Sound the Ocean

Sound the Ocean is a wonderful soft rock band with progressive leanings that reach out and touch

the soul. Music that is calm and beautiful and has a certain Dream Theater-like magic to it Sound the Ocean create music that grasps the magic of the human endeavor. Their vocalist has a certain power to his voice that is simply triumphant. He gives the music a U2 like quality, this is clearly a man who creates music that doesn't only grasp the ear, but also the heart, the kind of thing that could appeal across demographics simply because it is so darn pure. Sure Sound the Ocean don't have a lot of music on the internet yet, but it seems pretty clear these guys will get big fast. Their songwriting is among the greatest that I have heard in a long time and their music simply feels like an extension on the very spirits of the musicians. I foresee big things for this New Zealand based group and I can't wait for them to put out a full length!

Find them on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/soundtheocean/app_2405167945

Tomorrow, St. Peter

Tomorrow, St. Peter is a nifty math-rock band with a major jazz influence. The music here is complex and multi layered. It features some virtuoso musicians at their best. I love the skill that these guys have, it creates some really interesting mildy hipstery music. Its the kind of thing that you can get lost in, and after the day I've had, its a welcome respite. Tomorrow St. Peter is one of the best light rock bands I've reviewed in a while simply because their sound is so beautiful. In some ways they are like the Animals as Leaders of soft rock. Its really that good. I'd just like to wrap up by saying that these guys know how to create some truly tasty music that will keep you smiling and carry you to a different world. Check them out!
https://www.facebook.com/TomorrowStPeter/app_178091127385

Ant Henson

All right, Ant Henson is the next guy up. Oh by the way I can only do one or two reviews tonight because I have gig and a party and will not be sleeping. So anyway Ant Henson, he is a up and coming folk artist with a really nice sound. There is an excellent harmony between his voice and his guitar, he has simply an unbelievable voice. (hehe thats a pun off his first song) Right but he has an awesome sound his guitar has an impressive sound. He plays a lot of songs with single note melodies that are based of chords. Some of his melodies break out into cool solo like things. He also plays some chords and gets a really nice strum pattern going. The guitar is nothing to technically complicated but it has a really good folk quality. His voice is also amazing, it sounds beautiful and gentle. However it has a different feel than other folk artists like Bob Dylan (whom my late great-aunt loved funnily enough when she met him she called him Bobby) or Simon&Garfunkel. Instead he has a voice that sounds a bit more airy and it just gives the music a different feel. However it is still amazing and really good sounding, his voice is very impressive. All in all he is an excellent folk artist with a great sound and I would really like to see more from him.

OVERALL 9/10

listen

http://www.myspace.com/AntHenson

Robert Joynson

 I have no issue with reviewing lighter music so I will review this guy. Robert Joynson has an awesome folk type sound. I really like his sound, his music is simple but it has a lot of power and he has a really interesting voice that makes this guy great. The acoustic guitar that he plays is gentle and sweet but I think that I am rather fond of it. He knows what he is doing and he has some really goood strum patterns that make his music unique. It is rather cool to listen to this guy and the sheer skill he has with chords, for some reason the plain old chords that he plays makes me smile. Also I think theres a triangle? In the background which adds a light and happy feel to the song. The singing is really nice, it just has a light and beautiful sound that makes you bounce up and down, its not dark or scary, its just quiet and beautiful. This guy has a really interesting and impressive voice. One of the things that lets him have such a good folk feel is when his accent bleeds through his lyrics and he just makes his music that much cooler. The lyrics are of all types. Sometimes they are about travelling and other times they are about love. On one track (Noise Complaint) he has a Spinal Tap reference and that made my day so yeah. Overall he is a folk artist filled with potential.

OVERALL 9/10

Book Of Shadows-Zakk Wylde

 Tonight I'm covering some Zakk Wylde, in fact I am reviewing his first solo album The Book of Shadows, which is a nice name, with the Wicca reference and all. This is an interesting piece of work because it goes against pretty much all Zakk Wylde has previously done. Wylde used to be the wild and crazy guitarist for Ozzy, but on this album he shows a lighter and more contemplative side, a side that is almost Neil Youngish. However there are still some spectacular solos that blow me away. This is an album with impressive guitar work, both acoustic and electric. There are decent parts for other instruments but the guitar is dominant. Zakk Wylde is singing on an album for the first time and it is very impressive, his lyrics also create a nice tone for the music.

