War of Ages - Arise and Conquer

Today, new genres of music pop up like new ice cream flavors. Hardcore is one example. I remember making fun of my brother when he listened to hardcore; I would laugh and ask why he was always listening to screamo... I couldn't tell the difference.

There is a difference though, and my eyes were opened the day my brother put War of Ages on during a road trip.

Believe it or not, War of Ages is officially classified as a Christian Meltacore band (You see what I mean about genres? Ridiculous.) but even though there's a religion thrown into the mix, you won't notice anything preachy about War of Ages.

Arise and Conquer is the band's newest full length album, and one of its heaviest to date. War of Ages shreds hard right from the opener, "All Consuming Fire", demonstrating their ability to melt your face off with crisp, melodic guitar riffs and deafening screams, backed by some tight percussion tracks.

The lyrics relay a steady message throughout: to stand strong and stay up; a message all snowboarders can relate to. Most of this message is delivered in garbled screams, so if positivity doesn't sit well with you, feel free to pretend the lyrics are about satan if you want.

Other songs that find me day-dreaming of hitting the biggest cliffs, kickers and rails on the mountain exclusively include "Salvation", "Sleep of the Prisoners", and "Generational Curse" just to name a few. Really, don't expect to find any softies on this albums; it starts off intense, stays intense and finishes intense.

Not really feeling snowboarding that day? Put on Arise and Conquer and feel inspired to slay the sh*t out of the hill. Watch out, you'll get so pumped you might forget that you're a mortal.

War of Ages - Arise and Conquer

3OH!3 - Want

At a bar in Frisco, Colorado a drunk once asked me, "Have you heard of the band 3OH!3?" I replied, "I have; they are OK." I was being pretty liberal, seeing as the dude was obviously stoked on them. He replied, "Me and my homies will fight for them." I had nothing to say at that point, but I did think to myself how sad that seemed. 3OH!3 from a musical standpoint, and especially a shreddable musical standpoint, are pretty fuckin' awful. Believe it or not, that doesn't mean I hate Boulder and everyone who lives there, so please no crazy 303 locals and hyper-aggressive comments.

Basically, 3OH!3 is nothing but a bunch of noise: Beeps, toots, electronic noises and ridiculous lyrics. To me at least, it's the kind of shit that begs to be turned down if not completely off. Sure, there are a few songs that show a hint of talent, but when it boils down to it I'd say the bands fame is purely the result of local loyalty and some weird phenomenon that ties 30H!3 to snowboarding?

Their newest CD, WANT, seemed pretty much the same. At first I found maybe 3 songs that were worthy of a second play and the rest were the obnoxious sounds mentioned above. Now, I'm really open-minded when it comes to music so I forced myself to listen through the CD a few more times. My final decision is that 3OH!3 is definitely an acquired taste. The music is there but some may appreciate it sooner than others. If you aren't that into electronic, or are someone who can't bring themselves to give a seemingly bad album a second chance, I wouldn't recommend blindly purchasing WANT... Thankfully, the internet gives us the option to preview songs before we buy:

3OH!3 - WANT

3/5 Cacti

Grip Grand - Brokelore

From a strictly musical standpoint, the majority of hip-hop and rap tracks available simply don't vibe well with snowboarding. Most are too aggressive, too obnoxious, and to...tally don't synch up to footage very well at all. Even if you do find a diamond in the rough, that's usually all that can be squeezed from a CD of more than ten tracks. This CD, Brokelore by Grip Grand, might be the first hip-hop album I've heard where every track is built to shred.

Right from the get go with "Showtime", Grip Grand takes you back to the glory days of hip-hop with a hooked up beat and intelligent rhymes that will have you bobbin' your head before you know it. Further listening provides more of the same; I was surprised when I had gotten to the 5th song without having to skip a single one, and even more so when silence ensued and I realized the CD was over already. Brokelore is a classy hip-hop album through and through.

Mellow beats and tasteful instrumental accompaniment also make this album powder approved... yes, hip-hop and powder! There are several songs that beg you to cut some freshies and let Grip Grand help set the mood. To round things off, there are a couple of jib anthems on the CD including the track "Handle That", which would fit great in any FODT movie. That makes Grip Grand's Brokelore the ultimate all-around snowboard hip-hop soundtrack in my book. You could literally make an entire snowboard movie--powder, parks, pipes and rails--using just this one CD.

Did I mention there's a sweet sample from House of Pain's "Jump Around" ("But Anyway")?

Grip Grand - Brokelore
5/5 Cacti