This is not a return to form, this is natural progression...
590594
...which is something that many of the people reviewing this album need to understand.  How can you possibly expect a repeat of Rust In Peace?  It has been 14 years since Rust In Peace, Megadeth has had numerous line-up changes, a gradual stylistic shift away from thrash to radio-friendly rock in a completely new 1990s scene in which most of the old metal bands were flailing around with their heads up their asses...not to mention Dave's recent injury, and his issues with old bassist Dave Ellefson.  I don't think Dave would be capable of wiping out 14 years of action and going straight back to how things were in 1990 or beforehand...talk about your unrealistic expectations.

To me, The System Has Failed sounds like a very vital, very effective amalgamation of the old with the new, and that's the way it should be.  The album has moments of heaviness and power that could be straight out of Peace Sells, and many melodic, almost commercial moments that accurately reflect the musical persona of 90s, post-thrash Megadeth.

The World Needs A Hero was hyped as a 'return to form' and the album was terrible...it tried too hard to be like the past but was so rooted in the present that it came out forced, stale and boring.  It is always a bad thing when a band tries to recreate the past but no longer have the means nor capacity to achieve it, artists should always be looking FORWARD, but with inspiration taken from the past.

The same thing could be said for St. Anger by Metallica.  Here is a band that tries to wipe out their entire 90s output in one broad stroke and go right back to the beginning...it just didn't work.  Metallica has been through too much to do that, and it was reflected in St. Anger (one of the worst albums I have EVER heard).

With The System Has Failed Megadeth sounds inspired by the old thrash days and the newer post-1992 style equally, with a fresh, forward looking aesthetic serving to bring the elements together.

Chris Poland supplies some really incredible axe-work here, sounding even better than he did in the thrash days (yes, I said it, best soloing I've ever heard from him).  The two new band members (whose names escape me, guess I'm a bit too lazy to research them) are excellent, supplying solid drumming and inconspicious bass to Mustaine's refreshing riffs.

On the thrash end of things we've got Blackmail The Universe, which displays the speed and sheer metal power that's been missing since Rust In Peace, Kick The Chair, which sounds like a variation on heavy parts selected from the Peace Sells album, Back In The Day, a fast melodic romp, and finally, My Kingdom Come, a mid-paced chugger with a short burst of speed.  On the commercial end, there is Die Dead Enough, an extremely catchy song (with great melodic solos) that is the album's main single, The Scorpian, a truly awesome epic with a scorching guitar mid-section and creepy atmosphere, and Of Mice And Men, a reflective hard-rocker.  Other songs, such as Tears In A Vial and Truth Be Told mix things up a bit by including elements of heaviness and commercial sensibilities.  Overall the song-writing is of a very high standard, and the lyrics aren't too bad neither.

In conclusion, The System Has Failed is certainly a must for any fan of Megadeth or Dave Mustaine.  And if you aren't a fan, try playing this and St. Anger back to back.  The difference in quality is mind-blowing.  When you think about how much Megadeth and Dave have been through it makes you realize how amazing this album is.  This is not a return to form, this is a natural progression, one which leaves me hoping for another album of this quality!  Most of the people ragging on the album are short-sighted...if you were expecting Rust In Peace you were deluded anyways.  This is easily the next best thing, and makes perfect sense as a product and reflector of all the great music Megadeth has made up to this point.
2951123
Soilworks latest effort, "Sworn to a Great Divide" is showing us that Soilwork is slowly starting to pull out of their rut of genric metal, something that started on the dismal "Figure # 5" and continued on un-listenable "Stabbing the Drama" So what do we get this time. Well, there are hints of Soilwork returning to their roots, as though there are still some questionable songs here. I had always thought of Soilwork (mind you when I heard the first two releases) to be the most unique metal band that I have heard since "Hypocrisy" It was like the band took all forms of metal (Nu, Progressive, Melodic, Death, sorry no Hair though) and spun them into one piece. It worked, and it showed the talent and brains the band had in their music and song-writing. Them comes "Figure # 5" What a Bummer. Generic music, dumbed down songs, almost like a glorified Korn or Limp Biskit. So the band still has work to be done and there are still hints of the mess they created, yet "Breeding Thorns", "The Pittsburg Syndrome", "I, Vermin", "As the Sleeper Awakes", "Silent Bullet" and I will throw in "Martyr" for kicks, all seem to revert back to the earlier days, which shows some promise that they will get out of this rut. Sure some of you love the new stuff, and thats fine, but the newer stuff is so much easier on the human ear. I am even sure there are some fans that like the old and the new, but I saw the cross-over in music to be a sin, as they were so much better then that. For those that hate the last two albums (before this) have hope, there are some signs of life here. The "needs improvement" sticker is here, but once again, its a good thing that this shows some form of life.
3713485
A return to form for Blur who haven't been making music in some time. They really haven't made a bad album per se, and I would rank this above their last effort. It's catchy and more like Albarn's side projects than something you might think would come from classic blur, but this is the path they have been paving since their arguably best album, Blur, the self-titled masterpiece that launched them into stardom in America.

