What Were They Thinking?
The episode title really only refers to two out of the five bands we discuss this week. But those two…oh man. It’s that situation where you want to be in the band’s collective head so you can try to see things from their perspective and understand why they think what they recorded is good. I’d also like to know which people at the labels went “yeah, let’s throw money at this to promote and release it!” That’d be an interesting interview…
Reviews:
Death Angel – The Evil Divide (Nuclear Blast)
Lacuna Coil – Delirium (Century Media)
Thrice – To Be Everywhere is to Be Nowhere (Vagrant)
First Impression:
Dropout – “The End” from forthcoming album
Machine Head – “Is There Anybody Out There?” single
Death Angel – The Evil Divide
Lacuna Coil – Delirium
Thrice – To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere
The Sideshow Podcast 
Ha… this is pretty funny (sorry I got behind a week!) So I randomly was talking about Lacuna Coil the other day – not knowing that you guys reveiwed them.. and well… I thought that there might have been something wrong with me… I remember excitedly getting Karmacode only to listen to it.. maybe twice? I just couldn’t get into it. As time went on I would occasionally hear some newer stuff on satellite radio… and was more or less disappointed as you guys know I REALLY liked them. (Was just telling someone about the time Amanda and I got backstage at the end of one of their shows). I WANTED to like them beyond Comalies… but I could never bring myself to listen to anything they put out beyond that. Judging by your extreme love for this last album… I feel better knowing I’m not totally alone in having this bad fizzle out for me.
On the flip side – also not knowing that you were reviewing Thrice…. I never liked them. Don’t know why… probably because I knew them as a punk band and I wasn’t much into punk. So lately I’ve found myself in my car really liking this band that comes on on the radio and every time I look up and it’s Thrice… So whatever they’ve been putting out lately – I’ve been (shockingly) thoroughly enjoying it…
One band gets bumped down, while another bumped up for me!
Interesting to see who pops to mind for you in terms of tone. It’s funny, I’ve been listening to Primus my whole life and suffering through Van Halen for most of it……and neither of their tones really snag me. Hendrix is a perfect example to me. One note and you know exactly who you’re listening too.
Sorry to rag on your setup! I too own a (bass) pod and a metal zone. ….I sold my Soundgear though about two weeks after buying it. I just couldn’t get anything usable out of it. I think there is a discrepancy in quality between their less expensive bass gear and guitar gear. I have played plenty of mid to lower line RG guitars and they’ve all played great. The lower end basses though are just awful. On the flip side, the BTB series basses and the old Roadstars (my main bass) are fantastic instruments and can be had pretty cheap in the used market.
Just because I own a cheap Ibanez, a Line 6 Pod, and a metal zone pedal doesn’t mean I actually use all three of those. My cheap Ibanez is REALLY cheap. The neck is crap. I never even use it anymore. I just play my Steinbergers (with and without headstock). I don’t use the metal zone pedal much either. There was a point in the mid-90s when I started to learn guitar that that pedal was everywhere. It seemed to be a required purchase for anyone learning guitar. I actually think that pedal isn’t a bad purchase for a teenager on a budget who wants a “beginner” metal tone. There are certainly better pedals out there these days but there are also some that still aren’t as good as the metal zone. But your point was really about someone who is a recording musician who makes albums and I would certainly agree that you wouldn’t want to use the Metal Zone to define your tone on an album – unless you actually want your tone to sound like a teenager on a tight budget.
I do use the Line 6 pod because it is great at recreating the tones of certain artists and songs. It’s also something that I can see why you wouldn’t be using it to define your sound on an album. But if you want to sound just like James Hetfield at the beginning of “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”, the Line 6 pod NAILS it!
Interesting review of Delirium by Lacuna Coil. Good thing it is available on Amazon Prime so I didn’t have to buy the album. I agree with Brian on their previous two albums: I really liked Dark Adrenaline but similar to Brian, I haven’t listened to Broken Crown Halo since it came out.
I’m going to display my rock roots for Nick’s game of who you can identify by the tone of their instrument. Drums would be Alex Van Halen. Bass would be Les Claypool from Primus. There are lots of guys for guitar, but Hendrix and Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd pop to mind first.
Hey, there’s no need to rag on my guitar setup. I happen to own a cheap Ibanez, a Line 6 Pod, and who doesn’t own a Metal Zone pedal?
I’ve been listening to Priests of Annihilation by Enthean. I can only think of four words to describe this album: this is my JAM!