Today's song of the day is going to hit two pigs with one bird, in the sense that it's both a New Music Monday kinda song and something I've been looking forward to for a while now. The title of today's post may have given things away, but just in case, allow me to spell it out for you: Canadian (formerly) instrumental badasses Intervals have just released the first song from their upcoming debut LP.
What does he mean by "formerly", I hear you asking. Well, for two EPs now Toronto's Intervals have been cranking out proggy, djenty instrumental tunage, but today's song release also came with the announcement that their forthcoming album features bassist Mike Semesky handling vocal duties as well as locking down the low end.
Is Intervals better off with a vocalist than they were without? Why don't you be the judge. Turn your shit up loud and then have a listen to "Ephemeral" from the upcoming A Voice Within. I was on the fence about the introduction of vocals to such a rad instrumental band at first, but it's growing on me with every play. Some pretty sweet leads aren't hurting anything either.
Monday 30 December 2013
Sunday 29 December 2013
Ever Forthright - Infinitely Inward
Hey everybody just a quickie song post tonight before I head to bed, as I have to be up at 4 tomorrow morning for work. Pity me, damn it!
Tonight we're rocking out with the Canadian djentlemen in Ever Forthright. Their debut album Ever Forthright covers a lot of familiar djenty ground, but it's also got enough tasty melodies and interesting guitar work to justify the listener's digging a little deeper. I implore you to be that listener and to dig a little deeper into "Infinitely Inward" to get your Sunday evening fill of heavy groove.
Tonight we're rocking out with the Canadian djentlemen in Ever Forthright. Their debut album Ever Forthright covers a lot of familiar djenty ground, but it's also got enough tasty melodies and interesting guitar work to justify the listener's digging a little deeper. I implore you to be that listener and to dig a little deeper into "Infinitely Inward" to get your Sunday evening fill of heavy groove.
Saturday Song: Headstones - Cemetery
I'm a few hours late with today's (or rather yesterday's) song, but at least my excuse is better than my usual "I fell asleep". Regular readers might remember that I got my girlfriend Headstones tickets for her birthday, and the show was tonight. We just got home, hence your Saturday song actually coming a few hours into Sunday.
But enough boring stuff, on with the song! Predictably, I'm going with a Headstones song for your Saturday tune, namely "Cemetery" from the bands 1993 debut Picture of Health. In addition to being a catchy little rock ditty with a punky edge to it, "Cemetery" has the distinction of being the most up-beat song about necrophilia you'll ever hear. If this isn't reason enough to give it a listen while you're awaiting my Headstones pit report, I don't know what is.
But enough boring stuff, on with the song! Predictably, I'm going with a Headstones song for your Saturday tune, namely "Cemetery" from the bands 1993 debut Picture of Health. In addition to being a catchy little rock ditty with a punky edge to it, "Cemetery" has the distinction of being the most up-beat song about necrophilia you'll ever hear. If this isn't reason enough to give it a listen while you're awaiting my Headstones pit report, I don't know what is.
Friday 27 December 2013
Post-Christmas Four Way
Why hello, stranger. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to you and yours. I've been off for a few days, eating myself silly first with my family and then my girlfriend's, but now I'm back at it and back with you for your regularly scheduled Loud Noises programming. You know what that means: some Songs for the past couple of days.
First up is Christmas Eve. I've decided that last year's Christmas Day song is going to be this year's Christmas Eve song, so your song for Tuesday is/was Bing Crosby's version of the classic carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". This has been one of my favourite Christmas carols since I was a wee lad, and I can't think of a better version than Bing's.
Christmas Day is going to see Christopher Lee's "Jingle Hell" as your song for the day. Metal fans and movie dorks alike will already know that Christopher Lee has recorded a metal song or two in his day, and this year he put out another couple of Christmas tunes, including this one. Christmas carol by a 90+ year old not doing it for you? What about a Christmas carol from Dracula? Or Saruman? Talk about bang for your buck, "Jingle Hell" gets you all three.
For your boxing day song, I'm going to point you in the direction of "Music Box" from Thrice's 2005 disc Vheissu because I'm not terribly clever and I want a "box" themed song for Boxing Day (wiki it my American friends). This is, in my opinion, a very underrated album from a key transitional period in the history of this band. They were transitioning away from their earlier, heavier sound and towards some even more post than the post-hardcore they had been, and in the process they managed to craft an album of rock solid songs, not one of which can be considered filler.
Last up we have your song for today, aka Friday, and speaking of underrated, we're going with a song by British metalcore/mathcore/whatevercore band Architects. I've been a fan since 2006's Nightmares, and while this band too has evolved well beyond where they started, they're still putting out quality metalcore (for lack of a better word) that should appeal even to those for whom "metalcore" is a four-letter word. Check out "Follow the Water" from 2009's Hollow Crown to see what I mean.
First up is Christmas Eve. I've decided that last year's Christmas Day song is going to be this year's Christmas Eve song, so your song for Tuesday is/was Bing Crosby's version of the classic carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". This has been one of my favourite Christmas carols since I was a wee lad, and I can't think of a better version than Bing's.
Christmas Day is going to see Christopher Lee's "Jingle Hell" as your song for the day. Metal fans and movie dorks alike will already know that Christopher Lee has recorded a metal song or two in his day, and this year he put out another couple of Christmas tunes, including this one. Christmas carol by a 90+ year old not doing it for you? What about a Christmas carol from Dracula? Or Saruman? Talk about bang for your buck, "Jingle Hell" gets you all three.
For your boxing day song, I'm going to point you in the direction of "Music Box" from Thrice's 2005 disc Vheissu because I'm not terribly clever and I want a "box" themed song for Boxing Day (wiki it my American friends). This is, in my opinion, a very underrated album from a key transitional period in the history of this band. They were transitioning away from their earlier, heavier sound and towards some even more post than the post-hardcore they had been, and in the process they managed to craft an album of rock solid songs, not one of which can be considered filler.
Last up we have your song for today, aka Friday, and speaking of underrated, we're going with a song by British metalcore/mathcore/whatevercore band Architects. I've been a fan since 2006's Nightmares, and while this band too has evolved well beyond where they started, they're still putting out quality metalcore (for lack of a better word) that should appeal even to those for whom "metalcore" is a four-letter word. Check out "Follow the Water" from 2009's Hollow Crown to see what I mean.
Monday 23 December 2013
Pantera - 5 Minutes Alone
The shit weather over the weekend seemed to inspire a lot of questionable driving around here today, and sometimes when that happens once too often you just wish you could have five minutes along with the asshat driving that van that just did whatever.
Your song today is Pantera's "5 Minutes Alone" from 1994's Far Beyond Driven because everybody occasionally needs to blow off a little steam, even if it is just cranking some metal and cursing the asshat out instead of beating the everloving fuck out of them.
Your song today is Pantera's "5 Minutes Alone" from 1994's Far Beyond Driven because everybody occasionally needs to blow off a little steam, even if it is just cranking some metal and cursing the asshat out instead of beating the everloving fuck out of them.
Sunday 22 December 2013
Thrice - Cold Cash and Colder Hearts
Winter's icy onslaught continued today, so tonight you're getting another appropriately themed (or titled, at least) song for the weather.
Your song this evening is Thrice's "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts" from 2003's The Artist in The Ambulance. I know, I know, it's a socio-political song that doesn't actually have anything to do with ice or snow, but it's a great song from Thrice's heavier heyday, and it's got a vaguely wintry-sounding title. What more do you want?
Your song this evening is Thrice's "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts" from 2003's The Artist in The Ambulance. I know, I know, it's a socio-political song that doesn't actually have anything to do with ice or snow, but it's a great song from Thrice's heavier heyday, and it's got a vaguely wintry-sounding title. What more do you want?
Saturday 21 December 2013
Metallica - Trapped Under Ice
The last couple of days here in southeastern Ontario have been jam packed with shitty weather, namely freezing rain that's covered virtually everything in a good half-inch to an inch of ice. In addition to leaving me more or less housebound all day today, due to the icy roads that I literally watched neighbourhood kids skating on earlier, it brings back memories of the mammoth ice storm of 1998 that hammered southern Ontario and Quebec and the northeastern United States, when you could just walk outside and hear trees cracking and snapping all around you. It's not nearly that bad this time, but still the same vibe.
In honour, or perhaps defiance, of the weather, your song tonight is Metallica's "Trapped Under Ice" from 1984's Ride the Lightning because that's how I feel right about now. If you're in the same boat, stay safe, and maybe take some pictures. Ice does crazy things sometimes.
In honour, or perhaps defiance, of the weather, your song tonight is Metallica's "Trapped Under Ice" from 1984's Ride the Lightning because that's how I feel right about now. If you're in the same boat, stay safe, and maybe take some pictures. Ice does crazy things sometimes.
Twenty Questions - Salt of the Chief Cornerstone
Hey everybody, as you may or may not have noticed, it's been a long
time since I've posted a Twenty Questions interview, and I think it's
high time I fixed that. What's that? You agree that I should rectify
this situation? You want to read another e-mail interview as soon as
possible? Well then today's your lucky day!
Today's Twenty Questions were answered by the boys from Salt of the Chief Cornerstone, an instrumental guitar-and-drums duo I saw open for Protest the Hero back at the start of November. I dug their sound so much that I picked up a copy of their demo EP and subsequently singled them out as my next victims for interrogation. Read on for the results of my questioning.
Today's Twenty Questions were answered by the boys from Salt of the Chief Cornerstone, an instrumental guitar-and-drums duo I saw open for Protest the Hero back at the start of November. I dug their sound so much that I picked up a copy of their demo EP and subsequently singled them out as my next victims for interrogation. Read on for the results of my questioning.
Friday 20 December 2013
Salt of the Chief Cornerstone - Baptism of Fire
You might be reading today's posts in some order other than what I posted them in, so SPOILER ALERT: today marks the first Twenty Question interview I've posted in a while, conducted with Windsor's Salt of the Chief Cornerstone.
As a refresher for all of you late-comers, Salt of the Chief Cornerstone are a guitar and drums duo cranking out some rocking instrumental prog jams that are flush with head-bobbingly good grooves. I discovered them when they opened for none other than Protest the Hero here in Kingston back at the start of November, and now it's your turn to hear what they're all about.
Your song today is a driving number called "Baptism of Fire" with a chunky, palm-muted "verse" riff that reminds me of classic video game soundtracks, like Tetris or something - not in the sense of sounding like Russian folk music (although their stuff does have some ethnic-sounding flavour in places) but rather in the sense of syncopated, harmonized melodies. It is, however, up to you whether you listen to the song first, read the interview first, or - best of both worlds here - put the song on and then read the interview. Spoiled for choice much? Yeah, I'm too good to you.
