Album Review: 9mm Solution - One Shot One Kill (2006) B-

Sounds Like: Coal Chamber, Nonpoint

If 9mm Solution had been around in 1996 or 1997, they would've been a very, very big deal. Their sound is awfully close to that of mid-nineties nu-metal stalwarts Coal Chamber. Chugging, de-tuned groove-type riffs, stucatto vocals mixed with some singing. It's all there.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing, even in 2006. The sound on One Shot, One Kill is tight, and 9mm Solution do vary their style a bit with some uptempo tracks. While there's isn't an abduance of musicality (this is a very 'nu-metal' album after all) here, everything is well played without anything in particular standing out.

Vocals range from a raspy shout to clean singing and some spoken word type stuff. Again, nothing great, but at least there's some variety.

Not a bad release from the Milwaukee group. Nothing spectacular but a nice little slice of metal, 1996 style.

2006 Concert Log

Much like my movie log, this is just a post where I'll be keeping track of the shows I make it out to.

1. 06/15/06 - Static-X (Key Club) B
2. 07/29/06 - Shadows Fall (Avalon) B
3. 08/12/06 - Sounds Of The Underground - In Flames/Trivium/GWAR (Gibson Amphitheater) B+
4. 10/20/06 - Soilwork/Threat Signal (House Of Blues Sunset Strip) B+
5. 10/21/06 - Iron Maiden/3 Inches Of Blood (Verizon Wireless Irvine Meadows) C-
6. 10/24/06 - Five Finger Death Punch/The Mercy Clinic/Sixstitch/Ankla (Knitting Factory) B
7. 10/28/06 - Trivium (Avalon) A
8. 11/28/06 - Alice In Chains/Hurt (Wiltern) B-
9. 12/19/06 - Guns N' Roses/Sebastian Bach/Helmet (Gibson Amphitheater) A
10.12/20/06 - Silent Civilian/Occam's Razor (Whisky-A-Go-Go) B+

Concert Review: Sounds Of The Underground (Gibson Amphitheater) B+

Date of Show: 8/12/06
Venue: Gibson Amphitheater (Universal City)

I went to this year's Sounds Of The Underground show to basically witness three things: GWAR, Trivium, and In Flames. No more, no less. I couldn't give a rat's ass about Cannibal Corpse, and having seen As I Lay Dying once before, I knew I wouldn't be missing much if I skipped them.

I can count on one hand the number of GWAR songs I actually know. But that's not the point when it comes to GWAR. It's all about the stage show. Gallager-style fluids flung into the audience. Gargantuan costumes. The 'live' murders of world figures (W. and the former pope in this case). Blood, guts, gore, and family fun for all! Well, GWAR did not disappoint. Guided by a strong, straightforward sound, the costumed metallers were highly entertaining, kind of like a heavy metal version of Knott's Scary Farm's "The Hanging" show. You don't go see GWAR for the music, you go for the show.


Trivium was up next and absolutely owned the place while firming up the notion that they might just be the next Metallica. Clad in t-shirts, denim, and some white high-tops, the quartet looked like they could've been playing in 1986. Despite a slightly too-quiet guitar sound, rock solid playing and good stage prescense anchored their set. But for me, what has really made the difference is frontman Matt Heafy's recent switch from screamo vocals to more an angry Hetfield-style yell. It's like night and day. The crowd was ecstatic for anything off 2005's Ascendancy record, which constituted the bulk of the set. Trivium even played a snippet of Master Of Puppets, which further incited an already burgeoning mosh pit. The overall highlight of the set (and the day, for that matter), was the rendition of Detonation, a new song off the yet-to-be-released The Crusade album. Full of melodicism, wild tempo changes, and some epic passages, one can only hope this song is a accurate representation of the new material.

Trivium left the metal throngs hungry for more after only playing five songs (why they were on so early in the day is a mystery to me), and next was Cannibal Corpse, so my friends and I vacated the premise and hung out on the lawn near the amphitheater. The sounds of the nearby Waterworld stunt show (it should be noted Gibson Amphitheater is really still good ol' Universal Amphitheater), albeit brief and intermittant, were more to my liking than the death metal being served up inside.


Finally, the death metal was done and it was time for Swedish metalheads In Flames, who put on a good, not great set. In Flames aren't the most active of groups on stage, but they do have a pretty cool and unique lighting setup that makes up for it. The sound was good, but the setlist relied too heavily upon slower, mid-paced numbers off Soundtrack For Your Escape, which really killed the crowds energy. Also not helping was unusually long dead times between songs. A few more faster tracks off Come Clarity and a tighter song transitions would've helped immensely.

All in all, not a bad day.

