Clear as a Bell

Disambiguation: v. 1. The Process of resolving the conflicts that arise when a single term is ambiguous. 2. n. The Title of a new release by Underoath.

Enough with the grammar lesson. O Disambiguation, the latest release by Tooth and Nail Metal-core band Underoath, is the first release, it is said, with none of the bands founding members. The title of the CD refers then to the new members trying to "clarify" the question of "Who or What is Underoath?" The answer: Underoath is a band in transition. At its heart it still is metal-core, with its deep growls which border on the unknowable. Coming to the surface though is some Original Metal tendencies, with great gang chorus vocals and some songs that are sung and not growled.  Being an O.M. fan the songs I call my favorites are those that either omit the thrash growls or keep it to a minimum, such as Catch Myself Catching Myself, Paper Lung and In Completion.

O Disambiguation is a very good album, but falls short of Perfect Album Status. Primarily because of Track 8 Reversal. It is very short, growl only, and seems out of place on the album. It may be a perfect metal-core without it, why it made the cut is one of the mysteries of the recording industry. It is located between to of my favorites Who Will Guard the Guardians and Vacant Mouth.

O Disambiguation gets 4.5 Emeralds for a final rating from me which will put it into early contention for the Platinum Vinyl Awards for the 4th Quarter. Whether it will make the final cut remains to be seen. It has some serious competition in the Hard Rock Category.

A Red Stain on the BOHICA Blues

It's the day after the Tea Party Massacre, in all states except it seems Massachusetts. In the U.S. House Massachusetts, in the words of Representative Jim McGovern, "sailed against the wind", which usually means you capsize. In politics it might mean you cheated. Or that the voters intelligence is highly overrated. After looking over the results, I am ready to give my verdict.

To Reps Olver, Neal, McGovern, Frank, Tierney, Markey, and Lynch. Congratulations on your victory. You got over 50% in a contested race. Enjoy your final term, 2012 awaits.

To Bill Gunn, Tom Wesley, Marty Lamb, Sean Bielat, Jon Golnick, Bill Hudak, Gerry Dembrowski, and Vernon Harrison. The 2012 Campaign begins today.  Do Not Let these Democrats rest even one minute of their term. Oppose them at every turn. You are not a novice anymore.

To Michael Capuano, You are illegally occupying the district. All elections must be contested to be legal. You should resign.  In a perfect state you would be forced to resign, your seat would be declared vacant and a special election would immediately be held. I call it the Democracy Project. I doubt you would be in favor of it.

To Jeff Perry, Contest, Contest, Contest. You fell victim to a five way race. Your democratic opponent only got 47% his opposition 53%. Runoffs were made for this. Ditto Charlie Baker.

To Governor Patrick, remember to give Tim Cahill and Jill Stein cushy posts in your administration. You owe everything to them.

Not all things are bleak. Cujo (Paul Kujawski) is gone after 16 years. Congratulations Representative Kevin Kuros. Congratulations Lew Evangelidis, for your victory as Sheriff. Congratulations to Jennie Caissie for your election to Governor's Council. If Conservatives know anything now, it is there is no substitute for an honest an impartial judiciary. Thank You for being there to keep activist judges from the bench.

To all Republicans who ran this election season, win or lose. Thank You. By having the courage to contest the Democrats was a Profile In Courage. To the victors, know this, your victory is the first crack in the Democratic Dam. The Tea Party Tsunami continues. The Dam Bursts in 2012.

Vivent La Revolution

sThe revolution will be televised, and oh yes, there will be blood. The Election is Today and the fringe media (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, NPR, MSNBC, CNN) will be forced to report that the bloodshed is all on the Democrat side of the aisle. The first Tea Party since the original revolution (That's American not French) has the potential to remake Washington and Massachusetts. I have already voted and am proud to report that I voted a straight R ticket. I am hoping most of my candidates win. I did my part.

Most Democrats still don't get it. You can not legislate against the will of the people and hope to keep your cushy position. My U.S. Rep for a few months longer, Richie Neal, has been airing a radio ad with a Union Thug saying "Richie Neal Responds" when jobs are at stake. He boasts that he can bring money home from Washington. Richie, you don't need to bring money home IF IT NEVER LEAVES. All spending originates in the House, and that appears to be going Republican in a big way. Repeal Obamacare, Slash Spending and bring our Nation back from the brink. It starts today.

