There's some more sad if not exactly shocking news making its way around the music world today, so even though I'm going to be guilty of doing a bit of time traveling by doing so I'm going with a Motorhead song in honour of legendary late frontman Lemmy.
Yes, as you've likely heard by now, Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister was finally killed by death (that's a Motorhead song, for the uninitiated, not just me being flippant) at the age of 70. Lemmy rocked and lived notoriously hard, and unfortunately was one of those guys (*cough* Keith Richards *cough*) that honestly makes you wonder how they make it as long as they do. But rather than simply marvel at their resilience, let's remember to thank the gods that we get as much time with these characters as we do.
Since I have somehow made it this far into Loud Noises without featuring a Motorhead song (hopefully my guitar teacher growing up isn't reading this!) your much belated Wednesday song, and Lemmy tribute, is Motorhead classic "Ace of Spades", the driving title track from the band's 1980 album. Raise a pint to this one, if your current situation permits. The metal world has lost a great one.
Tuesday, 29 December 2015
Last Tuesday: Between the Buried and Me - Melting City
Whenever I'm looking for something technically proficient for a Tuesday post, I've got a couple of go-to sources that never let me down. One such well I visit frequently is the catalogue of Virginia's Arsis, but this time around I'm going south a state for a cut from North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me.
Dazzling technicality is all over Between the Buried and Me's catalogue, but for last Tuesday I'm going with the epic "Melting City" from 2012's The Parallax II: Future Sequence. This one starts off with proggy fury, and even though things mellow out and get a little jazzier for a couple of stretches over the course of the ten-minute running time of "Melting City", there's never a lull in the top-notch musicianship. It's a bit of a time investment, but get to the end and I think you'll find it was all worth it. Go on. Click the link and find out if I'm right. I'll wait.
Dazzling technicality is all over Between the Buried and Me's catalogue, but for last Tuesday I'm going with the epic "Melting City" from 2012's The Parallax II: Future Sequence. This one starts off with proggy fury, and even though things mellow out and get a little jazzier for a couple of stretches over the course of the ten-minute running time of "Melting City", there's never a lull in the top-notch musicianship. It's a bit of a time investment, but get to the end and I think you'll find it was all worth it. Go on. Click the link and find out if I'm right. I'll wait.
Sunday, 27 December 2015
Monday: BEAR - The Falling Line
Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays everyone! It's been a slow week or so blog-wise over here at Loud Noises HQ, what with the friends and the family and all the whatnot happening because of the time of year. But as always, we're going to get you caught up just as soon as possible, starting with a post for last Monday.
I don't know if I can somehow get away with an alliterative angle for your super belated Monday song, so I'll just call it a djenty mathcorey kind of Monday courtesy of Belgian band BEAR. If your Christmas has left you in need of some pummeling heaviness, "The Falling Line" should do the trick nicely. And even better, the band released a drum playthrough for this one back in November, so you get something to watch to go along with those meaty, off-kilter grooves. Hit the volume, hit the link, and then settle in for the ride.
I don't know if I can somehow get away with an alliterative angle for your super belated Monday song, so I'll just call it a djenty mathcorey kind of Monday courtesy of Belgian band BEAR. If your Christmas has left you in need of some pummeling heaviness, "The Falling Line" should do the trick nicely. And even better, the band released a drum playthrough for this one back in November, so you get something to watch to go along with those meaty, off-kilter grooves. Hit the volume, hit the link, and then settle in for the ride.
Wednesday, 23 December 2015
Sunday: Sylosis - Servitude
I'm going to let alliteration be my guide as I try and dig out from the figurative snow that's built up here at Loud Noises as the holidays have sidelined me over the last couple of days -- figurative because much of eastern Canada is in for a very green (or greenish-brown), very mild Christmas. First up is a Sunday post from an old favourite's newest record, and conveniently it's doubly alliterative.
"Servitude" is a spooky, doomy, mostly down-tempo number from this year's Dormant Heart by British band Sylosis that shifts gears in the middle for a thrashy solo section. Regular readers should by now be well aware of both my love for Sylosis and the justifiability of that love in the face of Sylosis' general awesomeness, but any of you who might be new to the Loud Noises party need to get on board, especially if you're not familiar with Sylosis yet. And hey, a Sylosis record would make a sure-fire last-minute Christmas gift for the metalhead on your list.
"Servitude" is a spooky, doomy, mostly down-tempo number from this year's Dormant Heart by British band Sylosis that shifts gears in the middle for a thrashy solo section. Regular readers should by now be well aware of both my love for Sylosis and the justifiability of that love in the face of Sylosis' general awesomeness, but any of you who might be new to the Loud Noises party need to get on board, especially if you're not familiar with Sylosis yet. And hey, a Sylosis record would make a sure-fire last-minute Christmas gift for the metalhead on your list.
