It can take 5-10 seconds to load up & buffer, so please be patient when using this feature :)

You can also stream the station via xyzmp3.com on your PSP, PS3, Wii, iPhone, or even your TiVo!  Plus you can stream the show via your Windows Mobile phone with the free GSPlayer application!  Got Windows Phone 7?  Check us out via www.streamything.com! Listen in from your Android device via the "A Online Radio" or StreamFurious applications, as well as the new beta version of Winamp for the Android platform!

The Best Music You've Never Heard - Nine-Headed Cactus Demon

"The hallucinogenic drugs such as psilocybin, mescaline, and peyote are not rude per se. But it can be difficult to observe all the niceties of etiquette when you're being chased down the street by a nine-headed cactus demon." - PJ O'Rourke from "Modern Manners: An Ettiquite Book For Rude People"

Okay, so I know what you're thinking: "Nine-Headed Cactus Demon? Sounds like some obscure black metal band, or maybe some obscure 60's psychadelic or acid rock band."  You'd be wrong on both counts, however.  Nine-Headed Cactus Demon (NHCD, as they shall be heretofore known) was a short-lived alternative/indie "college band" in the literal sense, in that they were a group of students at the prestigious MIT university in the early-mid 1990's.  NHCD is particularly of interest to me because of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter David Penner.  He is originally from my hometown of Aurora, Nebraska, and his younger sister was in my class in school, though I didn't get the opportunity to know her very well.  You see, her parents worked in some government-related discipline, so this classmate spent most of her time in Pakistan at the US Embassy.  Quite the swanky gig, and quite an eye-opening experience for a young girl in a country dominated by Islam, where women and females in general aren't well regarded.  So while I knew her by her brief attendance during my 5th grade year and occasional visits back to the US through Junior High, I can't say I actually knew her.

Fast-forward from 5th grade to the end of my Junior year of high school, approximately April of 1995.  I was riding high on having a car again (after totalling my first car within a month and a half of purchasing it), and my friends and I were working toward our ACT tests, and were preparing to take those.  Having only a cassette deck at that point, I of course had the wonderful tape adapter that would plug into the headphone jack of my portable CD player (an early model with some limited "skip protection".  It was this device that fueled much of my early CD purchases, as having the ability to "crank up" these tunes in the car was a real treat.  I had borrowed this underground CD from a friend (earning me cool factor points in nerd-land), and had spun it a few times, but other than casually enjoying what I heard, it hadn't quite "clicked" with me fully yet.  The morning we were to take our ACT tests I got up WAY too early, and went out driving to go pick up friends.  Turns out, they weren't planning on me picking them up until a few minutes before we were supposed to leave to drive the 30 minutes to the large regional high school where we'd be taking the test.  So in the meantime, because I was wide awake, couldn't go back home and go to sleep, and needed to de-stress from the thoughts of ACT test failure looming in my head, I just drove around in the dark and played some new tunes.  Among those was the Megadeth odds-and-ends CD "Hidden Treasures", which still has a couple favorites for me from the band.

After jamming out to some metal, I decided to change things up and played the NHCD disc.  Though I had listened to it before and enjoyed it, the full realization of how awesome it was had failed to capture me - until that morning.  As the sun was rising and I played that 6-song EP through, it dawned on me (see what I did there?) what I had been missing thus far.  The CD had its own sound, its own vibe, its own unique feel.  Not only that, but while the band was far from the over-produced "alternative" music we were being fed on the radio, they still sounded professional and like they weren't just some fly-by-night band making a CD because it sounded like a fun thing to do.  This band was more truly "alternative" than most of what my generation was being told was actually so.  Suffice to say, I ended up liking the CD so much that I just conveniently forgot to return it to my friend...

What makes NHCD more special is the variety in songwriting and performances.  They mix a laid-back guitar pop/rock sound (though not jangly) with some jazz influences, as well as a bit of neo-folk, funk, light grunge, and adult contemporary (don't let that tag scare you, this isn't Michael Buble) to forge a relatively broad, open-ended sound that has a lot going for it.  In terms of songwriting, these 6 nuggets represent a very strong batch of material that David and his bandmates composed, and the diversity of material is more of a strength to the EP than it is a weakness, like it often is for bands that have trouble finding their identity.  Instead, NCHD's identity is in the loose feel and leisurely pacing of the material, coupled at once with the precision of their performance.  It is this balance that has made "Gone" such a consistent player in my car or van, and on my iPhone.  I keep coming back to it time after time, and 15 years after it's release, it still sounds great, and still represents a real "alternative" to most of the rock and pop on the radio at that time.

