My Top 10 Albums Of 2015

Here’s what I enjoyed musically in 2015.

10. John Carpenter, “Lost Themes” : I’ve not only enjoyed this man’s films all my life but his music. For those that don’t know, the man who directed such classics as “Halloween”, “Escape From New York”, “The Fog”, “The Thing” remake, And “They Live” also did the scores for those films. It was only a matter of time before he did an album of his own.  Classic Carpenter. It’s like listening to a score from a movie that doesn’t exist.

On a side note, I haven’t been able to check out the new Zombi release. If you like John Carpenter, Jan Hammer, and the kings of italian horror prog Goblin; you’ll like Zombi.

9. Prince, “Hit N Run Phase One”: Not as great as his last 2 albums, but the fact Prince released 3 albums within a year is a rare treat in itself. This album is essentially an experimental album. He pretty much sat down with a young producer and created “current dance music”. I enjoyed it because it was interesting to hear a legend’s take on current music. Not bad.

I also had the honor of seeing him in a very intimate theater earlier this year. Musically, the best show I’ve ever seen in my life. That man did in 90 minutes what other try to achieve in a full scale 2 hour show in an arena. One of the biggest concert going highlights of my life. The fact I was lucky enough to have seen him overshadowed the fact he did play “Batdance”.

8. Fear Factory, “Genexus”: I was listening to a podcast with Dino Cazares (guitar player, riff machine). That sparked interest in me rediscovering these guys. I had only known Fear Factory from their cover of “Cars” and the video game of “Test Drive 5”.

Needless to say, I became a fan of these guys. They have the right counterbalance of industrial and metal.  Dino’s a freakin’ riff machine. I dig Burton’s clean vocals. I also like the fact they use a drum machine (not because they can, it’s a time and cost issue), to this day I have a hard time telling the live drum tracks and drum machine tracks apart.

Rediscovering this band taught me one important lesson: never look down on the music you grew up on. If it weren’t for nu-metal, I would’ve never gotten into Mastodon, Cauldron, Municipal Waste,  or Lamb Of God. While it might not be considered “cool’, it served as a foundation for myself to go out and discover the more aggressive metal music. So at the end of the day, I tip my hat to nu-metal.

7. Lamb Of God, “VII: Sturm und Drang”:  I am thankful these guys are still together. A incident of that magnitude would have destroyed some bands. I am proud to be a Lamb Of God fan. I have the utmost respect for these guys and I always will.

This record is a more refined, mature Lamb Of God. It’s still aggressive but at the same time you can tell they have matured just a little bit. They did a experiment on this record just a bit but not enough to turn away anyone.

6. Metal Allegiance, “Self Titled”: Mike Portnoy strikes back ! I’ve been waiting for this guy to do a legit metal record. This record is heavy and the guests on this album is a who’s who in metal. Unbelievable. I really hope these guys get around to doing a covers album in the future.

To date, my favorite post Dream Theater project Mike Portnoy has been involved with.

5. Ghost, “Meliora”:  This record is probably their heaviest record. This is their third record and they’re still going strong. I love this band. Saw them for the 3rd time this year and they still put on one hell of a show.

4. The Darkness, “The Last Of Our Kind”:  I hadn’t been a big fan of these guys when they first came out. It took me a few years to warm up to these guys and to really understand what they are about. The Darkness is just a old school rock and roll band with catchy ass tunes. I really dug this album.

3. Chad I Ginsburg, “Rock N Roll Alibis”:   I went through a CKY kick this year. While on my CKY kick, I came across news that Chad Ginsburg was releasing a solo album this year. I immediately bought it. This solo album is awesome. You can tell what role he played in CKY musically. If you love CKY like I do, you need to check this album out.

2. Rush “R40 Live”: Seeing these guys for fifth and final time was bittersweet. On one hand, I am glad to see this guys retire at the top of their games. On the other hand, I hate knowing that my favorite band is pretty much no more. But you know what, I’ll always have their music. That’s what gravitated me towards them in the first place; the music.

These guys ended their live career on a high note. 3 sets filled with deep cuts, consistent set changes catering to said era, and Neil playing on 2 kits (I almost broke out into tears when I saw him behind that icon kit). What more can you ask for ?

