Johnny Dowd presents a curious mixture of the raw and the sophisticated on his sixth album, Cruel Words. His band, which features keyboard player Michael Starks and drummer Brian Wilson in addition to his own guitar work, plays rudimentary blues-rock arrangements with harsh, angular rhythms in a sort of John Lee Hooker-meets-Devo sound, occasionally veering toward heavy metal, and he sings in a gruff voice with a strong rural accent. But his lyrics and the subject matter of his song...   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

This seldom-heard oddity in heavy metal singer David Lee Roth's catalogue is a Spanish-language version of his first post-Van Halen solo effort, Eat 'Em & Smile. The original release was a call to arms for the divided camps of Van Halen fans, and for those who felt that replacing Roth with Sammy Hagar was little more than a cruel joke, Eat 'Em & Smile validated their position with a strong band of crack players, equal amounts of humor and serious rock, and the best songwriting of...   [ read more ]

CD $14.23

Bloodsimple features ex-Vision of Disorder members Tim Williams (vocals) and Mike Kennedy (guitar). Cruel World, the band's debut, is also the first release from Mudvayne frontman Chad Grey's Bullygoat imprint (via Warner). Mudvayne's sound is definitely a reference point for Bloodsimple, as is later VOD. As heavy as much of Cruel World hits -- the killer opener "Straight to Hate," "Blood In Blood Out"'s updated thrash swagger -- it also makes room for things...   [ read more ]

CD $13.28