As a refresher for all of you late-comers, Salt of the Chief Cornerstone are a guitar and drums duo cranking out some rocking instrumental prog jams that are flush with head-bobbingly good grooves. I discovered them when they opened for none other than Protest the Hero here in Kingston back at the start of November, and now it's your turn to hear what they're all about.
Your song today is a driving number called "Baptism of Fire" with a chunky, palm-muted "verse" riff that reminds me of classic video game soundtracks, like Tetris or something - not in the sense of sounding like Russian folk music (although their stuff does have some ethnic-sounding flavour in places) but rather in the sense of syncopated, harmonized melodies. It is, however, up to you whether you listen to the song first, read the interview first, or - best of both worlds here - put the song on and then read the interview. Spoiled for choice much? Yeah, I'm too good to you.
Thursday 19 December 2013
Scale the Summit - Atlas Novus
Yesterday's Plini song has put me in the mood for some more majestic instrumental music that's both heavy and mellow. Sound like a tall order? No, it just sounds like a job for Scale the Summit.
Elements of heaviness and beauty happily coexist side by side throughout Scale the Summit's catalogue. Thunderous double bass drumming rumbles underneath intricately tapped guitar lines, adding up to music that's got groove and riffs for days but isn't just straight up bludgeoning. And perhaps more importantly, at least in terms of instrumental music, there's enough going on to hold the listener's interest.
Sometimes instrumental bands suffer for their lack of vocals, especially if they stick to verse-chorus-verse type songs, because the central core of singer and lyrics that we're used to just isn't there. Not so with Scale the Summit, where every instrument is telling a story that interlocks with that of every other instrument.
But you probably already know all of this, since Scale the Summit aren't exactly indie. So let's just bask in the radiance of their skillz and have a listen to "Atlas Novus" from this year's solid The Migration, shall we?
Elements of heaviness and beauty happily coexist side by side throughout Scale the Summit's catalogue. Thunderous double bass drumming rumbles underneath intricately tapped guitar lines, adding up to music that's got groove and riffs for days but isn't just straight up bludgeoning. And perhaps more importantly, at least in terms of instrumental music, there's enough going on to hold the listener's interest.
Sometimes instrumental bands suffer for their lack of vocals, especially if they stick to verse-chorus-verse type songs, because the central core of singer and lyrics that we're used to just isn't there. Not so with Scale the Summit, where every instrument is telling a story that interlocks with that of every other instrument.
But you probably already know all of this, since Scale the Summit aren't exactly indie. So let's just bask in the radiance of their skillz and have a listen to "Atlas Novus" from this year's solid The Migration, shall we?
Wednesday 18 December 2013
Plini - Orm
My boy Plini has been busy this year. Not only has he released a pair of stellar EPs in March's Other Things and October's Sweet Nothings, he's also teamed up with British guitarist extraordinaire Sithu Aye to put out a split EP I at the end of November.
The styles of these two very talented guitarists are perfectly matched: virtuosic technicality, jazz, rock, and metal influences, and instantly catchy melodies. If the back of the disc's sleeve didn't let me know who did what (including some guest spots from fellow axemen David Maxim Micic and Jakub Zytecki) I'd be hard pressed to tell who wrote which song, a testament to the blend of melody, groove, and skill exhibited by both guys.
That said, I think I'm still giving the Plini the edge as my personal favourite, and not just because he deigned to answer some questions from little old me. Your song this evening, therefore, is the EP's opening track, "Orm", a Plini contribution with guest solo by Sithu. I sincerely hope that Plini can keep up this pace of musical output, because if he can, 2014 should be a very good year for Australian instrumental guitar music.
The styles of these two very talented guitarists are perfectly matched: virtuosic technicality, jazz, rock, and metal influences, and instantly catchy melodies. If the back of the disc's sleeve didn't let me know who did what (including some guest spots from fellow axemen David Maxim Micic and Jakub Zytecki) I'd be hard pressed to tell who wrote which song, a testament to the blend of melody, groove, and skill exhibited by both guys.
That said, I think I'm still giving the Plini the edge as my personal favourite, and not just because he deigned to answer some questions from little old me. Your song this evening, therefore, is the EP's opening track, "Orm", a Plini contribution with guest solo by Sithu. I sincerely hope that Plini can keep up this pace of musical output, because if he can, 2014 should be a very good year for Australian instrumental guitar music.
Tuesday 17 December 2013
Exist - Writhe
I featured fusion metal band Exist a couple of weeks ago, but their debut LP Sunlight is so solid that I feel compelled to sing their praises again for the benefit of anyone who isn't familiar with them yet.
To that end, your song this evening is Sunlight's opener "Writhe", a nearly ten-minute epic that's a story of two halves. The first four or five minutes feature some sinister fusion riffing, and the latter half consists of a seriously jazzy instrumental section. Take both parts together and you get a track that demonstrates pretty thoroughly what Exist is all about, which in my opinion is just the job you need your album opener to do. If you don't hear "Writhe" and then want to hear the rest of Sunlight, then this kind of fusiony stuff just ain't your cup of tea. My condolences.
To that end, your song this evening is Sunlight's opener "Writhe", a nearly ten-minute epic that's a story of two halves. The first four or five minutes feature some sinister fusion riffing, and the latter half consists of a seriously jazzy instrumental section. Take both parts together and you get a track that demonstrates pretty thoroughly what Exist is all about, which in my opinion is just the job you need your album opener to do. If you don't hear "Writhe" and then want to hear the rest of Sunlight, then this kind of fusiony stuff just ain't your cup of tea. My condolences.
Monday 16 December 2013
Alexisonfire - Charlie Sheen vs. Henry Rollins
Longtime readers (and the Canadian among you) should be familiar with a couple of bands I'm into and have posted about in the past, namely Moneen and Alexisonfire, a Canadian indie band and post-hardcore band, respectively. What you might not be familiar with is the somewhat unique split EP these two bands did way back in 2005.
What's so unique about this particular split? Try this on for size: each band does three songs out of the total six, two of which are covers of songs by the other band while the third is an original, unreleased track. As an example, Moneen's "The Passing of America" became Alexisonfire's "Passing Out in America". I always thought it was a really cool concept and, since it was supposed to be an EP in the Switcheroo Series from Dine Alone Records, I always wondered whatever became of it.
Anyways, today we're actually going to ignore the covers and go with the original Alexisonfire song, "Charlie Sheen vs. Henry Rollins", an aggressive, high-energy number whose exclusion from any of Alexisonfire's studio albums still baffles me. Have a listen a lament the demise of a great Canadian band.
What's so unique about this particular split? Try this on for size: each band does three songs out of the total six, two of which are covers of songs by the other band while the third is an original, unreleased track. As an example, Moneen's "The Passing of America" became Alexisonfire's "Passing Out in America". I always thought it was a really cool concept and, since it was supposed to be an EP in the Switcheroo Series from Dine Alone Records, I always wondered whatever became of it.
Anyways, today we're actually going to ignore the covers and go with the original Alexisonfire song, "Charlie Sheen vs. Henry Rollins", an aggressive, high-energy number whose exclusion from any of Alexisonfire's studio albums still baffles me. Have a listen a lament the demise of a great Canadian band.
Sunday 15 December 2013
The Beatles - Blackbird
After all that bother with the lateness of posts over the last couple of days, time to get back on track with a quickie song for Sunday.
We're going with something mellow and lullaby-ish to get us off to dreamland tonight. The Beatles' "Blackbird" has both of these qualities as well as boasting a really cool little acoustic guitar part. If you have friends that play guitar, and aren't just into 8-stringed monsters or something, chances are you've heard "Blackbird" pulled out on one occasion or another. Now I'm pulling it out on this occasion to say goodnight, sweet dreams, and here's to a good Monday.
We're going with something mellow and lullaby-ish to get us off to dreamland tonight. The Beatles' "Blackbird" has both of these qualities as well as boasting a really cool little acoustic guitar part. If you have friends that play guitar, and aren't just into 8-stringed monsters or something, chances are you've heard "Blackbird" pulled out on one occasion or another. Now I'm pulling it out on this occasion to say goodnight, sweet dreams, and here's to a good Monday.
Saturday's Song: Slipknot - Snuff
Yes, I know I'm a few hours late with Saturday's song. I'll blame the weather, because the wintery blast we're currently in the midst of receiving has a great deal to do with my getting posts posted on time. Or not.
Anyways, by now the well-informed among you may already have heard that Slipknot has parted ways with drummer Joey Jordison (or maybe it's the other way around), so today (or yesterday, now) we're going with a Slipknot song to commemorate the final nail in the coffin of Slipknot as we knew it. First Paul Gray's death in 2010 and now the loss of Joey add up to what will be a very different band on their next record.
So as a kind of ceremonial chalice-raising to the end of the beast that was, your song for Saturday is "Snuff" from 2008's All Hope is Gone. It might be a little too Stone Sour for some Slipknot fans, but it's a cool song, and a good one too.
Anyways, by now the well-informed among you may already have heard that Slipknot has parted ways with drummer Joey Jordison (or maybe it's the other way around), so today (or yesterday, now) we're going with a Slipknot song to commemorate the final nail in the coffin of Slipknot as we knew it. First Paul Gray's death in 2010 and now the loss of Joey add up to what will be a very different band on their next record.
So as a kind of ceremonial chalice-raising to the end of the beast that was, your song for Saturday is "Snuff" from 2008's All Hope is Gone. It might be a little too Stone Sour for some Slipknot fans, but it's a cool song, and a good one too.
Saturday 14 December 2013
Friday's Song: Numbers - Legal Lee Speaking
Want to know what happens when you spend a week getting up for a 4:15 am start time at work instead of your usual leisurely 5 o'clock? You fall asleep around 7 in the evening, after you've chosen the song of the day but before you've even written the post!
The worst part is, yesterday's song stoked me right up when it was released the other day. Why, you ask? Well, I've been looking forward to the finally-complete-work-in-progress debut LP from my boys in Numbers for some time now, and on Thursday the band did all of its fans the solid of releasing the video for the album's first single "Legal Lee Speaking".
There's no word yet on the expected release date for Three, but at least "Legal Lee Speaking" is chock full of the tasty goodness that made me like Numbers in the first place: gnarly keyboards, badass riffing, blippy electronic bits, and Kyle's powerful vocal work, a little more refined and matured on this release if "Legal Lee Speaking" is any indication. Plus there's both guitar and keyboard solos! You couldn't really ask for anything else. Well, you could. But you shouldn't. Check it.
