Entertainment

Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Foo Fighters – Medicine at Midnight (2021)

The JAR is still stuck in the 90s cupboard, but this one has stayed relevant! Foo Fighters have remained steady and radio friendly for about 25 years. Let’s see what their newest album Medicine at Midnight has to offer!

Published

2 years ago

August 21, 2021

Andrew Balaz

The JAR is still stuck in the 90s cupboard, but this one has stayed relevant! Foo Fighters have remained steady and radio friendly for about 25 years. Let’s see what their newest album Medicine at Midnight has to offer!

Most of us know the backstory for the band, the drummer from Nirvana decided to start his own project after Kurt Cobain’s suicide, and now he sings and plays guitar! Not only is Dave Grohl an integral part in two very popular bands, he also is a proven triple threat (at least). Little jealous? Maybe a little.

Anyway, Foo Fighters have been experimenting a little here and there with their sound, but never really deviating much from the Pop directed Alt Rock that they got famous for. This album is supposed to be more of an old 70s/80s arena rock style of album. I think Grohl said something about comparing it to David Bowie’s Let’s Dance.

Time to check out the newest offering from the guys who fight Foos.

Artist: Foo Fighters
Album: Medicine at Midnight (2021)
Label: RCA – Roswell

Making a Fire starts things off and captures that Bowie-esque vibe they were looking for. Echoed out vocals, big sweeping chorus with a choir and guitar driven verses that really push this into a 70s sound. Very solid song that just picks the energy up immediately and makes the album feel fun from the start. Shame Shame this has an interesting syncopation to how the drums rhythm hits around the lyrics. It definitely captures that David Bowie vibe they discussed and set the tone for in the first song. It’s got a really simple and haunting background vocal, most likely from Taylor Hawkins, just saying “Shame” through the verses which is really cool. They use the word “Shame” as a bridge between verses and it does a good job at never really making any part of the song feel lacking. Just really simple and keeps the groove moving.

Now we come to what is probably my favorite song on the album, Cloudspotter. Which I read that apparently Grohl wrote the guitar riff 25 years ago and just never found a place for it until now. The beginning starts off a little quiet and groovy, but then it explodes into a sound that reminds me of Aerosmith Kings and Queens era. I really dig the way the instrumentals and the lyrics swing during the “Swing Swing, Guillotine Queen” chorus. The song also just feels like it’s picking up momentum, so the swing concept is artistically applied. Where it starts quiet, the first chorus picks up, but then it calms down, after the second chorus the song end very strong. Great use of imagery, tone and instrumentation to get a concept across.

So from my favorite to the song I want to skip, Waiting on a War. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the song, it’s an acoustic guitar ballad that sounds more like Savage Garden then anything I’d prefer to listen to. Lyrically it works well together exploring the idea of longing and the meaning of things, but the song in general just comes off as a very bland and simple radio single with not a lot of heart. It’s no Everlong and that’s for damn sure. It tries to pick up at the end with blaring electric guitars and quick drum fills, but by the time they get here I’m already asleep.

Ahh back to the Bowie we go! Medicine at Midnight, is actually a nice disco inspired bassline, and it really drives well going back to using the choir of singers to accent the chorus with haunting “Oos” and a few lyrical fills during a soulful guitar solo that feels B.B. King inspired, not on the same level, but I get what they were going for. Did a great job mixing some soulful blues, a little disco/funk and the power pop aspect of arena rock. No Son of Mine, doesn’t really conform to the established idea. Now it’s definitely a hard rocking song that would probably do well in a concert setting, it just sounds more like a 90s rock song than most of these. Not a bad thing, just makes it stand out a little in the sea of Bowie/70s rock they were going for. This could be a veiled commentary on the pandemic era whilst using biblical references and Christian imagery. It’s not bad, it’s just lacking in many departments.

Well now, Holding Poison, stays in the 90s, but it’s really cool and seems to work with the quirky/groovy aspect of this album. I like the uses of the wooden block from Hawkins, and maybe this is just the 90s kid in me, but the sound seems to work really well. The lyrics are a little nonsensical but again, it’s a fun little song that is easy to dance and swing to, so it fits the album. Chasing Birds, well now they really do a good job lightening the instrumentation and making the whole song sound dreamy/up in the clouds. With a sound that definitely can be compared to The Beatles or Paul McCartney this is an easy to relate to song about searching for a relationship and it being as futile as chasing birds. Sad, but beautiful.

Love Dies Young, is an interesting amalgamation of sounds. It gives you everything from an interesting time signature, a little disco beat like an Abba song and just a lot of good stuff. It uses the onslaught of sound to go through the throes of love. The lyrics discuss love dying young, but the bite back is that he doesn’t want it to. So it’s this powerful dynamic rock anthem about wanting love to last forever. It’s charming, powerful and really cool. Great way to end the record.

With all that said, the album only clocks in at a little over 36 minutes. So it’s short, sweet and to the point. Granted I definitely think a few of the songs don’t really fit the mold of the album, but it’s still a fairly enjoyable listen. Some of the songs are a little TOO simple and seem like they could’ve used a little more polishing.

All in all, the Foo Fighters deliver an album that most fans of theirs should enjoy. It explores a few directions that might lose some people, but nothing sounds like a complete derivation from their established sound. Therefore it’s a pretty good album, not great, but definitely pretty fun and will see decent radio play.

Final Judgment: 7.15/10

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Entertainment

Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Kamelot – The Awakening (2023)

Will this be The Awakening of my enjoyment of post-Roy Khan Kamelot…or does the JAR continue to cherry pick?

