Entertainment

Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Derision Cult – Charlatan’s Inc (2021)

Now we can consider this a special JAR of sorts. A smaller EP review request came through, and I’m always game for more underground bands. Derision Cult aren’t newbies, but let’s see how some Chicago Industrial metal tastes!

Published

1 year ago

September 26, 2021

Andrew Balaz

Now we can consider this a special JAR of sorts. A smaller EP review request came through, and I’m always game for more underground bands. Derision Cult aren’t newbies, but let’s see how some Chicago Industrial metal tastes!

So this is apparently the 15^th release from the band, though a lot of it seems to be EPs, Demos and Remixes. Dave McAnally is the man behind the band, and has done all of the work in only 7 years since the earliest release I can find it 2014. As with many of the albums in 2021, this was recorded during 2020 during a time where media was a bigger player in everyone’s life since we were all mostly stuck inside.

Another interesting twist to the perspective here is Dave was an advertising executive for 20 years before using music as his outlet to get his perspective across. Given all that, if anyone was going to point out things about media and advertising; someone from the inside makes a ton of sense.

Artist: Derision Cult
Album: Charlatan’s Inc (2021)
Label: South Street Dungeon

The Great Reset has a nice crunchy and quick riff that drives home the Fear Factory industrial sound. Once the vocals kick in my only complaint is that the mix has the vocals a little too low and washed into the instrumentation. However the way the singing is done reminds me of Chuck Billy or Dave Mustaine since it’s more of a gruff croon than classic singing. Lyrically we set the tone with discussion of lobbyists, corporate money and politics being controlled by said money and vice versa. Call a Man God punches you in the teeth with machine gun double bass and attacking guitars, and sounds a lot like a Testament song from the Low era. While the mix issues with some of the vocals and the radio samples is still noticeable, the message is clear about basically creating your own problem. Call a man a liar, he’ll believe it, call a man God, etc… are all sayings we’ve heard since youth.

Amplify is heavy, guitar driven and continues the tone of being manipulated through many ways. Even bringing up the Facebook, Google search, spyware concept that we all know is present. So from manipulation through war or fear, or just knowing you really want a Ninja Turtles t-shirt, the government is aware of as much as they want to be. Worlds Collide picks up on the riff that Amplify ended on and stays in more of a southern sludge motif with the spoken political snippets thrown in. Manipulation remains the main theme, bringing up the derisive cesspool that many News outlets have become. Merely spouting an angle to rile up one side or the other, all as a manipulation tactic. The Chairshot’s own conspiracy theorist Chris Platt brings up the Hegelian Dialect often, which in its simplest form; is both sides of a subject being motivated for their cause, with only a compromise as the solution. So no matter which sides sees more victory, it was all set in motion by a person or in this use of imagery, the government. With the compromise usually coming from the manipulating party. So manipulation within manipulation, while being seen as giving something up for the “greater good”.

This is Control adds a Static X techno vibe to the beginning of the song. With the bass kicking in over the added elements, it grooves along like something from Orgy. If you treat this song more as a bridge to the next, like Amplify, then this sets the stage for the next act so to speak. Charlatans continues to techno-industrial instrumentation and hits the tribalism concepts well. As we’ve established control and manipulation through media is the driving theme of the album. As a listener you get the vibe these songs could be in the backdrop of Blade Runner or a more modern interpretation of 1984 Orwellian dystopia. They do have a line in the chorus about towing the party line, which makes the chorus quite catchy.

View from the Cross starts off with a very prominent guitar riff and underlying bassline that motivates the ear towards the verses. Lyrically its very relatable starting off about having a degree but being in a dead end job. I-VI-MMXXI if you know Roman Numerals, you know what this song is about. For those who don’t 1-6-2021, the date of the Capitol attack. Which when it boils down to it, that was also driven based on manipulation and people thinking they were in the right or needed to do something to protect people. This is really just the beginning if we continue to let politicians or at the very least, politically motivated angles manipulate the media.