The worst part is, yesterday's song stoked me right up when it was released the other day. Why, you ask? Well, I've been looking forward to the finally-complete-work-in-progress debut LP from my boys in Numbers for some time now, and on Thursday the band did all of its fans the solid of releasing the video for the album's first single "Legal Lee Speaking".
There's no word yet on the expected release date for Three, but at least "Legal Lee Speaking" is chock full of the tasty goodness that made me like Numbers in the first place: gnarly keyboards, badass riffing, blippy electronic bits, and Kyle's powerful vocal work, a little more refined and matured on this release if "Legal Lee Speaking" is any indication. Plus there's both guitar and keyboard solos! You couldn't really ask for anything else. Well, you could. But you shouldn't. Check it.
Thursday 12 December 2013
letlive. - The Priest and Used Cars
I've written about letlive. before, but that was before I'd heard all of their latest album The Blackest Beautiful. Upon closer inspection I've decided that the catchy aggressive edge of "Banshee (Ghost Fame)" is not a one-off fluke. If you dig that sort of thing, The Blackest Beautiful has a bunch more where it came from.
When "Banshee" was the song of the day, I believe my comparison was of letlive. to a bastard child of Refused and Glassjaw. While I stand by that simile, I would throw a bunch of other bands into the mix if I were trying to define letlive's sound. They're a post-hardcore band in the truest sense of the word, building on the hardcore genre in a myriad of ways.
Case in point: today's song, "The Priest and Used Cars", which has a punky energy that brings to mind Protest the Hero and another helping of vocalist Jason Aalon Butler's virtuosity, which is often reminiscent of Claudio from Coheed and Cambria (if Claudio had a more frantic, manic energy). It's a tasty combination.
But I could go on all night about who letlive. sounds like at one moment or the next. Why not listen to "The Priest and Used Cars" and see how awesome they are for yourself?
When "Banshee" was the song of the day, I believe my comparison was of letlive. to a bastard child of Refused and Glassjaw. While I stand by that simile, I would throw a bunch of other bands into the mix if I were trying to define letlive's sound. They're a post-hardcore band in the truest sense of the word, building on the hardcore genre in a myriad of ways.
Case in point: today's song, "The Priest and Used Cars", which has a punky energy that brings to mind Protest the Hero and another helping of vocalist Jason Aalon Butler's virtuosity, which is often reminiscent of Claudio from Coheed and Cambria (if Claudio had a more frantic, manic energy). It's a tasty combination.
But I could go on all night about who letlive. sounds like at one moment or the next. Why not listen to "The Priest and Used Cars" and see how awesome they are for yourself?
Wednesday 11 December 2013
Cynic - The Lion's Roar
Prog nerds among you will have seen by now that the next Cynic album is due out in February, and that it's called Kindly Bent to Free Us, but today we got another tasty tidbit to salivate over for the next couple of months in the form of a new song.
"The Lion's Roar" is the first song to be released from the new record, and if it's any indication of what we can expect from the rest of the album, then what we can expect is proggy post-metal with *gasp* poppy threads running through it. It's different from Carbon-Based Anatomy, but at the same time not radically so. Have a listen and see what YOU think.
"The Lion's Roar" is the first song to be released from the new record, and if it's any indication of what we can expect from the rest of the album, then what we can expect is proggy post-metal with *gasp* poppy threads running through it. It's different from Carbon-Based Anatomy, but at the same time not radically so. Have a listen and see what YOU think.
Tuesday 10 December 2013
Tool - Right in Two
Seeing as how we did a song by A Perfect Circle yesterday, today we'll keep the MJK mojo going with a quickie installment of Tool Tuesday.
For your Tool Tuesday song I'm going with "Right in Two", one of my favourite tracks from 2006's 10,000 Days, the band's most recent album. There were nothing but rumours and talk of preliminary writing from the Tool camp in 2013, so here's to hoping that 2014 will hold more in the way of new music from everybody's favourite unproductive prog metal band.
For your Tool Tuesday song I'm going with "Right in Two", one of my favourite tracks from 2006's 10,000 Days, the band's most recent album. There were nothing but rumours and talk of preliminary writing from the Tool camp in 2013, so here's to hoping that 2014 will hold more in the way of new music from everybody's favourite unproductive prog metal band.
Monday 9 December 2013
Monday Threeway Super Fun Time
Why hello there. Fancy meeting you here. I took a couple of days off over the weekend for my girlfriend's birthday yesterday, but I'm back at it today with a trio of tunes for your earholes to get us back on track. Have at 'er!
First up is Dutch instrumental fusion band Exivious. I've written about them before, but now that I've spent some serious time with their album Liminal I feel better qualified to recommend another tasty track. By now you should know I like proggy, jazzy stuff and instrumental stuff, so if you like this kind of stuff too, check out Liminal's closing track "Immanent". It's epic, but not overbearingly so, and it's a great showcase of Exivious's melding of heavy and melodically proggy.
So that's Saturday out of the way, now for Sunday. My girlfriend is a big Headstones fan, so my big birthday present to my girlfriend this year was tickets to see Headstones right here in Kingston at the end of the month (stayed tuned for a pit report, probably in the new year). Headstones were a solid rock band back in the day, and their new record Love + Fury proves they've still got it. So if their "it" is something you're into, check out "Far Away From Here".
And that's Sunday. What about today, Monday? Well, we're going to commemorate the new A Perfect Circle best-of disc Three Sixty and go with "Weak and Powerless" as today's song. Originally from 2003's Thirteenth Step, "Weak and Powerless" is a perfect example of what A Perfect Circle can do when they're not at "Judith" levels of aggression. Mer de Noms is still my favourite, but "Weak and Powerless" is just one of several great tracks to be had on Thirteenth Step.
And that's me caught up. Your turn.
First up is Dutch instrumental fusion band Exivious. I've written about them before, but now that I've spent some serious time with their album Liminal I feel better qualified to recommend another tasty track. By now you should know I like proggy, jazzy stuff and instrumental stuff, so if you like this kind of stuff too, check out Liminal's closing track "Immanent". It's epic, but not overbearingly so, and it's a great showcase of Exivious's melding of heavy and melodically proggy.
So that's Saturday out of the way, now for Sunday. My girlfriend is a big Headstones fan, so my big birthday present to my girlfriend this year was tickets to see Headstones right here in Kingston at the end of the month (stayed tuned for a pit report, probably in the new year). Headstones were a solid rock band back in the day, and their new record Love + Fury proves they've still got it. So if their "it" is something you're into, check out "Far Away From Here".
And that's Sunday. What about today, Monday? Well, we're going to commemorate the new A Perfect Circle best-of disc Three Sixty and go with "Weak and Powerless" as today's song. Originally from 2003's Thirteenth Step, "Weak and Powerless" is a perfect example of what A Perfect Circle can do when they're not at "Judith" levels of aggression. Mer de Noms is still my favourite, but "Weak and Powerless" is just one of several great tracks to be had on Thirteenth Step.
And that's me caught up. Your turn.
Friday 6 December 2013
Carcass - The Master Butcher's Apron
I might be a little late to the party when it comes to today's band, but as the saying goes, better late than never. Since their latest album is appearing on a number of end of the year lists, I felt I had to pick up a copy, and after a couple of listens, I can say that Carcass's Surgical Steel is a bit of a monster.
I've never been a Carcass fan, but all the positive reviews for Surgical Steel twisted my arm, so to speak. So far I'm glad they did. Surgical Steel is a melodic death metal album that to me feels pretty thrashy, both modern sounding as well as a little retro. And, perhaps more importantly, there's a plethora of truly evil-sounding riffs, always a bonus in any metal record worth its salt.
Methinks I need to go back through Carcass's catalogue to see what other filthy goodness I can uncover, but for now, let's listen to "The Master Butcher's Apron" from Surgical Steel to get us started. Sometimes I have one specific reason or other for choosing a particular song, but "The Master Butcher's Apron" gets the nod tonight simply because I dig it. Surgical Steel has a number of nicely vicious cuts that could just as easily warrant some time in the spotlight, but I've been gravitating towards this one in my listens through the record, so "The Master Butcher's Apron" it is. Enjoy.
I've never been a Carcass fan, but all the positive reviews for Surgical Steel twisted my arm, so to speak. So far I'm glad they did. Surgical Steel is a melodic death metal album that to me feels pretty thrashy, both modern sounding as well as a little retro. And, perhaps more importantly, there's a plethora of truly evil-sounding riffs, always a bonus in any metal record worth its salt.
Methinks I need to go back through Carcass's catalogue to see what other filthy goodness I can uncover, but for now, let's listen to "The Master Butcher's Apron" from Surgical Steel to get us started. Sometimes I have one specific reason or other for choosing a particular song, but "The Master Butcher's Apron" gets the nod tonight simply because I dig it. Surgical Steel has a number of nicely vicious cuts that could just as easily warrant some time in the spotlight, but I've been gravitating towards this one in my listens through the record, so "The Master Butcher's Apron" it is. Enjoy.
Thursday 5 December 2013
Jolly - Firewell
Maybe it's the academic in me, the guy who spent years writing papers rife with proper source citation (MLA style for the win!), but I always try to give credit where credit is due. So tonight I will send some love out to Metalsucks contributor Shanbomb, whose top fifteen albums of 2013 have provided me, and in turn you, with some quality listening material.
Yesterday's RSJ track was drawn from Shanbomb's picks, and so is tonight's tune from New York's Jolly. "Firewell" is the song, from The Audio Guide to Happiness Part Two, and the sound is rocking and proggy. I'm tired, so I can't quite put my finger on the kind of comparison to make right now, but my sleepy brain keeps coming back to Between the Buried and Me if BTBAM were a rock/alternative type band instead of metal.
Maybe that's way off the mark, but hey, it should at least make you want to check out "Firewell" to see just how full of shit I might be. Whatever gets you listening. A foot in the door is a foot in the door, so to speak, so just check out Jolly already.
Yesterday's RSJ track was drawn from Shanbomb's picks, and so is tonight's tune from New York's Jolly. "Firewell" is the song, from The Audio Guide to Happiness Part Two, and the sound is rocking and proggy. I'm tired, so I can't quite put my finger on the kind of comparison to make right now, but my sleepy brain keeps coming back to Between the Buried and Me if BTBAM were a rock/alternative type band instead of metal.
Maybe that's way off the mark, but hey, it should at least make you want to check out "Firewell" to see just how full of shit I might be. Whatever gets you listening. A foot in the door is a foot in the door, so to speak, so just check out Jolly already.
