I'm excited. Let me tell you why.
New stuff, yo! There's been a bit of a dry spell recently in the way of new metal/hardcore coming out and finally there's land on the horizon!
Darkest Hour is back in the studio with their new guitar player (replacing Kris Norris). They've put up a couple pictures on their myspace site of the recording process which, to gear junkies and all around nutjobs like myself, is very exciting. From what I can garner from what few pictures they've got up, they're still holed up in a practice studio somewhere writing. I'll be interested to know who they wind up having produce the record, I can only hope it'll be Devin Townshend again, but I've got a feeling they're gonna want to try someone else. More on that as it comes...
August Burns Red is also in the studio recording with Jason Suecoff turning the knobs. Nooooot too sure how I feel about this. As excited as I am for new ABR, Jason Suecoff (Trivium, All That Remains) seems to be pushing the whole radio-friendly thing too hard...which is one of the things about this band that appealed most to me. If the band lets Suecoff push them, I'm guessing this record will sonically sound great, but will be heavy on straight forward rhythms (less of the awesome August Burns Red mathiness), more singing, and more guitar solo passages. In my opinion, the LACK of all three of those things was what I thought put the wind in that bands' sails. Either way, I'll hold judgement till I hear it. After all, I have been wrong before...sparingly...
Protest the Hero and As I Lay Dying have live DVDs in the works...both are AWESOME live bands and I hope to all hell the energy and cohesiveness of their performances are appropriately captured! Oh man...ya...these bands play concerts in my head all the time and I'm definitely stoked for you all to see/hear what I see/hear while spacing out...at work...
Every Time I Die just got signed to Epitaph too! That's a HUUUUGE move for those guys, the music they play, and the scene they represent. Epitaph is still an indie label I guess, but they're definitely one of the bigger ones. It's owned/operated by one of the guys from Bad Religion and is REALLY heavy on the idea of leaving music making in the hands of those making it. By all accounts they treat their bands well, and have the budget to do huge things with their bands. Also, maybe an ETID/Parkway Drive label-mate tour could be on the horizon? God I hope that happens... Anyway, under this label, ETID is going back into the studio with Steve Evetts in April. So I'm thinking new music in Fall '09? Sweetnuts!
Poison the Well are also in the studio...ironically enough with Steve Evetts... I expect nothing but good things from this...although I really liked their work with those two Swedish dudes (don't feel like looking up their names, but I think one of them is Pelle something or other and the other's last name starts with H?) I've got trust that Poison the Well won't disappoint. Plus I've got the third installment of their limited edition records that I can't listen to to look forward to!
So all this is good and nice...but in all honesty, what's really got me all antsy in my pantsy is...new Alexisonfire! Yowza! Boom! Yes! Probably the undisputed champs of fun-time-Canadian-indie-hardcore, Alexisonfire is back in the studio (I think they're at about day 4 of tracking) with the same dude who did their last record, Crisis. I can all but guarantee that this new disk is gonna sound freakin' sweeeeeeeeet. Vintage in tone, progressive in arrangement. Wrap your noodle around THAT tasty gem! I highly recommend any one who doesn't own Crisis to run out and pick it up. It's genre hopping, energetic, melodic, caustic, it's everything! It's probably what a Canadian version of Versions by Poison the Well would sound like...but a little bit more silly. Do this: go to their myspace every day. www.myspace.com/alexisonfire They're posting blogs/videos/pictures every day they record. You can witness the slow onset of the insanity that never fails to permeate a control room. Back in my glory days with the Awakend, I damn near lost my mind after 4 days of tracking/mixing...Imagine what fun will develop over several weeks?! In Canada!? In a studio down the road from a brewery no less... Let the hilarity, and fantastic tunage, ensue. View this video and understand why I can't wait: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=52921041
Get excited yo! I am!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Melody And A Break
For no good explicable reason, I've been on a bit of a non-metal kick. Maybe it's all this rainy weather that's got my desire to run around a flower laden meadow stomping on daisies while cranking Bleeding Through on the ole iPod in check...either way, I've been exploring some different bands and opening my eyes and ears to a little something different. And this is what I've found:
Melody and rhythm are appealing across genres.
