Well hey there gang, long time no type! How've you been? Me, I've been good -- busy, but good. And that's kinda why I'm here. Now, before you go getting your hopes hoisted high or anything, no, I'm not back in the proverbial blogging saddle, or at least not yet anyways. As I've said before, I'd love to get back to writing about music on a regular basis, but that's all still sitting on one of life's back burners, bubbling away merrily, perhaps until I can find someone to put their money where my mouth is.
So what have I been up to for the last couple of years? A bunch of things, as it happens, and I'm busy getting up to a few more as we speak -- not necessarily music-related, and not necessarily the jam of the kind of audience who might have enjoyed what I did over here at Loud Noises, but still things that might be of interest to some of you out there. And who knows, maybe you've just missed my cutting wit and tasteful insights, and would be interested in whatever I might be up to, regardless of format or subject matter.
To that end, while you're waiting for the band to come back out for the Loud Noises encore, you can check me out on Twitter, because I'm over there now, @TheBeardedPen, to stay in The Know about the latest and greatest coming down the pipe from yours truly. If and when things start back up here, you'll hear about it there first, and in the meantime you just might find something else to tickle your fancy. Happy reading!
Showing posts with label Loud Noises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Loud Noises. Show all posts
Tuesday, 2 October 2018
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
Loud Noises Indefinite Hiatus (Frowny Face)
Oh hey there. Haven't seen you in a while -- through no fault of yours, of course. That's actually what I'm here to talk about today. It is with a proverbial heavy heart (and a literal heavy beard) that I follow in the footsteps of some of our favourite bands and announce that Loud Noises is going (or has already gone) on indefinite hiatus.
Any of you regular readers that I'm always jokingly referring to (if indeed there are any of you) will no doubt have noticed that the frequency of posts here at the blog has really dropped off, and indeed dried up completely, over the last several months. Fortunately for me, this hasn't been because of some huge, earthshaking event in my life (those tend to be a tad on the negative side) but rather just the steady accumulation of little stuff. My search for steady employment anywhere near my field (which is ancient history -- good luck with that, right?), my quest to get some of my other, non-metal-blog-related writing published, even my recovery from a couple of cold-and/or-flu-related mucus fests over the winter -- I could bore you with a laundry list of excuses, of shit that keeps pushing other things further and further back in the queue.
But the bottom line is that I feel like I'm perhaps spreading myself a little too thin, and as the saying goes, 'jack of all trades, master of none'. As much as I've tried to produce good content for any of you out there interested in reading it, the fact that this blog is just a hobby for me, more or less, has put a pretty hard cap on the amount of time I can dedicate to it. In the four years since I started Loud Noises that sliver of time has slowly and steadily eroded away, to the point that I have been struggling to muster the time and energy required to write the kind of stuff for Loud Noises that I want to write. That's not really fair to any of us, and it's a situation that's got to change. To paraphrase that "jack of all trades" things, I've been trying to half-ass a number of things for too long, and it's time to throw my whole ass into something.
So, what does this mean for you, dear reader? Well, in the short term, virtually nothing, as I've haven't been posting on here for a while now, and that's not going to change any time soon. The outlook long-term is a little murkier; in a perfect world, I'd love to come back to Loud Noises and pick up where I'm leaving off, and maybe even implement some of the ideas I've had over the years that I've just never had the time or momentum to try out. But that perfect world would have to include a good deal more financial and schedule stability, as well as a healthy dose of disposable free time, so the stars may unfortunately never quite align.
For the time being at least, then, this is a fond farewell. Thanks for stopping by once in a while to check out my two cents on the wide world of music, and the crazy corner of that world that we call metal. Now's your chance to catch up on all the reading you might have missed -- more than 1300 posts worth over the last four years. Better get started.
Any of you regular readers that I'm always jokingly referring to (if indeed there are any of you) will no doubt have noticed that the frequency of posts here at the blog has really dropped off, and indeed dried up completely, over the last several months. Fortunately for me, this hasn't been because of some huge, earthshaking event in my life (those tend to be a tad on the negative side) but rather just the steady accumulation of little stuff. My search for steady employment anywhere near my field (which is ancient history -- good luck with that, right?), my quest to get some of my other, non-metal-blog-related writing published, even my recovery from a couple of cold-and/or-flu-related mucus fests over the winter -- I could bore you with a laundry list of excuses, of shit that keeps pushing other things further and further back in the queue.
