All posts by Brian Mc

Music, Music News, New Release, Pop, Punk, Review, Rock, Vinyl

7″ Review (of sorts): Teenage Bottlerocket – American Deutsch Bag

19 November, 2013 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Just in time for the holidays, your favorite pop-punk band Teenage Bottlerocket has announced an upcoming 7″ titled American Deutsch Bag”.

Featuring tracks like “Ich bin Auslander und Spreche Nicht Gut Deutsch” and “I’m the One Smoking Marijuana Motherfucker”, this album is sure to be a family favorite. At just under 4 minutes long, I think it is safe to say that TBR have put together a masterpiece.

Actually, the songs have nothing to do with the holidays, but everything to do with Germany. Well, sort of. The band, after falling in love with Germany, decided to pay their own homage in a humorous way. I know I enjoyed their new tracks.

The band also threw on their appropriate cover of the late Tony Sly’s “Via Munich”. This is the same track found on the Tony Sly tribute that dropped just last month.

TBR’s very own Ray had this to say about the idea of the German friendly tunes:

On Teenage Bottlerocket’s last tour in Europe, we made friends with a dude in a Lethal Weapon 2 hat. We referred to him as a Deutsch bag. He was a good sport and found the insult endearing. I’ve always loved Germany. I took German in high school and we sang alot of songs. One of the songs was entitled “Ich bin Auslander und Spreche Nicht Gut Deutsch”. This is roughly translated “I’m not from here and my German sucks”. We decided to make it a pop punk song. If I screw up any of the pronunciation it’s because my German sucks, it’s a pretty good excuse to fuck up the words. We also included a new song about smoking reefer and a song by our dear friend Tony Sly called “Via Munich”. We recorded the 7″ at the Blasting Room with Andrew Berlin. Everything seemed to fall into place. The 7″ will be available on our upcoming European tour with VOLBEAT and ICED EARTH. Guten tag.

Wait. Did Ray just say they were touring with Volbeat and Iced Earth in Europe? Bad ass.

American Deutsch Bag drops on November 27th, but you can preorder a copy over at Fat Wreck Chords right now.

Music, Music Video, New Release, Punk, Review, Rock

Album Review: The Flatliners – Dead Language

27 September, 2013 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Dead Language, as expected, has blown me away and turned me into an even bigger Flatliners fan.

I am not even sure I need to write more than the above sentence when talking about The Flatliners most recent release on Fat Wreck Chords. It has been three years since the punk rock band have put out new material and the wait was well worth it.

After making music and hitting the road for most of their 10+ year career, Dead Language really showcases the band in a mature, collective way without missing a beat. Having been on the Fat roster for a good part of their existence (this is their 3rd release on Fat), many music lovers are well aware of them and cherish everything they do.

Opening with “Resuscitation Of The Year”, the album started off strong with the band taking no time to get down to business. With heavy drumming, appropriate gang vocals, and fun guitar playing (that at times reminded me of 90s Fat Wreck songs), I couldn’t help but think that this really was one of the best tracks on the album.

Although carrying a slightly slower tempo, “Birds Of England” was just a solid track to listen to. I really dug the lyrics that hinted about the band’s extensive touring during their career. This is one of those songs I feel would be fun to see the band play live. “Hounds” was another song that I feel the band would really have fun playing live with all the sporadic shouting and crazy guitar playing.

“Drown In Blood” continued with Chris Cresswell just giving it his all vocally. I was seriously impressed listening to him clear his throat throughout. Just wait till the gang vocals pop in. This song was one of my favorites on the album.

“Sew My Mouth Shut” was the track that really had me thinking to myself how much this band has grown together. Everything just sounded so right on this track and I just loved it when Cresswell crooned “sew my mouth shut so I can’t say a word, just gets me in trouble, trouble I’m not worth.”

