Sure, it's Monday out here in the real world, but back in blog town it's Thursday, so let's throw it back with an absolutely epic piece of labyrinthine prog from 2009.
We're inching closer every day to the summer release of Coma Ecliptic, the latest from prog metal titans Between the Buried and Me, and that's all the excuse I need to feature another selection from their growing catalogue of killer stuff. Your Throwback Thursday song tonight is "Obfuscation" from Between the Buried and Me's 2009 masterpiece The Great Misdirect, a nine-minute monster that has everything you could want, from furious riffing to some of the foundational melodic motifs that are going to crop up elsewhere on The Great Misdirect.
And that's all saying nothing about the fact that "obfuscation" and its cognates like "obfuscate" are just plain fun. All told, you've basically got a fistful of reasons to revisit this one, and really no reason not to. What are you still doing here again?
Monday, 11 May 2015
Wednesday: Fellsilent - Age of Deception
As the saying goes, it never rains but when it pours. In addition to the memorial service the week before last that I mentioned in a previous post, I've also spent some time over the last week or so dealing with some damage to my car, caused by someone backing into it while it was parked. Yeah, I know, right?
Anyways, without going into detail, I'll just say that the responsible party is being uncooperative, making this whole thing more trouble and stress than it should be. The net result for you has been another unfortunate hiatus, but we're going to start once again getting things back on track today, starting with a little something for your last Wednesday track.
Climb into your Wayback machines and set that dial thing on the dashboard to 2008 for a cut from the first and only LP by British pro-djent-itors Fellsilent, The Hidden Words. There's a lot of good stuff on this one, if this is the kind of thing you're into, and today I'm going with album closer "Age of Deception" for the forward glimpse it gives us into some of the sounds of Tesseract to come. Angular grooves abound, so limber up your neck before hitting up the link on this one.
Anyways, without going into detail, I'll just say that the responsible party is being uncooperative, making this whole thing more trouble and stress than it should be. The net result for you has been another unfortunate hiatus, but we're going to start once again getting things back on track today, starting with a little something for your last Wednesday track.
Climb into your Wayback machines and set that dial thing on the dashboard to 2008 for a cut from the first and only LP by British pro-djent-itors Fellsilent, The Hidden Words. There's a lot of good stuff on this one, if this is the kind of thing you're into, and today I'm going with album closer "Age of Deception" for the forward glimpse it gives us into some of the sounds of Tesseract to come. Angular grooves abound, so limber up your neck before hitting up the link on this one.
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
The Algorithm - Logic Bomb
No Tech Tuesday. Techno Tuesday? Techno Tuesday!
Which basically means another song from French one-man-army The Algorithm, because that's all the electronic-type stuff I've been listening to lately. Sorry, no super obscure trance-house-drum-and-bass today, just the tasty peanut butter cup of electronic music and metal mashed together. This time around I'm going with "Logic Bomb", from Remi's 2012 debut LP Polymorphic Code. Bust out your glow sticks and crank it.
Which basically means another song from French one-man-army The Algorithm, because that's all the electronic-type stuff I've been listening to lately. Sorry, no super obscure trance-house-drum-and-bass today, just the tasty peanut butter cup of electronic music and metal mashed together. This time around I'm going with "Logic Bomb", from Remi's 2012 debut LP Polymorphic Code. Bust out your glow sticks and crank it.
Monday: Of Modern Architecture - Mountains
I've got some rocking proggy post-metal from BC for your Monday song, and I've got it in a couple of different flavours.
If you're new to Vancouver's Of Modern Architecture, you might perhaps elect to start of with the album version of your Monday song "Mountains" as it appeared on the band's latest EP Wilderness. If, however, that standard nine-minute journey through genres and emotions is old hat, or if you're just feeling saucy, you might instead choose to go with the recently released bass playthrough video for "Mountains", taken from the recording sessions for Wilderness that strips the track back (if you're cool with calling something that continues to be this epic 'stripped back') to an instrumental odyssey.
Vocals or no, this one's worth checking out, so pick your poison from above and get cracking.
If you're new to Vancouver's Of Modern Architecture, you might perhaps elect to start of with the album version of your Monday song "Mountains" as it appeared on the band's latest EP Wilderness. If, however, that standard nine-minute journey through genres and emotions is old hat, or if you're just feeling saucy, you might instead choose to go with the recently released bass playthrough video for "Mountains", taken from the recording sessions for Wilderness that strips the track back (if you're cool with calling something that continues to be this epic 'stripped back') to an instrumental odyssey.