This is primarily an acoustic album, and by acoustic album I mean that the verses are set to acoustic parts. The solos are a completely different story, they are skillful to the point that they are practically out of this world. They provide a really great feel to the music, as well as reminding the listener that this is Zakk Wylde we are listening to people. One of the greatest guitarists of the 80s! He blows me away with is acoustic bits, stuff I never thought Zakk Wylde even thought about before releasing this album. The drums are rarely heavy, they do not drive the music they just provide an okay feel to make the music sound nice and add a bit of a beet. The bass also does not really come through really with only the occasional fill. This is a true solo album in that regard featuring only Zakk's voice and guitar.

Zakk Wylde on his first ever vocal attempt sounds remarkably good. He has a very deep voice, but it manages to be almost Niel Young-like. He has a powerful voice, that also manages to capture an amount of somber beauty in some songs, especially Way Beyond Empty (one of my favorites). He can sing very well and I am incredibly impressed by what he does on this record from a vocal standpoint. In short he has an awesome voice. His lyrics are often very sad, or at least sombre sounding. He talks about not being a good man or a bad man in “Between Heaven and Hell” and he talks about friends he has lost to death in “Throwin' It All Away” a song dedicated to his friend Shannon Hoon of Blind Lemon. The lyrics are powerful and have an added strength due to the incredible voice of Mr. Wylde.

Overall this is a really good album. It has a nice juxtaposition of sounds, featuring both some of Zakk's famous insane solos which come in between extended acoustic parts, acoustic parts which define the album. The fact that it is Zakk Wylde performing these Niel Young-like guitar parts is frankly amazing. The voice of Wylde is also amazing. It is very low but it can capture a lot of emotion and convey a lot of sadness. His voice is complimented by his lyrics, which are often sad and dark, having an almost mounring feel to them. My favorite song off this album is The Color Green, however Throwin' It All Away is pretty awesome too. This album is really good and can be replayed again and again, its simply spectacular. Oh and Happy Birthday Zakk Wylde!

OVERALL 9.5/10

Over Under Sideways Down (Roger the Engineer)-The Yardbirds

 So today I'm covering the classic Yardbirds album Over Under Sideways Down, which in some places known as Roger the Engineer. This album is more of a precursor to heavy emtal and pretty much the hardest album that had come out until that time. There are some Yardbirds classicss on this album most notably the title track Over Under Sideways Down. There are awesome guitar parts, the lead guitar is awesome, courtesy of Jeff Beck who is a master of the distortion. Then there is Chris Dreja who stands in the background providing excellent rhythm guitar. The bass has a lot of nice fills, especially at the beginning of Lost Woman. The drums are very 60s in style, nothing to heavy or fast yet still very good.

The guitar is buzzing with raw power and energy. Jeff Beck is a master of the instrument forcing out distortion and creating sounds that were heavier than anything previously heard, on any Western recording ever. Yet the heaviness is not extreme, it dances across your ears producing a series of nice tones. The solos of Beck are simply spectacular providing a really nice feel to the album. They fly across the fretboard create sounds, that I can confidently say had never before been created with a guitar. He creates sounds that just make you smile at their sheer beauty. The rhythm guitar of Chris Dreja is nothing special, it provides chords to add a fullness to the music, and it does end up sounding very nice. The bass has a lot of 'walking bass' lines which add a real bluesy feel to the music. The drums are light and dance around the set. The bass drum is rarely used to add a heavy effect.

The lyrics are usually bluesy, but on some tracks they are nonsensical. The majority of the time the lyrics are very bluesy, talking all about blues sorts of stuff, showing no special creativity. They are high powered and do capture a good blues feel though and show the bands main influences. So while nothing special they add a good feel to the music. The singing of Keith Relf is also usually bluesy, but at times it is lighter and tenny bopperish, like in the awesome song Over Under Sideways Down. Typically though Relf offers some very good bluesy moans. It is the instruments that make this album awesome and not so much the lyrics or the vocals.

Overall this is an awesome album that was one of the heaviest things to ever come out of the 60s. The heaviness is awesome, because it is not headbanging, but rather light and dancing across your ears. It is rather inspiring for anybody into early heavy metal. There are a couple key elements that make this album great. The lead guitar has some awesome solos that create sound unheard of before this record. The rhythm guitar also contributes nicely, the bass has a lot of good lines and the drums dance lightly across the songs. The lyrics, while not creative, add a really good feel to the music and add a bluesy vibe. The voice of Relf provides an excellent blues feel as well. This album would be liked by all who appreciate 60s music and early heavy metal bands and bands like The Who and the Stones. This album rocks on and on and on.

OVERALL 9/10