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Here are this months album reviews.
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God Bless America


Lost Prophets - Fake Sound Of Progress

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Lop- WOW! That was my first impression of this band. These guys remind me of Dream Theater. They are so into the reproduction of the music being exact and perfect. This is a band of musicians for sure. Their first release "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja" is definitely a head turner. I have to say I LOVE this song!! I heard it about a month back and just had to have this album. Their style of playing cant really be distinguished into any similar band in my opinion. They transistion from slow rhythmic beats into a soothing rush of punk.
The vocals are similar in sound to Our Lady peace. Another track I really liked is "For Sure". Generally this whole album is awesome and has to be heard. Go grab it!!

Welsh nu-metallers Lostprophets formed in the Cardiff satellite town of Pontypridd in 1997 following the break-up of Public Disturbance, who featured Ian Watkins on drums and guitarist Mike Lewis. Recruiting guitarist Lee Glaze and drummer Mike Chiplin, Watkins took over vocal duties. After playing around the local live scene, their first demo attracted the attention of metal magazine Kerrang!, who offered them a slot at a London show. There, they caught the eye of independent label Visible Noise, who approached them to record a single.Lostprophets spent much of 1999 working on new material with new bassist Stuart Richardson. They put out their second demo in February 2000 and signed up to Visible Noise, who released their debut album The Fake Sound Of Progress that July. Support slots with Linea 77, Taproot, Pitchshifter, Linkin Park and Deftones, as well as incendiary headline shows of their own, brought the band a rabid live following. They also added old friend Jamie Oliver to the line-up on turntables.In the summer of 2001 Lostprophets signed to Columbia in the US and their debut album was remixed by famed producer Michael Barbiero and re-released. 2002 began with the band playing on the NME Awards tour with Andrew WK and The Coral.


Bush - Golden State

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Bus- Another last round comeback from a once well known band. The first hit from this album "The People That We Love Speed Kills "appeared in Sept. right around the time of the Trade Center incident which cause a rapid rethinking of the video. This song brings back the glory of Bushs songs like "Little Things" and "Comedown", the songs that made me grab up this bands albums.This album starts off strong and gets weak towards the end with songs like "My Engine Is With You" which just sounds like a Sunday afternoon thrown together hangover jam session. Then the album ends up with a high note "Float "which could be very well the next release. If you're a fan of Bush youll enjoy most of this album. If you only like Speed kills then pass on this one.

Led by guitarist/vocalist Gavin Rossdale, Bush became a hit by playing by the grunge rules -- they had loud guitars, guttural vocals, stop-start rhythms, and extreme dynamics. Formed in late 1992 by Rossdale, Bush landed an American record deal before they had a British label. Sixteen Stone, their debut album was released in late 1993 by Interscope Records. By the end of December, Bush's "Everything Zen" video had landed in MTV's Buzz Bin and the album began to take off; by spring of 1995 Sixteen Stone became a major hit in the U.S., with "Little Things" reaching number four on the modern rock charts in the spring; later that year "Comedown" and "Glycerine" both reached number one on the modern rock charts. Razorblade Suitcase was greeted with mixed reviews that were nevertheless more positive than those surrounding Sixteen Stone, and the album entered the U.S. charts at number one. However, by the spring of 1997, the album had stalled somewhat, producing only one major hit in "Swallowed," and reaching only double-platinum status. Deconstucted, a collection of electronic remixes, appeared in late 1997, and in the fall of 1999 Bush returned with The Science of Things.

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Flaw - Through The Eyes

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Flw- "Payback". What a tune! Out of the depths once again comes another great hard rocker to scrape the rust off the pipes. The hard riffs and the grunge guitar sounds set me back in my seat hoping for more. The vocals are indescribable other than to say that they just seem to stand on top of the music. This album is full of ballads that somehow seem to have the ability to feel like your ruuning about 80 mph on a non stop journey. The tunes "Best I am" and "Scheme" and "Amendment" all seem to stand out in this category. If your like me and like the slower heavy melodic rock then youre gonna love this album. It hits the spot for something that has been lacking in the rock scene.
"Why buy three different records to find the types of songs you like--from an intense wailing song that kids will dig, to a more ambient and hypnotic tune, when one band does it all?" Flaw queries.

