Issues vs. Woe, is Me

This post is going to be more of a discussion more than anything, I will still give my thoughts on each single, but yeah.

Background: I can't talk about this and just leave all of you in the dark if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Woe, is Me is a metalcore band who's reissue of their debut album I reviewed briefly. Since their first album all but 2 original members left. First it was Tyler Carter, the clean vocalist, then the screamer, bassist and keyboardist all left. Woe, is Me trucked on and found replacements for all, notably Hance Alligood taking over clean vocals and Doraino Magliano from That's Outrageous. The four members that left ended up forming their own band, Issues. The bad blood has been obvious and it was only a matter of time until the new Woe, is Me and Issues dropped their first singles, and here we are.

Briefing: Let's talk Woe, is Me first. First off, after Carter left the band recorded "Vengeance" which tore Carter apart. Then the other 3 members left. So this bad blood had started back in 2011 and we already have a track taking shots at people. This feud reminds me of rap feuds where the bad blood between members causes them to release songs about each other which I think could be good for metal to.

Woe, is Me: Woe, is Me released "I've Told You Once" and the song takes a djent influence to it and reminds one of Attack Attack!'s latest album. Hance sounds good though it does sound like he may be autotuning a little bit. The lyrics don't take specific shots like I thought they would, in "Vengeance" they references Carter's lyrics and all that so I expected more lyrically. Instrumentally I liked it, it sounded nice and heavy. Doriano sounds a lot better on this track than he did on any That's Outrageous track which makes you scratch your head. My gripe with old Woe, is Me is that it sounded too sporadic and this track sounds more focused which helps but overall the song just isn't that great.

Issues: Issues released "King of Amarillo" and what I was most surprised at was how similar they sounded, this song also has some djent. Lyrically they take rap influenced shots at Woe, is Me: "If you don't like these lyrics then go listen to Genesis Sega. We ain't playin' games, you took demise we'll take the fame", which takes shots at the title of Woe, is Me's album title and at the track "Fame > Demise". So Issues wins in the lyric department. The instrumentation is very similar but on this track it packs more of a punch. Vocals all around are phenomenal, Tyler sounds as spectacular as he always does.

So Who Won This Round?

Lyrics: Issues
Instrumentation: Slight edge to Issues
Vocals: Issues

Overall: I hope these 2 tracks are really the only that have to do with the other bands. Diss tracks are cool but you can't make it an entire album/EP, some of the greatest diss tracks were the only ones on the album. 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up" was never even on an album, Nas' "Ether" was surrounded by 17 other topic tracks and Eminem's "The Warning" was only on a mixtape. What I'm getting at is that I hope they're both just using these tracks to pump each band's fans up for their own albums. Also, to the people saying that this is childish, it's not, it makes for good songs and interesting lyrics, and it was also the label, Rise Records in this case, decision to release the singles on the same day even though the bands could push which songs became lead singles. Based solely on this 2 tracks I'm more excited for the Issues debut over the Woe, is Me sophomore album.

And yes, I will review both albums when they drop.

Quick Reviews III by Dom

Since I've been gone a while I thought I'd do a few more quick reviews of some recent albums.

Yellowcard is one of the biggest and best pop-punk bands of all time. Their classics "Ocean Avenue" and "Fighting" are firmly set in stone and songs for a generation. This is their latest album and it stacks up against the classics, this album is superb. It's a fantastic end of summer record, the first time I had listened to it I was relaxing on a beach and now every time I hear a track from it I'm automatically brought back to the beach. This album deserves not only your listen but also your money to be able to listen to it, go buy it. 9/10

A generic record, especially for the metalcore genre. With an unnecessary vocal feature of Danny Worsnop from Asking Alexandria and a superb feature of Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens they tell the tale of the album as a whole. A few unnecessary songs, a few superb ones and a couple that hit middle ground. It's a generic record, but it's better than most. 7/10

Another over saturated genre is the metalcore infused with techno. I See Stars also do nothing new, nothing original but just as Memphis May Fire they seem to do it better. Overall the album is decent with a couple tracks that I listen to regularly. Some songs are flat out awful but the good ones make up for it. 6/10

A fantastic collection of the hits of a fantastic band. What makes this special is that it comes with a second disc with a 4 song EP of all new songs. Coming off of 2010's The Fire this EP sets a perfect tone for the upcoming album. 9/10

Childish Gambino released one of my favorite rap albums last year. This year he drops a mixtape called Royalty, and it seems the success has gone to his a bit. The mixtape has a polished sound and he no longer spits "real rap", on this tape he raps about what every other rapper raps about and that makes him no longer unique. What's worse is that he doesn't even do it better than most, on this he's average. I am ecstatic that I didn't pay for this. 3/10

