Remember when I said that The Black Dahlia Murder's "Hellion" would allow you to bank some precious seconds for the next time I presented you with something meaty? Yeah, so the "next time" actually came sooner than I thought.
When I don't necessarily have a Tech Tuesday in the chamber, I dig into my alliterative bag of tricks for the next best thing. This week, luck you, that happens to be a Tool Tuesday post. Show of hands, who thinks we'll actually see a new Tool record in 2016? Anybody? While we all hold our breath for that one (or don't...) let's revisit a great track from Tool's back catalogue.
My choice for this Tool Tuesday? Aenima closing track and close-to-fourteen-minute monster "Third Eye", mostly because of the intensity of its builds and releases, its ebbs and flows, y'knows. The drums that initially resolve out of the noise gradually pull you into the beat, and the layers stack up so seamlessly that if you're not heavily emotionally invested in this song by the time Maynard's distorted screams kick in just shy of minute four, well, you may have problems beyond what I can help you solve. This is about as epic as Tool comes, so bask (or languish) in the knowledge that this one likely won't be topped.
Showing posts with label Tool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tool. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 January 2016
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Monday: Watercolor Ghosts - Despondent
Longtime readers will likely by now have picked up on the fact that I'm Canadian, and if I haven't here before I will now go on the record as saying I'm both very proud and very lucky to live in this wonderful country of ours. But based on my musical tastes over the last couple of years, perhaps I should have been born an Aussie instead?
A week doesn't seem to go by anymore where I'm not hearing about some great band from down under, or passing that information along to you. Today is no different, so why don't you go ahead and meet Watercolor Ghosts, a five-piece from Perth that's a little more proggy and post-rocky/metaly than what might usually appear here for a Metal Monday. Don't get too down, though: tracks like "Despondent" from Watercolor Ghosts' recently released self-titled LP have a decent amount of heavy to go around. It doesn't hurt that vocalist Drew James Griffiths gives me some major Tool/Maynard James Keenan vibes (coincidental same middle name? maybe not...) and even better, he doesn't just sound like he's doing an MJK impression (believe me, I've heard/seen enough local bands with MJK-wannabe singers...) Check out Watercolor Ghosts and see what you think.
A week doesn't seem to go by anymore where I'm not hearing about some great band from down under, or passing that information along to you. Today is no different, so why don't you go ahead and meet Watercolor Ghosts, a five-piece from Perth that's a little more proggy and post-rocky/metaly than what might usually appear here for a Metal Monday. Don't get too down, though: tracks like "Despondent" from Watercolor Ghosts' recently released self-titled LP have a decent amount of heavy to go around. It doesn't hurt that vocalist Drew James Griffiths gives me some major Tool/Maynard James Keenan vibes (coincidental same middle name? maybe not...) and even better, he doesn't just sound like he's doing an MJK impression (believe me, I've heard/seen enough local bands with MJK-wannabe singers...) Check out Watercolor Ghosts and see what you think.
Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Saturday: Caligula's Horse - Marigold
Let's head back Down Under to get proggy and groovy for this belated Saturday post. And since that kind of an opening could actually be read as referring to several Australian bands, allow me to clear things up by saying that we'll be slipping into the saddle of Caligula's horse for this one.
For a couple of album's now, Caligula's Horse have been building a pretty solid catalogue of intelligent progressive music that straddles a number of genres, and they seem set to continue this trend with their upcoming third LP Bloom, due out next week. If you need proof, look no further than the album's second track "Marigold", a seven-minute slice of vaguely Tool-y modern prog propelled by vocalist Jim Grey's powerful delivery. When -- not if -- these guys get huge, you can say you were in on the ground, er, third floor.
For a couple of album's now, Caligula's Horse have been building a pretty solid catalogue of intelligent progressive music that straddles a number of genres, and they seem set to continue this trend with their upcoming third LP Bloom, due out next week. If you need proof, look no further than the album's second track "Marigold", a seven-minute slice of vaguely Tool-y modern prog propelled by vocalist Jim Grey's powerful delivery. When -- not if -- these guys get huge, you can say you were in on the ground, er, third floor.
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
Monday: Puscifer - Grand Canyon
Time for some New Music Monday, and it comes with some classic sitcom-style good news and bad news. The good news is that I'm pointing you in the direction of some new music from one Mr. Maynard James Keenan, and that is always a welcome thing to be able to say. The bad news is that this new music doesn't come from either Tool or A Perfect Circle.
By the process of elimination, that means that we're talking about some new Puscifer stuff, in the form of a new album Money Shot due out in the fall, and a new song "Grand Canyon" that's out right now! And yes, it's not Tool or A Perfect Circle, but it's got that little bit of weirdness and that lotta bit of vocal layering and suchlike that is Puscifer's stock in trade. It might not be the MJK you've been wishing for, but maybe call it a consolation prize? Either way I call it fun.
By the process of elimination, that means that we're talking about some new Puscifer stuff, in the form of a new album Money Shot due out in the fall, and a new song "Grand Canyon" that's out right now! And yes, it's not Tool or A Perfect Circle, but it's got that little bit of weirdness and that lotta bit of vocal layering and suchlike that is Puscifer's stock in trade. It might not be the MJK you've been wishing for, but maybe call it a consolation prize? Either way I call it fun.
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
2014 Round-Up: 2015 Top Prospects
Since we're already almost a sixth of the way through 2015, it's about goddamn time I got part 2 of my 2014 round-up posted, right? Lucky for me, none of the records I anticipate below have come out yet, but there's one or two that are right around the corner, so you'd better get reading!
Tool - ??? (???)
I thought I'd get this one over and done with right off the bat. Everybody and their mother's dog knows that Tool operates on a much longer album cycle than virtually anybody else on the planet, but since it's been almost nine years now since the release of 10,000 Days even Maynard and company are getting to be about due for some new material. The last year or so has seen a number of rumours and vaguely enticing social media posts that seem to suggest work on a new record is ongoing, perhaps even nearing completion, but just when we might get to hear any of this new material is anybody's guess. I'll believe this one's coming when I'm holding a copy in my hand.
