Album Review: Ringo Starr – Look Up (Universal Music Enterprises)

By: Jesse Striewski

I can honestly say I did not have “critiquing the new country album by former Beatle Ringo-Starr” in my deck of cards for my first album review of 2025, but here we are.

Yet somehow…it actually works. The introduction track to Look Up for me was the title track and first single, which is just catchy enough in its simplicity. Other tracks like “Never Let Me Go,” “I Live For Your Love,” and the masterful “Time on my Hands” (no doubt the album’s highlight) sound worthy enough to stack alongside the likes of Cash, Williams, or Jennings nearly any day of the week.

There’s also guest appearances along the way from Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, and Alison Krauss (among others). All in all, Look Up is far from a perfect effort, though a welcomed surprise from a music legend nonetheless.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Album Review – Marilyn Manson: One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 (Nuclear Blast)

By: Jesse Striewski

Whether in terms of music or politics, 2024 has undoubtedly been the year of the “comebacks,” and shock rocker Marilyn Manson’s first studio album in just over four years, after numerous attempts of character assassination, is no exception.

One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 is a direct response to such accusations, with its scathing title track kicking things off with a fury. First single “As Sick as the Secrets Within” is an obvious return to form upon first listen, while “Meet Me in Purgatory” is a definite standout (and personal favorite). Other notable tracks include “Death Is Not a Costume,” “Nod If You Understand” and “Raise the Red Flag,” each upping the ante from the previous.

If you were an outsider Manson fan growing up in the ’90s (as so many of us were), and if you can get past the slightly goofy album cover artwork, this one should no doubt be right up your alley (and with any luck, in your Christmas stocking this year).

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Album Review: As I Lay Dying – Through Storms Ahead (Napalm)

By: Jesse Striewski

I can’t recall another time in recent history where a band has actually imploded from inside out just prior to the release of their first studio album of new material in over five years the way metalcore outfit As I Lay Dying – who within the past few weeks has trimmed down to consist of just lone problematic frontman Tim Lambesis – quite have. It’s a shame too, considering the musicians on Through Storms Ahead have created something actually worthwhile here sonically.

And speaking of music, above all else that is what we’re ultimately here to discuss over any drama or controversy though. And as previously stated, what’s been put together here before the exodus at least feels like a labor of love from all those involved.

The instrumental “Permanence” opens the record with a touch of class before “A Broken Reflection” kicks things into high gear, while “Burden” contains some of the best vocals between Lambesis and now-former bassist Ryan Neff.

“We Are the Dead” features appearances from members of Slaughter to Prevail (Alex Terrible) and Chelsea Grin (Tom Barber), while the title track, “The Void Within,” and “The Cave We Fear to Enter” are some of the album’s additional stronger moments.

The one and only time I was able to personally catch As I Lay Dying live was at the 2006 Sounds of the Underground festival which they headlined. I remember thinking at the time how tight they all appeared together on stage; hopefully there’s a way for this band to somehow salvage things and possibly even get back to that.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Album Review: FEAR – The Last Time (Atom Age Industries/Fear Records)

By: Jesse Striewski

It seems like just yesterday I was reviewing the latest album from Fear, For Right and Order. Now just one year later we’re talking about what may very well be their final release ever; it’s one of those inevitable moments you hope will never come, but ultimately has to sooner or later for all of us (just like death and taxes, as they say).

Fitting that it seems like I’m always listening to their music for the first time near the holidays, too (their 1982 debut effort The Record was a Christmas gift after all once upon a time when I was still a teenager). And while there may not be a “Fuck Christmas” or even “Another Christmas Beer” type of track found here, The Last Time is still an adequate stocking stuffer nontheless.

Frontman and founder Lee Ving offers up his usual dose of mayhem in the best way possible, with opening track “Here We Go Again” saying it all to listeners right off the bat. And then you’ve got your basic hard-hitters like “Fuel Injected Papa,” and your catchy numbers in the form of “Three Blind Mice.”

Is it the best the band has ever had to offer on record? Nah. But is it a fitting enough high note to go out on if this truly is the “last time” for Fear? It’ll certainly do.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Album Review: The Cure – Songs of a Lost World (Fiction/Lost Music/Polydor/Universal/Capitol)

By: Jesse Striewski

Legendary goth new wavers The Cure have their first album of all-new material since 2008 out right now. How lucky we are to actually be able to say that here in 2024.

But make no mistakes about it, this is not your “Friday I’m in Love,” Cure (though an argument could be made that the album could use a bit more optimism here); here Robert Smith and company have conjured up the darker side of the band (a la “Burn” from 1994’s soundtrack to The Crow) for Songs of a Lost World.

From album opener “Alone,” to the epic ten minute closer “Endsong,” it’s one dark, brooding emotion after another with this eight song collection. Other tracks like “And Nothing is Forever” and “I Can Never Say Goodbye” should also help confirm where Smith’s head was at during the writing process here.

Last month I had reviewed a new record from the Pixies. Before that, it was the latest release from Motley Crue. What a time to be alive for music fans.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Album Review: Pixies – The Night the Zombies Came (BMG)

By: Jesse Striewski

I’m a bit indifferent when it comes to later material from the Pixies these days, which for me ranges from either small strokes of brilliance, to complete bore. On their ninth studio effort, they offer up a bit of each once again.

