Random pointless update/what's been going on

'Lo. It's been well over a week since my last entry in Testament or Katatonia's discography reviews, and Testament's "Dark Roots of Earth" is around the corner, but I'm going to get to reviews of "Practice What You Preach" and "Souls of Black" soon! I will admit, though, that those are my least favorite Testament albums despite containing some great songs.

 Testament have also now given us 90-second samples of the entire new album, which you can listen to on SoundCloud. For the convenience of anyone awaiting this album as much as I am, I will link all of them, including the two full songs "True American Hate" and "Native Blood".











In addition to all of these original songs, the special edition of "Dark Roots of Earth" that I have on pre-order (along with a shirt!) includes covers of "Dragon Attack" by Queen, "Animal Magnetism" by Scorpions, and "Powerslave" by Iron Maiden. I really want to hear how Testament do "Powerslave", as it's one of my favorite Iron Maiden songs, and it has some of my favorite trade-off guitar solos of all time. As I've said, I'm really looking forward to this album, and will review it maybe even after the first play-through... or maybe the second, after one to just listen, assuming Testament live up to their name. I'm loving how "Rise Up", "True American Hate", and "Throne of Thorns" sound from the samples. Wikipedia also says that Revolver gave it a solid 4/5. I'm predicting an 8.25/10 from myself, but we'll see once the album comes.

Anyway, I've recently been splurging on CDs, and got most of the allegedly essential Rush albums. I've always liked Rush since first listening to them, I just never had anything beyond a compilation. Obviously the three band members are extremely talented, including Alex Lifeson, who I personally think is really underrated and might be about as good as his legendary 70s contemporary Eddie Van Halen. For an example of Lifeson's (and the band's) prowess, check out the classic instrumental "La Villa Strangiato", featuring a solo by Lifeson that builds on itself until turning into a dynamic shredfest before the song calms down again. Good stuff! The video below is live, but it will give you the general idea, although he plays the solo a bit differently.

Besides Rush, I picked up the new CD by the music hero of my early adolescence, Serj Tankian. Should be interesting listening. I also got another album by prog-death pioneers Edge of Sanity which I am eager to try out after my obliged Testament album reviews. Finally, I went "what the hell" and decided to try a new album and an EP by the established technical death metal band Dying Fetus.

On another note, I've been very happy with my new (used) Peavey JSX. My friend and I used it to do an amateur cover of Alice in Chains' heavy classic "Them Bones", which I posted to Facebook. Since I did the demo video, I've discovered the versatility of the Crunch channel; it really can do everything from rock to really heavy metal rhythm. The amp also doesn't need the boost of the tube screamer at all; the TS9 just tightens the sound a little bit, but the amp would be more than fine without it, unlike the Jet City which needed a boost to get a really heavy modern sound.

Thanks for reading! Expect album reviews soon if not today. Between a possible Gamestop account compromise, cancelled class, new CDs, and educating Mom about death metal in the car, it's been an interesting day so far, but I should have time for the album reviews a bit later.

I also want to thank anyone who has been reading my posts here in general. While this is basically a place to just vent about my opinions, I've come to really like writing here, and while I've made it so that I can't get feedback, it feels good to get some views. Thanks! Sorry about the delays with the album reviews...

Now listening to: Edge of Sanity - Sacrificed, Dying Fetus - Grotesque Impalement

Recent top bands: Death, Metallica, Katatonia, Edge of Sanity
Recent Acquisitions: A lot! Rush - Hemispheres, Rush - Fly By Night, Rush - Clockwork Angels, Rush - 2112, Rush - Moving Pictures, Rush - Permanent Waves, Serj Tankian - Harakiri, Edge of Sanity - The Spectral Sorrows, Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme, Dying Fetus - Grotesque Impalement, Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
Recently been playing on guitar: Random Metallica, collaborative cover of "Them Bones" by Alice in Chains
Reviews coming up: Testament - Practice What You Preach, Testament - Souls of Black, Katatonia - Discouraged Ones, maybe a few of the above recently acquired albums as well