Uneven Structure - La Partition (summer)
It's been nearly four years since France's Uneven Structure blew me and a lot of other listeners away with their so-much-more-than-just-djent debut LP Februus, but the band is finally putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to this masterwork of dense groove and atmosphere. The internet buzz seems to think that this one will be out by the summer, and I for one hope the internet is right for once. La Partition could well be a monster, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.
Chimp Spanner - ??? (???)
Regular readers will know that I'm a fan of progressive instrumental music, so the prospect of new material from everybody's favourite one manimal army Chimp Spanner is something I'm 100% onboard with. 2014 saw a new track called "Aurora" unleashed upon the interwebz in demo and playthrough form, but Mr. Ortiz was otherwise largely silent, studio-wise, instead spending the year playing shows and festivals around England and across Europe. That's all well and good, but Chimp Spanner fans elsewhere in the world (read: me) are due for their own dose of Paul Ortiz, and a new record would be the perfect way for us to get it.
Blotted Science - ??? (???)
Speaking of instrumental prog, tech supertrio Blotted Science also seem to be working on some new jams. Their 2011 EP The Animation of Entomology was an absolute beast, a labyrinthine slice of technicality and compositional virtuosity -- guitarist Ron Jarzombek utilized a "Twelve Tones in Fragmeneted Rows" system of his own design to cook up all the weird and wonderful riffs and chord progressions on the EP (ask your music-nerd friends to explain it to you). Of course, you don't have to have a graduate degree in music theory to appreciate the madness contained on this EP, or to be excited about the prospect of further experiments from the Blotted Science laboratory.
Dance Gavin Dance - Instant Gratification (April 14th)
By any standard of modern music you'd care to name, Sacramento post-hardcore act Dance Gavin Dance have had a pretty prolific run so far. Five studio albums, an EP, and a live record in the last eight years or so would be a good track record for any band in any genre, but for band that writes stuff that's a little heavier, a little more technical, it's downright impressive (even if DGD aren't the heaviest or the most technical band in the world...). DGD has undergone several line-up changes over the years, particularly in the vocalist department, so it's always good to get the news that the guys are back at it again with new material.
Coheed and Cambria - ??? (spring/summer 2015)
Times flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? It seems like Coheed's stellar (pun sorta intended) double album The Afterman came out just yesterday, but second installment Descension is already two years old. Seen in this light, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Claudio and company are gearing up for another record. Coheed and Cambria's catalogue has its ups and downs, but The Afterman was a bit of a return to form, so the prognosis (pun kind intended yet again) for album number eight looks good.
The Fall of Troy - ??? (???)
Like Dance Gavin Dance, this is another one of those bands that tr00 metalheads might look down their nose at a little bit, but I've been a Fall of Troy fan a long time. As such, the news that they were getting back together definitely piqued my interest. The subsequent news that they might be working on new material hooked me even more. There's not a whole lot of word on what form new material might take, or when we might hear it, but the fact that singer/guitarist Thomas Erak has left his gig with Chiodos seems to bode well for a return to full-time TFOT recording and touring. The stars fell out of alignment for me a few years back when I had tickets to one of their farewell shows and the couldn't attend, so here's hoping that I'll get another shot to catch them on the road, preferably supporting a new record.
Deftones - ??? (???)
A new Deftones record is always something to get interested in, if not excited about, and this one should be no exception. The chances of this one being the "lost" album Eros, the last recording the band did with late bassist Chi Cheng, may be slim to none, but the fact remains that Chino and Company have been pretty strong on their last couple of outings. Assuming that the band's next effort is more Koi No Yokan or Diamond Eyes than Saturday Night Wrist -- which might be a pretty big assumption, who knows -- new Deftones material could kick a surprising amount of ass.
Mandroid Echostar - ??? (???)
As is the case with so many of the entries on this list, there's not much information to go on here -- no title, no release date, no single, nada -- but Facebook tells me that the actual recording process is indeed complete and the band has moved on to the mixing stage. These guys are not only "friends of the blog" (oh how I love being able to say that, even if it's only very loosely true), they're also stupidly good at crafting catchy, shredtastic pop-prog. Keep doing Canada proud, boys.
letlive. - ??? (???)
I got into The Blackest Beautiful in a big way. Chief among the reasons for this is definitely the fact that, as I've said umpteen bazillion times before, letlive. feels like the successor band to perennial tease Glassjaw, and boy do I loves me some Glassjaw, especially Worship and Tribute. That album's got such a vibe, such an energy, and letlive. manages to tap into that same kind of vibe and energy in spades. I've have no idea what direction the follow-up to The Blackest Beautiful will take, nor do I even know what direction I want it to take, but I can't wait to hear it.
Tesseract - ??? (???)
A new Tesseract record. With Dan Tompkins back in the mix. Need this Tesseract-loving, Dan Tompkins fanboy say more? No word on when this one's dropping, but in my opinion it can't be soon enough. For now I'll just have to content myself with waiting for the live album/DVD Scala/Odyssesy that's still, at the time of this writing, "coming soon".
The Ocean - ??? (???)
I may be a bit of a latecomer to the 'The Ocean' party, but I got into the band's last record Pelagial pretty hard. Progressive post-metal with a veritable fuck-tonne of groove, and a high concept to boot? Sign me up. The guys in The Ocean have some pretty deep shoes to fill (see what I did there?) with a follow-up to Pelagial, but if they can pull it off, it would very likely be an Album of the Year contender.
Plini - The End of Everything (March 11)
Last but most certainly not least is another "friend of the blog", namely Australian guitarist Plini, whose third EP The End of Everything will be coming out in just a couple of weeks' time. Since Plini's previous work is some of the most badass-yet-chill songwriting I've ever heard, the culmination of his trilogy of EP's is definitely something I'm looking forward to -- I've got my preorder in and everything. If guitar-based instrumental jams in which songwriting doesn't take a back seat to technicality but is rather served by it are your thing, The End of Everything should be perfect for scratching your itch. Now all Plini needs to do is stop going to school and traveling around helping people long enough to write an LP already.
And there you have it: a small selection of upcoming and possibly upcoming albums that I'm looking forward to this year. I'm sure I've probably missed scads of records-in-progress by scads of great bands, but these are some that I've read about, or at least heard rumours about, that have got me stoked up for the next ten months or so.
