Cosmic Egg

Wow!..what an awesome album...all bow down to Wolfmother..finally a band which would become a legend in the times to come. I always wanted to really witness a band making it big. Wolfmother came out with their first self-titled album 3 years back and they made everyone sit up and notice with their classic rock sound. They are back with their second album titled - Cosmic Egg. I finally got my hands on one of the copies and was really excited to listen to it...and it didnt let me down at all! Infact they sound better than their old self. The new members are kick-ass and Andrew Stockdale is brilliant as ever! I am just addicted to his voice. Right from the first song till the last one..this album is a masterpiece.

California Queen
The intro riff is so damn awesome! It kinda sounds like a perfect beginning to a First song in an album. The bass kicks in with the drums and you get the feeling of the incoming onslaught. Andrew Stockdale with his "Plant-like" voice starts of the proceedings of this first song. Its definitely more heavy than their previous songs..and for the better. The mid-riff is a dirty li'l awesome piece which would make you stand up raising your li'l metal horns and nod your heads; literally embracing the new band and the song. The new bass guitarist Ian Perres steals the show in this first track.

New Moon Rising
If it was the bassist in the first song, I felt the drummer Dave Atkins takes the credit for this song. Andrew Stockdale is at his best with his vocals on this one. This one is on the lines of Dimesion from their first album. The sudden rushing of the guitars are I think their trademark sound (you never know..they always surprise me with their vareity). I had already listened to this song since its video was released before the album. The lyrics seem to tell about how they want to rise up after being disbanded. A nice listen.

White Feather
The stop time guitars on this one and the bluesy licks make you go crazy. This song is a nice catchy one which makes you relax a bit after the initial onslaught. The lyrics especially the refrain "Its alright now"; I think describes the current state of mind of the band. I dont know maybe I am too fixated with initial band's "disbandment" that I am trying to relate this inside every one of their songs. I was very sad when they disbanded since it was one of the few bands which I looked forward listening to in the coming years. If you have a trio and 2 of them back out; normally you get the feeling that its over..and I am so glad this one isn't.

Sundial
The intro to this one is a nice groovy riff and the keyboards come into the picture adding some serious depth to the intro. An awesome song which would be in the back of my mind constantly. The guitars are nice and chunky and the main riff is really catchy. Its a nice song and would definitely be right up there in your playlist esp during your daaru parties.

In the morning
This one takes things a bit slow. Kinda reminds me of Vagabond from their first album. The difference here being its heavier sound. The third guitarist really adds to the sound of Wolfmother. A nice breather which would make you sit back and raise your horns during the chorus. Its here that you can really see the resemblance between Robert Plant and Andrew Stockdale! The solo is awesome...big thumbs up to this track!

10,000 Feet
This is an epic song with the violins coming into play along with the heavy guitars. The guitars are nice and heavy taking us back to the old school heavy metal era. They are nice and aggressive and the crescendo which starts at the beginning and peaks almost at the end of the track literally makes you want to jump up and crave for more. Andrew Stockdale screaches with his banshee like vocals to end this one.

Cosmic Egg
The intro is a nice fast bluesy lick followed by some loud guitars and drums. Its a groovy li'l track which would make your head go into a perpetual up down motion. There is a solo almost at the last minute of the song which adds to the bluesy-ness of the song. The main riff is soo catchy that it would ring in your ears for the times to come.

Far Away
The ballad song of this album. The acoustic guitars kick in to add sweetness to the sound. Nothing else really..its a nice soft number with a kickass solo and a nice catchy chorus. One of the songs that would end up in mixed tapes/cds that you gift to your girlfriends.

Pilgrim
It picks up the pace of the album and sounds awesome. The drums on this one are really cool. Right in the middle of the song..it changes its tempo and damn that makes you raise those metal horns right up in the air. The solo follows soon and its mayhem all around.

