Thirty Seconds To Mars Drowns In Its Own Bombast

It's that chorus that dooms Thirty Seconds To Mars. Every time you think you're going to catch a breather that blasted chorus comes back asking the needless question "Do you believe that you can walk on water?" If I haven't figured out by now that the answer is no then there really is no hope for me. "Walk On Water" does have some things going for it. Vocalist Jared Leto's pipes are in fine shape even if he uses them in the service of over the top patriotism that, while very touching, isn't what this planet needs right now. Tomo Milicevic gives this outing a decided keyboard sheen, proving the production values were top notch. Shannon Leto adds a workmanlike performance on drums that only heightens the pathos the video is trying to put across. Impressively it was filmed in one day, that day being this past July 4th. There are snippets of real Americans doing everything from swimming to boxing to skateboarding. Thirty Seconds To Mars is proclaiming "This is our way of life people! Try and compromise that on our watch. This threesome's energy cannot be denied. They lose themselves in the material, no apologies forthcoming. At a shade under 3 1/2 minutes that's a lot of oomph to unleash but Thirty Seconds To Mars appears in it for the long haul. If inspiration was the goal the band didn't find its mark, largely in part due to the over the top visual imagery nestled in lyrics such as: "Listen up hear the patriots shout 'Times are changing' Changing times are a common thread in this song. Again, I am imagining the goal is to get the apathetic among us to get off our butts and find something to change about our troubled world that's giving us fits. Is it heavy handed? Sure, that's a legitimate gripe. Here we are in 2017 and the USA still doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up. As a consequence bands like Thirty Seconds To Mars roll out the booming sounds they know will get the beer taps flowing and alpha males on the warpath. "Walk On Water" reminds me of the nerdy kid in elementary school who was always shouting "Pick Me! Pick Me!" because he had practically all the answers in class and couldn't help reminding everyone else how much smarter he was in comparison to them. As a result "Walk On Water" hints at a lot but delivers very little. At present people's lives are going through the shredder. A track like "Walk On Water" doesn't lighten loads, it drowns the entire community. A slightly softer touch would have worked better. As it stands I'm begging for the opportunity to towel off.

Theory of a Deadman Piles on the Pathos

A single lonely whistle. And thus begins "Medicate" (listed on the single as "Rx".) This has to be the most depressing song of 2017. Tyler Connolly sings about how his life is about as exciting as watching paint dry so his answer is to self-medicate. Many a rock star has followed that path with tragic results. In the video Tyler and friends cruise around town bemoaning their lot. Cameos are made by townspeople easing their burdens with their drug of choice. "Rx" isn't all that heavy a song from a musicianship standpoint. Lead guitarist Dave Brenner doesn't crank up the volume very high nor does bassist Dave Beck get too intense. Drummer Joey Dandeneau's contributions are felt but, again, no overt displays of power. That's great tactician behavior on the band's part. They don't need macho playing to bring out the inner creepiness on display here. That whistle is largely to blame. Right off the bat the dispiriting sound of giving up on life drips off of the playback. As good as Tyler is at spelling out the state of his something to be desired existence (Mommy paying his bills for example) he can afford to dial down his performance because the atmospherics do much of Tyler's heavy lifting for him. In Tyler's neck of the woods everybody from the priest to the hot chick to the president is out copping some kind of buzz. Earlier I claimed this song was quite depressing and I stand by that verdict. However that doesn't mean I hate "Rx". On the contrary it does a amazing job showing us how easily social ties between man and neighborhood can unravel. When all else fails drug your drudgery away. The video's car ride pretty much sums up the story. Riding around underwhelmed by suburbia as a whole. Tempo set at a pace slow enough to lure you into the chaos, but not so slow that a lasting impression fails to be made. For anyone needing songcraft in the misery loves company vein, "Rx" is just what the rock doctor ordered.