But the bottom line is that I feel like I'm perhaps spreading myself a little too thin, and as the saying goes, 'jack of all trades, master of none'. As much as I've tried to produce good content for any of you out there interested in reading it, the fact that this blog is just a hobby for me, more or less, has put a pretty hard cap on the amount of time I can dedicate to it. In the four years since I started Loud Noises that sliver of time has slowly and steadily eroded away, to the point that I have been struggling to muster the time and energy required to write the kind of stuff for Loud Noises that I want to write. That's not really fair to any of us, and it's a situation that's got to change. To paraphrase that "jack of all trades" things, I've been trying to half-ass a number of things for too long, and it's time to throw my whole ass into something.
So, what does this mean for you, dear reader? Well, in the short term, virtually nothing, as I've haven't been posting on here for a while now, and that's not going to change any time soon. The outlook long-term is a little murkier; in a perfect world, I'd love to come back to Loud Noises and pick up where I'm leaving off, and maybe even implement some of the ideas I've had over the years that I've just never had the time or momentum to try out. But that perfect world would have to include a good deal more financial and schedule stability, as well as a healthy dose of disposable free time, so the stars may unfortunately never quite align.
For the time being at least, then, this is a fond farewell. Thanks for stopping by once in a while to check out my two cents on the wide world of music, and the crazy corner of that world that we call metal. Now's your chance to catch up on all the reading you might have missed -- more than 1300 posts worth over the last four years. Better get started.
Monday, 26 October 2015
Wednesday: Protest the Hero - Ragged Tooth
It hasn't been very long at all since the last time I featured a Protest the Hero song here at Loud Noises, but those of you who follow the band know that they've recently announced a new project that I would be very remiss not to mention. The downside, of course, is that I can't link to this one for you this time.
The reason for this is the nature of Protest's new endeavour: Pacific Myth is a brand-spanking new subscription service the boys are launching, with the first content being a new song a month for the next sixth months (or at least that's how I understand it). But this is more than just a stretched-out EP with a few crowdfunder-style perks thrown on top -- this seems to be how the guys are going to distribute new material going forward.
So yet again Protest the Hero is trying something new to removed the middleman from the delivery of their music to their fans. The first new Pacific Myth track, "Ragged Tooth", is available now, but the catch is you've got to subscribe to Pacific Myth on Bancamp. The un-catch is that the price starts at twelve American greenbacks, which is a pretty good deal for some new Protest material if you ask me.
Oh, and "Ragged Tooth" slays. Almost forgot to mention that....
The reason for this is the nature of Protest's new endeavour: Pacific Myth is a brand-spanking new subscription service the boys are launching, with the first content being a new song a month for the next sixth months (or at least that's how I understand it). But this is more than just a stretched-out EP with a few crowdfunder-style perks thrown on top -- this seems to be how the guys are going to distribute new material going forward.
So yet again Protest the Hero is trying something new to removed the middleman from the delivery of their music to their fans. The first new Pacific Myth track, "Ragged Tooth", is available now, but the catch is you've got to subscribe to Pacific Myth on Bancamp. The un-catch is that the price starts at twelve American greenbacks, which is a pretty good deal for some new Protest material if you ask me.
Oh, and "Ragged Tooth" slays. Almost forgot to mention that....
Friday, 3 April 2015
Another (mile)stone in the wall...
Any of you who've been reading the blog for a while might well have noticed that I like to commemorate things. Holidays and special occasions, album releases, good days, bad days... any of them can (and indeed should) be celebrated with music. You'll also, I have little doubt, be familiar with the fact that I sometimes like to acknowledge the passing milestones that line the twisting trail that is Loud Noises from day one to today.
As such, I'd like to take the briefest of moments to celebrate another recent milestone in Loud Noises history: sometime during last week's climb out from behind the eight ball, I passed one thousand posts. Small wonder, I hear you say, given that you post a song every day. But take a second and do the math: even at a rate of a song a day, 1000+ posts represents almost three years of work.
This is an entirely appropriate number at which to arrive, since Loud Noises will be three years old in May, and the Song of the Day feature will be three in July. As these anniversaries approach, I'm still undecided as to where I might go with things in the future, but at the same time, looking back on more than a thousand Loud Noises posts, I feel pretty satisfied on the whole with where I've been so far.
So put on something you dig, hoist skyward a glass of something strong, and join me in saying here's to more than a thousand posts worth of good music, metal and otherwise.
(One other thing, while I'm being all retrospective and such: some of you may have noticed the disappearance of the Album of the Week feature (or not), and perhaps even lamented its demise. Recommending more than just songs is an idea I really like, not least because I'm a staunch believer in the importance of the album, rather than the single, as the fundamental unit of delivery for any music worth listening to.
But I kept missing week, or being late, or changing the day of the week I posted the album (ie: I kept on doing what I do) so a while back I quietly decided to simply stop doing Albums of the Week. Rest assured, however, that I haven't completely abandoned the idea, even if it's another while before I return to it.