Ya, that's my revelation for the week. Of the purchases I've made recently (which include Brand New and The Gaslight Anthem as well) I've picked up the newest Kings of Leon disc, Only By The Night. All kidding aside, I'm kinda impressed by it. I swear I haven't lost my edge. What wound up jumping out at me are the rhythm and melody of the songs on this record. I wouldn't go as far as to say that their songs are overly complex or delicate. In fact, there really isn't a lot going on behind the vocals, guitars, and drums...save some very understated synthesizers...but all in all it's pretty straight forward.
I had a good listen to the CD in traffic on my way back from Hell-A. With the windows up and the CD playing loud as all hell I was trying to figure out what exactly appealed to me about the record. There really aren't any totally bitchin' guitar tones going on. The drums sound kinda like drums...surprise. I mean, there weren't any crazy room sounds, snare tunings, drum tones that blew me out of the water. Sometimes the vocals got a little too grainy (in effect, not his actual voice) for me to particularly enjoy. I guess there might be one or two parts that had an interesting bass tone. I mean, it obviously sounds like a well produced CD, but it's production value wasn't what I was enjoying.
There was no epiphany or booming kick tone or something that made me fall out of my chair or anything...I just slowly realized that the beauty in the songs was their familiarity or comfort. The structure and rhythmic textures of the songs made sense and kept it interesting. Beyond that, the melodies in the songs were really comfortable.
No matter what genre, there will always be times where you catch a passage and think, "oh hey, that was cool!" I was playing some Slipknot for my mom once and in a particularly brutal passage she pipes up with "Ooh! Syncopation! That was neat!" So I suppose what I've got to say is that whereas Kings of Leon aren't a band I would have normally sought out, I'm glad I picked them up. They're entertaining to listen to. There's enough going on in its composition for me to stay interested but its different enough from my normal sonic-brain-pounding to be a nice breath of fresh air.
Don't worry though, I've been sure to balance this new found softitude with plenty of Bring Me The Horizon, Underoath, Darkest Hour, and Poison the Well...of course. I've still got the metal in me.
Melody and rhythm are appealing across genres.
Ya, that's my revelation for the week. Of the purchases I've made recently (which include Brand New and The Gaslight Anthem as well) I've picked up the newest Kings of Leon disc, Only By The Night. All kidding aside, I'm kinda impressed by it. I swear I haven't lost my edge. What wound up jumping out at me are the rhythm and melody of the songs on this record. I wouldn't go as far as to say that their songs are overly complex or delicate. In fact, there really isn't a lot going on behind the vocals, guitars, and drums...save some very understated synthesizers...but all in all it's pretty straight forward.
I had a good listen to the CD in traffic on my way back from Hell-A. With the windows up and the CD playing loud as all hell I was trying to figure out what exactly appealed to me about the record. There really aren't any totally bitchin' guitar tones going on. The drums sound kinda like drums...surprise. I mean, there weren't any crazy room sounds, snare tunings, drum tones that blew me out of the water. Sometimes the vocals got a little too grainy (in effect, not his actual voice) for me to particularly enjoy. I guess there might be one or two parts that had an interesting bass tone. I mean, it obviously sounds like a well produced CD, but it's production value wasn't what I was enjoying.
There was no epiphany or booming kick tone or something that made me fall out of my chair or anything...I just slowly realized that the beauty in the songs was their familiarity or comfort. The structure and rhythmic textures of the songs made sense and kept it interesting. Beyond that, the melodies in the songs were really comfortable.
No matter what genre, there will always be times where you catch a passage and think, "oh hey, that was cool!" I was playing some Slipknot for my mom once and in a particularly brutal passage she pipes up with "Ooh! Syncopation! That was neat!" So I suppose what I've got to say is that whereas Kings of Leon aren't a band I would have normally sought out, I'm glad I picked them up. They're entertaining to listen to. There's enough going on in its composition for me to stay interested but its different enough from my normal sonic-brain-pounding to be a nice breath of fresh air.
Don't worry though, I've been sure to balance this new found softitude with plenty of Bring Me The Horizon, Underoath, Darkest Hour, and Poison the Well...of course. I've still got the metal in me.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The New Old
I'm not totally sure if this has always been around and I haven't been a party to it until now, but I've recently been listening to a lot of music that I will hereby deem "throwback" music. There are bands I've stumbled upon that are making new music that sounds like old music. And I mean this in the best possible way.