Sadly, NHCD seemed destined to be a shortlived project, as many "college bands" tend to be.  A guy who was a year ahead of me in high school went on to MIT and supposedly joined NHCD (on bass) for a time.  When he was back in our hometown visiting his family, we struck up a conversation with him, asking if the band was going to make any more CDs, and he said they were (then) currently working on new songs and recording.  I don't know if anything came of those times or not, because "Gone" is the only evidence I have that they released recorded material.  This upperclass guy also said he would bring some more copies of "Gone" back with him on his next visit because they still had a box of them sitting around unsold, but that also never transpired.  If anyone has any other NHCD demos, EPs, or albums that I am unaware of, I would love to get copies.  I would also love to get another copy or two of "Gone", preferably in mint condition, as I've played the heck out of my copy and it's seen better days.  Copies of "Gone" are few and far between, and there's very little out there on the internet about NHCD, though Amazon has a couple copies of it (as of this writing) that are priced higher than I'd like to pay for a replacement copy.

After the demise of NHCD, David Penner went on to join (or possibly form) the techno-dance outfit Andain, which was poised (according to the press release, anyway) to take the dance/house world by storm.  As it stands, however, they only made one CD single (with numerous remixes) that has since gone on to have some level of internet fame, in part due to the music video with a rather attractive woman writing around amidst colored laser lights and such.  It's a great danceable synthpop tune, and would have been a good direction for David if he'd have stuck with it.  I suspect he chose the professional route, however, as his MIT degree likely would have been wasted on such things as pop music.  Andain fizzled out prior to an official release of their album, but have reformed as a duo (sans David) and have new music, so at least part of that legacy lives on.  But my fondest memories of David's music will always be the little 6-song EP he and his college buddies recorded, because it's such a raw expression of what real musical talent unencumbered by record company politics can truly be, while maintaining an excellent sense of melody, songwriting, and professionalism through it all.  Bravo to you, David.

Oh, and, sorry Matt - you can't have the CD back!

As a side note, since it's 15 years now since the release of the CD and there's virtually no chance that it's ever going to be re-issued, I have decided to take the chance of uploading the disc in variable-rate MP3 format, so others can hear the music and experience what I've been enjoying all these years.  If any of the band members decide they want the link taken down I will certainly oblige, but my guess is, they probably won't mind having the music out there for others to hear.  Either way, be my guest and download what is probably one of the most unique and interesting indie releases to come out of the "alternative" era.

Download here

Skid Row - Subhuman Race

Before anyone reads the words before them, I have a sneaking suspicion that some might think my timing for this review is somewhat dubious.  This is due, in part, to the fact that just days before I am composing this review, That Metal Show featured Skid Row guitarist Snake Sabo, and host Eddie Trunk went on and on about "Subhuman Race" and it became a running joke throughout the show.  So much so, in fact, that it's probably the most TV coverage the album has possibly ever had.  That's a shame, really, because this is quite possibly Skid Row's finest hour.  And I don't say that as a TMS fanboy or someone who has recently discovered this gem.  No, I've known this for years and have made it known to all I know who are even remotely fans of Skid Row that this was the best thing they ever did.  I've been spinning this monster album for some 12 or 13 years, and it's the one I go back to most often.

When most people think of Skid Row, they either hear the familiar chords and words of "I Remember You" or "18 and Life" running through their head.  Maybe they remember the video of the latter and it's (at the time) strong imagery.  Or perhaps they remember being wowed by how much heavier and more aggressive "Slave to the Grind" was compared to the band's eponymous debut.  If they though that was a jump, wait until they hear the oft-forgotten followup.  This album is absolutely teeming with aggression, power, riffs galore, impassioned vocals by the one and only Baz, and a sound so tight that it reeks of professionalism, despite some songs almost soundling like the band is about to come apart at the seems.  And indeed, after this record, it did.

