Godsmack: The Oracle Review

Following up 2006's "IV," Godsmack released their fifth album, "The Oracle" on May 4, 2010. It really brings a brand new Godsmack sound, while at the same time brings back the older sound of them. They have changed a lot through the years, and finally, their new master piece is finally finished.

The album opens with the song, "Cryin' Like A B***h," the first single by them. The song brought a new evolved sound from them, which was very heavy and intense, and also very good at the same time. Their next single, which was released in April, was named "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain." It was the forth track of the album. I enjoyed this song a little more than the previous one mostly because I found the guitar part stand out more, and I liked the vocals more. Their third single was named "What If," and was released mid-April. It was the fifth song in the album. I thought it was a great song because of the long intro into the song, and the loud guitar part. I also like the lyrics to the song such as,"What if I leaved, could I I still breath? What if I breathed, could I still be? And if I leaved, would I be me?" Their fourth and final single was named "Saints And Sinners." It was another good song that was similar to "What If?" but different. It was the second song in the album. The song had a cool bass guitar part, and good vocals. It was released late April, a week before the full album was released.

"War And Peace," which was the third song of the album, I thought had a cool beat to it, and had a very dark feeling to it. It also had a heavy guitar riff to it that made it sound cool. "Devils Swing," the sixth track, is another good song. This song has a great guitar part, a good vocal part, and a good beat. Two thumbs up for that song. "Good Day To Die," the seventh track of the album, is another great song. I love the intense guitar riffs in it. Track number eight is titled as "Forever Shamed." This another good song that sounds more like old Godsmack to me for some reason, but like good Godsmack. The solo in it is very good, and very appropriate for the song. "Shadow of a Soul" is the ninth track of the CD. The song starts out with some intense guitar and bass parts, and then goes into vocals. The rest of the song is similar to the beginning, and is a pretty good song. The tenth and final track is "The Oracle." It's an entire instrumental track, but don't get disapointed. It's one of the best tracks of the song. The guitar riffs are just amazing sounding. It has a man speaking in the background that sounds similar to the tracks "Moon Baby" and "Vampires."

The bonus tracks of the album are titled "Whiskey Hangover" and "I Blame You." The first bonus track, "Whiskey Hangover," is a great song, and is probably one of the best of the album. The guitar and lyrics are both very good. The song was first released as a single in late June 2009, and was origionally not going to be on the album. The second bonus track, titled "I Blame You," is another good sound that's very fast-paced land heavy like the rest of the album. The album is a great addition to Godsmack's music, and is reccomended by me to any fan of them. You can listen to their full album here on myspace, or go to the Godsmack official website here.

Drowning Pool: Self Titled Album

Released on April 27, 2010, Drowning Pool released their fourth studio album. In my opinion, the album's sound was a combination of their older sound with Dave Williams, their older singer from their debut album, and the sound with their present day singer, Ryan McCombs. "Feel Like I Do," the first single of the album, was released earlier in the year in February. The song brought a brand new Drowning Pool sound through it . In my opinion, it was much better than how they usually sounded leaving out a lot of the intense guitar riffs that are most of the time just more obnoxious than they are entertaining in my opinion. The first song of the CD, "Let The Sin Begin," sounded similar to "Feel Like I Do," and was another good song. It had everything a good song needs: a nice guitar riff and a catchy chorus part. The third track, "Turns So Cold," was another good song. "Regret" was the fourth song in the album. It had good lyrics, a cool guitar solo, and a nice guitar riff. "All About You" was a good song, but sounded too much like other Drowning Pool songs. The singing, guitar, and beat of the song was almost identical to other songs by the band, and was a very repetitive song. "More Than Worthless" was similar with other songs as well. The beginning had the same guitar and beat as "37 stitches." Despite the many similarities, it was a still a good song. If you would like, you can go to their website here.

Coheed & Cambria: Year Of The Black Rainbow

The Album, "Year Of The Black Rainbow," which was released on April 13, 2010, is Coheed & Cambria's fifth release, and is the prequel to their series, "The Amory Wars." The intro to the album, "One," is a calming start to the album, and it's interesting that it ends on the same note that the next song, "The Broken," starts on. "The Broken" was a single that released in Febuary and, is a great song. It really reminds me a lot of their older work. Their next song, "Guns of Summer," is a great song by them, and has a good guitar, bass, and vocals, plus a good guitar solo. Great song in my oppinion. "Here We Are Juggernaut," which was a single released in March, is another great song by them, in my opinion. It has a good guitar part through out the song, and cool lyrics. Track five of the album, which was titled "Far," has old Coheed & Cambria writen all over it. It's definetely a slower song, but it's still really good, and the song's rythem is really good, and it's a great song by them. The next song, "This Shattered Symphony," has great yelling by Claudio Sanchez, and wonderful guitar by Travis Stever. "World Of Lines" is another good song with good lyrics and has a catchy beat. "Pearl Of The Stars" is the only calm song on the album, and one of the best in my oppinion. It's also the only 'love' song by this band I've heard of. The rest of the album is also very good. I definitely recommend this album to any Coheed & Cambria fan, or anybody who likes interesting and unique rock music. You can go to their website right here.