Monday, July 1, 2013

Weekend Listening: June 2013 (video)

#rockfile #newrock #prog #metal #newmusic
During my career, I usually have a few hours a week set aside to specifically listen to brand new music for my radio stations.  In my current situation, I have much more freedom to play new music no matter where it come from... and sometimes I am overwhelmed with new releases having to make time for extreme listening.

This past weekend, I had over 200 songs to listen to, from folk rock to death metal. I listen to everything that comes across my desk but things had piled up and I had a lot to get through. 

Here are the notes I jotted down while listening to various albums and singles:

Akord - a very cool EP from beginning to end. ADD to ICE!



Sebastian Bach - two shows. Big outdoor show, intimate indoor show. 19 tracks total. Two different sides of the band. And Bach is a consummate professional, showing he still has range and chops but I detected some "tweaking" of the vocals in the mix...I could be wrong. ADD live cuts to FIRE for two-fer and occasional spins.




Blackmore's Night - medieval folk rock. Perfect for a ren-faire attendees or Game Of Thones marathons. Very polished recording, Richie Blackmore's guitar work is always worth a listen.


Burning Rain - 80's rock with the usual swagger.


Frostland Darkness -  slow, growling metal and kinda boring


Illusion Suite - if I have to wait 1:29 to get to the vocals of a five minute song they better be great. Not so much. He's a decent singer but his introduction should be impressive, not anemic


Patrick Hemer - weak vocals don't match the fairly decent song

 
Pursuing The End - Epica with less classical/opera and more metal. Funny dubstep intro to the album.

Scott Lucas & The Married Men - minimal rock sound from former Local H guy, very Americana. interesting arrangements


Spirits of the Dead - psychedelic stoner rock but interestingly done.  mix is kind of dull sounding but could be the mp3s.



Subject To Thoughts - 2010 indie release would be most excellent with a real producer. Solid songs with vocals that sometimes search for the pitch.


All Too Human - prog metal and kinda interesting. ADD to ICE?


Avelion - interesting mix of metal and prog. ADD to ICE?


Brand New Machine - blackout overdose. Not as good as the current single but it's a free download.


Constantine - power metal and just ok.


Divided Multitude - power metal and a little better.


Divinity Compromised - symphonic prog metal that leans power. not bad.


Teramaze - techy power metal and better still.


Votum - very proggy! ADD to ICE!!!



Warnot - power metal and will have to re-listen.


Boil - Vindication. Very interesting! ADD to ICE!



Spiritual Migration - a little too metal for ICE. clean vocals are good, just not enough of them.


Lycanthia - Doomy metal mixed with gothic vocals. Too metal for ICE but re-visit.


We As Human - New church rock band discovered by Skillet. about as exciting as that sounds. Will have to listen to the new Skillet later.




My stations Rockfile Radio ICE and Rockfile Radio FIRE are streaming live from http://RockfileRadio.com






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