Mentallica: Masters of Tribute

Last October Europe’s finest Metallica tribute blow me away with their Halloween show at Poole’s hottest music venue, Mr Kyp’s. That night werewolves and club-wielding metallers alike shared the pit and basked in the glow of a stunning homage to the biggest metal band in the world.

This year the foursome - collectively known as Mentallica – return on October 22nd to thwack you relentlessly with more licks and power riffs than you can handle. Even ‘tallica themselves have shown their adoration, so fans won’t want to miss out on a sublime recreation of the raw, intense and explosive sound and atmosphere of a live Metallica gig.

Are you sick of the routine of drinking cheap wine and stumbling to Lollipop on a Friday night? With modestly priced booze and entry at just £10 for an advance ticket, this night of in-your-face metal stands as the perfect alternative.

Linkin Park: A Thousand Suns

It was the first Christmas of the new millennium when I found Hybrid Theory in my stocking. I was a mere 10 years old. In my case, Linkin Park’s debut graced a distinctly impressionable boy’s portable tape player before Sum 41’s ‘All Killer...’ and before I’d heard of Blink 182. It even proceeded my ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ phase when I realised Sisqo’s thong-inspired raps really didn’t do it for me after all. Having been part of the generation who witnessed ‘Papercut’ on what must have been Top of the Pops – the third single from an album which is now the 26^th biggest selling album of all time – I was lucky enough to see the birth of one of the world’s most exciting bands.

Minutes to Midnight, for me, was utterly rubbish. After enduring four years of two albums worth of material, this was their 2007 comeback. Gone were the chugging guitars and screams of self loathing, and in their place were half finished power ballads and the odd profanity. It seemed the band who took the world by storm had sold out to Michael Bay. That was three years ago and the Californian sextet have taken another musical direction entirely. And, with a concept based on inhumanity and nuclear warfare, it’s been done to explosive effect.

The album opens slowly with ‘Burning Skies.’ Following an integrated speech from the father of the atomic bomb, it acts as a clear indication of where album number four is heading. Turn up the bass and take it with a pinch of salt and ‘When they come for me’ will sound truly original and be etched into the brain before you know it. ‘Waiting for the End’ has a chorus with a heart-warming reggae feel and the simple but powerfully placed and sparsely used riffs come with a bizarre appreciation. Almost like they were taken for granted for years before. Blackout is still lead by night club-like samples and a simple piano, but Chester’s screams of ‘f**k it are you listening now?’ add another dimension to an already eclectic range of tracks.

‘A Thousand Suns’ is peppered with fillers – pretentious noises and samples that would be the downfall of many other bands. But it flows so well here without a dull moment - a highlight being Wisdom, Justice and Love, which could almost be the final words of Optimus Prime. Lead single ‘The Catalyst’ sounds better on the album than as a stand-alone, as it brings the album to a beautiful close. An acoustic ballad from Chester isn’t something old school fans would ever expect but the front man effortlessly forces everything he has into closing track ‘The Messenger.’ His vocals have never been so crisp and the rock star image he’s gained over recent years seems far more deserved - if still a little unorthodox.

There is a distinct lack of hard guitars throughout, which would seem a futile move for a band once considered the pioneers of Nu-Metal. But Linkin Park have said themselves that they’re striding into the unknown. Their abrupt change in song writing style is a daring move that - in the eyes of an old school fan who has resigned to the fact that we may not hear the likes of Closer to the Edge and Faint again - has paid off with huge reward.

To the world their landmark first albums were brilliantly predictable; to some, Minutes to midnight was predictably awful; but with time ‘A Thousand Suns’ will be seen by many as unpredictably brilliant. Amongst the speech and recordings is a solid album and this time round the six-piece should be really proud of what they’ve created.

Jimmy Eat World: Invented

Best known for their 2001 self titled album which brought ‘The Middle’ and ‘Sweetness’ - tunes which still grace discos and playlists across the world today - Jimmy Eat World are the state-side experts when it comes to constructing heartfelt, melancholy -drenched hope ballads. Their seventh studio album bears few surprises or progression but I wasn’t at all surprised to find that I fell in love with it on first listen.

