Daily Staff Writer

Artist: Machine Head

Album: “The Blackening”

Label: Roadrunner

Release Date: March 27, 2007

Availability: CD, iTunes and Ruckus

Machine Head isn’t satisfied to pursue just one metal subgenre in this record – it covers most of the balkanized territory of modern metal.

Vocalist Robb Flynn’s timbre lingers somewhere between clean vocals and a death grunt, giving a raspy but intelligible voice. Even within tracks, the band varies tempo immensely, advancing from the plodding of doom metal to a heavy thrash tempo, maxing out in high-speed bursts. The band even delves into nu-metal a bit, with Flynn dropping his rasp and singing clean. During the many extended solos, Flynn and second lead guitarist Phil Demmel create dueling guitar arpeggios – a dazzling effect.

This is an angry record. Flynn comes out swinging on every track and keeps the flaming bile flowing regardless of speed. In “Clenching the Fists of Descent,” the band deals with the Iraq war, and this is touched on several times on the record. Other tracks, such as “Aesthetics of Hate,” deal with the most aggressive of the angry emotions – Flynn is calling out the objects of his rage.

This aggression, combined with the frequent changes in style, draw you into the record. The result is an immersive, interesting and brutal record.

By Rusty Anderson

Daily Staff Writer

Artist: Finger Eleven

Album: “Them vs. You vs. Me”

Release Date: March 6, 2007

Label: Wind-Up

Availability: CD and iTunes

Hailing from our neighbor to the north – more specifically Ontario – Finger Eleven, while not particularly mainstream, has managed to make a well-earned name for itself in the music scene.

Building from its dedicated Canadian fanbase, Finger Eleven found itself quickly growing in popularity with its self-titled release in 2003.

The album was also its first album to be released with Wind-Up Records in the United States, not counting the re-release of “Tip,” which was originally released in Canada under Finger Eleven’s prior label Mercury Records.

Finger Eleven steps into the spotlight once again with the release of “Them vs. You vs. Me,” after a daunting four-year hiatus from the radio waves and stages across the nation.

Its well-established sound is embraced fully in its latest album.

Intertwining a grand mix of straightforward alternative rock, its thick, bass-rich guitar riffs and gravel-voiced melodies along with a few well-placed ballads, such as “Talking to the Walls,” that leave a hint of Everclear lingering on the ear drums of listeners.

A personal favorite of mine on the album would have to be “Falling On” with its short, choppy riffs, its mixture of raspy vocals and falsetto and its simple yet thought-provoking lyrics, “You’ve got to find your balance/ you have to realize/ you’ve to got to try to find what’s right before your eyes.”

By Rachel Rouse

Daily Staff Writer

Artist: Macy Gray

Album: “Big”

Release Date: March 27, 2007

Label: Geffen

Availability: CD and iTunes

Macy Gray, with her sultry, easily identifiable voice, returns to the music scene with her fifth album, “Big,” after taking a four-year hiatus to pursue acting projects.

Her latest musical endeavor is pop-infused rhythm and blues. Gray was more open to other musical influences on this album than on her previous records.

She collaborated with Justin Timberlake on the track “Get Out.” This song’s catchy beat and addicting lyrics give it a very new pop feel.

Gray takes on very personal issues in her life such as her husband leaving and dealing with parenthood in the song “Finally Made Me Happy.” A track worth listening to is “Treat Me Like Your Money.” Gray dabbles into the ’80s hit, “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” by Dead or Alive in this lyrically humorous number.

With this new album, Gray is back in a “big” way.