Wednesday 4 December 2013
RSJ - Collectively We Are Tall
Just in case you needed reminding, allow me to do the honours: it's that time of year again. No, not Christmas. Well, yes Christmas, but more pertinently (for our current purposes) it's also Best of 2013 time, when music websites join just about everybody else in looking back on the year that was by trotting out their lists of best albums of the year.
I'm waiting until the year's actually done to post my Ten Best of 2013 (gives me more time to deliberate, y'dig?) but that doesn't mean I won't take advantage of the opportunity provided to me by the rest of the Internet's gun-jumpers to discover some new, quality stuff. Thus it is that venerable site Metalsucks has led me to today's song from grimy metalcore Brits RSJ.
Leaving aside how metal an album title I find Higgs Boson to be, RSJ are packing the aggressive energy and riffage of a grindy Refused or Every Time I Die. And if the video for "Collectively We Are Tall" is any indication, these guys also have both a healthy sense of humour and a commendable lack of shame -- always a winning combination. So slip into something more comfortable and get ready for some pelvic thrusts and deep lunges. You can thank me after you've felt the burn.
I'm waiting until the year's actually done to post my Ten Best of 2013 (gives me more time to deliberate, y'dig?) but that doesn't mean I won't take advantage of the opportunity provided to me by the rest of the Internet's gun-jumpers to discover some new, quality stuff. Thus it is that venerable site Metalsucks has led me to today's song from grimy metalcore Brits RSJ.
Leaving aside how metal an album title I find Higgs Boson to be, RSJ are packing the aggressive energy and riffage of a grindy Refused or Every Time I Die. And if the video for "Collectively We Are Tall" is any indication, these guys also have both a healthy sense of humour and a commendable lack of shame -- always a winning combination. So slip into something more comfortable and get ready for some pelvic thrusts and deep lunges. You can thank me after you've felt the burn.
Tuesday 3 December 2013
Devil Sold His Soul - Time
Regular readers (I'm going to keep making reference to you despite the dubiousness of your existence) should have clued in by now to the fact that I'm a big fan of British label Basick Records. With a few exceptions, I dig pretty much their entire catalogue to varying degrees, so when I hear they've got a new signing my ears prick up like a ravenous dog hearing kibble hit the food dish.
As such, I just had to check out Devil Sold His Soul, the latest addition to the Basick roster, and while I'm not immediately as head-over-heels as I was for, say, Skyharbor (I lurvs me some Skyharbor) Devil Sold His Soul has a lot of tasty goodness going on. Think epic metalcore with big melodies and bigger vocals and you're probably in the right ballpark.
To see if this is a ballpark you want to be playing ball in, check out Devil Sold His Soul's latest single "Time", the first track to feature the band's new singer Paul Green, who you might already know from his other gig in The Arusha Accord, another Basick band. Between "Time" and the band's back catalogue, there should be enough there to hold us all over until the next Devil Sold His Soul LP drops.
As such, I just had to check out Devil Sold His Soul, the latest addition to the Basick roster, and while I'm not immediately as head-over-heels as I was for, say, Skyharbor (I lurvs me some Skyharbor) Devil Sold His Soul has a lot of tasty goodness going on. Think epic metalcore with big melodies and bigger vocals and you're probably in the right ballpark.
To see if this is a ballpark you want to be playing ball in, check out Devil Sold His Soul's latest single "Time", the first track to feature the band's new singer Paul Green, who you might already know from his other gig in The Arusha Accord, another Basick band. Between "Time" and the band's back catalogue, there should be enough there to hold us all over until the next Devil Sold His Soul LP drops.
Monday 2 December 2013
Thank You Scientist - Blood on the radio
I talked recently about how my mandate for Loud Noises has changed from writing about metal music to writing about interesting music, and today's band perfectly exemplifies the fact that something need not be traditionally "heavy" to be interesting.
I've posted about New Jersey's Thank You Scientist before, with mention of how their energetic pop-prog is built around more instruments than just the traditional guitar, bass and drums of rock and roll, but just in case you doubted me, today's song should be plenty of proof positive. Strings and horns abound in "Blood on the radio" off of 2012's Maps of Non-Existent Places, forming the song's backbone and contributing some of its best riffs. But don't worry, there's a badass guitar solo in there too, just in case all that other stuff isn't you thing.
Whatever way you like your jazzy, seven-piece post-rock, Thank You Scientist has got you covered. Got like ten minutes? Why not take a walk down to the lab?
I've posted about New Jersey's Thank You Scientist before, with mention of how their energetic pop-prog is built around more instruments than just the traditional guitar, bass and drums of rock and roll, but just in case you doubted me, today's song should be plenty of proof positive. Strings and horns abound in "Blood on the radio" off of 2012's Maps of Non-Existent Places, forming the song's backbone and contributing some of its best riffs. But don't worry, there's a badass guitar solo in there too, just in case all that other stuff isn't you thing.
Whatever way you like your jazzy, seven-piece post-rock, Thank You Scientist has got you covered. Got like ten minutes? Why not take a walk down to the lab?
Sunday 1 December 2013
The Fall of Troy - The Last March of the Ents
I'd be willing to bet that any music fan worth their salt could, if pressed, come up with an artist or band they feel called it quits before their time. I could probably name at least a couple, but tonight I'm going to go with a band that, in my humble opinion, never got the kind of love they deserved. They're not necessarily everyone's cup of tea, but tonight we're going to mourn the demise of The Fall of Troy.
I've written about this post-hardcore outfit before, and I've been singing their praises to my friends for like a decade, but all for naught: my best efforts at word-of-mouth promotion have been no more successful at resurrecting The Fall of Troy than they were at keeping the band alive in the first place. Nevertheless I'll keep on trying to sell people on this band, because even to this day I don't think they have the legacy they should. Maybe The Fall of Troy were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so to speak - noodly guitars, falsetto vocals, and lengthy song titles could well have given people the impression that these guys were just another emo band, when really they're so much more.
But don't take my word for it. Instead, have at your song for this evening, "The Last March of the Ents" from TFOT's self-titled 2003 debut LP. Why this particular track? Come on now. It's a song about the Ents marching on Isengard, for fuck's sake. The nerd points alone should be enough of a foot in the door, and The Fall of Troy's intensity and energy should take care of the rest. Prepare to become a convert.
I've written about this post-hardcore outfit before, and I've been singing their praises to my friends for like a decade, but all for naught: my best efforts at word-of-mouth promotion have been no more successful at resurrecting The Fall of Troy than they were at keeping the band alive in the first place. Nevertheless I'll keep on trying to sell people on this band, because even to this day I don't think they have the legacy they should. Maybe The Fall of Troy were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so to speak - noodly guitars, falsetto vocals, and lengthy song titles could well have given people the impression that these guys were just another emo band, when really they're so much more.
But don't take my word for it. Instead, have at your song for this evening, "The Last March of the Ents" from TFOT's self-titled 2003 debut LP. Why this particular track? Come on now. It's a song about the Ents marching on Isengard, for fuck's sake. The nerd points alone should be enough of a foot in the door, and The Fall of Troy's intensity and energy should take care of the rest. Prepare to become a convert.
Saturday 30 November 2013
Exist - Self-Inflicted Disguise
Do you like fusion-metal band Cynic? Are you eagerly counting down the days until they release Kindly Bent to Free Us in February? Is the wait until Valentine's Day just too goddamn long for you? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then today's band might just be the methadone to keep you going until you can mainline some more sweet, sweet Cynic.
Said band, Exist, even have a Cynic-al connection: frontman Max Phelps is a member of Cynic's current live line-up, as well as being the frontman for the current line-up of Death to All, the Chuck Schuldiner-tribute group organized by Death-alums and Cynic prog-nerds Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert.
What all of this six degrees of separation stuff means for you is that Exist displays a lot of the same jazzy-sounding prog-metal goodness that can be found in Cynic's more recent work, making Exist a pretty tasty way to make it through the next couple of months. Have a listen to "Self-Inflicted Disguise" from Exist's debut LP Sunlight and see if it'll scratch that fusion itch for you.
Said band, Exist, even have a Cynic-al connection: frontman Max Phelps is a member of Cynic's current live line-up, as well as being the frontman for the current line-up of Death to All, the Chuck Schuldiner-tribute group organized by Death-alums and Cynic prog-nerds Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert.
What all of this six degrees of separation stuff means for you is that Exist displays a lot of the same jazzy-sounding prog-metal goodness that can be found in Cynic's more recent work, making Exist a pretty tasty way to make it through the next couple of months. Have a listen to "Self-Inflicted Disguise" from Exist's debut LP Sunlight and see if it'll scratch that fusion itch for you.
Friday 29 November 2013
Fall in Archaea - Armistice
Oh, Canada! If any of you were disappointed or dismayed by the decidedly non-metal nature of yesterday's song, I've got just the remedy for you today, and even better, it comes courtesy of some fellow Canucks.
I'm just discovering Victoria's Fall in Archaea, but apparently they've been honing their sound for a couple of years now and are finally ready to release their debut LP Aura Magenta on Christmas Eve. With feet firmly planted in the realms of both djenty chugga chugga and new-school tech-core, they run the risk of being lost amid the din of similar bands, but Fall in Archaea display just the right flashes of melody to catch my attention.
Your song this evening is "Armistice", the recently released first single off of Aura Magenta, and it's chock full of enough groove to get your head bopping and enough strange, slinky guitar acrobatics to convince you that the end of the world is indeed at hand. Give it a whirl and show Canada you care.
I'm just discovering Victoria's Fall in Archaea, but apparently they've been honing their sound for a couple of years now and are finally ready to release their debut LP Aura Magenta on Christmas Eve. With feet firmly planted in the realms of both djenty chugga chugga and new-school tech-core, they run the risk of being lost amid the din of similar bands, but Fall in Archaea display just the right flashes of melody to catch my attention.
Your song this evening is "Armistice", the recently released first single off of Aura Magenta, and it's chock full of enough groove to get your head bopping and enough strange, slinky guitar acrobatics to convince you that the end of the world is indeed at hand. Give it a whirl and show Canada you care.
Thursday 28 November 2013
Tigran Hamasyan - What the Waves Brought
When I started writing this blog, it was with the intention of writing more or less exclusively about metal. Now, I listen to a lot of metal and heavy music, but it quickly became apparent to me that so much of what I'm into falls under some other heading. It has since become my mandate simply to write about interesting music, heavy or not. I'll listen to music from virtually any genre, as long as it's not boring. Or country. Fuck country music.
With the thirst for interesting music in mind, I present you with this little gem I stumbled across a couple of days ago, a song called "What the Waves Brought" by an Armenian jazz pianist named Tigran Hamasyan. Regular readers will know that I like a bit of jazziness now and again, but this song has elements that should appeal to even the stanchest of metalheads: complexity, technical proficiency, a balance between consonance and dissonance, energy, dynamic "riffs" (licks? what do you call them on piano?)
I'm featuring this live version of this song from a performance on KUTX because I dig the vocal touches Tigran puts in, spilling over in beat-box territory towards the end, but even the album version (from Tigran's 2011 album A Fable) is plenty worth of a day in the spotlight. And if you're still not sold on the whole jazz piano thing, consider this: how badass would a metal cover of this song be?
That's right. Super badass.
With the thirst for interesting music in mind, I present you with this little gem I stumbled across a couple of days ago, a song called "What the Waves Brought" by an Armenian jazz pianist named Tigran Hamasyan. Regular readers will know that I like a bit of jazziness now and again, but this song has elements that should appeal to even the stanchest of metalheads: complexity, technical proficiency, a balance between consonance and dissonance, energy, dynamic "riffs" (licks? what do you call them on piano?)
I'm featuring this live version of this song from a performance on KUTX because I dig the vocal touches Tigran puts in, spilling over in beat-box territory towards the end, but even the album version (from Tigran's 2011 album A Fable) is plenty worth of a day in the spotlight. And if you're still not sold on the whole jazz piano thing, consider this: how badass would a metal cover of this song be?
That's right. Super badass.
Wednesday 27 November 2013
Mandroid Echostar - The Sleeper
In addition to being aware of my love for physical media, regular readers will likely also have picked up on my penchant for preordering. Whether it's in the form of an Indiegogo campaign or just a straight preorder, I enjoy knowing ahead of time that the album I'm looking forward to has already been paid for and will arrive at my door without any further action required on my part.
The only downside is that stuff can sometimes take a while to arrive in the post, and although lots of bands are now mitigating this problem by issuing digital download codes on release day for fans who've purchased physical version of albums, I'm still a little old school in my desire to wait for my copy to arrive before I really sit down with a release. Sure, I'll stream or download on release day to keep up with the Joneses of music journalism, but it's only when I get my grubby mitts on a disc that I really delve into the material.
For this reason, I was pleasantly surprised to find my copy of Mandroid Echostar's new EP in my mailbox earlier this week. For the unfamiliar, Mandroid is a techy Canadian band from Guelph that I've seen best described as sounding a little like Protest the Hero meets Coheed and Cambria. Their self-titled debut EP was pretty solid, and their new disc Citadels is more of the same: some really cool melodies spread across the soaring vocals and intricate guitar work and backed up by some tight and tasteful drumming.
I almost want to go with "Ancient Arrows" as your song today, simply because the intro-y riff strikes me as the best Avenged Sevenfold lick Avenged never wrote, but I think I'm going to settle on "The Sleeper. For a guitar guy like me, this one's loaded: there's some fat riffage, some very video game-inspired tapping that opens and closes the song, and even a sweet little bluesy-sounding solo too.
One problem/blessing in disguise? All I can find on Youtube is a stream of the whole EP, so you'll just have to ingest the whole thing, paying special attention to track five. Or just skip ahead to "The Sleeper". Either way, check these guys out pronto, and while you're at it check out the e-mail interview I did with Mandroid's singer Michael Ciccia back in the spring.
The only downside is that stuff can sometimes take a while to arrive in the post, and although lots of bands are now mitigating this problem by issuing digital download codes on release day for fans who've purchased physical version of albums, I'm still a little old school in my desire to wait for my copy to arrive before I really sit down with a release. Sure, I'll stream or download on release day to keep up with the Joneses of music journalism, but it's only when I get my grubby mitts on a disc that I really delve into the material.
For this reason, I was pleasantly surprised to find my copy of Mandroid Echostar's new EP in my mailbox earlier this week. For the unfamiliar, Mandroid is a techy Canadian band from Guelph that I've seen best described as sounding a little like Protest the Hero meets Coheed and Cambria. Their self-titled debut EP was pretty solid, and their new disc Citadels is more of the same: some really cool melodies spread across the soaring vocals and intricate guitar work and backed up by some tight and tasteful drumming.
I almost want to go with "Ancient Arrows" as your song today, simply because the intro-y riff strikes me as the best Avenged Sevenfold lick Avenged never wrote, but I think I'm going to settle on "The Sleeper. For a guitar guy like me, this one's loaded: there's some fat riffage, some very video game-inspired tapping that opens and closes the song, and even a sweet little bluesy-sounding solo too.
One problem/blessing in disguise? All I can find on Youtube is a stream of the whole EP, so you'll just have to ingest the whole thing, paying special attention to track five. Or just skip ahead to "The Sleeper". Either way, check these guys out pronto, and while you're at it check out the e-mail interview I did with Mandroid's singer Michael Ciccia back in the spring.
Tuesday 26 November 2013
As I Lay Dying - Confined
I mentioned playing some Metallica back in the day in yesterday's big mega-post, and today we're going to go with another song we really used to dig when I was an undergrad.
Your song today is "Confined" from As I Lay Dying's 2005 disc Shadows Are Security, a pretty solid metalcore song if you ask me. I've discovered a lot of new music since this album came out, especially since I started writing this blog, much of which has taken me beyond the rather limiting metalcore formula of As I Lay Dying. But I can't deny them their place in my musical history, and I won't deny that there are a bunch of As I Lay Dying songs that I still enjoy, like "Confined". So hate on, haters, while I and anyone who cares to join me will be rocking out like it's eight to ten years ago.
Your song today is "Confined" from As I Lay Dying's 2005 disc Shadows Are Security, a pretty solid metalcore song if you ask me. I've discovered a lot of new music since this album came out, especially since I started writing this blog, much of which has taken me beyond the rather limiting metalcore formula of As I Lay Dying. But I can't deny them their place in my musical history, and I won't deny that there are a bunch of As I Lay Dying songs that I still enjoy, like "Confined". So hate on, haters, while I and anyone who cares to join me will be rocking out like it's eight to ten years ago.
Monday 25 November 2013
Monday Music Mayhem
At the risk of sounding like I'm making excuses (which I suppose I am... shut up...) I'm going to lay a good chunk of the blame for my apparent inability to keep to a schedule lately on my early morning starts at work. My normal day starts at five in the morning, and the combination of that ungodly hour and an average of probably only five or six solid hours of sleep beforehand, on a regular basis, is that, unless I catch up with naps or keep myself well-caffeinated, by the end of the week I often end up falling asleep well before I mean to, and before I've gotten all of the day's shit done.
But, to paraphrase the words of House Lannister, "a bearded man always pays his debts", so once again you're getting a hat-trick post today (that's three goals in a single game, for you non-hockey types out there), covering Saturday, Sunday, and today all in one shot. So let's get started.
For your Saturday song, I'm going to need you to close your eyes and picture the following: old-school prog-influenced death metal (think old Opethy kinda stuff) filtered through the lens of a band like Baroness, if Baroness drew its melodic sensibilities and plaintive passages more from straight forward rock and less from countrified bluegrass. Now open your eyes, and find that you're gazing at the totally badass album art for Cormorant's 2011 disc Dwellings. There's a good chance you don't know these guys, but you should, especially if the word picture I painted you above sounded at all flavourful to you. A caveat, however: only two of the seven tracks on Dwellings clock in at less than five minutes long, so first time listeners are in for some attrition. But if you give Cormorant a chance, songs like "Funambulist" will take you for a ride.
Next up, Sunday, and I'm going to do the unthinkable and take a single track out of the context of its "greater than the sum of its parts" album. You know the kind of album I'm talking about, even if I'm not doing the best job of articulating it right now: those magical records that work perfectly as a single piece of music rather than merely a collection of separate songs. Sure, those songs are good, but put 'em together and you've got a real slice of fried gold on your hands. Such is the case with "Quittance" from the debut LP Februus by Uneven Structure, a cool tune in its own right but also a piece of a much more awesome whole. Listen to "Quittance", but by all means listen to Februus from start to finish if you haven't already. Djent has become kind of a bad word, but Uneven Structure will show you one example of how powerful that kind of a sound can be.
And for today, Monday, we're going to do a bit of a throwback to how I used to run Mondays around here with a Metallica Monday.In particular I'm picking "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", an old favourite of mine from way back when I was in high school and we used to attempt a few Metallica covers when jamming. Between us, we knew all the obvious ones, but we also liked to dust off this lesser-known (or lesser-liked, anyways) cut from 88's Master of Puppets, so I encourage you to dust it off too.
Whew. Caught up. Again. Meet you back here tomorrow? Deal!
But, to paraphrase the words of House Lannister, "a bearded man always pays his debts", so once again you're getting a hat-trick post today (that's three goals in a single game, for you non-hockey types out there), covering Saturday, Sunday, and today all in one shot. So let's get started.
For your Saturday song, I'm going to need you to close your eyes and picture the following: old-school prog-influenced death metal (think old Opethy kinda stuff) filtered through the lens of a band like Baroness, if Baroness drew its melodic sensibilities and plaintive passages more from straight forward rock and less from countrified bluegrass. Now open your eyes, and find that you're gazing at the totally badass album art for Cormorant's 2011 disc Dwellings. There's a good chance you don't know these guys, but you should, especially if the word picture I painted you above sounded at all flavourful to you. A caveat, however: only two of the seven tracks on Dwellings clock in at less than five minutes long, so first time listeners are in for some attrition. But if you give Cormorant a chance, songs like "Funambulist" will take you for a ride.
Next up, Sunday, and I'm going to do the unthinkable and take a single track out of the context of its "greater than the sum of its parts" album. You know the kind of album I'm talking about, even if I'm not doing the best job of articulating it right now: those magical records that work perfectly as a single piece of music rather than merely a collection of separate songs. Sure, those songs are good, but put 'em together and you've got a real slice of fried gold on your hands. Such is the case with "Quittance" from the debut LP Februus by Uneven Structure, a cool tune in its own right but also a piece of a much more awesome whole. Listen to "Quittance", but by all means listen to Februus from start to finish if you haven't already. Djent has become kind of a bad word, but Uneven Structure will show you one example of how powerful that kind of a sound can be.
And for today, Monday, we're going to do a bit of a throwback to how I used to run Mondays around here with a Metallica Monday.In particular I'm picking "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", an old favourite of mine from way back when I was in high school and we used to attempt a few Metallica covers when jamming. Between us, we knew all the obvious ones, but we also liked to dust off this lesser-known (or lesser-liked, anyways) cut from 88's Master of Puppets, so I encourage you to dust it off too.