Grades: GWAR - B+ / Trivium - A- / In Flames - B

Album Review: DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage (2006) A-

Sounds like: Yngwie Malmsteen, Hammerfall, Journey

How can I describe DragonForce? Well, take a normal 'power' metal band (you know the kind that solo like crazy and sing Dungeons & Dragons-esque lyrics), add 80s guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen's mind (and finger) bending solos, and top it off with a Steve Perry soundalike on vocals. Then accelerate the tempo to ridiculous speed, no ludicrous speed. That's DragonForce...and it's a lot of fun.

If you can handle some cheesiness. If you don't need everything to angry and pissed off all the time. If you can both laugh at and be awed by awesomely wank shredder guitar solos. Then this album is for you.

Most of the songs are long, six, seven minute epics of speed riffs, double bass, impossbily fast solos, and 80s style vocals. The musicianship is top notch, the music itself is ridiculous. But that's really it's charm. DragonForce doesn't take itself seriously and neither should you.

Film Review: Miami Vice (2006) C-

Date Viewed: 8/8/06
Venue: DGA

Uber-director Michael Mann ressusication/update of his pastel-laden 1980s cop show is big on style but low on character. Vice cops Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) go deep undercover as defacto DEA agents to bring down an international drug ring. Along the way they kick some occasional ass and exchange serious stares.

The problem with Miami Vice isn't Mann's gritty style (previously seen in Heat and Collateral). I actually feel, style-wise, the film does a fine job of updating the coolness of the 80s TV show to the twenty-first century. Sportjacket/t-shirt combos are out, jump cuts and Audioslave songs are in.

The problem is character, or lack thereof. I dare anyone who's seen the film to come up with two adjectives to describe any of characters in Miami Vice. And you can't use 'serious' and 'focused.' Crockett and Tubbs stare intently at things, attention focused, nearly zero evidence of humanity. In fact, I have a hard time believing these guys are partners. I'm not asking for Lethal Weapon/Bad Boys level buddy cop hijinks, but come on, show us something that proves you have a pulse.

Another stumbling block for the film is Crockett's love affiar with Isabella (Gong Li), the drug rings money (wo)man. Ms Li, who I'm sure is a fine actress when speaking Chinese, is hindered by a strong accent, making her difficult to understand at times. And Farrell, who normally oozes charisma, has amazingly zero chemistry with the lovely Ms. Li. The two stare into each others eyes a lot, and the film tries to play this as an semi-unrequited love when it just reads as shallow physical attraction.

The Isabella affair also wreaks havoc with the film's pacing, yanking us away from the Crockett/Tubbs partnership for huge chunks of time. Crockett literally leaves Tubbs with the druggies (and without a ride, apparently) to go have a three-day Havanna tryst with Isabella. This might be okay if the film was called 'Crockett,' but last I checked, Miami Vice was about partners who were vice cops in Miami.

At this point, why even call this Miami Vice? We're barely in Miami. Crockett and Tubbs are unofficially deputized into the FBI ten minutes in, and Crockett gets much more screen time than Tubbs. Why not just call this something else, rename the characters, and then people like me won't be bitching about Tubbs' lack of screen time.

I've read that Michael Mann wanted to really strip the story of fat for Miami Vice. Unfortunately he went a little too far and stripped a lot of good character meat off as well. I really can't remember the last time I saw a film with such ummemorable characters. Couple that with an uneven story which too heavily weighs on an unconvincing romance, and you've got a very nicely polished turd.

Film Review: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) B

Date Viewed: 7/26/06
Venue: DGA

The much ballyhooed and highly anticipated sequel to the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced-mega-blockbuster of 2003 finally arrives and brings with it much mirth and high production value. Is it as good as the original? Not quite. Is it an entertaining bit of summer movie-going fun? Absolutely.

All of our intrepid characters from the first film are back as they are one by one roped into a dangerously quest for Davy Jones' lost treasure. Davy himself is around (played by Bill Nighy) as a cursed captain of a supernatural ship and its aquatically deformed crew (who bear a strong resemblence to heavy metallers GWAR), who of course play the villains to our heroes.

Following traditional sequel law: Dead Man's Chest gives us plenty of what made the first film so successful. Lots of Johnny Depp's wonderfully irreverent (Captain) Jack Sparrow and some amazingly choreographed action sequences.

Also following sequel law: Dead Man's Chest tries to give us more than the original. More action, more plot, more everything. Well, that's all fine and good on paper, but it's just a tad too much in this case. The storyline feels unnecessarily convoluted, and some action setpieces are simply there for no real reason, as if they're just as an excuse to show off. I thought the first film could've been about 20 minutes shorter, this one could easily drop 30+ without sacrificing story.