"In the past, I've written songs about current events, but I believe songs and music come from the heart, and you shouldn't have to use outside references," opines Volz, who, like the rest of Flaw, resides in Louisville, Kentucky. "Music is very personal to me," he furthers, "because my adoptive mom, who died when I was 12, is the one who started me in music. She was an opera singer; she performed at the Kennedy Center several times and got me into singing."

That vision is well honed, and as with everything Flaw does, there's a reason behind it. First, the cover artwork, featuring a child with his mouth zippered shut, illustrates part of the Flaw philosophy. "It represents what this album stands for," observes Volz. "The child doesn't look like he's in pain, but it screams that too many people don't say what they need to." The band name, too, has a raison d'etre: "Originally it had a different meaning: we spelled it F. Law. Then we realized that musically and lyrically, it didn't truly suit us, so we dropped the period and made the name a bit more general," Volz explains. "We didn't want to be perceived as a mad-at-the-establishment rock band," Volz concludes. "Flaw could mean a flaw in your personality, the planet, in your emotions; it was just more open, like we are. "

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Kittie - Oracle

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Kit- Down to three of the original members with a sit in guitar player hasn't hurt this bands sound at all . In fact if anything I think this is the best sounding Kittie album to date. With hit "What I Always Wanted" and possibly more to come from this album this may make them the premier dominate female rock band. This whole cd has got a more tamed down (but not too much) sound that seems allot more thought out and musically appealing. Theres actually a slow ballad "Safe" which I didnt really care for. There are other songs like "No Name" and "Pain" which more than make up for it. If you liked Kittie even a little before give this album a listen. I think you'll agree its a more thought out approach that makes the sound a whole lot better.

Bio.Whoever said little girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice must have never encountered the barely legal all-girl Canadian metal outfit known as Kittie. Where most young ladies their age are making the sophisticated jump from the Backstreet Boys to, say, Sugar Ray, these ferocious femmes thrash and burn like they've been under the sway of Pantera and Slayer since the womb, and singer-guitarist Morgan Lander screams and growls with the hellish wrath of a girl stood up for the prom. Don't even think about taking her home to mom.
Much like their debut offering (1999's anything but dainty Spit), Kittie's sophomore album, Oracle, has the requisite metallic claws that puncture, but stunningly precise musicianship that belies the band's tender age. A year of touring has sharpened the band's attack: Drummer Mercedes Lander's palpitating double-bass outbursts are simply awesome, and Morgan Lander manages to channel some of her impressive rage into moody, softly sung passages that play sinister foil to her shouts at the devil. A big step forward.

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40 Below Summer - Invitation To Dance

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4BS- 40 Below Summer. Whats in a name? Well when I think of that I think coldness during a hot season. Well these guys are hot. They have hard driven beats and definitely aren't cold in any way. Im truly surprised not to have seen these guys on playlists at stations like KROC and others. They have a sound like many other popular hard rockin' bands like Slipknot and others. The album starts with "We The People " a very likeable tune. Then goes on with some truly unique vocals that dont disappoint. The Track "Wither Away" starts with an airy feel and continues with some great funk beats. All in all I enjoyed this album. If you like other harder rock bands out right now you'll like this album. It crosses over into many styles from the lighter side back into the harsh vocals and wailing guitars.

Coming from New Jersey, 40 Below Summer delivers a sole and surpassed aggressiveness on their edgy and heavy rock tunes, at the same time supporting it with an indubitable melody sense. Adjoining puissant metal style inflections and other fiery references, Summer follows the path of other new metal squads. Constituting in late 1998, in New Jersey, Summer first formed due by the common initiative of drummer Carlos Aguilar, a Peruvian natural, and of vocalist Max Illidge, after the two first met while playing in a band called Alien. Illidge had a curious show business background, since he made his first TV appearance at the age of 12, at the time as the little boy in the Talking Heads Burning Down the House video clip. Later joining the crew were guitarists Joe DAmico and Jordan Plingos, along with bassist Hector Graziani. Following the completion of the line-up, Summer began regularly playing not only in New Jersey, but also in New York. It was also at that time that the crew decided on recording its first demo tape, Sideshow Freaks. The recording eventually reached @No Name Management, a business having on its heading bands like Slipknot or Fear Factory, that without delay invited the New Jersey team to sign in. After appearances at several showcases, the band finally settled on signing a deal with the @London/Sire records label.

