Randy Rose and Co. are back with what I consider to be their best album yet. It reminds me of a cross between the first two albums and the grunge of early Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. As I understand it, this album was actually recorded and then scrapped in order to record their third album, "Crazy Little World."  What were they thinking? They had just recorded their best album to date, and then they scrapped it to record their worst album ever. Well, I'm glad they released "Into The Unknown." 
I really don't know quite what I can say about this album, let alone Rose period. They've nevr been known to be original, and this album is really no exception. However, if you can look past their lack of originality, their stuff ain't half bad. Randy Rose actually sings with some feeling on "Into The Unknown."  And if you think about it, it's really not an easy task to be a copy of someone else. After all, who else but Randy Rose could have pulled off an album that sounded so wretchedly much like Danzig (that would be "Sacrificium" of course)? Well, now they've pulled off another ripoff. Well, I should say Randy Rose has pulled off another one, because he writes all the songs.
Some of the best songs on this album are "Grass,"  "Do You Know My Name?,"  "Die To The Flesh,"   "Season of Pain,"  and "Walking For Miles."    "Walking For Miles" reminds me of Alice In Chains, while "Grass" reminds me of  Rose's second album. As I said before, there's a good mix of stuff here.
If you like Rose, or if you're afraid of listening to secular music but want stuff that sounds like someone else, go out and get your copy of "Into The Unknown."  I wonder who they'll sound like next year? Greenday  maybe, or maybe Michael Jackson, or possibly Inner Circle, or maybe they'll sound like Snoop Doggy Dogg. Well, time will tell.

Well, here's a great album from a very odd man. I have some friends who have thought for a long time that Lenny Kravitz is a Christian. They saw some things in his lyrics that clued them in that he was. Well, here he is with his new album, "Circus," and the lyrics on this bad baby are really blatant. Songs like "God is Love,"   "In My Life Today,"    "The Resurrection,"   and even "Beyond The 7th Sky" make it clear how Lenny stands. More about that later.
This is one talented artist. He plays almost all of the songs entirely by himself, with an additional musician on a couple of tunes. Absolutely everything on this album is superb. It's funky at times, bluesy at other times, and any of the rest of the time is just plain good rock and roll. The ballads are captivating as well. Every song gets its message across through the music as well as the lyrics. It's not often that an artist writes music and lyrics that go together so well. Usually there's music and the lyrics just happen to fit in somewhere rhythmically and musically, and the emotion of the song just gets lost somewhere. But not Lenny. He plays with as much emotion and passion as he sings. And what a voice he has. 
"God is love, through all your trials and tribulations. God is love, He'll get you through all situations. God is love, and if you are ready He always is ready for you. God loves everyone. That's why He gave His Son. And you should feel His pain, yet He gave us everything. . . "  Those are the first few lines of "God is Love."  I've never heard it put so plain than in the lyrics to this song. You could buy this album just to hear this song.  "The Resurrection" starts out with some very personal statements.  "If you could feel what I could feel, well then you'd know His love is real. If you could hear what I could hear, well then you'd know the King is near."  The rest of the song is even cooler. In "In My Life Today," Lenny states, "You are the force and strength in my life today. And oh how I thank you, Father for giving us all over and under. You're a mystery , You're a wonder. I always knew since I was younger."  The lyrics are just so blatantly Christian.
There are a couple of things that will be stumbling stones to some Christians. There is some cussing in some of the lyrics, which will probably offend some, and the pictures in the insert are very bizarre and many people may have a problem with them. I personally just chalk it up to that Lenny Kravitz is a very odd individual. But I encourage Christians to look past the stupid fleshly things and see that this man may very well be your brother. I have very little doubt about it.
Highlights on this album are "Don't Go And Put A Bullet In Your Head,"   "In My Life Today,"   "God is Love,"   "Circus,"  and "Beyond The 7th Sky."  There's not a bad song on this album. I don't know if Lenny is capable of writing a bad song. If you like really good music with feeling that's kinda funky, you need to get this one in your collection. I bought it after one listen that a friend of mine gave me. Get it or die. Sell your kids, maybe even your wife, as long as you can afford to get this Cd.

Here's another album I bought after one listen a friend gave me. I've always liked stuff I've heard from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I've never heard enough off of one album to buy it. Well, I'm glad to have bought this one. I had the opportunity to hear the whole thing and got blown away, so to have chosen not to buy it would have been really stupid. 
"One Hot Minute" is a veritable smorgasbord of a variety of music. We find some really fun stuff as well as some somewhat dark stuff, and then there's some just outright off the wall stuff and serious, pretty stuff. There's the song that Flea sung called "Pea," which sounds like he made it up as he was recording it. That's probably what happened, too. 
You can really hear the influence that ex-Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro brought into the band. Songs such as "Warped" sound a lot like something Jane's Addiction would have done. Then there are the classic Chili Pepper-sounding stuff that dominates. 
The lyrics are all written out in calligraphy in some interesting ways. The art is kinda different. The lyrics range from serious to hilariously silly. There is a certain amount of profanity in the lyrics, just to warn anyone who might be offended. 
Overall a great album. One of my favorite songs is "One Big Mob," a really fun song. Other standouts are "Warped,"   "Deep Kick,"   "Coffee Shop,"   and "Walkabout. This is without a doubt a great band who knows how to write and perform music. I can't really say too much for this album. It's just simply really good.  By Owlman