This past week I was given an advanced copy of the new Stone Sour album, ‘Audio Secrecy’. Once I started playing the album on my iPod, I couldn’t put it down.

When I play albums for the first time, I listen to them at least 10 times (I’m on my approximately 30th listen of ‘Audio Secrecy’ at the moment). With each listen, I focus on every single part of the album as I am a musician and I love to see how bands put together each individual component of a given album.

Stone Sour’s lineup consists of vocalist Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Shawn Economaki on bass, guitarists James Root (Slipknot) and Josh Rand, and Roy Mayorga (Soulfly, Sepultura) on drums.

After all the iPod listening, the one component of ‘Audio Secrecy’ that, to me, is ‘the backbone’ of the entire album is Corey Taylor’s singing.

For years, rock fans may have known Corey Taylor as the voice of Slipknot. The Slipknot version of Corey Taylor is a voice of anger, passion and unfiltered rage that has helped define Slipknot as a master of heavy metal and thrash for over a decade. The band’s songs are a masterful example of what happens when tact is not applied to their music and lyrics.  However, they have yet to break into the upper echelons of the rock elite around the world.

Here’s an example of Slipknot in action:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgGkJEYBb6U

With the release of Slipknot’s ‘Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)’ the band displayed that they were teetering on the verge of rock superstardom with one of the most well crafted albums in metal history. Slipknot’s next album, ‘All Hope is Gone’, found the band taking a step sideways with their music instead of taking the next step forward.  They continued with another solid album in ‘All Hope is Gone’ but nothing that would be considered ‘the album’ that would launch them into the company of rock or metal’s elite bands.

Enter Stone Sour’s ‘Audio Secrecy’.

Here fans are presented with a different side of Corey Taylor’s voice. On ‘Audio Secrecy’, Taylor sings in a more refined, direct, channeled and tactful manner while losing none of the passion and hints of anger in his voice that has defined Slipknot’s career.

In ‘Audio Secrecy’, Stone Sour has crafted an album that has the potential to launch the band into the mainstream of rock and to a larger audience.  From the opening tracks (‘Mission Statement’, ‘Digital’, and ‘Say You’ll Haunt me’), Stone Sour sets a blistering tone and pace of what’s to come for the rest of the album.  Even when Stone Sour ventures into the ballads or slower songs like ‘Dying’, ‘Miracles’ or ‘Hesitate’, the band still maintains their hard ‘foot to ass’ edge on the album without venturing into sissy territory. This is a standard for rock albums that has been lost over the years.

Here’s a live version of ‘Mission Statement’ from the 2010 Download Festival (UK):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jTmcGgFhv4

‘Audio Secrecy’ has many solid tracks that  have the potential of being rock classics such as ‘Pieces’ (which is my favorite of all the 14 great tracks to choose from). This album was crafted to reach the most amount of people possible.  This includes the most important demographic that defines if a band can reach the rock mainstream or not….acceptance by women.  If there is one album that Corey Taylor’s voice can help launch into the mainstream of rock, ‘Audio Secrecy’ is it.

Stone Sour’s ‘Audio Secrecy’ is one of the rare gems that stand out in the vast sea of terminally putrid pop and rock albums today. From start to finish, ‘Audio Secrecy’ is a lesson in how rock albums should be made.  In this age of pop artists focusing on creating individual tracks for iTunes, Stone Sour has created a pretty damned impressive album of music.

For you rock fans who have been waiting for a solid album to drop your hard earned money on, ‘Audio Secrecy’ is it. ‘Audio Secrecy’ has the staying power of an album that, with proper promotion (key term here), can be eventually become a rock classic for years to come.

One of these days, the two different versions of Corey Taylor (the Slipknot Corey Taylor and the Stone Sour Corey Taylor) are going to meet in a recording studio. What will result is destined to be a landmark and legendary album.

Stone Sour will be appearing during day three of the Arizona Fall Frenzy as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival on September 19th.

NPR has an exclusive on-line listening party for the new Gorillaz album. The new album, Plastic Beach, is the band’s first release since 2005′s ‘Demon Days’.