Sometimes it gets tedious listening to all this envelope pushing, avant guarding, forward fashioned music that I enjoy subjecting myself to. My brain literally gets tired trying to untangle the rhythms, chord progressions, and song structures. Its like trying to read Chaucer for fun...it wears a guy OUT! Ya...you know.
So somewhat accidentally I stumbled across the most recent release from a band called The Bronx. They're a rough and tumble powerchord driven rock-and-damn-roll band! And I love it! Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus. Man...the simplicity is beautiful! And the fact that they can get me all goon'n'riled up in under two and a half minutes makes me happy. They're an awesome blend of simple drumming, fast down-picked powerchorded guitars, and spastic front man. They've managed to pick up where the raucous punk movement of the late 80s and early 90s petered out, modernize the sound a bit, and reintroduce good old fashioned punk rock and roll to the young masses...without reinventing the wheel.
Bands like The Bronx are bridging a vital gap between more mainstream rock (I'm thinking Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Muse, etc) and the hardcore/metal scene that isn't quite radio-friendly. They straddle the line of listener friendly and edgy by playing a recognizable sounding style but roughing up the edges enough to make it not only appeal, but acceptable to different musical scenes. I can only hope that this barrier will fall allowing the proper acclaim to be brought to the endless sea of unrealized talent that exists in the hardcore/metal world. And I mean that with the utmost sincerity. It kills me every time little Miss Spears releases a chart topping turd while beautiful minds like Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, the Buckley brothers of Every Time I Die, and Adam D (to name a few) go all too widely unnoticed. Well, I can only trust in the system and hope that those who deserve it get it...whatever it may be.
As a quick aside, it's eerie how familiar songs by The Bronx are...check their myspace (www.myspace.com/thebronx) and listen to "Knifeman" and "Young Bloods" and tell me that you don't get some strange pang down inside your belly that makes you feel like somewhere...you don't know where...you've heard these songs before...That happened to me and I'm still trying to figure it out.
Sometimes it gets tedious listening to all this envelope pushing, avant guarding, forward fashioned music that I enjoy subjecting myself to. My brain literally gets tired trying to untangle the rhythms, chord progressions, and song structures. Its like trying to read Chaucer for fun...it wears a guy OUT! Ya...you know.
So somewhat accidentally I stumbled across the most recent release from a band called The Bronx. They're a rough and tumble powerchord driven rock-and-damn-roll band! And I love it! Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus. Man...the simplicity is beautiful! And the fact that they can get me all goon'n'riled up in under two and a half minutes makes me happy. They're an awesome blend of simple drumming, fast down-picked powerchorded guitars, and spastic front man. They've managed to pick up where the raucous punk movement of the late 80s and early 90s petered out, modernize the sound a bit, and reintroduce good old fashioned punk rock and roll to the young masses...without reinventing the wheel.
Bands like The Bronx are bridging a vital gap between more mainstream rock (I'm thinking Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Muse, etc) and the hardcore/metal scene that isn't quite radio-friendly. They straddle the line of listener friendly and edgy by playing a recognizable sounding style but roughing up the edges enough to make it not only appeal, but acceptable to different musical scenes. I can only hope that this barrier will fall allowing the proper acclaim to be brought to the endless sea of unrealized talent that exists in the hardcore/metal world. And I mean that with the utmost sincerity. It kills me every time little Miss Spears releases a chart topping turd while beautiful minds like Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, the Buckley brothers of Every Time I Die, and Adam D (to name a few) go all too widely unnoticed. Well, I can only trust in the system and hope that those who deserve it get it...whatever it may be.
As a quick aside, it's eerie how familiar songs by The Bronx are...check their myspace (www.myspace.com/thebronx) and listen to "Knifeman" and "Young Bloods" and tell me that you don't get some strange pang down inside your belly that makes you feel like somewhere...you don't know where...you've heard these songs before...That happened to me and I'm still trying to figure it out.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Awesomest & Opposite of Awesomest of 2008
I may be a little late to the list-party, but I wanted to add my two cents before it's obnoxiously too late. There was a good amount of music released in 2008 and some of them were diamonds in the rough while others were unanimous turds...epic failures if you will. So I'm sitting at my desk surrounded by literal stacks of CDs and have sorted through them to pull out the ones from 08 and after spending TENS of minutes digging through liner notes looking for copyright/release dates I've come to the following conclusion:
2007 was way better.
