Ok, so Mininova isn’t really dead. But they’re no longer allowing “unauthorized” material. This means it’s time to look elsewhere. I’ve updated the links in the previous posts to point to the new sites I’ll be using. I’ll try to post more than 1 source going forward, in case one of them stops working.

Why is it so hard to find someone who cares about you
When it's easy enough to find someone to look down on you

This is Three Days Grace’s 3rd album. In this release these guys stick to the formula that has worked for them in the past, more specifically the sound is very similar to what you hear in One-X. Despite of this fact, this album should open a few new doors and perhaps bring the band new fans along the way.

There’s plenty of good tracks in the album and anyone looking for some good rock music should be able to find something they like. Be it the heavy sounds in The Good Life, Break and World So Cold, or the more mainstream Someone Who Cares and Last To Know.

Don’t hold the fact that they’re Canadian against them. These know how to rock and how to make good music.

isoHunt: download
btjunkie: download

(Note: These are torrent files. Read here for help.)

If you’re wondering, the first line of album reviews are usually a line or two of the album lyrics. I always pick a line that sticks with me after I’ve listened to the album a few times.

So I’ll find what lies beneath
Your sick twisted smile

Consistent improvement. That's the best way I can describe this album. It's very consistent with what BB are all about; while at the same time, a good improvement from their previous work.

If you’ve never heard of Breaking Benjamin, then you may want to take the time and do some research on them. They’ve been around since 1998 and this is already their 4th studio album.

Although this album is perhaps a little more “mainstream”, it still certainly has a lot of heavy sounds to it. The first 3 track are some pretty heavy rhythmical songs. After that it slows down a bit, but certainly picks up again on the second half of the album.

This is certainly one of my favorite bands out there. The first time I heard of them was after the release of We Are Not Alone, their second album. Since then they have evolved and their sound have certainly matured. This one is one album that I’ll enjoy for a long time, but I’m certainly looking forward to their future projects.

isoHunt: download
btjunkie: download

(Note: These are torrent files. Read here for help.)

I feel it's gonna rain like this for days

Well, I'll start by saying that I'm glad these guys decided to put their differences aside and get back together to, once again, create good music. With that said, I will also say that I'm not impressed with this album.

Yes, this is definitely Creed music. Their style. Their sound. But that’s just the problem. There’s no much new here. A few of the songs sound too similar to their old songs. While some others just don’t carry the punch many Creed songs carry. I’m not sure if I’m making too much sense here. I just expected a lot more for a Creed comeback album.

Not everything is bad, there are some exceptions. Overcome opens the album with plenty of heavy rock. But after that nothing caught my attention until I got to the 5th track: Rain. This is a pretty decent song. Away in Silence follows and although this is a slow song, it’s an interesting piece.

Once you get passed these 2 songs, that’s pretty much it. Nothing interesting beyond this point. Perhaps you will have a different opinion. Download and judge for yourself.

isoHunt: download
btjunkie: download

(Note: These are torrent files. Read here for help.)

Going forward I will post the downloads using torrent files. If you don’t know what they are, all you need to know is that it will download the music listed here for you. I stopped using P2P apps like eMule, Limewire and the likes long time ago. I only use torrents now days.

I strongly recommend µTorrent. I originally used to run Vuze/Azureus, but over time it became such a resource hog that I decided to drop it. µTorrent uses very little system resources and provides a lot of functionality.

Now in plain English: µTorrent downloads what you need and won’t slow down your computer.

download here: http://www.utorrent.com/

Tiny heart, stuck inside yourself
When will you open up for me?

I got a hold of the advanced copy of Flyleaf’s new album, Memento Mori. The album doesn’t officially come out until Tuesday (Nov. 10th), but I know my way around the intertubes pretty well to find what I want/need.

The music follows Flyleaf’s trademark sound, except for a few places where their sound take a turn towards mainstream. In spite of that minor change there’s plenty to listen to in here. True to their beliefs, the albums has plenty of religious references; more than in their self-titled debut effort.

Overall, a pretty good album. Hopefully I will get the chance to catch them live again. If you have the chance, go ahead and see their show.

One thing I should note is that when researching the lyrics I came across some that were completely different from what I was listening to. This leads me to believe that what I have is an advanced copy of the album that was not the final product or, what people out there were listening to when they wrote down the lyrics were the advanced copies. We’ll know for sure on Tuesday.

In the meantime, enjoy.

download here
(File is password protected. Contact me if you can’t figure it out.)

Going forward I will try to include download links. First one coming today.