Another semi-gripe that Dead Man's Chest doesn't really function as its own film, it's a companion piece to next summer's as-yet-untitled sequel. Dead Man's Chest is basically the Matrix Reloaded or Back To The Future Part II of the trilogy.

Again, this is a fun, action-packed flick that doesn't quite have the charm of the original. Close, but no cigar. There's too much story crammed in, and it makes me wonder what could possibly be left for the third film.

Album Review: All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals (2006) B+

Sounds Like: Killswitch Engage, A Perfect Murder

Metalcore act All That Remains should really think about changing their name to Killswitch Remains, because their latest record, The Fall Of Ideals, could nearly pass as a release from the multiracial quintet. And that's actually a giant compliment considering All That Remains' last album, This Darkened Heart, was generic metalcore of the worst kind.

But by adding clean, melodic vocals, All That Remains has taken itself out of the realm of screamo (such as As I Lay Dying) and into Killswitch's arena. They even up the ante on KSE with some nifty lead guitar work throughout the album. But this all makes sense once you read the liner notes and find that Killswitch's very own Adam Dutkiewicz (guitars) produced this record. Go figure.

There are some tracks which feature very gutteral, near death metal style vocals, and I'm not too crazy about those despite their technical competence. Still, I was very surprised to like this record as much as I did. It's a strong, if somewhat derivative effort in a crowded field.

Album Review: Slayer - Christ Illusion (2006) B+

Sounds like: Slayer circa 1986-1990

The mighty Slayer return with Christ Illusion, their first album in five years. The album also marks the return of original drummer Dave Lombardo, who hadn't played on a Slayer record since 1990's Seasons In The Abyss.

The result is somewhat of a return to form from the speed metal innovators. While Slayer's non-Lombardo albums weren't bad, they didn't achieve the high levels of controlled insanity that marked Slayer's early career. From opening track Flesh Storm, Christ Illusion takes you back to those early days: insanely fast riffing, intricate bridges, and guitarist Kerry King's patentled 'look ma, no scales!' solos.

In fact, nearly every great moment on this record is great only because it will remind you off something from the Reign In Blood, South Of Heaven, or Seasons In The Abyss albums. Slayer has never been accused of being the most original band out there, but at least their last two records had some sense of evolution to them (even if they weren't that great). That's not to say there's no variation on Christ Illusion. Songs like Catatonic and the much talked-about Jihad (which tells the tale of the 9/11 hijackers from their point of view) vary the tempo, but aren't as memorable as the faster material, such as Cult and Consfearacy.

That said, Christ Illusion is still a very solid album, which is probably a testament more to the classic Slayer style and their skilled playing than it is to anything else. In addition, this record will make one realize how sorely missed Dave Lombardo was. His playing is just as integral to Slayer as is Kerry King's guitar or Tom Araya's raspy scream.

Concert Review: Shadows Fall (Avalon) B

Date of show: 7/29/06
Venue: Avalon (Hollywood)

I had caught Shadows Fall live at last year's Ozz-Fest and walked away relatively unimpressed. They're not one of those 'high energy' acts that really seem to connect with audiences. Plus they played right at sundown, and I couldn't see a damn thing up on stage.

That said, Shadows Fall was technically impressive, and with a better-than-it-should-be B-side album out in stores (Fallout From The War), I was willing to give them another shot, this time headlining Avalon (which many of you oldsters like me better remember as The Palace).

The Massachusetts metallers took the stage around 9pm following openers Throwdown (who seem to have a disproportionally large following) and Poisonblack, both of whom I deliberately missed thanks to Avalon's many lounges and smoking areas.

The set was comprised mainly of material from Fallout and previous release The War Within. That's a good thing as much of their older material really isn't all that great. The first half of the hourlong set was great and moved along quickly. The second half didn't fare so well with older cuts like A Fire In Babylon (off the very uneven The Art Of Balance record) mucking up the proceedings and killing the crowd's energy.

Speaking of the crowd, it was an unusual mix of older Pantera-lovin' types and younger ninety-pound emo kids. And emo kids seem to think kicking and punching the air constitues moshing. They also have no concept of an actual mosh pit. Can someone explain why these munchkins have beat up invisible foes while not in the pit? The whole point of not being in the pit is...well...not having to pit or deal with randomly flailing arms and legs. Why can't emo kids get that and stay in the pit for their annoyiing little displays of aggression?

Anyways, back to the show. Shadows Fall have a very good live sound, they're not lacking in that department. Songs are tight, the mix competent, everything sounds like it does on the record.

But they do lack a certain charisma that makes great live bands great. There's not that special connection with the audience. They're certainly not terrible, I wouldn't walk out on them if they open for someone else I enjoy, but I don't think I'll be rushing to see them headline again.