John Dolmayan - These Grey Men - Street Spirit (Fade Out) Radiohead cover

Even though System of a Down are currently on a recording break, drummer John Dolmayan has kept busy with his new project called These Grey Men. Calling in a few musical favors, the drummer has put his own touch on some well known songs.

The self-titled These Grey Men album finds John Dolmayan working with fellow SOAD member Serj Tankian, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows and many others.



The first video released is a cover of a classic Radiohead track titled Street Spirit (Fade Out).



In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Dolmayan stated "This song in particular is a really touching and moving song. I love the morose, in-your-room-and-it’s-raining-outside, it’s cold, and your girlfriend dumped you feeling that this song always gave me.… But when I listened to it, I’d be like, ‘I kinda wish the drums came in earlier, or, How would [John] Bonham approach this song if this was a [Led] Zeppelin song?Because I’m such a fan of the song, I wanted to do a version of it in homage."

These Grey Men, Track Listing

1. “Hung Up” (a mashup of Madonna’s song, with edits and a tip of the hat to “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
2. “Street Spirit” (Radiohead)
3. “Beautiful Thieves” (AFI)
4. “Road To Nowhere” (Talking Heads)
5. “Rock Bottom” (Eminem)
6. “Runaway” (Del Shannon)
7. “Starman” (David Bowie)
8. “What You Know” (Two Door Cinema Club)

The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange

Strange title, I know. Just as intriguing, too. Don't you think? When purchasing this album, although I thought I knew what I was getting, I certainly had no idea what would come of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's latest (at the time) release.

It was first released on clear vinyl in November of 2007, between Mars Volta's Amputecture (2006) and The Bedlam in Goliath (2008). The band he assembled is the original Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet including Omar's younger brother, Marcel, who also is a multi-instrument talent himself.In typical fashion Omar released this album in between The Mars Volta recordings, but certainly did not leave anything on the table when putting this together. Two of the tracks are alternate versions of songs previously released on his self-titled, debut album.

The album has a few stand out tracks, in particular, the title track and Coma Pony. The alternate takes of Jacob van Lennepkade and Vondelpark bij Nacht (appears as title track on this album) are excellent displays of Omar's ability (and strong desire) to keep things changing and moving in a new direction. Spared from the Insult List heads off into the Latin Jazz genre with a heavy dose of his signature guitar sound, which at times sounds nothing like a guitar. Fuerza de Liberacion is a bit of a strange song. Not sure who is performing the spoken word through a voice digitizer, but it adds to the insanity of the whole song. And Omar has always pushed the limits with the music, certainly following through on this one.

Here is the first track - Melting Chariots






Finally wrapping the the album up with the 8th track, here is Coma Pony. About as bluesy as Omar can get. Easily my favorite track after the title track itself. This one rings in at around 6 1/2 minutes, about half as long as The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange.





I like introducing people to different types of music. Some you may know, some you might not. Hope you enjoy these.

The Coral

This week, I'd like to introduce a band from the UK that got their start in 1996 near Liverpool, England as young teenagers. The Coral are front man James Skelly (also on guitar) , Ian Skelly on drums, Nick Power on organ , Lee Southall on rhythm guitar and  Paul Duffy on bass. They are typically described as a psychedelic folk rock with a 60's feel to them mixed with a pop/rock vibe as well. The have had much success in England since their self titled debut release in 2002 which reached #5 on the charts in the UK followed by a number one album the following year.


Fast Forward through 3 Top Five albums and in the summer of 2005 the band split after guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band to take care of some personal issues. 2007 brought the return of The Coral with a release titled Roots and Echoes. which produced the huge hit, "Who's Gonna Find Me?". In 2008 The Coral released a greatest hits/compilation album fittingly titled, The Coral - Singles Collection. It was released as a 3 LP set on Deltasonic Records and reached #13 in the UK.

 James Skelly of The Coral

I really dig these guys ;  great story-tellers, great harmonies and a great throwback sound that is refreshing in a day of bland popular music.The first clip is the song that got me hooked on them for the first time, Dreaming of You.

Next is probably my favorite song from The Coral , In The Rain. This one is a rocker as well.






And finally, another great track and amazing live version of Shadows Fall, which first appeared on their first EP which was released in 2001.




Hope you enjoy these guys. If not, maybe you'll like next week. Have an opinion on The Coral, drop me a message.