Next up on Audioeclectica.com’s 2020 End Of The Year Lists, the Top 10 Guitarists. The stipulation is that, an album/EP had to have been released this year.
Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
01) Greg Puciato- Greg Puciato 02) Stephen Carpenter- Deftones 03) Chris Traynor- Bush 04) Shooter Jennings- Marilyn Manson 05) Ken Andrews- Ken Andrews 06) Clint Lowery- Clint Lowery 07) Mark Morton- Mark Morton 08) Aaron Turner- Sumac 09) Stephen Taylor- En Minor 10) Andrew Watt- Ozzy Osbourne
Sevendust’s new album Blood and Stone arrives this Friday, October 23rd. While it’s definitely been a very interesting year to say the least, at least we still have new music coming out. This new Sevendust album, is shaping up to be a pretty rockin one. The two songs released so far, “Blood From A Stone” and “Dying To Live,” both have a return to the early days kind of sound a la Animosity mixed with a little Seasons and some Cold Day Memory vibes. Sevendust have been one of the hardest working bands since they broke on the scene over 20 years ago. This new album, shows their commitment to the fans to keep being creative and releasing new tunes.
Back in 2000, there was a really fun and cool tribute album released to celebrate the life of late Snot singer James Lynn Strait. The album entitled Strait Up, featured a plethora of guest singers and friends of the band like Jonathan Davis of Korn, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, Serj Tankian of System Of A Down, among others. There was one song in particular on the album that got a lot of attention and acclaim and that song was “Angel’s Son.” This song was a wonderful tribute to their fallen friend. There was a newer version of the song recorded for Sevendust’s album Animosity but, the version that appears on Strait Up is the best one! The music video that accompanied the song was quite beautiful too. It’s an emotional video and gives you chills but, it’s also one of those that along with the song, makes for one hell of a great video.
A new year brings new albums to be released. 2020 is sure to be chock full of new releases by your favorites. I’ve started to compile a list of the bands who I believe are releasing new albums this year as the most anticipated. I know I’m missing some, so with that in mind who are you looking forward to new music from?
2020 Anticipated Albums:
Deftones The Cure Guns N Roses? Mastodon Foo Fighters The Smashing Pumpkins Pearl Jam ACDC Spirit In The Room Clint Lowery Carcass Gojira Lamb Of God Megadeth Nine Inch Nails Sevendust Rob Zombie Every Time I Die
Marilyn Manson
Power Trip
Dead Cross
Run The Jewels
Placebo
Clint Lowery of Sevendust is gearing up to release his debut solo album God Bless The Renegades next year (January 31st to be exact). This is the first release he’s put out under his own name. His other solo related projects all had names attached to them be it Hello Demons, Meet Skeletons (which is pretty damn awesome) as well as Call Me No One (the band he started with Morgan Rose of Sevendust). On this album though, it’s all Clint, with the exception of the drums, which were played by Wolfgang Van Halen. So far, two songs have been released from the album, “Kings” and the title track “God Bless The Renegades.” These songs share a bit of the similarities you’d find in Sevendust but, it’s a bit of a departure from that style. Instead, it’s more rock driven but, full of melody. Clint to me has always been the secret weapon in Sevendust, and on this release, he gets to spread his wings a bit more and experiment with things that normally you wouldn’t find on a Sevendust album.
Sevendust is one of my favorite bands. They have always put on a great live show. There is one thing about seeing Sevendust though that gets old and that’s their set list. They have been playing a lot of the same songs for so long that my want to see them these days isn’t all there. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about what songs we’d want to see them play, and I knew that I was going to make this ultimate Sevendust set list. So without further delay, here it is.
Guideline 1: What line up of the band would it be
Guideline 2: Where would you want to see the show
Guideline 3: maximum 25 songs (In order of how the set should go)
Lineup: Clint Lowery, Lajon Witherspoon, Morgan Rose, John Connolly, Vinnie Hornsby
Venue: Fonda Theater, Los Angeles
Setlist:
01) Tits On A Boar
02) Splinter
03) Will It Bleed
04) Waffle
05) Seasons
06) Trust
07) Rumble Fish
08) Shine
09) Too Close To Hate
10) Not Today
11) Dirty
12) Denial
13) Confessions (Without Faith)
14) Dark AM
15) Angel’s Son
16) Broken Down
17) Life Deceives You
18) Redefine
19) Kill The Flaw
20) The End Is Coming
21) Suffocate
22) Home
There are many reasons to start a side project, perhaps you are not being creatively fulfilled in the band/project you were in or you’ve written a batch of songs that just don’t fit within the band that you’re in. Sometimes its just to explore a different side be it musically or to try something else. There was a side project that came out a few years back that has really stuck out to me since I first heard it. The name of the band/project I’m talking about is Call Me No One and it’s mastermind is Clint Lowery of Sevendust.
The debut album, The Last Parade was released back in 2012 and it’s a bit different than Sevendust. Joining Clint in Call Me No One was his Sevendust bandmate Morgan Rose on drums. Musically the songs are a bit more melodic. Clint described the project as “kind of Nine Inch Nails meets Foo Fighters but with a dark spooky twist to it.” I definitely hear the Foo Fighters side of the equation. CMNO (as the band was referred to at times) really does explore a different side of things for Clint and Morgan. Clint handled all the vocals on the album which really showcases how great of a voice he has. The guitar work on the album is top notch, again showing just how damn good Clint is as not just a guitarist but, as a songwriter as well. Even Morgan’s playing steps outside the Sevendust box and shows just how versatile he really is behind the kit. The songs are pretty solid as well. Tracks like “Thunderbird,” “Soapbox,” “All’s Well,” “Broken Record,” and the closing track “Last Parade,” are stellar. The entire album is pretty damn good. Each song on the album is meant to be there. It’s a full “album” that is full of rocking songs and lyrics that hit home for those listening.
It seems like this was a necessary project for Clint and Morgan to do together. They really got to deviate from what they had been known for and show that they can do more than just the Sevendust style. Though when Clint left the band in the mid 2000’s to do Dark New Day, he was able to spread his wings a bit but, Dark New Day, didn’t really go too far from what Sevendust was doing. No matter what though, Clint Lowery is to me, the secret weapon in Sevendust. He adds so much to the band from his writing, guitar playing and presence. So if you haven’t checked out Call Me No One, now is a good time to do just that.
There are bands that when they put out a new album you know what you are going to get. Each album offers a couple different things but for the most part it’s not going to stray too far from what the band does. (more…)
Since about 1998 I’ve been a big Sevendust fan. There is something about this band that really hits the spot. They have a knack for writing really solid songs with great melody. They are for sure one of the more underrated bands out there. Not to mention that their live show is fantastic. Here is a ranking of their albums from not the best to the best. Enjoy!!!
The second annual Audioeclectica Awards are here. The first category is guitar duos. Here are the requirements to be in this category. Must have released an album/EP this year. Must be 2 guitar players in the band. And it doesn’t matter if the band is signed or not! With that in mind here are the nominees! Vote in the comments!!
Mark Morton and Willie Adler- Lamb Of God
Pete Adams and John Baizley- Baroness
Clint Lowery and John Connelly- Sevendust
Michael Grgas and Dave Ruiz- Hidden Amongst Us
Phil Golyshko and Bill Collins- Sidewave
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