Before The Dawn - Deadlight

For a music fan, one of the best things about living right outside Boston is all the used records shops scattered throughout the city. There is one store in the city that has a small area in the back where they put CDs priced at $2. I've been buying from this shop for nearly fifteen years now, and I've found countless amazing albums from that $2 section over the years. Finland's Before The Dawn is one of those bands. Years ago I found My Darkness there. I'd never heard of the band before, but the CD looked cool, and it was cheap—the perfect combo. From the opening riff of "Unbreakable," I was "all ears." I was blown away by its seamless mix of gothic, doom-death, and melodic death metal. A few months later, I found their follow-up, 4:17am, in the same section. Again, I was mightily impressed. Since then, I've not waited to find their stuff in the used bin; The First Chapter DVD, their third full-length, The Ghost, and its melancholic companion album The Darkness—released under the moniker Dawn Of Solace—were all purchased immediately upon release. The import prices are worth it; Before The Dawn is just too good to wait.

Just a year after the release of The Ghost and The Darkness, Before The Dawn mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen (ex-Bonegrinder, Teargod, The Final Harvest) churned out yet another album, Deadlight. Prior to its release Before The Dawn released a single for the song "Deadsong." The single features three tracks (two exclusive): "Deadsong," "The Bitter End" (a Placebo cover), and a re-recorded—and far superior—version of "Gehenna" (originally on 2001s Gehenna EP).

The greatness of "Deadsong" is immediate. A pounding, riff-heavy intro leads into a mellow verse. Once again the outstanding clean vocals are provided by Lars Eikind (Winds, Age Of Silence, ex-Khold). A brilliant, double-bass-filled chorus follows, with Lars' clean vocals intermingled with Tuomas' subdued screams; and a brutal mid-section puts a gleaming stamp on this three-and-a-half minute masterpiece. The re-recorded version of "Gehenna" follows. On a basic level both original and new version are similar, but they play like different songs; the new version being much heavier, while the original sounds more like something done by Furbowl, only laced with 80s goth-pop keyboard flourishes. This new version fits in well with Before The Dawn's most recent output. The original also featured some great piano-like keyboard work during the mid-section and ending—that is sorely missed on this new version. The lack of it takes nothing away from this updated version, but I think it would have added a little more emotion to the song overall. The re-recording also lacks the whispered opening verse, and some other vocal bits, that were on the original. Either way, both new and old are great tunes. The single closes with their version of Placebo's classic "The Bitter End," from their Sleeping With Ghosts album. Being unfamiliar with the original, one would be hard-pressed to imagine this dark, goth-drenched Before The Dawn version as the light and fluffy, pumped-up pop-rock song that is the original. The grim, brooding nature of the music lends the lyrics a decidedly twisted and creepy feel, not present on the original, and making lines like "reminds me of the second time that I followed you home" and "reminds me that it's killing time, on this fateful day" seem more menacing and foreboding.

Deadsong was the perfect prelude to Deadlight. The outstanding title track filled the void until the full-length was released; the two exclusive tracks gave fans a little something extra to dig into; and it's a great nod to the past for those not fortunate enough to have heard the original Gehenna EP. Finding Before The Dawn's releases outside of Finland may be difficult—you won't see their albums on the shelves of retail stores here in the U.S., sadly—at least not around here—but they're definitely worth seeking out. Deadsong may only be a single, but it's worth the price of a full album.

Album note: The tracklisting on this single is incorrect. The booklet lists track two and three as "The Bitter End" and "Gehenna" respectively. What is on the CD, however, is the opposite.

Video: Deadsong, Faithless
Audio: Morning Sun (Clip), Wrath (Clip)

Website: http://www.beforethedawn.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/beforethedawnmusic

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

The John Butler Trio - Boston, MA - 11/11/07

The John Butler Trio is a band I happened upon by chance. Somewhere out there there's a rock band called the John Smith Experience, or something like that. Someone had told me to check them out. So one day a few years back, surfing through the Music Choice video channels on TV, I saw a video for this group the John Butler Trio. I had thought it might be that rock group. The video was for the song "Zebra." Immediately I knew it was a different band, with it not being much of a rock song, but the simple yet catchy acoustic riff caught my attention. Half way through the video I was a fan. The next day I purchased Sunrise Over Sea and the US version of Three; I also found the What You Want EP used. I was thoroughly hooked at this point.

