Album reviews!

Alright. Long weekend but things are starting to roll as normal around the Talley household. I thought I'd take a blog and do something I haven't done in a while and do an album review or two! As longtime readers know, I have a huge stack of "I'll get to it when I get to it" type of stuff for dissection. Albums, movies, etc. So I finally took the time to nail a couple of these off my list:



VAN HALEN - A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH - I was kind of excited for this album. I've always liked Van Halen. All of it. Every era, every singer. I have no preference. I like em all. Even Gary Cherone. But having Roth back meant something really special. So an album full of new stuff with him and the boys? I was excited. (even though its not ALL the original boys.) Upon first hearing "TATTOO" on the radio, I was bummed. It didn't sound special at all. In fact, quite disappointing. But really, I don't know what I was expecting in the first place. After a few listens, I found the song started to grow on me. Then I actually grew to like it! Then I got the full album. I gave it about ten spins in the car and I gotta say its really great! A solid rocker of an album with a couple stand out tracks. I wouldn't call it a home run, but a very good album. I know there's a lot of talk about when the songs were wrote, what is different about these versions, etc etc. But really, I don't care about all that. The final product is good and its surprisingly good. Gone is the ego and swagger but the guitar licks and heavy drums still remain. Not a slam but definitely worth owning. 4 out of 5 High Kick Jumps off the amps.




METALLICA - DEATH MAGNETIC - Again, one I never got until recently. Shane (my pal on the Idiothead.com podcast for those who don't know) has been giving me hardcore shit cause I haven't checked this out yet. Well, I finally have and I gotta say its good. Not a complete home run, but very good. I'll take it. It was a nice return to the Black album era and sounds like any B side off of that album. There are a couple stand out tracks. Some very lackluster tracks as well. (Did we really need an Unforgiven III?) But overall, I like the album. Its nice to hear that they got some of that old style in them. I still prefer my Metallica in the KILL EM ALL, RIDE, MASTER, JUSTICE era. This is as close as I'll get most likely. And its a definite improvement over ST. ANGER (which I vote has the worst drum sound ever recorded). A solid 4 out 5 black shirts with black wristbands.

More to come soon hopefully!