Invented is inventive in the most unmistakably Jimmy Eat World of ways. The emotion behind every song is flawless, the lyrics and structures are varied and original and, as always, it’s difficult to find a fault in anything they do – minus the fact that it sounds like everything else they’ve done in the last 10 years. Futures (2004), Chase this Light (2007) and their newest effort this year could certainly merge into one album. This, however, is where they succeed every time, as their current attitude to song writing cannot disappoint.

Melodies throughout are as crisp as expected, tattooing themselves into the mind and you’ll soon find yourself relentlessly humming the likes of lead single ‘My Best Theory’ and NYC inspired ‘Movielike.’ With the simplest lyrics and make up, ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’ is a real highlight and is as perfect as they come - made unique by the vocal contribution of folk singer Courtney Marie Andrews. ‘Action Needs an Audience’ sees the foursome trying something a little heavier, although it fails to be anywhere near as good as their attempt to do the same with Futures’ ‘Nothing wrong.’

Fans of the band may see ‘Cut’ is Invented’s take on earlier ballads ‘23’, ‘Hear You Me’ or Clarity’s ‘Table for Glasses’ and it’s a beautiful example of what they can create a decade on. Front man Jim Adkins has always provided immaculate vocals but with every new album seems to find a little extra something to add – his best is heard this time round in the serene seven minute long title track. They’ve always struck me as being like the quiet and faultlessly nice guy the pretty girl overlooks for the jock and, with lyrics like ‘Any dick can pull up in a suit, but only I know what really moves you’ and the admittance of ‘Stop’s ‘if you want to make me baby, stop ‘coz you have’, this concept works as well as ever. Jimmy Eat World are simply incapable of writing bad songs.

With all the heartache and wonder, strings and keys and the abundance of melody and hurt, it may all sound worthy of being the theme tune for trashy American teen dramas. Which it is and has been – four songs from Futures have been featured in the series One Tree Hill. But that’s what works and it works so well. Judging by the strength their past few albums, there’s really no end in sight.

Ten of Jimmy Eat World’s best:

‘Lucky Denver Mint’ (Clarity, 1999)

‘Just Watch the Fireworks’ (Clarity, 1999)

‘Salt Sweet Sugar’ (Bleed American, 2001)

‘If You Don’t, Don’t’ (Bleed American, 2001)

‘Kill’ (Futures, 2004)

‘Pain’ (Futures, 2004)

‘Always Be’ (Chase this Light, 2007)

‘Dizzy’ (Chase this Light, 2007)

‘Coffee and Cigarettes’ (Invented, 2010)

‘Cut’ (Invented, 2010)

Matt Skiba: Demos

Matt Skiba is the founder and co front man of Chicago emo pop-rock threesome Alkaline Trio. Plagued by an early life of drug abuse, alcoholism and a self professed faith in the Satanic church, his lyrics have never failed to be creative in the most hauntingly melancholic ways. It is undoubtedly his ability to write wholesome songs in a variety of styles that makes Matt Skiba so loveable and such a success in the punk genre today.

His new album ‘Demos’ compiles efforts from different stages of his song writing career – songs that were recorded into his computer whilst on tour with his various bands. It’s not an ideally easy listen due to its varied and minimally produced feel but fans will note how perfectly it conveys Skiba’s original melodic style without punk influence. And this is exactly what it aims to do.

On first listen it could sound sloppy and bizarre without a drum accompaniment, but once listeners grasp the alien sounds of Angel of Deaf and I Can’t believe you - the latter’s eclectic notes overlap to create a strange musical acid trip – it’s easy to accept Demos as an album in its simplest state. There are times songs feel unfinished and lazily crafted but that’s what demos are. Bands are too often accused of over-producing and selling out and what Demos provides are raw, unreleased examples of Skiba’s song writing ability - some of which would be lost on a modern Alkaline Trio album.