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Lennon - 5:30 Saturday Morning

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Len- Heres a 19 year old female who writes her own stuff, and chooses to take a different road to music than the likes of Brittany, or Pink. She opts to move into the rock scene and move she does. Her first hit "Brake Of Your Car" is a good representation of her work. Listening to this album gave me a sense of Pat Benatar crossed with some Lita Ford. She doesnt get throaty and hard like Kittie, but she can wail out some true vocals with precision. Although she is a good musician her songs just dont seem to have that return playability for me. I listen but just dont get interested. I have to say buy the single or definitely preview this one before you buy.

If the ever-growing aggro-rock mafia is in fact the boys' club it's convincingly portrayed itself as, no one in a backwards baseball cap bothered to tell 19-year-old Nashville firebrand Lennon Murphy.
5:30 Saturday Morning, the self-taught singer-songwriter's debut album, is chock full of the bile and down-tuned guitars burly guys with complicated facial hair have been spewing in shopping malls since Fred Durst made suburban rage a capitalist venture; underestimate the white-hot Heart-meets-Korn ferocity of tracks such as record opener "Property of Goatfucker" at your own risk.
But though Murphy makes it a point to prove she can muster Bizkit-styled anger mismanagement, she liberally peppers her indignation with a layered introspection more commonly associated with bruised balladeers such as Fiona Apple. The nuanced and near-operatic "Asking You" and "My Beautiful" help take the singer beyond the monochromatic fury with which her male counterparts seem so satisfied.

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Mesh - Lowercase

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Mes- Here's an album you have to be careful to find the right one when you look for in the stores. I'm not real sure what's behind the whole story, but the group goes by Mesh STl but seems to have settled on just Mesh now. There is another album and some classical style something with similar name so beware. The first release "Maybe Tomorrow" is an awesome tune. These guys have got a great musical talent as well. This track starts off with a kewl little guitar sound that just rings through your head. This album is full of solid rock beats. Not head splitting heavy stuff but similar in style to Default. Just a great rock song. Give it a try.

An imaginatively arranged dual-guitar attack matched with bracing melodies and vocals distinguishes the sound of mesh StL on their debut album lowercase, which is filled with moody, blunt songs like "Gray," "Rather Be Alone" and the romantically conflicted first single "Maybe Tomorrow." Defined by their work ethic, perseverance and no-nonsense approach to their craft, mesh StL have gone from jamming in high school bands to performing at huge radio station festivals in front of tens-of-thousands of people, establishing a strong fan base that embraces their powerful live shows. The St. Louis, MO-based quintet released the RIPPLE EFFECT EP on their own in 1998, garnering enough airplay for the single "Clear Day" to land them a lot of record company interest but never panning out to anything substantial. It's these emotions, abilities and feelings, hardships and lessons-learned that all come together to form the distinctive, powerful entity that is mesh StL

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Rob Zombie - Sinister Urge

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ROZ- Once again here comes Rob with the beats and the hard driving rock. When I first heard this album I thought yea, yea, just some more lame old zombie stuff. Then I heard tracks "Feel So Numb" and "Never Gonna Stop" the new theme song for Edge of the WWF. So I had to sit up and give this thing another listen. Well Rob is back with the same sound but actually some good new tunes. If you like Zombie then go pick this one up.

You've got to hand it to someone who carves out a niche and then stays in it. Such is the case of Rob Zombie, whose mix of thrashing guitars, industrial atmospherics, thunderous beats, and B-grade horror-movie-inspired lyrics has gone from being ahead of its time to being the soundtrack of every futuristic action film.
Which is not to say that Zombie's been stuck in a rut; in fact, The Sinister Urge finds him further refining his approach. While much of it sounds like it should be heard while images of Keanu Reeves from The Matrix flash across the screen, they still sound fresh enough for the forthcoming second, and even the third, Matrix films.
Urge also gets down with its bad self, most notably during "Ironhead," on which Zombie pairs with fellow horror-rocker Ozzy Osbourne, and which has a groove so thick you'll wonder where you left your black go-go boots.

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