FF THE WALL

The News Review:

- FF THE WALL
- Between the Buried and Me
- … Future’ Marriage With Nicole Richie – News Story | Music…
- … Atreyu’s latest album highlights the latest crop of…
- The Cleveland Free Times :: Music :: Party Animals
- TAKE ACTIN! HELP IRAQI MUSICIANS IN EXILE

FF THE WALL
San Diego Union Tribune – Sep 18, 2007
(Jean-Benoit (left) was busy packing his bags for Street Scene). We talked about the band’s latest album “Pocket Symphony. ” And Japan and death metal. And band class and Frogs and Yanks. And we recorded the whole thing. Read if you like but listen you must… Where’d that inspiration come from?We did that track on “Talkie Walkie” called “Alone in Kyoto” for “Lost in Translation. ” We wanted to explore that kind of music and so when we did “Pocket Symphony” we thought that was the perfect moment to do that. Your music is so simple but so complex at the same time. What’s it like when you’re inspired for a song all the way up to the end? When do you know to stop?The more we make music the more we know exactly the moment when it’s finished. The balance in a song is the same as the balance in your life.

Between the Buried and Me
PopMatters – Sep 18, 2007
It’s all there in the opening section “Foam Born (a) The Backtrack” (good to see these lads have the prog rock song titles down) and frankly it’s incredible how this band is able to get away with what they do. Starting with just singer Tommy Rogers and his piano crooning a The Bendsstyle melody gentle waves of guitars and cymbal crashes straight out of Weezer’s Blue Album kick in moog synth spiraling in and out of the background before giving way to a darker segue reminiscent of mid-’90s melodic death metal which then inexplicably explodes into an astounding piece of theatrical black metal as if Norwegian legends Emperor had decided to sit in for 30 seconds. The crushing death metal intro of “(b) The Decade of Statues” begins immediately after and we’re off to the races completely at the mercy of Rogers and his mates for the next hour or so. To map out every section of this album would be a mammoth task (although one can imagine an obsessive fan doing so to a meticulous degree on his or her blog) but half the fun is discovering new little instances of inspiration with each listen. “Informal Gluttony” opens and closes with a thunderous Middle Eastern-inspired segment similar to the atmospheric touches of death masters Nile. A bit of Weimar cabaret interrupts “Prequel to the Sequel” Dan Briggs delivers some terrific bass solos on the instrumental “Viridian” and a weird piano vamp interrupts “Sun of Nothing” which then leads to a summery almost calypso section climaxing with an uncanny imitation of Dark Side-era Pink Floyd. The obvious centerpiece of the entire album is the 13 minute “Ants of the Sky” in which things get increasingly convoluted from Queen-style solos to chugging Hammond-driven hard rock to breakneck thrash metal to smooth soft jazz soloing to the capper a ridiculous moment of country music complete with clinking bottles and the sound of a bar brawl in the background… “Informal Gluttony” opens and closes with a thunderous Middle Eastern-inspired segment similar to the atmospheric touches of death masters Nile. A bit of Weimar cabaret interrupts “Prequel to the Sequel” Dan Briggs delivers some terrific bass solos on the instrumental “Viridian” and a weird piano vamp interrupts “Sun of Nothing” which then leads to a summery almost calypso section climaxing with an uncanny imitation of Dark Side-era Pink Floyd. The obvious centerpiece of the entire album is the 13 minute “Ants of the Sky” in which things get increasingly convoluted from Queen-style solos to chugging Hammond-driven hard rock to breakneck thrash metal to smooth soft jazz soloing to the capper a ridiculous moment of country music complete with clinking bottles and the sound of a bar brawl in the background. All the while Between the Buried and Me keep themselves from falling off the deep end by firmly rooting their increasingly eclectic sound in classic metal be it power death thrash or black. For each time they throw a curvevball our way (and yikes are there a lot of them) Colors always falls back on that central metal sound and by the time “White Walls” reaches its majestic conclusion the musical tangents that seemed ludicrous at first seem natural. A true marvel this challenging but ultimately highly rewarding album is an example of a young band just discovering what it’s capable of. At the rate they’re going the modern metal pantheon awaits.

