Disown - May 2004 Demo

As I was sitting on the right balcony railing of the Agora in Cleveland waiting for Orgy to take the stage, I was chatting with several of the D1 staff members as the opening bands played through. But finally I had to stop the conversation and ask "Wait, who are these guys?"

Ohio's finest: Disown.

I was thoroughly impressed with the stage performance. With a stage presence like Tool, the soul resonating beats of Lunarclick*, and the industrial synth lines of Orgy, this band is a perfect blend of some of the best musical styles today. At the end of the evening, Jae came out to hand out some demos, and I can't say how glad I was to get my hands on this one.

The cd starts with an increasingly inticing intro into the first song, "Unto You". The song explodes into the intricate heavy layers that caught my attention when I saw them live, and the next one, "Dust of Sin", continues the tradition. The demo closes with my personal favorite, "INRI". Not only is this song musically appealing, but the lyrical quality is top notch. This song will have meaning to anyone who has ever struggled with the hipocrisy of modern day religion, regardless of your own beliefs.

You can listen to two of these songs, "Dust Of Sin" and "INRI", on the band's website, along with another great ballad, "Undeniably So".

"I only wanted you to love yourself. I only wanted you to believe in me..."

WUVT 90.7 Blacksburg

I'm coming up on week four of a short summer stint at Virginia Tech's radio station, WUVT 90.7FM. A friend of a friend, Jacob, has given me the opportunity to be a guest and later to co-host a weekly radio show for indie rock bands every Wednesday evening. The show runs from midnight until 2am (Eastern Daylight Time) or longer, depending on how things are going.
WUVT recently added an OGG stream to broadcast on the internet, so if you're not in the area, you can listen in. Simply plug either http://engine.collegemedia.vt.edu:8000/wuvt.ogg for high speed or http://engine.collegemedia.vt.edu:8000/wuvt-lb.ogg for dial-up into the latest full version of Winamp. For more help or for options for other platforms, visit http://www.wuvt.vt.edu/listen.html.

I hope that all of you out there in net land will give us a listen in the next few weeks. Not only can you hear music from your favorite Radio-Active-Music.com artists, but also rock out to some old favorites as well as some fabulous local and regional bands. I hope that this opportunity will help promote some of the artists I support; in the previous few weeks I've been able to play bands such as 51 Peg, Dead Sexy, Fluffy Starr, Glamour Kings, Ion, Jimmie's Chicken Shack, No Fate, Orgy, Otto's Daughter, Redrum, and The Birthday Massacre...and more are certainly on the way. We even bring some new information to the table; a few weeks ago we were able to premier Orgy's upcoming single, "Vague", on the week of the video shoot, and soon we'll be presenting the listening audience with a brand new song from Redrum within the next few weeks.

If you are listening, thank you! And be sure to call in and request your favorite Radio-Active-Music.com artist! (540) 231-WUVT.

Woove it or loose it!

A Race Called Man - June 2004 Demo

If you're a fan of the intense melodies and impressive vocals of bands such as Cold, A Perfect Circle, and Disturbed, you'll love A Race Called Man's new demo. Listening to these three songs I can't believe that this band hasn't already recieved more attention. But luckily, through the amazing network abilities of MySpace.com, ARCM found their way to my profile not too long ago, and within a few days this demo arrived at my doorstep.

"Drifter" is by far the most rockable, with gritty bass and guitar chords and strong, demanding lyrics. But with subtle drums and haunting vocal intermissions, this song is not one to easily blend into the mass to be forgotten. "Pictures" is a heavy-hitting anthem that's already getting a lot of play on ARCM's MySpace.com profile, and I'm sure will be an instant favorite to anyone looking for some new music. "Liberate" finishes off this triumvirate of impassioned songs. With vague hints towards an other-worldly sound laced throughout, it certainly doesn't let down the listener following the two previous powerful rock ballads.

All three songs on this demo are available for download and streaming on A Race Called Man's MySpace.com profile page. I'm looking forward to an album, and expect great things from this LA band.