Man, Ben Sharp is a busy guy. Ben, better known as one man instrumental post-metal outfit Cloudkicker, not only toured with Intronaut as his backing band earlier this year, he released a live album with them back in November. But that's not enough for ol' Ben. He's just released a new record of solo Cloudkicker "studio" material too!
"Digital Lightning" is both one of the longest of the tracks on Little Histories and one of the heaviest, although the heavy doesn't come in the usual form of double kick or guttural vocals. Indeed, bereft of any vocals at all, "Digital Lightning" instead trades on thick, fat guitars playing big chords for the first couple of minutes before transitioning to some noodly harmonized riffing and then ending off on some doomy droning.
At only five tracks long (the first of which is very introductory) Little Histories is almost more of an EP than an LP, but whatever you want to call it it's another fitting entry in Cloudkicker's ever-expanding catalogue. If instrumental post-metal that covers a variety of ground is your thing at all, you need to know about Ben SHarp and his baby Cloudkicker.
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Saturday: Opeth - Moon Above, Sun Below
Hey there stranger, talk about being late on the Saturday draw too... As all three of you may have noticed, I took a bit of an impromptu and unannounced vacation from Loud Noises over the weekend. It was the girlfriend's birthday yesterday, with a whole plethora of festivities populating the preceding days, so I decided that rather than rush things here (or worse, abandon her for extended periods of metal consumption) I'd just get back to you guys once things settled down.
We're both back to the grind today, and everything's pretty much back to normal around here, so that means it's everybody's favourite time: catch-up time. I've got a whole weekend to make up for, so let's get straight to a Saturday song to get things started.
Opeth's latest album Pale Communion is one of their most divisive yet. If you're into the jazzy 60's/70's folk-prog that the band's been moving towards for the last couple of records, you're in luck, because Pale Communion is the furthest down this particular path that Opeth has gotten yet. If on the other hand you're more of a fan of the heavier metal elements that the band has largely been moving away from for the last couple of records, you're out of luck, because Pale Communion is yet essentially another dose of retro-flavoured prog-rock.
Your Saturday song, "Moon Above, Sun Below", is one of the heavier songs on the album, and one of the songs that harkens back the most to albums like Watershed and Heritage. Don't get me wrong, there's still no death growls or anything, but it's still got a sinister metal-y vibe all the same. And any song with a running time of more than ten minutes is pretty metal, right? Have a listen to "Moon Above, Sun Below" and make the call for yourself.
We're both back to the grind today, and everything's pretty much back to normal around here, so that means it's everybody's favourite time: catch-up time. I've got a whole weekend to make up for, so let's get straight to a Saturday song to get things started.
Opeth's latest album Pale Communion is one of their most divisive yet. If you're into the jazzy 60's/70's folk-prog that the band's been moving towards for the last couple of records, you're in luck, because Pale Communion is the furthest down this particular path that Opeth has gotten yet. If on the other hand you're more of a fan of the heavier metal elements that the band has largely been moving away from for the last couple of records, you're out of luck, because Pale Communion is yet essentially another dose of retro-flavoured prog-rock.
Your Saturday song, "Moon Above, Sun Below", is one of the heavier songs on the album, and one of the songs that harkens back the most to albums like Watershed and Heritage. Don't get me wrong, there's still no death growls or anything, but it's still got a sinister metal-y vibe all the same. And any song with a running time of more than ten minutes is pretty metal, right? Have a listen to "Moon Above, Sun Below" and make the call for yourself.
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Friday: Eidola - To Know What's Real
I'm a little late on the Friday draw this morning, but I got home late last night to find the perfect Friday song plastered across the interwebz and I wanted to give it the proper listening attention that only some sleep could make possible.
Remember a while back when I did a Twenty Questions e-mail interview with Andrew from Oregonian post-hardcore band Eidola? Remember how we talked a little bit about the band's upcoming sophomore album Degeneraterra? Well, Degeneraterra's release is almost upon us and this week the guys gave us a taste with first single "To Know What's Real".
