Faith No More to Reunite For Tour

This clinches it; 80s and 90s alterna-metal is back in full swing. Sadly, original guitarist Jim Martin won't be joining them, since the band is opting to use the lineup that recorded their final record, Album of the Year. Martin always has his pumpkin growing to fall back on.

Quick Takes - No Line On the Horizon

Due to the recent leak of U2's No Line On the Horizon (the current theory is that Universal Music Australia had it for sale online by accident), the powers that be have made it available, legally, at their MySpace page.

It's a strong release, but what I find curious about it is that it isn't exactly a large musical departure for them, even though everything that's been said about it up to this point led me to believe otherwise. Sure, we get some unusually minor key feel via rockers like "Get On Your Boots" (including a midpoint drum break which reminds of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks"), but the rest is mostly a mish-mash of U2's last two albums peppered with a bit of techno a la Achtung Baby.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The title track is a space-y number with catchy sing-along bits ("Oh whoah oh whoah oh whoah oh-oooh!"). "Magnificent" begins with a foghorn inspired guitar line, is followed up by some Pop-esque keyboards, before exploding into a standard Larry Mullen drum roll and The Edge's trademarked delay-ridden arpeggio picking. And for those who truly dig songs like "Stuck In a Moment", that's here too, via "Moment of Surrender" (which has a very effective, restrained, slide guitar solo), and "White as Snow" (with horns that remind one of "Love Rescue Me"). Bono's lyrics? U2 fans are all familiar with his wordplay by now, and it hasn't gotten stale here.

What stood out to me was the excellent flow of the album. I don't think they've ever produced a record that segued so well track after track. For that reason, it's almost concept album in feel, and that goes a long way towards making Horizon a very pleasant listening experience. So kudos to Eno and Lanois for that touch, but a big minus for not caring enough that any dynamics that were in the album (and there were) are lost in the compression.

The bottom line is that this is clearly a U2 album, so it will go over well with anyone who's enjoyed the band's last two releases, but its contents aren't going to turn the music world upside-down. This is truly ok with me: they already did that in the 80s, so I don't expect it again.

nin and Jane's Addiction to Tour

Think they'll honor my tickets for the JA show that got canceled around the time Dave Navarro divorced Carmen Electra? I didn't think so. At least I'll have some time to figure out how to secure tickets. With luck it'll be more than one show in CA. And this better happen quick...before JA remembers why they dislike Eric A so much.

New Sabbath Album to Be Released This Spring

Billboard is reporting that Heaven and Hell (i.e. Black Sabbath with Dio) will release an album of brand new songs, The Devil You Know, on April 28th. Blabbermouth has a number of further details, including song titles, plus the news that a fair amount of it will sound like their last full album, 1992's Dehumanizer.

I admit that I've started to appreciate Dehumanizer as the years have gone on, but it's still very pale compared to Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. It plods just a bit too much, and sadly, that feel is very present on their three latest songs (found on their The Dio Years collection). But I have faith that as long as there's at least a few references to rainbows, circles, chains, keys, darkness and light, or at least doorways, then we'll have something worth listening to.

Metallica at the TD Banknorth Center, 01/18/2009; Prudential Center, 01/31/2009

I haven't seen Metallica live since the Load days, nor been too upset by this, considering their material hasn't made me jump up and down with glee in a while. But their latest, Death Magnetic, really is an excellent release, so I jumped at the chance to catch them on this tour.

I had the good fortune to catch them twice: from the 4th row on the floor in Boston, and from the 8th row in a section right next to the stage in Newark (big thanks to Mark Yarm and Blender magazine). Much like the gigs they did for "The Black Album", the band is "in the round" for this tour, meaning that the stage is in the very center of the auditorium. James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo run all over the place so everyone gets a chance to see them throughout the night, plus Lars Ulrich and his drum set rotate every few songs as well. In theory this sounds great, but in actuality there's quite a few times where the band can't be seen because they're across the stage or their backs are to you.

Fortunately the band was in top form, so even if there were times when one couldn't see them, the audience was still treated to an excellent performance. Six songs from the album with "the little coffin on it" were played, and while a lot of people hate it when bands play new material, I felt they went over really well with the crowd. There was no shortage of fan favorites either, with "One", "Enter Sandman", and "Master of Puppets" really getting huge reactions. And the truly faithful were treated to some extra goodies, with "...And Justice For All" being played in full, plus "Ride the Lighning" and "Blitzkrieg" making appearances in Newark.

What really impressed me during these shows was just how much fun the band was having, and how hard they worked to engage the audience. I've now seen Metallica half a dozen times, and they are one of the few bands (I'd put U2 on this very short list) that are flawless in just about every way live. They are true professionals: they play well, have great stage presence, engage the audience in a genuine matter, and make it all seem effortless. In Newark they even pulled an eight year old boy out of the audience onto the stage. The look of awe on his face as Lars pointed out the immense size of the audience to him was priceless, which continued as Lars sat him down on the drum kit for photos, then let him do the intro cymbal hits to "Seek & Destroy".

James light heartedly encouraged passing the heavy metal down to future generations by telling the boy to come on back when he has children of his own since, "We'll still be here." Judging by the energy I saw those two nights, I don't doubt it.

(For more information, set lists, and full downloads (mp3 and flac) for all shows Metallica has played lived on this tour, visit LiveMetallica.com)