SAVING ABEL, "BRINGING DOWN THE GIANT"
Since their debut single "Addicted" landed on rock radio four years ago, Saving Abel has been making quite the name for themselves. Their new album "Bringing Down The Giant" shows that their still maintaining the smooth-yet-angry tone that have made them so popular. Many tracks here are very similar to their self-titled debut album, like the soulful "Bittersweet" and the angst-driven title track.
The album takes a strange turn early on with "Pine Mountain (The Dance of the Proud Poor Man)", an bizarre bluegrass instrumental that leads into the song "You Make Me Sick", an angry bluegrass-rock hybrid (complete with banjo, Jew's harp, and incredible vocal harmonies) that shows Saving Abel exploring their musical range a bit -- something that causes a lot of similar bands to falter. Whether it pays off for them in the long run is yet to be seen, but "Bringing Down The Giant" is definitely a great rock album from a smaller band.
TREMONTI, "ALL I WAS"
Best known for being the lead guitarist and songwriter for Creed and Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti brings his long-awaited solo album to a crushing fruition. Bringing his six-string and picking up a mic, Tremonti unleashes twelve self-written tracks with his new band consisting of former Submersed guitarist and drummer Eric Friedman (who does rhythm guitar, bass, and backup vocals) and Garrett Whitlock respectively.
The best part? This really sounds nothing like either Creed or Alter Bridge. From the stunning first track "Leave It Alone" and the heavy-hitting "Brains" to the amazing ballad "The Things I've Seen", all featuring Tremonti's blistering guitar solos and surprisingly powerful vocals. This is the most surprising album from a solo artist I've heard in a long time.
FOXY SHAZAM, "THE CHURCH OF ROCK AND ROLL"
With their rousing breakout self-titled album, Foxy Shazam showed that the spirit of Freddie Mercury lives on in lead singer Eric Nally. Backed by guitarist Loren Daniel Turner, bassist Daisy, keyboardist Schuyler Vaughn White, horn player Alex Nauth, and drummer Aaron McVeigh, Foxy Shazam mixes Queen-like anthem rock with gospel-like choir vocals that makes old new again in the best of all possible ways.
With their new album "The Church of Rock and Roll", Eric and the boys get a little darker and more personal with more brutal guitars and honest lyrics. There are songs like their last one, such as "I Like It" and "The Streets", where you get radio-friendly anthems you can dance to. But then you get songs like "Welcome To The Church Of Rock And Roll" where the heavy guitars and drum hits that make you want to get up and shout. A very eclectic album from a very eclectic group.
EYE EMPIRE, "IMPACT"
Supergroups come and go, but the music will never die. Eye Empire is the latest hard rock/metal supergroup to rise up. Unlike previous supergroups like Audioslave and Velvet Revolver, Eye Empire is a band whose members are not widely known, so egos more than likely won't be clashing. Vocalist Donald Carpenter (Submersed), guitarist B.C Kochmit (Dark New Day), bassist Corey Lowery (Dark New Day, also the producer and mixer of the album), and drummer Ryan Bennett (Texas Hippie Coalition) make up the band.
"Impact", the group's unofficial debut album, is a highly impressive first outing. Mixing the hard rock anthemic sound of Disturbed with the melodic sensibilities of Alter Bridge, Eye Empire shows no mercy and stands out on soaring anthems like "Angels and Demons (Be My Angel)" and "I Pray", angry mosh-pit inspiring "Bull In A China Shop", and the earnest "Hopeless". Sevendust singer Lajon Witherspoon even makes an appearance on the blistering "Victim".
The album took all the tracks from it's very limited release "Moment of Impact", and re-released it with a second CD complete with 7 new songs, 2 live tracks, and 3 acoustic tracks. Don't let the acoustic tracks fool you, though. The music is still crushing even with acoustic guitars, and the entire 2-CD set is not only a treat for any hard rock fan, but extremely cheap too (Best Buy and Amazon have it for $7.99)!
3 PILL MORNING, "BLACK TIE LOVE AFFAIR"
I recently stumbled upon 3 Pill Morning on Facebook when an ad came up proclaiming "Like My Darkest Days? Check out 3 Pill Morning!". Even though I'm a fan of My Darkest Days, I can honestly say this is not an accurate comparison -- mainly because these guys are so much better than that.
"Black Tie Love Affair" is 3 Pill Morning's third album, and it's one hell of a record to break out with. Though not as hard rock as Tremonti or Eye Impact, the band has an angst-driven hard rock sound reminiscent of American Hi-Fi or the now-defunct Matthew Good Band.
