The new album is really good so far. Listening to it as I type this. Tom Morello is one of few guitarists I know that keeps getting better with age. anyone else into this band?
I didn't know about it. I'll have to go get it. I loved their first CD but I was very disappointed by the second. The first one sounded exactly like the angry, melodic hybrid of industrial metal and grunge that I expected from Rage Against The Machine with Soundgarden's vocalist. Morello's bizarre little guitar figures made every song sound different. The second album sounded like they'd changed producers and were trying to get on more radio stations. Everything was toned down. Morello was phoning in the guitar solos. I can't wait to hear the new one.
Phoning in guitar solos?...no way!!! I almost cried from the solo in "Doesn't remind me" (for its beauty and technical complexity) and Yesterday or tommorrow. I liked the second album because it's the first time Tom Morello has done chord progressions and outright shredded. It was more of an introspective album and a good one for the band since during their first album they broke up atleast 2 times and got back together (if you recall during their RATM days there was always high tension between the band and 0 comfort level due to Rocha's rebel personality) The new album is heavier than the second one, but explores more sounds and genres, especially Red hot Chilli peppers style funk (Track broken city). Not a lot of guitar effects usage in this one. Besides the wah wah pedal and bit of wahmmy pedal, its straight up distortion and beautiful, heavy riffs.
Ah cool I'll have to go download it... chris and the rage boys together gave the music world a unique blend of ex-grunge fibre into mainstream ragemania!! They should have hooked up years ago...
I agree with Fraggle Rocker about the first album. Except I think that Cornell is now with a band that only do one thing well - funky metal. It sounded to me on the second album that he was trying to develop musically with a band that wasn't really capable of expanding. This 3rd album sees more of that, except it is better than the second because the watered-down parts are restricted to the choruses mostly, allowing the verses to rock-it with the funky stuff. There are odd gems of non-funky stuff on the second and third ('doesn't remind me', 'Original Fire'), but really, its time for Cornell to move on, they're holding him back.
I didn't notice a whole lot of funk on the first album. It was all eighth notes. I could play bass in that band--and I can't play funk. If there's more on the third album then maybe they're trying to fill the void left by the Chili Peppers' new-found love of easy-listening music.
