In 2008, Christian metal band Demon Hunter, embarked on a 45 day tour of the United States. The tour was called the "Stronger Than Hell Tour", and 45 Days is a 3 disc documentation of that tour. Disc 1 is a DVD featuring a full length documentary of the band during the tour. It is shot in black and white and has interviews with the band, crew, and fans, shows what goes on behind the scenes, and takes us along with the band when they are not on stage. Disc 2 is a DVD of the concert on the last night of the tour. The concert is in Nashville, Tennessee and Demon Hunter puts on an amazing show, playing all their big songs from all four of their albums. Disc 3 is a CD of music recorded for the documentary. There are eight new songs, all done in a very haunting style, mostly just guitars and piano, no vocals. The songs are a very fitting score for the film. The CD also features two acoustic tracks, Fading Away and Carry Me Down. I would have to pick Fading Away as my favorite track, it was my favorite song off of Storm The Gates Of Hell, and it is nice to hear it in a different style.

Four words: Produced By Rick Rubin. I could just leave it at that, by I will go in a bit deeper. To be honest, I had written off The (International) Noise Conspiracy a long time ago. In the early 2000's, I was really into Swedish punk rock - Millencolin, Randy, Liberator. And I thought The (International) Noise Conspiracy would fit right in. But their album, "A New Morning, Changing Weather", kind of bored me. I just wasn't into their style, it seemed like they were branching too far away from the "punk" genre. So I had no interest in them until I realized they were being produced by Rick Rubin, the genius behind Johnny Cash's last albums, the Beastie Boys, and the latest albums from Neil Diamond and Metallica. I decided I had to give them another chance. And I'm glad I did. "The Cross Of My Calling" is a gem. To me, it sounds like it could have been released 40 years ago. The album artwork has a very psychedelic look to it, and when the songs break into their instrumental parts, lead by heavy keyboards, it feels like it is from a different era. After hearing this album, I will definitely go back and give The (International) Noise Conspiracy another listen. My favorite track off of "The Cross Of My Calling" is "Washington Bullets".

Allow me to introduce you to Crazy Baldhead. Crazy Baldhead is the guitarist known as Agent Jay or Jay Nugent, of The Slackers. Crazy Baldhead teams up with other ska and reggae musicians from New York, to release songs with a different guest singer on each track. The Sound Of '69, Crazy Baldhead's second release, features songs from 1969. Some of the performers on the album are Vic Ruggiero, Dave Hillyard, Glen Pine (all three from The Slackers), Steve Jackson of The Pietasters, and Alex Desert of Hepcat. Familiar songs which appear on this album are Monkey Man (Rolling Stones), Come Together (The Beatles), Evil Ways (Santana), A Boy Named Sue (Johnny Cash), and Wild Child (The Doors). My favorite song by Crazy Baldhead on The Sound Of '69, is Communication Breakdown, originally done by Led Zeppelin, and done here with the vocals of Todd Hembrook from Deal's Gone Bad.

Originally released in 1978, "This Year's Model" is Elvis Costello's second album and his first with The Attractions. The Deluxe Edition, in addition to the original 13 tracks, features bonus material including b-sides, demos, live tracks, alternatives, etc.. It also includes a second disc which has a live concert from Washington, D.C., in February 1978. "Pump It Up" would probably be the most well known song off the album. But my favorite song is "Radio, Radio", a controversial song which didn't appear on the U.K. release. The song is a protest song about the commercialization of radio and the powers behind what songs get played. Elvis Costello performed "Radio, Radio" on Saturday Night Live in 1977 and consequently was banned from the show for 12 years. I bought "This Year's Model" because I was interested in older Elvis Costello music, and I heard this was a good album to start with. And it is.

Me First And The Gimme Gimmes are a cover band from California, made up of members from other punk bands (NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use For A Name, Swingin' Utters). Their first album was released in 1997 and was titled "Have A Ball". It featured the band doing their versions of songs from the 60's and 70's. Now it is 2008 and they just released "Have Another Ball", which features songs from the 60's and 70's which didn't make it onto the first album. It includes "Rich Girl" by Hall & Oates, "Country Roads" by John Denver, "Mahogany" by Diana Ross, "Coming To America" by Neil Diamond, "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John, and more. My favorite song on "Have Another Ball" would have to be "The Boxer", originally by Simon & Garfunkel. If you enjoy punk rock music, and are looking for a bit of nostalgia from songs your parents may have listened to when you where growing up, then I would suggest checking out Me First And The Gimme Gimmes latest release, "Have Another Ball".

It appears Street Dogs' lead singer Michael McColgan has come full circle. In 1997, he was part of Dropkick Murphys when they released "Do Or Die" on Hellcat Records, one of the first albums on the label. McColgan then left the band to become a Boston firefighter. In 2002, he returned to the music scene with his new band, Street Dogs. "State Of Grace" is the band's fourth release and first on Hellcat Records. The album is more of the Boston punk sound that Street Dogs have been known for, but this time with a bit more of a celtic tinge. They have a new drummer on this album, Paul Rucker, as former drummer, Joe Sirois, has returned to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. My favorite song on "State Of Grace" is a cover of a song by The Skids, "Into The Valley".

The latest release from Relient K, "The Nashville Tennis EP/The Bird And The Bee Sides", is a combination of a bunch of new songs (the EP), and some demos, rarities, alternate versions, etc. (the Bee Sides). The EP part of the album features 13 new songs, the first recorded with their new drummer, Ethan Luck. Ethan was previously Relient K's guitar tech, and he was a member of The O.C. Supertones, Grand Incredible, Roper, The Dingees, and others. Ethan is also currently a guitarist for metal band, Demon Hunter. The Bee Sides part of the album also has 13 songs. These songs include three acoustic numbers, three demos, and a number of other hard to find songs. My favorite song is from the EP part of the album, and it is "No Reaction", which features Relient K's newest member on vocals. This is a good release to hold us Relient K fans over until the next full length album.

I kind of stumbled upon this band by accident. Every day I check out a website called punknews.org. It is constantly updated with news from the punk music scene (new releases, tours, band news, etc.). One day they had an article about a band called "Deal's Gone Bad" and how they had to interrupt their tour because their singer had to have emergency appendix surgery. The article described them as a soul/reggae band, and I immediately thought they probably sounded like The Aggrolites or Westbound Train. I checked out their myspace page and really liked their songs, so I took a risk and bought this album from Interpunk. I am glad I went for it because they are a real good ska/reggae band. Their music sounds a lot like The Aggrolites, with the addition of horns. Deal's Gone Bad formed in Chicago in 1994 and they have had numerous releases. My favorite song off of "The Ramblers", their most recent album is "Movin' On".