Now, you may have noticed a trend in the entries above, namely the profusion of question marks sitting in for actual album titles and release dates. You may also wonder why this profusion is so...well, profuse. In a nutshell, it's because that's the sum total of the information I have about these records. Contrary to what you might think, I have very little insider information about any of the above (read: none).
But rather than just write about the few albums I do have solid title-and-date information for, I thought it'd be more fun to give you a cross section of some of the stuff I'm looking forward to, or just hoping for, in 2015. If even half of the aforementioned new material ends up coming out this year, 2015 is going to be nice and heavy.
Tool - ??? (???)
I thought I'd get this one over and done with right off the bat. Everybody and their mother's dog knows that Tool operates on a much longer album cycle than virtually anybody else on the planet, but since it's been almost nine years now since the release of 10,000 Days even Maynard and company are getting to be about due for some new material. The last year or so has seen a number of rumours and vaguely enticing social media posts that seem to suggest work on a new record is ongoing, perhaps even nearing completion, but just when we might get to hear any of this new material is anybody's guess. I'll believe this one's coming when I'm holding a copy in my hand.
Uneven Structure - La Partition (summer)
It's been nearly four years since France's Uneven Structure blew me and a lot of other listeners away with their so-much-more-than-just-djent debut LP Februus, but the band is finally putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to this masterwork of dense groove and atmosphere. The internet buzz seems to think that this one will be out by the summer, and I for one hope the internet is right for once. La Partition could well be a monster, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.
Chimp Spanner - ??? (???)
Regular readers will know that I'm a fan of progressive instrumental music, so the prospect of new material from everybody's favourite one manimal army Chimp Spanner is something I'm 100% onboard with. 2014 saw a new track called "Aurora" unleashed upon the interwebz in demo and playthrough form, but Mr. Ortiz was otherwise largely silent, studio-wise, instead spending the year playing shows and festivals around England and across Europe. That's all well and good, but Chimp Spanner fans elsewhere in the world (read: me) are due for their own dose of Paul Ortiz, and a new record would be the perfect way for us to get it.
Blotted Science - ??? (???)
Speaking of instrumental prog, tech supertrio Blotted Science also seem to be working on some new jams. Their 2011 EP The Animation of Entomology was an absolute beast, a labyrinthine slice of technicality and compositional virtuosity -- guitarist Ron Jarzombek utilized a "Twelve Tones in Fragmeneted Rows" system of his own design to cook up all the weird and wonderful riffs and chord progressions on the EP (ask your music-nerd friends to explain it to you). Of course, you don't have to have a graduate degree in music theory to appreciate the madness contained on this EP, or to be excited about the prospect of further experiments from the Blotted Science laboratory.
Dance Gavin Dance - Instant Gratification (April 14th)
By any standard of modern music you'd care to name, Sacramento post-hardcore act Dance Gavin Dance have had a pretty prolific run so far. Five studio albums, an EP, and a live record in the last eight years or so would be a good track record for any band in any genre, but for band that writes stuff that's a little heavier, a little more technical, it's downright impressive (even if DGD aren't the heaviest or the most technical band in the world...). DGD has undergone several line-up changes over the years, particularly in the vocalist department, so it's always good to get the news that the guys are back at it again with new material.
Coheed and Cambria - ??? (spring/summer 2015)
Times flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? It seems like Coheed's stellar (pun sorta intended) double album The Afterman came out just yesterday, but second installment Descension is already two years old. Seen in this light, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Claudio and company are gearing up for another record. Coheed and Cambria's catalogue has its ups and downs, but The Afterman was a bit of a return to form, so the prognosis (pun kind intended yet again) for album number eight looks good.
The Fall of Troy - ??? (???)
Like Dance Gavin Dance, this is another one of those bands that tr00 metalheads might look down their nose at a little bit, but I've been a Fall of Troy fan a long time. As such, the news that they were getting back together definitely piqued my interest. The subsequent news that they might be working on new material hooked me even more. There's not a whole lot of word on what form new material might take, or when we might hear it, but the fact that singer/guitarist Thomas Erak has left his gig with Chiodos seems to bode well for a return to full-time TFOT recording and touring. The stars fell out of alignment for me a few years back when I had tickets to one of their farewell shows and the couldn't attend, so here's hoping that I'll get another shot to catch them on the road, preferably supporting a new record.
Deftones - ??? (???)
A new Deftones record is always something to get interested in, if not excited about, and this one should be no exception. The chances of this one being the "lost" album Eros, the last recording the band did with late bassist Chi Cheng, may be slim to none, but the fact remains that Chino and Company have been pretty strong on their last couple of outings. Assuming that the band's next effort is more Koi No Yokan or Diamond Eyes than Saturday Night Wrist -- which might be a pretty big assumption, who knows -- new Deftones material could kick a surprising amount of ass.
Mandroid Echostar - ??? (???)
As is the case with so many of the entries on this list, there's not much information to go on here -- no title, no release date, no single, nada -- but Facebook tells me that the actual recording process is indeed complete and the band has moved on to the mixing stage. These guys are not only "friends of the blog" (oh how I love being able to say that, even if it's only very loosely true), they're also stupidly good at crafting catchy, shredtastic pop-prog. Keep doing Canada proud, boys.
letlive. - ??? (???)
I got into The Blackest Beautiful in a big way. Chief among the reasons for this is definitely the fact that, as I've said umpteen bazillion times before, letlive. feels like the successor band to perennial tease Glassjaw, and boy do I loves me some Glassjaw, especially Worship and Tribute. That album's got such a vibe, such an energy, and letlive. manages to tap into that same kind of vibe and energy in spades. I've have no idea what direction the follow-up to The Blackest Beautiful will take, nor do I even know what direction I want it to take, but I can't wait to hear it.
Tesseract - ??? (???)
A new Tesseract record. With Dan Tompkins back in the mix. Need this Tesseract-loving, Dan Tompkins fanboy say more? No word on when this one's dropping, but in my opinion it can't be soon enough. For now I'll just have to content myself with waiting for the live album/DVD Scala/Odyssesy that's still, at the time of this writing, "coming soon".
The Ocean - ??? (???)
