Shred: Stam1na - Nocebo

1. Pirunpaska 
2. Valtiaan Uudet Vaateet 
3. Tavastia Palamaan! 
4. Puolikas Ihminen 
5. Aivohalvaus 
6. Rabies 
7. Lepositeet 
8. Nomad 
9. Ei Encorea 
10. Arveton On Arvoton

My quest to find the best record of the year continues with a promising entry. There was another record back in 2010 which I might have overlooked when I entitled Herra Ylppö's 2^nd record that year's best. Stam1na released their masterpiece Viimeinen Atlantis (Last Atlantis) that year. What was so special about that record was that it told a haunting story about humanity's last moments on this planet. Earth's resources had been depleted, natural disasters were sparked by the climate change and every nation was at war. This kind of every man for himself situation will be a reality someday, but our generation won't be there to see it although it's partially caused by us. Talk about an environmental awakening through music.

Viimeinen Atlantis made Stam1na a big band in Finland, so Nocebo is one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year. It was certified gold already in its first day on sale. While Stam1na still sings in Finnish, there is already one song on this album that is partially sung in English (Nomad). Not just that, but reportedly English lyrics exist for all the songs in case the band decides to get back to the studio to tape them and re-release this record entirely in English for international markets.

Listening to Stam1na’s music is like someone's arms came through the speakers to pull your hair and repeatedly smack you in the face with a pace of 200 punches in a minute. Yet under all this aggression and winding speed the music manages to be very melodic, catchy and even sophisticated. I don't have even half the theoretical knowledge of music to completely explain what's going on, but I summarize everything by saying that it works. These songs are multilayered and each listen reveals something more, making the record better and better. I have listened to this album over a dozen times in two days and I simply won’t get bored of it.

Nocebo isn’t as serious as its predecessor. For example, some of the lyrics of the first song are simply A, B, C, D E, F and G to demonstrate which chords are played. While Nocebo doesn’t fall in the category of theme albums, medicines, illnesses and the human body are mentioned in several songs, giving the album an organic atmosphere.

Pirunpaska (Devil’s Sh**) acts only as an intro as the record really gets going in the second song, Valtiaan Uudet Vaateet (Sovereign's New Claims, a pun from the story Emperor's New Clothes). This is possibly one of the best songs I have ever heard, mainly thanks to its fantastic c-section and guitar solo which frankly, is only a standard to Stam1na. Rabies starts with a striking, addictive drum fill and even without these three seconds of triumph this record deserves a special mention for its drums. Great drummers like Teppo Velin are sadly far and between (because everyone wants to play guitar), but Stam1na has nothing to worry about in this department.

It is tricky to find other highlights from Nocebo because it's so consistent and thought out from the beginning to the end. Songs bridge to each other nicely and the velocity stays way above the speed limit the whole time with exception to Lepositeet (Sleep Ties) which is a song about sleep deprivation and is described as the official ballad of this band. Yeah right.

Stam1na' is one of those bands that have never released an album which could be rated lackluster or mediocre. All their records are great and this fifth album manages to raise the bar even higher. Stam1na's previous albums are still very much worth listening to, Nocebo doesn't overshadow them, but it's a product of successful evolution.

Much of the praise should also be pointed to Nocebo's international producer Joe Barresi who has been able to focus this albums sound to get the best out of it. Last autumn a Finnish recording artist called Manna made a record with an American producer and the opposite of Nocebo resulted of this collaboration. Stam1na shows that a Finnish band and a  producer from USA can be a match made in heaven.

Side note: You may want to think twice before watching this rather disturbing video. Listening is a whole different case.

