Review by Crystal Lee
From Aprils Vandala Magazine – READ MORE REVIEWS HERE

One would think spring would show its head yet I sit here in a warmer climate but I am seeing snow, cold winds and no spring flowers peaking their head out. As much as I want to start blasting music with the windows down I am in my comfort zone of looking out the window with a hot cup of tea and fearful of opening a window. The good part is with the windows closed I can blast my music, with no complaints. And of late focus on driving music I need for bad weather thus searching the playlists of the past and present for the perfect songs.

The band “Otherwise” really hit the media in 2012 with their album “True Love Never Dies” which I gave a 5/5 rating though to my surprise the band had a few other albums out. I remember getting told “Are you sure you want such a new band on the cover?” {INTERVIEW HERE}  and now I can say “I told you so” since they have done extremely well in the music scene and playing the stages with some of musics biggest names.

I looked them up once I heard “True Love Never Dies” and their albums “Otherwise” (2006), and “Some Kind of Alchemy” (2009) both are on my player full time. Not very often do you get a band that puts out album after album with the continuous playability. How many bands can you say that about before they were signed?

Even early on the band thought about their albums as a whole and made sure that every song was quality. Be it that hard rock sound to the smooth soft passionate songs. Highlights from those albums are “Silence Reigns” “Bloody Knuckles, Broken Glass”, “I Am Spartacus” which all have that perfect rock sound with some old school passion. Plus in the middle you have “Shapes of Metal” which is a mix of that light and rock sound that keeps my player going just as much.

To go along with those softer days I have been listening to songs from their free download album “Enjoy the Pain” that they made on the road for their fans this year. Highlights “Miles of Rain” and “Once in My Dreams”. (www.centurymedia.com/specials/otherwise-ETP) They also covered “Rebel Yell” in a more of a soft version which is beautiful.

Otherwise is a band that you can buy all their albums and never be disappointed. They also love their fans thus a free album made on the road since they have been nothing but busy touring the country. Most of all you see nothing but growth and getting even better with every album. So go on iTunes and take a listen to Otherwise past and stay tuned for more new music.

In the mix of Otherwise on the road I found this gem on my player – “Battle Born” By Five Finger Death Punch. One thing I love about this band is they do high energy metal then can do the 360 with soft songs like this one and both sound so natural. The lyrics touch me personally since for those who know me know why this song would. My past was not so easy yet here I am today in such a amazing place. “I’ve been a thousand places and shook a million hands. I don’t know where I’m going, But I know just where I’ve been, I’ve flown a million miles”.

To bring things full circle Five Finger Punch just released “House of the Rising Sun” video with some high energy modern Mad Max/ Western style video. Right away in the video you notice the turbo charge diesel motor – how can you not miss that black smoke of sexy. (Sorry environmentalists). Also Steve Darnell of the famous Welder Up Garage built the cars which are always a hit. Plus the video they used a version of “You” that I must have!

Then end the last part of the video is where the cover of “House of the Rising Sun” comes in, which at first I was worried about. Surprise – I have to say I loved it. The original is better but their version has some balls and that’s what makes it a 5FDP Song. To sum the video and the song Zoltan explains: “This video was an experiment, the initial step toward something we always wanted to do, which is to make a full-length Death Punch movie somewhere down the line. We jumped into this knowing that we’d shoot more footage than we could possibly fit in one music video. We went out there with two helicopters, two gyrocopters, twenty something crazy cars, a big cast and an arsenal of cameras. We ended up with so much amazing material, the hardest task was to compress it down into a 3 minutes video, so we made an extended version with a long intro and we are making an even longer ‘directors cut’ as we speak.”

This band is a must to workout to and to have playing while driving! So make sure you grab “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Heaven Vol 2” to get you through till summer!