Vocals or no, this one's worth checking out, so pick your poison from above and get cracking.
Monday, 4 May 2015
Sunday: Polyphia - Aviator
I'm going noodly and instrumental for your Sunday song, which kinda sounds like the start of some kind of inappropriate joke about an Asian restaurant. But rest assured, today's noodling is all sweet, no sour.
Yes, that was pretty bad, but the guitar work from the guys in Polyphia, along with guest Jason Richardson, should be enough to make up for it. The band recently signed to Equal Vision, leading to the rerelease last month of their debut LP Muse, and smart lads that they are, they're supporting the record with a tasty tour (with Dance Gavin Dance, Hail the Sun, and Stolas, no less!) and a new video for the song "Aviator".
Whammy work and other fancy string slinging abounds here, starting off bubbly and upbeat before eventually taking a more menacingly metal-sounding turn, with melody a heavy emphasis throughout. "Aviator" and Muse are good, but give Polyphia a little more maturity and they could really be a force to be reckoned with.
Yes, that was pretty bad, but the guitar work from the guys in Polyphia, along with guest Jason Richardson, should be enough to make up for it. The band recently signed to Equal Vision, leading to the rerelease last month of their debut LP Muse, and smart lads that they are, they're supporting the record with a tasty tour (with Dance Gavin Dance, Hail the Sun, and Stolas, no less!) and a new video for the song "Aviator".
Whammy work and other fancy string slinging abounds here, starting off bubbly and upbeat before eventually taking a more menacingly metal-sounding turn, with melody a heavy emphasis throughout. "Aviator" and Muse are good, but give Polyphia a little more maturity and they could really be a force to be reckoned with.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
Saturday: Valkyrie - Wintry Plains
Moving away now from the slice of melancholy that was Friday's song, I've got a chilly belated Saturday song for you to chill to, courtesy of Baroness guitarist Pete Adams.
In addition to his duties in Baroness, Pete plays in a little project called Valkyrie that's got a new record coming out in a couple of weeks. More importantly, Valkyrie is streaming a new song in advance of the release of Shadows, so you get the advance chance to check things out and see what you think.
While it certainly doesn't just sound like something from a Baroness clone, "Wintry Plains" definitely does have the southern-fried sludginess you'd expect from an alumni of such an act. Have a listen and see if Shadows might be your kind of jams. Oh, and check out what is presumably some pretty sweet album art!
In addition to his duties in Baroness, Pete plays in a little project called Valkyrie that's got a new record coming out in a couple of weeks. More importantly, Valkyrie is streaming a new song in advance of the release of Shadows, so you get the advance chance to check things out and see what you think.
While it certainly doesn't just sound like something from a Baroness clone, "Wintry Plains" definitely does have the southern-fried sludginess you'd expect from an alumni of such an act. Have a listen and see if Shadows might be your kind of jams. Oh, and check out what is presumably some pretty sweet album art!
Friday: The Beatles - In My Life
Funerals and memorial services are never fun (excluding, of course, your Irish wakes and suchlike). No matter the circumstances, no matter your emotional proximity to the deceased or their relatives, these kinds of occasions are always, to put it flippantly, a downer.
But funerals and memorial services can also be occasion for families reconnecting, for nostalgic trips down memory lane, for leafing through photo albums and sharing again all the stories connected with each frozen moment in time. As I start the usual process of catching up on a few missed days, it is in this bittersweet spirit that I've picked your belated Friday song.
That song is "In My Life" from the classic 1965 album Rubber Soul by The Beatles. Even as a kid I found this a beautiful but melancholy song, and as I get older "In My Life" only gets more poignant. Put this one on and raise a glass to everyone, dead or living, that you've loved in your life.
But funerals and memorial services can also be occasion for families reconnecting, for nostalgic trips down memory lane, for leafing through photo albums and sharing again all the stories connected with each frozen moment in time. As I start the usual process of catching up on a few missed days, it is in this bittersweet spirit that I've picked your belated Friday song.
That song is "In My Life" from the classic 1965 album Rubber Soul by The Beatles. Even as a kid I found this a beautiful but melancholy song, and as I get older "In My Life" only gets more poignant. Put this one on and raise a glass to everyone, dead or living, that you've loved in your life.
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