Bobby Womack and Mos Def contributed their talents to the first single from ‘Plastic Beach’ called ‘Stylo’.

The guest artists that contribute to ‘Plastic Beach’ include:

Snoop Dogg
Lou Reed
Gruff Rhys
Mark E. Smith
Mick Jones
Paul Simonon
Kano
Bashy
De La Soul (who previously contributed to ‘Feel Good Inc’ from ‘Demon Days’)
Little Dragon
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
sinfonia ViVA
The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music

Here’s the official video for ‘Stylo’ with a cameo by Bruce Willis.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9vAOzYz-Qs

Unfortunately, the record companies still live in the stone age and won’t allow people to embed this at all. You’ll have to click the link to bring up the YouTube Video page to watch the video.

Street Sweeper Social Club is the brain child of rapper Boots Reily and Rage Against the Machine Guitarist Tom Morello. If you know anything about Tom Morello, he can rock your butt off while making you think at the same time.

The song I want you all to check out is the first track of ‘Street Sweeper Social Club’s’ self titled album. The song is called ‘Fight! Smash! Win!’.

Here’s the studio verison of ‘Fight! Smash! Win!’:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw_hAsFtcHo

This is the live version from their opening slot on the Jane’s Addiction/Nine Inch Nails tour this past summer:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmBIJBVyWZE

For more info and other band related coolness check out their website:

http://www.streetsweepersocialclub.com/

Editors note: The Sonic Boom Package at Wal-Mart comes with a re-recorded Greatest hits package and a DVD which was not available for review. The review below is just of the new album.

When I review albums, I try not to read anything about the album that may have an effect on how I review music. However, I did see one line from the initial press release about the new KISS album ‘Sonic Boom’. The line basically said that this new album is supposed to be a throwback, to the old days of KISS.

Initially, I thought that was a bit of a stretch as the first thing I associated with this statement was that this album was supposed to be the second coming of “Destroyer”. However, after listening to the first licks of ‘Sonic Boom’ I soon realized that this description wasn’t a boast. As the title track, ‘Modern Day Delilah’ came through my headphones, the song had all the makings of a classic KISS track and also made me curious as to what else the album had to offer.

The more I listened to this album I came to the realization that not only does ‘Sonic Boom’ have many characteristics of the ‘Destroyer’ era, there were also traces of KISS albums from their entire career.

So what does this mean?

“Sonic Boom” is an example of the staying power of Kiss not only as a major concert attraction but as a recording artist. Sonic Boom may not sell as many albums as say Kanye West or Lady Gaga. However with a KISS album such as ‘Sonic Boom’, you know what you’re gonna get…a straight forward ass kicking album that not only will make you get you air guitar or air drumsticks out of mothballs but will satisfy just about any rock fix.

Sonic Boom may be the first KISS studio album in 11 years but it was well worth the wait. Pick your copy up exclusively at Wal-Mart.

Here’s a sample of ‘Sonic Boom’.  This is ‘Modern Day Delilah’:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypdNg1Yh890

This is the entire album in 30 second samples:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2MDFAFGWqs

The Smashing Pumpkins just dropped a bombshell a couple hours ago stating that they are going to release their next album for free.

Here’s the details from their website:

Recording began yesterday, September 15th, 2009 on the new record which will be entitled ‘Teargarden by Kaleidyscope‘. The album will feature 44 songs, 4 of which are now being recorded. My desire is to release a song at a time beginning around Halloween of this year, with each new release coming shortly after until all 44 are out. Each song will be made available absolutely for free, to anyone anywhere. There will be no strings attached. Free will mean free, which means you won’t have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take the song or songs as you wish, as many times as you wish.

The album will be a concept album the story of which is explained as:

The story of the album is based on ‘The Fool’s Journey’, as signified in the progress of the Tarot. It is my intention to approach this by breaking down the journey of our life here into four phases as made by these different characters; the Child, the Fool, the Skeptic, and the Mystic.

