VESSEL - SELF TITLED EP

Vessel is an album rock band pure and simple, the five songs represented here read more as a demo than an official release. That being said Vessel is a sleeping giant with something very compelling about them. Imagine yourself on a deserted freeway at three in the morning driving away from the worst moment of your life when suddenly in the drowning rain a warm feeling comes over you and you know at that moment that life goes on and that everything will be all right. This is what I get from frontman, guitarist and vocalist Alex O' Keefe and really from Vessel as a whole. The songs all rise and fall between quite desperation and wall of guitar dropped g fury. My picks are track 1 You Are The Ocean and Track 3 Mnemosyne (the most radio friendly song and you name it this? Sure that's easy to remember and Pronounce!) The rhythm section is an interesting juxtaposition with unchained beast Nico Bazzoni on drums and David "the sound of reason" Zakharov on bass (the truth is without David's solid grounding on bass I think they might actually float away) Another interesting touch is Zack Rice who does some weird aural sound scaping that gives them that post nuke dread in the background and between songs. The problem with the record is that you have to let it take hold of you and that takes a few listens which we know in this day and age is very hard to get people to do. There are a million bands out there doing what they do, Vessel is for real, their work ethic is strong and they believe in their message and so do I. There is something important about this band but as of yet I cannot put my finger on it. Recorded and mixed by Rice and O'keef in surprisingly good fashion. What I would like to see is a full ten song concept album produced by the likes of Adam Dutkiewicz... call me nuts but these kids could forge a scene unto themselves, but first their gonna need some help.

I-tunes link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vessel/id335177244
3.5 out of 5 Anarchy Speakers
J.S.L

FIREBALL MINISTRY -SELF TITLED

FIREBALL MINISTRY'S self titled Fourth album (to be released on March 16th) is their best Album since the Second Great Awakening and in some ways maybe even better (this debate may go on in my mind for eternity) They did so many things right with this album that it shows a new maturity in they're recording career that makes me proud to declare myself a fan. There are only ten tracks, which is almost always the most any band should put forth into the ether, furthermore they are all great or at least very good songs. This is the first of their four albums that really sheds the Black Sabbath overtone in favor of their own unique brand of low down swamp rock peppered with surprise vocal pop hooks (which is a good thing by the way) and sweet and sour guitar play brandished by James A. Rota and Emily J. Burton. The rhythm section is in fantastic hard pounding form with John. G Oreshnick on Drums and Johny (why don't I get to have a middle initial?) Chow on bass. The Reverend James A. Rota Has managed to calm his vocal delivery quite a bit since their last effort with a delightfully authentic effect. Now to the Album! Well, produced by Andrew Alekel with a very analog feel and minimal overdubs or should I say more importantly no pointless overdubs. Hard Line starts thing off with a straight ahead reminder of who this band is, loud and proud with a great sing along chorus could see it rotating on what's left of terrestrial radio. That being said the real single in my opinion is Thought It Out which is an unapologetic hook fest, the perfect vehicle to pull in new fans for Fireball Ministry who are still essentially what we used to call an album rock band. Kick back moves like a good old Molly Hatchet "flirtin With Disaster" southern ass-kicker while Sleeping With Angels is a dreamy ballad worthy or several listens on that rainy day when it seems like nothings ever gonna work out. In Their Own Right closes the record out just like it started with a bang! Fantastic track all around with a great fade out at the end with a promise of more Fireball to come! Overall I must say this is a realized, concise, authentic and passionate realese that is worthy of critical acclaim but more importantly Fireball Ministry are a ham and egg band for the people of the rock and roll community which we should all celebrate with the volume up!
4.5 out of 5 Anarchy Speakers
J.S.L

KISS - SONIC BOOM

Kiss's 19th studio album does in fact rock! Founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are at the helm, with long time live companions (aka Ace and Peter action figures) Tommy Thayer on gits and Eric Singer on drums. Okay so Paul Stanley produced these recordings, and for all intents and purposes this has the feel of on old time Kiss record, which is the good news... The not so good news is there are really only a few inspired tracks in my opinion: Modern Day Delilah, a bang 'em out rock n roll tune which is fun in the "how you doing out there Cleveland?" way. While Russian Roulette is a strong follow up track, it does get a little creepy with all of Gene Simmons' sexual innuendoes... ya know, coming from a grandpa and all. Gene does however make up for it on I'm An Animal. My Fave track is Stand; it has that "God Gave Rock And Roll to You 2" vibe while maintaining its own identity, especially with the fantastic old school middle eight. Say Yeah was the second single. I thought Say Yawn might have been a better title until I really listened to it. Say Yeah is a good old fashioned stadium rock anthem with all the right bits, including a break down and a great sing along part for the live show. Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer both do lead vocals on one song each; they're okay songs but we don't buy Kiss Cd's at Walmart (exclusive distributors) in 2010 to hear them sing (nothing personal - you guys are awesome) A little while back Gene Simmons was quoted as saying they would not be doing any more original recordings. That may have changed with Ace Freehley coming out with his first solo effort since the 70's. Sadly, Ace's CD is just a smidge better that this one, however he is the Space Ace so he gets an extra thumbs up anyway. As with all new CD's from the Walmart packaging dept., this CD comes with a greatest hits CD with most of what you would expect from Rock And Roll All Night to Lick It UP (sadly no Creatures of the Night) Also included is a 6 song live DVD which is fun to watch once. So, all in all, is this anything special? No, not really. Should you buy it anyway? If you're a kiss fan yes! You can't beat the price and sonically it does sound great! If it takes you back for just a second to the grand old Kiss days, wouldn't you say that was worth it? It did... and I do.
3.0 out of 5 Anarchy Speakers
J.S.L