New
talent breathes life into metal genre
By Ryan Ritchie
On-line Forty-Niner
Clockwise
- “Healthy Manipulation”
The best way to describe this is something
that can’t be said in this paper. Clockwise
should take out the “L” in its name if the
band wants to let listeners know what they
are in for. This is a bad updated version
of hair metal and should have never seen
the light of day. If a music police existed,
they would sentence this band to a lifetime
of dive bars in a small town. One listen
to this and listeners will pray for the
clock to move clockwise in a much faster
manner to get to the end waste of plastic.
Dragpipe - “Music for the Last Day of
Your Life”
Calling Dragpipe a “nu-metal” band is unfair.
Sure, its new and the band plays metal,
but this is far from Limp Bizkit. Not that
they sound like System of a Down, but Dragpipe
is similar to SOAD in the sense that both
play metal that’s pushing the envelope.
The first song, “Puller,” sounds like Pantera,
but it gets much better after that. The
riffs are heavy but still catchy and singer
Jai Diablo has finally found a way to rap
over heavy music and not sound like a moron.
Diablo’s singing voice is also good and
much better than his peers. Overall, a breath
of fresh air for a very uninteresting genre.
Ani
DiFranco - “So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter”
No review of Ani DiFranco can leave out
the word respect. People hail this woman
and rightfully so. This record is a double-disc
live record that follows up her first live
release, 1997’s
“Live in Clip.” Twenty-four songs may be
too many for those who are unfamiliar with
her, but fans will definitely enjoy this.
Her music is mellow but intense, jazzy and
acoustic. DiFranco has a way with words
and her presence is unmatched by almost
everyone. Hearing her songs live is the
perfect format because so much of what DiFranco
is about is evoking a response from people.
The interaction between the crowd and her
boosts these songs into a whole new category.
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