Far Cry 3 is a brutal, consumer of time that offers outstanding gameplay and terrific voice acting that truly make it one of the best games of 2012.
Genre: Action, First-Person Shooter
For Fans Of: Crysis, Assassin's Creed, and obviously the Far Cry series
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Rating: 9/10
The Positives: A huge world with plenty of room for activities, great mix of stealth and action, great difficulty curve, seamless transitions, wonderful environment and ferocious creatures
The Negatives: The storyline falls short towards the end, the multiplayer is disappointing, some design flaws can break the game
Overall, Far Cry 3 may have had a shot at many game of the year awards had it been released earlier. Luckily for us, however, it was released after being designed into an amazing game.
Click Here for a Review by Kevin VanOrd, courtesy of GameSpot.
For Fans Of: Deep Purple, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Black Crowes Genre: '70s Rock, Southern Rock Blood Of The Sun's Top Tracks: Hell On Its Knees, Past The Dawn, Beyond The Cold, Death Ride, The Witchin' Hour, Rise From The Underground
Yup, I get it: the album’s cover artwork may remind you of
something from the glorious MONSTER MAGNET era, but the new Blood of
the Sun album has nothing to do with stoner rock. Enough is enough
and I can’t bear witnessing every 70s influenced hard rock band
being called stoner rock. Get it guys, stoner rock is a bad joke…
this is great, melodic and groovy, heavy rock with touches of boogie
and blues, lots of freaked out, almost psychedelic guitar work, and
crazy good old school Hammond organ.
While other bands try to replicate the sound of the 1970's (with
varying degrees of success), Blood of the Sun distills out the
essence of the heaviest 1970's rock and transfers it to the present
day. This is complemented by great enthusiasm, great muscianship and,
best of all, a lot of great songs. This album is chock full of
hard-driving guitar riffs, powerful vocals, excellent bass and drums
and phenomenal keyboard wizardry. Moreover, here we have 8 catchy
tunes that are guaranteed to stay with the listener for a long time.
The opening track "Let It Roll" gets things started quickly as great song reminiscent of Blue Oyster Cult. The album-titled track continues the groove with a catchy hard rock, bluesy guitar riff with wailing vocals that only strengthen as the album continues. Truly nothing disappoints throughout Burning On The Wings of Desire.
Hurricane Sandy did tremendous damage to both New York and New Jersey, causing quite an impact on Activision's servers, breaking the systems for Call of Duty: World at War and Guitar Hero.
A collection of all of the ingredients that have led to great stealth games in the past coalesce as Klei Entertainment's "Mark of the Ninja".
Genre: Stealth Platformer
For Fans Of: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Splinter Cell Conviction
Platform: PC, Xbox 360
Rating: 8.5/10
The Positives: Great level design, intelligently increasing difficulty, excellent controls, huge variety of choices and abilities, and worthy of replay
The Negatives: Far sight ability disrupts momentum (since I couldn't think of any, this one's from Gamespot)
Click Here for a Review by Leif Johnson, courtesy of Gamespot
#16 Pardon Me (2010) – Jonathan Tyler &
The Northern Lights
These Dallas rock stars have opened
for AC/DC, The Black Crowes, and Deep Purple, and while they are
clearly inspired by all three, Jonathan Tyler & The Northern
Lights are a unique rock 'n roll identity in of themselves. This
major label debut is a hard rock attack, glazed with southern blues
and soul and cushioned with a few slow numbers for breathing room.
#15 Black Country Communion (2010) –
Black Country Communion
Throwing some of the best musicians
together does not always result in the creation of great music, but
Black Country Communion could be the best super group since Cream.
“The Voice of Rock”, the best blues guitarist in the world, a
powerhouse drummer, and a prog-metal keyboardist coexist beautifully,
responding to the media hype with the best blues-imbued rock of the
decade.
#14 Avenged Sevenfold (2007) – Avenged
Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold prove that their
stand-out skill is far more apparent when allowing their music to
break genre barriers. Their self-titled album strays from the path of
pure heavy metal, a disaster in the chorus of “Lost”, but
“Gunslinger” and “Unbound (The Wild Ride)” would not be as
great without their exploration into other musical realms.
#13 Permission To Land (2003) – The
Darkness
The Darkness have no business climbing the charts in the 21st century. And yet, here they are,
creating some of the catchiest rock around with sexy guitar solos and
wailing vocals that belong in the 80s, and yet are thriving in the
2000s. Their commercial success with this (above anything else) entertaining album, is all the evidence required to prove its
extravagance.
#12 Folklore and Superstition (2008) –
Black Stone Cherry
Black Stone Cherry's sophomore effort
takes a huge step from their self-titled album, expanding the variety
in their songwriting and the overall message in their music. Infusing
southern rock with heavy metal, they relate to The Black Crowes and
Myles Kennedy while trademarking their own sound.
