Aurora Beacon News, IL
Oct 19 2007

Heavy, but not heavy-handed

October 19, 2007
BY ANDRE SALLES Staff Writer

When I was in my early teens, music really only had to do a few
things: be loud, be heavy and be fast.

It’s been a while since pure, brain-dead aggression has done it for
me (although I did quite like Ministry’s The Last Sucker, out last
month). Luckily, heavy music these days isn’t all just pounding and
bile-spitting — there’s a whole subgenre of intelligent, thoughtful,
louder-than-you bands out there, ones that will please your inner
teenage metalhead and still give you something to flex your gray
matter.

Serj Tankian fronts one of those bands, System of a Down. They’re a
fiercely political group from Armenia, and over five albums, they’ve
perfected a complex, often cartoonish brand of metal based around
Tankian’s Mel-Blanc-with-road-rage voice. Tankian’s solo album hits
on Tuesday, and if its title – Elect the Dead – is any indication, he
hasn’t left his politics behind.

If Tankian is too real-world political for you, though, you may want
to try Coheed and Cambria. Over four long albums, this New York band
has been weaving a science fiction tale about… well, it’s too
complicated to get into here. Their new one has a typically unwieldy
title: Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV Volume Two: No World for
Tomorrow. Supposedly, this one wraps up the story, but even if you
don’t care about that, you’ll get about an hour of brain-melting
prog-metal, reminiscent of early Rush.

Not into the heavy stuff? That’s fine too. You can get La Cucaracha,
the ninth album from the goofballs in Ween, one of the most
fascinating (and foul-mouthed) bands around for more than 15 years.
You can pick up What Is Love For, the solo debut from Justin Currie
of Del Amitri. And you can get Follow the Lights, the new 30-minute
EP from the ever-prolific Ryan Adams.

But if you want a genuine treasure, you could do worse than Raising
Sand, a duets album from an unlikely pair – Led Zeppelin singer
Robert Plant, and bluegrass queen Alison Krauss. You wouldn’t think
such a combination would work, but it does. I’ve heard this album,
and it’s marvelous – Plant and Krauss complement each other perfectly
on a set of gritty, earthy blues tunes. It’s the unlikeliest surprise
of the back half of the year, and well worth your cash.

What everyone was listening to this week: Bruce Springsteen’s Magic
(still!).

Hidden gem from last week: The Autumns’ dramatic, dynamic Fake Noise
from a Box of Toys.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress