Lamb of God
Resolution

All hail the new kings of speed metal. I can’t believe that it has taken this long, but truly, Lamb of God is the only band that is worthy to step up to the big four and take a throne. Just take one listen to "Vigil," a live track thrown in among studio recordings (a touch that I love). It lets you know that Lamb of God is serious enough about the creation of an album that they have listened to every possible take of every song and chosen the best, even if it wasn’t recorded under ideal conditions.

The Big Pink
Future This

This is an album I feel like I’ve waited eons for. After the instantly enrapturing Brief History of Love album, I thought it would be impossible for The Big Pink to top themselves. Then I saw them live at the Metro and witnessed a whole other dimension to this spectacular assembly of talent. It was then that they became one of my favorite bands of all time, and my hopes for their future output grew a thousand fold. So, now that I’ve been soaking up their new album, Future This, for the past month or so, I’m ready to tell you exactly how I feel about it. If you can’t tell from the outrageous rating I gave this record, I absolutely am head over heels in love with it — and I’ll tell you why.

Amy Winehouse
Lioness: Hidden Treasures

When I heard the news of Amy Winehouse passing away from an overdose, I was devastated as any legitimate fan would be. I found myself hiccup crying as if a friend from middle school had been taken too soon. My mom was visiting that weekend and consoled me, knowing how much I loved the artist and incomparable voice that was Winehouse. Sniffling and YouTubing my favorite songs by Amy, I took a mental back step thinking, “Why am I this thrown by the death of a famous person I never really knew?” The answer was simple. I was shedding tears in mourning a girl who spoke to me through lyrics, allowing me to draw a parallel between her heartaches and my own. 

The Birthday Massacre

The Birthday Massacre may get paired up with some surprising acts on the road — as was the case with Dir en Grey this time around — but they have carved out their own niche musically for long enough now that they have their own faithful following. This is always evident when they hit up Chicago where no matter who they may be performing with, they’ll always have a crowd of their own fans.  This past Sunday at the House of Blues was no different, finding people dressed up in Birthday Massacre t-shirts, adorned with their bunny logo, or there’s even the plain Jane fan like me who’s fine with fist pumping along with their set. Whatever the case, The Birthday Massacre have earned their fanbase through years of consistently solid recordings and relentless touring.

Tori Amos

Every so often, an artist comes along who transcends the boundaries of modern day musical mediums and manages to shine even brighter onstage. You probably have your own list of these personal favorites — my list would feature Prince, Björk, Nine Inch Nails, Erykah Badu, and Tori Amos. The latter happens to be a unique artist on my list because although her records have fluctuated in consistency, she never fails to bring it with her live show. She’s one of those artists who could put out a string of disappointing records but will still manage to sell out shows left and right based on the strength of her performances. Such was the case at the Chicago Theatre this past weekend. Amos treated a sold out crowd to a setlist built on the entire trajectory of her career... b-sides and all.