The New Regime

Today, upon finding myself with some much-desired downtime, I accidentally came across some amazing new music to listen to, something I wish would happen more often.

Artist: The New Regime

The band is the solo project of musician Ilan Rubin, perhaps better known for his drumming work with Lostprophets, Nine Inch Nails, and Angels & Airwaves. As if he needed to add any more accomplishments to his already hefty list, A New Regime is surprisingly impressive.

The songs are uniquely catchy, ethereal at times. The layering provides a captivating atmosphere that's hard to stop listening to. However, the tracks are far cry from sounding all the same. On the contrary, each is distinctively intriguing, with shared characteristics from song to song that don't counterproductively bury each track's individuality.

Some standout tracks include;
• Live In Fear
• Pray For The Weak
• Enjoy The Bitterness
• Clairaudience
• Don't Chase It

Above I've linked to Rubin's website for the band, where you can listen to his music and download some of his songs for free, namely the ones I just listed. I guarantee that if you share my musical tastes, you will not be disappointed in the least.

Diamond Eyes

After knowingly wanting to give these guys a listen for months, I was rather excited when I finally got around to listening to them, and even more so when I discovered how amazing their music is.

Song: Diamond Eyes

Artist: Deftones

Although the Deftones have been on the scene since 1988, their song "Diamond Eyes" comes from a record of the same name released in 2010. Classified as being alternative metal, the song clocks in at 3:08 minutes long, and you won't want to forget a single second of it. 

The track adopts a very atmospheric sound, although the instrumentation itself comes off very heavily. The focus is not on an intricate guitar part, but rather Chino Moreno's soaring vocals. On the contrary, the guitars serve to provide a grungy backdropping layer of sound that adds such power to the song. The drums also ramp up the intensity, as does some of the keyboard parts interspersed throughout.

"Diamond Eyes" is nothing if not catchy, but like many of the other songs I've suggested on here, it's in a way quite unlike that of the traditional, overplayed, sellout pop song. Lyrically, the chorus stands out to me, as it's so beautifully worded and sung. Truly, the entire song follows that theme as well.

If you gain anything from reading my posts on here (aside from hopefully interesting music suggestions), it should be that you should listen to any and everything that piques your interest even in the slightest. The Deftones are a simply stunning group, and it took me forever to give them the chance they rightly deserved. 

House of Gold & Bones Part 1

Upon finding myself in the mood to update this blog, I asked myself, "why not go for the album trifecta?" I had no rebuttal, so here's today's suggestion.

Album: House of Gold & Bones Part 1

Artist: Stone Sour

This might be Stone Sour's most ambitious project to date. Most notably, aside from the unique packaging and comic book/movie potential, it's on two discs, the second to be released next spring.

For anyone already familiar with Stone Sour, this album is a kind of a throwback to their earlier works, in terms of the heaviness of some of the tracks. However, their evolution since those beginning days is very obvious at times, resulting in what I think is the blend most harder rock bands should strive for. 

All-around, the instrumentation is phenomenal. Roy Mayorga's drumming is intense and precise, Jim Root and Josh Rand's guitar work is intricate and moving, Corey Taylor's vocals are powerful and emotional, and none of that is surprising in the least. 

Although Stone Sour (and Corey Taylor in particular) have a very distinctive sound, nothing on this record felt like a cookie cutter copy of any of their previous works. While undeniably reminiscent of some of their older releases at times, everything is fresh without having fallen into an entirely new direction. 

Some standout tracks include;

• Taciturn

• Gone Sovereign

• My Name Is Allen

• The Travelers - Part 1

• The Travelers - Part 2

• Tired

• Last of the Real

To be honest, I haven't had as much time to listen to this record as I would've liked. From the few play-throughs that I've gotten, those were the songs that stood out to me the most. Take those only as a starting point though, because Stone Sour has produced something awfully amazing here, and you won't want to miss a single second of it. 

Transit of Venus

I don't always post about albums back-to-back, but when I do, I post about mind-blowingly-amazingly-awesome albums.

Album: Transit of Venus

Artist: Three Days Grace

It's been far too long since I've waited for a record to drop from months in advance. And although waiting all summer was challenging, the end result was most definitely worth it.

When Three Days Grace released their lead single "Chalk Outline" in August, my already high expectations for their album reached new heights. As a band, they were clearly capable of once again achieving greatness, and when October 2nd came around, they absolutely did.

With Transit of Venus, this group has seemingly found the middle ground between staying true to their own style while also expanding to try something new. Without sacrificing the core emotional, grungy sound that characterized their past releases, they were able to entertain some new concepts, including synths and keyboards. I know that might signal a sell-out to many people, but here that's completely not the case.

The slogan for the album was: "Some things will never happen again in your life time," in homage to the event the album derived its name from as well as the impact the band was hoping to achieve on the musical industry. With their clean, yet still heavy, sound from the vocals to the guitars to the drums to the keyboards, Three Days Grace truly seems to have captured the essence that slogan imparted. 