Retrospective: No Dout – The Singles 1992 – 2003

1. Just A Girl 
2. It's My Life 
3. Hey Baby 
4. Bathwater 
5. Sunday Morning 
6. Hella Good 
7. New 
8. Underneath It All 
9. Excusme Mr. 
10. Running 
11. Spiderwebs 
12. Simple Kind of Life 
13. Don't Speak 
14. Ex-Girlfriend 
15. Trapped In A Box 
16. Girls Get The Bass In The Back

Greatest Hits collections are rarely any band's best albums. There are several reasons for this phenomenon:

1. There aren't enough hits (Kellis – The Hits, 2008)

2. The hits are far from being the band's best songs (Foo Fighters – Greatest Hits, 2009)

3. The songs are good, but don't match with each other well (Madonna – GHV2, 2001)

4. There are another half a mill greatist hits collections darkening the artist's memory (Michael Jackson)

5. The band doesn't approve of the album at all and it's been released only to make money (Guns N' Roses – Greatest Hits, 2004)

Miraculously, No Doubt avoids all these sins with their greatest hits collection. Fans may have their own favorites in the No Doubt catalogue that are not present, but to just an ordinary consumer, it's hard to go wrong with this collection because it gives what it promises, all No Doubt's singles. Only one studio album (The Beacon Street Collection, 1995) isn't featured here at all.

No Doubt is a band that has aimed to change their style a bit for all their records. Despite this the change between tracks on The Singles stays smooth and easy while retaining refreshing variety. Most of this is because in its core No Doubt stays the same even if they had an opera singer on their record. Bass and drums rock the rhythm section steadily, while Gwen Stefani gives No Doubt something extra special with her vocals. Music seems to also matter a lot to this band as they take their time with each record.

The listener gets wrangled in immediately by the hasty rock piece Just a Girl, followed by a cover of Talk Talk's It's My Life which was recorded to promote this compilation at the time of its release. While the band was reportedly dubious on performing a cover, the song sounds right and like No Doubt couldn't have covered any other song. Other highlights of this collection are Sunday Morning, Hella Good, Simple Kind of Life and always so touching Don't Speak. If these songs spark any interest in you towards this band, exploring deeper to world of No Doubt might be time worthy.

After half a dozen postponements, No Doubt is expected to release new music this year. Some songs from the record have already been played to the press and so far the reception has been panegyrical. The only problem No Doubt seems to be having right now most likely isn't the quality of their music, but their obsession to keep perfecting it. They clearly have something in their sleeves. Let's just hope it won't be Chinese democracy.

Shred: Steel Panther - Balls Out

1. In The Future 
2. Supersonic Sex Machine 
3. Just Like Tiger Woods 
4. 17 Girls In A Row 
5. If You Really Really Love Me 
6. It Won't Suck Itself 
7. Tomorrow Night 
8. Why Can't You Trust Me 
9. That's What Girls Are For 
10. Gold Digging Whore 
11. I Like Drugs 
12. Critter 
13. Let Me Come In 
14. Weenie Ride

As the cover (and in that matter the track-list) suggests, this album contains over the top heavy metal from the 1980's recorded with today's equipment and saturated with sexually explicit lyrics. Steel Panther is a pure parody band, but they have something that most parody bands don't have... Great musicians. And... Great songs?

The answer to that question would be yes, but while this band is instrumentally arguably on a very good level, it is the lyrical content that comes out as both a blessing and a curse. The lyrics are thoughtfully written, and although listening to Steel Panther at first feels like watching soft porn with your ears, overtime it starts to feel more like... Well, ordinary music. Or then you have just lost your mind.

All the songs on this record are completely listenable. After a strong opening with In The Future and Supersonic Sex Machine, the record buyer is taken to a  journey to so called daily life of Tiger Woods. The gag is old, this scandal happened early 2010, but the song, Just Like Tiger Woods, is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. There are other themes on this album that tie this record to our times more than the year 1985. One of them is social media. In the song Why Can't You Trust Me, the signer's girlfriend keeps lurking around in his Facebook and Myspace profiles to keep track of visits by other women. She surely has her reasons because Michael Star (artist name, vocals) seems to read the unholy bible of infidelity before he goes to sleep at night... Or more like o'clock in the morning. Or at noon. The protagonist of this album is a highly toxicated middle-aged man that has a somewhat reductive attitude towards women. Michael Star respects them only to the point he stops getting benefits; sex and preferably also money. As much of the album has the same setup in every ong, Balls Out can feel repetitive at times.

Steel Panther isn't something you may enjoy in large doses, but a listen there are here isn't harmful in any way. Just remember to respect your partner afterwards and don't take a word for anything what this band is saying. It is a game. They are playing characters. It's not real, but it sure is fun.