To Alex, Geddy, & Neil: Thanks for everything.

I have a tie for first:

1. Faith No More, “Sol Invictus”: What more can I say ? I’ve been waiting for this since my freshman year of high school. It didn’t disappoint at all. They are simply continuing on from 1998’s “Album Of The Year”. They have no interest in being nostalgic, which I love seeing in a band that hasn’t released any new music in 18 years.

Speaking of nostalgia, they did manage to reissue “Angel Dust” & “The Real Thing”. Those reissues are awesome and were much needed !

1. Takacs, “2015 Demo”:  Finally, after a few years of building a reputation playing live off and on campus, they finally recorded a demo. I could’ve been more excited. I wanted the world to hear what I’ve been hearing for 3 years.

The demo was recorded in their storage unit during the last few weeks of winter this year. They recorded on a 16 track soundboard onto a cassette which was later mixed and mastered on a PC. The end result is this rough, no holds barred thrash demo. I knew it was going to be great but I was blown away when I heard the final product. Very DIY and very reminiscent of something I would’ve gotten if I were alive and apart of a metal tape trading circuit of the mid 80’s.

Even though the band is not together anymore, it’s a killer demo that I am glad put out into the world.

For me, it serves as a soundtrack for some of the best times I ever had in my life.

That’s all for my music picks. Anything I missed or you want to chime in, feel free to comment.

Stay tuned for my top movies of 2015….

I Don't Know How To Take "Unfriended".

On that rare occasion, I just like to go see a movie.....

A movie I have no ties to. A movie I can't tell one of my friends I saw because of the director. A movie I know very little about. A movie that is playing at the cheap theater in a strip mall 30 mins from my house.

Why am I deviating from the norm ? Because I like to go outside my comfort zone from time to time. I get curious what a "normal, standard" American movie is like. I want to see what mainstream cinema is at. Is that bad as they say ? Sometimes I just have to see for myself because you can't believe everything you read on the internet.

I had about a few hours to kill on Saturday, so my brother and I seen "Unfriended".

The movie is about these five friends who spend their night Skyping each other. It's all fun and games until someone starts trolling them. The person trolling them is posing as a former classmate who committed suicide because she was bullied over a video that was posted online of her at a party. At first, they assume it's a mutual friend. When it becomes apparent it's not the mutual friend, they put blame on each other. The trolling from that point on gets real. That's pretty much the plot without revealing too much.

First of all, it's of all sudden cool to spend your nights glued to your computer screen ? Ten years ago, when I was in high school; I was the loser on AOL Instant Messenger talking to friends, listening to music, downloading bootlegs, and drooling over shit I wanted on eBay while the "cool kids" were out partying and getting laid. Now, the cool kids sit at home "Skyping" while the losers go party ? The times have indeed changed.

The one thing that struck me was lack of cinematography. Matter of fact, THERE WAS NO CINEMATOGRAPHY ! You never leave the computer screen. It was like watching one of those how to tutorials on you tube where the guy films his computer screen and provides commentary while he's showing you something. I really wouldn't call this "innovative filmmaking". Having zero camera work, I call this lazy.

Then again, the film was budgeted at 1 million. Assuming since the film doesn't leave the computer screen, you really don't need a crew. Certainly don't need to rent cameras or a camera crew. My brother and I assumed the money they did spend went to licensing Apple, Instagram, Spotify, Facebook, Gmail, and You Tube. Which begs me to wonder, was this a movie or just a big advert for these internet companies ?

To be honest, I don't know how to take this film. Are they trying to make a statement because online bullying is a ongoing issue in our society ? Are they poking fun at online bullying ? I am genuinely confused because I was laughing during the movie. Most critics are giving it positive reviews so maybe they get it. If they get it, maybe I am the asshole with the bad sense of humor that doesn't get it.

In closing, I don't think this film was good enough for a theatrical release. It was more suited for a straight to video release or something MTV could have shown. Personally, If I wanted to watch something that never left the computer screen, I'd have a Skype session with my own friends or go on You Tube to watch a tutorial on how to use Format Factory.