In 1986, quintessential maximalist composer Frank Zappa released Jazz From Hell. With eight tracks of intricately programmed music, most of which were composed on the Synclavier, the completely instrumental album had the dubious honor of being one of the first records to be stamped with the “Parental Advisory” sticker. This mark of profanity was likely due to Zappa’s war against Tipper Gore and the PMRC.
The Revenge of Alice Cooper (earMusic) is the first album with the original Alice Cooper band since Muscle of Love. Making it the band’s 8th album together, and Cooper’s 30th. Bob Ezrin is handling production duties to help them remember what they did back in the day. It opens with the lead single “Black Mamba,” which is slinky and theatrical. Rather than try to recapture the fire that was burning when they recorded Muscle of Love, they are side-stepping this favor of touching on a more “Schools Out” style of borderline Broadway-drama mixed with the Garage Rock sound Cooper has been dipping his boots in the past few albums. Continue reading
Keyboard warriors, warmongering politicians and wicked women, Scott “Wino” Weinrich has got a bone to pick with all of you. He’s also got a truck-load of doom-soaked, monolithic, heavy-metal riffs to unleash. On Gilded Sorrow (Ripple Music), the latest album by metal road-warriors The Obsessed, Weinrich is taking names and kicking ass and he’s got the band and the studio sounds to inflict some sonic damage. Continue reading