How long can a band hardly evolve
their sound and yet still keep things fresh and enthralling? Well
Clutch have mastered this better than anyone, all while sticking it
to the man, refusing to abide by the inhibiting rules of the music
business. Prepare to be confounded and yet oddly satisfied by the bad
asses of modern rock in their 2004 effort, Blast Tyrant.
#10 White Blood Cells (2001) – The White
Stripes
As Jack and Meg White's commercial
breakthrough, White Blood Cells captures the reason The White Stripes
attracted so much attention right from the get-go. They perfectly
construct powerful, rough rock with a sweetness bound to keep old
fans hooked and captivate new ones.
#9 Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol.
1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005) – Coheed and
Cambria
Fans of Coheed and Cambria may have
despaired when the group signed to a major label, but far from
selling out, the band adopted more prog rock and heavy metal
influences into their music. Their 2005 release is a poetic, sci-fi
story and a heavy metal, headbanging journey reminiscent of Rush and
Queensrÿche.
#8 Brothers (2010) – The Black Keys
Returning to the studio after their
2008 release with Danger Mouse, it seemed to many that The Black Keys
had run out of inspiration for new material and were content to
continue creating music of the same style. Luckily, Brothers reveals
new life and is one of the few albums to bring rough blues music to a
mainstream audience.
#7 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What
I'm Not (2006) – Arctic Monkeys
The Arctic Monkeys were given high
expectations with their debut album, often referred to as the best
new band since Oasis. Their 2006 release, however, met and exceeded
all standards for the underground rockers, following in the footsteps
of recent British superstars, The Strokes.
With their 2002 release, Wilco
achieved critical and commercial success. To many, the album was
nothing short of a masterpiece with a complexity rarely seen in
modern pop music. Wilco never came close to creating as great an
album as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but neither have most other bands.
#5 Elephant (2003) – The White Stripes
Marking their major label debut,
Elephant showcases Jack White at the top of his game. The album opens
strongly with the instantly recognizable “Seven Nation Army” and
doesn't let up. By uniquely mixing punk, blues, and garage rock, The
White Stripes ensured that Elephant was a phenomenal success.
#4 Funeral (2004) – Arcade Fire
Funeral defined the independent rock
of the decade, included a symphonic sound that only amplified the
album's energy, and has a touching back story adding purpose to the
solace in the music. And on top of all of this, Funeral is a debut
album with the sound of a band at the top of their game.
#3 Black Holes and Revelations (2006) - Muse
These British rock stars didn't need
to prove anything about their ingenuity and skill after Absolution
(2003), and yet Black Holes and Revelations is as adventurous and
fresh as their previous releases but more consistently great
throughout. Containing themes as varied as political corruption,
alien invasion, New World conspiracies, and conventional love songs,
it's difficult to describe this album as anything but amazing.
#2 Is This It (2001) - The Strokes
The garage rock revivalists, the
saviors of rock 'n roll, call them whatever you like. But however you
look at it, The Strokes created a truly amazing album and possibly
the greatest debut album since Appetite For Destruction by Guns 'n
Roses.
In 2004, Green Day, the immature punk
rockers who brought you the ridiculously catchy, rude, and
brilliantly simplistic pop punk album Dookie, went in a direction no
one saw coming. They released American Idiot, a concept album played
out as a punk rock opera narrating the rise and fall of the American
dream for the "Jesus of Suburbia" while criticizing the political state
of the US. Not only were the lyrics a tier above anything the
California rockers had released previously, but the music was diverse
and perfect, not wasting a single second on any track (which is
saying a lot with two 9-minute songs in the line-up). Popularity is
not always the best tool for measuring an album's greatness, but when
an album has six radio hits and a Tony Award-winning Broadway Show, it's difficult to argue otherwise.
Slash began his
solo career with a self-titled album that experimented a broad array
of styles with a plethora of varying singers. With his second
release, Slash continues to venture past standard genre borders, but
he allies himself solely with Myles Kennedy. Together, they create an
abundant collection of hard and heavy rock songs which, at the same
time, feel relaxed and natural.
#20 Beyond Hell/Above
Heaven (2010) – Volbeat
So
stop me if you've heard this one before, an album that combines
punk, roots rock & roll, rockabilly, heavy metal, death metal,
country, and '70s hard rock. Well, Volbeat's 2010 album masterfully
mixes this diverse set of genres while extending the narrative of
their 2009 release, Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood.
#19 High Visibility
(2002) – The Hellacopters
High
Visibility is a
Detroit-rock-worshiping party that makes its influences jealous. The
guitar playing is legendary, the singing is aggressive and bluesy,
and the raw '70s power of The 'Copters goes beyond the efforts of
revivalists; they're reinventing.