… Future’ Marriage With Nicole Richie – News Story | Music…
MTV.com – Sep 18, 2007
07Dave Grohl has opened up to U. newspaper The Guardian about the death of his former Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain. “Kurt dying shocked me into running away from music for a while” he divulged. “I started Foo Fighters because I didn’t want to retreat… newspaper The Guardian about the death of his former Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain. “Kurt dying shocked me into running away from music for a while” he divulged. “I started Foo Fighters because I didn’t want to retreat. I couldn’t imagine joining another band and sitting behind the drum set because I would always think about Krist [Novoselic] and Kurt. ” Grohl also revealed that while one of the Foos’ earliest songs “I’ll Stick Around” was not directed at Cobain’s ex-wife Courtney Love he wouldn’t be surprised if similar comparisons are made over “Let It Die.

… Atreyu’s latest album highlights the latest crop of…
CRegister – Sep 19, 2007
By RBERT KINSLER Special to the Register Comments | Recommend This week’s range Pop column looks at four especially strong full-length releases from different corners of the musical universe. Atreyu “Lead Sails Paper Anchor” (Hollywood Records) Metalcore fans who embraced Atreyu’s 2006 release “A Death Grip on Yesterday” will be just as thrilled with the Yorba Linda quintet’s latest CD. The recently released “Lead Sails Paper Anchor” not only marks the band’s debut for Hollywood Records but finds the heavy metal music makers incorporating everything from trumpets and strings to operatic vocals and pedal steel guitar into a sonic mix that continues to put the overall focus on heavy rock. Highlights on the impressive disc include the fiery “Falling Down” and explosive “Becoming the Bull. ” Information: www. com You might like if you enjoy: Avenged Sevenfold Hatebreed Pantera Mo Green “Home Again” (independent) At the beginning of the decade San Clemente-based band Mo Green released “Home” a solid debut that in retrospect was at the forefront of a burgeoning area Americana scene that has grown to include Limbeck the Fallen Stars and the Blooms.

The Cleveland Free Times :: Music :: Party Animals
Cleveland Free Times – Sep 19, 2007
This kind of independent yet organized fan base is staggering. An appearance on MTV's Viva La Bam and a more recent association with Marilyn Manson only served to bolster the group's growing devotees. The fact that the band crosses metal with punk garage and classic rock (at one point it called itself "death-rock") has also helped it earn a wide fan base. And perhaps that's why it has a special affinity for Cleveland and the assortment of musical misfits it's produced over the years. (Happy-Tom even used to play in an Electric Eels tribute band. ) The group's devotion to Cleveland music exists in a seemingly warm spot in an otherwise dark and disturbed heart. You don't have to be into punk rock to get Turbonegro.

TAKE ACTIN! HELP IRAQI MUSICIANS IN EXILE
IFEX – Sep 18, 2007
The band – the only heavy metal band from Iraq – received death threats for being “too westernised” and fled the country recently to Syria. The musicians are featured in the documentary feature film “Heavy Metal in Baghdad” which had its world debut at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. The documentary follows the band from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day as they struggle to play music despite the security risks of organising an event in Baghdad and the bombing of their practice space. The filmmakers Toronto-born Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti travelled to Iraq to capture the band’s story in a film that will appeal even to those who are not fans of this music genre. The filmmakers say “Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition but after Saddam’s regime was toppled there was a brief moment for the band in which real freedom seemed possible… The band – the only heavy metal band from Iraq – received death threats for being “too westernised” and fled the country recently to Syria. The musicians are featured in the documentary feature film “Heavy Metal in Baghdad” which had its world debut at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. The documentary follows the band from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day as they struggle to play music despite the security risks of organising an event in Baghdad and the bombing of their practice space. The filmmakers Toronto-born Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti travelled to Iraq to capture the band’s story in a film that will appeal even to those who are not fans of this music genre. The filmmakers say “Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition but after Saddam’s regime was toppled there was a brief moment for the band in which real freedom seemed possible. That hope was quickly dashed as their country fell into a bloody insurgency.