Emmure is a band who is generic in a genre full of generics: deathcore. Truly every band sounds similar with only a few standouts, Emmure, up until this release was one of those bands. With their obscene and hysterical lyrics and Frankie Palmeri's odd vocals, Emmure stood out. On this release they've toned it down, it some songs it works, in some songs it really doesn't. The album truly has no moments that remind you of Felony and only a few that remind you of Speaker of the Dead. 4.5/10

Above This is a deathcore band and this is their first official album. That sentence will probably turn a lot of people off. But I believe if you're a fan of deathcore then you should check this album out. They're like a baby whose parents are Emmure(Felony-era) and Attila. With fantastically funny lyrics and vocals that tear your ears up(in a good way) and even some surprising clean vocals this album is pretty solid. 7/10

"For All Those Sleeping - Outspoken" Review by Dom

For All Those Sleeping is a 5-piece metalcore band from Minnesota. Outspoken is their second full-length album following their debut album, Cross Your Fingers. Cross Your Fingers had a much lighter sound than most metalcore albums focusing more on the pop-punk choruses and clean vocals were extremely prominent. This album switches gears becoming a heavy, less clean vocal-driven album. Does FATS avoid the sophomore slump that plagues thousands of bands?

1. Outspoken - This is a 48 second long intro track that starts the album fantastically heavy.

2. Once a Liar (Always a Fake) - This track keeps the heavy train rolling, with a catchy chorus and some heavy verses this song shines.

3. Mark My Words - The first track released off of this album definitely showed that the band was going in a much heavier direction than their previous album. This song is just great, not much more to say.

4. Tell Me the Truth - This track lightens it up a bit, it's here that we start to realize the theme of the album: liars/betrayal.

5. Follow My Voice - Conceptually this is my favorite song on the album, it's about how the singer doesn't want to be the voice of a generation, just the voice to help you get out of the dark times in your life. This song is truly beautiful.

6. Turn of the Century - A heavier song with no clean vocals at all and it sounds refreshingly good.

7. Life on Fire - A song about setting someone's life on fire. Obviously this a very angry album.

8. Love isn't Real - One of my favorite songs on the album, it goes back to the style of the first album, clean chorus, clean vocals, heavy breakdown, this song is amazing.

9. Never Trust a Dead Man - Another heavy one, I liked it a lot at first but it hasn't been in my rotation lately, a little forgettable.

10. Shaken Not Stirred - A heavy track, almost blends in with the last track, doesn't do much for me.

11. One Kiss - Finally a lighter song, oddly enough I was almost craving clean vocals again, I didn't like this song at first but it's grown on me a lot since I first listened to the album.

12. Backstabber - Gotta end the album heavily of course. It brings back the great clean chorus with the heavy verses, and it ends the album on a high note.

13. I Am Forever - This is an iTunes only bonus track, I thought I'd throw it in the review. The guitar work is exceptional on this track and gives it it's own personality. I don't know why this is an iTunes only track, it should be on the physical copies because it's a good track and I feel like it ends the album better.

Overall: I almost have mixed feelings about this album, some of the songs blend together, which is typical of albums from this genre, plus the album is pretty generic and unoriginal. Even while being unoriginal the band does it better than a lot of the other bands in the genre. FATS is definitely a standout band in the genre, they have their faults but overall, they're solid. Oddly enough I felt it may have been too heavy, I love heavy music but I was craving clean vocals throughout and after listening to the album all the way through I find myself either listening to hip hop or R&B to balance it out.

Rating: 8/10

"G.O.O.D. Music - Cruel Summer" Review by Dom

Kanye West, he is one of the most recognizable faces in the word right now but what some seem to forget is that he is quite possibly the most important figure in modern hip hop. It seems like every album he drops becomes an instant classic and sets the standard for hip hop albums released that year. While this is a G.O.O.D. music compilation it feels like a Kanye album. Why? He's on 7 of the 12 tracks and while that doesn't seem like a lot, each track he's on is centered around him and he owns the track. Is this an instant classic or does it fall short?

1. To the World (performed by Kanye West and R. Kelly) - This track sets the album up pretty good, because this song isn't that great. It's a very generic hip hop/R&B track and R. Kelly doesn't sound that great and the chorus is more annoying than catchy.

2. Clique (performed by Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean) - Is it really fair to put Big Sean on a track with Ye and Jay? That was rhetorical but the answer is no. This song actually sounds like it could've been on Watch the Throne, it's pretty good.

