21 Best Rock Albums of the 21st Century (#2-6)

#6 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) – Wilco

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.  

[#1]  [#7-11]  [#12-16]  [#17-21]

21 Best Rock Albums of the 21st Century (#1)

#1 American Idiot – Green Day

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.

[#2-6]  [#7-11]  [#12-16]  [#17-21]

21 Best Rock Albums of the 21st Century (#17-21)

#21 Apocalyptic Love (2012) – Slash

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.

[#1]  [#2-6]  [#7-11]  [#12-16]

Album Review: The Afterman: Ascension - Coheed and Cambria

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.

Rating: 8/10 Great

Game Release: War of the Roses

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

Album Review: Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue - Danko Jones

For Fans Of: The Hellacopters, The Exies

Genre: Hard Rock

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.

Rating: 7/10 Very Good

Top 5 Songs of 2000 You May Have Missed

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.