The track is about what you might have come to expect from Eidola if you're familiar with their first album The Great Glass Elephant, and I mean that in the best possible way. Everything you probably like about the first record is still around: layers of interwoven guitars, layers of variously melodic and aggressive vocals, some thought provoking lyrics and interesting turns of phrase. Here's hoping that "To Know What's Real" is only the tip of the Degeneraterra iceberg.
Remember a while back when I did a Twenty Questions e-mail interview with Andrew from Oregonian post-hardcore band Eidola? Remember how we talked a little bit about the band's upcoming sophomore album Degeneraterra? Well, Degeneraterra's release is almost upon us and this week the guys gave us a taste with first single "To Know What's Real".
The track is about what you might have come to expect from Eidola if you're familiar with their first album The Great Glass Elephant, and I mean that in the best possible way. Everything you probably like about the first record is still around: layers of interwoven guitars, layers of variously melodic and aggressive vocals, some thought provoking lyrics and interesting turns of phrase. Here's hoping that "To Know What's Real" is only the tip of the Degeneraterra iceberg.
Thursday, 4 December 2014
Mapmaker - Automation
Remember yesterday when I said I wasn't trying to take up all your time with sweet, sweet metal? I guess I was lying, because tonight's relatively brief post is about a song that's anything but.
Indianapolis' Mapmaker are on the brink of releasing their debut LP Automation, a collection of somewhat djenty flavoured prog. I know, I know, you're done with the d-word. Don't be, though. Don't let it deter you, because there's a take on it for ever palate. Mapmaker's take, as evidenced in the epic twenty-minute album-closing title track "Automation", is respectably proggy death djent.
Sure, twenty minutes is a long time, and these ambitious young guns could perhaps have trimmed a little fat here and there and saved some running time. But that doesn't diminish what Mapmaker has done with "Automation", and by extension Automation. It may not be absolutely mind-blowing (yet -- there's a lot of potential alongside a lot of existing skill in this band) but it's also more than djust your average djent. See if perhaps it be your flavour of the d-word.
Indianapolis' Mapmaker are on the brink of releasing their debut LP Automation, a collection of somewhat djenty flavoured prog. I know, I know, you're done with the d-word. Don't be, though. Don't let it deter you, because there's a take on it for ever palate. Mapmaker's take, as evidenced in the epic twenty-minute album-closing title track "Automation", is respectably proggy death djent.
Sure, twenty minutes is a long time, and these ambitious young guns could perhaps have trimmed a little fat here and there and saved some running time. But that doesn't diminish what Mapmaker has done with "Automation", and by extension Automation. It may not be absolutely mind-blowing (yet -- there's a lot of potential alongside a lot of existing skill in this band) but it's also more than djust your average djent. See if perhaps it be your flavour of the d-word.
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Ever Forthright - Dispose of Your Optimism
Another mini-theme emerges all on its own tonight, as I post another song that's nearing the ten minute mark. I swear I'm not actually trying to take up all your time with metal, honestly.
The djazzy djentlemen in Ever Forthright are in a bit of a quiet period, as sideprojects and things like Stimpy Lockjaw receive some attention, but that doesn't mean now isn't the time to revisit the band's self-titled debut. Even if you found that sentence hard to follow, you should still be amenable to some healthy doses of both groove and tech, yes?
I'll take that as a yes. "Dispose of Your Optimism" is, like I said, a rather lengthy cut from the band's 2011 album Ever Forthright, but it's eight minutes of shifting ground and restless riffing; the song never settles down to the point of getting boring. Sure, it's djenty, but it's also deathy, a little grindy for a bit, placid and spacey towards the end, and just plain big by the time things finish. It's the kind of track to make a convert out of you, you godless heathen you.
The djazzy djentlemen in Ever Forthright are in a bit of a quiet period, as sideprojects and things like Stimpy Lockjaw receive some attention, but that doesn't mean now isn't the time to revisit the band's self-titled debut. Even if you found that sentence hard to follow, you should still be amenable to some healthy doses of both groove and tech, yes?