A few months later the John Butler Trio played a show here in Boston—on my birthday no less—so I convinced a friend of mine to come with me. She wasn't familiar with the band aside from a few videos I told her to check out. We caught the band at the Somerville Theater and they put on a brilliant show to about 350—if even that much—enthusiastic fans. The band won over a new diehard fan in my friend that night, and it was a sweet birthday present for me (she paid, too!).

So it was last night that we again ventured out for another show. They played the Orpheum Theater this time. My first thought walking up to the venue was, "Wow! There's a lot of people here." And that was just outside. Inside, the place was packed, wall to wall people. The diversity of the crowd was also pretty amazing; from 12 year old kids to people whose grandchildren could have teenage kids of their own, and every age in between. Quite a jump in crowd size since our first show at the Somerville Theater, just two years previous.


We found our seats on the upper level in the old theater—built in 1852—and finished watching the set of Ian Ball, member of British indie rockers Gomez. It was just Ian on an acoustic guitar and a keyboard player, and while the music wasn't terrible, I didn't find the songs to have much personality. By the time the John Butler Trio hit the stage my lower legs were asleep from the cramped space between the rows of seats, so I was pretty happy to stand. The band kicked into "Used To Get High" from the most recent release, Grand National. The cheers from the kids in the crowd every time John sang "I used to get high" tells me that they completely miss the point of this song, which has nothing to do with drugs. "Pickapart" and "Something's Gotta Give" came next and got the show and crowd rockin. The upper balcony was shaking and bouncing so much I couldn't help thinking that something was going to give—the entire damn balcony! Luckily the integrity of the building is sound and something didn't give. Next the band slowed it down a bit for "Daniella" and the hurricane Katrina disaster-inspired "Gov Did Nothing." Toward the end of "Gov Did Nothing" John was singing into the pick-up of his guitar, a cool little thing that seemed to confuse everyone around me; they all thought he was playing the guitar with his tongue or teeth. They slowed things down even further with "Caroline," a nice reprieve from standing, as now my feet were hurting.


The mid-point of the show is where the band seemed to change. The first half was great, but something seemed to energize them even more toward the middle, and the extended intro (a live staple) of "Treat Yo Mama" and the jammed-out mid-section was something to behold. At this point bassist Shannon Birchall and drummer Michael Barker left the stage. John then put on a touching solo performance of "Losing You" before launching into one the most amazing instrumental tracks I've ever heard, "Ocean." Before the song he spoke about this song being a prayer of sorts. His exacts words were lost on my ears as the younger people in the crowd couldn't seem to stand the quiet and had to scream nonsense every time John tried to speak (possibly the worst part of the show, along with people clapping along off-rhythm). Either way, as the ever powerful crescendos of this ten-minute-plus epic came and went, the goose bumps lingered well after the song was over. For a song meant as a prayer, and one without any lyrics, it still manages to be heard loud and clear. And John seemed to play it with more fire than I've heard before. A truly brilliant piece of music. "Groovin Slowly" came next, and that's what we all did. Then came the surprise highlight of the night, the not-often-played "Valley," from the first John Butler (solo) album, and it got the crowd and band energized again. And it didn't let up. "Zebra" and "Good Excuse" followed, with the latter showcasing an extended jam that included an awe-inspiring drum solo and a tremendous solo on the stand-up bass.


The band left the stage and returned for an encore with Ian Ball and his keyboard player. They knocked out a rockin version of the Beatles classic "Come Together," which was another highlight for me as I was telling my friend about how good it was earlier, but having only seen videos of it online beforehand. Ian Ball and his tie-wearing friend left the stage and the trio capped the night with "Better Than" and the perfect show closer "Funky Tonight," which at one point had all three band members joining Michael on the drum riser for an outstanding drum solo and jam.

Perfection.

The integrity of the building may have remained intact, but the John Butler Trio blew the proverbial roof off the joint.