For the time being, I will say only this: if you like a song by band X, check out the rest of the record, in order, from start to finish. The band and those involved with the album's recording made deliberate decisions to do things the way they did, to order the songs the way they did, etc., and sometimes they actually know what they're talking about...)
As such, I'd like to take the briefest of moments to celebrate another recent milestone in Loud Noises history: sometime during last week's climb out from behind the eight ball, I passed one thousand posts. Small wonder, I hear you say, given that you post a song every day. But take a second and do the math: even at a rate of a song a day, 1000+ posts represents almost three years of work.
This is an entirely appropriate number at which to arrive, since Loud Noises will be three years old in May, and the Song of the Day feature will be three in July. As these anniversaries approach, I'm still undecided as to where I might go with things in the future, but at the same time, looking back on more than a thousand Loud Noises posts, I feel pretty satisfied on the whole with where I've been so far.
So put on something you dig, hoist skyward a glass of something strong, and join me in saying here's to more than a thousand posts worth of good music, metal and otherwise.
(One other thing, while I'm being all retrospective and such: some of you may have noticed the disappearance of the Album of the Week feature (or not), and perhaps even lamented its demise. Recommending more than just songs is an idea I really like, not least because I'm a staunch believer in the importance of the album, rather than the single, as the fundamental unit of delivery for any music worth listening to.
But I kept missing week, or being late, or changing the day of the week I posted the album (ie: I kept on doing what I do) so a while back I quietly decided to simply stop doing Albums of the Week. Rest assured, however, that I haven't completely abandoned the idea, even if it's another while before I return to it.
For the time being, I will say only this: if you like a song by band X, check out the rest of the record, in order, from start to finish. The band and those involved with the album's recording made deliberate decisions to do things the way they did, to order the songs the way they did, etc., and sometimes they actually know what they're talking about...)
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Stones on stones on stones...
Over the past couples of months, Loud Noises has celebrated a couple of fairly substantial milestones that I'd like to take a second to acknowledge before we get so far past them that it would be embarrassing to bring them up. This acknowledgement may be for my own gratification more than anything else, but then isn't the whole blog kinda like that anyway? Here we go!
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Album of the Week: Skyharbor - Blinding White Noise
I told you guys over the weekend that I'd be back with a little something to keep you going while I'm away, and here I am, with a new feature that'll hopefully run alongside the daily songs whenever I get back to them.
In addition to recommending a new song for you every day, I'm going to be trying a different album once a week, just to give you a little bit more time to chew on some stuff that you might or might not already be aware of.
First up is a record that I've recently been rediscovering, namely Skyharbor's phenomenal debut Blinding White Noise. Big melodies (both vocal and musical), grooves aplenty, just the right amount of technicality and virtuosity to elevate things above the mundane... all of it adds up to a djenty album that's so much more than djust djent.
Throw in the fact that Blinding White Noise is a double album of sorts -- two shorter discs make up the album's whole -- and you've got a pretty ambitious debut that succeeds at every turn. I can't wait to hear a follow-up, but for now I'll just have to spend some more time with Blinding White Noise.
And that's just what you should do too. If your tastes are anything like mine (which they might be, if you're reading this) then Skyharbor will be something that you dig. So spend the next week giving it a go, and I'll try and turn you on to something else next time.
In addition to recommending a new song for you every day, I'm going to be trying a different album once a week, just to give you a little bit more time to chew on some stuff that you might or might not already be aware of.
First up is a record that I've recently been rediscovering, namely Skyharbor's phenomenal debut Blinding White Noise. Big melodies (both vocal and musical), grooves aplenty, just the right amount of technicality and virtuosity to elevate things above the mundane... all of it adds up to a djenty album that's so much more than djust djent.
Throw in the fact that Blinding White Noise is a double album of sorts -- two shorter discs make up the album's whole -- and you've got a pretty ambitious debut that succeeds at every turn. I can't wait to hear a follow-up, but for now I'll just have to spend some more time with Blinding White Noise.
And that's just what you should do too. If your tastes are anything like mine (which they might be, if you're reading this) then Skyharbor will be something that you dig. So spend the next week giving it a go, and I'll try and turn you on to something else next time.
Saturday, 3 May 2014
Hiatus Update
Hey everybody, just thought I'd update you on the whole "Speedbumps" thing from last time, since I'm sure you're all champing at the bit for more Loud Noises. Speedbump number one, the dead graphics card, has been dealt with and my PC is back in working order. Speedbump number two, however, the Great Move, continues apace. Our internet isn't being hooked up until next week, and my current access is somewhat limited.
