I Am Ghost - Lover's Requiem

Back when I created this blog I said that TuneJunkie would not only be for new albums, but for older albums as well. Its time to make good on that statement. Today is the 5 year anniversary of Lover's Requiem's release, October, 10 2006.

Lover's Requiem was the debut full length album of a band that simply cannot be classified under one genre, or three for that matter, I Am Ghost. I Am Ghost was brought into existence in 2004 by Steven Juliano, the band's lead singer. He brought many different artists with different talents together to create a sound that had never before been heard. Juliano describes Lover's Requiem, "It’s essentially a rock opera but for hardcore or goth kids." And rock opera is pretty much the only way to describe it considering all the different elements it brings to the table.

The band was made up of Steven Juliano - lead vocalist, Kerith Telestai - female vocalist and violinist, Brian Telestai - bassist, Timoteo Rosales III - lead guitarist, Victor Angel Camarena - drummer, and Gabe Iraheta - rhythm guitarist. Sadly in the summer of 2007 Kerith and Brian Telestai both announced that they were leaving the band. Bassist and vocalist Ron Ficarro joined I Am Ghost that year. Eventually all members of the band besides Juliano and Rosales were replaced.

I Am Ghost released 3 albums and an EP before their breakup in the summer of 2010. And one could only wish that they had released more. It made me very sad to see such an influential, amazing and different band go.


Now back to the album itself, Lover's Requiem. This album is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch. There are so many different musical elements all packed into one source, yet all stand out and have their own impact. This album is a masterpiece and is terribly underrated. There is the contrast between male and female vocals, near seamless use of both violin and guitar, elements of opera, indie, hardcore, pop, punk, and gothic rock. There is something in this album for pretty much everyone and if you only give one album on my site a shot, listen to this one.



Lover's Requiem tracklist:

"Crossing the River Styx" – 1:56
"Our Friend Lazarus Sleeps" – 2:55
"Killer Likes Candy" – 3:33
"Dark Carnival of the Immaculate" – 3:15
"Pretty People Never Lie, Vampires Never Really Die" – 4:32
"Of Masques and Martyrs" – 3:37
"Lovers' Requiem" – 4:15
"We Are Always Searching" – 3:28
"The Ship of Pills and Needed Things" – 3:44
"The Denouement" – 3:18
"This Is Home" – 4:26
"Beyond the Hourglass" – 6:01
"The Malediction" – 3:47

TunkJunkie's Overall Rating for Lover's Requiem:


This album is just amazing. Thats all there is to it. Maybe it isn't quite your thing. But even if not you still have to admire their uniqueness and ability to seamlessly incorporate so many different sounds and genres. This album is well worth your time. I can about guarantee it.

Suggested tracks from Lover's Requiem:

2. "Our Friend Lazarus Sleeps"
7. "Lovers' Requiem"
8. "We Are Always Searching"
11. "This Is Home"
12. "Beyond the Hourglass"

YouTube Video of I Am Ghost - Lover's Requiem:


Post By: Tune Junkie

Time of My Life!

And now for a band that I'm sure everyone reading this forums has at least heard of, 3 Doors Down.

As many of you may know, 3 Doors Down is an alternative rock band out of Mississippi and they just released their 5th album, "Time of My Life", on July 19th. The band says that they have bumped it up "to the next level" with this new album. We will see I guess. "Time of My Life" has some tough acts to follow.

A little band history:
The band's success began with the release of "A Better Life"2000). It was a huge success, selling over 6 million copies, with singles such as "Kryptonite" and "Loser." "Away from the Sun"(2002) continued their mainstream success. "Here Without You"(an excellent song but horribly overplayed) and "When I'm Gone" were amazing. After this was the band's 3rd album "17 Days"(2005). Honestly I don't remember a thing from this album other than "Let Me Go." However, the self titled album(2008) was much better. It had some awesome singles such as "Not My Time" and "Let Me Be Myself."

Band Members:
The band currently consists of 5 members; lead vocalist Brad Arnold, lead guitarist Matt Roberts,rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson, bass guitarist Todd Harrell, and drummer Greg Upchurch.