Mastodon Breathes a Lot More Than Steam Here

I'm man enough to let you in on a little secret. A key reason why I chose Mastodon to review today is because of that single title "Steambreather". I mean come on. What's not to like? Conjures up a whole host of arousing imagery that could lead to plenty of masturbatory fantasies. Add to that the name sounds like a really cool Marvel comics superhero that the front office forgot to tell us about. Breathe easy folks, this isn't some parlor trick meant to leave you thinking the song is better than it actually is. Trust me on this one "Steambreather" kicks your ass, stops in to ask your ass how it felt about the beating it just got handed, then drives away in its Low Rider car, leaving you dejected by the side of the road. This...is...a...monster...metal song. Brann Dailor didn't have to be so gosh darn ferocious on drums but, well, he shouldn't have to apologize for feeling free to flex his substantial muscle. Want to hear fancy tricks? Brann's here to serve, and the power isn't kept to a soloist minimum. His aggressive technique permeates the entire song. Brent Hinds shows up with his lead guitar and the roof's officially been raised for this smokin' throwdown. How about let's toss in Bill Kelliher's rhythm guitar and see where that takes us. Pretty hardcore terrain if you ask me. Troy Sanders explodes in the bass playing department. As a whole "Steambreather" reminds me of the days when the sky is a mean shade of gray and you know a fierce thunderstorm is on its way. Apt imagery that makes the song hard to turn your ears away from. Brann's voice comes in loud and clear. He's a man grappling with a huge identity crisis that has made him afraid of himself. His reflections don't offer much help at all. The poor guy has violence floating around in his mind. That can't be a good long term solution to any problem he might encounter. As you may recall from previous postings, multiple chord changes turn me on. Lots to like here. Even better when you consider the considerable fret and drum work going on. Mastodon hits you with everything it has. If you're not drenched in sweat after "Steambreather" concludes then, as the Big Pharma ads accompanying the nightly news would say "Talk to your doctor." Those sweat glands aren't performing properly. In conclusion "Steambreather" is metal oxygen of the highly lubricating kind. Breathe it in and be healed.

The Dirty Heads Deliver a Boisterous Vacation

Hey kids! Huntington Beach's favorite reggae band The Dirty Heads has returned to mellow us out and remind us that daydreams don't cost you anything and can sometimes be dazzling. Big ups to the video director of "Vacation" who shined a light on the joy of having a job you're eager to get to each day. In this case that salute comes in the guise of what I'm guessing is a school principal. Jared "Dirty J" Watson and Dustin "Duddy B" Bushnell do an outstanding job of animating the principal who waxes eloquent about how through hard work he's been given the chance to do what he loves on the daily. That's a feeling of pride that any working stiff or unemployed couch potato can appreciate. It makes sense that reggae would be an appropriate backdrop for a topic like this. Most principals I'm gathering can't wait for the lunch hour to come so they can commiserate with their fellow molders of young minds. Not in the Dirty Heads universe. The principal prances around the school as if he won Principal of the Year honors or some similar trinket of acknowledgement. I'm fond of the way the vocals swoon when we come to the section of "every single day-ay" It perfectly captures what the protagonist is reveling in. Toss in some fine bass playing courtesy of David Foral. Then add in bouncy drums by Matt Ochoa and you've got yourself an inside voice level party not likely to be matched by anybody else anytime soon. Jared comes off as a self-assured chap who fashions a knowing smile at his enemies who scorn him just because he's worked hard to get where he has and they're doing nothing to better their own lot in life, grousing not being a solid Plan A, B, or C. All of us can appreciate the notion of having only one life to live and not doing so in any other way. The melody of "Vacation" certainly is breezy, the far from easy life Jared crows about. All you'd really need to make the visual complete is a bottle of Spanish Fly. Of course any real world principal worth his awkward striped tie would confiscate that in three seconds flat. No matter. To these ears "Vacation" is a tune sorely needed because of its angel food cake fluffiness. These are angst ridden time we're waddling through so an extended coffee break of some kind bears inclusion. At a juncture in history when the friendly skies are becoming more and more like the grumpy skies "Vacation" gives us a safer yet no less enjoyable form of staycation where you won't have to mess with the riff raff in coach class.