CALLEJON is not only a Spanish word for alley or side street but also the name of one of Germany’s most famous Metalcore bands founded in and around Düsseldorf in 2002. After four regular records and a rise to popularity, the band decided to release a cover record under the synonym of KALLEJON featuring thirteen popular German songs from the eighties up to today and covering all genres from Neue Deutsche Welle over Hip Hop to Alternative Rock. This record happens to be quite a fun ride and the band manages to make sound all of these tracks as they were they own and created a lot of curious and funny moments.

Two video clips had been done for two of the strongest cover tracks which open the record. “Schrei nach Liebe” is a cover of the legendary German Punk Rock band DIE ÄRZTE that talks about the topic of Neo-Nazism in the country and that was a big hit twenty years ago. The new version features the band`s drummer Bela B. as guest vocalist and offers an even more energizing feeling than the original track with some catchy riffs that could also come from old RUNNING WILD. The video tells the story of a few right-winged criminals that stroll around a suburb by destroying things and beating up people before they arrive at a table dance bar and change their mind in order to peacefully party with the sympathetic people hanging around over there. The second track “Schwule Mädchen” is a cover of a famous hip hop track by FETTES BROT and works surprisingly well as a Metalcore track with many catchy hooks and aggressive vocals that sound a little bit like WALTARI. The video shows a gang of maniacs on drugs torturing and killing a young woman in an abandoned garage before the police comes in to fight the criminals.

Another well done cover version of a hip hop track is PETER FOX’ “Alles neu” that gets a mean and straight touch in comparison to the diversified and almost jazzy original. I also like the modern cover version of PETER SCHILLING’s pop success “Major Tom” of the eighties that sounds very Thrash Metal orientated and could be a track of KREATOR. Another surprise for me was the well done adaption of the Punk success “Hier kommt Alex” that was originally done by DIE TOTEN HOSEN which is still one of Germany’s most famous bands. The new version doesn’t beat the angry and at the same time very melodic and epic original but the electric organ sounds and the mixture of modern and melodious vocals on one side and the angry and unchained screams on the other add interesting new facets to this track. If you like the latest release of a band such as AVENGED SEVENFOLD, you will also dig this song. The middle part is filled with pure aggression and even fits better to the lyrics than the original track.

In the end, CALLEJON offer many entertaining cover songs of famous tracks that play or have played a very important role in Germany’s musical culture. The songs though sound like original CALLEJON tracks without losing the charm, melody or spirit of the originals. A few tracks happen to be less impressive than others but no true stinker can be found on this release. The band manages to make songs that I didn’t appreciate in their original form sound more than just bearable and does a good job on tracks that have been regarded as untouchable classics. This fun ride of an album is highly entertaining and a must have for any metal head who would like to get a closer connection to Germany’s musical culture as this release includes some of the country’s most popular songs of the last thirty years.

(Online February 23, 2013)

JOHN FRUSCIANTE has always been a quite unique musician. In his impressive career, he became the successor of his deceased idol Hillel Slovak when he joined the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS as a teenager in the late eighties and helped this band not only to survive but also to get their international breakthrough. He left the band from one day to the other during a tour and then lived in his chaotic mansion in sad isolation. As a young millionaire, he committed the same mistakes as his idol and started taking drugs on a regular basis. During that time, he became incredibly thin and was sometimes closer to death than to life. He recorded two strange solo records that are today sold out. They portrayed two extensive drug trips of and featured weird distorted guitar sounds as well as despaired and high pitched vocals of a very thin quality. He then completed a successful drug rehabilitation that eventually saved his life and he went back to his main band and created a massive comeback release with them in the late nineties. He though pursued his solo career and released his first acceptable records at the beginning of the millennium. In the year 2004, he released a total of four studio records, one EP and the first disc of his site project ATAXIA with Joe Lally and Josh Klinghoffer who would later become his successor when he left the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS again. These albums got all very good critics in the Alternative Rock scene and since then people still make a lot of noise every time this man releases something new. After the strong 2009 record “The Empyrean”, Frusciante focused on several side projects and collaborations with artists and bands such as OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ, THE MARS VOLTA, SWAHILI BLONDE and SPEED DEALER MOMS. After the announcement of his new split with his main band, not much was heard from him before the release of the “Letur-Lefr” EP in summer 2012. The record was something completely new from the genius or madman and he described this new style very adequately as being some sort of Progressive Synth Pop. The release included massive electronic influences and vocal performances by several rappers such as KINETIC 9 or RZA for example.

