A team of rockers assembles for The Avengers movie soundtrack

The season's biggest blockbuster is complete with an explosive hard rock soundtrack. Marvel Avengers Assemble contains music from and inspired by the film and is spearheaded by the brand new Soundgarden song "Live to Rise".

"Live to Rise"--the theme song for The Avengers--is Soundgarden's first new song in 15 years. It boasts a mature sound for the recently reunited band, but it is still very much in the realm of the sound they are most known for. The song fits so well with the plot of The Avengers, but it stands on its own as well. The lyrics are emotional and contemplative, yet the song is hard rocking enough to fit such an action packed movie. "Live to Rise" is the only song on the soundtrack to actually be in the film, but that doesn't stop the rest of the tracks from keeping with its theme.

The following track is "I'm Alive", Shinedown's contribution to Marvel Avengers Assemble. The boldness of the guitar riffs and the lyrics--which are about saving someone--are especially fitting for the movie. My only disappointment is that this song was not featured in The Avengers! "I'm Alive" contains all of the intensity and passion one can only expect from Shinedown, and I honestly believe their music would translate very well to film.

"Unbroken" by Black Veil Brides full of energy, much like The Avengers, and is filled with classic metal sounding riffs. It has gravelly vocals, a blistering guitar solo, and the chorus is backed by what sounds like an eerie choral arrangement. This catchy track with lyrics like "If we stand together / we will be unbroken" really sums up movie in the simplest of terms.

Bush's "Into the Blue" is quite unique and begins to break from the other songs from the soundtrack. The choruses are very much hard rock, but the verses are set to a super laid back guitar and bass groove, making it almost feel like a Cure song.

"From Out of Nowhere" by Five Finger Death Punch is arguably the hardest and fastest song on Marvel Avengers Assemble. The intro riffs are especially heavy, evoking an image of Thor swinging his hammer--creating a perfect addition to the soundtrack.

The international (outside of North America) release of Marvel Avengers Assemble features a bonus track, "Pistols at Dawn" by Kasabian. Much like the Bush track, it veers from most of the other songs, but even more so. "Pistols at Dawn" has a certain '60s/early '70s sound. The fuzzy, distorted, feedback-laden song is slow and definitely has a "stoner rock" feel. This track is great, yet so different from all the other songs from Marvel Avengers Assemble.

Other bands and artists with tracks featured on Avengers Assemble include Rise Against, Papa Roach, Scott Weiland, Redlight King, Evanescence, Pusherjones, Buckcherry, and Cherri Bomb.

Marvel Avengers Assemble is a fantastic album and complements The Avengers film very well. It is a very cohesive soundtrack. The songs that aren't even in the movie are still consistent with the film's theme and message. Each each song invokes a certain image of the movie, and the lyrical themes about banding together to save the world really help The Avengers stick with you long after leaving the theatre.

8 out of 10 stars

Hollywood/Marvel Music
Official Soundtrack Website

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Guitar legend Slash shows fans some 'Apocalyptic Love’

The wait is over for Apocalyptic Love--the much anticipated follow up to 2010's Slash. Rock and metal fans should remember this as the debut solo album which featured a wild array of vocalists, one being Alterbridge's Myles Kennedy. This time around, Slash has chosen Kennedy to sing on each of the 13 tracks. He also plays rhythm guitar with the band who has become known as The Conspirators.

The album's opener is "Apocalyptic Love", the highly sexy track with lyrics about spending the end of the world making love. A groovy "wah-wah" effect is present throughout entire song, permeating the guitar solo. The vocals are intense right from the start, as Kennedy sings in his higher register. This hard rocker slows down at the bridge, which offers an interesting change of pace.

"You're a Lie"--which is getting considerable radio airplay stateside--has the classic "Slash sound"--gritty but modern vocals, and plenty of attitude. The ultra heavy guitar intro is very suitable for Slash. Myles Kennedy's vocals start out lower, gradually get slightly higher in the chorus, and then return to low in verses. The song's lyrics about finally cutting somebody off who has wronged you and let you down really resonated with me and will touch a lot of listeners.

The following track, "No More Heroes", has an underlying riff that contains what I like to call the very noticeable "blistering Slash tone". On this song and many of the others Kennedy's vocals range from delicate to intense. "No More Heroes" is instantly memorable, especially the ends of the verses and how they lead into the chorus containing the lyrics, "when your heroes turn to the enemy".

