METALLICA REISSUE …AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

Here are some of the new albums that drop today:

Metallica – …And Justice For All Reissue

For those that follow my new release posts, I usually leave reissues to the “others” section, unless it is something colossal, such as these Metallica reissues.  Give the band all the crap that you want, but they’ve almost always done right by the fans.  You can dwell on St. Anger, Lulu, too many Loads or S+M, but their reissues have all been great.

As a fan, this is exactly what I want, hard to find items, whether that be pictures, patches, faux tickets, replica flyers, etc.  Plus the musical content is out of this world, if you get the boxed set it is …And Justice For All Remastered (two LPs), “One” 10″ picture disk, Seattle ’89 (three LPs), …And Justice For All Remastered (single CD), Interviews (single CD), Riffs, Jams & Demos (two CDs), Rough Mixes From The Vault (single CD), Live At The Troubadour + B-Sides (two CDs), Live At The Hammersmith Odeon + Radio Edits (two CDs), Live At Long Beach Arena, (two CDs), …And Camcorder For All & “One” (single DVD), Live At Shoreline Amphitheatre (single DVD), Live At The Stone Balloon (single DVD), Justice On Wheels, Masa Ito Interviews, Raw Live Footage (single DVD).

Because all of that content isn’t enough, MP3 download card of all audio, tour laminate, set of four patches, Pushead print, lyric folder and sheets, and a 120-page hardcover book with previously unreleased photos and stories.  It’s all remastered, on 180-gram double LP and CD, three live LPs, picture disk, eleven CDs, and four DVDs.

Witherfall – A Prelude To Sorrow

We’ve featured Witherfall plenty leading up to the release of their second album A Prelude To Sorrow. The band is made up of two former White Wizzard members, guitarist Jake Dreyer, who is now part of Iced Earth, and Joseph Michael, who is now part of Sanctuary.

I got to meet Jake while WW was coincidentally opening up for Iced Earth, so I can only imagine that the tour opened the way for him to join the band. And I’ve also had the pleasure of interviewing Joseph during an episode of Talking Metal. Last year’s Nocturnes And Requiems was a great launching point for the band, but given the bands both Jake and Joseph are a part of, it made you think, are they one and done?

It is great to see that they’re back with A Prelude To Sorrow and that they’ve picked things off where they’ve left things off, and pushed things another level with this album. If you’re remotely a fan of White Wizzard, Sanctuary, or Iced Earth, I highly recommend this album to you, you can hear influences of all of these bands in the music, but it’s a bit proggier, a little more detuned, and in places a little heavier.

Audiotopsy – The Real Now

I was lucky enough to speak to Billy Keeton when the first Audiotopsy album came out, for those not keeping score, he used to sing for a band called Skrape, with Perry Stern on bass, Greg Tribbett and Matthew McDonough formerly of Mudvayne on guitar and drums. The tracks I’ve heard off of the album seem to be heavier than Natural Causes, which I enjoyed, but this seems to have a nastier edge over the debut album.

I liked most of Mudvayne’s releases, so hearing Tribbett and McDonough together again is cool by me, they were pigeonholed into the Nu-Metal genre, but I always felt they were more than that. People may crap on me for this, but I always felt that the dynamics of the band were pretty similar to Tool’s from a musical standpoint.  If you really pay attention there is a lot of proggy playing going on with both Mudvayne and Audiotopsy you may understand what I’m getting at.

Mother Feather – Constellation Baby

This band has always interested me, since the first time I saw their name, then promo images, and then realized who they were signed to. The New York band is signed to Metal Blade, and what’s cool about them, is they sound nothing like the rest of the acts on the label’s roster.

They’re a rock band that mix in elements of 90s alternative, 80s synths, and pop sensibilities, with dueling female vocals to boot. Their image will throw a lot of people too, as they look like they could be part of Lady GaGa’s entourage, with makeup mixed between Clockwork Orange, EZO, and the aforementioned Ms. Germanotta. May not be the easiest thing to digest for a purist metal listening base, but if you go in with an open mind you might find something you like.

Here are some other new releases that may pique your interest:

Filter – Short Bus Reissue

Opeth – Garden Of The Titans: Live A Red Rocks

Steven Wilson – Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall

Tenacious D – Post-Apocalypto

Cancer – Shadow Gripped

The Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic

Touche Amore – 10 Years/1000 Shows At The Regent Theater

Article by Victor M. Ruiz of Mars Attacks Radio & Podcast, and Galaxy Of Geeks Podcast.  Connect with him on Twitter:  @vmr907