Matt Skiba is a lyrical genius and uses metaphor like a second tongue. Haven’t You conveys a hopeful acoustic sadness which hasn’t been heard since Trio classics Blue in the Face and Sorry About That and SOS has a punk melody we’ve definitely heard before.

This is not Alkaline Trio. Sceptical fans will look to this album as if it were written for the punk scene and in a way it’ll always be compared to his work in 14 years with the Trio. But ultimately this is all Skiba; a clear release of experimentation that wouldn’t fit in either Trio or Heavens which sets him apart from anything else in the genre. Because of this, Demos has the potential to be simply sublime if given the chance.

My favourite lyrical moments from Matt Skiba:

My Friend Peter- Alkaline Trio, ‘Goddamnit’ (1998)

Bleeder- Alkaline Trio, ‘Alkaline Trio’ (2000)

Next To You- Matt Skiba and Kevin Seconds, ‘Split EP’ (2002)

Blue in the Face- Alkaline Trio, ‘Good Mourning’ (2003)

Demons Away- Matt Skiba, ‘Protect: A Benefit for the National Association to Protect Children’ (2005)

Queen of Pain- Alkaline Trio, ‘Remains’ (2007)

Dead on the Floor- Alkaline Trio, ‘This Addiction’ (2010)

Didn’t Feel A Thing- Demos (2010)

Yum: Dinner For Schmucks

An endearing montage of stuffed rodent corpses sharing a cheese milkshake and developing bikini lines in the park isn’t the opening you’d expect from a film about a dinner party. But Jay Roach’s new screwball is as unpredictable as it is riotous and is definitely sweeter tasting than it sounds.

Dinner for Schmucks is inspired by a French film, Le Dîner de con, where accomplished businessmen invite ‘idiots’ to dinner to make fun of them. At the end, the most extraordinary individual is given a trophy. Schmucks has the same premise, but with the chuckles and wildness expected from the modern genre, and the concluding feast will leave you with a real fondness for blind swordsman and a woman who can speak to dead animals. Not to mention Barry, Steve Carell’s latest personality.

Carell is master of all things ceremonious in Roach’s latest farce, which has all the charm and outlandish cringe worthy antics of Meet the Parents and Austin Powers. You almost feel yourself pining for his next ridiculous move. Barry is a clear mix of previous portrayals – traits of a childlike hamster (Over the Hedge), a painstakingly thick but loyal companion (Anchorman) and a 40 year old virgin. Although he’s most certainly not the latter, as a back story explains that Barry was hurt by his wife ‘Pudding,’ who left him with Clamydia and ran off with his mentalist boss – nailed by the hilarious Zach Galifianakis.

What works best is that Carrell’s character isn’t your typical idiot. He’s not gormless or dense and is certainly not stupid. He’s merely socially different and his final ‘everybody has dreams’ speech at dinner will leave neck hairs standing on end and a few smiles of adoration for the lovable bachelor. In a scene where a strange woman exclaims that she wants to ‘lick cheese from his naked body,’ Barry replies with ‘oh, I’m sure Tim (Paul Rudd) has plates’ and it’s this blatant naivety that makes Carell’s character so likeable.

Paul Rudd, who plays the analyst charged with inviting an idiot to dinner to get his desired promotion, is plagued with the same character seen in Knocked Up, Role Models and in some ways as Mike from Friends – hapless and unfortunate but with a kind heart. However he leads the plot well and bounces Carell’s genious back effectively. As does Flight of The Choncord’s Jermaine Clement, who’s feral self portraits, mundane accent and single facial expression are as pristine as they are when he’s a Concord. There are moments of tedium where the comedy tires but there are some genuine laughs – our very own David Walliams’ Swiss accent is gold.

Despite having a title encapsulating a Yiddish swear word - one which isn’t used once in the film - this unpredictable and unconventional Carell classic is one dinner date you won’t want to miss.