Reviews1

	Horeshoe Spatulas Who's Next On the Doomsday Parade?. Hey ya kiddies let me first say that one of the best things about being the owner of a music store is the little perks and one of the best is having bands come in and thinking enouph of me to let me into their little creative world.Let me give one of most recent, getting my hands on a great collection of tunes by the band The Horseshoe Spatulas titled Who's Next On the Doomsday Parade?. Let me state that I am a songwriter and I sell really over priced vintage equipment so I am going listen on the basis of structure,tone and emotion and man does this slab -o-tunes deliver the goods!, breakneck and edgy,designed to insight emotion and if I have not lost my sense of reality Isnt that what rock is supposed to do? Great drumming that is tight yet feels as though it might be an amusement park ride that may just be out of controll!The guitar work is the same with not a lot of time wasted on guitar heroics and pointless six string masturbation! just the goods delivered and service to the song and I might add well recorded tones.The vocals work the same, scream when its needed but at the same time bringing down and drawing you in like a quiet conversation like a good film director only knows to well how to use.Now the songs themselves are I think draw strongly a firm foundation of post punk,metal and rock that belies what I am assuming is a group that is probably as old as one of my toe bunions.Stand out tracks for me are the Title track and Jane's Anthem Desease. The CD opens with a nice drum fill that is as a songwriter shows that the band has a great sense of "If thats what it needs then lets do it" and they mean business!! the drum part repeats itself at differant times throughout and shows a band thats not affraid to quote its self.Track two starts with a good old psyco feed back fest that lets you know something good lay just a head.The little Circus Caliope and spoken interludes also are fun and doesnt distact but let you have a sense of the bands personality. It is such an exciting time for Iowa music and this band is one reason why. The CD is well recorded and makes you want to go see them live!!!!so get out and see them and buy this CD it is great to see that we have talent like this just flying off the grooves of a plastic waffle,Man I want to drink with these guys and learn the words to Dirty Murdock. Dirk
	Hold for Swank Today I am reviewing the new cd from a local Iowa band Hold for Swank. They're a young up & coming power trio with a mix of My Chemical Romance meets Fall out Boy. Great power pop sound with a heavy edge and solid song writing, good hooks, and great melody. The disc has a solid foundation opening with "Big Rock for You", a fun, catchy song sure to get the crowd singing along. A couple other tracks that really caught my ear were "Does she Realize?" and "Blinded by her Glasses". If you would like to catch them live, your next chance will be June 9th at the Moose Lodge in Altoona at 5pm (all ages). Or you can check their website holdforswank.com for other upcoming shows and MP3s & general info about the band. Dave Snow
	Only - Title : Apparitions Released March 2004 Mushroom Cloud records. Recorded at Catamount studios April 2003. Sol Bales- Vocals Sal Ramirez- Drums Joe Shields- Bass Erich Tran- Guitar Mark Reinking- Guitar Track Listing: What have I Wasted Enemy Ashes No Escape One of the finest bands to ever come out of Des Moines, Only did everything right on Apparitions. From perfectly crafted songs to excellent production. Apparitions is sure to not leave your cd player anytime soon. From the catchy hooks of "what have I" to the brutal crunch of "Enemy". Only keeps you wanting more. Only has pulled all stops out. Being dark and heavy and still using calculated hooks in it's chorus'. It goes to show you can use slayer-esgue riffs with excellent melodies and still be heavy with taste. From the powerful vocal lines of Sol, to the pounding crunch of Guitarist Erich Tran, to the thumping of Joe Shileds's bass. The crunching hooks never let up. With the addition of guitarist Mark Reinking and drummer Sal Ramirez one can only speculate as to how great the next disc wll be. If you are a fan of hard rock/metal then you cannot go another day without having Apparitions in your cd player. You will not be disappointed. Rick Jarrett Guitarist - Train Of Thought
	Cold Filtered's "Bringin' It Back" Released in 2005 This is a cd that I keep in my disk tray. These guys are so awesome! You can defiantly hear influences of the 80's metal gods in their music, while giving it a new fresh sound all of their own. Brian Burgett's vocals are mind melting and heart felt in "Too Far Away". Big D's guitar riffs in "Send Me To Hell" are amazing, Add in a dash of Doug's bass just to give it the perfect taste! "Pure" is my all time favorite from this disk, although my family pressures me to play the entire disk from front to back so they can hear their favorites such as "Too Far Away" "N11" and "Rip Off" before I play my favorites again. This cd is undoubtedly one that I would recommend hands down! It's no wonder these guys have opened for big names such as Jackyl (three times), Great White, Ted Nugent, and Jani Lane and will soon be opening for .38 special, Joan Jett and Tesla! In my opinion these guys defiantly have what it takes to be the next legendary rock stars! Crystal....