My band's most recent album, 'Storm of Crows', is on Bandcamp. It started out as a concept album but at some point I dropped the idea. I still think it's the best album from the band, though, especially when it comes to the guitar tone and mixing quality. Lyrically, it's maybe not as "complex" as The Art of War. I also think toning down the sarcastic nature of the lyrics was a better choice this time around.
Some of my favorite songs on the album are 'Kara Sells Dreams', 'Weather the Storm', and 'The Raven'. You can download it for free (or name your price) from the links above.
This is one of my favorite songs from my band's most recent album 'Storm of Crows'. There's a weird effect on the lead guitar that I don't remember how exactly it got there. I must have been messing with the effects in Fender Fuse before I started recording and just forgot to reset it. I liked the way it made the song sound "older" though, so I kept it.
Rock music is in decline. It doesn't chart, it's overshadowed by pop princesses and overrated corporate packages like Kanye West. There's no doubt about that. Why? Because of shit bands like Arcade Fire and Kings of Leon.
Nobody wants to listen to flat beats with even flatter vocals. It's boring and unimaginative. Modern rock bands have lost the sense of melody and it's killing the genre. The Rock N Roll bands of the late 50s and early 60s were hugely popular because the music had life. It was upbeat, energetic, and it had melody. Something sorely missing in the "flat-line" rock of today.
A few years after Rock N Roll became huge there was the folk-rock period of 65-67 where Paul McCartney wrote some of his most popular melodies. The Byrds played some amazing and influential guitar riffs that felt fully fleshed out. Compare that to Arcade Fire... See what I mean by unimaginative and boring? It's flat by comparison.
After folk-rock (with a little overlap) came the Psychedelic period that's arguably the biggest turning point in rock's history. Here again McCartney wrote some unforgettable melodies, Lennon wrote songs that felt like they came straight out of a dream. Pink Floyd could put you in a trance with songs that managed to be laid back and yet still full of energy. Bands like Arcade Fire and Kings of Leon just put you to sleep and make you dream of a more melodic song.
And I'm not just saying "the 60s were better." There's also the Punk Rock era and the Grunge and Brit-Pop years of the 90s. In fact, I'd say the 90s were almost equal to the 60s in terms of quality, influence and longevity. What's the best mainstream song I've heard in the last several months? Bring The Light by Beady Eye
The Brit-Pop legends of the 90s, Oasis (minus Noel) playing a throwback song that sounds like it came straight out of the late 50s, early 60s. Is it the greatest song in the world? No. Does it advance music? Not according to hipsters, but if you consider the fact that rock is dying of boredom and needs a jolt of energy then yeah, Bring The Light advances rock away from the abyss and back to where it should be.
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