2007 saw the release of some of my favorite CDs. Poison the Well released Versions which proved to be, in my own humble opinion, one of the most progressive records to hit the "hardcore" scene since its inception. There was also Silent Treatment by The Bled, a monument to hardcore that only The Bled can create. Wolfbiker by Evergreen Terrace...don't have to say anything more about that one... The newest edition of the Adam D wave of face-bashing-metal, Horizons by Parkway Drive which in my brother's words, "sounds just like everything else, and I love it." Ire Works by The Dillinger Escape plan came out too. You have to have a beautiful mind to understand that one, but once you figure it out, it's like the first time you taste Mexican food. Man...who else had outstanding records come out...Foo Fighters, August Burns Red, Underminded, Darkest Hour, As I Lay Dying, Every Time I Die.
Welp, no use dwelling on the past. On to 2008...which has also come to pass...
So even though 07 seemed to be more consistently good, there were a few CLUTCH records from this past year. In no order with the exception of numero uno, my top five for 2008 are (band - record title - song of note):
The Bronx - The Bronx (III) - "Knifeman" - This cd, well, this band, is a bit of a throwback to days of a simpler format of music. 2 distorted guitars, 1 bass with some fuzz, drums, and a spastic frontman-singer. I'll be posting something about these guys in the coming months...but long story short, they are some rock and damn roll! It's hard not to want to sing along with these songs. It's eerie how familiar these songs sound without ever having heard them before. www.myspace.com/thebronx
Shai Hulud - Misanthropy Pure - "Chorus of the Dissimilar" - On their first release after signing to Metal Blade (a significant metal indie label), Shai Hulud proved to be quite the little quartet of mathematicians. This CD is just stupidly complex, fast, intense, and heavy. I pretty much laughed my way through the first five tracks because it was like getting sucker-punched by Popeye. It kinda hurts at first, but then you realize how funny his squinty little eyes and corncob pipe are. The tone of the record is pretty nuts too. The drums are VERY up front as the rhythm drives much of their music. Whatever mix of amps they used for the guitars gave the sweetest, cleanest sounding distortion...if that makes sense...the note definition is not lost to distortion. This allows the mathiness of the songs to come out. Plus they have three guys named Matt in their band and that's just plain silly. www.myspace.com/profoundhatred
Bleeding Through - Declaration - "Declaration" - Hell ya Devin Townshend! Definitely a post on this genius coming up in the very near future. He's the mad scientist who produced/engineered/mixed this disk. Unbelievable. Bleeding Through is kind of a typical angry sounding metal band, but their keyboardist, Marta, really stepped it up on this record. She doesn't necessarily piano-shred so much as the compose the various orchestra, choir, and scary-noise parts...they added a rad dimension to this CD that set it apart from a lot of the other releases in this genre. www.myspace.com/bleedingthrough
Protest the Hero - Fortress - "Sequoia Throne" - The sophomore release for these Canadians turns my mind inside out. Apparently, if you're snowed in for like, 7 months of the year, and all you do is sit around and play guitar, play dungeons and dragons, and roll around in free healthcare this is what happens. Their bass player makes 4-finger-bass-tapping look stupidly easy (it's not), their guitar players' fingers move faster than I can think, and how their drummer keeps their mathed-out structure straight blows my mind. Then there's Rody, their singer...he's...well, Canadian. It's really worth listening to...I have trouble putting into words the things these guys do with their instruments... www.myspace.com/protestthehero
AAAAnd number one of 2008 would have to go to Misery Signals - Controller - "Parallels" - First, the tone. The guitars are equally crunchy and delicate. They're right in your face and ambient at the same time. It's a damn anomaly. The drums have the perfect amount of attack and resonance. The cymbals are glassy but not washed out and the room sound fills out the mix. Misery Signals combine heaviness with an ambient/spacey element that separates them from everyone else. Just past a minute into "Parallels" the song contrasts the heaviness by breaking into an acoustic passage that seamlessly blends right back into the forcefulness that began the song. Beyond being able to switch between these polar sounds, they blend the two. Controller is an incredible record that sounds like it was made just for me...sigh…they understand me. www.myspace.com/miserysignals
So that’s that. Although I’ve gotta give an honorable mention to Chromeo for Fancy Footwork. Buy this CD…now...and start a dance revolution.
Oh ya…and Guns’n’Roses new CD is terrible.
2007 was way better.