Some standout tracks include;

• Sign of the Times

• Chalk Outline

• The High Road

• Operate

• Anonymous

• Misery Loves My Company

• Give In to Me (A Michael Jackson cover)

• Happiness

• Give Me a Reason

• Time That Remains

• Expectations

• Broken Glass

• Unbreakable Heart

Anyone already familiar with this release will be quick to note that I just listed all of the songs off of the album. Well, that's just my way of telling you that if you're a fan of Three Days Grace or of rock in general, you would be wise to make listening to this entire album part of your future plans. I'm just saying.

Night Visions

I know this is my second indie rock suggestion in as many posts, but I was always intrigued by this particular band, and it wasn't until I heard one of their songs during the Olympics that I gave them my attention, for which I'm glad I did.

Album: Night Visions

Artist: Imagine Dragons

If you can get past how amazing their name is, the Imagine Dragons are quite the talented group. They're fairly new to the scene, having formed in only 2008, but have they've released 3 EPs and one full-length album, which is the subject of this post.

Night Visions encompasses all that's great about the indie side of alternative music, at least to my ears. With an ample dose of thumping bass, a measure of flowing vocal theatrics, and an abundance of general musical talent, this record has hit the recipe for awesome dead on.

To me, the biggest allure is the songs' catchiness. All too often, it seems as though a song that's labeled catchy turns out to be a stereotypical, sellout, pop song. However, here it's nothing like that. The music is original, and has a deeper meaning than a lot of what's out there nowadays. Also, not to hate on the music industry, but here the songs actually sound genuine, a rare find in today's market.

Some standout tracks include;
• The whole album

And I'm not just saying that to make a point or anything; I honestly tried to list out all of the ones I really wanted to suggest, but by the time I was done I realized I had listed pretty much the entire album. Which obviously is a good thing, and means you should probably go give this one a listen from start to finish if you find yourself liking their sound.

The Lonely Forest

Every so often, you come across that one band that, at least for the time being, becomes your new most absolutely favorite band. Well today I give to you my new most absolutely favorite band. 

Artist: The Lonely Forest

An American indie rock band from Anacortes, Washington, The Lonely Forest formed in 2005 and have since released 2 EPs and 3 full-length records to date. On their website biography, their music is described as having a core of John Van Deusen’s soaring vocals and keyboard melodies, wrapped tightly around Tony Ruland’s expansive guitar anchored by a heavy, yet nimble, rhythm section. 

Even from only having known about them for less than a day now, I'd still have to agree that the music is very vocally driven, but the guitar and rhythm parts are most definitely right there to back it and give their sound a very unique texture.

Lyrically and stylistically, their songs entertain a contrast of “brilliant pop songs featuring lyrics about spiritual longing wedded to an almost prog-rock sensibility” according to their site. Because of this, they apparently appeal to broad range of listeners, from “wide-eyed teenagers to jaded scenesters.”

From my own experience, I can only add to that by saying that their music sounds to me like a combination of Arcade Fire, Chevelle, and a little Angels & Airwaves perhaps. And honestly, I’d have to say that that’s a combination that really needed to happen, based on how amazing this band sounds. 

Some standout tracks include;

• Tooth for Tooth

• Coyote

• We Sing In Time

• Blackheart vs Captain America

• Are You Afraid of the World? 

• Nuclear Winter

I’m sorry I don’t have more songs to suggest, but I just found these guys yesterday and was a little impatient to post about them, so I haven’t gotten the chance to be able to explore their discography in any kind of depth. However, you can obviously go forth and discover on your own, which I strongly encourage! It's not nearly often enough that bands such as this get the attention they deserve, and these guys definitely deserve any and all attention they can get.

Four Seconds

It's nice to find a song that's just really fun to listen to. Be it a catchy beat, comical lyrics, or something else entirely that creates such an atmosphere, there's nothing quite like it and it makes for a great listen.

Song: Four Seconds

Artist: Barenaked Ladies

I had heard of this band before, but I had never come across any of their music and had never been inspired to seek it out, probably because that's quite the loaded Google search. 

When I found this track, it only took a few seconds for me to fall in love with it. After finding out what band was responsible for it, I was pleasantly surprised that it was a band I had heard mention of before.

Overall, it's an insanely catchy track. with heavy emphasis on the beat behind it. Not only is it unique, but it's quite involved with a neat guitar part, a driving drum rhythm, and even what sounds like a few baritone saxophone notes near the end. The vocals are also catchy in their own right, and honestly hard to not sing or hum along to. The lyrics are nothing overly profound or cohesive, but that just adds to the intrigue.

This track is definitely worth giving a chance, if for no other reason than that these guys found a way to rhyme with "orange," which is obviously a pretty unique undertaking. Really, it's just an overall enjoyable listen, from the uptempo to the quirky lyrics and everything in between.