awesome!
Cannot wait to see these guys next week!
These guys are really, really, really kick ass live
Upcoming Reviews
Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier Down - Diary of a Mad Band Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time Slipknot - (sic)ness Immortal - The Seventh Date of Blashyrkh
Hey - I Dig it
Dimmu Borgir - Gateways
Cannot wait for this album - They sound crisper without ICS Vortex and Mustis -
Great Video too!
Ozzy - Life Won’t Wait
This is off of the Scream album - which I must admit has really grown on me. If you like post No More Tears Ozzy - I think you’d agree. The last 5 seconds are worth it of this vid - and I believe Jack directed it.
SPOTLIGHT: Joell Ortiz
Brooklyn’s “new something to be proud of”
by Tony Scarangella
YAOWA (pronounced: YAOW-AH!!!)
The word/sound rapper Joell Ortiz proclaims on almost all his tracks. Not a giggle, not just a “zy” at the end of his name; “Yaowa” is what an often inebriated neighbor would say to Joell back in the day. It’s short for “Yo, what’s up?” and has become Joell’s adopted brand. YAOWA…
You
Are
One
World
Away
A friend recently made me a mix of random Joell Ortiz tracks. After blasting it from my car stereo for several days I asked myself, what makes an artist hot? Please don’t try and sell me on mass appeal. I’m talking about the emcees whose metaphors and punch lines pierce deep inside you with effortless consistency. It’s obviously not an inordinate number of spins that brings the heat. It’s not a high priced feature. It’s definitely not a blockbuster deal at a major label. It’s not a sub-woofer shaking beat by “Name UR Filthy-Rich Producer” filled with screeches, horns, and laser sounds. None of these thermometers accurately measure a rappers temperature because none even get a reading for Joell Ortiz. Yet “Mr. YAOWA” brings some of the most smoldering lines to the mic in recent memory.
You might have heard him get unconscious on his remix of “Beemer, Benz, or Bentley” and if you did the chances are the jock never even said his name. Ortiz, a native son of Brooklyn, is doing his best to breathe life into hip-hop. He’s finding that without major label support and a club banger he’s left making mix tapes and freestyles. Mix tapes and freestyles that have more heat than most rappers albums but in perspective are never heard. His freestyle on the “Lemonade” beat makes me wish Gucci Mane was never born. Whether it’s writing a “Letter to Sanaa” (actress, Sanaa Lathan; Ortiz calls her his “orange soda”) or giving you “Food For Thought” about the music he loves; Ortiz combines intelligence, authenticity, and a flow that won’t quit. His style is distinctly and refreshingly Big Apple, even reminding other artists, “…if you from the East Coast act like you’re from here.” So, if Joell Oritz is murdering tracks without fail, why isn’t there a single on the radio or a video snuck into MTV’s limited music programming? One likely answer, the music industry is a ravenous beast that swallows souls.
In 2004, at age 24, Ortiz won the EA Sports Battle. The victory earned his song “Mean Business” a slot on the soundtrack of NBA Live 2005. His success at the battle was also supposed to grant him a roster spot on Jermaine Dupri’s label, SO SO DEF. The deal was quickly voided by Dupri, who soon after signed BET “Freestyle Friday” emcee, Sonny. I can picture an aggressive yet subtle “Come on son!” from Ed Lover. Ortiz put out his first studio album, The Brick: Bodega Chronicles, in 2007 with Koch/E1; even though he was signed to Dr Dre’s Aftermath at the time. While waiting with the rest of us for Detox, Ortiz was let out of his Interscope deal. Though as quickly as the Music Gods giveth, they taketh away. As a member of the rap super-group Slaughterhouse (along with Joe Budden, Royce Da 5-9, and Crooked I) Joell continues to meet resistance from the industry, all while Slaughterhouses abilities are universally praised. With four talented lyricists going in on every verse, it’s no surprise Shady Aftermath was interested in the group. Unfortunately for Ortiz he still owes one album to E1, who isn’t as willing as the Doctor to let its artists explore new possibilities.
“I think the longer you do this, the more you realize that it’s not a talent contest”, Nasa told me. The rapper/producer/label owner of Uncommon Records has a unique view on the landscape of the music industry. He’s been running his own underground label since 2004. Like any good TV cop would, Nasa insisted I follow the money. “In the underground even, there are a lot of emcees and producers that get more light…because they’ve hired a PR firm and the PR firm is sending payola to blogs and radio stations.” Sensing the crushing tone in his email, Nasa concluded, “It happens every day.”
In a 2005 interview with TheStateOfHipHop.com Ortiz explains, “Sometimes I feel like, I should get on cause of pure skill but it’s not like that…” As a self proclaimed “fan first” of hip-hop Ortiz loves the artistry, storytelling, and vibe most closely associated with the early 90’s. The attitude, intellect, and street wise confidence are all there. As a result, Joell Ortiz doesn’t fit the mold used to cookie cut “the new sensations [that] try to get you with a dance”, to borrow from “Food For Thought”. Maybe that’s a good thing. Some might argue it’s the best thing.
According to Ortiz via his MySpace page, “You can’t get nowhere with industry buzz… you get hot from the interns who might still live at the projects.” I asked my friend, up and coming producer, Don V from Krush Grove Music his opinion on Ortiz. I asked with great anticipation, hoping we could share a few moments bigging up Joell and trashing other rappers. My friend replied with, “Eh, my whole thing is, make a hit.” I was shocked. I thought if anyone could separate having a top selling record and actually being talented it would be a record producer. What came first, the hot rapper or the hot track, and who decides? Dope lyricists still exist yet so few get put on.