The first two tracks that open their latest effort are perfect examples; “Primrose” sets listeners up on a promising note, while its follow up “You’re So Impatient” had me impatient for something better.

Then there’s the tracks that harken back to their “glory days;” “Jane (The Night the Zombies Came),” “Hypnotized,” and “I Hear You Mary” are each worth the price of admission alone. Not a perfect album by any means, but adequate enough for just about any existing fan of the band.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Motley Crue – Cancelled (Big Machine)

By: Jesse Striewski

There was a time when something like a new EP from the likes of Motley Crue might have really excited me (back when they were still actually known as an “edgier” act). But these days, they haven’t exactly aged all that gracefully.

Like most fans, my introduction to their new Cancelled EP came via the single “Dogs of War,” which didn’t exactly cause as much of a stir as the band had probably hoped for (even hearing it live for the first time earlier this year at Welcome to Rockville was fairly “meh” as well).

And then they put out their cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Rights,” probably the most cringe-worthy moment in the group’s entire forty-plus year history, akin to being as cool watching your dad trying to perform the mid-’80s anthem at the annual family backyard barbecue.

My interests were piqued a bit more when I finally heard the title track, which is actually an admirable stand alone effort all things considered. But unfortunately, having only one out of three of your new tracks be listenable doesn’t quite equate to knocking it out of the ball park. Please try again soon, Motley Crue, and preferably with your “classic” lineup intact (no offense to current guitarist John 5, whose work outside of the band I do actually appreciate).

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Album Review: Twenty One Pilots – Clancy (Fueled By Ramen/Elektra)

By: Jesse Striewski

After 2021’s slightly disappointing Scaled and Icy effort, I wasn’t exactly waiting with baited breath for new material from Twenty One Pilots to be perfectly honest. But thankfully, within minutes of listening it’s apparent their latest concept album, Clancy, would be a more suitable follow-up to 2018’s Trench than the previously-mentioned Scaled… record.

First single and album opener “Overcompensate” didn’t strike me as a masterpiece right off the bat, but once the likes of “Next Semester” and “Backslide” started kicking into gear, I slowly began to “get it.” From then on it’s simply one catchy number after another, including “Routines in the Night” and the more stripped-down “The Craving (Jenna’s Version).”

But it’s truly the latter half that offers up some of the biggest highlights here, with “Navigating,” “Snap Back,” “Oldies Station,” and “At the Risk of Feeling Dumb” all leading to the slightly cryptic climax of “Paladin Strait” to close things off.

Along with co-writer Paul Meany, band leader Tyler Joseph has truly outdone himself here, and has become one of the best of his kind. I’m lucky to have a teenager at just the right age and savoy enough to introduce me to these talented young guys so many years ago to begin with; without his insight, I might have been late to the game here.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Paul Di’Anno’s Warhorse – Self-Titled (BraveWords Records)

By: Jesse Striewski

Upon initially hearing Paul Di’Anno, beloved early Iron Maiden singer from the band’s first two classic albums, was coming back with an all-new project and studio album titled Warhorse, the first thoughts that came to mind were simply “sign me up!”

I wasn’t too crazy about the first song I heard from the album (“Stop the War”), but by the time “Here Comes the Night” was released as a single, I started to catch the bug. And like most good albums, the best tracks are likely not the ones with heavier exposure, but rather the songs that take a little more digging to find.

Title track “Warhorse” is an admirable enough album opener, while “Get Get Ready” and “Go” keep things, well, going. A metal version of “Tequila” adds a slight bit of intrigue, though ultimately ends up being one of the album’s more hokey numbers.

But the best is definitely saved for last here; “Forever Bound” adds a softer element a la “Strange World,” while album closer “Going Home” gives off a slight “Running Free” feel. Doubtful it’s about to win any album of the year awards anytime soon, but still a fun, welcomed return from a metal legend in his own right nonetheless.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Album Review: Bon Jovi – Forever (Island Records)

By: Jesse Striewski

Growing up a kid in the ’80s and early ’90s, Bon Jovi had always seemed more like “my older sister’s band” to me at the time. Yet conversely, there was always a certain sense of pride that united us knowing they were one of only a handful of bands to emerge from our New Jersey home state to “make it” as big as they eventually did and put said state on the rock n’ roll map.

At first glance perhaps I was a bit closed-off to the idea of a sixteenth Bon Jovi studio album; after all, how could the band that once sang “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “In and Out of Love” so long ago possibly top that in the year 2024? But once I heard the first single “Legendary,” I kind of began to understand what Jon Bon Jovi and company were going for here.

From said first song to “We Made It Look Easy,” “Living Proof,” and “Waves,” to “The People’s House” and “My First Guitar,” Forever simply feels like a love letter to fans. And aside from a filler track or two (not really sure what happened with the overly-generic sounding “Seeds”), it’s a fairly solid record by a band that’s been around the block a time or two; a fitting end cap should this actually prove to become their swan song.

Rating: 3/5 Stars