Bush is back with a pretty rockin new track from their upcoming album, The Art Of Survival. The first song released “More Than Machines” is a solid rocker from start to finish. It continues off of the band’s previous album The Kingdom, which saw the band step up the heaviness a bit and I’d throw in a little bit of Gavin’s post Bush band in the mid 00’s Insitutue to the fold too. This track Gavin said “This is an action-packed song with three really big topics. Off the bat, I don’t understand how anyone has the audacity to get involved or assume responsibility for women’s bodies. I wanted to reference that because it’s important to discuss. As much as the song is about the destruction of women’s rights, it’s about the destruction of the planet and the move for A.I. and a world of robots to replace us. It’s a topic we’ve heard since the fifties. I’m not here to teach anything though; my job is medieval like a town crier. I come into town with my elixirs and sing about it, so it hopefully goes out into the universe.” “More Than Machines” is a track that will leave Bush fans excited and happy till the new album comes out October 7.
Over the last couple years, Chelsea Wolfe has become one of my favorite vocalists. Her voice is so delicate yet hauntingly beautiful. Not to mention her songs and albums are tremendous. I also remember her from way back when she was the singer of Red Host! Now though, Chelsea has truly carved out her own niche and a force to be reckoned with. Knowing that, check out these songs she has guested on over the years.
Russian Circles- Memorial (from Memorial):
Deafheaven- Night People (from Ordinary Corrupt Human Love):
Myrkur- Funeral (from Mareridt):
Tyler Bates with Chelsea Wolfe & Ben Chisholm- Diana (From Dark Nights Soundtrack):
Bonus!!!!
Red Host (with Jess Gowrie on Drums)- Hole In The Head:
The legendary Jerry Cantrell returns with the release of his first single “Atone” out today, from Cantrell’s new solo album, Brighten. It’s been 19 years since Jerry has released a solo album. This first single “Atone” features Duff McKagan on bass, Greg Puciato on backing vocals and guitar and Gil Sharone on drums. This album was produced by Tyler Bates and longtime engineer Paul Fig. The album was mixed by Joe Barresi. Other notable guests on the record include, Abe Laboriel, Jr. (Paul McCartney), pedal steel master Michael Rozon, Vincent Jones on piano, Wurlitzer, and organ. The record is a 9 song journey and concludes with a cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye.” Speaking on the song Jerry has said “Madman Across The Water is one of my favorite records of all time,” he exclaims. Out of respect to Elton, I wouldn’t include it unless he said it was okay. He’d played piano on ‘Black Gives Way To Blue,’ which I wrote for Layne,so I reached out to Elton, he listened to it, and told me “You should absolutely use it.” I got the signoff by the man himself. I couldn’t think of a better way to close the record!” I personally can’t wait for this album. I love Alice In Chains and Jerry’s solo albums are stellar, so you know the heart and soul is strong with this one!
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the upcoming DC Comics Dark Nights Death Metal soundtrack. The soundtrack features new songs from Mastodon, Greg Puciato, HEALTH with Chino Moreno, Idles and many more. Today though, the song with Chelsea Wolfe was released and it’s drenched in haunting beauty. The song was written by Chelsea Wolfe, Tyler Bates and Ben Chisholm. Jess Gowrie provided the drums and absolutely crushed the performance. I do hope this song makes it into Chelsea’s set for future shows. I can picture this one being pretty damn amazing live.
Mastodon are back with a new track “Forged By Neron” which can be found on the upcoming soundtrack to Dark Nights: Death Metal‘ soundtrack, due out June 18th (digitally) and July 16th (physically). This effort serves as a companion piece to the DC Comics series of the same name, and was executive produced by Tyler Bates. Bates also oversaw the previous ‘Dark Nights: Metal‘ tie-in series. Other notable names on this upcoming soundtrack include Greg Puciato, Chelsea Wolfe, HEALTH with Chino Moreno, Idles and many more. The first one of these soundtracks included songs by Mastodon, Jerry Cantrell and Chino Moreno. This new Mastodon track is pretty damn rocking and finds Mastodon really bringing the riffs! Look forward to their upcoming David Botrill produced album!
There are many bands that have tried to go back to their roots while still remaining relevant but, often the end result isn’t quite what it should be or it feels rehashed. That is not the case with the new album The Kingdom by Bush. Their new album is refreshing and a welcome back to what many loved about them in the first place. Let me start off by saying this is a full on rock album and Gavin and company have really delivered. If you’ve been waiting for them to get back to some good riff rock, this is the album for you.
