Every Tuesday morning I check the iTunes storefront to see what new music released. This year I have been relatively unimpressed by the offerings in place and had only bought one album since the year turned over. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to check the store and I found not only one album that I wanted but two.
If you followed my blog on the old Club IGN then you know that I have a soft spot for female vocalists that sing “symphonic metal”, ala Lacuna Coil and Evanescence. One band a friend of mine turned me on to a few years ago was the Dutch group, Within Temptation. I went with him to see them live in downtown Philly and quickly fell in love with lead singer Sharon den Adel’s voice and have since collected all their releases (US and European). Being as they are not a big band here in the US, getting news on them is always kind of sketchy in regards to US releases of their material. So this morning was quite a surprise when I saw that their new album, a concept album based on a short series of comic books, was available. I quickly bought it and I am very much enjoying it. If you fashion yourself a fan of Evanescence or other female fronted symphonic metal bands then you owe it to yourself to give “The Unforgiving” a shot.
Another thing longtime followers know about me is that I have a deep seeded love for 80s rock, specifically hair metal. While bands like Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard were my main go to bands, groups like Europe and Whitesnake were also mainstays. Unlike most of those groups though (excluding Axl’s version of GNR from discussion) , Whitesnake is still releasing music with some edge to it and their new album, “Forevermore” is straight out of 1984. Most people remember Whitesnake for their famous single (and video) “Here I Go Again” but the band was pretty successful even before them with their hard rock take on blues riffs. “Forevermore” has a classic rock feel to it and I’m really enjoying the vibe I am getting from it at this point. David Coverdale still has it and I am glad that he keeps bringing Whitesnake back and fans 80s hard rock should get on board with the new album.
Anyway enough rambling about bands you don’t care about, I have to go watch Animal Kingdom for the next episode of Movie Dudes.
-Chris
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