I may be a bit of a latecomer to the 'The Ocean' party, but I got into the band's last record Pelagial pretty hard. Progressive post-metal with a veritable fuck-tonne of groove, and a high concept to boot? Sign me up. The guys in The Ocean have some pretty deep shoes to fill (see what I did there?) with a follow-up to Pelagial, but if they can pull it off, it would very likely be an Album of the Year contender.
Plini - The End of Everything (March 11)
Last but most certainly not least is another "friend of the blog", namely Australian guitarist Plini, whose third EP The End of Everything will be coming out in just a couple of weeks' time. Since Plini's previous work is some of the most badass-yet-chill songwriting I've ever heard, the culmination of his trilogy of EP's is definitely something I'm looking forward to -- I've got my preorder in and everything. If guitar-based instrumental jams in which songwriting doesn't take a back seat to technicality but is rather served by it are your thing, The End of Everything should be perfect for scratching your itch. Now all Plini needs to do is stop going to school and traveling around helping people long enough to write an LP already.
And there you have it: a small selection of upcoming and possibly upcoming albums that I'm looking forward to this year. I'm sure I've probably missed scads of records-in-progress by scads of great bands, but these are some that I've read about, or at least heard rumours about, that have got me stoked up for the next ten months or so.
Now, you may have noticed a trend in the entries above, namely the profusion of question marks sitting in for actual album titles and release dates. You may also wonder why this profusion is so...well, profuse. In a nutshell, it's because that's the sum total of the information I have about these records. Contrary to what you might think, I have very little insider information about any of the above (read: none).
But rather than just write about the few albums I do have solid title-and-date information for, I thought it'd be more fun to give you a cross section of some of the stuff I'm looking forward to, or just hoping for, in 2015. If even half of the aforementioned new material ends up coming out this year, 2015 is going to be nice and heavy.
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Sam Westphalen - Lateralus
It's Saturday once again (I know it's actually Sunday, but only just!), meaning that another Under the Covers of Darkness week is drawing to a close. But I've got one last cover for you, and it happens to be a pretty sweet one. It's not as different from the original as, say, yesterday's Sioux version of "Closer", but it's also not quite a straight-forward as perhaps some of my other choices this week have been.
Australian Sam Westphalen's name is one you're probably already familiar with. In addition to being an accomplished guitarist and songwriter in his own right, he's only garner some internet fame by recording a whole bunch of fingerstyle/percussive acoustic guitar covers, a number of which are metal songs. Megadeath, Rammstein, Slayer, Pantera -- Sam's got a pretty impressive list of covers under his belt.
But tonight we're capping off the week with one of my favourites, Sam's version of Tool's "Lateralus", from the 2001 masterpiece of the same name. In this live video, Sam encapsulates the entire song, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, using just his acoustic guitar and his two hands. This one should appeal to both Tool fans and fans of this kind of inspired guitar goodness.
Australian Sam Westphalen's name is one you're probably already familiar with. In addition to being an accomplished guitarist and songwriter in his own right, he's only garner some internet fame by recording a whole bunch of fingerstyle/percussive acoustic guitar covers, a number of which are metal songs. Megadeath, Rammstein, Slayer, Pantera -- Sam's got a pretty impressive list of covers under his belt.
But tonight we're capping off the week with one of my favourites, Sam's version of Tool's "Lateralus", from the 2001 masterpiece of the same name. In this live video, Sam encapsulates the entire song, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, using just his acoustic guitar and his two hands. This one should appeal to both Tool fans and fans of this kind of inspired guitar goodness.
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Album of the Week: Glassjaw - Worship and Tribute
We're going back a bit for this week's album, to the sophomore effort more than a decade ago of one of post-hardcore's most under-appreciated bands. Regular readers will surely be familiar with my love for this record, but now you're all going to get the opportunity to find out why.
Worship and Tribute came out in 2002, but to me it still feels fresh and immediate. Glassjaw's mixture of hardcore, funk, electronic-sounding instrumentation, and even some energetic international flavours yields a combination that's tremendously well balanced. Heavy and aggression underlie jagged dissonance as well as polished melody, and all of it is tied together with Daryl Palumbo's distinctive vocal acrobatics.
Unfortunately for all of us Glassjaw fans, the band is about as productive as Tool is, meaning that Glassjaw hasn't released an LP since Worship and Tribute and doesn't look like they'll be doing so any time soon. A few scattered tracks and an EP have trickled out, but it's been a case of too few and too far between to fill the huge shoes of Worship and Tribute, a true classic of the genre. Get acquainted this week if you're not already.
Worship and Tribute came out in 2002, but to me it still feels fresh and immediate. Glassjaw's mixture of hardcore, funk, electronic-sounding instrumentation, and even some energetic international flavours yields a combination that's tremendously well balanced. Heavy and aggression underlie jagged dissonance as well as polished melody, and all of it is tied together with Daryl Palumbo's distinctive vocal acrobatics.
Unfortunately for all of us Glassjaw fans, the band is about as productive as Tool is, meaning that Glassjaw hasn't released an LP since Worship and Tribute and doesn't look like they'll be doing so any time soon. A few scattered tracks and an EP have trickled out, but it's been a case of too few and too far between to fill the huge shoes of Worship and Tribute, a true classic of the genre. Get acquainted this week if you're not already.
Thursday, 10 April 2014
Wednesday: Revocation - Scattering the Flock
Not content to rest on their well-deserved laurels for even a moment, reigning modern thrash kinds Revocation are apparently already back in the studio at work on the follow-up to last year's stellar self-titled disc.
News doesn't go beyond the initial, work-is-being-done phase, but Revocation is the kind of band that can excite me even with such scant details. When might we hear this new material? LP or EP? Who knows! And who the fuck cares?
It hasn't been that long since my last Revocation song (ie: only a few days...) but this kind of news is too juicy not to commemorate. And yes, I just called news of a new Revocation record juicy. I will ignore your scorn and crank the brutal "Scattering the Flock" from the aforementioned Revocation and give thanks that there's still at least one metal band out there with a serious fucking work ethic (I'm looking in your direction, Tool...)
News doesn't go beyond the initial, work-is-being-done phase, but Revocation is the kind of band that can excite me even with such scant details. When might we hear this new material? LP or EP? Who knows! And who the fuck cares?