3. Mercy (performed by Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz)- This track dropped a while ago, and for me, it lost what it had. I enjoy Big Sean's verse cause it's funny but overall it's a lackluster track that falls short of being memorable.

4. New God Flow (performed by (Kanye West, Pusha T and Ghostface Killah) - I surprisingly like this song a lot, which is weird because I'm not huge fan of Pusha T but the chorus is good, every MC performs a good verse and the feature of Ghostface was refreshing.

5. The Morning (performed by Raekwon, Pusha T, Common, 2 Chainz, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi and D'banj) - This was the first song on this album to really blow me away, Raekwon tore it up, Common owned, Pusha, 2 Chainz, Cyhi and D'banj all did their thing spectacularly well. This track has a lot of artists on yet it seems very well put together and focused.

6. Cold (performed by Kanye West and DJ Khaled) - Why does Khaled get a featured credit for this? This track has been out the longest of any on this album and you can see why, it's Kanye doing his thing and going hard and it sounds so good.

7. Higher (performed by The-Dream, Pusha T, Mase and Cocaine 80s)- I don't have much to say about this track, it's generic, it sounds good sonically but it doesn't do much for me, it's just kind of there.

8. Sin City (performed by John Legend, Travis Scott, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi the Prynce and Malik Yusef)- I was so excited to hear John Legend on some more hip hop style tracks. Teyana Taylor blew me away on this track, her voice is amazing, this track is a definite stand out.

9. The One (performed by Kanye West, Big Sean, 2 Chainz and Marsha Ambrosius) - This track, like "Higher" doesn't do much for me, Ye sounds great as always but the rest of the track just falls flat, it's not terrible, but it's not too good.

10. Creepers (performed by Kid Cudi) - Cudi is so under utilized in this project, his voice works so well as a hook and he's a good MC, so I'm glad he has a stand alone track on this. What can I say? If you like Cudi you'll like this, if not, this probably won't convert you. Although he does do a bit more singing than we're used to, but I love it.

11. Bliss (performed by John Legend and Teyana Taylor) - The two strongest singing voices on this album get together to collaborate on a smooth and sweet R&B love song. It's so good, the song is stunningly beautiful.

12. Don't Like (performed by Kanye West, Chief Keef, Pusha T, Big Sean and Jadakiss) - This track closes out the album in great fashion, Ye's verse is fantastic and everyone does their thing so well on this track, they all brought their A game for this one.

Overall: The hip hop world is used to anything that Ye touches being fantastic, and I do agree with that. Though I think it's time for him to go back to solo albums, Watch the Throne was disappointing, including Jay-Z on that one. Cruel Summer is going under the "Should've Been Better" category for me. I realize Ye was going for a more commercial album but only using Common once is a sin and not using Mos Def at all is equally as offensive. All I would've liked was for maybe 2-3 bonus tracks with some less commercial sounding songs but we didn't but I can't fault the album for that. I don't think I'll be returning to this album too much. Teyana Taylor, John Legend, Common and Kanye all have albums in progress right now so I'm sure that G.O.O.D. Music will redeem themselves from this disappointment.

Rating: 6/10

"Busta Rhymes - Year of the Dragon" Review by Dom

Busta Rhymes. If you're into hip-hop at all you know this name. Known for his technical flow, speed and tongue-twisting verses. He's been around over 20 years first as a member of the Leaders of the New School, and in 1996 he released his debut solo album, The Coming. Since then he has released 7 albums, ranging from being held as classics to being disappointments and lackluster. In 2011 Busta was featured on a Chris Brown track, "Look at Me Now", this track put him back into the spotlight and he was instantly a hot rapper once again. Off of the tracks success Busta featured on tracks with artists ranging from Tech N9ne, Ashanti and Lil Wayne. In early 2012 it was announced that Busta had signed with Cash Money Records with the likes of Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga. Year of the Dragon was supposed to be his debut LP for the YMCMB crew, instead he released it for free causing some confusion over whether this project is a mixtape or an album, I'm treating it as an album.

1. I'm Talking to You - To me, this is an odd opening track, the little intro sets up for the song to be crazy and insane, then Busta comes on and spits rather boringly. I expected more from him on this track.

2. Til We Die (featuring Rick Ross and Trey Songz) - Busta's better on this one, unfortunately for him, Ross' can't hold his weight(no pun intended) against Busta and Songz' chorus leaves little to be desired, give me Busta's minute long verse and leave the rest out.