You can now follow me on Twitter. I will start posting a little more frequently and I thought it would make it easier to follow me there. Please add me and follow me.

http://twitter.com/StereoStatic

So what now?
Where go I?

Back during my High School years a friend of mine asked me to pick up a copy of the Black Album for him. I lived near the record store, so he just gave me the money to buy. He gave me permission to open it and give it a listen. What an eye opening experience that was. Never before did I hear the sounds coming out from the speakers. The story of the Sandman, the story of the Unforgiven, that guy that roams wherever he damn well wants to, the God that Failed, the friend in misery and that struggle from within. That album opened my eyes to so many new thoughts and ideas that had never crossed my mind.

Well, so Death Magnetic isn’t an eye opening experience for me. But I can certainly see it being an that kind of experience for some High School kid listening to Metallica for the first time in his life. This new album takes from a piece from everything they have done before. It’s a perfect vehicle to introduce a new generation to what Metallica is about. Once you listen to this album you can pick up any previous album and you will likely find at least one song that will remind you of what you just heard here.

This is without any doubt the best album they have put out since the Black Album. I became a fan of the band through that album back in 1991. After that I went back and listened to their previous albums and I was amazed at their sound. The urgency of it, the darkness of the music as well as the lyrics. I now urge you to pick up a copy of this album and embark yourself in the same journey I started 18 years ago. Ok… so you may have to be a little bit open-minded when it comes to the Load, ReLoad and St. Anger era. But even in those albums you will find some good songs, so give them a try also.

This was my most anticipated release of 2008. I wasn’t disappointed. Without a doubt; the best of 2008.

Rating:

Calling Christian and Gloria

How do you follow up what’s hands down the best album of your career? Where do you go after telling the stories of St. Jimmy and Jesus of Suburbia? American Idiot is perhaps one of the best albums of the last decades; perhaps even of the century. Keep in mind we’re only 9 years into the new century.

21st Century Breakdown, Green Day’s latest album, follows the same concept format of American Idiot. However, this new album stands on its own as it tells a complete different story. This time they tell us the story of Christian and Gloria. A poignant critique of government, war, society and religion. Far removed from the irreverent and childish jokes in Dookie and Nimrod, but just as entertaining to listen to as their great songs of the past. Many of the songs still carry the trademark Green Day sound, while some venture into new territory.

The album is divided into 3 acts: Heroes and Cons, Charlatans and Saints and Horseshoes and Handgrenades. The story being told this time follows the life of Christian and Gloria after the presidency of George W. Bush and the mess he left behind. Christian is a self-destructive, self-absorbed and impulsive kid, while Gloria is more of the activist and political type. They are forced to take care of themselves after everyone else they’ve trusted has turned their backs on them.

The music that accompany the story is fairly trademark Green Day, expect the songs where they adopt a more grown-up Pop-Rock and Arena-Rock sound. Experimenting comes natural and doesn’t seem forced. On the contrary, the music flows and blends with the story perfectly. When I listen to this album I play it from beginning to end without the need to skip any of the songs. I can’t say the same things for many other artists, or even some previous Green Day productions.

For me, this was the most anticipated release this year and I have to say that it lived to the expectation. This, without any doubt, is the best album released this year. Buy it and judge for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

Rating:

Stereo static is not the same as static stereo. Static stereo is what you would call a radio that has a static sound to it. Stereo static on the other hand is when you hear the static, well, in stereo :-)

In any case; I came up for the name for this blog from a song I heard recently and I thought it would be perfect to describe my thoughts about music as well as other things. Don’t get me wrong; I love music and in many occasions music has helped me tremendously. Let’s put it this way; without music, I wouldn’t be typing this blog right now. No, it wasn’t that I was on the verge of committing suicide or anything like that. Simply, that is how I expanded my knowledge of the English language. Through music is that I learned many of the things I didn’t learn in school. As for other things. Well, let’s just say I reserve the right to use this blog to write about other things in the media that are making noise.

So, why Stereo Static? Because a good amount of the music hitting the airwaves and store shelves today is just rather, uhmm, … crap. That’s the best way I can describe it in words that wouldn’t be offensive. There is still plenty of great music out there, but for some reason most of the music being shoved down our throats, and ears, by the mainstream media just sucks.

Now that I made my opening statement let us begin presenting the evidence. For the record, I am not out to just criticize musicians. I completely understand that regardless how bad their product is, it wasn’t without some talent that they are where they are. (Though there are some people out there that really have no talent.) What I hope to accomplish here is just their product itself.

Let the fun begin…