For Those Who Wait

Canadians are not Vampires, at least that's what the members of Manic Drive would have us believe. I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Last Friday the For Those Who Wait Tour came to Central Massachusetts and this blogger and about 500 other concert goers enjoyed an ear shattering head banging extravaganza that will not be soon forgotten.

The Venue was the Liberty Assembly of God in Shrewsbury, MA, a 1000 seat mega-church Just off Route 20 in the heart of the Commonwealth.  It looked pretty much like a traditional New England Church from the outside. On the inside, the high cathedral ceiling complete with 3 humongous front projection HDTV screens and a hybrid padded seat front/traditional padded pew rear and theater style stage seemed to scream mega church. My only complaint to the venue? The official capacity of the sanctuary was 990?! Could Ye Not Have Found Ten More Seats? (Sorry for slipping into King James Version). As I said, I estimate the final crowd at about 500. I was pleased, if only that, If I didn't check iTickets for free downloads every week I may have never known about this event. The promoter, New Sound Concerts, despite being the force behind the immensely popular Summer festival Soulfest, never seems to promote concerts to the best of their ability, with the result that they barely fill small venues.  Flood the zone with ads, posters, and promotional materials and we could fill the DCU Center. We'll never know if we don't try.

Manic Drive was first to take the stage. A pretty basic rock and roll band out of Toronto started by brothers Shawn (Lead Vocals, Keys, Guitar) and Michael (Guitar, Backing Vocals) were introduced via a 5 minute Twilight Parody selling the members as Vampires. "Their skin was pale and cold, and they avoided the sunlight." I think that can pretty much sum up all Canadians, especially those from Montreal and Toronto with their underground cities. Later they reassured the audience that they weren't really vampires, they just really hated the movie Twilight.  They did a four song set, of which I couldn't recognize a single song.  That's really no surprise, since I only really know their song Blue, and they didn't do that one.

After a ten minute intermission things got kicked into high gear with Group 1 Crew, a Rap/Dance group out of Orlando, Florida. Think Black Eyed Peas but Saved. Almost all the songs came from the current release Outta Space Love, which was their opening song. We all tried to get our gangsta lean on with the song Live it Up. I think they were kinder than we were successful. It was fun. And Vocalist Bianca Reyes really got to shine with Walking on the Stars. Not only a good rapper Manwell Reyes (no relation to Bianca) is also a pretty good comedian, after the set he did a unusual appeal for World Vision, bringing in Redbox, Movie Theatres, Geico, Kool Aid and American Idol into a passionate appeal. I don't know if the results were any better this way, but it made the appeal more palatable. It sure beats the typical "while you enjoyed that last song twenty million children died of hunger you selfish brats" appeal. I am new to the hip hop/rap style of CCM, DC Talk excepted, but it is definitely a favorite of mine these days. For my review of Outta Space Love click here.

After a 15 minute intermission Fireflight took the stage to the piercing cry "This is for those who wait."I have been a fan of Fireflight since Unbreakable came out in 2008, but this is the first time I have seen them Live. I knew they were loud, but...Every time drummer Phee Shorb struck the drums the building shook as if from an explosion. Lead Vocalist Dawn Michele orchestrated the 15 song set with nary a break for introductions. Most of the songs were done medley style, though, unlike a traditional medley, the complete song was sung. Also unlike most bands, they did songs from each of their three albums. Eight of the songs were from For Those Who Wait, five were from Unbreakable, and two were from The Healing of Harms. Also this reviewer noticed a nice homage that probably passed unnoticed except by me and a few of the parents in the audience. During several songs Dawn Michele, flanked by guitarists Justin Cox and Glenn Dennen orchestrated what I would best describe as Synchronized headbanging, where the guitarists would dip their guitars and heads Stage Left and Dawn, sans guitar, would match their movements. I have not seen this done since 80's supergroup Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart invented it. It was a nice touch. Wendy Dennen, Glenn's wife, plays Bass and rounds out the quintet.

