ROCK N ROLL EXPERIENCE - May / June 2008

Before you begin reading these reviews, we have a rating system to tell you just how good or bad a CD is & here's the breakdown on how it works:

1 Star - crap

2 Stars - This is stuff your Mom might like!

3 Stars - It rocks, but is only okay

4 Stars - This is good, but there's room for improvement!

5 Stars - You should consider buying this...it's a good one!

6 Stars - Sell your car, dog, baby, etc., this is a MUST have!

Burton Bell is best known as the singer for Fear Factory, & in all honesty, I had no idea his side project, Ascension of the Watchers, was so far removed from the Metal side of things! Musically, this cd is like mixing the darkest sides of Portishead with the darkest sides of Pink Floyd...it's very serious, full on, emotionally deep music that's not meant to do anything other than stir up emotions & make you think! "Evading" is the song that I found really interesting..it's got goth-ish vibes, yet it's NOT goth in any way, & John Bechdel's musical imprint is all over this cd..his samples, keyboards, synth's & overall moody music is a HUGE part of this project's sound! Al Jourgensen from Ministry & Paul Raven both make guest appearances on this cd & if you're looking for a fast, upbeat metal record, this is NOT for you...if you're looking for an introspective, moody, dark, & very deep record, this cd is for you! I still find it interesting that Burton, a guy who's known for being the singer of Fear Factory, he's got this side to him, & I remember talking to him not too long ago & he admitted to me that he's not even a Metal fan, so this cd just proves that!

Rating: 3 stars!

Michael Schenker has always been considered a guitar god, & his playing influeced far too many players to even mention, but the big one that comes to mind immediatley is Dave Mustaine from Magadeth! Mr. Schenker has a new line up of MSG, he has a new cd out & with this batch of new songs, as much as I hate to say it, the songs all sound kinda dated, there's little groundbreaking going on here, & there's a few good guitar solo's, but overall, the cd feels kinda stale in parts & I hate to trash anyone, but much of this material just feels like filler & this was actually Michael Schenker's come back record since he has some serious personal problems a few years back, so I guess the only way I can put a positive swing on this review is that, it's nice to see that MSG is still intact, that Schenker is still playing & still trying to make new music!

Billy Howerdell is best known as the mastermind & main guitarist for A Perfect CIrcle, but with the bands current hiatus, Billy has a new musical venture titled Ashes Divide, & the music on this cd is not totally opposite of A Perfect Circle..it's dark, has that guitar tone that only Billy can play & create, & the interesting thing about this project is that Billy played almost all of the instruments & has taken over the role of lead singer for this project! The artwork is killer..there's a piece of artwork for each song, & the lyrics are touching, dark, introspective & at times, they are so honest that they are almost spooky! "The Stone" is the lead single off this cd, but don't let that song fool you, the ENTIRE cd is rich, diverse, unique & no 2 songs sound the same! "The Prey" has this new wave feel to it, while "Sword" is really kidna dark & almost gothy in parts! "Stripped Away", in my personal opinion, sets the cd up with it's overall tone, & it's ironic that it's the first song on this cd, because in many ways, Billy stripped away all the parts of A Perfect Circle to create his own musical vision that's totally singular, there's no other major collaborators on this cd, it's all Billy, & when I had the opportunity to talk to Billy, he was telling me that putting together the touring line up of the band was a challenge in ways. For a record that was primarily recorded by soley one person, this cd still maintains that "band" vibe & sounds like a gang of people, rather than just being created by one musical being, & that's truly a unique part of things..Billy's creativity is an outlet on this cd & the darker songs are not even that dark, they just speak of life, death, & what's next, & that's probably the heaviest subject matter ever! My final comments on this cd are as follows: This is definitley one of the best, most artistically expressive cd's for 2008...it speaks to the masses, yet it's an absolute expression of what Billy was feeling while recording this cd!