Even if you don’t agree with the full breadth of the lyrical themes, there’s definitely truth behind the concepts. As for an album, this feels more like the beginning calls of a movement more so than a concept album, which isn’t a bad thing, but it is alienating. The music in this EP is a very nice mix of crunchy attacking thrash at times, Industrial with a touch of Groove and electronic metal. So you won’t be disappointed with the music.

All in all, the two biggest flaws are the mix for the vocals and the lyrical themes. Granted the lyrical themes are more anti-capitalism than Conservative or Socialist, but we all know how most things get interpreted nowadays (which is kinda the point of the album, now ain’t it). Personally I also wasn’t a huge fan of two songs basically being bridges to the following songs, but that’s purely a matter of liking each song to stand on its own unless it’s a 45 second noodle or interlude.

Final Judgment: 7.25/10

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: Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust (2023)

The JAR decides to tackle the newest album from early 00s Emo veterans Fall Out Boy! Do the emotions resonate or fall flat?

Published

6 mins ago

March 26, 2023

Andrew Balaz

Fall Out Boy has been around over 20 years – yes I started things off that way so myself and fellow Millennials can feel even older than we already do. They were definitely a little more in that Emo/Punk vein with very early music, leaked over into more pop oriented Emo and now they’re really just the theme song of Hot Topic and girls with brightly dyed hair. That’s not to discredit them though, Limp Bizkit has a demographic, so do Fall Out Boy.

When it comes to my personal enjoyment, admittedly, they’ve grown on me over the years. I went from begrudgingly enjoying a few songs, to really enjoying Save Rock and Roll (2013) and a bunch of their more recent stuff. So I don’t know if its the direction in which their sound evolved, me getting old and nostalgic or the early signs of a stroke. Either way, this should be a pretty good album, so I’m looking forward to this listen.

Fall Out Boy is: Patrick Stump (Vocals, Keyboards & Guitar), Pete Wentz (Bass & Backing Vocals), Andy Hurley (Drums & Percussion), Joe Trohman (Lead Guitar & Back Vocals)

Artist: Fall Out Boy
Album: So Much (For) Stardust (2023)
Label: Fueled by Ramen
Total Track Time: 44:20

Love From the Other Side was the lead single for the album, and it definitely has a very similar sound to things like The Phoenix or Uma Thurman. It’s got a weird little danceable melody, dark yet vaguely introspective lyrics and some solid heavy ambiance during breakdowns and interludes. The one line also speaks to me like an old Facebook status update; “I’ll never go, I just want to be invited, oh” – the song generally seems to be about the rat race of life, a touch on the pandemic but mostly this oddly dark dance tune about things melting down. Heartbreak Feels So Good starts off with some synth and sounds like it was dragged right out of the 80s. Lyrically it frames this feeling of spending time with someone and enjoying the journey and then reveling in the catharsis of heartbreak from all of the memories. Musically the arrangement is more uptempo and dance driven, so its like dancing through the pain; and its an interesting concept. Hold Me Like a Grudge is a song I really enjoy based purely off the title. Musically it still has like nearly a Foreigner mixed with The Strokes kind of vibe. But the hook is pretty fantastic; “(You put the “fun” into dysfunction), Hold me, hold me like a grudge, The world is always spinning, and I can’t keep up, whoa, Faster and faster, can’t do it on my own, Part-time soulmate, full-time problem, yeah, So hold me like a grudge”. I can’t tell if this is a toxic relationship or just a specific kink of a song, but its groovy and I dig it.

Fake Out starts out very radio single friendly, but eventually finds its rhythm as being this depressing pop song, ala Barenaked Ladies, where its oddly positive sadness. I can’t quite tell if the relationship failed or never manifested because they were too in their head about things going bad. The line about no plans made, no plans broken; is very poignant. Heaven, Iowa is a gorgeous rock ballad. I also like how the line is ‘scar-crossed lovers’ instead of star-crossed. It adds a unique layer of pain and darkness to an already soaring chorus. So Good Right Now opens with a little Thurston Harris homage since the Little Bitty Pretty One is very obvious here. And it sticks around through verses breaks and gives the whole song this 50s kind of vibe. That also kind of explains the rather straight forward and lack of nuance to the lyrics really. Just feeling good right now, until things crash and burn, but just enjoy it now. The Pink Seashell (feat Ethan Hawke) this little filler song uses his line from Reality Bites as an analogy for life. Definitely seems to fit the general vibe of the album since a lot of the songs have been about making the best of the hand your dealt in life.