The music of ‘Teargarden by Kaleidyscope‘ harkens back to the original psychedelic roots of The Smashing Pumpkins: atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty.

Stay tuned as we will announce more details as we get them.

In case you haven’t heard the newest rock supergroup to hit the airwaves is Chickenfoot.   Chickenfoot is made up of the following people:

Joe Satriani – Guitar
Sammy Hagar – Vocals/Guitar
Michael Anthony (Van Halen) – Bass
Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) – Drums

Not bad, eh? Here’s their first video from their debut album called “Oh Yeah”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKkxxLEBwBo

You can also listen to the new album here (requires QuickTime version 7):

http://www.chickenfoot.us/listeningparty/

Their debut album is out now in stores.

No, that’s not a misprint.  Depeche Mode’s new album has been released today in the United States and you can pick it up fro Amazon.com for only $3.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Sounds-Of-The-Universe/dp/B0026GBIB6/ref=amb_link_84175891_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=top-2&pf_rd_r=1ZT18XZRNWXH668N9V62&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=475142491&pf_rd_i=depeche%20mode

For a limited time you can download the new Dave Matthews Band single, ‘Funny The Way It Is’ from RCA Records.

http://www.rcarecords.com/dmbfreedownload/

The new Dave Matthews Band album, ‘Big Whiskey & The Groo Grux King’ will be available in stores everywhere June 2.

If you haven’t heard or not Depeche Mode is coming out with a brand new album on the 20th of this month.  ‘Sounds of the Universe’ is sounding like it will be a new classic given the great press has been getting.

So here’s the first single from ‘Sounds of the Universe’ called ‘Wrong’.  Enjoy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsXOcK9_Cw

You also can click the video to watch it in HQ.

This past weekend brought one of the most refreshing and original music festivals I have ever witnessed.  I’ve been pretty big on festivals in the numerous years I’ve been going to concerts the Tempe Music Festival was one of the most original, eclectic, and…well…fun festivals I have ever been to.

From the looks on paper before the festival began, The Tempe Music Festival’s lineup on Friday night looked to be the strongest.  Granted, that was only because I was the most familiar with the Friday night lineup more than the Saturday lineup.  In addition, from what I explained in my original article about the festival, the extra amenities/things to do was an amazing variety of ways to occupy your time throughout the days of the festival.  For example, there were so many food giveaways that you almost didn’t need to buy your own food.    I personally won a Pizza from  NYPD Pizza from doing one of their promotional giveaway games.  The Big Bang stage was a welcome breather from the music going on the mainstage AND it was located perfectly between the two mill avenue bridges that the sounds from both stages didn’t blend at all.

In addition to Kid Rock, one of the highlights of the weekend was from Tom Morello (who plays Guitar for ‘Rage Against the Machine’) and his solo band ‘Nightwatchmen’.  His cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ was one of the most amazing songs I have seen performed live.  To give you an idea what this experience was like, listen/watch this video of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with Tom Morello sitting in performing ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-oDAxx8So

The festival also held many surprises for me as well as I was introduced to some bands I originally would not have given the time of day for.  Cowboy Mouth, All American Rejects, and 3 Doors Down all put on pretty damned good sets to the point where I’m now contemplating which album from which band to purchase first.

[slideshow id=3]

1) The Phoenix Coyotes vs. Edmonton Oilers – March 26 – 7 PM – Jobing.com Arena – One of last appearances of the season for the Canadian teams in the league, the Edmonton Oilers, make their final appearance of the season in the Valley of the Sun. 

http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/246515/806002?brand=phxcoyotes&camefrom=CFC_COYOTES

2) Spring Training – Various Ballparks around the Greater Phoenix Area – Spring Training is just about over so don’t miss the opportunity to catch a ball game in this amazing weather!

http://www.cactusleague.com/

3) Norm McDonald -  Tempe Improv – $25 – March 26-29 – That’s right the former Saturday Night Live Cast member is making a special appearance in the Valley of the Sun. For more information, tickets and show times please refer to the following link:

http://www.symfonee.com/improv/tempe/comedians/Bio.aspx?Uid=bd190c8d-acc6-4b0d-ab76-70432b51c4cf

4) Star Trek Exhibition at the Arizona Science Center – How cool is it when you get to not only sit in Captain Kirk’s chair but check out the bridge from the Enterprise D? Open Daily. Please refer to the link below for hours and ticket information.

http://www.azscience.org/star_trek.php

5) Eric Lindell – Wed April 1, 2009 – 8:00 PM – Rhythm Room – $10 – $12 – Tickets can be purchased via the Ticketmaster widget in the upper right hand side of the screen.

