Single review: Thirty Seconds to Mars "Up in the Air"

4/6
I confess, Thirty Seconds to Mars fell off my radar for a while, but I was curious about the new single, so I gave it a listen.

Overall, I like it, but it has more of a dance feel, which I’m not sure works with Vocalist Jared Leto's vocals––it sounds like a remix of an unreleased single from their last album, This Is War. I'm still getting used to the new sound and the jury's still out on how it holds up.
The lyrics are the same thing we've been hearing from Thirty Seconds to Mars for years--Jaded, but passionate.  Leto has a ferocity about him that grabs your attention. The tone of the song calls for taking chances, and boldness.

I am very interested in what Love Lust Faith and Dreams (the new album due out on my 21) has in store.

Streaming live from the Elbo Room(Chicago, IL): Silent Nightmare. "I Will Not Be Denied"

(4/6)
Venue: I can’t rate the venue as I wasn’t per se there, but it felt like the sound quality was a lot clearer.

Watching this show streaming was an interesting first for me. I was able to critique a live performance the way I do an album, but still get a sense of how the band plaid live. I really enjoyed it.

One of the joys of working with such a green band is that you really get to see them evolve.  I've been tracking Silent Nightmare seriously for about a ear and change (look this number up) and watching them go from where they were)(ago to now has been amazing. They have improved every time I’ve been exposed to their work. Even from last show they've improved

One part metal, one part opera, Silent Nightmare is a stripped down version of Northern European symphonic metal. It is a decidedly uncommon  sound that, especially in the US. It’s risky business pioneering a genre as a younger band and these guys seem to be braving the trials with minimal bruising.

Every time I write about Silent Nightmare, I rave about the lovely Tara Duhan. She is the opera train leading lady of the group with an absolutely killer voice. She actually has too much voice for the tiny little venues they’ve been playing (I’ve heard her clip out the speakers more than once, and that is not a bad thing). I cannot wait to hear her strut her stuff in a bigger venue where she has room to belt. Her range is substantial, peaking into the high end of the soprano range and dipping well into the alto range. Where Duhan trips up is projection, specifically projecting on the lower notes. She is strong on the higher notes, but needs more breath support on the lower and mid range notes. What she doesn’t always have in projection she makes up for in passion. It is very clear she’s invested in these songs and believes what she’s singing.  She’s still finding her sound in a lot of ways, experimenting with where to place the growls and where to croon. When she does hit her stride, I have confidence she will explode.
But, if you’ve been reading this blog, you have heard me go on about how talented she is.

The band really improved from last show, especially in the second half of the set. The beginning of the set was on par with the last show and started out a little uncoordinated, I felt like the overall precision really took itself up a notch in the last half (especially in their cover of the cranberries’ Zombie) letting drummer Tim Araujo and guitarist Aleks Jevtic really shine through. Bassist Sonja Petrovic’s talent was a welcome surprise, lending some bounce to the songs.  If they can make the beginning of their sets sound like the second half they will be playing far bigger venues.

I am very interested in seeing what this little band is capable of. Looking forward to more.

Good work guys.

Album Review: How To Destroy Angels--Welcome to Oblivion--

 (4/6)

This highly anticipated little gem is the first full album from Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails’ side project How To Destroy Angels. Welcome To Oblivion will never make it into the top 40, because it is a completely different animal from what’s popular these days. Hell, I’d be shocked to hear any of the tracks on the radio. To be honest, I don’t think Reznor cares (nor has he ever). Reminiscent of 90s industrial with a flair of musical sophistication, Welcome to Oblivion is a subtle, edgy, and entrancing piece. Where it really diverges from Trent’s usual work is the addition of his wife Mariqueen Maandig whose voice contrasts Reznor’s in its softness but matches him, blending beautifully in its throaty whisper. Reznor has a distinctive, voice that anyone who listened to industrial in the 90s will recognize immediately from its hissing viciousness. He is truly an icon of the industrial music scene. Maandig’s feminine vocals round out their sound creating a complexity that I don’t think Reznor would be capable of on his own.

The overall sound showcases Reznor’s trademark complexity and intense layering combining the high pitched electronics of industrial and EDM with a heavy bass sound more reminiscent of traditional rock and muted vocals that lend an otherworldly, psychedelic feel to the album.

I give Reznor a lot of credit he’s a man of many talents and is responsible for at least the majority of the instrumentation on the album (along with his second time collaborator Atticus Ross and art director Rob Sheridan). He’s the kind of man that can do anything musically he sets his mind to. Reznor is constantly innovating while still keeping a firm grip on his hard-edged, iconic sound. There is no mistaking his music for anything else. He has a sophisticated, yet raw edge that is palpable in even his smoothest work. In Welcome To Oblivion he manages to create controlled chaos in the music itself. The chaos is audible, but each piece is still clear and distinctive.

The issue I had with the album stemmed more from the nature of the piece rather than any fault with the music itself. By the end of the album, things started to feel long and it dragged. It is a heavy album, but. The weight sneaks up on the listener and it isn’t palpable right off the bat. By the end of the album I was tired. Not bored, exhausted.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this album it brought back a lot of pleasant feelings and reminded me that industrial is perhaps not as dead as we think

Well done.