In the castle
The intro takes you back to the Doors era. The misty keyboard sound..and the first words "Do you want to walk into the kingdoms of the sun." makes you look forward to whats in store for you. There's this chunky li'l piece before the track explodes which is soo awesome \m/. It would definitely make you do the "air drums" if not the "air guitar". Full of psychedelic sounds..this track is soo cool..makes you wanna go back to the 70s (not that I have experienced the 70s but I have this perception of the 70s and this song is exactly that!).

Phoenix
Reaching almost towards the end of the album..Phoenix talks about "Rising into the sky" pretty obvious by the name of the track. It has nice li'l segments especially the chorus with Andrew Stockdale wailing like a banshee.

Violence of the Sun
Wow! what a kickass title for a song eh? It begins with a slow rhythmic intro but promising some exciting times ahead in the track. The mid part of the song has some really loud guitar slams which again makes you feel something is in store. The song soons comes to a slow break with Andrew Stockdale literally screaming his lungs out and guitars sound really powerful along with the rolling drums of Dave Atkins. It ends with a nice li'l solo.

Big 10 thumbs up!!

GIR XIII

I missed last year's GIR and I was really looking forward to this one. However as luck would have it..my exam dates were on the exact same weekend! Nevertheless I went for the last day's show after my exam today..and it was awesome! I finished my exam at 4:30. in the evening.and straightaway called Viral. He was at the office waiting for my call. We decided to meet at his place in like 15 minutes. Subhash was suffering from fever and so was Jain..so it was just me, Viral and Partha..who btw thought that we were going to Superstars till the half way of our journey. It was only when we crossed Superstars, he asks "Where the hell are you guys going!?" Poor guy..he was worried he wasnt "dressed for the occasion"..but he found out later..he was one of the best dressed ppl at the venue!! Anyways we reached the place at like 6:00 pm only to find that the show had begun exactly on time at 4:30 (something which has never happened in the history of GIR). We missed Boomarang and AVR. However we were in time for Bhayanak Maut. They weren't their usual self today..I have seen them perform better. However that said...they weren't bad! They had their moments and were f*ckin awesome with their sh*t. They were good enuf that I bought their new album! Next up was Superfuzz who were awesome as always. They have a third guitarist who is a li'l kid!!..but he's awesome..he adds depth to their songs. They performed their hits Sing to Me and some new songs which was a treat to watch. After Superfuzz, came Scribe..the best band of the day. They were mind blowing..even better than Bhayanak Maut. They interacted wid the audience pretty well..managing to get some of 'em on the stage along with them. It was really cool. After Scribe came on the international acts. Legend has it that International Acts apart from the bands from Norway (and John Myung \m/) generally suck! This time there was a band called Intronaut which was really bad! They had like zero energy! The growling vocals dint match with the slow pace of their songs! They were soo bad that we decided to head back for some dinner after the 3rd song on their setlist. We had met up with Sam and Naren at the venue and the 5 of us decided to spend some time boozing before dinner and hence headed straight towards Noida. We had a couple of beers and finished the night off with some really tasty food. I am just back after dropping the guys at their home..tired but happy..still listening to Bhayank Maut!..damn my neck's gonna hurt tomorrow!

Sonic Boom

I was just browsing around the net for some new music, when I stumbled upon Sonic Boom by KISS! After 11 long years, they released a new studio album and damn its awesome \m/. I am soo hooked to it! Kinda brings me back to the good ol' days of loud music, catchy riffs and easy lyrics :) Too lazy to write a review. In case anyone's interested look here.

In a bad shape

Last sunday me and Rohit went running in the morning. We went to Nehru Park..I had never been there and was kinda looking forward to it. Its a really nice place to run. The park is well maintained and it has a nice 2.7 km loop. Anyways, we started running and after completing 5 kms, we stopped for a water break. After the water break..I think roughly about a kilometer through, my back started aching bad...bad enough to make me walk the rest of the loop. I thought it must have been a muscle problem and stuff..but as it turned out, yesterday the pain came at less than 5 kms..and today less than 3 kms!! I was advised some rest by Rohit and hence I would be taking the rest of the week off. This also means that my much awaited Half Marathon debut will have to wait. The Delhi run is on the 1st of Nov but sadly I would skip it. Sad but true :(