#18 Wasting Light (2011) – Foo Fighters
After six successful records and
selling out two nights at Wembley Stadium, how can a band keep things
fresh? Well Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl had a pretty good idea,
“I wanna do the next one in the garage. It's about making records
the way we used to f*cking make records. But lets do it with Butch
Vig so that it's f*cking huge”. Wasting Light covers every
spectrum of the Foo Fighters that fans love, it being their best
album since The Colour and the Shape
and definitely their most consistent effort containing absolutely no
filler.
#17 10,000 Days (2006) – Tool
True art takes time and consideration,
and this is exactly why Tool is so successful at creating musical
treasures. The members of Tool are nothing short of musical geniuses,
and when given four years to create an album, they created a
phenomenal 2006 release. With only three songs under six minutes,
this hard-driving band revealed intelligence, brutal honesty,
passionate emotion, and unmatched musical aptitude in modern metal.
For Fans Of: Ummmm, Awesome Instrumentals and Vocals? They're too unique to compare to anyone popular Genre: Progressive Rock, Alternative Rock, New Prog, Post-Hardcore Coheed and Cambria's Top Tracks: Welcome Home, The Suffering, Feather, Gravemakers & Gunslingers, Apollo I: The Writing Writer, Key Entity Extraction I: Domino The Destitute
For fans of sci-fi prog rock epics with geeky aspiration and spontaneous intricacy, or just fans of talented rock artists, you should definitely give Coheed and Cambria's new album a try. Many would agree that their 2010 album, Year of the Black Rainbow, was a disappointing effort, but this first part of a double album is far from a disaster. On the contrary, The Afterman: Ascension is a successful exploration of the band's variety of talents.
Lead singer Sanchez's voice, usually a force to be reckoned with, is tamed down to a soft, hazy vocal at times, along with impressive acoustic guitar work and an almost Owl City-sounding background melody (in case I offended any fans, I'm not comparing Coheed to Owl City). But this is no cause for concern, there are just as many mouth-watering guitar licks, pounding drums, and whaling vocals as you'd expect in any Coheed and Cambria album.
The story-telling ability of Coheed revealed a new trait, a very apparent fact in the album-titled track, with emotion and specificity unmatched by the rest of their discography. The story-telling itself has been reduced, but the songs speak to listeners with new intimacy and understanding. "Key Entity Extraction II: Hollywood The Cracked" and "Subtraction" may seem a little off character for these prog rock veterans but "Mothers of Men" and "Key Entity Extraction III: Vic The Butcher" truly expose the spirit of Coheed and Cambria's progressive style. And my personal favorite, "Key Entity Extraction I: Domino The Destitute", is as heavy and catchy as any track in their discography.
The Afterman: Ascension is an impressive rock album and a great response to their disappointing 2010 release. And fans of this new album will be happy to see its sequel released in February, what I hope will be an equally impassioned and momentous release.
War of the Roses is a new IP that transports players back in time to the battle-ravaged dynastic civil war era of 15th-century England. Genre: Action For Fans Of: Of Orcs and Men, Grim Fandango Platform: PC Rating: 8/10 The Positives: Ever changing combat, endless variety of weapons, beautiful display and pretty map, and the executions The Negatives: Can grow repetitive Click Here for a review by Nathan Meunier, courtesy of GameSpot
Danko Jones' Top Tracks: Full of Regret, Just a
Beautiful Day, I Think Bad Thoughts, Lovercall, Code of the Road
With a growing track record of
successful albums and a new drummer with an impressive resume, Danko
Jones release another great vintage rock album imbued with punk
influence, Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue.
Simple hard rock rules this album with
catchy melodies, worthy of some sing along, fit into prevalent song
structures. For long time fans, this album is exactly what you should
expect, “attitude-filled blues infused rock n roll from start to
finish” (melodic.net). For those new to Danko Jones, enjoy the
ride. They aren't breaking any new ground with their music and they
definitely aren't trying to. Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue is a
great listen with immature lyrics about sex built into lively rock n
roll.
The album opens powerfully with
“Terrified”, a great energy-builder with a Volbeat-like riff. At
times, Danko's voice feels too weak for this type of song. However,
the second track follows to continue the intensity. “Get Up” is a
mix of “Tick Tick Boom” by The Hives and “Cold Hard Bitch” by
Jet, which is definitely a compliment. “Legs” is too repetitive
to listen to in its entirety, but “Just a Beautiful Day” picks up
the slack as a clever choice as the album's single.