It hasn't been that long since my last Revocation song (ie: only a few days...) but this kind of news is too juicy not to commemorate. And yes, I just called news of a new Revocation record juicy. I will ignore your scorn and crank the brutal "Scattering the Flock" from the aforementioned Revocation and give thanks that there's still at least one metal band out there with a serious fucking work ethic (I'm looking in your direction, Tool...)
Monday, 20 January 2014
The Arusha Accord - Last Rise of the Fallen King
Whether or not it's a bad word in your household, the "metalcore" umbrella can cover so much ground, can't it? Case in point: when first hearing British band The Arusha Accord, my initial thought was "OK, some tasty strain of metalcore then..."
But there's so much more going on with The Arusha Accord than some chugga chuggas and some screamed vocals. They're techy, proggy, and even mathy -- think a little Dillinger-esque, maybe some The Safety Fire, or some early Architects -- but they've also got some cleans and harmonies in there that leather-clad metal purists might deride as "emo" -- a heavy, techy, Silverstein comes to mind.
It's a well balanced mix of tech and melody that makes The Echo Verses an interesting listen from start to finish. That finish is where we're stopping today, with album closer "Last Rise of the Fallen King". It opens with a very Toolish guitar and bass part, and it only gets better from there.
But there's so much more going on with The Arusha Accord than some chugga chuggas and some screamed vocals. They're techy, proggy, and even mathy -- think a little Dillinger-esque, maybe some The Safety Fire, or some early Architects -- but they've also got some cleans and harmonies in there that leather-clad metal purists might deride as "emo" -- a heavy, techy, Silverstein comes to mind.
It's a well balanced mix of tech and melody that makes The Echo Verses an interesting listen from start to finish. That finish is where we're stopping today, with album closer "Last Rise of the Fallen King". It opens with a very Toolish guitar and bass part, and it only gets better from there.
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.
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.
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Pit Report: Nine Inch Nails
Perhaps calling this post a "Pit Report" is a tad disingenuous, given that we had seats a pretty good distance from the floor, but let's not quibble about semantics. I'm calling this a Pit Report and there's nothing you can do to stop me! So let's get started, shall we?
When I was younger, my admittedly puerile attitude towards live shows was that I paid to see band X, not the various shitty unknowns that band X decided to drag along with them on tour. As such, we always used to see the opening bands' sets as travel time to get to the show (if it was out of town) or drinking time before the show (if it was local). Now that I'm older, wiser, and taking music a little more seriously (I'm writing this blog, aren't I?) I've thankfully adopted a different attitude, namely that catching the opening acts is both a good way of supporting all the bands on a tour and a good way to discover new music that I might really end up digging.
Unfortunately, our Friday schedule's just wouldn't let us get to Toronto early enough to catch Trent's chosen openers, Explosions in the Sky. Actually that's not quite true: we did get to the ACC in time to catch literally the last few minutes of their set, and while that's not exactly ideal when it comes to forming an accurate picture of a band's sound, I did hear enough to get a few basic impressions. So in a nutshell, Explosions in the Sky sound like a tasty guitar-based post-rock band that's equal parts atmosphere and dense melodies. Definitely a band to check out if you dig that sort of thing (which I do).
And then there was Nine Inch Nails. Trent and Company put together a nearly two hour set that balanced the band's deep catalogue with the need to play a healthy amount of material from the new album Hesitation Marks. About the only cut I would have liked to hear and didn't was "Closer", but I can hardly complain about a set list that included "The Wretched", "Head like a Hole", "Terrible Lie", "March of the Pigs", "Wish", and "Hurt", among many others. (Since we live in an age of wonders, the complete set list is already online right here at setlist.fm)
Not only was the set list put together well, the lights show was also top notch, which is both something that's missing from many modern metal/rock shows as well as something I don't usually give two shits about. The way I see it, I paid to see a band perform, not to watch some Laser Floyd, fireworks display. Having said that, however, the light show on Friday night meshed really well with the music virtually every step of the way, and was second only to the time I saw Tool back in 2009 in terms of suitability and sheer coolness. Kudos to whoever came up with the eye candy.
Overall it was a great night -- including the three hours or so of driving each way -- but I was unfortunately reminded of a couple of my pet peeves about more mainstream, less underground shows. One's just a minor, personal thing: every big rock show has its share of drunker dancers (usually women, usually thirty-somethings or older) shuffling rhythmlessly from one foot to the other in some kind of sad zombie shamble. We both know the kind of concertgoer I'm talking about, and I always feel vicarious embarrassment for them.
My other complaint is a little more legit (in my opinion, anyways) and concerns something I've experienced a number of times over the years when enjoying a show from somewhere other than the floor or pit. I get that people want to get into this performance by their favourite band or whatever, but when I pay for a SEAT to a concert, I damn well expect to sit in it. Call me an old curmudgeon if you will, but it irks me to no end when people who are in seated sections stand up for some or all of a show.
Not only do you fuck over the person sitting directly behind you, but you fuck over everyone in the whole section because your decision to stand and block the view of the person behind you means they have to stand to see, which blocks the view of the person behind them and starts this big chain reaction that only ends when everybody's standing in front of the seats they paid, in this case, like ninety bucks a pop for. If you want to stand the whole time, fine, get a floor ticket. If you've got tickets for seats, then SIT THE FUCK DOWN. Rant over.
Just in case the last paragraph or two sounded a little bitter, let me reiterate: the Nails put on a great show, and considering Trent has gone on hiatus or the like at least once in the last few years I feel lucky to have seen them in good form and before Trent decides to retire for good. If you're on the fence about checking out the Tension 2013 tour, get off that fence and go get your ticket, because you won't be disappointed.
When I was younger, my admittedly puerile attitude towards live shows was that I paid to see band X, not the various shitty unknowns that band X decided to drag along with them on tour. As such, we always used to see the opening bands' sets as travel time to get to the show (if it was out of town) or drinking time before the show (if it was local). Now that I'm older, wiser, and taking music a little more seriously (I'm writing this blog, aren't I?) I've thankfully adopted a different attitude, namely that catching the opening acts is both a good way of supporting all the bands on a tour and a good way to discover new music that I might really end up digging.