6) Billy Joel and Elton John March 26, 2009 – 7:30 PM – US Airways Center – $49.50 – $175 – Tickets can be purchased via the Ticketmaster widget in the upper right hand side of the screen.

7) Shake! – Every Saturday Night – Rogue Bar – Scottsdale – $5 (approx) If you are a frequent reader of this site you know that one of the best places to go on a Saturday night is Shake!.  Great Music and fun for a great price!

http://www.azvibe.com/phoenix-entertainment/2008/10/27/review-shake-the-rogue-saturday-october-25th/

8) Charlie Daniels Band – Chester’s Harley Davidson – Mesa – $20-$25 – 2PM to 10 PM (Charlie Daniels Band takes the stage at 8 PM)

For more information and to purchase tickets please refer to the following page:

http://chestershd.com/custompage2.asp?pg=bikerbash

9) Arizona Renaissance Festival – $5-$20 – 2/7/09 – 3/29/09
– ENDS THIS WEEKEND!!!!

10) The Phoenix Coyotes vs. Dallas Stars – March 26 – 8 PM – Jobing.com Arena – Come see the Coyotes do battle with

http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/246515/806002?brand=phxcoyotes&camefrom=CFC_COYOTES

11) BBQ – This yet another absolute perfect weekend to host or attend a BBQ at a friends house or your neighborhood park.

12) Go Hiking or Biking! The perfect weather is not going to be here for much longer. Get out and enjoy it while you can!

We have just updated the calender with the remaining shows of the season for the Chandler Center for the Arts.  Come out and see one of the most acoustically perfect auditoriums in the Greater Phoenix Area.  As you can see from the list below, there’s something for everyone!  Don’t miss this chance to see some of the best shows in the area….right in your back yard!

Stay tuned as we will be reviewing a show and what to do in the area soon.

Cherryholmes
Sunday, March 8, 2009 3pm
$24, $28 & $32
Half Price For Kids 12 & Under

Lorie Line
Saturday, March 14, 2009 7:30pm
$39, For groups of 10 tickets or more: $29.00
The Intimate Evening Series 2009

Salt River Brass: Oscar & Tony
Sun, Mar 15, 2009 03:00 PM

AROUND THE WORLD IN A BAD MOOD
Confessions of a Flight Attendant

Showtimes:

Thursday -March 19 -7:30pm

Friday – March 20 – 7:30pm

Saturday – March 21 – 2:30pm

Saturday – March 21 – 7:30pm

Sunday – March 22 – 2:30pm

$28, $32 & $36
Please Note: Airline Employees Receive A $5 Discount

Ririe-Woodbury Dance
presents “Interiors”
Friday, March 27, 2009 8pm
$28, $32 & $36

Glenn Miller Orchestra
Saturday, March 28, 2009 8pm
$28, $34 & $38

Sophie Milman
Thursday, April 2, 2009 7:30pm
$22, $26 & $32

“Mind Meets Music”
Benefit Concert
A revolutionary benefit concert with
LAURIE ANDERSON
and LOU REED
for the Yongey Peace Prevails Center
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Concert Only: $48, $58 & $68
Benefit Concert 3:00 p.m

Gaelic Storm
Saturday, April 18, 2009 8pm
$24, $28 & $32

Jungle Jack Hanna
Sunday, April 19, 2009 3pm
$28, $34 & $38
Half Price For Kids 12 & Under

