The pressure and hopeful expectations placed upon Adam Young’s shoulders add up to no small weight. While the coy, shy and witty artist has delivered a generous portion of the kind of bright and infectious joy that pleasantly surprised a pop rock world with Ocean Eyes in ’09, these tunes carry a slightly more “serious” piano-rock (or dance pop) based sonic pallet. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the electronic quirkiness was part of Owl City’s charm and it’s been partly smoothed over with production here. This collection of tunes comes closer to the “magic” of Ocean Eyes than last year’s All Things Bright and Beautiful, so maybe we could call this “cautious optimism” as opposed to crazy joy.
Features
Atreyu's Baptism
At their core, Atreyu is a hard rock band with metal riffs and pop choruses. Now, after more than 20 years, the band has stepped boldly into their next chapter with a change in lineup and an album that proves the lifeblood of Atreyu is stronger than ever.
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Alphaville’s Metal Renaissance
With influences that span Miles Davis and Stravinsky to Geddy Lee and Les Claypool, jazz metal force Imperial Triumphant is the epitome of genre-bending. HM contributing writer Andrew Voigt spoke with the band about their unique style, the massive bass presence in their music, and the rise and fall of civilization.
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Heaven's Metal
When rock emerged from blues and 'heavy metal' began to surface, faith-based metal acts also rose to start their own journeys. Initially shunned by both believers and non-believers, they were fighting for their spot at the table, ultimately building a legacy that would go on to change the genre forever. HM presents an oral history of the beginning of Christian metal music, featuring Guardian, Tourniquet, Holy Soldier, Whitecross, and, of course, Stryper.
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Five Death Metal Bands You Need to Know Now
Death metal is no longer strictly a one-kind-of-sound genre but a cloud under which many elements have formed. We have assembled five must-hear death metal acts you should be listening to now, each distinctly set apart from another in form, yet still brethren in the death metal community.
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