Cosmic Egg

After mesmerizing the whole world with their "old school" sound, Wolfmother are days away from releasing their next album Cosmic Egg. They have already posted a music video of their single "New Moon Rising" on their site and they sound awesome. They were disbanded soon after their first self-titled album, which left loads of ppl shocked (including me) and I guess that explains the long 3 year wait. However, the brains behind the band Andrew Stockdale, still wanted to venture forward and hence formed his new lineup which is even better than the old one. He mentions in one of his "episodes" as part of the "Transmissions from the Cosmic Egg" videos; that instead of auditioning for new members, he sought after old friends to form his new band. Anyways am just glad they still maintained the old school hard rock/heavy metal sound. I must say the music industry is getting really good at publicizing their stuff. From a Facebook page, which is very active to online streaming serving as sneak previews of their album tracks, they kinda build up the excitement for music lovers all over. Metallica too did the same for Death Magnetic and were pretty successful with their "Fly on the wall" series similar to "Transmissions from the Cosmic Egg" series. But the bands better be able to pull off their stuff after raising the expectations. Anyways looking forward for their release on the 23rd of October. Too bad the pre-order is not for people in India. Still wondering how will I get my hands on it after the release. Below is the first single from their album "New Moon Rising" - kinda speaks about the rise of Wolfmother after they disbanded.

Randomizing

Wheew..coming back after a loong time. I was down with procrastination..dint go running for close to 1.5 weeks..no guitar for 2 weeks..got loads to study...I was mainly just going to the office..coming back..eat..sleep..repeat. Anyways I caught up with each of the activities today though. I was happy that I went running in the evening. Last time I ran for like 15 minutes and my back started cramping up. I stopped and gave the rest of the week off. I went back again today, a bit apprehensive, but I finished strong. Dint run much though..just the usual 5K but I could have gone further. I dint mainly cuz I was fed up of swallowing mosquitoes (I swallowed like 5 of 'em at least). Also I dint want to risk my back.
Anyways tomorrow's Diwali...you can smell it in the air. Everything just brightens up during this time. A nice festive feeling indeed. Sadly there aren't many crackers going off. I know..I know..its bad for the environment and sh*t but its soo damn fun!! I pity the kids of today. They have me to blame though...I have had my fair share of crackers when I was kid thus, contributing to the environment mess we have today :) .
Rohit would be back in Delhi tomorrow. Looking for a nice time with him. The weather is soo cool at this time of the year. I have my first half marathon on November 1st. I am dead scared. My mileage sucks! Just when I had to pick up the pace I loosened out. I am running anyways..lets see if the adrenaline takes over on race-day (I seriously doubt though). We also have this Foundation Day coming up at the office. The one mega event of the year. Looking forward to the free booze and the fun. That's all I guess...Rake signing off! :)

Shortest week

Its been the rarest of occasions. Getting 2 successive long weekends..and that too one for monday and the next for a friday in the same week! Its been really fun. I have been lazing around the entire time which I am a bit ashamed of. I have loads of stuff to do. I have a freakin' half marathon in a month and I really need to pick up my training! I hope I am able to finish it. Office is pretty cool these days..just had a release at the end of last month. All the more reasons to feel lazy.
I dint realize it but I saw Shrek thrice in this week..and its up at 11:15 tonight as well! I dunno if I want to stay up cuz I was thinking of going for ye old running tomorrow morning. But sleeping early is again a problem since I have been dozing off the entire afternoon!!..arrrghh!!! its soo confusing! My X360 is wrecked..gotta get that repaired as well. Its been close to 3 years now, I had started to feel that I was the lucky few who ended up with good consoles but sadly the other day it gave up on me :( . But thats ok..I think once its fully repaired it might function better. Microsoft was cheap enough to settle for an inferior xclamp..but I wont. Sumit would be coming back to India tomorrow...really looking forward to that. He'll get me a really awesome looking Death Metal City action figure! Something to add to my existing collection. Anyways I will stop here...gatta waste some time doing nothing!