Mourning Mountains - Trust Me

Rating: 5/10 Cause I've been pulling this tugboat 'round... heart on my sleeve The melancholic inverted madness that is the voice of this song stirs and pulls, fighting against the swell of the soothing guitar. Beginning in 2011 from Oakley CA, Mourning Mountains present the acoustic youth in rough and honest form.

Fort Minor - "Welcome"

the first time I did it, yeah I'll admit it, I kinda hit and quit it and left ya'll hanging Rating: 8/10

After ten long years, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda returns to his hip hop side project Fort Minor with "Welcome". It starts with a classic Shinoda piano intro with a pretty dope hip hop beat and sounds reminiscent of Xero (LP's first name). Then comes the long awaited Shinoda raps. It's new and different, and dammit there is talent and skill in every word and every note. This time around, every single thing was played, rapped, and sung by Mike Shinoda with no guests, friends, or help. Shinoda says he has no current plans for an album, but I hope this opens the door for more Fort Minor in the near future. For a short time, you can download the single for free from fortminor.com or support Mike by buying it on iTunes or your music provider of choice. Check out the epic music video shot with a 360 camera. View it in Chrome and use your mouse to move the screen around, or use the YouTube app on mobile and tilt your device to look around.

Sabaton - "Cliffs of Gallipoli"

I already did a post about Primo Victoria about a year ago which would have been appropriate for today but I think any Sabaton song can really be appropriate today and whenever because Sabaton is awesome! This is one of my favorite song's of theirs, about the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I. It uses the keyboard for some funky stuff and uses a super fun 7/8 time signature for the solo and is just generally a super awesome song.

Rating: 9/10 Gallipoli Left their letters in the sand Such waste of life Gallipoli Dreams of freedom turned to dust

Nightwish - "Shudder Before the Beautiful"

When Nighwish released their new album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, earlier this year me and a lot of critics didn't really think it was that great. After seeing them live and listening to it a few more times I really started liking it a lot more. A lot of the tracks sound have a similar sound to them but I really like it. Is it their best album ever? Definitely not, but it's super solid and I enjoy listening to it. This song in particular, the first track, is a solid representation of the album and if you like it you'll probably like the rest. If you like what you hear I'd definitely recommend giving the rest of the album a listen.

Rating: 7/10 We are shuddering before the beautiful, before the plentiful, we, the voyagers

MOVITS! - "Fel Del Av Gården"

This is the toe-tapping Swedish story of growing up on the wrong side of town from trio MOVITZ! (composed of the two brothers Johan and Anders with saxophone player Joakim), wherein the group scats from their childhood memories to systems of oppression with an ever-present smirk. Their modern hiphop style both pushes forth the use of traditional instruments in the largely electronic-heavy field and calls back to this band's Swedish roots. Hope you enjoy!

Rating: 7/10 men nån gång måste fördomen hinnas ikapp (But at some point, you have to catch up to the prejudice)

Twenty One Pilots - "Fairly Local"

Rating: 6/10

Tomorrow I'll switch the beat to avoid yesterday's dance Twenty One Pilots just came out with their second studio album, Blurryface a few days ago. The first single that they released was "Fairly Local", about which I was skeptical the first time I heard it. Then of course, I couldn't get it out of my head. It took a couple listens, but I am definitely on board for this shit. They've got some dope beats and a good use of electronics with lyrics just marginally short of being pleasantly morbid.

Breaking Benjamin - "Angels Fall"

After a four year hiatus, legal battle between band members, and near complete lineup change, Breaking Benjamin is coming back with their fifth studio album, Dark Before Dawn, set to drop June 23rd, with mixed responses following the release of the first three singles. There was something raw and gripping about their harder debut and sophomore studio albums that admittedly got a little lost in the later years, but Benjamin Burnley's stunning vocals are still there as good as ever and there is no lack of talent behind the music with the four skilled new members. And of course, it's nice to still hear bands using guitars in their music. This second single is a great song, and I'm overjoyed to hear no drop in quality over the break. Stoked to hear more. You can also check out the songs, "Failure" and "Defeated" before the album comes out.

The turning of the tide don't leave it all behind And I will never say goodbye Rating: 7/10

Iron and Wine - Upward Over the Mountain

Rating: 7/10 Mother don't worry... I killed the last snake the lived in the creek bed... Iron and Wine, a name for singer/songwriter Samuel Beam taken from a vitamin supplement label, is well established in folk- indie circles for soulful guitar and rather whimsical lyrics. He sets off this track with lullaby grace, soothing and strumming. Perfect for long walks between the roots of trees.