From the roaring opening riff of "Enemy" it's clear this record will come out all guns blazing, and it doesn't disappoint.  All but one of the initial tracks pummel the listener into submission with heavy riffing, heavy grooves, and Sebastian Bach's screaming vocals.  While some may be initially put off by his increased use of screams, they shouldn't lose heart, because there's still tons of melody and it's plenty accessible, despite the harder exterior.  In the wake of the grunge movement, many hard rock and commercial metal bands either got heavier, wimped out and went full-on glam, or succumbed to the grunge sound, adopting that and attempting to "keep with the times", much like Candlebox did (though rather unsuccessfully).  Skid Row wisely avoids that pitfall, adopting only a bit of the "dirtiness" of the grunge sound, but keeping their identity in tact with heavy riffing and vocals that didn't reflect the quasi-dour and angsty vibe that many of the grunge bands put forth.  Rather, Baz sounds truly pissed-off here much of the time, as he rails against everyone and everything for any reason or no reason at all.  He glides seemlessly between smooth crooning and gritty, throaty vocals that sound like he's gargling driveway gravel and can belt out screams with the best of them and come right back down into a clean vocal again when the song requires.  When he double-tracks over himself it produced great results in many situations, like in the chorus of "Medicine Jar" (which could easily have been a rock radio single).

Snake and Scotti are at their most aggressive here on guitars, but they are no less tuneful than they are anywhere else.  In fact, on songs like "Eileen" and "Into Another" the band is as melodic and tasteful as they are in bigger hits, just with a slightly different approach.  But monster riffs in songs like "Empty", "Frozen", "Beat Yourself Blind", and "Face Against My Soul" are just some of the treats you'll hear in this outing.  This CD also has plenty of varied solo work, from the tasteful to the tasty - there are licks aplenty here.  The twin guitar attack in "Medicine Jar" is a nice treat.  Rachel Bolan thumps away on bass in the background keeping time with everyhitn well and never straying too far from the path, but the good production values on this disc allow you to actually hear what he's doing, and he sounds good underneath the heavier vibe Scotti and Snake lay down.  Rob Affuso beats the drums as skillfully as always, and has a good sense of dynamics here that allows him to pound the tar out of them when need be, but he takes the time to keep things low-key and quiet when it serves the song.  The extra use of double-bass is a nice touch in some songs, and Rob adds different flourishes here and there for effect, but his strength here is in really going after the pounding rhythms and accenting them slightly to give the songs additional weight.

While the album may have its fair share of lyrical clumsiness at times, no Skid Row album with Baz at the vocal/lyrical helm is without that minor issue.  There are moments where you feel like he's trying to hard to make a clever quip, but he misses the Steven Tyler mark sometimes, though what he ultimately comes up with fits contextually with the subject of the song.  Most of the time, however, he hits the mark, coming up with a variety of subjects he expresses well, from self-deprecating humor to social unrest and outcry, to more inward and personal topics.  While the album contains no "Quicksand Jesus" per se, it doesn't really need one because there's enough material here to stand up on its own.  As it sits, "Into Another" is probably the album's biggest contender for the single that missed, as this song should have performed nicely on hard rock radio, much like Motley Crue's "Misunderstood" the previous year.  And with massive grooves like those in "Enemy" and "Frozen", and "Ironwill", the album is stronger despite the lack of radio singles.  Oh, and yes, you can ignore the faux-industrial thing a couple minutes after "Ironwill" ends - it's a typical throwaway "hidden" ditty.

So what we end up with here is a highly listenable piece of work by a band that had more than their 15 minutes of fame, but should have had a few more to encompass this brilliant slab of molten hard rock and heavy metal.  Nothing this band put out before or since matches the heaviness, power, or raw emotion of "Subhuman Race", and I suspect that unless something lights a fire under Snake and the boys, nothing will.  I can't recommend this album enough to fans of hard rock, heavy metal, and Skid Row.  Fans who were disappointed that Guns 'n Roses' "Use Your Illusion" albums weren't as hard hitting as "Appetite For Destruction" will find plenty to love here, and this may be the fix they'd been looking for 8 years after that masterpiece's release.  I certainly did.  Highly recommended.

88/100