It's not going to replace 13, Rubbish, or Parklife either, but it sits up there with some of their better stuff for a good portion of the work. A more modern take if you will on the classic Blur sound. Insightful lyrics and creative noises along with some poppy guitar and refrains don't really add too much that we haven't heard before, and at this point I'm not too sure what they have left for us after this one. I'd probably rate this higher than Think Tank, which is probably on the lower end of their catalogue. So if this is the last album they make it wouldn't be a bad way to go out.

I must say I don't really dig the loud mastering around DR6, though it does add some crispy bass.... I could do with a tad more dynamics to the presentation.
698246
I wouldn't call this album a step forward so much as a step to the side. The vibe remains the same, but the style has changed. Let me start by saying, I have always been a fan of Devendra Banhart. I love his take on freak folk, and there hasn't been a Devendra album I haven't enjoyed. His new album Mala is a little different from other albums he's done. The best way I can describe this album is to call it Devendra's dance album. This is not a pop or dance album in a traditional sense. It's Devendra's version of a dance album (if you need a label, we can call it freak dance). The chilled out vibe of a Devendra's other albums is still present on Mala. One of the charms of Devendra is that he has always been so willing to try out new styles of music, and he has a high success rate. In a sense, this album splits the difference of his other albums. Stylistically, it is probably the most consistent thing he's done. What I mean is that the album has a defining style, while his others albums have had quite a bit of variance. I've always liked that variance, but Devendra pulls off this new style very well. Even with the style change, I would say that Mala fits in very nicely with Devendra's last three releases. It still carries that more produced (at least for Devendra) and catchy sound that he has been growing into. I would highly recommend this album to any fan of Devendra's.
160066
Disturbed is proven that they are getting better with every album. This really shows a growth of the band, with more sophisticated music, and sounding less and less like Nu-Metal, and more like a solid rock band. This is a very good effort, but I think that fans that liked the Sickness (which I thought was horrid) might not like this one as much. I also think that they are writing better music with the intent to play what they want, and not to get top 40 airplay....I believe the first effort was aimed at pop rock radio, and thats why it went 3xplatnium. The second album only went platnium, but didn't reach the sales mark of the first, thats because its more mature and much better muscially, with less FM radio crapola. This album is the best of the bunch, and I think that hard rock fans or even Metal fans with really dig this one>...ENJOY
1784849
Well I'll say this much it's an improvement. In fact at points while listening to the album you'll notice that she's using the same production work that was used on several songs from her last album. Don't get me wrong these new versions are all improvements to the previous songs but it just seems a bit lazy to me from a production standpoint. This is much more the Jill that we've all come to know and love not the angry horny black woman that hijacked the last album that person is definitely gone.

Back are the introspective lyrics, the positive messages; it's just a real feel good album that's much more my cup of tea. I suspected this album would be like this because Jill sings from the heart and if it's full of Joy like how a new child will do you'll get something like this.