The one song on here that I even remotely scratched my head at was “Quitters” and honestly I think it is because it was just a lot to take in. At just over 2 minutes, I think song could have been stretched out in some parts. Overall, still a good jam, but there were a couple of drumming moments that seemed overly compressed.

“Brilliant Resilience” closed down the album with as much fury as the opener did. Once again the gang vocals were fun to listen to. Non-stop drumming, fun guitar playing, and of course Cresswell doing what he does best.

I will say that Dead Language is no Calvicade, but it is damn close and who knows, maybe after I listen to it about 15 more times, I’ll change my opinion. Still, I’m pretty sure The Flatliners were not looking to repeat Calvicade, but rather continue forward with it. For a band that started more of a ska band and then changed their sound because they wanted to, I would have to say they are matured and exactly where they want to be. Dead Language really proves that.

Check out this video for “Drown In Blood”:

Metal, Music, Music News, Music Video

Check It Out: Skeletonwitch’s New Music Video For “I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)”

19 September, 2013 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Tis the season for a slasher…

Athens, Ohio’s Skeletonwitch just dropped a new music video for “I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)” that is sure to cause nightmares. Directed by Jon Nix of TurnStyle Films, this video clearly gives a generous nod to 70s horror movies. Originally featured on Bloody-Disgusting, I figured I would post it as well seeing how I am a big fan of Skeletonwitch and also the good folk at TurnStyle Films.

Check it out:

90's, Music, Music News, Pop, Punk, Rock

Gameface Announces First New Music in a Decade!!!

19 September, 2013 Brian Mc Leave a comment

Holy crap. Gameface has reunited.

It’s true. Jeff Caudill himself sent me an email (and many others) stating the facts. Gameface is a band again and they have plans on releasing new material in 2014.

Signing to Equal Vision Records, the band is releasing a 7” featuring two new recordings – “Come On Down” and “The Only Chance We Get” – on November 5.

“Come On Down” is a brand new track, while the latter is a new recording of a previously released song from Gameface’s 1995 release, Three To Get Ready. The revamped version also now includes guest back-up vocals from Ingo Knollmann (Donots) and Mike McTernan (Damnation A.D.).

The reunited four-piece currently is working on their sixth full-length album, which is should be released by early 2014. Check out the following video that takes a personal look at Gameface’s recent decision to reunite as well as make their first new album together in over a decade:

Jeff Caudill had this to say about the band reuniting and recording new music:

“We’re beyond excited about the new material and a new chapter in our history. We’re so fortunate and grateful to Equal Vision for sharing our vision and giving us this rare opportunity for a new beginning.”

Taken from the Equal Vision press release:

The Southern California-based outfit, now featuring Caudill along with Todd D. Trout (guitar), Guy Julian (bass) and Steve Sanderson (drums), originally formed in the summer of 1990 and has since released five full-length albums, each carrying the band’s dynamic, distinctive sound that has gone on to influence countless bands over the years.

Gameface’s debut LP, Good (1993), showcased unabashed pop punk at its purest, while Three to Get Ready’s (1995) offered redemptive lyrics and a nostalgic tone that drew fans into Gameface’s emotional triumph over tragedy following the untimely death of their drummer Bob Binckley in 1994. With Every Last Time (1999), and the addition of drummer Steve Sanderson, Gameface hit their songwriting and touring stride. During the recording of Always On (2000) rifts between members deepened and original bassist Paul Martin eventually left the band before the album was released. Guy Julian joined on bass for their final album, Four To Go (2003), before the band members decided to each go their own separate ways following its release. In 2012, the group reunited for a string of shows that eventually served as the catalyst to forge ahead towards something more permanent. It felt right again as Caudill penned their new single, “Come On Down”, sealing the deal to embark on this next phase of Gameface.

Pre-orders for Gameface’s new 7” will be available in the coming weeks, along with additional information on the band’s upcoming full-length album. The band even announced today on Facebook that they are adding a re-recording of “Freezerburn” to the new album. That song previously was only availble on a live recording.

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