I'll take that as a yes. "Dispose of Your Optimism" is, like I said, a rather lengthy cut from the band's 2011 album Ever Forthright, but it's eight minutes of shifting ground and restless riffing; the song never settles down to the point of getting boring. Sure, it's djenty, but it's also deathy, a little grindy for a bit, placid and spacey towards the end, and just plain big by the time things finish. It's the kind of track to make a convert out of you, you godless heathen you.
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Tuesday: Blotted Science - Activation Synthesis Theory
Time for a quick little Tech Tuesday post to tuck you in tonight, and this evening I'm going with an older track from everybody's favourite tech-prog supergroup.
Blotted Science are one of those slightly-beneath-the-radar bands that people don't know about but really should, especially given their membership. Guitarist Ron Jarzombek, bassist Alex Webster, and drummer Hannes Grossmann have a combined resume that includes some pretty storied metal and prog acts, so you could be forgiven for expecting big things from them.
So far, they've delivered, especially with 2011's The Animation of Entomology, a brutally labyrinthine EP of insect-inspired instrumental prog-sanity. But news that the band is soon to start recording their third release had me revisiting to both entries in the back catalogue in anticipation of the madness to come.
Your song this evening therefore comes from the band's first outing, 2007's The Machinations of Dementia. "Activation Synthesis Theory" is as good an example as you could ask for of why everybody should know about Blotted Science. If off-the-wall instrumental tech is your thing, you may well have come to the right place tonight.
Blotted Science are one of those slightly-beneath-the-radar bands that people don't know about but really should, especially given their membership. Guitarist Ron Jarzombek, bassist Alex Webster, and drummer Hannes Grossmann have a combined resume that includes some pretty storied metal and prog acts, so you could be forgiven for expecting big things from them.
So far, they've delivered, especially with 2011's The Animation of Entomology, a brutally labyrinthine EP of insect-inspired instrumental prog-sanity. But news that the band is soon to start recording their third release had me revisiting to both entries in the back catalogue in anticipation of the madness to come.
Your song this evening therefore comes from the band's first outing, 2007's The Machinations of Dementia. "Activation Synthesis Theory" is as good an example as you could ask for of why everybody should know about Blotted Science. If off-the-wall instrumental tech is your thing, you may well have come to the right place tonight.
Monday: Anciients - Falling in Line
Looked at your calendar lately? November went by faster than a two-minute speed-grind song, and it's now officially December, which means that it's also officially "End of the Year Best of" season. I'm not going to join the crowd just yet, but I thought it might be interesting to revisit at least a few of last year's picks over the next couple of weeks, starting with some classic-sounding proggy metal from today's band of Canucks.
Anciients' masterpiece of a debut Heart of Oak appeared on my Ten Best list last year, in addition to spending a lot of time in my CD player. It mixes a menacing, old-school sound with some new-school technicality and musicianship, with the result being a heady wizard's brew of melody and heaviness that should satisfy fans of multiple genres of metal.
Exhibit A is "Falling in Line", an epic eight-minute-plus bruiser of a song that comes complete with some badass lead guitar work. It's a bit of a slow burn at the start, but if you can handle the build-up in, say, an Opeth song, you'll be right at home with Anciients and "Falling in Line". Make some time in your schedule for this one.
Anciients' masterpiece of a debut Heart of Oak appeared on my Ten Best list last year, in addition to spending a lot of time in my CD player. It mixes a menacing, old-school sound with some new-school technicality and musicianship, with the result being a heady wizard's brew of melody and heaviness that should satisfy fans of multiple genres of metal.
Exhibit A is "Falling in Line", an epic eight-minute-plus bruiser of a song that comes complete with some badass lead guitar work. It's a bit of a slow burn at the start, but if you can handle the build-up in, say, an Opeth song, you'll be right at home with Anciients and "Falling in Line". Make some time in your schedule for this one.
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