This is one that we’re going to call a mixed bag review. This a a review of bands that have only had one album so that means that there will be a mixture of genres here. I actually think that this will be exciting and I’m not going to say who or what albums will be reviewed ahead of time. Again this will be random so here goes………..
Army of Anyone: Army of Anyone- this band is the DeLeo brothers on guitar and bass, Richard Patrick from Filter on vocals, and Ray Luzier from Korn on drums. So while Stone Temple Pilots were broken up and Scott Weiland was in Velvet Revolver, they put out this album and I must say that it’s a really great rock record. I mean you basically have Stone Temple Pilots meets Filter here and it’s great. To me it’s got an almost 70’s/90’s/2000’s Rock feel to it. This also shows how great of songwriters the DeLeo brothers are too. It’s a nice break from the StP thing as well as Filter. If you haven’t heard it and you are a fan of Stone Temple Pilots, Filter, Zepplin, or even Smashing Pumpkins then definitely check this one out. I give this 9/10
Standouts: Goodbye, Stop Look Listen, Father Figure
Temple of Brutality: Lethal Agenda- ok so many who are reading this probably haven’t heard of this band. This band consists of Stet Howland from W.A.S.P., Peter Scheithauer from Belladonna, Todd Barnes from 13-A, and most notably David Ellefson from Megadeth. I had heard of these guys from Ellefson’s website years ago and was always curious about them because the name sounded cool. Well the best way I can describe this band is if you take vocals similar to High on Fire and mix it with Sepultura, then this is the end result. It’s actually a really cool and thrashy record. Some may not like the vocals but I think they are unique and really cool plus this is a heavy record. Check it out if you can. I give it 9/10
Standouts: Lethal Agenda, Hate Machine, Art Of War
Talk Show: Talk Show- well here we have another project from the DeLeo brothers. This one is was released in 1997 and Army of Anyone was released in 2006 so this one is a little older. This one is basically Stone Temple Pilots but with singer Dave Coutts from the band Ten Inch Men. The album was written and recorded when Scott Weiland was in rehab for drug addiction as well as doing his solo project. How’s the album itself? Well it sounds a lot like an STP record only more mellow and it seems to have a 70’s vibe to it. I think Dave Coutts’ voice sounds a lot like Scott Weiland’s voice which is a good thing. It’s really too bad that they didn’t make a second album or better yet why they didn’t just have Dave Coutts as their new singer is beyond me because he would’ve been the perfect choice. They could’ve even just abandoned the Stone Temple Pilots name and just reformed Talk Show and gone out on tour. Regardless, this is a fantastic record and while it doesn’t sound 100% like an STP record, it’s still worth checking out. Yes some of the lyrics are a bit repetitive but overall, a decent listen. I give it 8/10
Standouts: Hello, Hello , Peeling an Orange, Everybody Loves My Car
Temple of the Dog: Temple of the Dog- ah yes that side project that Chris Cornell did that gets overlooked but doesn’t at the same time. I’m sure at some point we’ve all heard the single Hunger Strike and I think Audioslave even covered it at some of their last shows. Now if you are expecting the album to be a bunch of songs that sound like Hunger Strike then you are going to be disappointed. This is a great album with different songs on it and I know that I was a little surprised by it. It has more slower songs than what I was expecting but they are good songs. There is no doubt however that if I had heard this whole album back in the day, that I’d be disappointed. This album is an underground classic and it’s easy to see why. I mean you basically have members from Pearl Jam and the voices of Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell. Not a bad combination and it’s too bad they couldn’t make at least another album before Chris died. Oh well at least we have this album. I give this 9.5/10
Standouts: Reach Down, Pushin’ Forward Back, Your Savior
Damageplan: New Found Power- so this was the new band the Dimebag and Vinny Paul formed after Pantera split up and I must say that if you are looking for Pantera part 2 or even a better band than Pantera, then you will be very disappointed. Singer Pat Lachman is not Phil Anselmo and I have heard live that he even tried to act like a Phil Anselmo wannabe. Now when I first got this album I fell in love with it. Listening to it now, not so much and that’s not t say that I don’t like this album. I actually like this album because it’s different than Pantera. No the riffs don’t have that usual groove that Pantera is known for but the riffs on here are pretty decent. The songs also don’t seem to have much staying power either and that’s too bad. I did read somewhere that Vinny Paul had demos from the second album sessions and was supposedly going to release them. Do I think that this was a one off project for the Abbott brothers? Possibly. Do I think that if Dimebag and Vinny were still alive would they have eventually reunited as Pantera? Yes but sadly we will never know. What really sucks is that I could’ve gone to see them with Shadows Fall and The Haunted but I figured I’d catch them on the next tour and we’ll we all know what happened. I give this album 7/10. RIP Dime and Vinny.
Standouts: Fuck You, Crawl, Wake Up
This one was fun especially between regular bands and yes there will be another one of these. Another reason for doing this is so that those who haven’t heard of or even heard these albums will be discover them because at the end of the day, these are fantastic albums all worthy of a listen.
Sinister Reviews 