The opening line of THE STEVE MILLER BAND's latest bio proclaims that "The Gangster is Back!" - a statement that is much more than simple record label PR hype. On his first album since 1993's WIDE RIVER, Miller and Co. take a trip back in time to recapture the essence of Miller's time in the Chicago blues scene, and turn out a collection that makes you wonder what took them so long?
There's something to be said about going out on top, and at this point there's no guarantee that OZZY OSBOURNE will be able to pull that off. After my first listen to Ozzy's latest album SCREAM, I told the first person I spoke to afterward that the album was "pretty terrible." After listening to it again, that statement was not accurate. The album is actually pretty solid, but not for OZZY.
Music Gaming has evolved in ways never thought possible just a few short years ago. With the next generation of games and peripherals slated to debut next week at E3 in Los Angeles, could some visions of the future be included in GREEN DAY: ROCK BAND, which arrived in-stores today? 
What's more metal than swords, cloaks, and tales of mystical beasts and legends? NOTHING.
There's a genre being touted as "Tech Metal" or "Technical Metal" that's being used to describe death metal bands that have some serious progressive playing skills, yet use their powers questionably. Too often "Tech Metal" can also mean "unorganized sonic babble to annoy James with." Truth is, there's only a handful of bands and players that manage to combine virtuoso playing with extreme music and make it work. Off the top, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, CANDIRIA, and (sometimes) BUCKETHEAD come to mind. The reason? The can actually write songs. 
Wind-Up Records is a label responsible for releasing a lot of shit over the course of the past decade. All of the Creed, Scott Stapp, and Alter Bridge albums, along with 12 Stones, Evanescence, and the lackluster soundtracks to DAREDEVIL, ELEKTRA, FANTASTIC 4, etc. were pumped-out by Wind-Up, marketed en masse, and gobbled up by the "Top 40" crowd. To me they were nothing more than the equivalent of emotionless audio diarrhea.