Rush’s 20th studio album (and as of this writing, their latest release) Clockwork Angels was an ambitious project in many ways. It was the band’s first studio record since 2007’s Snakes & Arrows, during which time they had seen a huge uptick in pop culture awareness and mainstream acceptance, bolstered by appearances in the 2009…
Rush’s self titled debut album could possibly be the least essential LP in the band’s catalog… or perhaps, one of the most important? Both, maybe? Neither? OK… let’s quantify Rush somehow by taking an honest look at its very existence. We might as well get the 800-lb. emu out of the way now; stalwart drummer…
Rush’s tenth album Grace Under Pressure displayed a further evolution of the band’s sound, eschewing traditional “hard rock” trappings of their earlier records in favor of a more diverse, contemporary, synth/keyboard-driven soundstage. Albums like 1980’s Permanent Waves and 1981’s Moving Pictures displayed a penchant towards shorter, more accessible and (dare I say) radio-friendly songs, whereas…
In order to shake off the stench of commercial disappointment that accompanied their three previous albums (Unmasked, Music From “The Elder”, Creatures of the Night), Kiss was now at the biggest crossroads of their career. After being increasingly viewed as a dated relic of the 1970s, their album sales continued to suffer. One more flop…
Destroyer was Kiss’s larger-than-life effort to keep momentum rolling after the multi-platinum success of their landmark 1975 live album Alive!. After releasing three studio albums to middling results, the band bet the farm on an album that endeavored to replicate their “live concert” experience, and successfully at that, even if the amount of actual “live…
Eight is the number of infinity One more than what you know how to be And this is the light of festivity When your broken heart yearns to be free Here’s a Hokeyboy Fun Fact: my Hebrew name is also Matisyahu. Hah! And let’s also be really real for a moment: the pool of “buttkickin’”…
This is song of beauty and of timeless atmosphere. Fleet Foxes’s celebrated 2008 song White Winter Hymnal has the rich, swirling atmospherics of memory, all detail twirling like wisps in the corners of our vision and trailing out of focus the moment we try to stare too intently. I picture cold winter mornings, gray skies…
Ahh, Christmas and heavy metal music. Despite what little minds might think, the two go together like your veritable chocolate and peanut butter. In the hands of Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi — two of metal’s founding fathers, architects of the genre if you will — the myths, legends, and spiritual truths of the…
Kiss’s 1976 LP Rock And Roll Over is one of the most celebrated albums by die-hard Kiss fans, held in high relief as the sweet spot at which everything seems to be in synch: great production values, strong songs, iconic Kissography, and the entire band performing and recording together with minimal intrusion from outside songwriters…
No big write-up on this one, as you already know the song, and if you know the theme to “Hawaii Five-O”, you know The Ventures pretty goshdarn well. We’re talking ’60s instrumental guitar rock at its most influential, and their take on the perennial Christmas classic Silver Bells is an easy addition to your playlist. Especially if…