Tag: Modern Rock
1 Pop Evil – War of Angels (2011)
Pop Evil has released their follow up effort to their 2008 debut Lipstick in a Mirror. While I thought Lipstick in a Mirror was good, the band has improved, and War of Angels is definitely a step above the debut. Luckily, I have been able to hear the band perform a few of the songs from War of Angels live prior to purchasing the CD, and I already knew that I liked the tunes I have heard.
War of Angels seems like a more balanced effort. Some songs like “Last Man Standing” and “Boss’s Daughter” are heavy, while the song “Let It Go” is more of a pop/power ballad, that has huge radio potential.
Leigh Kakaty’s voice surprised me on this CD, as I thought his voice sounded higher than it did when I have seen him live. He sounds great, as does the rest of Pop Evil.
I have to admit that I am not a fan of too many modern rock bands, however, Pop Evil has won me over with their energetic live shows. Judging from the tunes on War of Angels, Pop Evil is clearly one of the better new bands out there. I would compare their sound to Shinedown’s at this stage in their career, and that is not a bad place to be in my opinion.
I have enjoyed War of Angels much more than I expected to, and definitely believe it is worth picking up.
For more information on Pop Evil, please visit the band’s website. You can purchase War of Angels at this link.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Last Man Standing
2. Epitaph
3. Broken and Betrayed
4. Monster You Made
5. Let it Go
6. Boss’s Daughter
7. Daisy Chain
8. Purple
9. Black & Blue
10. Next Life
11. Save the World
Pop Evil is:
Leigh Kakaty – lead vocals
Tony Greve – lead guitar
Dave Grahs – rhythm guitar
Matt DiRito – bass
Dylan Allison – drums
0 Art of Dying – S/T (2006)
In January 2007 Classic Rock Magazine hand picked Art of Dying as one of the Top 15 Bands To Watch worldwide. CRM’s recommendation did not fall on deaf ears.
The band has been out on the road with may of today’s biggest hard rock acts including Seether, Saliva, Hinder and Papa Roach. The band is opening up for Disturbed’s 2008. I saw them for the first time last Wednesday night, but has only gotten to know a couple of their songs prior to that show.
Art of Dying is a modern rock band, featuring the awesome vocals of Tony Hetherington. At times Hetherington’s vocals can be velvety smooth, and other other times have a rough edge that drives the harder tunes.
There are several good cuts on this disc including Get Through This, Completely, Inside It’s Raining and Fits of Clarity. Several U.S. stations have picked up the song Get Through This. This song has the potential to be a monster hit for Art of Dying.
The only drawback I can see with AOD, is that their sound is somewhat derivative of the modern hard rock acts of today. Their sound is not original, and as a result, they may get lost amongst the more popular artists out there.
To their credit, the five gentleman making up Art of Dying have crafted a fine hard rock disc, that will be getting a lot of spins from me now. I like this disc, and think a bunch of you will too. If you like bands like Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman, or Daughtry, definitely look into Art of Dying. Their CD is not available in the U.S. except through online retailers like See of Sound.com.
Check out Art of Dying on their myspace page!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Get Through This
2. You Don’t Know Me
3. I Will Be There
4. Fits of Clarity
5. Inside It’s Raining
6. Completely
7. Do What You Can
8. Crime
9. Car Crash
10. Alone
11. Build a Wall
12. Dog Is My Copilot
Art of Dying is:
Greg Bradley – Guitar
Flavio Arillo – Drums
Tony Hetherington – Vocals
Matt Rhose – Bass
Chris Witolsi – Guitar
Hard Rock Hideout 