09.12 On CD

Dan Godlin’s Loving on Empty

By Tine Roycroft

Singer/songwriter Dan Godlin is a Nicholas Sparks character come to life.? He’s warm, charming, with bright red hair and a rugged look about him that he further accentuates with work boots and beat-up denim jeans.? He was born in Houston, Texas, raised in a suburb of Boston and was the captain of his high school football team. ??He’s pure Americana, like John Cougar Mellencamp and apple pie. But instead of heading to an Ivy League school to toss the pigskin, he chose music and now presents us with his Loving on Empty.

The album is a great collection of mainly upbeat and energetic pop songs that are guaranteed to put you in a good mood and bring you back to the days of first romances.? Godlin is a talent, and his messages and music are both?clear cut, which makes this singer even more of a catch.? In the song “Did She Look?” Godlin reminds us of the importance of a crush’s returned eye contact.? He’s at the coffee shop counter, contemplating ordering extra lattes that day just because “she” has claimed that drink as a favorite.? Completely adorable.

“Don’t Tell Me How to Live” is a song that lets the heart soar.? You can pick up on some of Godlin’s 80s and 90s influences at various points during the song ~ The Goo Goo Dolls and traces of love for Bruce Springsteen can be found woven into the words and notes.?? In this song, like in many of Godlin’s others, there’s a need to be free, to explore this world and gladly fall in order to learn a greater lesson.? He may be a young guy, but he has an old soul ~ and the combination makes for some lovely tunes.

For more info, please go to www.dangodlin.com.

Hellyeah’s Band of Brothers

By Tine Roycroft

Hellyeah returns to rock with their fiery third album, Band of Brothers, released by Eleven Seven Music.? The boys are back in action ~ capturing metal fans and holding them hostage.? And for any first time listeners out there, if you dig Pantera or Damageplan, you’re going to love Hellyeah.

This hard rock band includes Chad Gray on vocals, Vinne Paul on drums, Greg Tribbet on guitar, Tom Maxwell on guitar and Bob Zilla on bass.? Die hard fans of this group will instantly recognize and approve of the thundering drum work on the album and totally dig the swaggering beats and explosive guitar work.? Each member of the group has been tossed about by the waves of life and, using those experiences, now throw their truths at the audiences, no holds barred.

“Everybody in this band has been through some personal experiences that were trying,” drummer Paul says.? “This music really brought us together and being together brought the best out in all of us.”

Hellyeah’s best includes hypnotically powerful songs like “War in Me,” which drives the listener on and pumps him/her up for a battle.? It’s filled with fight and aggression and stirs the soul to action reminding us that “Life’s too short to be sober, drunk with power!”

Then there are songs like “WM Free,” which not only keep the rock moving solidly forward, but touch upon darker parts of life.? “WM Free” tells the tale of the West Memphis Three ~ a trio of teenaged?metal lovers from Arkansas who were wrongly jailed in 1994 for murder and recently freed due to the introduction of new DNA evidence.

Band of Brothers is that rare album that holds both party anthems and deeply personal journeys and balances the power of both.

For more information, visit www.Hellyeahband.com.

Sonic Pulse’s Lager Than Life

By Jennifer Russo

No, the above is not a typo ~ It really does say “Lager”…as in deliciously crisp ale. In fact, the CD boasts songs titled “Queen of Beers” and “Eye of the Beerholder” and, as you can see from the cover art, the leather-studded bodacious red-head is holding some beer as well…although her other not-so-subtle assets may prove a bit of a distraction.

I half expected the music from Dan Hammer (lead vocals, studio drums), David Carlino (lead guitars), and Mick Mayer (lead guitars) to be a combination of Irish gigs and pour house songs, so you can imagine my surprise when I was ear blasted with power metal and a guitar speed that would make any self-proclaimed Guitar Hero champion shake in his or her Converse sneakers. Undeniably inspired by Dragonforce, if you listen closely enough and you can almost hear calluses forming on fingers.

Not to be outdone by the instrumentals, Dan Hammer takes the rough and ready approach, spouting out lyrics about music, beer, zombies and adventure. It’s a regular nerd party where the stereotypical thick-rimmed- glasses- wearing brainiacs are replaced by guys with black t-shirts, long hair and black ink. This is a band of serious musicians who don’t take themselves too seriously ~ and it’s obvious that their musical rampage both inspires and is inspired by excitement and raw energy. The mixing is well balanced, with just the right amount of thrash to power to pedal effects so that each song offers something a little different from the one before it.

The heavy and futuristic sound (the band proclaims that it’s “…been formed to mix the Epicness of Power Metal with the attitude of Thrash”) seems like it could fit perfectly into a fantasy-focused video game soundtrack where the demon knight in shining armor slays hoards upon hoards of oncoming beasts. Someone really needs to push a demo through to some developers to get this going. In the meantime, enjoy that Lager.

Check out Sonic Pulse on www.facebook.com/sonicpulse and www.reverbnation.com/sonicpulse.

DROKK: Music Inspired By Mega-City One

By Frank Poulin

Metropolis, Gotham City… Mega-City One. As the center stage of a rich comic book universe spanning 35 years and the home of well-known antihero Judge Dredd, 2000 AD’s megalopolis has surely earned its place among the ranks of the most famous and vividly detailed imaginary cities.

Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and composer Ben Salisbury’s ambitious soundtrack was originally intended to serve as the musical score to the upcoming Hollywood sci-fi/action movie Dredd, but was later spun off as its own project. Listening to the CD after watching the official Dredd movie proves that Drokk is not a good fit for the blockbuster treatment given to the movie ~ but somehow you can’t help but feel that it’s the movie’s loss and not the other way around.

Deeply influenced by the 80s Vangelis and John Carpenter soundtracks, Drokk is a dark and atmospheric instrumental work made up almost entirely of vintage synthesizers ~ with some experimental sounds providing tense undertones (it turns out a ukulele slowed down 100 times electronically sounds much more dramatic than you might think). It is a completely immersive experience and is meant to be listened to as a whole; if you pick out one track at random you risk being put off by the often sinister atonal passages which otherwise work incredibly well in the overall progression of the story.

Whether you’re a frequent visitor or a first-time tourist in Mega-City One, listening to Drokk from end to end will make the city’s gritty futuristic streets feel eerily familiar to you.

DROKK: Music inspired by Mega-City One is available now under the Invada UK label.