Whew. Caught up. Again. Meet you back here tomorrow? Deal!
Friday 22 November 2013
Friday Triple Shot
I know you must have missed me desperately over the last couple of days, so as usual you're getting a a triple shot today to make up for it, whether you want it or not.
First, something a little mellower. I'm not a huge fan of techno/electronica-type music, but there is some bloopy stuff I enjoy. How convenient for me that one of my favourite bands has at least one cool song in this vein (and virtually every other vein besides). That song is "Digital Sea" from the Water portion of Thrice's 2007 album The Alchemy Index: Vols. 1-2, and it's also your song for yesterday.
Next up, we're going a little more aggro with one of my favourite Deftones songs. Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan were both really good records, but when it comes to the Deftones, White Pony still holds the crown in my book. And if we're talking White Pony, we need to be talking "Knife Party", if only for the spine-tingling vocal cameo by Rodleen Getsic near the end of the song. Her performance gives the song a particularly haunting quality that has stuck with me since I was in high school.
Finally, for your Friday song, we'll sample something heavier still. Specifically, we're going with "We Are the Nightmare" which is both the title track to Arsis' 2008 album as well as the opening one. This is the first song I ever heard by Arsis, and I was instantly intrigued. Tasty tech-death with a pretty keen sense of melody? Yes please. Their stuff since this album has been equally technically brilliant, but for me has failed to rebottle the lightning of We Are the Nightmare. If you're into this kind of thing, you should definitely give this album a spin.
First, something a little mellower. I'm not a huge fan of techno/electronica-type music, but there is some bloopy stuff I enjoy. How convenient for me that one of my favourite bands has at least one cool song in this vein (and virtually every other vein besides). That song is "Digital Sea" from the Water portion of Thrice's 2007 album The Alchemy Index: Vols. 1-2, and it's also your song for yesterday.
Next up, we're going a little more aggro with one of my favourite Deftones songs. Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan were both really good records, but when it comes to the Deftones, White Pony still holds the crown in my book. And if we're talking White Pony, we need to be talking "Knife Party", if only for the spine-tingling vocal cameo by Rodleen Getsic near the end of the song. Her performance gives the song a particularly haunting quality that has stuck with me since I was in high school.
Finally, for your Friday song, we'll sample something heavier still. Specifically, we're going with "We Are the Nightmare" which is both the title track to Arsis' 2008 album as well as the opening one. This is the first song I ever heard by Arsis, and I was instantly intrigued. Tasty tech-death with a pretty keen sense of melody? Yes please. Their stuff since this album has been equally technically brilliant, but for me has failed to rebottle the lightning of We Are the Nightmare. If you're into this kind of thing, you should definitely give this album a spin.
Tuesday 19 November 2013
Caligula's Horse - Dark Hair Down
Today was a bit of a milestone for me. I convocated this morning, officially becoming a Master of the Arts. Now, in addition to a big stack of books I've yet to read, I've also got a long back-list of music to get to, including today's band.
I've long wanted to check out Caligula's Horse, and now I've got even more incentive with the band's new album The Tide, The Thief & River's End and the new video for "Dark Hair Down". Heavy enough and proggy enough without being inaccessible or avant garde, Caligula's Horse strike a tasty balance. I shall definitely be sampling some more of these Aussies' wares.
I've long wanted to check out Caligula's Horse, and now I've got even more incentive with the band's new album The Tide, The Thief & River's End and the new video for "Dark Hair Down". Heavy enough and proggy enough without being inaccessible or avant garde, Caligula's Horse strike a tasty balance. I shall definitely be sampling some more of these Aussies' wares.
Monday 18 November 2013
Lamb of God - Reclamation
We're going with some solid groove to start off the week in tonight's quickie post.
I'll readily admit that Lamb of God's Wrath isn't my favourite LoG album. That said, it does have some great tracks, like today's song. Album closer "Reclamation" is a solid song all the way through, but what really seals the deal on my selection of it this evening is that snakey intro riff, starting out on just an acoustic guitar seemingly on a beach or a shoreline somewhere before adding the electrics and then the rest of the band. It's a good example of a track that's a little less "by the numbers" Lamb of God.
I'll readily admit that Lamb of God's Wrath isn't my favourite LoG album. That said, it does have some great tracks, like today's song. Album closer "Reclamation" is a solid song all the way through, but what really seals the deal on my selection of it this evening is that snakey intro riff, starting out on just an acoustic guitar seemingly on a beach or a shoreline somewhere before adding the electrics and then the rest of the band. It's a good example of a track that's a little less "by the numbers" Lamb of God.
Sunday 17 November 2013
The Mars Volta - The Widow
If you'll allow me to wax poetic for a moment,tonight's post is a sip of champagne poured out onto the ground for a fallen musical homie.
I've been a fan of The Mars Volta for a long time, and even though their work got less and less focused with each album (with the possible exception of Noctourniquet) I was bummed to hear the news that the band has broken up. It marked the end of a weird, proggy era.
Tonight's song, however, is aimed at anyone who isn't aware of just how normal and straight-forward a song The Mars Volta were capable of writing. Have a listen to "The Widow" from 2005's sophomore LP Frances the Mute and see what you think.
I've been a fan of The Mars Volta for a long time, and even though their work got less and less focused with each album (with the possible exception of Noctourniquet) I was bummed to hear the news that the band has broken up. It marked the end of a weird, proggy era.
Tonight's song, however, is aimed at anyone who isn't aware of just how normal and straight-forward a song The Mars Volta were capable of writing. Have a listen to "The Widow" from 2005's sophomore LP Frances the Mute and see what you think.
Sevendust - Waffle
I'm once again late with this quickie post for Saturday, this time by a few hours instead of thirty minutes, but something tells me you'll survive.
Your song for Saturday is "Waffle" from Sevendust's 1999 album Home. Sevendust is one of those nostalgia bands for me, harkening back to the formative years of my musical taste (aka high school) so when this track came up in the car the other day I said a prayer of thanks to the Shuffle Gods and made a mental note to remind all of your out there of just how solid some of their material is. Consider yourself reminded.
Your song for Saturday is "Waffle" from Sevendust's 1999 album Home. Sevendust is one of those nostalgia bands for me, harkening back to the formative years of my musical taste (aka high school) so when this track came up in the car the other day I said a prayer of thanks to the Shuffle Gods and made a mental note to remind all of your out there of just how solid some of their material is. Consider yourself reminded.
Saturday 16 November 2013
Closure in Moscow - Church of the Technochrist
Technically I'm about a half hour late to the party with today's (or rather Friday's) song, but really who's counting (besides me)? Probably not you, that's who!
Pre-orders for the upcoming LP Pink Lemonade from Australia's proggy post-hardcore band Closure in Moscow have been up for a couple of months now, but beyond some studio updatey-type videos on their Facebook they've been relatively silent about the whole thing. The record doesn't even have a release date yet, although it looks like things are now into the mixing and mastering stages. The band does, however, have a new video for the album's first single, "Church of the Technochrist".
Closure in Moscow were never a metal band by any stretch of the imagination, but judging by this single (and a couple of live tracks that have found their way onto Youtube) the band has shifted its sound away somewhat from the levels of intensity and technicality displayed on previous releases. But that doesn't mean I'm not still interested in hearing Pink Lemonade; the band still seems to have all the energy, melodic sense, and just plain funkiness they always have, meaning that the tasty flavours I like about their old stuff are still in evidence. Plus, at least in the case of this first single, the subject matter -- technology as religion -- is actually pretty metal, amirite?
So, staunch metalheads of the Interwebz, put aside your pretentious metal elitism for at least a few minutes and let "Church of the Technochrist" convert you to the ranks of the Closure in Moscow believers. You might just find that you enjoy some slightly mellower thunder from down under.
Pre-orders for the upcoming LP Pink Lemonade from Australia's proggy post-hardcore band Closure in Moscow have been up for a couple of months now, but beyond some studio updatey-type videos on their Facebook they've been relatively silent about the whole thing. The record doesn't even have a release date yet, although it looks like things are now into the mixing and mastering stages. The band does, however, have a new video for the album's first single, "Church of the Technochrist".
Closure in Moscow were never a metal band by any stretch of the imagination, but judging by this single (and a couple of live tracks that have found their way onto Youtube) the band has shifted its sound away somewhat from the levels of intensity and technicality displayed on previous releases. But that doesn't mean I'm not still interested in hearing Pink Lemonade; the band still seems to have all the energy, melodic sense, and just plain funkiness they always have, meaning that the tasty flavours I like about their old stuff are still in evidence. Plus, at least in the case of this first single, the subject matter -- technology as religion -- is actually pretty metal, amirite?
So, staunch metalheads of the Interwebz, put aside your pretentious metal elitism for at least a few minutes and let "Church of the Technochrist" convert you to the ranks of the Closure in Moscow believers. You might just find that you enjoy some slightly mellower thunder from down under.
Thursday 14 November 2013
Mudvayne - Everything and Nothing
It's been a while since I've listened to the whispers of the Shuffle Gods, but today they deigned to remind me of a band I haven't listened to in ages, and the soft spot I have in my heart for this band compels me to share that divine inspiration with you, dear reader.
So tonight we're going with a classic from my youth: "Everything and Nothing" from the 2000 album L.D. 50 by none other than Mudvayne. These guys had the unfortunate timing to be sometimes lumped in with nu-metal, but I maintain that they're so much more than that, and while their catalogue contains a bunch of good songs that span several albums, but I don't know that they ever topped L.D. 50, so that's the album we're revisiting this evening. Crank the bass on this one.
So tonight we're going with a classic from my youth: "Everything and Nothing" from the 2000 album L.D. 50 by none other than Mudvayne. These guys had the unfortunate timing to be sometimes lumped in with nu-metal, but I maintain that they're so much more than that, and while their catalogue contains a bunch of good songs that span several albums, but I don't know that they ever topped L.D. 50, so that's the album we're revisiting this evening. Crank the bass on this one.
Wednesday 13 November 2013
Opeth - Wreath
Rather than getting all proggy on you again (can you tell I like prog?) we'll stick with some heavier shit in tonight's quickie post. Yes, as you can tell from the title of this post, I'm going with some Opeth, but I promise it's not 70's prog-folk Opeth.
Your song this evening is the relatively brutal "Wreath" from 2002's Deliverance. I say 'relatively' because while it's not the all-out onslaught of earlier Opeth, it's also not the more acoustic guitar-laden stuff of more recent albums. Deliverance, the heavy counterpart to the gentler Damnation, is therefore the middle road, moderation in all things-ish happy medium of heaviness in the career of one of my favourite bands, and that's why you're getting the title track tonight. Good luck sleeping tight after that little lullaby.