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Saturday: Pomegranate Tiger - Stomp the Haunted Crown
Are you a musician? Want to feel jealous? Pomegranate Tiger's latest album Boundless can help.
This time around, multi-instrumentalist Martin Andres decided to keep Pomegranate Tiger a solo project -- literally. There's some guest bass work, and a string quartet, but everything else is Marting: drums, guitars, piano, the works. It's enough to make any metal-minded musician wish they could switch between instruments so easily. (Like our friend AJ from back in The Day could. We all hated that about AJ. It did make him a great jam partner though.)
Anyways, Boundless is a solid slice of groovy progressive instrumental metal any way you look at it, but throw in the solo nature of the project and it becomes downright impressive. Have a listen to "Stomp the Haunted Crown" and be impressed.
This time around, multi-instrumentalist Martin Andres decided to keep Pomegranate Tiger a solo project -- literally. There's some guest bass work, and a string quartet, but everything else is Marting: drums, guitars, piano, the works. It's enough to make any metal-minded musician wish they could switch between instruments so easily. (Like our friend AJ from back in The Day could. We all hated that about AJ. It did make him a great jam partner though.)
Anyways, Boundless is a solid slice of groovy progressive instrumental metal any way you look at it, but throw in the solo nature of the project and it becomes downright impressive. Have a listen to "Stomp the Haunted Crown" and be impressed.
Sunday, 20 December 2015
Friday: Protest the Hero - Cold Water
I hate to feature something as a Song of the Day that you can't necessarily go out a listen to readily without paying something out of pocket, but the guys in Protest the Hero have recently released the latest installment in the Pacific Myth song-a-month EP and I can't help myself. Sorry.
Despite being brand-spanking new, "Cold Water" has a lot of classic Protest stuff going on -- high energy, shreddy riffing, acrobatic vocals -- but it's also very much reflective of the focus on songwriting instead of riff-grafting that's characterized the band's last couple of albums. And just in case anybody still had any doubts about new-ish bassist Cameron McLellan, there's a mid-song section with a little tasty slappity slap slap going on, and there's some solid bass work throughout (and it's sitting in a pretty good spot in the mix, too).
As I said above, this one's part of the Pacific Myth subscription service, so you'll have to shell out a bit of change if you want access to it as well as the preceding two tracks, but this Protest the Hero fan would like you to know that Pacific Myth has been worth the price of admission so far. Get in here and see what you're missing, OK?
Despite being brand-spanking new, "Cold Water" has a lot of classic Protest stuff going on -- high energy, shreddy riffing, acrobatic vocals -- but it's also very much reflective of the focus on songwriting instead of riff-grafting that's characterized the band's last couple of albums. And just in case anybody still had any doubts about new-ish bassist Cameron McLellan, there's a mid-song section with a little tasty slappity slap slap going on, and there's some solid bass work throughout (and it's sitting in a pretty good spot in the mix, too).
As I said above, this one's part of the Pacific Myth subscription service, so you'll have to shell out a bit of change if you want access to it as well as the preceding two tracks, but this Protest the Hero fan would like you to know that Pacific Myth has been worth the price of admission so far. Get in here and see what you're missing, OK?
Thursday, 17 December 2015
Rage Against the Machine - Year of Tha Boomerang
Sure, it might be the season for sharing, camaraderie, and joy, but that doesn't mean things will go peachy keen for you all the time. If any aspect of your life is grinding your gears on this Throwback Thursday, might I suggest a healthy, victimless target for your ire in the form of The Machine?
Yes, that Machine, the one we all used to rage against in our misspent youths. We're all a little older now, and maybe our anger has burned low over the years, but if ever there was a time when the world needed a band to speak out against the status quo, the tail end of 2015 is it. So as another year winds down, and you settle into your holiday routine of merry-making, put on "Year of Tha Boomerang" from 1996's classic Evil Empire, raise your fist once more, and remember that rage can be productive if it's pointed in the right direction. Use that fuel and make 2016 your best goddamn year ever. Class dismissed.
Yes, that Machine, the one we all used to rage against in our misspent youths. We're all a little older now, and maybe our anger has burned low over the years, but if ever there was a time when the world needed a band to speak out against the status quo, the tail end of 2015 is it. So as another year winds down, and you settle into your holiday routine of merry-making, put on "Year of Tha Boomerang" from 1996's classic Evil Empire, raise your fist once more, and remember that rage can be productive if it's pointed in the right direction. Use that fuel and make 2016 your best goddamn year ever. Class dismissed.
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