Published

16 hours ago

March 19, 2023

Andrew Balaz

Kamelot is in an interesting boat with me. You see, much like another notable Symphonic Metal band, Nightwish, there are fan groups that prefer one singer over the other. While with Nightwish I was firmly on team Tarja until Floor showed up and knocked it out of the park having the perfect voice to compliment the classical approach of the old catalogue and a more modern approach of the Anette years; Kamelot has been a different story. I was a huge fan of Kamelot during the Roy Khan years and the replacements never really stuck with me. A few songs here or there would catch my attention, but the music generally fell flat.

So instead of a situation where I haven’t listened to a band in “X number of years”; this is more of a prove it review. Lets see if Tommy can finally keep me engaged even half as much as Roy used to.

Kamelot is: Tommy Karevik (Vocals), Alex Landenberg (Drums, Percussion), Sean Tibbetts (Bass), Oliver Palotai (Keyboards, Guitars), Thomas Youngblood (Guitars)

Artist: Kamelot
Album: The Awakening (2023)
Label: Napalm Records
Total Track Time: 52:50

Overture – Intro is just an instrumental intro as one probably expected. It uses pounding drums, soaring string arrangements and gives this grandiose, dark and powerful vibe to kick things off, before ending in a somber few piano notes and then kicking back up directly into the next song. The Great Divide takes the intro chords and speeds it up a little for this soaring song of longing and determination to cross the great divide for their love. “Somewhere far beyond the great divide, Where the darkness meets the light, Like an everlasting storm, You will be my paramour” – simple fantasy concept since it uses darker war torn imagery through the song, but sung very well with a great arrangement. Eventide the song inspired from the Magic the Gathering set – no I keed…or I hope I keed. As for the song it keeps the faster soaring tempo, coloring a little darker with the keyboard elements and the more noticeable drum blast beats and fills. A song of companionship, and one’s death being used more like a guiding light for the other. Again, more fantasy colored, but that’s how this genre works. One More Flag in the Ground almost feels like a sequel to Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy), which isn’t a bad thing. The tempo stays up, but guitars are more distorted and keyboards have more of a prog metal sound to them. So each song is doing enough to not sound too similar.

Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem) feat Tina Guo we get more of a symphonic opening and then going into straight up prog metal including the tremolo flairs and a song that seems to be about a Vampire Queen. It definitely feels like Castlevania and I just really like this verse for the lyrical imagery; “Trembling steps into a world she had forgotten, Dusty roses on a royal velvet seat, And the letter in her name, Brings her back again, Familiar the notes upon the sheet”. They had a whole three part song story about Elizabeth Bathory back in the day, so this is very on brand, and pretty damn fantastic. Midsummer’s Eve feat Tina Guo is such a beautiful tempo shift. Going from darker songs and then a Summer colored love song with what I think is a cello solo. But this gives me Sailorman’s Hymn vibes and its amazing. Bloodmoon more songs about Magic the Gathering! The whole album is now mountains! But no in all seriousness, THIS, is finally that level of boring they’ve been in the past decade or so. I’ve been loving the whole album until we get to whatever this generic symphonic mess is. Is it unlistenable? No. But does it evoke anything? Also no. NightSky turns me off with the heavy electronic intro, because it just bodes ill for more generic crap. And yup, nap time, this last two songs are about as original as an anime with cute girls doing cute things.

The Looking Glass starts with the lyrics; “What if I told you a story, Where all that you wished for came true” – what I wish for is to stop with these bad generic songs. You think a distorted guitar riff and vague lyrics about broken hearts and pain…in completely wrong musical accompaniment is good? Stop it, get some help. New Babylon feat Melissa Bonny so even before the song gets going, I love Melissa Bonny, so it will take a lot for me to hate this. Be it features, Ad Infinitum or Rage of Light, she is a wonderful singer with fantastic range. It starts with almost like this Viking Warship aura, with chanted gang harmonies, lyrical overtones of war and a conquest. So it is a bit more reminiscent of March Mephisto but I’m not mad at it. OH and Melissa gets the opportunity to show off her beautiful clean soprano range and her growled vocals. Solid song, not as great as the first half, but definitely a good turn out of the generic trash skid. Willow evokes a very similar emotion as Nemo from Nightwish. Its somber with heavier moments. Unlike Nemo this is more a song of remembering the safety and growth under the umbrella of memory. “Underneath the willow (willow tree), Where my roots grow childhood deep (grow childhood deep), My memories remain my pillow, As I fall asleep”, I also just really like the lyrical imagery in this song. My Pantheon (Forevermore) given the fact this second half has been more bad than good, I came into this song a bit pessimistic; but musically its a little different and this line is evocative, “We leave the ignorant behind, This is the beauty condemnation, Tell me how can one paint, In colour for the blind”. Its a very cool fantasy song of being born in war torn times and searching for truth amongst the madness. Which oddly applies to the last few years of reality a bit more than it probably should. Ephemera – Outro is a nice lighter instrumental with the symphonic arrangement. I enjoy the title of it even if it’s a little presumptuous since Ephemera means a fleeting enjoyment. So ending the album with the hopes of bringing some enjoyment, whilst sounding like it should be on a Final Fantasy ost, sticks the landing…even if it assumes you enjoyed it.

Well there was a lot contained in this album. I will say, even though I was highly critical of Bloodmoon through The Looking Glass, everything else about this album was nearly perfect. The highs were so high that even 3 unimaginative generic cacophonies only sinks the overall score a little. I’m being harsh calling them cacophonies, of course, but they aren’t anywhere near the level of the rest of the album. The first half restored my faith in the band, those three songs reminded me why I cherry pick since Roy left, but at least they ended pretty damn strong again.

This is the best album they’ve done with Tommy, I just wish they’d get over the stupid filler songs. If it wasn’t for those three, this could’ve probably made a legitimate case for album of the year…and its only March. So give it a spin, skip songs 7-9, and enjoy!