At one point during the night, John mentioned that this show was the largest crowd they've played to in the US to date (not including festivals, of course), with more than 2,000 people having showed up. In today's musical climate, it's pretty amazing that an independent artist can go from playing to a crowd of just a few hundred to over thousands in just two years' time. It's also a testament to the power of great music, and this trio have it perfected.

Video: Funky Tonight, Zebra, Better Than, Good Excuse, Ocean (Live)

Website: http://www.johnbutlertrio.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/johnbutlertrio

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Onward - Reawaken

I grew up on a hefty diet of 80s rock. Def Leppard was the band that changed my life, when I was about 12 years old, and they remain my all-time favorite band today. Because of this I am a sucker for great hooks, no matter the genre. Obviously some styles are beyond my taste range, but I still appreciate a solid hook, whether it's on some horrible (but catchy) pop song or an epic 80s rock gem. Onward is a band that satisfies my love of "the hook."

Reawaken is the band's second release. I personally feel that this is a far superior album to thier excellent debut, Evermoving. Onward's brand of metal is old school heavy metal bordering on power metal, but there's a solid rock (as in music, of course) foundation just beneath the surface. Songs like "The Seven Tides of Labyrinthine" and "Night" have that rock groove (think Dio) and catchy-as-hell chorus. The ultimate combination for my ears! Others share the same attributes, and those that are more balls-out heavy metal still showcase some downright impressive songwriting.

Onward leave a lot off the table in terms of originality, but what they lack in that department they make up for tenfold with outstanding songs.

Audio: The Seven Tides of Labyrinthine
Audio: Reawaken

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/knapptoby (guitarist Toby Knapp's page)

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

DGAF - DGAF

DGAF is one of the latest releases from Suburban Noize Records, the label founded by the Kottonmouth Kings, one of my favorite rap groups. DGAF was formed by Chucky Chuck and Gillies, both relatively new to the Subnoize roster. They then recruited former Kings member Saint Dog and his brother Big Hoss, both part of the Subnoize stable of artists.

The band name should tell you these guys aren't writing love songs. They're basically running right there alongside Kottonmouth Kings and Kingspade, in terms of style. White-boy rap, if you will. It's hip hop, but it's not mainstream hip hop. It's more original than that, and the songs are more about the songs than trying to create some sort of catch phrase or trend. It might be pointless to expound upon this kind of music here, but this truly is a different kind of hip hop, a style that I think the more open-minded non-rap fan could enjoy if it were given a chance. Check them out!

Video: Knuckle Up

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dgaf

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

108 - Songs Of Separation

108 is the kind of hardcore I cut my teeth on back in the early 90s, particulary the Holyname EP. I missed that boat in the 80s, having been swept up in the whole hair metal thing. But when I branched out musically, hardcore vaulted to the top of my favorites list. 108 was on that list--then and now. Like Integrity and Cro-Mags, 108 hit hardcore from the metal side of the street, and brilliantly so. But they probably had more in common with the Umeå (Sweden) scene than anything here in the United States.

The band's message was of the Hare Krishna, just as Shelter's had been (and still is, by the way). I won't pretend to know a lick about that religion, though. But I do know that the band's name refers to the number of beads on the Japa mala, a sort of necklace used during the recitation of mantras.

Shoddy history lesson aside, Songs Of Separation is an album I've owned on cassette for years. Of course, I haven't owned a cassette deck for about decade. So I finally upgraded to CD. Rock! And it's just as good as I remember it. Like Christian albums, the lyrics can tend to get a bit grating. How many times can one sing about the same thing before it gets old? Not that every song on Songs Of Separation partakes in that lyrical cheese dip; when it does, however, it can be a little goofy. Each moment without You, I die, O, Krishna. Pffft! No. No, you don't. But that matters little under the glorious assault of songs like, "Noonenomore" and "Woman" and "Hostage:I." The whole album, for that matter. And, juxtaposed with the harsh vocals, guitarist Kate-O-Eight adds a welcomed dyanamic not heard in much hardcore: clean female vocals.

Overall, Songs Of Separation is a must for any hardcore fan. Not the "new" hardcore, like Hatebreed, but the classic 90s hardcore--Strife, Purusam, Doughnuts, Abhinanda. Never heard of them? Well, you suck.

Video: Opposition/Holyname (Live)

Website: http://www.weare108.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/108music

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.