What followed last autumn is the strangely entitled “PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone” that closes the circle to this incredible man’s first inaccessible records with the exception that he seemed to be less on drugs during the recording of this release which is honestly said quite hard to believe. The record continues the Progressive Synth Pop experiments even though the artist stated that the main release would differ a lot from the appetizer in form of an EP. We still get many electronic pop influences as in the catchy “Uprane” featuring a beautiful violin solo or the dreamy closing ballad “Sum”. KINETIC 9 has another guest appearance in the quite diversified album highlight “Ratiug” that though requests multiple spins to really work out well.

Other tracks may get as many spins as possible and still feel completely inapproachable. JOHN FRUSCIANTE opened his record with three unpredictable, chaotic and distorted songs that will break any head. The dark and almost cinematic “Intro / Sabam” includes strange folk chants played backwards, massive electronic melodies and strange sound samples such as multiple string passages with a drum computer crushing in. Some may say that this kind of music is pure genius and there sure is a lot to discover but to me, the whole thing doesn’t sound progressive or experimental anymore but only destructive and weird. It’s as if a barkeeper would have mixed twelve incompatible elements into one drink instead of choosing the two or three right ones. This song gave me solid headaches and the first real track “Hear Say” is even more disturbing and sounds like a musical acid trip. Chaotic electronic elements meet emotionless electronic vocals and a badly programmed drum computer. The jazzy vocals in “Bike” meet senseless drum patterns and boring guitar chords before chaotic electronic elements set in. This sounds as if AMY WINEHOUSE had met KRAFTWERK and a sped up version of the CHIPMUNKS. This may sound intriguing to some but in my humble opinion, this is just too much to take.

Even though the record gets a little bit more accessible towards the end, this release is simply overloaded and incredibly hard to digest. This is only for friends of extremely experimental electronic music. Fans of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS or JOHN FRUSCIANTE’s earlier works or his stunning guitar play may have a lot of problems with this pitiless and experimental release. This is some sort of musical apocalypse and the points I give for this weird output are only dedicated to the artist’s overwhelming originality, his courage or madness to release this kind of music and to three better songs towards the middle and the end of the release. The bonus songs are only of a average quality at best and the original album is only thirty-seven minutes long but this is already more than enough and very hard to take. Try this out on your very own costs and don’t tell me I didn’t warn you before.

(Online February 22, 2013)

The fifth single of the "I’m With You Outtakes“ by the legendary Californian Crossover band RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS is by far the best one until now.

“Pink As Floyd” starts with some calm and progressive sounds reminding us indeed a little bit of PINK FLOYD. Then kicks off another relaxed part including haunting string passages and acoustic guitars. The track evolves into a slightly funkier tone but always goes back to calmer and progressively floating moments. The guitar play is the most outstanding thing about this song and gives the track a very dreamy atmosphere that reminds me of the Soft Rock scene of the sixties and seventies. Josh Klinghoffer may still not be accepted by all fans but this song is definitely one of his very best performances with the band and he equals or even surpasses his colleague, idol and predecessor. The vocals are also well performed and truly chilling and fusion with the instruments in a stunning manner. This song should have made it on a regular release without the glimpse of a doubt.

“Your Eyes Girl” starts in a very cool way with synthesizer and piano sounds and band members swearing before a heavy high-hat rhythm kicks off. The song has a very unusual structure and feels quite progressive once again. The bass guitar is much more dominant in this track than in the first one. The vocals are very well performed and add a fascinatingly emotional component to the song. Calmer and almost minimalistic parts meet a more chaotic and hypnotizing middle part with spacey guitar sounds. The song could also come from a Progressive Rock act of the sixties or seventies once again and this retro style fits very well to the band.

In the end, any fan of Rock music of the sixties or seventies with a slightly progressive touch should check this new single out. Any fan of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS shouldn’t miss this release as it’s a definite highlight of the outtakes series. These two tracks are both amazing and deserve much more attention than they get. I almost hope that the band will put them on a regular release one day but by now, you shouldn’t miss the chance to purchase this limited collector’s item and open up your mind.

(Online February 21, 2013)