Hinder Just Juiced Up Enough To Be Memorable

I suppose you've heard the saying that good things come in small packages. Such feelings could apply to Oklahoma City hard rock band Hinder's new single "Remember Me". It clocks in at a tidy 3 minutes, 19 seconds, doesn't lay the guitar playing on too thick, and says what's been said in the rock world before, namely the by now cliched sentiment, "Will you remember me when I'm gone?" On the whole Hinder maximizes the effectiveness of the whole less is more attitude. Don't misunderstand me. Joe "Blower" Garvey does an impressive job with his guitar but you aren't getting the full massive range of his talents until we hit the bridge, no mean feat given how short the song is. Not much time to show off but Mr. Garvey makes it work for him. Lead vocalist Marshall Dutton glosses over his torment in the simplest way possible. Any song that draws reference to a siren in the first line can't be leading to anything particularly promising from a wordsmith's perspective. At the very least he claims the siren sound makes him feel alive. Having been in more than one ambulance in recent years I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wasn't exactly oozing invincibility. Undiluted fear maybe but not world-beater. Mike Rodden does a fine job on bass. He's the propulsion system behind "Remember Me". Drummer Cody Hansen applies his finely honed skills to this project. No wild drum solo a la Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" but that wasn't necessary for this song anyway. Cody Hansen picks his spots and rolls with this dark night of the soul flow. Metaphorically Marshall's caught out in the rain, life preserver non existent. He'd like for his girlfriend to remember him. Who among us doesn't? Note to Marshall...Hinting that your sweetie's doomed to hate the ghost you've become isn't a exactly a useful prelude to a hot and heavy sexual encounter. Methinks Marshall's too wrapped up in the undertow to even care. That said, such campfire horror in no way detracts from listeners realizing what a jolting piece of effective drama "Remember Me" turns out to be. Not much heavy lifting needed to enjoy this song. Simply crank the knob to ten and cruise your bad self down Congress Avenue, convertible top down. "Remember Me" certainly deserves to be remembered.

Fozzy On Fire Thanks To Judas

Metal purveyors Fozzy go for the throat on "Judas". It's a cut just as hot as Atlanta in mid-summer. I reference the city because that's where this fivesome hails from. Lead vocalist Chris Jericho demonstrates how to belt out words without losing a sense of muscle control. His mates don't know the meaning behind the concept of power shortage. Rich Ward explodes on guitar with the conviction of a man who knows longevity in metal careers doesn't even come close to being a sure thing unless your name is Robert Plant or Jimmy Page. Frank Fontsere throws in those drum theatrics that make die hard metal lovers salivate. On bass Paul Di Leo puts pedal to this metal in grand style. The vigor level behind "Judas" ensures that it isn't some throwaway track that will melt in the hot Georgia sun by late August. Chris shows plenty of demonstrative gestures in the video. I sense the tempo was deliberately herky jerky to shine light on what potential humor value there was to be gained. Lyrically Chris has some major self esteem issues as can be proven from "I am cold like December snow. I have carved out this soul made of stone and I will drag you down and sell you out. Chris gets even more in the self loathing vein via "Embraced by the darkness, I'm losing the fight. Encircled by demons, I fight." Chris fears what he's turning into and isn't shy about sharing his conflicted nature. I'm floored in a good way by how raw "Judas" sounds. The nerves rubbed raw are in evidence everywhere and that conflict translates into a really tight sound. All of you metal purists can rest easy. Lots of guitar solo showoff action. In all honesty that's my favorite part of the song. Metal music was never meant to be tethered to the front porch barking at passing cars. Give me four on the floor gut level release any day of the week. "Judas" fills the bill perfectly. The aggressiveness of the band's playing as a whole makes "Judas" a pleasure to make time for. The battle of Jericho being fought here proves successful on as many levels as you can name.

In Flames' "Here Until Forever" Works Well In The Now

I liken the pace of Swedish heavy metal band In Flames' new single "Here Until Forever" to that called into action by a ship's captain who knows exactly what he's doing so he keeps his vessel squarely set on cruise control. From the opening riff of Niclas Engelin's guitar we're in for a tune that dials down the bombast to glorious results. Each syllable vocalist Andres Friden utters comes through with clear intention. You can hear the pathos dripping from his lips. The first two lines in verse one would get any young female's heart going pit-a-pat. How could you not melt at the lines "I can't wait to hear your voice again. I am far from lonely but without you I'm a mess." Cue the waterworks. The members of In Flames each maximize his opportunity to shine. Joe Rickard drums without going overboard. He comes off as being extremely workmanlike, and that's no small hint that the aforementioned ship is churning along smoothly. Meanwhile guitarist Bjorn Gelotte places guitar riffs in just the right spots. In so doing he ramps up the intensity of Andres' longing. We want him to have his heart's desire. We want him not to suffer the angst of unrequited love. Cheering him on is gorgeously easy. What makes "Here Until Forever" stand out from the rest of the metal offerings is that there's no head banging guitar solo to contend with. That means we can really sink our teeth into the words because nobody is trying to dazzle us with his technical brilliance. In verse three a line pops up that makes me think of '80s band REO Speedwagon's words of delightful corniness from "Can't Fight This Feeling" "It's time to bring this ship into the shore and throw away the oars forever." In Flames impresses us with this nautically themed sentiment..."You are my lighthouse in the dark. I can see you from a thousand miles away. A little schmaltzy but endearing all the same. Moving on along to the fifth verse Andres gets really deep. With not even a trace of insincerity he proclaims "I hope you feel that nothing dies. I am alive in all you touch." From a spiritual standpoint I liken that to the Christian notion that God is everywhere. You can't help but cop a smile when gazing at the music video. Completely engrossing visual effects add sizable heft to the video's message. Kudos to In Flames for winning us over with a likable number that, although it may not tug at the heartstrings forever, it has a very good shot at staying in the mind's need to remember file for a hell of a lot of human years.