Unfortunately, our Friday schedule's just wouldn't let us get to Toronto early enough to catch Trent's chosen openers, Explosions in the Sky. Actually that's not quite true: we did get to the ACC in time to catch literally the last few minutes of their set, and while that's not exactly ideal when it comes to forming an accurate picture of a band's sound, I did hear enough to get a few basic impressions. So in a nutshell, Explosions in the Sky sound like a tasty guitar-based post-rock band that's equal parts atmosphere and dense melodies. Definitely a band to check out if you dig that sort of thing (which I do).
And then there was Nine Inch Nails. Trent and Company put together a nearly two hour set that balanced the band's deep catalogue with the need to play a healthy amount of material from the new album Hesitation Marks. About the only cut I would have liked to hear and didn't was "Closer", but I can hardly complain about a set list that included "The Wretched", "Head like a Hole", "Terrible Lie", "March of the Pigs", "Wish", and "Hurt", among many others. (Since we live in an age of wonders, the complete set list is already online right here at setlist.fm)
Not only was the set list put together well, the lights show was also top notch, which is both something that's missing from many modern metal/rock shows as well as something I don't usually give two shits about. The way I see it, I paid to see a band perform, not to watch some Laser Floyd, fireworks display. Having said that, however, the light show on Friday night meshed really well with the music virtually every step of the way, and was second only to the time I saw Tool back in 2009 in terms of suitability and sheer coolness. Kudos to whoever came up with the eye candy.
Overall it was a great night -- including the three hours or so of driving each way -- but I was unfortunately reminded of a couple of my pet peeves about more mainstream, less underground shows. One's just a minor, personal thing: every big rock show has its share of drunker dancers (usually women, usually thirty-somethings or older) shuffling rhythmlessly from one foot to the other in some kind of sad zombie shamble. We both know the kind of concertgoer I'm talking about, and I always feel vicarious embarrassment for them.
My other complaint is a little more legit (in my opinion, anyways) and concerns something I've experienced a number of times over the years when enjoying a show from somewhere other than the floor or pit. I get that people want to get into this performance by their favourite band or whatever, but when I pay for a SEAT to a concert, I damn well expect to sit in it. Call me an old curmudgeon if you will, but it irks me to no end when people who are in seated sections stand up for some or all of a show.
Not only do you fuck over the person sitting directly behind you, but you fuck over everyone in the whole section because your decision to stand and block the view of the person behind you means they have to stand to see, which blocks the view of the person behind them and starts this big chain reaction that only ends when everybody's standing in front of the seats they paid, in this case, like ninety bucks a pop for. If you want to stand the whole time, fine, get a floor ticket. If you've got tickets for seats, then SIT THE FUCK DOWN. Rant over.
Just in case the last paragraph or two sounded a little bitter, let me reiterate: the Nails put on a great show, and considering Trent has gone on hiatus or the like at least once in the last few years I feel lucky to have seen them in good form and before Trent decides to retire for good. If you're on the fence about checking out the Tension 2013 tour, get off that fence and go get your ticket, because you won't be disappointed.
Saturday, 17 August 2013
Song of the Day: Volto! - Tocino
What would you get if you took Tool's master skinsman Danny Carey and transplanted him into an instrumental jazz band? Volto! that's what.
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Song of the Day: Tool - Stinkfist
Last chance to dance, people, because 90's Week is wrapping up today. But before we go, there's one band for whom the 90's were formative years and without whom I wouldn't be the metalhead I am today.
Friday, 26 April 2013
Song of the Day: Tool - Lateralus
For whatever reason it occurred to me the other day that I've never featured a Tool song from the epic Lateralus. Time to fix that one right now!
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Song of the Day: A Perfect Circle - The Hollow
The only thing Maynard James Keenan has put out recently besides wine is a bizarre video to accompany his 'meh' cover of Queen's epic "Bohemian Rhapsody", so perhaps it's time we take a moment to remember some of the many cooler things MJK has been involved with.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Pit Report: Billy Talent
OK, so like I said last night, I know Billy Talent isn't a metal band. Punk at times, maybe, but not metal. And I know, even if you don't, that I wasn't in the pit last night with all the tweens, so I guess technically I can't call this a bona fide Pit Report. But who cares? I haven't been to a show in a while, and my buddy works at the venue so we got comp tickets, so you're just going to have to hear about it. Questions? Good.
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Song of the Day: Deftones - Passenger
Spring is actually starting to really get springing here, which means it's finally getting warm enough to drive around town cranking metal with the windows down. In fact, the window next to me as I type this (not in a car, smartass) is open and where even a few days ago it would have registered at "chilly" it's now only "brisk". Summer is just around the corner, so it's driving tune time!
Saturday, 26 January 2013
2012 Round-up, Part 3: An Open Letter to All the Bands Out There
Well everybody, it’s finally here! What’s “it”, you ask? Why, the only-slightly-overdue third and final installment of my 2012 Year End Round-Up. But what could it be? I’ve already discussed what I liked best about 2012, and some of what I’m excited for in 2013, so what’s left? It’s a little something that’s been on my mind for a while now (years, really) and while I’ll be stupidly, ridiculously surprised if anything at all comes of it I still feel like getting it off my chest, and so you still have to read it...or not... Anyways, here we go!
Dear (INSERT BAND NAME HERE)
Hey guys, how’s it going? My name’s Sean, but my friends call me TheBeard, and I write a wee little blog about metal and heavy music called Loud Noises. You’ve likely never heard of it, but that’s not at all surprising and actually kind of inconsequential. I’m penning this plea today simply as a fan of the kind of music you play.
You see, I live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, a city of about 150,000 right on the 401 maybe halfway between Toronto and Montreal. We’re also within a couple of hours of Ottawa, Brockville, Bellville, and Trenton, just to name a few of the other, smaller cities in southeastern Ontario that you’ve probably never heard of. We’ve got a world-class theatre, numerous bars and restaurants that feature live music, and a relatively new arena with a maximum capacity of 5,000-6,000. Since we’re a tourist town on Lake Ontario, we’ve also got lots of hotels and accommodations, many of them in the downtown area near the theatre, restaurants and bars, and the arena. Oh, and Kingston is home to a university and two colleges, giving it a relatively high (albeit somewhat seasonal) population of young people spending money at all those restaurants and bars.