3. Do That Thing - Busta talks of "bringing the crown home" on this track but he's not doing anything special on the track, the chorus sucks, and his verses are alright, nothing too fast, nothing too technical, I could hear these verses from other guys besides Busta.

4. Make it Look Easy (featuring Gucci Mane) - The beginning of this song is going to induce headaches, the chorus is god awful, even though Busta's verses are actually on par for him the chorus makes this song hard to listen to, also Gucci Mane sucks, please stop rapping.

5. Pressure (featuring Lil Wayne) - Never did I think I'd look forward to a track with Wayne on it, I felt that maybe the YMCMB front-leader could make Busta bring his A-game on the track, I was right. This track was surprisingly good, Wayne wasn't too bad on his verse either, I'll take his verse on this over anything off of Tha Carter IV.

6. Love-Hate (featuring Robin Thicke) - What the hell was going through his mind when he recorded this? I get it's supposed to be his "soft, love" song but he can't pull it off. Not only is it not his lane, he can't do it right and Thicke sounds great on it but the chorus is just flat boring, leaving a boring track.

7. Grind Real Slow - I expected this track to be a slow one as well, it's starts with a slower beat but leads into a dance/club beat. Even though he's rapping over a slower beat he sounds good doing it, oddly enough the gripe I have with this track has to do with what preceded it. The track before was overall a love song, this song is all sex driven, it's an odd transition.

8. King Tut (featuring Reek da Villain and J-Doe) - This is the lead single off of the album, I can see why, it's hard, Busta sounds good, as do the features on the track, it's a good song but it doesn't represent the album too well, which is what a single's purpose should be.

9. Sound Boy (featuring Cam'Ron) - Busta uses autotune(pretty badly) in the chorus of this song, his verses fall flat on themselves and Cam'Ron doesn't add much to the track.

10. Doin' it Again (featuring Reek da Villain and Chanel) - This track is good, not much to say, Chanel sings a good chorus, Busta has a good verse, oddly enough Reek grabs my attention more than Busta does, maybe because it's a deep beat and Busta has a deep voice so when Reek's higher pitched voice comes through it sounds different.

11. Wine & Go Down (featuring Vybz Kartel) - This track has a hard beat that sounds pretty good especially with Busta going over it. Kartel sounds good, if you can say that first name I'll be impressed.

12. Movie (featuring J-Doe) - My god. If you thought YMCMB would have a bad effect on Busta's sound go listen to this chorus, cause this will validate your thoughts. It's just awful, this chorus sounds as whiny as Drake does, maybe that's YMCMBs thing, whiny ass dudes.

13. Crazy - Can this track please be actually crazy? While Busta doesn't go off like you'd expect him to, he does actually sound crazy in this going with a deep almost demonic sounding voice and his delivery on this track is spectacular, this is probably the best track on this album.

14. Bleed the Same Blood (featuring Maino and Anthony Hamilton) - Hamilton is one of my favorite R&B singers right now so I hope Busta utilizes him well. Well, he does, Maino's verse is first and it's not bad, like Reek it's nice to hear a higher pitched voice over such dark beats. Busta sounds like Busta on this one, that's not a bad thing. Hamilton is the strongest part of the song, his vocals during the chorus are phenomenal.

Overall: I guess my initial thought is, I expected more. I expected the production to be better especially coming from YMCMB, the production's not bad it's just not as good as it should be. I wish he had utilized Nicki Minaj on this album, I'm not a fan of her solo stuff but her features are usually pretty good, it would've been interesting to hear Busta go in and then hear Nicki go crazy too. I'll keep about half of the tracks from this album, if I had paid for this album I'd probably be more disappointed but being free it's worth checking out. Busta shows he can do slower tempo songs on this project, that being said it makes you miss the tracks he went insane on. In no way is the album a return to form, if anything it's a subtle transition into a more well-rounded rapper, in the long run this direction could work for Busta, but for now we have this album, his debut for YMCMB, and it's just okay.

Rating: 5/10

Quick Reviews II: The Metal Edition by Dom

So I know I've been gone a bit so I thought I'd do some quick reviews to just get some stuff out there. These are going to be all metal albums from 2012 that I have not reviewed yet. Here are 6 of the biggest metal releases of 2012.