2007 saw the release of some of my favorite CDs. Poison the Well released Versions which proved to be, in my own humble opinion, one of the most progressive records to hit the "hardcore" scene since its inception. There was also Silent Treatment by The Bled, a monument to hardcore that only The Bled can create. Wolfbiker by Evergreen Terrace...don't have to say anything more about that one... The newest edition of the Adam D wave of face-bashing-metal, Horizons by Parkway Drive which in my brother's words, "sounds just like everything else, and I love it." Ire Works by The Dillinger Escape plan came out too. You have to have a beautiful mind to understand that one, but once you figure it out, it's like the first time you taste Mexican food. Man...who else had outstanding records come out...Foo Fighters, August Burns Red, Underminded, Darkest Hour, As I Lay Dying, Every Time I Die.
Welp, no use dwelling on the past. On to 2008...which has also come to pass...
So even though 07 seemed to be more consistently good, there were a few CLUTCH records from this past year. In no order with the exception of numero uno, my top five for 2008 are (band - record title - song of note):
The Bronx - The Bronx (III) - "Knifeman" - This cd, well, this band, is a bit of a throwback to days of a simpler format of music. 2 distorted guitars, 1 bass with some fuzz, drums, and a spastic frontman-singer. I'll be posting something about these guys in the coming months...but long story short, they are some rock and damn roll! It's hard not to want to sing along with these songs. It's eerie how familiar these songs sound without ever having heard them before. www.myspace.com/thebronx
Shai Hulud - Misanthropy Pure - "Chorus of the Dissimilar" - On their first release after signing to Metal Blade (a significant metal indie label), Shai Hulud proved to be quite the little quartet of mathematicians. This CD is just stupidly complex, fast, intense, and heavy. I pretty much laughed my way through the first five tracks because it was like getting sucker-punched by Popeye. It kinda hurts at first, but then you realize how funny his squinty little eyes and corncob pipe are. The tone of the record is pretty nuts too. The drums are VERY up front as the rhythm drives much of their music. Whatever mix of amps they used for the guitars gave the sweetest, cleanest sounding distortion...if that makes sense...the note definition is not lost to distortion. This allows the mathiness of the songs to come out. Plus they have three guys named Matt in their band and that's just plain silly. www.myspace.com/profoundhatred
Bleeding Through - Declaration - "Declaration" - Hell ya Devin Townshend! Definitely a post on this genius coming up in the very near future. He's the mad scientist who produced/engineered/mixed this disk. Unbelievable. Bleeding Through is kind of a typical angry sounding metal band, but their keyboardist, Marta, really stepped it up on this record. She doesn't necessarily piano-shred so much as the compose the various orchestra, choir, and scary-noise parts...they added a rad dimension to this CD that set it apart from a lot of the other releases in this genre. www.myspace.com/bleedingthrough
Protest the Hero - Fortress - "Sequoia Throne" - The sophomore release for these Canadians turns my mind inside out. Apparently, if you're snowed in for like, 7 months of the year, and all you do is sit around and play guitar, play dungeons and dragons, and roll around in free healthcare this is what happens. Their bass player makes 4-finger-bass-tapping look stupidly easy (it's not), their guitar players' fingers move faster than I can think, and how their drummer keeps their mathed-out structure straight blows my mind. Then there's Rody, their singer...he's...well, Canadian. It's really worth listening to...I have trouble putting into words the things these guys do with their instruments... www.myspace.com/protestthehero
AAAAnd number one of 2008 would have to go to Misery Signals - Controller - "Parallels" - First, the tone. The guitars are equally crunchy and delicate. They're right in your face and ambient at the same time. It's a damn anomaly. The drums have the perfect amount of attack and resonance. The cymbals are glassy but not washed out and the room sound fills out the mix. Misery Signals combine heaviness with an ambient/spacey element that separates them from everyone else. Just past a minute into "Parallels" the song contrasts the heaviness by breaking into an acoustic passage that seamlessly blends right back into the forcefulness that began the song. Beyond being able to switch between these polar sounds, they blend the two. Controller is an incredible record that sounds like it was made just for me...sigh…they understand me. www.myspace.com/miserysignals
So that’s that. Although I’ve gotta give an honorable mention to Chromeo for Fancy Footwork. Buy this CD…now...and start a dance revolution.
Oh ya…and Guns’n’Roses new CD is terrible.
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