Imperfect is the new Good

With a slight 10 days delay here comes my input on Imperfect Harmonies, Serj Tankian's new album.

You might have guessed (or already known) that he's the vocalist from S.O.A.D. If you've listened to his first solo album Elect the Dead, you'll feel a change in style; if you haven't, FYI it is a back to the roots of SOAD.
Getting to this piece, the title suits the content entirely. It is a mix of soughing notes, disturbed rhythms, a good voice, some metal touches and synthesizer add-ons. I can't say that it was what I expected, but I'm impressed of the end-product; musical evolution can still go the right way. 
My SOAD background makes me mostly enjoy tracks like Left of Center (and therefore all of the previous album) but this one has a new harmony going on and deserves at least a full listening. It might appeal to you, System of a Down fan or not.

900 Eclipses

After a week of inactivity I return with a music related post, because today A Thousand Suns, the new Linkin Park album, is out.

I noticed some evolution in their sound, it's got a more emotional touch to it, but that doesn't mean this is an improvement.
Actually from the 10-12 real tracks, 2-3 are bearable, the rest is borderline wimping. It is sad when you think that the best album of a quite famous band, with a 10 years plus career,  is their first one, but that's the truth. Hybrid Theory was good, the others had respectful parts but never reached the initial force. This one is almost useless in my tracklist, since it lacks the original punch; because the purpose of LP in my music collection was to blow off steam after a long day...well, can't do that anymore, can I.

Disappointment!

A different kind of symphony

To keep last week's trend, this Wednesday will be a music dedicated one also.
This time I'll briefly talk about the new Apocalyptica album 7th Symphony, which came out two days ago.

Sincerely, I liked it. It is clear that they've evolved from the group that played Metallica songs on cellos and that the drums, added a while back, complete their surprising and wicked sound.
I prefer mostly the pure instrumental stuff, the voiced pieces being a bit less impressive, getting close to any other alternative band. But this is a general pattern with all the albums; still there were some exceptions over the years.
For those interested, there's even a touch of death metal in it with the lead of Gojira on one of the songs. (hope I didn't mess up the genres because the guttural singing is not my thing)
So if you enjoy metal on cellos give it a try, it won't hurt.

Iron...Cat-Lady

On Aug 16th, the new Iron Maiden album was shot into space: The Final Frontier

Yesterday, I got my hands on a copy...actually my ears, and unfortunately I wasn't quite thrilled of what I heard. I know that it's been a while that people say that Maiden serve the same dish passed through a different blender, but the last one had been quite OK in my book. This time on the other hand, it's just not enough. I mean even for my unprofessional hammer, anvil and stirrup the new album sounds like A Matter of Life and Death all-round, which is claimed to be a mesh of other stuff from before. It's more than the same dish, it has even been chewed up for you.
The album follows the same 10 track pattern, last one being some sort of preachy moral piece which start with a soft intro. 
The skill is still there, no doubt about it, but there's no more soul left, not to mention the inspiration. All that remains are some stretched-out tracks that are only impressive thanks to the technique.
I'll listen to a good Piece of Mind or even Fear of the Dark, to wash out the disappointment.