One of Apocalyptic Love's standout tracks is "Halo". It has a guitar and cymbal-heavy intro that quickly turns into a real driving force. When the vocals hit, the song begins to sound like a big seventies rock production. It is full of attitude and immense energy, and when Kennedy sings in his higher register, the song is dramatic and captivating. I honestly believe this guy is the next Steven Tyler!

Slash switches to an acoustic guitar for the beginning of "Anastasia" but soon goes back electric. This track features blazing fast notes and high vocals. The chorus of "All my love Anastasia / Anastasia this could be our last goodbye" is extremely catchy and one of my favourites. The guitar solo on "Anastasia" is easily my favourite and also the longest. Those unique, lush tones sound like they could only come from Slash.

"Shots Fired" starts out slow and low, but it instantly becomes heavy and upbeat. It has a heavy rhythm guitar and bass line and yet another catchy chorus--one that would be perfect for a live crowd to sing along with. This aggressive, ultimately hard rocking track is a great way to round out the album.

Apocalyptic Love features the perfect matchup of Slash's legendary guitar playing and Myles Kennedy's fantastic vocal range. I am thrilled that Kennedy was selected to sing on this entire record, as the tracks he sang on 2010's Slash were arguably the best.

Slash is still heading in a great direction with Apocalyptic Love, and I really hope it continues. He is definitely making his mark outside of the Guns N' Roses realm and has released more new music, and most importantly higher quality music, than Axl or his other peers.

8 1/2 out of 10 stars

(Dik Hayd International/Sony Music Australia)
slashonline.com

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Finally... The first "Maidengreen"!

from Night Ranger's "Sister Christian"...

The real lyric:  Motorin' / What's your price for flight?

Me:  Motorhead / What's your price for flight?

Fates Warning re-releases another album with remastered tracks and loads of extras

In 2010, Fates Warning delivered a special remastered version of their highly successful album Parallels. Now, the band is back with their re-release of the Parallels follow-up, Inside Out.

Like its predecessor, the remastered Inside Out comes with a plethora of bonus material--some of it previously unreleased. Since Inside Out was first released in 1994, I immediately decided to put my main focus on this bonus material. The original ten tracks of Inside Out have probably been reviewed hundreds of times, so I'll leave those alone. I will say this though; the remaster does sound great and is not far removed from the original.

The extras from Inside Out include the live versions of "Outside Looking In", "Down to the Wire", and "Face the Fear". There are also live performances of the Parallels tracks "The Eleventh Hour" and "Point of View". I really enjoyed the live version of "Outside Looking In". Ray Alder's vocal abilities shined through and remained intense throughout the entire song. Also, I like the drumming on this version more so than I do on the studio version. For whatever reason, there seems to be a distracting sound in the drumming on the studio track. It is much less apparent on this live recording--making an otherwise amazing song even better. The rest of the live tracks are decent. The instrumental parts of the songs sound fantastic, but almost too fantastic. The vocals are often overpowered and at times difficult to understand. In the slower, more delicate parts of "The Eleventh Hour," the vocals are pretty clear.

Following the live material are the demo versions of some of the Inside Out tracks. For the most part, the demos sound a lot like the finished products the fans are used to hearing. However, there are some subtle differences and little nuances that one may pick up on. For instance, on the "Outside Looking In" demo, there is a creepy echo in the very beginning of the first verse. It sounds kind of cool, but it sadly didn't make the final cut. There is also a demo of my favourite song from the album, "Shelter Me". It is very similar to the album version, but it is about a minute longer. Some parts of it--especially the intro--sound like they might be a bit lighter and more ethereal.  

One demo that breaks away from this pattern is "Face the Fear". It is quite a bit longer than the final version, and it is an instrumental. It is very different from the version that made the final cut of Inside Out, but you can definitely hear the framework for a great song. 

If the bonus audio material wasn't enough, this re-release of Inside Out includes a DVD. Inside Out Live has concert footage of nearly every track from the album. There are also live versions additional Fates Warning songs and more--such as a performance of "Guardian" featuring Mike Portnoy and a rare MTV Europe interview from 1994.

Oftentimes, when a band remasters or re-releases a classic album, it is hard for even the most diehard of fans to think about spending the money on something they probably already own. This really isn't the case for Fates Warning and Inside Out. This remastered version is enormously expanded and contains so many extra sights and sounds that Fates Warning and progressive metal fans will greatly appreciate.

7 1/2 out of 10 stars

(Metal Blade Records/Riot! Entertainment)

fateswarning.com

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