Starting with Testament's 10th album to date, there's not much to say besides that this album is truly great. A step up from The Formation of Damnation this album is thrashy, with flashes of mid-tempo and even a slow song. This is one of the best thrash records I've heard in a while. 9/10

Now, I've never been the biggest JFAC fan but a lot of people were loving this so I gave it a shot. At first I liked it a lot, in the months it's lost what it had, I don't know how but I don't enjoy really at all anymore, it doesn't do a lot for me anymore. 4/10

Shadows Fall's newest album, I'm a big fan of the band, seem them live, met them, overall I love the band. This album is a step up from 2009's Retribution which I enjoyed, this album is more of a straightforward, balls-out, metal album. 8.5/10

Kreator. If you're a death/thrash metal fan, you know this name, if you don't, you're not a real fan. I had never given them a huge chance, I've listened to the classic Pleasure to Kill and liked it but never any other albums. This dropped and I thought I'd give it a shot. I like this album a lot, it's not perfect, it's got some cheesiness and some corny/cliche lyrics but overall it's a pretty solid release. 7/10

Again, if you are a thrash fan, you know Overkill. You know what you're gonna get with an Overkill album, while not as predictable as Megadeth or Slayer, with Overkill you know you're gonna get a balls to the wall thrash album. I love the previous album Ironbound and this one might be even better, this album is a thrashterpiece, go pick this up. 9/10

Baroness' Yellow & Green, another band I've never really listened to until this album came out. I like this album a lot, they've got a sludgy element that reminds you of Mastodon, whom they are compared to all too often. But this album is a good album, I haven't enjoyed a sludge metal album as much since High on Fire's Snakes for the Divine. 8/10

"Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE" Review by Dom

Frank Ocean is a California R&B singer who is a member of the OFWGKTA collective group. Frank Ocean always stood out from the other members because he was a singer not a rapper, and his lyrics also strayed away from the horrorcore flag the group had been put under. Ocean released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra in 2011, the mixtape was met with critical acclaim. Sine then Ocean has become one of the biggest stars in R&B, working with Jay-Z and Kanye West on their album Watch the Throne to working with Pharrell, rap heavyweight Nas and working with the members of Odd Future as well. Here in 2012, Ocean has released his debut album channel ORANGE a week after publicly stating that he was once in love with a man.

1. Start - A 45 second intro track that sets up the second track.

2. Thinkin' Bout You - The first track released from the album and it is nothing short of spectacular. Frank shows his voice off right off the bat and it sounds so good.

3. Fertilizer - A 40 second interlude.

4. Sierra Leone - A nice slower song recounting Frank's lust for a girl during his teenage years.

5. Sweet Life - I'm not sure why but I am not a big fan of this song, it doesn't hold my attention, Frank sounds great but it's a song I can't get into.

6. Not Just Money - Another minute long interlude talking of how money doesn't mean happiness.

7. Super Rich Kids (featuring Earl Sweatshirt) - A 5 minute song featuring Earl Sweatshirt slowly rapping over the same beat. This song is a huge standout, using humor to make fun of rich kids, it's fantastic.

8. Pilot Jones - This track is another one that doesn't hold my attention, as always Frank sounds amazing.

9. Crack Rock - A great song about crack addiction, broken homes and crime. You can hear the emotion is Frank's voice on this track.

10. Pyramids - This song is a 10 minute epic story that is not only a pleasurable listen but is musically complex while still sounding simple enough to the listener's ear. I never thought I'd like a 10 minute long R&B song but Frank Ocean proved me wrong.

11. Lost - This is one of my favorite tracks on this album, the chorus is infectious with Ocean showing his low-scale vocals along with his higher vocals and it sounds phenomenal.

12. White (featuring John Mayer) - An interlude featuring a sweet solo played by John Mayer, it's a nice break from the last 25 minutes of R&B.

13. Monks - This track is an R&B/funk music fusion and it works with Frank's vocals, it's not a standout but it's a good song.

14. Bad Religion - A song about struggles with religion and love, and Frank sings it with such conviction that you feel for him.

15. Pink Matter (featuring Andre 3000) - I was skeptical about this song because honestly I thought Andre would outshine Frank like Andre always does when he has a guest verse. Frank holds his own against him and doesn't let him steal the show and the song benefits from it and is fantastic.

16. Forrest Gump - Another one of my favorite from this album, it hooked me in in the first 15 seconds. One is forced to wonder if this song is sung from the perspective of Jennie from the movie or if it has to do with Frank's love of another man. Regardless, the song is fantastic.

17. End/Golden Girl (featuring Tyler, the Creator) - You only get "Golden Girl" if you buy the physical cd and it's completely worth it especially hearing a surprising verse from Tyler, the Creator. It's a fantastic way to end the album.

Overall - Coming off of a critically acclaimed mixtape and high profile features this album had a lot to live up to. Frank pulled it off in spectacular style. channel ORANGE is one of my favorite albums of 2012, I return to it almost every day/night to listen to.

Rating - 9/10