Now that that bit of boring is over we can get on with talking about the new album. :)

The new album has it's high points. Songs such as "Every Time You Go," "When You're Young," and "Time of My Life" are quite good but the rest of the album IMO seems kinda mediocre. Some of the songs I noticed have sections that are very similar to songs that were successes on previous albums. For instance, the intro to "When You're Young" is very similar to that of "When I'm Gone" from Away From the Sun. I am not saying that this is a bad album but I do think that they need to do a bit more brainstorming as far as melody goes before releasing a new album. There are good songs but to me it feels like one of those albums you buy for the good songs then don't really listen to the rest of it. And it really pains me to say this as I have been a big 3 Doors Down fan since 2000 when A Better Life Released.

Tracklist:
1. "Time of My Life"             3:23
2. "When You're Young"      4:16
3. "Round and Round"          3:46
4. "Heaven"                          3:27
5. "Race for the Sun"            2:59
6. "Back to Me"                   3:42
7. "Every Time You Go"       3:48
8. "What's Left"                    3:42
9. "On the Run"                    3:08
10. "She Is Love"                 3:16
11. "My Way"                      3:07
12. "Believer"                       2:58

Tune Junkies overall score for "Time of My Life":

After trying and trying to give the album a high score, "Time of My Life" gets 3 out of 5 stars. Being a big fan it pains me to say that the album just does not offer as much as previous albums have from 3 Doors Down. There are a couple good songs but a good portion is filler. The lyrics are not bad, that is up to par with what 3DD normally brings to the table however the musical elements and melodies just are not there to back it up. I really hope to hear more in the next album. Too many great bands are throwing out sub-par albums recently.


Suggested tracks for "Time of My Life":
1. Time of My Life
2. When You're Young
7. Every Time You Go



Time of My Life(sorry about the bad audio quality, best I could find):


Post by: Tune Junkie
Tsection Web Directory

Picture Me Broken

And now for a band who, IMO, should be much more popular than they are... Picture Me Broken

Picture Me Broken is a Hard Rock band out of California, fronted by female vocalist Layla Brooklyn Allman. The band originally formed in 2005 when the members where 12 years old and was known as "Lane Four." They did covers of classic rock songs. The band did well in some competitions and they started trying to find their own voice in the music world.



The band never really took off until they got their spot on Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution Tour. Now they have 1 EP(Dearest, I'm so Sorry) and 1 full length album(Wide Awake)which released in 2009 and and 2010.

Picture Me Broken has lost a couple members along the way(Nick Loiacono, Will Escher, and Eric Perkins) and gained some new. The band is currently made up of lead vocalist Layla Allman, lead guitarist Dante Phoenix, guitarist Jimmy Strimpel, bass guitarist Austin Dunn, and drummer Connor Lung.



Their first album "Wide Awake" consists of great vocals, epic guitar solos, and an overall awesome sound. I recommend their songs "Dearest, I'm so Sorry," "Live is Evil Spelled Backwards," and "Skin and Bones."

"Wide Awake" tracklist:

1. "Dearest, I'm So Sorry" 3:34
2. "Echoes of an Empire" 4:01
3. "Skin & Bones" 3:55
4. "Forevermore" 3:01
5. "Darwin's Song" 3:51
6. "Nerds & Cigarettes" 4:15
7. "Dead Serious" 3:49
8. "Vital Signs" 3:05
9. "If I Never Wake Again" 4:33
10. "Live is Evil Spelled Backwards" 3:27

Listen to them free here: Picture Me Broken

Post by: Tune Junkie

What we're all about

What's up fellow bloggers and web surfers!

As you can see this is the start of a new blog and hopefully the start of good things. What this blog is all about is music. There will be regular music reviews posted here on bands and albums, both new and old, ranging from alternative to punk rock to hardcore/post-hardcore. If you love any form of rock music then why not stick around and check it out? Trust me... I'm gonna do my best to make it worth your while... :)

Post By: Tune Junkie
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