But things are looking up, faithful reader. By the end of next week I should be in a position to be doing daily song posts again (and boy have I got some ground to make up...) but even before then I've got a new idea I'm going to try out on you guys. So please continue to stay tuned, I'll be with you shortly...
But things are looking up, faithful reader. By the end of next week I should be in a position to be doing daily song posts again (and boy have I got some ground to make up...) but even before then I've got a new idea I'm going to try out on you guys. So please continue to stay tuned, I'll be with you shortly...
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
Plini - Atlas
Everybody's got a band or two they like that they wish would more productive (*cough* Tool? *cough*) so it's always good to see a kind of flip side to that coin, namely an artist that's always cranking out new stuff like it's going out of style.
Australia's Plini is thankfully one of the latter types of musician, a guy who's always putting out something new. If you've been reading Loud Noises for a while you've probably heard Plini by now, but if you haven't you're in luck because he's got a tasty new track out.
"Atlas" has all the virtuosic guitar work and sparkling melodies one should expect from Plini's work, and is even a little "heavier" than a lot of his stuff. There's even a part, around 2:05 or so, that easily ranks as the most metal riff of Plini's catalogue. Note to Plini: please quit teasing me and release an LP already!
Australia's Plini is thankfully one of the latter types of musician, a guy who's always putting out something new. If you've been reading Loud Noises for a while you've probably heard Plini by now, but if you haven't you're in luck because he's got a tasty new track out.
"Atlas" has all the virtuosic guitar work and sparkling melodies one should expect from Plini's work, and is even a little "heavier" than a lot of his stuff. There's even a part, around 2:05 or so, that easily ranks as the most metal riff of Plini's catalogue. Note to Plini: please quit teasing me and release an LP already!
Friday, 11 October 2013
Sylosis - The Bereaved
This is likely old news to many of you (spoiler, new readers: I'm not running a music/metal news blog here) but just in case you haven't heard, British metal masters Sylosis were involved in a bus crash here in Canada last month.
Thankfully everyone in the band is fine, although the band's RV was totaled and they had to bow out of their opening slot on the current Trivium/Devil Driver North American tour. The latter point is a particular shame because, as those of you who aren't new readers may know, I think Sylosis is definitely a band more people need to know about.
Every time they put out new material, my reaction upon finishing that first listen-through is "Gods, I can't wait for more!" And lest you think this reaction means I'm at all dissatisfied with said material, know that I'm always looking forward to the next album because I think to myself "if this is what they're doing, I can only imagine what kind of fresh slaying they'll get up to with another year (or whatever) of being awesome under their collective belts."
So while it might well be a while before those of us on this side of the pond get the chance to become better acquainted with the purveyors of shredding from Reading in person, we can all revel in some killer metal right this very minute. More specifically, let's all climb into the wayback machine to check out a song I recommended you check out way back in June of last year when I first recommended Sylosis to all of you in the early days of Loud Noises.
Your song today is therefore "The Bereaved" from the band's 2006 debut EP Casting Shadows, a track that is still one of my favourite Sylosis songs. Fast, shreddy, melodic, heavy -- "The Bereaved" has it all, foreshadowing very early on the kick-assitude in store for Sylosis. Do me a personal favour and turn this one up loud.
Thankfully everyone in the band is fine, although the band's RV was totaled and they had to bow out of their opening slot on the current Trivium/Devil Driver North American tour. The latter point is a particular shame because, as those of you who aren't new readers may know, I think Sylosis is definitely a band more people need to know about.
Every time they put out new material, my reaction upon finishing that first listen-through is "Gods, I can't wait for more!" And lest you think this reaction means I'm at all dissatisfied with said material, know that I'm always looking forward to the next album because I think to myself "if this is what they're doing, I can only imagine what kind of fresh slaying they'll get up to with another year (or whatever) of being awesome under their collective belts."
So while it might well be a while before those of us on this side of the pond get the chance to become better acquainted with the purveyors of shredding from Reading in person, we can all revel in some killer metal right this very minute. More specifically, let's all climb into the wayback machine to check out a song I recommended you check out way back in June of last year when I first recommended Sylosis to all of you in the early days of Loud Noises.
Your song today is therefore "The Bereaved" from the band's 2006 debut EP Casting Shadows, a track that is still one of my favourite Sylosis songs. Fast, shreddy, melodic, heavy -- "The Bereaved" has it all, foreshadowing very early on the kick-assitude in store for Sylosis. Do me a personal favour and turn this one up loud.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Administrative Post: Format Changes here at Loud Noises
Good afternoon everyone, just TheBeard here with a quick post to let you know I've decided to experiment with the format a little here at Loud Noises.