I Am My Own Muse starts off with a John Williams style orchestra, and then we get the breakdown as the lyrics kick in. This could be pandemic related or honestly, just a series of unfortunate events that ruins an entire year; “Smash all the guitars ’til we see all the stars, Oh, got to throw this year away, We got to throw this year away like, A bad luck charm”. Flu Game is not about Michael Jordan apparently. Its more of a song about faking being okay after your dreams of a world for two come disappear. There’s also a little wordplay line that I enjoy; “I can’t stop, can’t stop ’til we catch all your ears, though, Somewhere between Mike Tyson and Van Gogh”. Its a fine song, a little forgettable (ironically), but not bad. Baby Annihilation another spoken word filler song. Continues this nihilistic mindset and fits well enough in the album.

The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years) is a pretty interesting song about alcoholism, or at least I’m fairly sure it is. Apparently it was a chemical haze for 10 years, and this is an interesting rock song about coming out of the other side, reflected more in the musical arrangement since the lyrics are focusing more on the journey. What a Time To Be Alive has a very big Disco/Soul groove and reminds me of September by Earth, Wind & Fire. I also really enjoy the line ‘everything is lit, except my serotonin’. Maybe its just my general headspace lately, but these dark lyrics with the quirky upbeat music seems to speak to me a bit. So Much (For) Stardust seems to be a song about being hard stuck in negativity. Not having the strength to pull yourself out of the bleak events and pain, being stretched thin, and just recounting how things used to be. It definitely ends the album in a darker palette which helps to remind us they still definitely have Emo tendencies; but musically the arrangements evolved to not sounding like Hot Topic chaff.

Now let me start off by saying, I did enjoy this album quite a bit. Not as much as Save Rock and Roll, mainly because they added a few weird elements. Spoken word tracks didn’t feel out of place, but they are definitely filler and there were a few songs that just hit me in a very generic way. Even if I did enjoy most of the lyrics and how they painted story of the song, I can’t overlook the redundancy in some topics. Its not really a negative for an Emo band to utilize negative emotions, so I can’t really take too many points off, just a personal small gripe.

Either way, the lyrics have a mature understanding nature to them, the music is a little more eclectic than some may expect; but its not often I get to make Thurston Harris or Earth, Wind & Fire references. So I enjoyed the sonic buffet sampling, and its a good album. Just shy of being on my higher rated albums purely because of some of the forgettable radio songs.

Final Judgment: 7.85/10

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

Bandwagon Nerds

Bandwagon Nerds #175: Affleck is DC Done

Published

6 days ago

March 20, 2023

Patrick O'Dowd

Bandwagon Nerds #175: Affleck is DC Done

On this week’s Bandwagon, Patrick, Tunney and Dave continue their coverage of The Mandalorian. Why do the nerds think this episode may have been the best of season three so far? Plus, the guys discuss tons of news around the Nerdosphere including the Oscars, The Last of Us and it’s dynamic first season and why Ben Affleck says he is done with DC movies!

@WrestlngRealist
@AttitudeAgg
@itsReyCash
@PCTunney
@ViolentAesop
@therealcplatt
@ChairshotMedia

About Bandwagon Nerds

Join Patrick O’Dowd, David Ungar, PC Tunney and Rey Cash as they keep everyone up on all things nerd, and maybe add some new nerds along the way. It’s the Bandwagon Nerds Podcast!

About the Chairshot Radio Network

Created in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts, including POD is WAR, Women’s Wrestling Talk, The #Miranda Show, Badlands’ Wrestling Mount Rushmores, The Outsider’s Edge, DWI Podcast, Bandwagon Nerds, the Greg DeMarco Show, 3 Man Weave, Five Rounds, Turnbuckle Talk, Suwama’s Station, The Reaction and more! You can find these great shows each week at theChairshot.com and through our distribution partners, including podcasting’s most popular platforms.