Mark of The Incubus

Incubus has been hard to classify for two decades now — mixing rock, pop, hip-hop, punk, thrash, jazz and EDM into a string of eclectic albums that still manage to top the charts. After a six-year break from the road and each other, Incubus returns with “8” (Island), their most focused and consistent album yet. Apparently what the guys from Incubus learned from being apart is how good they can sound togethe.

Superb boxset that makes me remember why these guys were my favorite band in my teenage years. The official 80s live albums either missed the duration and the coherence of a full concert experience. This boxset has 5 such experiences on offer. With this boxset compiling 5 concerts from the 82-87 period we get a dazzling overview of their career. Each of these shows had previously been 'available' as bootlegs, but the sound quality in this box doesn't sound like bootlegs at all.

San Antonio's Nothing More employs a powerful blend of twisty progressive rock, explosive heavy metal, and soaring, radio-ready alt-rock. The band broke into the mainstream in 2014 when their eponymous fourth long-player became an active rock radio hit. They earned three Grammy nominations for their 2018 follow-up, The Stories We Tell Ourselves, and continued to refine their heavy melodic rock on 2022's anthemic Spirits. Invoking names like System of a Down, 30 Seconds to Mars, Incubus, Mars Volta, and Killswitch Engage, Nothing More formed around the talents of longtime friends Jonny Hawkins, Daniel Oliver, Mark Vollelunga, and Paul O'Brien. The band spent years honing their sound and skills, and sharpening their worldview on the road, adopting a strict D.I.Y. ethic and issuing their music independently. In 2013 they inked a deal with the Eleven Seven Music Group, the home of acts like Drowning Pool, Sixx:A.M., Papa Roach, and Hellyeah, and released their eponymous debut for the label, along with the fiery first single "This Is the Time (Ballast)," the following year.

Essential: a masterpiece of Progressive Rock music
I cannot wait anymore to review this record: This record contains maybe the best guitar solos in the history of music. It is not a question of speed here; it is rather a question of sounding near the perfection.