Your song this evening is the relatively brutal "Wreath" from 2002's Deliverance. I say 'relatively' because while it's not the all-out onslaught of earlier Opeth, it's also not the more acoustic guitar-laden stuff of more recent albums. Deliverance, the heavy counterpart to the gentler Damnation, is therefore the middle road, moderation in all things-ish happy medium of heaviness in the career of one of my favourite bands, and that's why you're getting the title track tonight. Good luck sleeping tight after that little lullaby.
Tuesday 12 November 2013
The Black Dahlia Murder - On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood
Between the week of instrumental stuff and yesterday's Cynic tune, things have been a little bit proggy around here. So tonight I feel like we need to get back to basics, so to speak, and feature a song that just stomps in and says Fucking Metal. And I've got just the song in mind.
Your song tonight is "On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood" from 2011's Ritual by none other than The Black Dahlia Murder. I could have gone a lot of different directions to arrive at something Fucking Metal, but for my money TBDM is one band that absolutely crushes every time they come up to bat. Even within the band's catalogue, I could have picked any number of tracks that display balls out heaviness, but "On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood" just might be my favourite track off of Ritual, not to mention being pretty high on my list of favourite songs from the band's whole discography. Plus that's a pretty Fucking Metal title too, right?
Your song tonight is "On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood" from 2011's Ritual by none other than The Black Dahlia Murder. I could have gone a lot of different directions to arrive at something Fucking Metal, but for my money TBDM is one band that absolutely crushes every time they come up to bat. Even within the band's catalogue, I could have picked any number of tracks that display balls out heaviness, but "On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood" just might be my favourite track off of Ritual, not to mention being pretty high on my list of favourite songs from the band's whole discography. Plus that's a pretty Fucking Metal title too, right?
Monday 11 November 2013
Cynic - The Space for This
Prog dorks the world over shared a communal musical boner today with the announcement that Cynic's long-anticipated next LP, entitled Kindly Bent to Free Us, will be released on Valentine's Day 2014. Even though I'm a latecomer to the Cynic fold, I'll still freely admit that I'm one of those dorks.
Such feelings of arousal, however, are alas not universal. The proggier, spacier musical direction of Cynic's last EP, 2011's Carbaon-Based Anatomy, left many old school Cynic fans unimpressed, and this EP continues to be divisive, with some fans lamenting the band's progression away from it's death metal roots and some fans embracing it.
I'm one of the latter, and I can't wait to hear a whole album's worth of newer-school Cynic, but as an olive branch to the former chunk of Cynic fans I've decided to go back a bit in the band's catalogue for a song to commemorate the occasion of the album announcement. To that end, your song this evening is "The Space for This" from 2008's classic Traced in Air, because I think that's a track and record we can all get behind. Cynic fans of the world unite!
Such feelings of arousal, however, are alas not universal. The proggier, spacier musical direction of Cynic's last EP, 2011's Carbaon-Based Anatomy, left many old school Cynic fans unimpressed, and this EP continues to be divisive, with some fans lamenting the band's progression away from it's death metal roots and some fans embracing it.
I'm one of the latter, and I can't wait to hear a whole album's worth of newer-school Cynic, but as an olive branch to the former chunk of Cynic fans I've decided to go back a bit in the band's catalogue for a song to commemorate the occasion of the album announcement. To that end, your song this evening is "The Space for This" from 2008's classic Traced in Air, because I think that's a track and record we can all get behind. Cynic fans of the world unite!
Sunday 10 November 2013
Misery Signals - Carrier
I think I've mentioned this before, but just in case I haven't let me make it perfectly clear right now: I'm a sucker for physical media. If a band I'm into has a pre-order (or, as the case today may be, a crowdfunding campaign) you know I'm going to be all over the deluxe double CD version. I'm not quite so far gone as to be one of those vinyl-or-nothing people (although I do have a turntable and a small record collection) but I definitely will pick a CD over a digital download every time, to the point that when a band offers only a digital-download version of their release it makes me a sad, sad panda.
My fixation on physical media is such that, when I do pre-order an album (or contribute to a crowdfunding campaign) I typically don't listen to it a whole lot until my copy arrives. Sure, I'll stream it on release day so I'm on the same page as everybody else for when it comes time to write this blog, but beyond that initial acquaintance-making I usually wait until I get my copy to really dig in.
Thus it was with great delight that I opened my Indiegogo perk package from Misery Signals earlier this week. Yeah, I know the album came out over the summer, but I sprang for the "making-of DVD" package, and I believe the band chose to include some tour footage on said DVD, hence the delay.
In any case, I've finally gotten the chance to really listen to Absent Light (which typically consists of a lot of plays through a record whilst driving back and forth to work) and it's growing on me with every spin. I still think Controller is my favourite, but tracks like "Carrier" from Absent Light are doing their best to change my mind. That's why (after a long-winded lead-up) "Carrier" is your song tonight. Enjoy.
My fixation on physical media is such that, when I do pre-order an album (or contribute to a crowdfunding campaign) I typically don't listen to it a whole lot until my copy arrives. Sure, I'll stream it on release day so I'm on the same page as everybody else for when it comes time to write this blog, but beyond that initial acquaintance-making I usually wait until I get my copy to really dig in.
Thus it was with great delight that I opened my Indiegogo perk package from Misery Signals earlier this week. Yeah, I know the album came out over the summer, but I sprang for the "making-of DVD" package, and I believe the band chose to include some tour footage on said DVD, hence the delay.
In any case, I've finally gotten the chance to really listen to Absent Light (which typically consists of a lot of plays through a record whilst driving back and forth to work) and it's growing on me with every spin. I still think Controller is my favourite, but tracks like "Carrier" from Absent Light are doing their best to change my mind. That's why (after a long-winded lead-up) "Carrier" is your song tonight. Enjoy.
Saturday 9 November 2013
Trioscapes - Curse of the Ninth
We're going to shift gears ever so slightly for this last evening of Instrumental Week. If I've spent the last six days trying to convince you that music doesn't need vocals to be badass, then tonight you're going to learn that instrumental music doesn't need to be metal to be "metal".
I've espoused the great unifying properties of Trioscapes before, but then I was talking about getting your non-jazz friends into something jazzy. Now I'm talking about getting your non-instrumental friends into something that doesn't have any words to it. Trioscapes is the band for the job, and since I've already featured a couple of their songs before, tonight "Curse of the Ninth" is the song for the job.
In metal influencing terms, jazz is the new classical. Back in the day classical music had a heavy influence on some of the greats of the genre (like Metallica, just to name one example) but now jazz is where it's at (take Between the Buried and Me, to again cite but a single instance). Why not check out the very groovy intersection of the metal, jazz, and instrumental worlds that is Trioscapes? You'll be glad you did.
I've espoused the great unifying properties of Trioscapes before, but then I was talking about getting your non-jazz friends into something jazzy. Now I'm talking about getting your non-instrumental friends into something that doesn't have any words to it. Trioscapes is the band for the job, and since I've already featured a couple of their songs before, tonight "Curse of the Ninth" is the song for the job.
In metal influencing terms, jazz is the new classical. Back in the day classical music had a heavy influence on some of the greats of the genre (like Metallica, just to name one example) but now jazz is where it's at (take Between the Buried and Me, to again cite but a single instance). Why not check out the very groovy intersection of the metal, jazz, and instrumental worlds that is Trioscapes? You'll be glad you did.
Pit Report: Protest the Hero
Like seemingly everything else I put my hand it to it took longer than I'd have liked, but I promised a pit report for Tuesday evening's Protest the Hero show and now I'm here to deliver. So read on, and live vicariously through me!
Tuesday's show was one of a few impromptu additions to the Volition tour announced after the main dates but taking place before the bulk of the tour -- some pre-tour warm-ups, or something along those lines, is what I think I recall reading in one of the band's Facebook posts. I would guess that this had something to do with the venue choice of a bar, The Mansions, rather than the comedy club that often hosts shows like this, but honestly, I don't really care. Anything that lets me see Protest in a tiny venue is A-OK in my book.
The first opening act was a local band called Ponderous Chain, but we elected to go out for dinner before the show and as such only caught the second band on the bill, Salt of the Chief Cornerstone. Regular readers will remember that I featured a song of theirs earlier in the week, "Taken by Storm", and this track was just one of several that captivated the whole room with Salt's energetic performance and it's build-and-release style. I dug it enough that I bought a copy of their EP before the night was out.
Also before the night was out, of course, was Protest the Hero. Or at least three-fifths of the Protest I've seen before. Drummer Moe has been officially replaced by The Kindred's Mike Ieradi (the drum work on Volition being handled by Lamb of God's Chris Adler, in case you...somehow... hadn't heard) and bassist Arif is sitting this tour out to work on a stage production he's involved with, his spot being filled by the band's producer Cameron McLellan.
In any event, the boys came on stage to the strains of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme song and proceeded to rip through a varied set that included tracks from all four of the band's LPs (even Kezia, which doesn't always get a lot of live love from the guys). There was enough old stuff to please longtime fans such as myself, and enough new stuff to remind everyone that they're touring on a new record.
Highlights of the evening included our close proximity to the barely-elevated stage at all times (thanks to the tiny room at The Mansion) and the crowd's passing Rody crowd-surfing style from the stage to the bar and back for a mid-set brew. Very metal.
And that's about all she (or me) wrote on this one. Head on over to setlist.fm if you're curious about what tunes the band was rocking on Tuesday. Hopefully Protest will be back to town sooner rather than later, and I for one certainly wouldn't be opposed to more stops in small venues like this one. High energy and intensity + an intimate setting = a good time had by all.
Tuesday's show was one of a few impromptu additions to the Volition tour announced after the main dates but taking place before the bulk of the tour -- some pre-tour warm-ups, or something along those lines, is what I think I recall reading in one of the band's Facebook posts. I would guess that this had something to do with the venue choice of a bar, The Mansions, rather than the comedy club that often hosts shows like this, but honestly, I don't really care. Anything that lets me see Protest in a tiny venue is A-OK in my book.
The first opening act was a local band called Ponderous Chain, but we elected to go out for dinner before the show and as such only caught the second band on the bill, Salt of the Chief Cornerstone. Regular readers will remember that I featured a song of theirs earlier in the week, "Taken by Storm", and this track was just one of several that captivated the whole room with Salt's energetic performance and it's build-and-release style. I dug it enough that I bought a copy of their EP before the night was out.