Fitz and the Tantrums Fool Around In a Fun Way

One thing's for sure. Fitz and the Tantrums know how to brighten up any day. "The Walker" was covered in humorous vibes, a fact made apparent by the accompanying music video. In the case of "Fool" keyboard fuels the hilarity. Big props to James King for making it all possible. Not much in the way of drumming courtesy of John Wickes but his relative absence doesn't need to be treated like a liability because much of your air space will be taken up laughing at how Michael Fitzpatrick's a total cut up in this video. So what's the band trying to get across here? Simply that mama didn't raise no fool. That mama has her eyes on vixens so they'd better not be giving Michael any trouble. "Fool" doesn't skimp on the levity at all. Sure the message may not be earth shattering but the conveyance sure is a breath of fresh air. Mike name drops Kanye West who needs the attention like I need a tongue ring. Mr. West warns Mike about women who sell men out. Of course Kanye regards himself as the resident expert on everything so I'd take his advice with a grain of salt. The second verse carries on the somewhat proud tradition of wagging the finger at women who look closely at the bank account of the man rather than the man himself. Eventually he kicks this self-serving bitch to the curb without even a backwards glance in the rear view mirror. Frankly, Joseph Karnes' bass guitar seems tacked on mostly as an afterthought. Nothing to worry about though. The ear to ear grin on your faces more than compensates for the laid back musical paintbrush approach. Also priceless is the video's shot of Michael crooning gleefully in a highly rich bubble bath, his onscreen mother not far from view. In the short time I've known Fitz and the Tantrums I've grown enamored of their cheeky sense of humor, and hope that continues to be a trend going forward. For my money "Fool" is one smartly constructed piece of whimsy.

Fall Out Boy Champions A Thirst For Rock Anthems

Fall Out Boy pulls no punches as it pertains to "Champion", the first single from its new "Mania" album. Patrick Stump belts out Rocky styled motivational tricks and, given the masculine make up of Fall Out Boy's core audience I'd say the tricks are highly effective. Joe Trohman deserves to receive better than unsung hero cred for the blazing guitar work he offers. Pairing Patrick's authoritative tonsil flashing with Joe's surgically precise chords is an exercise in brilliance. Midway through the song Joe has pretty much assured you that "Champion" gives you your money's worth and then some. Let's not forget the well placed drumming from Andy Hurley. No inspirational ditty would be complete without that. Simply put, he answers the call marvelously. So....can a song that's only 3 minutes 12 seconds in duration really motivate you to kick off the covers and put your dreams into action? In this case, yes. Fall Out Boy has the good sense not to beat around the bush. A good strong dose of "Live through this" powers the band's desire not to let limitations define it. Instead it forges forward bravely in its quest to conquer the rock world. Pete is ballsy enough to let us know he's still young enough to believe in dreams and to have the stones to question what in the world he should believe in. The video is filled to the brim with amplified gusto. You wouldn't expect inertia to spill into the recording studio now would you? Take the wheel of your life themes aren't new to the music universe but in Fall Out Boy's hands some extra zing carries the moment. Patrick utters pleasantries from the future implying the fog of the past gives him a massive headache. I can champion "Champion" because it's a concentrated burst of timely energy that, though not too similar from the self help rock songs of the past, remains worth listening to when your holstered gun has proven it fires only blanks.

Nickelback's New Track Is Nice...To a Point

If you can get past all the nursery rhyme references found in Nickelback's latest single "Must Be Nice", culled from the Canadian band's hot off the presses effort "Feed The Machine", then you'll be able to rock out like nobody's business. Chad Kroeger, the guy many rock purists love to hate, still has that raspy voice of his in top form. Why he'd let himself be coaxed into singing a warped version of the Humpty Dumpty story, as medically accurate as it might be is anybody's guess. Wave enough dollar bills in front of him and he might spend all the studio time belching into the microphone but, I digress. The man has a following that's likely going to hang on his every word here simply because subtlety isn't something deeply desired by Nickelback's core audience. Give 'em some choice guitar licks and the throngs will go nuts. The solo at the bridge certainly gets into the mouth watering end of the music appreciation spectrum. Along with chocolate and pizza that brand of macho posturing constitutes one of Earth's divine delights. Daniel Adair drums out a sold performance without overstaying his welcome. The point Chad's trying to make in the lyrics is that there's this female he knows who hasn't failed at anything in her whole life. The reason? She's living in a fairy tale world so far removed from reality that it amounts to a slap in the face to the millions out there who haven't had it nearly that easy. I gotta know. Did Chad's ego tell him "Man I'm such a big star I could compose a hokey interpretation of classic children's stories and kindergartners everywhere would be begging their parents to buy it for them. Word from the wise, Chad. That's not your core audience that's pushed you to the level of arena filling international superstars. I'd be a little nicer to "Must Be Nice" if it wasn't being cute in a way that mocks what hard rock stands for. The musicianship hasn't missed a beat. If you're not one of Nickelback's haters you're going to find "Must Be Nice" highly satisfying. My only quibble with Nickelback's latest tune is that the band has been an irresistible force for a decade and a half now. It doesn't need to drum up attention by whipping up a corny if not novel concept. In the end "Must Be Nice" continues the proud band tradition of shoot from the hip hard rock tunes but getting back to naughtier themes is bound to keep it from alienating the large rabid fan base it already has.