KC and the Sunshine Band
Saturday, April 25, 2009 8PM
$46, $56, & $64

Ballet Folklorico “Quetzalli”
Sunday, April 26, 2009 3pm
$26, $30 & $36
Half Price For Kids 12 & Under

That’s right folks!  The long awaited Black Carl CD Release is here!  Tonight at the Martini Ranch in Old Town Scottsdale, Black Carl will be having their CD Release Party!  $10 will get you into the show AND a copy of their new CD.  The show starts at 9 PM and according to their Facebook event they will go on around Midnight.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=33.502451,-111.924055&spn=0.007515,0.015492&z=16&msid=110117270783108833567.00045ff9b399d380b04aa

If you’re undecided about purchasing their new album or want to know what all the hype is surrounding Metallica’s new album, Death Magnetic, you can listen to the entire album from Metallica’s website for free:

http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=601231

Long story short this was a one album collaboration of Chris Cornell (as in Audioslave) and Matt Cameron both of Soundgarden at the time (Matt now plays drums for Pearl Jam) and members of Pearl Jam.  Chris Cornell wrote the songs as a tribute to his former roommate and lead singer of Mother Love Bone.  The result is one of the most potent albums ever put to tape/vinyl.

The first two videos are of Temple of the Dog playing live at one of their first shows at the now defunct Off-Ramp Cafe in Downtown Seattle (Featured in the Movie ‘Singles’):

Reach down:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHI3EjJ6MaU

Your Savior:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WDaLxyDvAo

All night thing (Studio):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMfUoJ7EYN8

Pushin Forward Back:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBi0vMVHvHM

Wooden Jesus:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJBwhXSNwzA

I just downloaded the new single from Slipknot’s new album and it is friggin sick!  The new song is called Psychosocial and Slipknot hasn’t missed a step from their last album.

For those of you going to the Mayhem Festival on Friday this is a great preview of what’s to come.

Studio Version of Psychosocial

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo31WosxeTs

Live Version of Psyhosocial from Seattle stop of the Mayhem festival

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntfsKi8OVmw

Man this song owns!

Ok people who I’ve talked to who have checked this site out have asked me when I’m going to put up open mic night information. Well, I’m not. The reason why is I found a website that has up-to-date Open Mic information in and around phoenix. Rather than duplicating our efforts, I’m going to put the link up for everyone to check out!

Once I get situated, I’m going to get back into performing live and leveraging this site to find places to go and jam:

http://www.azopenmic.com/

Ok, so by now you’ve downloaded some pretty cool music from Nine Inch Nails, especially ‘The Slip’.  Ok so now that you have a new album you just released to the masses what’s next if you’re Nine Inch Nails?

Why you go on Tour, of course.

Nine Inch Nails announced their ‘Lights in the Sky over North America 2008′.

(More info here)

http://tour.nin.com/

As a preview of what’s to come on this tour, Nine Inch Nails released a free EP of (legal) downloadable music that contains samples of every band that will be joining Nine Inch Nails on tour.

The bands that will part of this tour are:

A place to bury strangers
Does it offend you, yeah?
Crystal castles
Deerhunter
nine inch nails (duhh)

To get your own copy of this EP follow the link below:

http://dl.nin.com/lightsinthesky/signup

As an additional bonus here’s some cool videos from their tour rehersals:

1,000,000
[youtube lLE0B2tIuWM 235 200]

echoplex
[youtube CCSXWILXZVI 235 200]

letting you
[youtube niBCcmK6HsQ 235 200]

To continue the story…so Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor experimented with a revolutionary method of releasing his music to the masses and without the involvement of the record companies with his Ghosts I-IV album.  Not too long after that (around May) he decided to release his next album, The Slip, for free via the internet as a thank you to his fans.  Personally, I think to release this album in this manner (for free over the internet) is a ballsy move….and it’s paying off for him.

To get your own copy of ‘The Slip’ just follow this link:

http://theslip.nin.com/

Here’s the first Video from ‘The Slip’ called ‘Discipline’.

[youtube I1ZMKfFHU3U 235 200]