Vocalist Jeff Stebbins' voice soars over tracks like "Rain", "Daddy's Little Girl", and the first single from the album "Loser", while the rhythm section -- made up of guitarist/keyboardist Ryan Walch, bassist/backing vocals Charlie McCoy, and drummer Trent Laugerman -- mix punk and hard rock sensibilities together to make a sound that's perfect for radio, but, as far as I know, hasn't been featured highly there yet.
Seeing that this band has already opened for bands like Sevendust and aforementioned Saving Abel, you can be assured that 3 Pill Morning is the next big band.
GHOSTS OF AUGUST, "GHOSTS OF AUGUST"
This is a band I stumbled upon while browsing music on Amazon. Currently, it's an album that they'll burn onto a CD before shipping to you. That should tell you right there how independent Ghosts of August is.
Another band that's more lyrical than music driven (though definitely harder rock than 3 Pill Morning), Ghosts of August's self-titled debut is quite an impressive feat. The first single "Disease" (which has apparently been getting a lot of air time on Sirius radio stations and is starting to appear on more conventional radio charts) is the perfect marriage of anger and melody. The next single "Scars" ups the aggression, harkening to bands like Sevendust or Drowning Pool. However, the band has its tender moments, too, like with the track "Broken", that is clearly sung more from the heart than the other tracks.
Already climbing the charts and sharing the stage with acts like Attack Attack! and The Devil Wears Prada, Ghosts of August are already on their way to becoming a household name in hard rock.
Supergroups come and go, but the music will never die. Eye Empire is the latest hard rock/metal supergroup to rise up. Unlike previous supergroups like Audioslave and Velvet Revolver, Eye Empire is a band whose members are not widely known, so egos more than likely won't be clashing. Vocalist Donald Carpenter (Submersed), guitarist B.C Kochmit (Dark New Day), bassist Corey Lowery (Dark New Day, also the producer and mixer of the album), and drummer Ryan Bennett (Texas Hippie Coalition) make up the band.
"Impact", the group's unofficial debut album, is a highly impressive first outing. Mixing the hard rock anthemic sound of Disturbed with the melodic sensibilities of Alter Bridge, Eye Empire shows no mercy and stands out on soaring anthems like "Angels and Demons (Be My Angel)" and "I Pray", angry mosh-pit inspiring "Bull In A China Shop", and the earnest "Hopeless". Sevendust singer Lajon Witherspoon even makes an appearance on the blistering "Victim".
The album took all the tracks from it's very limited release "Moment of Impact", and re-released it with a second CD complete with 7 new songs, 2 live tracks, and 3 acoustic tracks. Don't let the acoustic tracks fool you, though. The music is still crushing even with acoustic guitars, and the entire 2-CD set is not only a treat for any hard rock fan, but extremely cheap too (Best Buy and Amazon have it for $7.99)!
3 PILL MORNING, "BLACK TIE LOVE AFFAIR"
I recently stumbled upon 3 Pill Morning on Facebook when an ad came up proclaiming "Like My Darkest Days? Check out 3 Pill Morning!". Even though I'm a fan of My Darkest Days, I can honestly say this is not an accurate comparison -- mainly because these guys are so much better than that.
"Black Tie Love Affair" is 3 Pill Morning's third album, and it's one hell of a record to break out with. Though not as hard rock as Tremonti or Eye Impact, the band has an angst-driven hard rock sound reminiscent of American Hi-Fi or the now-defunct Matthew Good Band.
Vocalist Jeff Stebbins' voice soars over tracks like "Rain", "Daddy's Little Girl", and the first single from the album "Loser", while the rhythm section -- made up of guitarist/keyboardist Ryan Walch, bassist/backing vocals Charlie McCoy, and drummer Trent Laugerman -- mix punk and hard rock sensibilities together to make a sound that's perfect for radio, but, as far as I know, hasn't been featured highly there yet.
Seeing that this band has already opened for bands like Sevendust and aforementioned Saving Abel, you can be assured that 3 Pill Morning is the next big band.
GHOSTS OF AUGUST, "GHOSTS OF AUGUST"
This is a band I stumbled upon while browsing music on Amazon. Currently, it's an album that they'll burn onto a CD before shipping to you. That should tell you right there how independent Ghosts of August is.
Another band that's more lyrical than music driven (though definitely harder rock than 3 Pill Morning), Ghosts of August's self-titled debut is quite an impressive feat. The first single "Disease" (which has apparently been getting a lot of air time on Sirius radio stations and is starting to appear on more conventional radio charts) is the perfect marriage of anger and melody. The next single "Scars" ups the aggression, harkening to bands like Sevendust or Drowning Pool. However, the band has its tender moments, too, like with the track "Broken", that is clearly sung more from the heart than the other tracks.
Already climbing the charts and sharing the stage with acts like Attack Attack! and The Devil Wears Prada, Ghosts of August are already on their way to becoming a household name in hard rock.
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