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Rating: 6 stars

GG Elvis is a cool one-off Punk rock tribute to the King of Rock N Roll, Elvis Presley, & this cd comes with a limited edition DVD that's got music videos & weird little interviews, BUT, the catch for the music videos is, they cannot use the Elvis covers on the dvd because there's some weird assed rule about using songs on video & the Elvis estate were being bitches about things, so during all the music videos, they have funny little dialogue running under the videos & if you really wanted to, you can play the cd with the accompaning song so you see the video as it was intended..infact, if you go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWSfDIW2kgc, you can watch the video for "Blue Suede Shoes" which was NOT allowed on the dvd! There's alot o' surprises on this cd, check out the scratch & sniff part, that's pretty sick, so don't say I didn't warn you, & there's random nut sacks in parts on this cd, but you'll have to watch the dvd & check out the cd to understand that reference! Overall, I LOVE the punk covers to every song, there's little parts where you might hear a Ramones cover or a Sex Pistols cover tossed in with the Elvis songs, & this is one helluva fun tribute record...I doubt it'll really get much exposure in mainstream America's world, but for the true music lovers & the underground, this is a rare gem that you MUST buy to understand....I can almost see the lawsuits happening, & truthfully, this is a great record, it's fun, Elvis recorded sooo many great songs, & hearing them done in a punk rock style, it's classic!

This DVD captures a live show by Limp Bizkit when they were at the height of their career, when they were the king's o' rap-rock, & when the singer wearing the red ball cap was EVERYWHERE! Seeing Wes Borland totally covered in black paint & tearin it up with the band is great, because it was shortly after this tour that Wes quit the band & that was essentially the beginning of the end for the band as well! "Break Stuff" is my personal favorite on this dvd & god, it get's the crowd movin' like a bunch o' freaks! "Master of Puppets", the Metallica song, is covered on this dvd & "Faith" is probably the song that I think the crowd went the most insane for, & Fred Durst screams his ass off on that song as well! "Rollin" is the last song of the night & arguably the biggest song from the band, but I'm kinda bummed that "Counterfeit" wasn't played! There's 2 versions of the same concert on this dvd..one is the original & the other is a remixed version..I personally prefer the original, & there's also a bonus interview with DJ Lethal as well. Although Limp Bizkit is gone, this dvd is a great souvenier of just how amazing the band was in their prime!

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This is a retro-re-issue of a home video that came out in the 90's, it features all the great bands Earache had on their roster at that point...Godflesh's "Crush My Soul" is the opening video & it's a video that I never ever saw back in the day, so it was great to see that video! Dub War are the odd band out & NOT metal, Entombed's "Wolverine Blues" was a Headbanger's Ball favorite many years ago, & seeing Cathedral, Napalm Death, & Carcass on dvd finally, it's great to see that this classic 90's home video chock full o' great metal bands music videos is out & on a digital format that will stand the test of time! Fudge Tunnel's "Rudge with an AJ" is my personal favorite on the cd because the video is just weird! It's hard to believe that most of these bands are no longer together, but like I said, this is a retro-reissue from the 90's, it's great for the fans who never saw these videos, because let's face it, these bands were too heavy for MTV even back then!

This is a remix EP from Ontario, Canada's Birthday Massacre...it has a few new songs & a few remixes, as well as the video for "Looking Glass". The band covers, "I Think We're Alone Now" & basically, their cover is an electro-shock retake on the pop cover from the 80's by that girl who sang at Malls all across America, but the thing is, TBM's cover is wayyyy better than said crappy 80's cover! The remixes range from ambient to artsy electro-pop, & "Looking Glass" is the new song on this cd that will make you pay attention..it's got hooks & punches that make it a memorable song for sure!

The Motorcity Madman, Ted Nugent...what do I need to even say about him that hasn't already been said? He's someone who ALWAYS deliver's a kick ass live show, & there's a new Ted Nugent live cd out called "Sweden Rocks" that has Mick Brown on Drums & Barry Sparks on bass & if you're not aware of it, those 2 guys are the rhythm section for Dokken, & let me tell you, they are a great addition to the Ted Nugent rock n roll extravaganza for sure! There's a nice selection of new & old on here, & Ted's cover of "Soul Man" sounds amazing for sure! "Hey Baby" is one that really made me happy to hear..it's such a classic rock n roll song, it's just oozing rock n roll lust & the opening riffs of "Great White Buffalo" will make ANY guitar player smile! What I admire about Ted Nugent is, he's an older guy, yet he still has all the energy & intensity that you'd expect from the Nuge! Ted had a bit of a potty mouth at times, but hey, it's Ted Nugent, it's to be expected, & do I even need to mention that "Cat Scratch Fever" is the shit!?! Probably my personal favorite on this disc is "Free For All" which rocks like f**k! Alot of the younger kiddies might think Ted Nugent is classic rock & not rockin', BUT, let me tell you, Ted's still got it going on & this new live cd proves that point 10 fold!