From the time the album starts to till it ends, the consistency and balance of rock is there. Gavin Rossdale promised a “heavy” album and he along with his band have truly delivered on that. The album is chock full of riff heavy songs like “The Kingdom,” “Ghost In The Machine,” “Bullet Holes,” “Blood River,” and “Our Time Will Come.” There are also the more melodic heavy songs like “Flowers On A Grave,” “Send In The Clowns,” “Quicksand,” “Crossroads” and “Falling Away.” One of the more standout tracks is “Undone,” which has some similarities to the more mid tempo songs in the bands catalog but, it feels fresh and current.
The Kingdom is a bit nostalgic but, not in a bad way. It has the best elements of both Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase along with a bit of an Institute vibe. Also, Gavin working with Tyler Bates (who helped resurrect Marilyn Manson’s career with the great album, The Pale Emperor) has made a real impact and have made Bush relevant again in 2020. Another element that makes this album truly good are the performances by Chris Traynor and Corey Britz. Both of these guys have a very distinct style and it shines through on these songs. Most of the drums on the album were done by Gil Sharone (Current drummer Nik Hughes played on the title track and “Flowers On A Grave” and he did a killer job as well) and his work on this album is pretty damn stellar as well as usual. The songs on this album when played live will be huge. I can’t wait for the day that comes again. The only thing that feels off about this album is how the songs were put in order. Personally, I would have chosen the title track, “The Kingdom” to start the album off with.
If you have given up on Bush, this is the album that will definitely bring you back into the fold. If you are looking for a really solid rock album, this is one that you should really take a listen to.
Bush is back and it seems they have brought a “heavier” approach to their new music. Today the Gavin Rossdale fronted band released the song “Bullet Holes.” This track was co-written by Gavin and Tyler Bates (you might recognize him from his work with Marilyn Manson as well as his work on film scores like John Wick and Guardians of the Galaxy). “Bullet Holes” is also featured in the new John Wick film (John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum). This is definitely the sound that many older Bush fans have been waiting for. Bush plans to release their new album titled, The Mind Plays Tricks On You, this fall, and it features 4 songs co-written by Rossdale and Bates. In my personal opinion, after what Tyler Bates was able to do with Marilyn Manson on his The Pale Emperor album, I’m quite intrigued by what he can do with Gavin and Bush.
As you’ve read before, there is a soundtrack/compilation being put out by DC Comics for their upcoming Dark Nights series. Tyler Bates is the mastermind behind the soundtrack. He’s been able to get some really great guests to contribute like Chino Moreno of Deftones and Brann Dailor of Mastodon. Now, Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains is a part of this project. His song “Setting Sun,” is classic Jerry and it’s fantastic. Sounds like it could be a part of the Alice In Chains repertoire as well.
There is a soundtrack/compilation being put out by DC Comics for their upcoming Dark Nights series. Composer Tyler Bates, who you might know from doing the music for Guardians of the Galaxy, Californication as well as working with Marilyn Manson on his The Pale Emperor album, is at the helm for this project. Chino has contributed to this soundtrack with one hell of a song called Brief Exchange. It’s badass. I seriously hope that Chino takes some of this style with him to the writing sessions for the new Deftones album.
It’s worth noting too that Brann Dailor, the drummer and one of the vocalists from Mastodon has also contributed to this soundtrack as well. His song is pretty badass too.
There comes a time in every artists career when the inspiration well dries up and it seems like they are just going through the motions because they have to. Then something happens that reinvigorates and inspires said artist. This just happened with Marilyn Manson. Manson’s new album The Pale Emperor, is his best album since Mechanical Animals. Instead of working with his usual writing partner Twiggy Ramirez, Tyler Bates was brought in. You might know Tyler Bates’s work from Guardians Of The Galaxy and Californication. Their collaboration brought out a whole new side of Manson that is drenched in post-punk swagger and his signature haunting melodies. I’ll be honest, I wrote Marilyn Manson off a long time ago after a stunt he pulled at one of his shows years ago, but when I first heard the song “Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge,” I was totally taken aback and very curious as to what this new album would sound like. I’m really happy with what I heard. This album is honest and real. Songs like “Killing Strangers,” “Cupid Carries A Gun,” and “Deep Six” all pack quite a punch that really delivers. Marilyn Manson seems to be on the right track again after a long detour. In a strange way this album is more than just a reinvention, it’s actually an album about a guy who behind all the makeup and persona, really has something to say.