So why does it sound as if I’m trying to sell you Kingston like I’m the head of its tourism board? Simple: it’s because I am. Trying to sell you on Kingston, that is. Not head of Kingston’s Tourism Board. I’m trying to sell you on the idea that Kingston could and should be a viable stop on your next tour, especially if you’re going from Toronto to Ottawa or Toronto to Montreal or Toronto to Quebec City or any combination thereof, really, as long as you’re travelling along the 401...which you will be, if you’re trying to get anywhere in Southern Ontario.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of good shows in Kingston over the years, so some of you must already agree with me. Alexisonfire, Protest the Hero, Moneen, Darkest Hour, Misery Signals and Tool (!) are among the bands I love that I’ve been fortunate enough to see right in my own backyard (so to speak), and there’s been at least a couple of shows over the years (Megadeth, anyone? Or even Devin Townsend?) that have rolled through town without me checking them out.
My gripe, and the reason I’m writing this to all of you musicians out there, is the phrase “over the years” in the preceding paragraph. Unlike the lucky residents of, say, Toronto, who probably get to see at least a couple of really good metal/heavy-type shows a month (for the obvious trade-off of having to live in Toronto...) Kingston's lucky to get a couple a year. Don't get me wrong, I've seen a bunch of really cool shows in my hometown, including those listed above, but it's taken me since I was in high school to do it. That's around fifteen years for Kingston to get the kind and frequency of acts Toronto or Montreal gets in just one or two.
Now, I can hear what you're saying already, you cynical economics major you: with a population in the millions, Toronto is a much bigger market than a city like Kingston and therefore a much safer bet financially for a touring band, especially one in a relatively niche genre like metal. I don't think it takes any special financial acumen or inside knowledge of the music industry to figure out that the bigger your potential audience, the better your chances of filling a venue. The odds of finding five hundred metalheads to pack a club are just better in a place with more potential metalheads. But hear me out. Clearly there is at least some economic viability to including a Kingston stop on your tour, or else acts wouldn't keep doing it. Of the bands I mentioned above, Alexisonfire, Protest the Hero, Moneen, and Darkest Hour (at the very least, these are just some off the top of my head) have played Kingston repeatedly since I've been a fan. On top of that, if you step outside our beloved genre for a moment, you'll see that such acts aren't alone. Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, ZZ Top, Alice Cooper, Skrillex (another one that surprised me), deadmau5, Elton John, Metric, and Stone Temple Pilots, to name just a smattering, have all played somewhere in the city in the last five years or so. Why, just this week it's been announced that Sting is coming to town in June.
But you don't give a shit about any of those acts; why aren't metal bands playing here too? Why indeed? I think the big factor is, as discussed in the paragraph above, that Kingston is perceived as being too small a market. And admittedly, it *is* a small market when compared with the big cities of Canada and the US. But even as a small market it has some advantages, like the location factor I've already talked about. If you're a metal band with stops in Toronto and Ottawa on non-consecutive nights, you could add a date in Kingston on the off night much more easily than trying to include cities outside the basic "route" of your tour. And although the market is smaller, meaning less potential ticket buyers, the venues are also correspondingly smaller. A "big arena" show in Toronto means 20,000 people, while the closest equivalent in Kingston is 5,000 or under. That's an easier arena to sell out for sure. Not a big enough band for 5,000 even in a bigger market? No problem. Remember that theatre, and all those bars and restaurants with the live music? I've seen shows at a bunch of those places, and some of those shows have been pretty fucking heavy. And like I said, we've got lots of young people here with some disposable income who might very well jump at some metal if you gave them the right show.
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not naive enough to think you can just "add a date" in the middle of tour. Stopping in Kingston on your way from somewhere to somewhere else would require time, planning, and money, and investing any of these things in tour dates that might not pay off is a risk. I fully understand and appreciate this. But I counter with the idea that stopping in smaller places, like Kingston, is also an investment in building a devoted fanbase. Even in today's age of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, when so much of a band's interaction with its fans is online, it's still true that a band's career is really made or broken by their touring, by their getting their music in front of as many audiences as possible. I feel like an old man saying it, but good old fashioned hard work is still the way to make your name and your fans as a band. Take one of my examples from above as..well, as an example. Protest the Hero, a band that's been playing to little crowds like those at a comedy club in Kingston for years, chose to launch an indiegogo campaign to crowdfund their next album. And then as you've probably read somewhere or other by now they shattered their $125,000 goal in 24 hours. They've still got 20 days left in the campaign and they've already raised nearly $250,000. That's support directly from fans and it sure as shit wasn't earned by Protest only playing big cities. They've earned it touring the globe, playing anywhere and everywhere.
Well guess what, (INSERT BAND NAME HERE)? Kingston is anywhere. And everywhere. Yeah, chew on that for a second. Then come back and please seriously consider everything else that I've said. I see your Canadian tour dates listed on your Facebook page, and I see some cities in Ontario other than Toronto and Ottawa, and I wonder why Kingston can't appear among them more often. In fact, I challenge you to play Kingston sometime in 2013. Shit, if we're cool enough for Tool, we're cool enough for you. Why not stop by and find out for yourself?
Thanks for reading, and hope to see you soon,
Sean, aka TheBeard @ Loud Noises
Dear (INSERT BAND NAME HERE)
Hey guys, how’s it going? My name’s Sean, but my friends call me TheBeard, and I write a wee little blog about metal and heavy music called Loud Noises. You’ve likely never heard of it, but that’s not at all surprising and actually kind of inconsequential. I’m penning this plea today simply as a fan of the kind of music you play.
You see, I live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, a city of about 150,000 right on the 401 maybe halfway between Toronto and Montreal. We’re also within a couple of hours of Ottawa, Brockville, Bellville, and Trenton, just to name a few of the other, smaller cities in southeastern Ontario that you’ve probably never heard of. We’ve got a world-class theatre, numerous bars and restaurants that feature live music, and a relatively new arena with a maximum capacity of 5,000-6,000. Since we’re a tourist town on Lake Ontario, we’ve also got lots of hotels and accommodations, many of them in the downtown area near the theatre, restaurants and bars, and the arena. Oh, and Kingston is home to a university and two colleges, giving it a relatively high (albeit somewhat seasonal) population of young people spending money at all those restaurants and bars.