“You Wear Me Down” is a
refreshing, modern take on Led Zeppelin and “Conceited” resembles
heavier Foo Fighters songs such as “All My Life” and so is a
promising hit for their live show. The album's end includes the
godless, profane “I Believed In God” with a gospel choir and is
actually one of my favorites. The album overall is a great listen and
worthy of the purchase, however some may hope that the band will
evolve in the near future rather than playing it safe like they did
here, especially with their experience.
Let's try to reminisce first, when the '90s were over, and with them
the seemingly endless supply of one-hit wonders. And as the new
century rolled in, hip-hop/rap and pop began their domination of the
charts and even the poppiest alt rock groups had to claw their way
into focus. Here are a few of the casualties who got a few thumbs up
but you still may not know them.
Baby's Got A New Revelation – The
Exies
Well The Exies were for the most part
the late-comers who just missed out on the '90s, what would have been
a decade of fame for them. However, they arrived on the scene in 2000
with their self-titled album featuring “elegant melodies, graceful
chord progressions, and some fancy-sounding guitar effects”
(allmusic.com). Among a few standouts is “Baby's Got a New
Revelation” with all the catchy beats, melodies, and guitar hooks
someone could wish for. It's worthy of some minor headbanging and
singing along.
Been There Lately – Slash's Snakepit
Thinking about the second album by
Slash's Snakepit, I can't believe it isn't praised by hard rockers
everywhere. Yet, somehow, reviews bashed the album for its
immaturity, poor songwriting, lack of chemistry, and lack of Slash.
Is it immature? Hell yeah it is. And the songwriting? Well the lyrics
aren't exactly poetic but that's not what they're going for. Vocalist
Rod Jackson brings new life to the band in their sophomore effort,
especially showing in “Been There Lately”, and all the
instrumentals induce some major air guitar. And Slash's slick guitar
work is as “sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll” as ever.
Toys and Flavors – The Hellacopters
The raw '70s rock power of the
'Copters is evident more in the album High Visibility than any other
in their discography. And out of these tracks, “Toys and Flavors”
is the catchiest and equipped with one hell of a solo. Plus, the
funky bass and energetic percussion only enhance the song. These
rockers should never get ignored from any fans of loud Hendrix-esque
guitars and dance-worthy rhythm sections.
New Blood – Pinhead Gunpowder
In 2000, pop-punk powerhouse Green Day
had just released what many would consider their least successful
album, Warning. But this was not frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's only
release of the year. His side project Pinhead Gunpowder, had released
a self-titled EP with four tracks guaranteed to satisfy any punk
rocker's tastebuds. “New Blood” is an especially great song and a
breath of fresh air for those who reminisce of Green Day's Kerplunk
days.
Cradle Rock – Joe Bonamassa
Although now considered one of the
greatest guitarists of the modern era, Joe Bonamassa was new to the
scene when his debut solo album, A New Day Yesterday, was released in
2000. The bluesman was still an amateur vocalist, but his performance
was jaw-dropping. And although he was a constant force in the
Billboard's Blues Charts, his music has never hit the mainstream
radio playlists. Any fan of music will enjoy and largely respect
Joe's work.
Top Tracks: Here They Come, Second Try,
Brave, Devils & Angels, Save Me, We Did Nothing Wrong, Sunburn,
Bleed My Soul, Wake Up, I Got This, Crazy
After balcony falls, totaled cars,
lawsuits, and even a punctured face, Royal Bliss has endured and
grown into a Billboard Top 200 band. Their latest album, Waiting Out
The Storm, was released with rave reviews in January 2012 as possibly
their best effort yet.
Waiting Out The Storm opens with a
funky bass line, breathy singing, and anticipation. Lead singer
Middleton's heavy vocals quickly explode, complemented by powerful
guitars and percussion. But this single "I Got This" is far
from the only gem of the album.
The southern-rock blues jam, "Bleed My
Soul", is contagious and reminiscent of Slash's work with Myles Kennedy and "Wake Up" is poignant, powerful, and overall
melodically hard-hitting. "Singing For Our Lives", "I Will Catch You",
and especially "Crazy" cause for a hopeful outlook after a troubled
past.
"Sunburn" boasts Middleton's commanding
voice coupled with a catchy Fuel-like guitar hook. "High On Fire" feels
like a dark warning without losing any charm similarly to the Foo Fighters. And fan favorite "I Love
You" is a violently aggressive emotional acoustic ballad.
Although their past albums, like Life
In-Between and After the Chaos II, are consistently good, Royal Bliss
flirts with greatness in Waiting Out The Storm. With continued
improvement and passion, Royal Bliss may very well break out to
global rockstar status with their next album.
I'm here to help you trek through all of the media garbage you hate in order to find the gems. Lets keep your music library fresh with new artists that play what you love. And don't waste money on new games that are less entertaining than drying paint.
