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Artist: Stone Temple Pilots
Album: High Rise
Released: October 8th, 2013
http://www.stonetemplepilots.com

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

Listening to the new EP, High Rise by S.T.P. with Chester Bennington…

fills my ears with a freshness that I vividly recollect, coincidentially, (listening for the first time) to S.T.P.’s second untitled album otherwise known as “Purple”.

Writer’s note: First off, I will spare this review from contemplating and comparing the likes of two different vocal power houses such as Chester Bennington and Scott Weiland. Simply put, Weiland was fired from Stone Temple Pilots and if any other vocalist/front man could fit the S.T.P. mold (in my opinion) it HAD to be Chester.

One of my favorite things about the S.T.P. line up is how it’s always been THAT of a complete musical collaboration. A true band, in that, it is NOT limited to the presence of solely just one front man/lead singer. The DeLeo brothers and Kretz remain musical poets in their own right. With their signature STP sound, R. DeLeo constantly taking his bass for a walk, D. DeLeo thrashing solos, and E. Kretz banging percussions as they never stray from their dynamic sound. It’s fun creative music.

This is why I love and was so excited to hear about the musical collaboration between these two, already great entities, STP with Chester Bennington.

Out of Time, the band’s debut single, from their High Rise EP captures the embodiment of the perfect marriage between Stone Temple Pilots and Chester. I have reason to believe that this phenomenal pairing couldn’t have come at a better time. Please allow me to elaborate…

Chester Bennington, I’ve recently argued, seems to be at a crossroads in his vocal stylings. It seems evident to me that Chester is taking big strides and making huge attempts at being a more “complete” and “all around” singer/vocalist. One needs only to reference Linkin Park’s vulnerably expressed, Waiting for the End, and Castle of Glass where Chester does not scream his vocals, not once. That being said, all in all, it seems pretty obvious that Chester is quickly (and successfully in my opinion) transitioning, as a genuine vocalist, from SCREAMS of passion to SINGS of passion! Obviously on the High Rise EP you can still witness some of Chester’s signature screams but I’d say that 90% of Chester’s vocals are that of him singing the songs.

Other songs featured on this EP are Black Heart, Same on the Inside, Cry Cry, Tomorrow, along with their debut single Out of Time. So to all you Linkin Park and Stone Temple Pilots fans, yes, it happend, and with continued success this great collaboration of talented and creative performers may very well sustain the test of time as have their predecessors.

Damn!

S.T.P. has been around approximately 20 years!!! In listening to the EP, the band’s chemistry is undeniable and it’s difficult to fathom that this lineup has only existed for the better part of only one year. This collaboration seems born to play together. Chester’s unmistakeable and uncomparable vocals along with S.T.P.’s musical creativity is a MUST HAVE, so go out and GET SOME High Rise!

Written by Raul Leon – @VillainMy
Airspeaker Album Rating: 4/5 speakers

Introducing a new feature to the Airspeaker website… music reviews. Well technically, we will review more than just music but this is where we are starting. We here (the Airspeaker staff) are combining forces to write reviews to albums we feel you should take a listen to, if not for the first maybe to rediscover one you may have missed the first time. Why “in Real-Time”? Not everyone has a full day to listen to new music and frankly neither do we. Each Tuesday there are tons of new music being released out into the world. We may choose to buy an album but it may takes us days if not weeks to get through it all to make a valid opinion on whether or not we liked it or not. At times, there just may be more music that there is time to listen to. So we go back and listen to music that in some cases may have been released years ago that may have slipped by us and we may not be aware of it. That’s where we come in. Not only do we review some of the latest music being released, but we go back and review some albums you may have missed. We will use a rating system of “Speakers” from 5 to 1, 5 being the best rating. Even with our “speaker icons” not ready for this review, lets get started with our first album review.

Artist: Pearl Jam
Album: Lightning Bolt
Year: 2013
http://www.pearljam.com

Written by Will Rendon – @willrendon77
Airspeaker Album Rating: 3/5 speakers

Before I review Pearl Jam’s 10th studio album Lighting Bolt I must come clean.

I have been a devoted Pearl Jam fan since the release of their now classic debut album Ten in 1991. In the intervening 20+ years, Pearl Jam have continued to create solid rock music that may not be garnering lead singer Eddie Vedder the cover of Time Magazine anymore but they’re still here, still creating, still playing to sold out venues across the globe. My process for listening to a new Pearl Jam changed after 1998 when I saw them perform live for the first time. Now, when I listen to a new Pearl Jam I’m constantly asking myself.. “How is this song going to sound live?”. It’s usually the songs I feel will provide the better live experience that I like the most.

First and foremost the band sound great. The recording is dynamic and sounds like five guys in a room playing their hearts out. Pearl Jam can be accused of many things, but one thing they have not done is release an album that sounds like a band “going through the motions.” Lighting Bolt may not be the greatest album in PJ’s catalog but it’s not a phoned in mess a là The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels or Stone Temple Pilots No. 4.

These are the songs I am most excited to hear in the live setting:

Mind Your Manners – An infectious blast of surf/punk rock that has Vedder decrying the simplicity of unnamed conservative/religious groups in the face of today’s increasingly complex problems.

Lightning Bolt – The title track speaks of that woman that must be held on to no matter what the consequences are. Currently, this is my favorite song of the entire record.

Infallible – Sirens, was the second single released for this record but I think Infallible is the better version of this type of ballad that Pearl Jam does so well. Sirens is not a bad song, but I feel PJ have done this type of song before (I’m looking at you Light Years, Wash, Release, Better Man).

Sirens – What?!?! Didn’t he just diss this song? Well, kinda, but getting to hear Mike McCready play a 12 string acoustic guitar and do that beautiful solo is sure to make me love this song no matter how much I protest.

Swallowed Whole – This song sounds the most “Pearl Jam” to me of any on the record. A great up tempo rocker that is sure to sound great while the five boys thrash on their instruments.

Let The Records Play – I imagine the lights going dark and then out of Stone Gossard’s signature Les Paul this songs crunchy blues riff blasts through the arena. PJ have been champions of the vinyl platform way before it came into fashion again and have written songs about it before, most notably Spin the Black Circle. I would love to hear these two songs played back to back.

Overall,

I’m happy that I have new Pearl Jam music to blast through speakers but I do not believe this album will expand their fan base much. For those fans who haven’t heard anything past Vitology I urge you to try some of Pearl Jam’s later catalog. Their self-titled album from 2006 has been the best expression thus far, of how Pearl Jam continues to evolve and why they are still thriving so many years after many of their counterparts are now only parts of history. Pearl Jam continues to be a great band that puts out good records, but even more important to me they are a band that continue to put on explosive live performance. I’ll take an amazing concert over a great record any day.