Also before the night was out, of course, was Protest the Hero. Or at least three-fifths of the Protest I've seen before. Drummer Moe has been officially replaced by The Kindred's Mike Ieradi (the drum work on Volition being handled by Lamb of God's Chris Adler, in case you...somehow... hadn't heard) and bassist Arif is sitting this tour out to work on a stage production he's involved with, his spot being filled by the band's producer Cameron McLellan.
In any event, the boys came on stage to the strains of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme song and proceeded to rip through a varied set that included tracks from all four of the band's LPs (even Kezia, which doesn't always get a lot of live love from the guys). There was enough old stuff to please longtime fans such as myself, and enough new stuff to remind everyone that they're touring on a new record.
Highlights of the evening included our close proximity to the barely-elevated stage at all times (thanks to the tiny room at The Mansion) and the crowd's passing Rody crowd-surfing style from the stage to the bar and back for a mid-set brew. Very metal.
And that's about all she (or me) wrote on this one. Head on over to setlist.fm if you're curious about what tunes the band was rocking on Tuesday. Hopefully Protest will be back to town sooner rather than later, and I for one certainly wouldn't be opposed to more stops in small venues like this one. High energy and intensity + an intimate setting = a good time had by all.
Friday 8 November 2013
Animals as Leaders - Tempting Time
This evening sees another quintessential band in modern instrumental metal. Yup, it's time for another Animals as Leaders song.
"Tempting Time" is the opening track from the band's 2009 debut, and thus in a way is the listener's introduction to all things Animals as Leaders. High energy and chock full of shreddy goodness, it sets the tone for the kind of instrumetal that's to come. To derisively label Animals as djent because of their rhythmic, percussive grooves and baritone-range guitar tunings would be to vastly underestimate what Tosin and company are up to. Don't make this mistake!
"Tempting Time" is the opening track from the band's 2009 debut, and thus in a way is the listener's introduction to all things Animals as Leaders. High energy and chock full of shreddy goodness, it sets the tone for the kind of instrumetal that's to come. To derisively label Animals as djent because of their rhythmic, percussive grooves and baritone-range guitar tunings would be to vastly underestimate what Tosin and company are up to. Don't make this mistake!
Thursday 7 November 2013
Scale the Summit - The Levitated
You can't very well talk about modern instrumental metal-type music without giving a nod to today's band. If you dig this kind of music, you probably already dig these guys too, but that's no reason to leave them out of this week-long instrumental binge.
You guessed it: we're going to Scale the Summit this evening. Which song, you ask? Why, "The Levitated", one of my favourite tracks from my favourite Scale the Summit album, 2011's The Collective. More than many other instrumental bands, Scale the Summit demonstrate perfectly the idea that words aren't necessary to tell a story or go on a journey.
You guessed it: we're going to Scale the Summit this evening. Which song, you ask? Why, "The Levitated", one of my favourite tracks from my favourite Scale the Summit album, 2011's The Collective. More than many other instrumental bands, Scale the Summit demonstrate perfectly the idea that words aren't necessary to tell a story or go on a journey.
Wednesday 6 November 2013
Russian Circles - Youngblood
With Instrumental Week continuing this evening, I figured it's only fitting to feature a band that I mentioned yesterday in my description of Salt of the Chief Cornerstone. They're kinda trendy in instrumental metal circles right now, but there's still probably lots of you out there who don't know them, so tonight we're going with a song by Russian Circles.
Your song tonight is "Youngblood" from the 2008 album Station, which happens to be the song by which I discovered this instrumental three-piece. I think I dig 2009's Geneva better, but Station is still a great example of Russian Circles' style, and "Youngblood" is one of my favourite cuts from the latter record. So enjoy it as another reminder of just how powerful music can be, even without those clumsy word thingies.
Your song tonight is "Youngblood" from the 2008 album Station, which happens to be the song by which I discovered this instrumental three-piece. I think I dig 2009's Geneva better, but Station is still a great example of Russian Circles' style, and "Youngblood" is one of my favourite cuts from the latter record. So enjoy it as another reminder of just how powerful music can be, even without those clumsy word thingies.
Tuesday 5 November 2013
Salt of the Chief Cornerstone - Taken By Storm
Two pigs with one bird in tonight's quickie post: marking the occasion of tonight's Protest the Hero show here in Kingston (pit report coming in the next day or two...) and continuing the impromptu Instrumental theme week.
Yes, I figured it's been too long since we've done a theme week,so why not capitalize on the momentum of the rad instrumental posts of the last two days and just make a whole week of it. Sound good? Good. Now for the Protest the Hero show bit.
One of the opening bands, Salt of the Chief Cornerstone, happens to be an instrumental guitar-and-drums duo from Windsor, Ontario. Vaguely jam-bandy at times, Salt overcome this with an ebbing and flowing style that honestly felt a little Tool-esque to me. The same kind of build and release, except done instrumentally a la Russian Circles or something. Except that there's only two of them, making the interplay of both instruments that much more important.
Have a listen to "Taken by Storm" from Salt of the Chief Cornerstone's first EP of demos, and turn it up loud (maybe even close your eyes?) if you want to come close to simulating the energy of being about ten feet away from a performance of this monster.
Yes, I figured it's been too long since we've done a theme week,so why not capitalize on the momentum of the rad instrumental posts of the last two days and just make a whole week of it. Sound good? Good. Now for the Protest the Hero show bit.
One of the opening bands, Salt of the Chief Cornerstone, happens to be an instrumental guitar-and-drums duo from Windsor, Ontario. Vaguely jam-bandy at times, Salt overcome this with an ebbing and flowing style that honestly felt a little Tool-esque to me. The same kind of build and release, except done instrumentally a la Russian Circles or something. Except that there's only two of them, making the interplay of both instruments that much more important.
Have a listen to "Taken by Storm" from Salt of the Chief Cornerstone's first EP of demos, and turn it up loud (maybe even close your eyes?) if you want to come close to simulating the energy of being about ten feet away from a performance of this monster.
Monday 4 November 2013
Plini - Away
Since I received my copy of Plini's new EP Sweet Nothings in the mail today, we're going to stay the instrumental, somewhat jazzy course tonight and feature a track from Australia's most underrated export.
The entirety of Sweet Nothings features oodles of Plini's fretboard-melting guitar work, so picking a song today is kinda hard, but in the end the weird groove of the main riff to "Away" has my vote. Labyrinthine and relentless, it drives the song forward like a intricate, mellow train. It would be right at home in a metal song, but instead Plini gives it a different, laid-back intensity. If that makes any sense.
The only problem for you is that I can't seem to find an upload of just this track, so you'll have to listen to the whole EP stream to hear what I'm talking about. Oh wait, that's not a problem at all.
The entirety of Sweet Nothings features oodles of Plini's fretboard-melting guitar work, so picking a song today is kinda hard, but in the end the weird groove of the main riff to "Away" has my vote. Labyrinthine and relentless, it drives the song forward like a intricate, mellow train. It would be right at home in a metal song, but instead Plini gives it a different, laid-back intensity. If that makes any sense.
The only problem for you is that I can't seem to find an upload of just this track, so you'll have to listen to the whole EP stream to hear what I'm talking about. Oh wait, that's not a problem at all.
Sunday 3 November 2013
Intervals - Inertia
It seems like a lot of albums on my "watch" list have come out recently, or will be out soon, so it's more or less time to shift from "waiting for records to drop" to "waiting for records to be recorded". A number of bands I'm into are either in the studio or just about to head in, like today's band.
Toronto's Intervals are an up-and-coming young instrumetal band that I've feature a bunch before, but since they're within days of heading into the studio to lay down the last of the material for their debut LP I think it's only fitting that I give them another few minutes in the spotlight.
To that end, here's "Inertia", the closing track from Intervals' debut EP The Space Between from back in 2011. A little bit djenty in groove terms (in the best possible ways) but also proggy and melodic, and all without a single word being sung. If instrumental stuff if your thing, you should know about Intervals, and if it isn't, Intervals is a big reason why it should be.
Toronto's Intervals are an up-and-coming young instrumetal band that I've feature a bunch before, but since they're within days of heading into the studio to lay down the last of the material for their debut LP I think it's only fitting that I give them another few minutes in the spotlight.
To that end, here's "Inertia", the closing track from Intervals' debut EP The Space Between from back in 2011. A little bit djenty in groove terms (in the best possible ways) but also proggy and melodic, and all without a single word being sung. If instrumental stuff if your thing, you should know about Intervals, and if it isn't, Intervals is a big reason why it should be.
Saturday 2 November 2013
Saturday Afternoon Double Header
I wanted to post a song yesterday evening. I really did. But saving the world from the machinations of Nazi Germany (aka playing Axis and Allies for like five or six hours) got in the way. I apologize for defending your freedoms. No need to thank me.
So first up this afternoon we have a song for yesterday, and since WW2 was the order of the evening, we're stepping into the musical history books of my youth and going with System of a Down's "War?" from their self-titled debut.
For today's song we'll pick something a little more current. Well, a lot more current. Protest the Hero's Volition came out officially this past Tuesday (a couple of songs/videos had already been released before it leaked a week or two ago) and now that I've had some time to spend with my copy, I for one can say that it slays.
I'm still undecided as to where I'd rank it in the Protest canon, but I have decided that it is, at the very least, a worth addition to said canon. Soaring vocals? Check. Badass, quick-fingered guitar riffs? Check. Bass that actually does something besides follow the guitar? Check there too. And tight, machine-like drumming from Chris Adler? Double check.
"Yellow Teeth" has all of the above, so check it out as yet another example of just how solid a record the boys in Protest have put together in Volition. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of rip of this album yet on Youtube, so you'll have to just have to go stream the whole album, paying special attention to track five for that yellow goodness. Have at 'er!
So first up this afternoon we have a song for yesterday, and since WW2 was the order of the evening, we're stepping into the musical history books of my youth and going with System of a Down's "War?" from their self-titled debut.
For today's song we'll pick something a little more current. Well, a lot more current. Protest the Hero's Volition came out officially this past Tuesday (a couple of songs/videos had already been released before it leaked a week or two ago) and now that I've had some time to spend with my copy, I for one can say that it slays.
I'm still undecided as to where I'd rank it in the Protest canon, but I have decided that it is, at the very least, a worth addition to said canon. Soaring vocals? Check. Badass, quick-fingered guitar riffs? Check. Bass that actually does something besides follow the guitar? Check there too. And tight, machine-like drumming from Chris Adler? Double check.
"Yellow Teeth" has all of the above, so check it out as yet another example of just how solid a record the boys in Protest have put together in Volition. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of rip of this album yet on Youtube, so you'll have to just have to go stream the whole album, paying special attention to track five for that yellow goodness. Have at 'er!
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