Except for styles like Metal-core, I have always considered Skillet to be one of, if not the, hardest and loudest rock bands out there in the CCM world.  Having heard the CD's I had placed Fireflight alongside an Audio Adrenaline.  Now, I think they are more of a Heavy Metal band, at least an 80's style like Whitecross. Still, they did slow it down once, for Name, a heart rending ballad that really showcases Dawn Micheles beautiful voice. The original set was 14 songs. When the audience began to chant "one more song", Fireflight, literalists that they are, came out for one more song. Fortunately for the audience it was Unbreakable. Having their two most famous songs bookend their set was fitting for a concert that spanned their entire career so far. For Those Who Wait made my list this year for a Platinum Vinyl Award for Best Rock Album and is a strong contender for Album of the Year. My live experience only confirmed my opinions about the album. I expect to hear a lot more form this band in the future. I waited a long time for Fireflight to come to New England for a concert, and the the saying is definitely true, good things come "For those who Wait."

The Great Cable TV Bailout

DTV was sold as the greatest revolution in Television Broadcasting, but, in fact, it's a scam. This shouldn't surprise anyone, the digital mandate was Washington's idea.

Maybe scam is too harsh, but, based on my experience, it sure seems like it, and I'm in a Major Market area. Before the June 12, 2009 transition, with the help of only an indoor HDTV capable antenna, I could easily receive the analog signals of the local ABC affiliate, the CBS affiliate, and two NBC affiliates plus the Univision and Daystar affiliates.  With effort, I was also able to pull in the local analog signal for FOX. After I acquired a LCD Television I started to scan for digital signals, and I managed to pick up two digital PBS signals, the CBS DTV, the ABC DTV, 2 Univision DTV Signals and 4 Digital ION signals. I was ecstatic. DTV was indeed heaven.

Lift Up Your Face.....And Move

Very rarely is an album the subject of heated debate before it even hits the shelves, but such is the case in the era of live streaming and iTunes and Amazon downloads. One such question has recently popped up in music forums, which is better Jars of Clay The Shelter or Third Day Move. I will answer the question definitively by saying: WRONG QUESTION. No, I am not evading the question, merely refocusing it. Third Day and Jars of Clay are two entirely different kinds of bands. It's kind of like saying which is better Katy Perry or Sandi Patty. More appropriately there would be two similar questions, which I will pose here. Question 1-Which is better The Shelter or Raising Up The Dead by Caedmon's Call. Question 2-Which is better Move or Horseshoes and Handgrenades by Disciple.  Those in the first category fall in the Folk Rock category and in the second the Hard Rock category, though Disciple is somewhat harder than Third Day, both seem to fit nicely into the Southern Rock/70's Rock mold. My answers? For Question 1- Hands Down The Shelter, though with the caveat that I have not heard the entire Caedmon's Call album. The answer for Question 2? Let's just say that the Platinum Vinyl Awards for Rock is getting quite interesting. The answer will be revealed soon.

History Repeating Itself

While taking a walk yesterday I saw a political sign that took me down Memory Lane. Not too far, just a few blocks, the equivalent of four years. During the 2006 Election Campaign there was a Senate Race between a RINO by the name of Lincoln Chafee and a Democrat by the name of Sheldon Whitehouse. Since George W. Bush was the President the Democrat candidate launched the usual Bush Derangement Syndrome induced slander about "the first honest Whitehouse in Washington."  Since Chafee was a RINO from a family of RINO's his campaign was "I hate Bush even more than the Democrat." The voters of Rhode Island, when given the choice between a True Democrat and a Fake Democrat went with the True Democrat, and Sheldon Whitehouse was elected. All that changed was the name and the letter after it. Chafee rarely voted as a Republican and after he lost he quickly became a Democrat.

Fast forward four years. The Democrats took over on January 3, 2007 and drove our country, not into a ditch, but over a cliff. An unemployment rate of 4% is now actually somewhere around 17% and our debt and deficit has skyrocketed. The truth is that all spending originates in the House, or as the saying goes "Congress controls the purse strings." The truth hurts. Pelosi and Reed are not Republicans.

Now to that sign. It was for my State Representative to Congress.  That's Beacon Hill not Washington. He's a Democrat (big surprise, it's Massachusetts), but his flyer said he voted against the Gas Tax, The Income Tax, The Hotel Tax, The Alcohol Tax and the Temporary seat holder in the U.S. Senate between Kennedy's death and Scott Brown being sworn in. It seems the tide has turned, now Liberal Democrats are saying, "Hey I'm  more conservative than the Republican." Here's to the hope that on November 2, the voters, when given the choice between a Fake Republican and a True Republican, vote for the True Republican, and not a DIRC (Democrat in Republican Clothing)