Cradle to Grave -- 'Texas Medicine' [review]

Cradle to Grave - Texas Medicine
Eye of the Sun Records (4/15/08)
Metal

Cradle to Grave may hail from the dark corners of British Columbia, but the band emulates the groove-based metal of legends Pantera to a T. So, it's little wonder the band has called its latest effort Texas Medicine.

Chock full of thick, meaty riffs, explosive drumming and antagonistic bass licks—not to mention that absolutely crushing groove—Texas Medicine is an easy contender for metal album of the year. With opener "Broken God", a goliath of a track, the band grabs the listener by the throat and tosses them down 11 flights of stairs. The band rivals Hatebreed with "I'm at War With Myself", and shows a more introspective side with "Light", while still maintaining the choking pace.

But it's the middle of the album that completely steals the show. "From Nowhere to Nowhere" has the catchiest, most punishing groove that only compliments the sing-a-long chorus. And the band throws in an absolutely sick bridge mid-way through the song, with an acoustic opening and wonderfully sung break down, well... just because it can. From there, it tears everything apart with the speed-inspired "I Am Nothing", and ends the assault with a thick slab of southern metal called "At Last" (featuring a great group-sung opener).

Other highlights include the breakneck "F**k It Up", the acoustic instrumental "Daughters" and pulse-pounding album closer "Beheaded in Paris" (with a nice extended ending that closes with Freddy Krueger's warning, "You shouldn't have buried me").

There's no shortage of metal bands out there these days, but not too many come even close to presenting such a blistering package like Cradle to Grave has done here. This is a total surprise release for 2008 that shouldn't fly under any metal fan's radar.

Rebel Meets Rebel -- Self-titled [review]

Rebel Meets Rebel
“Rebel Meets Rebel”
(Big Vin Records)

It not supposed to be a country album, not supposed to be a metal album. I guess, deep down it’s a little of both though, for the most part, it’s essentially Pantera being fronted by a honky-tonk rocker.

Well, to be fair, that’s might not quite be it either.

What it is, is a testament to the driving artistic nature of the late Dimebag Darrell.

The Rebel Meets Rebel album (recorded between 1999 and 2003) features Dimebag, brother Vinnie Paul on drums, bassist Rex Brown and David Allen Coe).

The second those oh-so-familiar riffs kick up on the opener “Nothin’ to Lose,” any fan will feel a smile creep across their face. And while Coe’s voice needs a little “getting used to,” it really starts to grow on you and by the time the disc starts over after a full listen, you forget why you had any issue to begin with.

This album isn’t breaking any new ground and isn’t setting any new trend. It’s simply showcasing a group of guys jamming together for fun and the mutual love of music. Longtime fans of Pantera or Dime will be happy with the usual riff-heavy fare, but there’s a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure. There’s Dime trading riffs with a fiddler on the title-track; Dime doing his damnedest to actually make his guitar sound like a fiddle on “Nothin’ to Lose”; Dime sharing vocal duties on the title track; Dime tearing it up with an acoustic guitar on “N.Y.C. Streets.”

Everyone else more than pulls their weight on this album. Brown throws down some sick grooves on a multitude of songs, Vinnie is a lot more subdued behind the kit but still makes his presence felt and Coe not only keeps pace with the Cowboys from Hell, but comes up with some great lyrics along the way.

Of particular note is the album closer, “N.Y.C. Streets.” As the story goes, Coe told Dime (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the true test for musicians is to just jam together, make up a song on the spot and see what comes out. The duo went up to Dime’s room and recorded a song on a four-track there and then, completely spur of the moment. Apart from a couple of added guitar tracks Dime added later, “N.Y.C. Streets” was what was recorded that night.

Fans of Dime, Pantera and/or Damageplan will eat it up. Metal fans could find a lot to enjoy. Country fans a little less. But the album is really a gift to the fans and an effort to keep Dime’s memory alive. It works — very well — on both fronts. Would this disc have seen release so soon (if ever) had the tragedy not come to pass? Who can say? But it is here and is a testament to all involved.