I give her credit for taking a few chances by going real uptempo on some songs, something she's never been known for, and it comes off pretty good. What I don't like is the production work. Much of it comes across as rehashed and retreaded from previous albums. If I were to put this on a scale with her 1st album being a 10 id give this one an 8. If the production work had been up to par with her vocals I might have given it a 9.
4247414
Its becoming increasingly hard to produce music that both grabs your attention and sounds original. However, consider me a "stuck in the past" type. Clearly we listen to BLS for the "BLS sound". That sound is alive and f'en well on this album. I don't need to go into long drawn out bloated meanderings for the review. If you loved the old stuff, you'll love this. Its not more of the same, its more of what we need.
2089366
I don't want to mislead anyone with any implications that this is a re-tread of Coastal Grooves; it certainly is not. Rather, this is an interesting example of a follow-up to one of my top five favorite albums, which threw me an insane amount of curve-balls, but ultimately did not disappoint me at all. That being said, I did have to adjust to it a bit. The addition of two songs with rappers was surely the most drastic shift from the first album, but I was already a fan of Despot (which is hard to be since he never put out a single album), and I don't dislike the UK grime scene that the other rapper reminds me of (albeit without the distinct grime type beats/synth in this example). I also really like Clams Casino, who contributes a drum section, even though he is not really being himself in this example (he's mostly know for huge swells of atmospheric noise over somewhat trap-oriented drums). It's hard for me to single out all the other curveballs here, but this is one of those albums where the first two songs are so generous, that it should leave the listener in a forgiving mood towards all the things Blood Orange tries later in the album. After nearly ten listens, the only part I'm not wild about is the last song when he flatly rehashes lines from hits on the first album, but it's a small gripe because I still don't skip that track, and I get that he was trying to do a sort of extended coda type thing like Michael Jackson used to do when he wanted to pad out the end of an album a little. I am not an R&B type of guy, even though Frank Ocean opened me up to a lot of the new breed of artists, but Blood Orange oddly managed to steer clear of anything that is really trending right now, and just shoot strait for a lush sound rooted in the best R&B of all eras. I expect to pick this up at any time and it still age well. I'm totally satisfied, after insurmountable anticipation.
114758
Art is a matter of taste.  I don't really consider the end result to be music in the traditional sense, but anger-fueled poetry set to a musical background.

And seriously people... WTF did you expect?  Its F'ing LOU REED.

Would the negative reviewers go see a Henry Rollins spoken word show and then complain that all he did is talk and didn't play any Black Flag songs?  If you said yes please leave NOW.  This is not your album.

Seriously, people need to check their expectations.  This isn't a Metallica album.  Its not a Lou Reed album.  Its not claiming to be either.  Its a unique PROJECT and it needs to be appreciated for what it is, not attacked for failing to live up to something its not.
1951850
As a fan I don't want to criticize Deftones' recent albums; I like them, but to make the review honest, I will be a bit harsh.  I am a huge fan of Adrenaline, Around the Fur, and White Pony.  Self titled and Saturday Night Wrist albums were (as a fan) pretty good, but a bit under par.  So if you are like me, you may have put Deftones into that massive category of great bands on a slow downward slide; still good but past the prime.

So that is my preface.  This album is a glorious return to form, or at least a massive filtering endeavor at quality control.  The past two LPs were loose and tasted unfocused and excessively exploratory.  Which is fine, any band has to evolve.

But what we have here is a return to a proven Deftones sound, while not sounding redundant or a rehash of old work.  Dont get me wrong, Deftones were not lost in some wayward path. This album is just so tightly created.  So many bands make albums with a few high points, surrounded by forgettable songs.  This album, however, is solid all the way through.  Not just solid, but really, really good from start to finish.

