Artist name: Serj Tankian
Album name: Elect The Dead
Label: Serjical Strike
Gender: Alternative Metal/Art Rock
Release date: October 23th, 2007
ZMErating: 8.5/10
Website: http://www.serjtankian.com

---

Probably the most recognizable voice in post-modern heavy metal, [tag]Serj Tankian[/tag] has finally broken loose from the SOAD tree and, to his fans delight, released his debut solo album, suggestively titled “Elect The Dead.” As you soon find out, it’s a album about our decaying civilization, the monstrosity of our deeds, the lies that surround us and not ultimately love.
Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Jennifer Lopez
Album name: Brave
Label: Epic
Gender: Pop
Release date: October 8, 2007
ZMErating: 8/10
Website: http://www.jenniferlopez.com/

---

This is the fifth English language studio album recorded by [tag]Jennifer Lopez[/tag] and beyond any predetermined ideas it is not that bad. Her previous release which was named Rebirth lacked many things and the R&B act was not that good. She goes for a 70s/80s pop sound and manages to keep you listening to it. There are no tracks which are remarcable but they manage to keep things upbeat and interesting. This retro sound she goes for is an interesting choice.
Permalink to this topic

Artist name: LeAnn Rimes
Album name: Family
Label: Curb Records
Gender: Pop/Country
Release date: October 9th, 2007
ZMErating: 9/10
Website: http://www.leannrimesworld.com

---

With this release she shows that she has grown up into a true artist that can sing loud and soulful. She has made the difference from a great voice and a great vocalist. She also shows that she is a true songwriter. Co-writing everything but the two bonus cuts previously released duets with Reba McEntire and Bon Jovi she wrote good tracks which talk about relationships.
Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Megadeth
Album name: Warchest
Label: EMI
Gender: Heavy Metal
Release date: October 9, 2007
ZMErating: 10/10
Website: http://www.megadeth.com/

---

The tracks here are hand selected by frontman Dave Mustaine, including 30 audio and video tracks making their global release debuts, and an additional three tracks that have never before been released in the U.S. They have been cleaning out the vaults lately. This includes digitally remastered album cuts, soundtrack and compilation songs, unreleased live and studio performances and interview clips spanning more than 20 years. Disc 4 of the set is a live show from a night on the 1990 “Clash of the Titans” tour. The DVD is a 1992 concert recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Radiohead
Album name: In Rainbows
Label: None
Gender: Alternative Rock
Release date: 10 Oct 2007
ZMErating: 10/10
Website: http://www.radiohead.com

---

Got up earlier then usual this morning, but the sudden lack of sleep has been complemented by the explosion of energy with which “In Rainbows” hit me. I received [tag]Radiohead[/tag]’s latest gem in my mailbox at around 6 AM, for a fair fee (??$), and was immediately hooked by the 10 track marvel. Although most of you received the album for free, it seems to come at a price: audio quality. “THE ALBUM WILL COME AS A 48.4MB ZIP FILE CONTAINING 10 X 160KBPS DRM FREE MP3s” - that’s what the official order email states. Although this may seem quite low for those of us who look for the best audio quality in our mp3s, It doesn’t spoils the magic of “In Rainbows” in any way. If you want to experience the LP in it’s true splendor, you may want to wait for the release of the disc box in December, or CD at the beginning of 2008.

Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Vanessa Carlton
Album name: Heroes & Thieves
Label: The Inc Records/Universal Motown
Gender: Pop
Release date: 9 Oct 2007
ZMErating: 9/10
Website: http://www.vanessacarlton.com/

---

According to her this is “the best patch of songs I’ve ever written”. She also describes it as “pretty uplifting” and as having “a lot of layers … [There are] very complex arrangements but everything just makes me feel good and not in a simplistic way.”. She also says that the concept of the album is “about personal evolution and that Every song is like a different chapter in a book”.

Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band
Album name: Magic
Label: Columbia Records
Gender: Rock
Release date: October 2, 2007
ZMErating: 10/10
Website: http://www.brucespringsteen.net/

---

It’s been 5 years since we’ve heard anything new from [tag]Bruce Springsteen[/tag] and the E Street Band, whom back then reunited for the first time in 20 years and made a 9/11 tribute album The Rising, condemning the devastating attacks. It was a huge success, the triumphant return of The Boss, as it was called and so it was expected that under the same formula as The Rising, Magic would walk in it’s footsteps. It does more then that, as the name implies, it’s a magical record.

Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Katie Melua
Album name: Pictures
Label: Dramatico
Gender: Acoustic/Jazz/Blues
Release date: 1 Oct 2007
ZMErating: 10/10
Website: http://www.katiemelua.com/

---

There are those who admire and find great rewards in listening to Katie Melua and there are others who find that her music is just for your grandmother. But most listeners are just not understanding her. Her songs are not just sung, but emoted. They bind naivety, innocence, loss or hope and many other feelings together; and her voice is just right for that. It is vulnerable, wistful, smoky, joyful and mournful and fits in with her music.

Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Nightwish
Album name: Dark Passion Play
Label: Nuclear Blast/Roadrunner Records
Gender: Symphonic Metal
Release date: September 26, 2007
ZMErating: 8/10
Website: http://www.nightwish.com/

---

Three years have passed since the previous release of the band. In 2004 the finnish quartet gave Tarja Turunen over 60 minutes material which is more than hard to play; it was so hard it could break the neck of almost any mezzo-soprano in the studio and she sang it in concerts with the smoke and the effects and the screaming crowd right in front of her. So she began distancing herself from the band and she was more or less fired. Then the media started doing its thing and wrote more or less true things about that and rivers of teenage tears flew downstream. Then they had to find a new singer and they located Annete Olzon.

Permalink to this topic

Artist name: Jose Gonzalez
Album name: In Our Nature
Label: Mute Records
Gender: Folk/Indie
Release date: September 25, 2007
ZMErating: 8/10
Website: http://www.jose-gonzalez.com/

---

Two years ago, the back then unknown swede goldenboy [tag]Jose Gonzalez[/tag] amazed the entire world with his fabulous acoustic playing and Nick Drake like voice,releasing what was to be one of the finest album of 2005 in the form of Veneer. A Sony Bravia ad, featuring his extraordinary cover of The Knife’s Heartbeats won him his much deserved fame and platinum sales, but also inevitably draw a lot mainstream critiques. Now at his sophomore studio effort, “In Our Nature“, Jose continues down the same path Veneer went, combining soft vocals with plaintive melodies courtesy of the classical guitar.

Permalink to this topic