So why does it sound as if I’m trying to sell you Kingston like I’m the head of its tourism board? Simple: it’s because I am. Trying to sell you on Kingston, that is. Not head of Kingston’s Tourism Board. I’m trying to sell you on the idea that Kingston could and should be a viable stop on your next tour, especially if you’re going from Toronto to Ottawa or Toronto to Montreal or Toronto to Quebec City or any combination thereof, really, as long as you’re travelling along the 401...which you will be, if you’re trying to get anywhere in Southern Ontario.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of good shows in Kingston over the years, so some of you must already agree with me. Alexisonfire, Protest the Hero, Moneen, Darkest Hour, Misery Signals and Tool (!) are among the bands I love that I’ve been fortunate enough to see right in my own backyard (so to speak), and there’s been at least a couple of shows over the years (Megadeth, anyone? Or even Devin Townsend?) that have rolled through town without me checking them out.
My gripe, and the reason I’m writing this to all of you musicians out there, is the phrase “over the years” in the preceding paragraph. Unlike the lucky residents of, say, Toronto, who probably get to see at least a couple of really good metal/heavy-type shows a month (for the obvious trade-off of having to live in Toronto...) Kingston's lucky to get a couple a year. Don't get me wrong, I've seen a bunch of really cool shows in my hometown, including those listed above, but it's taken me since I was in high school to do it. That's around fifteen years for Kingston to get the kind and frequency of acts Toronto or Montreal gets in just one or two.
Now, I can hear what you're saying already, you cynical economics major you: with a population in the millions, Toronto is a much bigger market than a city like Kingston and therefore a much safer bet financially for a touring band, especially one in a relatively niche genre like metal. I don't think it takes any special financial acumen or inside knowledge of the music industry to figure out that the bigger your potential audience, the better your chances of filling a venue. The odds of finding five hundred metalheads to pack a club are just better in a place with more potential metalheads. But hear me out. Clearly there is at least some economic viability to including a Kingston stop on your tour, or else acts wouldn't keep doing it. Of the bands I mentioned above, Alexisonfire, Protest the Hero, Moneen, and Darkest Hour (at the very least, these are just some off the top of my head) have played Kingston repeatedly since I've been a fan. On top of that, if you step outside our beloved genre for a moment, you'll see that such acts aren't alone. Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, ZZ Top, Alice Cooper, Skrillex (another one that surprised me), deadmau5, Elton John, Metric, and Stone Temple Pilots, to name just a smattering, have all played somewhere in the city in the last five years or so. Why, just this week it's been announced that Sting is coming to town in June.
But you don't give a shit about any of those acts; why aren't metal bands playing here too? Why indeed? I think the big factor is, as discussed in the paragraph above, that Kingston is perceived as being too small a market. And admittedly, it *is* a small market when compared with the big cities of Canada and the US. But even as a small market it has some advantages, like the location factor I've already talked about. If you're a metal band with stops in Toronto and Ottawa on non-consecutive nights, you could add a date in Kingston on the off night much more easily than trying to include cities outside the basic "route" of your tour. And although the market is smaller, meaning less potential ticket buyers, the venues are also correspondingly smaller. A "big arena" show in Toronto means 20,000 people, while the closest equivalent in Kingston is 5,000 or under. That's an easier arena to sell out for sure. Not a big enough band for 5,000 even in a bigger market? No problem. Remember that theatre, and all those bars and restaurants with the live music? I've seen shows at a bunch of those places, and some of those shows have been pretty fucking heavy. And like I said, we've got lots of young people here with some disposable income who might very well jump at some metal if you gave them the right show.
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not naive enough to think you can just "add a date" in the middle of tour. Stopping in Kingston on your way from somewhere to somewhere else would require time, planning, and money, and investing any of these things in tour dates that might not pay off is a risk. I fully understand and appreciate this. But I counter with the idea that stopping in smaller places, like Kingston, is also an investment in building a devoted fanbase. Even in today's age of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, when so much of a band's interaction with its fans is online, it's still true that a band's career is really made or broken by their touring, by their getting their music in front of as many audiences as possible. I feel like an old man saying it, but good old fashioned hard work is still the way to make your name and your fans as a band. Take one of my examples from above as..well, as an example. Protest the Hero, a band that's been playing to little crowds like those at a comedy club in Kingston for years, chose to launch an indiegogo campaign to crowdfund their next album. And then as you've probably read somewhere or other by now they shattered their $125,000 goal in 24 hours. They've still got 20 days left in the campaign and they've already raised nearly $250,000. That's support directly from fans and it sure as shit wasn't earned by Protest only playing big cities. They've earned it touring the globe, playing anywhere and everywhere.
Well guess what, (INSERT BAND NAME HERE)? Kingston is anywhere. And everywhere. Yeah, chew on that for a second. Then come back and please seriously consider everything else that I've said. I see your Canadian tour dates listed on your Facebook page, and I see some cities in Ontario other than Toronto and Ottawa, and I wonder why Kingston can't appear among them more often. In fact, I challenge you to play Kingston sometime in 2013. Shit, if we're cool enough for Tool, we're cool enough for you. Why not stop by and find out for yourself?
Thanks for reading, and hope to see you soon,
Sean, aka TheBeard @ Loud Noises
Friday, 11 January 2013
2012 Round-up, Part 2: 2013 Top Prospects
Guten tag, kinders, it's time for part 2 of the Loud Noises 2012 Year End Round-Up. This time around we've got my 2013 Top Prospects list. Like a hockey scout watching the juniors for the next big star I'm on the lookout for the year's big records, not in the sense that I'm trying to get ahead of the curve a predict the next big thing (although you know how I like spreading metal love to the masses) but more in the sense of letting you know which gestating records that I'm looking forward to are likely to be birthed in 2013. How's that for an analogy, eh? Basically, I'm answering this question: of the bands I'm currently digging, who's got new material in the works that we're probably going to hear this year? Simple, right? Let's just see, shall we?
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