Artist: Apocalyptica Album: Worlds Collide Released: October 1, 2007 Written By: Caitlin Pollard Rating: 4 out of 5 Points   When you think heavy metal, cello’s aren’t normally the first instrument that come to mind. Let Apocalyptica change your mind with their new CD, “Worlds Collide”. Appocalyptica is a Finnish cello metal band, known for covering Metallica songs. I’ll admit it, I’m not a huge fan of metal music, but this CD captured my attention and showed me a different side of metal music. Apocalyptica’s sixth studio album features 11 songs, three of which have guest vocalists. I preferred the songs that didn’t have vocals because I felt like the cellists didn’t need the words to describe their music. At some points you can’t tell if you are listening to cellos or guitars, the players are that good at what they do. By far my favorite song on the CD was the title track, “Worlds Collide”. While starting off classical-sounding, the song progresses into heavy-metal sections smoothly and pleasantly. While I preferred the songs without vocals, one song did interest me. “Helden” is a remake of David Bowie’s song “Hero” sung in German. This song was darker sounding, but still upbeat. I hadn’t heard of Apocalyptica before hearing this CD, but I’m glad I got the opportunity to hear them. They have won me over as a fan due to their smooth playing and interesting melodies. You almost forget that you are listening to cello’s until the band breaks into a slower, more classical section of the song. The only negative to this album are the not as capturing songs with vocals. I give their latest effort 4 out of 5 for a cool new way to hear metal music.

Artist: The Mars Volta Album: The Bedlam in Goliath Released: January 28 , 2008 Written By: Josh Stallworth Rating: 4 out of 5 Points   The album is a wonderful auditory experience. The only way to do this album justice is to sit back and listen to it as a whole. None of the songs really make any sense to be released as singles and they tend to run into each other and break in the midst of tracks. The album also has a couple songs under 3 minutes in length which breaks from their tradition. Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante contributes his guitar talents to a good amount of this CD along with a brand new drummer by the name of Thomas Pridgen. These new elements combined with  some new higher pitched vocals of Bixler-Zavala create an entirely new sound experience. The songs, and in fact album as a whole, are set up to surround the events of an experience with an ancient Jerusalem ouija board. This theme has been followed down to the album cover and inserts art as well as song titles and lyrics. Mars Volta is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, if they were to have been born out of the recent punk/emo/alternative generation. In fact on the UK version of this album the 13th track is a cover of the Pink Floyd song Candy and a Currant Bun. There is even more experimentation and mixtures of sound in this album so don't expect the same old same old, Volta has evolved once more.

Artist: Armor for Sleep Album: Smile for Them Released: October 30, 2007 Written By: Sydney Astafan Rating: 3 out of 5 Points   Armor for Sleep’s newest album “Smile for Them” reveals the sense of people not being truthful to themselves. The lyrics show the constant idea of people being fake in a high school setting. The single, “Williamsburg” seems to show the band’s resentment towards their home town along with deep detachment from the more popular peers. The single “Somebody Else’s Arms” tells the story of the typical teenage drama that comes with relationships. Their lyrics sound like a winy tale of heartache that everyone has gone through. The first track of this album “Smile for the Camera,” stirs up the notion of what is truth. Fame and cameras can often set up a world that is not real and becomes a front to hide the truth. The lyric “Love what you got ‘cause you love what you got,” shows that people should enjoy living, without getting caught up in false images that cameras can bring. While most songs on the album have fast rhythms and guitar distortion, there is one track that stands out on this album. The song “Snow Globe” is a slower track catering to more of a meaning outside of high school. It gives a more mature outlook through the lyrics. The last track on this new album “Stand in the Spotlight” seems to sum up the entire album. This album creates a combination of ideas that bring the album into a complete circle when listened to. I predict the next single to be the track “Lullaby,” because of the similar lyrical content. This track expresses what motivates people to keep going, while staying distant from the truth. Armor for Sleep is a band that seems to be directed towards the junior high – high school audience. This band, with there instruments along with their vocals sounds similar to My Chemical Romance and Fallout Boy.

Artist: Atreyu Album: Lead Sails Paper Anchor Released: August 28, 2007 Written By: Andy Chruscicki Rating: 5 out of 5 Points   Atreyu’s fourth studio album, Lead Sails Paper Anchor is not the same Atreyu we’ve all grown to love.  Lead singer Alex Varkatzas actually sings on this album instead of his usual screaming.  The band also uses instruments not commonly used in metal music. One use of an abstract instrument is in the song “Falling Down.” The song contains the trumpet which is commonly used in Ska music.  Another use of different instruments are in the songs “No One Cares” and “Slow Burn” which is what starts both songs before heading into a heavy drumbeat. The thing is about this CD is that even though its almost completely different from Atreyu’s albums The Curse and Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses, the CD still manages to rock just as hard as their previous albums.  Atreyu still has two singers in Alex and fellow vocalist/drummer Brandon Saller and guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel still shred like its nobody’s business on tracks such as “When Two Are One” and “Doomsday.”  Using the previously mentioned instruments and familiar ground that made the band great makes this CD quite exceptional. At first when I listened to the CD, I thought I was losing the Atreyu I had come to love but in actuality, the CD showed me that they were expanding as a band and testing new waters.  Hopefully they have found something they like and other fans like as well.  The reason being as long as the keep making music like this, I’ll keep listening.

