May usually marks the turn of better weather and the promise of a warm summer...but as anyone who knows me will tell...I'm not keen on heat and as such there wasn't much going on in May apart from a few gigs to keep me excited.
However if we look at the album releases next month you will see that two of my favourite (and dare I say consistent) bands will be dropping new albums just a short week apart!!!
Taproot - Plead the FifthTaproot has long been a band that receives constant play on my personal cd play through my upgrade to mp3 player and now has a home on my iPod!!
They came to my attention at the height of the Nu-Metal movement receiving praise for their first major label release 'Gift' in June 2000. Its brutal guitar sound, excellent percussion section & soaring melodies made this album an instant classic.
Their follow-up album 'Welcome' released in October 2002 set the tone for the bands further releases. Turning their back on the more aggressive undertones of 'Gift' they carved out a new cross over of alt. rock and less Nu-Metal.
It would be a further 3 years until the band would release new material. 'Blue-Sky Research' was far more experimental than previous outings and with guest appearance from Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) & Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) the band pushed their melodic chops to new heights.
'Our Long Road Home' found the band on a new label and mixed the best of what had come before and cemented the band status as one of the most consistent Alt.Metal bands on the planet.
Which brings us to Plead the Fifth...
Deftones - Diamond EyesDeftones, I would argue, are in my top 5 favourite acts of all time!! Every album is a work of art that upon further listens draws you further into their dreamy, scream yet amazing musically woven world!! They are the band I could never grow tired of listening to and with the promise of this new album next month my mouth waters as to what dreamy delights they have crafted.
In 1995 a new genre of music was still in its infancy...Nu-Metal, as the critics would later dub it, was very music honed with detuned guitars, bouncy riffs, broody lyrics and one of the few metal sub-genres that took influences from out with the metal establishment i.e. rap, funk & alternative.
If Korn could be said to be the Grandfathers of Nu-Metal then Deftones would surely be the Great Uncle of Nu-Metal. 1995's 'Adrenaline' could be said as one of the few debut albums that do not live up to the successive consistent and formidable released that followed. That being said tracks like 'Bored' & 'Seven Words' are true Nu-Metal classics.
It was in 1997 that the first signs of uber greatness shone through. 'Around the Fur', the bands second album, showed a craft unlike most Nu-Metal acts. With a mix of Rap and surreal poem-esq lyrics on songs like 'Be Quiet & Drive (Far Away)' & 'MX' shot them into the mainstream.
Arguably their greatest album 'White Pony' was launched in 2000 and moved far from the Nu-Metal roots and delivered layers of alternative dark ambience. And while this album maybe remembered for the single 'Back to School' they band shone on tracks like 'Digital Bath', 'Street Karp' & 'Change (in the house of flies'.
Three years later the band mixed things up with their forth and self-titled release 'Deftones'. Combining the most experimental parts of 'White Pony' and the heavier aspects of 'Around the Fur' this album spawned two singles and more classic tracks to an already formidable back catalogue.
In 2006 the band released 'Saturday Night Wrist' which due to their hiatus and near break-up found the band changing their sound again. This album nods its head to dreampop, alt.metal and melodic ambient soundscapes.
All these albums have laid the groundwork for 'Diamond Eyes' and I can hardly wait.
Much love
FrEaK xXx