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Song of the Day: Between the Buried and Me - Selkies: The Endless Obsession
It seems I've been so busy lately finishing my thesis that I've missed a rather important little milestone. You see, it was stuck in the back of my head that I started making these here Loud Noises last May, and I had thought that it was later in the month, but it only occurred to me to actually check today.
Friday, 11 January 2013
Another Milestone...
I know it's not really that big a deal, but I feel it's still a little milestone for what I still consider a little baby blog so I'm going to share anyways. Last night's quickie Sylosis Song of the Day was the 200th Loud Noises post! Onward and upwards, everyone!
And now you may go back to your day.
And now you may go back to your day.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Song of the Day: Faith No More - Epic
I know you know it, but I've chosen today's song in honour of reaching one thousand all time page views here at Loud Noises. Here's to another thousand!
Raise a Glass to 1000 Views!
So there's still going to be a Song of the Day today, but I feel the need to just put up a quick post to share with you the fact that as of this morning Loud Noises now has more than 1000 all-time page views! It was a slow start, but things have been picking up, so thanks for stopping by, and by all means, keep reading.
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Song of the Day: Circles - Eye Embedded
Another day, another song here at Loud Noises, and today, like yesterday, I'm going to do a little retreading of ground from days gone by. A week or two ago, I posted my United Nations of Metal with a whole slew of international recommendations. Maybe you checked them out, maybe you didn't, but today I intend to make sure that at least one of these bands gets a little attention from you.
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Song of the Day: At the Drive-In - Arcarsenal
Morning kids. I'm building on the last couple of day's songs today. Yesterday we had Death Before Disco because the day before I'd said Exotic Animal Petting Zoo reminded me of them. Well I also mentioned At the Drive-In, and even though I did remind you that At the Drive-In came up way back in the first Loud Noises post about The Mars Volta (meaning that if you wanted some ATDI, you should know where to look for a few recommendations from yours truly), I've decided to give them a day so that I can be sure you know what I'm talking about with this vibe I'm getting from these three bands.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Song of the Day: Protest the Hero - The Dissentience
Well, it's official: I'm going to Heavy TO! In case you're not Canadian, or you are Canadian and don't live in Ontario or Quebec, Heavy TO and Heavy MTL are a pair of metal festivals happening in Toronto and Montreal on the weekend of August 11th and 12th. All of the bands in the fairly deep line-up (which can be seen here for Heavy TO...) are playing both cities on alternate days, giving fans in both areas a chance to see everyone, which is a pretty rad idea in my book. Due to budgetary constraints and scheduling issues I'm only going to be at the second day, but lucky for you, you get to attend (in spirit, anyways) because from now until then I'm going to be featuring some of my favourite bands from this year's Heavy TO and MTL festivals in the Loud Noises Songs of the Day.
So without further ado, today's song. We're going to start with Canadian punk-metal-prog badasses Protest the Hero today, and their song "The Dissentience" from 2008's Fortress. Since I'm going Sunday, I won't get to see them this time out, but if I were I'd like to see them play this one. Enjoy.
So without further ado, today's song. We're going to start with Canadian punk-metal-prog badasses Protest the Hero today, and their song "The Dissentience" from 2008's Fortress. Since I'm going Sunday, I won't get to see them this time out, but if I were I'd like to see them play this one. Enjoy.
Friday, 25 May 2012
Shameless Plug: Loud Noises on Facebook
Hey everyone, just a quick post to let you know (on the off chance that you didn't come here from Facebook) that Loud Noises now has a Facebook page. You read the blog, now like the page, and get updates in your news feed anytime there's a new post. What's the url already, I hear you demanding? Why, it's easy: www.facebook.com/thisisloudnoises
And don't worry, there's actual Loud Noises in the the works for this week, I'm just a little behind. (I know you were getting worried, calm down) So stay tuned, or go like the Facebook page, and then you won't have to stay tuned because a Facebook appbot will tell you when there's new Loud Noises. Isn't technology great?
And don't worry, there's actual Loud Noises in the the works for this week, I'm just a little behind. (I know you were getting worried, calm down) So stay tuned, or go like the Facebook page, and then you won't have to stay tuned because a Facebook appbot will tell you when there's new Loud Noises. Isn't technology great?
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
The Blogman Cometh
Salve, fellow metalheads, and welcome to Loud Noises, my new blog primarily focused on heavy music. As often as I can get around to it (once every week or two seems super optimistic at this point, but we'll see), this space will struggle to contain my thoughts, opinions, musings, and general ramblings about all the music that's near and dear to my big, bearded heart.
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