If you like more than just a select few of Deftones' songs, this whole album shouldn't disappoint at all.  There's few Albums I really adhere to this entire decade, but this album is easily one of them.
2322041
If you looked at the billboard charts right now you would think pop is dead.  Well technially it is but it doesn't have to be.  New Kid's newest album makes One Direction look like amateurs.  For some reason this album hasn't got the credit it deserves.  Very unique and original songs.  This second album since their reunion is better than the first one they put out even.  THIS is how you do a comeback.  Too bad it wasn't pushed and marketed and played enough though because it will end up falling through the cracks due to lack of popularity but definitely not lack of quality.
3788396
After 20 years one would wonder where the direction of PiL would lead on this release. As I've listened to this I keep finding elements from most of the back catalog filtered into a current expression of style. The throbbing bass lines are a welcome part that has returned, along with a similar approach that Keith Levine used on the earlier albums. That being said, it isn't Metal Box part 2 or anything like that. It is though, a solid release with songs that are more impressive than the last couple albums. It certainly isn't disappointing, and certainly doesn't come across as a silly waste of a comeback. It does feel genuine, and is a relief to hear something this fresh after 20 years of stalemate with Lydon getting well into his 50s. It feels like he still has the same motivation and wanting of PiL to be what it always has been, which is easier to understand what I mean if you hear it. The version with the DVD is worthwhile, because the concert is in it's entirety, which makes the value of the release double in my opinion. If you enjoy the majority of the PiL catalog you will probably like this. If you are only going to be happy with a release that would sound like something from the first two albums you'll probably not be as thrilled with it, although, like I said, elements of that era exist. Personally, I think this is better than I anticipated and glad I gave it a chance.
2029280
O.K., boys, nice try, but for making your fans wait so long only to put  out this??  It's not metal, it's alternative!!  It may be very good,  especially compared to the rest of todays music, but it is just not what  everyone was expecting.
4654076
The first thing the listener will notice upon their first listen to "Strata Presents: The End Of The World" is that it is a drastic change in direction for the band from their self-titled debut. In fact, the opening track, "Night Falls (The Weight Of It)" doesn't even sound remotely like the Strata we got to know three years prior. So, is this change a bad thing? Absolutely not. Eschewing the alternative hard-rock of the debut for something a little lighter and more experimental makes the emotions of singer Eric Victorino come across much clearer than before and with even more impact. It going to be easier for the bulk of the fanbase to dismiss this album than it will be for them to give it a chance, give it time, and let it sink in. What we have here, in fact, is miles beyond what the band had accomplished before. Much of "The End Of The World" is a concept piece, which can be determined by taking a quick glance at the quirky art that graces the liner notes. But instead of getting angry and political, Strata seem focused on the beauty of life and it's shameful destruction. Songs like "Stay Young" and "Love Is Life" are not just catchy and moving, but also affecting and somewhat haunting. Victorino is truly in top shape here, as the band supplies him with enough hooks and melodies to keep this album in rotation much longer than the average rock record. On the flipside, there is the up-tempo, bizarrely hooky "Cocaine (We're All Going To Hell") and the murky "The New National Anthem," which serve as the darkside to the album. But that's what it's all about. Twists and turns. One minute you're basking in it's glorious, natural beauty, and the next, you're feeling sorry for it. Strata have truly outdone themselves with this record. It may not sound a thing like their debut, but it's a compelling and engaging record that everyone should give a chance. And the best part? It doesn't sound like anyone else out there.
691318
I cannot honestly say that this CD is in the same league as Slip of the Tongue, Whitesnake, and Slide It In.  So if you are expecting something similar to the past magic and production, you will be disappointed.  I am not saying don't buy it, but I am saying that it may take some time for the new style to grown on ya.
4165629
You have matured greatly as a musician. The catchy and tasty riffs are still there, bridged with some very sophisticated progressions. (Especially driven by the percussives). You remind me still of Prince, who has walked down a similar path of creative complexity over his musical career.
505493
Having been a fan for a few years now, I was so excited for this release, figuring they'd know that they have a captive audience with the style they were already producing.  The use of harmonies, minimal drum, and wonderful acoutistic guitar and banjo combinations, they had a formula that just seemed to work.....

Then this album was released.  The band, originally being a trio, has gone the way of many others of what was their succeeding style.  In the likes of Mumford and Sons, they decided to ditch the all acoustic performance and go with something a little more rock based as opposed to the folk rock sound.  Ditching the banjo (the one memeber who is no longer with the band, Joey Haynes), has left this album a little more than flat.  The sound that provided was a pretty important sound that helped develop their specific style, albeit, not an original one, but one that helped escalate them to the heights of stardom that they've reached thus far.  That being said, with the lack of the banjo, as well as the harmonies being more subdued as opposed to a forefront of the vocals on previous albums, there is just something lacking with this album.

I'm not one to say don't change if its something that won't work, but for some reason, this  was not was I was expecting when they released this new album.  I think it's biggest down fall is it's polish.  Their previous works all have an innocence to them that comes through the speakers, like that of folk artists from the sixties and seventies (oddly enough, that's before my time, but I'm very familiar with that stuff).  The fit and finish of this album represents nothing more to me than allowing studios and money dictate what music you're going to produce.  Now, that's not to say that is the case here, but that certainly is the sound that is being produced.  There is just a lack of depth with this album, and it's not nearly as thoughful of an album as "Islands".  Their EP "Without / Within" is not far off from what this album is in respect to the fit and finish, but it still maintains the wonderful harmonies without sacrificing the original feel of their older works.

With the exception of the song "Gabriel", track 11 on this album, I find this whole album to be very austere and boring.  The one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb to me is it sounds like they got a producer of mid 80's synth pop artists to produce this album, and that is probably my biggest pet peeve about "Red Earth..."  It has qualities from the synth pop era that make that sound so dated, which just fails to be interesting anymore, and personally, I think the vast majority of the stuff in the 80's also lacked that interesting quality.

As a whole, I don't think I could recommend this album to anyone, and I most certainly wouldn't suggest this album as your first purchase from this otherwise wonderful band.  I would start with Without/Within, and move to islands following, which may lead you to purchase this, but I would still recommend spending your money otherwise.