American Tragedy

On April 5, Hollywood Undead released their new studio album (American Tragedy). Released a month later than expected, the album contained seventee tracks (as well as three bonus tracks). Personally, I think it's their best album yet. Dave Murillo, the new lead vocalist, did a great job replacing ex-member, Deuce. Similar to their first album, American Tragedy is classified in the rap/rock genre. If you enjoy this mix of styles, consider looking Hollywood Undead up. However, as always, their music contains explicit language. If you're offended by this, forget everything you just read.

Celldweller

Last night, I was playing Need For Speed Most Wanted with my brother. Classy, right? While we were racing, a song started to play that I had heard before. A few hours later, I looked up the the song on the internet. It was called "Shapeshifter" by Celldweller. I was not familiar with with the band at all. After plenty of youtube searches and help from wikipedia, I learned that Celldweller is an electronic metal/rap group. Althogh they do not have very many album songs, they often create music for movie trailers, commercials, and video games. In "Shapeshifter," the band Styles From Beyond is featured. I thoroughly enjoy the rhythm as well as the hip hop/metal lead. If you like rap and rock/metal, you'll probably enjoy this band.

Deuce

Ex-Hollywood Undead voacalist, Deuce, has officially started a solo album. He was one of the three main vocalists of Hollywood Undead (along with Johnny 3 Tears and Funny Man). Apparently, J3T was in an interview and bragged about how he had come up with all of the lyrics for their first album Swan Songs. While this has not been confirmed, Deuce found out and wasn't very happy. In fact, he was so distraught that he left Hollywood Undead. Weeks later, he posted a song called "Story of a Snitch." The song bashed J3T and the rest of the band incorporating lyrics like:

Here's the story of a snitch, that I knew for all these years
But now he's a b****
And if he wants he can suck my......... (I won't finish the rest of the song)

Hollywood Undead, however, has not slowed down at all. They've picked up a new lead vocalist and are scheduled to release their next album this summer. As a sneak peak, the band released a song called "Hear Me Now." Personally, I really like the song, but you can tell that something's missing without Deuce Deuce, on the other hand, is currently working on his solo album. Both bands have plenty of talent, and I think both will be very successful.

Trapt

Ahh Trapt. Although this band has been around a while, I only discovered them last year. Their most popular song (in my opinion at least) is "Headstrong." The band possesses a heavy rock feel to their music. One of the reasons I enjoy this band so much is that they incorporate energy into their songs. Also, the lead vocalist isn't always screaming and shoving the microphone down his throat. As far as explicit language goes, Trapt successfully earned the Parental Advisory sticker on the bottom right hand corner of their album. While not as bad as some other bands, Trapt does have some mild language. If you are a heavy rock/punk fan, consider looking into this band.

Hollywood Undead

I actually found Hollywood Undead by mistake when trying to download a song called "California." I made the mistake of not previewing the song, but it was a good mistake. As soon as I heard "California," I was immediately hooked. I downloaded the entire album (named Swan Songs) and thoroughly enjoy every single track. Hollywood Undead uses a metal/rap mix. Every song has rapping (as well as singing) and it is very impressive. They can be also classified in the metalcore/ rock genre. If you enjoy the metal/rock/rap mix, this band is definitely for you. However, the language is explicit. It actually took the band over four months to find a record label that would sign them and not censor the album.

Whitesnake

Let's travel back into the 80's. I was watching the 80's music videos on television the other day and heard this song. There was a fog machine, a man with long blonde hair, and an attractive girl that he fell in love with (average 80's music video). The song was called "Is this Love." It is definitely more dulcet than the average rock song, featuring a lead accoustic guitar. I enjoyed the singing and the lyrics, and the singer was very easy to understand. Basically, it's a great song.

All That Remains

Over the four day weekend, I found myself laying in bed doing nothing at all. So what do I do? I get on youtube. I pulled up the web address and one of the videos that was recommended for me was a song called "Six" by All That Remains. Curious, I clicked on the URL and listened to the song. My reaction: ......hahahahahahahaha.....ha. I listened to the song at least three more times before I downloaded it. The song was so heavy that I couldn't help but laugh. I was finally able to understand what they were screaming about the thrid time I watched the video. The lyrics weren't too bad. Most of it was about how a guy lost his love of his life (probably because he was screaming too much) and how he can't live without her (yes, it is a woman). Believe it or not, there was no profanity! (It's not like you could've understood what he was saying even if he did use some). After the intense intro and chorus, a slow ballad began. I was shocked the first time I heard it because it was actually very well played. I pretty much bought the song because of the ballad in the middle. However, nothing lasts forever, and soon the ballad was over and the screaming began again. Although you can't really judge a band by one song...I'm going to. I don't care for the singing really (if you can call it singing), but the musicality of the band is very impressive. They play their style of music very well and I think their guitarists are some of the best I've ever heard. Everything was tight, and I give the song a thumbs up.