New Album: Black Stone Cherry - Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

I'm a tad apprehensive listening to Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea, Black Stone Cherry's latest album; their debut was amazing, completely top-notch southern stoner metal. It was full of creative songs, powerful is story and vocals, with some amazing instruments to match. The followup, Folklore And Superstition, was a dull, alternative rock with a touch of southern twang release. All the originality of their was gone, and we were left with an empty shell of, what I assume to be, an attempt at being accepted by the majority of the populous. So I am both excited and dismissal of Black Stone Cherry's newest release, hoping that it is a reminder of their origin, not their evolution.

This new incarnation of Black Stone Cherry's sound seems a bit of a pairing of the previous two mentions. It is a little more rough and tumble, and there by a little more metal, but in the same token, it is still filled with obvious song hooks and melodies. The music is entertaining, but nothing is really outstanding or challenging to the listener. There are enjoyable songs, but nothing that made me go "wow, that was cool," or anything that makes me want to show off a song to my friends. It's satisfying but not filling.

5 Quick Album Reviews

Quick reviews for new albums:

1. AC/DC - Black Ice - 7/10
   The newest release by the Australian Rockers. It's an alright album, much more blues-oriented than previous works. Brian Johnson's voice is actually understandable, they let him sing and not only scream. Maybe he's getting old...
   My track picks: "Rock 'N Roll Train." "War Machine." and "Decibel."
   
2. Black Stone Cherry - Folklore And Superstition - 7/10
   2nd album by the Southern Metal band. I really enjoyed their self-titled debut, the mesh of Southern and Doom created a great mix. This new album is much lighter, moving towards Southern Rock and away from Metal. Still a good effort, but I enjoyed the old sound, no need to fix it.
   My track picks: "Devil's Queen," and "Ghost of Floyd Collins"
   
3. Clutch - Full Fathom Five (Live Album) - 8/10
   Now I dislike live albums as a whole, you will hear me say that quite alot within this site, but I love Clutch, so it is a conflict of interest. It is another straight-forward live album, no live-only covers, no extended song segments, and no special releases (although I was surprised at part of the track listing). But, with nothing special, it isn't a bad album. The recording quality is very good, you can hear the crowd singing along, but sill make out what the singer is saying, and all of the instruments come in clearly. And as I stated, Clutch is my favorite band, so i did enjoy this album, but there is nothing special in it. I ranked it against other live albums and not versus other Clutch albums (if that were the case then it would have been more of a 5/10).
   
4. DragonForce -Ultra Beatdown - 6/10
   Shred and more shred, that seems to be the criteria for DragonForce. They seem to be trying single-handely to bring back 80's Speed-Metal. If you liked their last albums then you'll like this one. To someone who listens to a varied selection of Metal, the constant shreds get tiring, I don't know where the songs end or begin. The songs they did slow down (one or two of them) just dragged on, I felt as if the vocalist really didn't have anything to say, but was singing nonetheless.
   My track pick: The Last Journey
   
5. Metallica - Death Magnetic - 6/10
   First off - waaaay better than St. Anger. Still not a great album. Lots of long tracks, most of them could have been shortened, I wouldn't have minded. They did pick up the tempo in this album, but while still keeping it accesable for mainstream. It seems to be a bridge between "...And Justice For All" and "Metallica (The Black Album)," like George Lucas got a hold of it and wanted to do a prequil to the Version 2 Metallica. It jams Thrash and Hard Rock, and has a song called "The Unfogiven III" for god sakes. They need to let that song go.
   My track picks: "That Was Just Your Life," and "The Day That Never Comes"
   

Currently listening to: Nevermore - Nevermore (Album)