If the fact that he uses his birth name isn’t evidence enough, one thing should be blatantly clear when you listen to the man who seems to get cleverer by the verse. Joell Ortiz is at all times himself, a true artist with heat that’ll make you want to summer on the sun. However, in this game making it to the heights of fame, fortune, and celebrity has little to do with talent. That’s great news for almost everyone on the Hot-100. Prepare yourselves, Joell Ortiz is coming.
Thulcandra – Fallen Angels Dominion
In what I am assuming is a roundabout way of calling their album “hell” Thulcandra pop on to the scene from a more underground area of black metal. I was anxiously waiting to get my hands on this recording because I kept reading articles and seeing hype about it being the next phase of the black metal/melodic death metal movement. I listened to it a couple of times over and have a very conflicted opinion about the album. It’s good. It’s definitely very solid and it’s produced extremely well but I feel like there is a little something missing. Maybe it’s that it would be too little too late? I feel like if this album came out in the golden age of black metal it would be on constant rotation. As it stands it is just a really good black metal/melodic death metal album that combines many old school influences with a really popping production sound. I don’t think I’ve heard an extreme metal album that has sounded this crisp in forever. There are some really beautiful musical bits and some awesome instrumentals but I feel like some of the songs get a bit muddled and lost within themselves. “In Silence We Eternally Sleep” is actually a pretty touching instrumental toward the end of the album. The songs on the album are good but at the same time they seem like they are trying to take the best elements of great black metal bands (at times he sounds like Abbath Doom Occulta and other times kind of like Shagrath – but both of those things aren’t bad) and smash them into one cohesive unit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I will give these guys a pass though because I feel like their next album is gonna be killer and they laid down the ground work with this one especially with the musical interludes peppered into it. This is what I wish OV Hell sounded like. Check it out actually – like I said it’s not a bad album and if you like black metal this is a great album to check out because it doesn’t cross over into the incoherent style of black/death that is popping up feverishly nowadays. I’m also left wondering if they picked up their name from the C.S. Lewis book Out Of The Silent Planet (Thulcandra ctually translates to “Silent Planet”) or did they just take the name from a 1990 Darkthrone EP? Either way the album is somewhat refreshing in it’s solidness kind of. You listen to it and go “Man, this is really good…but what’s missing?”
Great cover of a Skynyrd Song - hope they come to NYC soon
Weedeater!!
I have anxiously been waiting for these guys to release a full length album. Their EP entitled “Improper Burial” is pretty much their live set. - I caught them a few months ago with Amon Amarth and were blown away by how much they kicked ass on stage. I walked in not knowing who they were (a few former members of White Wizzard) and ended up being extremely satisfied with their 30 minute set. Meeting the singer outside by their merch booth kind of solidified that these dudes are keepers of the faith. Hopefully, they will deliver some kick ass metal for years to come.
Kinda interesting - this company just released Mercyful Fate/King Diamond sneakers - I wish they looked better. The white soled Mercyful Fate low cut is pretty cool. (click the title for pictures)
Danzig – Deth Red Sabaoth
I have to be honest; as a metal fan I never really paid much attention to post Misfits solo Glenn Danzig material and that is including Samhain – the direct pre cursor to the Danzig we see before us today. I recently got into the solo stuff and was honestly blown away by the first few albums. They are dark and bluesy and full of that famous Danzig wail that has been made fun of on several internet occasions. Although the guy has a rep for being a maniac, I can get behind the music. His later work is decent but strays from that early sound. Deth Red Sabaoth is a return to that stripped down sound he has on the first few albums. The sound on this album is thick yet very simple. The tunes are really good and if you can understand what he’s saying on a few tracks they are ultimately pretty good sing along songs. The album is pretty good as a whole. It’s unconventional in its simplicity. It’s not a mind blowing album but it is an extremely solid one that can definitely hang with the earlier catalogue of Danzig. The thing I really dig about Deth Red is that he sounds pissed off and angry again. Even though he has been riding that train since the 70’s, it sounds fresh. It might also be because of the fact that there is very little digital enhancement to this record. It was very plug and play and actual old amps were used to give it that full fuzzy tone. The first half of the album is really strong but then it kind of tapers off and by the time you get passed track 7 you kind of stop paying attention a bit. The vocals on a few songs are WAY in front with the cool riffing kind of getting thrown away. I understand that these are DANZIG songs with the main concentration being the dude himself but don’t lose that guitar especially in a day and age where guitar playing on albums is so hackneyed that it’s gotten to the point of ridiculous. Personally, I think Danzig sings the way he does because it’s damn fun – you ever try those throaty screams – you’ll make yourself chuckle. This is actually a pretty good album to drive to also. This isn’t a metal album per-se even though the guy is regarded by many as a somewhat of a metal dude. It is dark and rockin’ which in my opinion counts for something. Regardless of how you feel about Danzig – his politics – his glass jaw (Northside Kings are Un-defeated) or his persona – the guy puts out a good album and this one deserves a listen.
3 Inches Of Blood - Deadly Sinners from the album Advance and Vanquish
This album is so good - it’s on constant rotation for me and really deserves to be in the top ten metal albums of the past decade. It’s raw, fun, and brutal!