Artist: Ani DiFranco Album: Cannon Released: September 11, 2007 Written By: Caitlin Pollard Rating: 5 out of 5 Points   For the past 16 years Buffalo native Ani DiFranco has impressed music critics, listeners, and everyone in between with her expressive vocals, innovative guitar style, and insightful lyrics.  She has earned a loyal fan base with constant recording, touring, and self-promotion. Ani DiFranco released her newest album on September 11th this year through her label Righteous Babe Records, which has been the company behind all of her records.  While it may be considered a “new” album, this is a 2 disc collection of songs from her nearly 20 years of recording, spanning from 1990-2006.  Through her 19 different albums represented on this collection, Ani DiFranco has sold more than 4 million CDs, but the impressive part of that is that she has done it through word of mouth and touring, rather than radio play or marketing. A combination of spoken word, instrumental music, and singing, Ani DiFranco shows off her best songs and includes 5 songs that were re-recorded specially for this release, including “Napoleon," "Shameless," "Your Next Bold Move," "Both Hands" and "Overlap".   This CD set has something for all Ani fans.  Long time listeners will appreciate the progression in the CD, as it goes from her older, more folksy songs, to newer, politically fueled, and experimental sound featuring horns, drums, and unusual harmonies, while newer fans will love hearing the differences in Ani DiFranco’s songs as they go from singing to spoken word tracks, and from songs about love to politically motivated lyrics.  Even fans that own every CD and have heard all of the songs before will enjoy hearing the re-recorded songs to hear the new interpretations of the music and style. The 2-disc set includes many of my favorite songs, like “As Is”, “32 Flavors”, “Little Plastic Castle”, and “Coming Up”.  I enjoyed hearing songs that I hadn’t heard before, but it was also nice to hear my favorites as well. Also featured in the collection are some tracks from Ani’s live CD “Living in Clip”.  You can hear her laughing along with the audience and can feel the energy that is exploding from the stage.  Hearing these songs will make everyone want to experience a live show with Ani DiFranco.  Lucky for us, she is currently on tour through November 18th, but unfortunately you’ll have to drive to see her as the closest upcoming shows are in Toronto on the 6th and 7th. I think this CD is a great addition to any collection and encourage everyone to give it a listen.  With all the experimentation Ani DiFranco has done through music and all of the personal lyrics that explore so many issues that are still common today, there is a song for everyone on this CD.  As the lyrics “Overlap” say as the CD comes to an end, “I build each one of my songs out of glass so you can see me inside them I suppose.  Or you could just leave the image of me in the background, I guess, and watch your own reflection superimposed.

Artist: Between the Buried and Me Album: Colors Released: September 18, 2007 Written By: Andy Chruscicki Rating: 4 out of 5 Points   Between the Buried and Me’s new album, Colors has to be their best album by far.  I have been a fan of them ever since they released their first cd, The Silent Circus.  They have always had amazing guitar riffs, fast in your face drumming and the vocalist is one of the best screamers I have ever heard, and there is no shortage of any of these things in Colors. Some new things in this album include an organ in the middle of a song, a jazz breakdown halfway through an intense guitar riff, and a four minute instrumental halfway through the cd. The only problem with this album is that it is extremely long.  When I say long, I mean three of the tracks are over ten minutes long, one of those three close to fifteen minutes.  Now don’t get me wrong, they’re fantastic songs, going from hard to soft and fast slow in such a smooth way, you just can’t even get mad because they are so good.  I was definitely impressed at the maturity that Between the Buried and Me is starting to show in their music. Overall, Between the Buried and Me deliver and then some.  This is by far the best metal cd that I have heard within the past year and if you are a fan, you will definitely be happy with Between the Buried and Me.

Artist: Against Me Album: New Wave Released: July 10, 2007 Written By: Nick Bernier Rating: 4 out of 5 Points   On Against Me!’s new album New Wave the band’s tell tale choppy guitars and jumbled melodies are missing.  In their place is an album of surprisingly melodic songs that seem to reach out to the hearts of a generation lost in apathy and drowning in pop culture marketing.  On songs like Up The Cuts and Piss and Vinegar Tom Gabel attacks the monotony of music today with lines like “Have I heard this song before? Did this already happen?”  The song Stop is a total diversion from classic Against Me! An almost anthem-like sing along as Gabel lets loose repeatedly with “Stop! Take some time to think. Figure out what’s important to you/ya gotta make a serious decision.”  The single of the album, white people for peace Gabel seems to acknowledge the futility of a protest song on the war in Iraq as he repeats the line “Protest songs to try and stop the soldier’s gun”.  But his voice is heated as he vents this frustration in a way that makes you feel it too.  All in all this album is another step in the evolution of the band Against Me! Towards genuine melody in their but not so great a change as to ostracize old fans though some of the old passion seems to have passed with the years. The title track New Wave sums the changes up nicely as he sings “We can be the bands we want to hear”.  In a valid attempt at a generation anthem and makes his band what he wants to hear.