I've tried to introduce some variety to my car's speakers and it's not going well. I keep playing the same five discs. I feel like I'm not being fair to my CD collection by playing favorites, but these albums just have grabbed me and will not let go, like they are fused to my body.
Need/Orvam - Lots of mentions here and threads about the album and PP performance, so I can't really add much. Simply stated this is the best album I've heard in at least five years.
Prospekt/Colourless Sunrise - When I first grabbed this I was thinking it was decent, but samey. It felt like every song had the same down tuned, djentish riffs and the vocal melodies were too alike. It got put on the shelf. I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago and I was blown away with all the nuances and details I began to hear. I guess the best comparison would be mixing Symphony X with Tesseract. Awesome stuff.
Psycrence/Frail Deception - Bought this on a whim after experiencing a youtube lyric video. Wow, this is slick. Production is stellar and the overall package is pro quality. My first thought was they sounded like a heavier, djenty Cloudscape. The singer has an odd tonality to his voice, but often sounds like Mike Andersson at times.
Mindslave/Secular Indulgence - This came out of nowhere and floored me. This Argentinian band has a wide variety of influences on this album, mostly 70's prog rock. They also mix in some mellow vocal lines much like Alias Eye and some heavier guitar licks. The singer is really, really smooth with a pleasant tenor. The album seems a bit on the short side but it's all quality prog rock.
Marc Atkinson/Light and Shade - I dare you to find another acoustic artist on this planet with a more emotive and expressive delivery. You feel every note and word of his songs. This is just beautiful music that touches the soul. I couldn't listent to this on an extended basis, but mixed into a playlist that also has headbanging, tooth grinding riffage and decscending E-flat arpeggios it's a nice break between tunes.
Cyrenic/Metaphor - Very emotive modern rock with some cool guitar licks and a much better production than previous albums. I find his lyrics to be some of the best in the industry. His voice isn't for everyone, but it works within the context of this band. The album is a bit long at 15 tracks, but they go by quick.
Need/Orvam - Lots of mentions here and threads about the album and PP performance, so I can't really add much. Simply stated this is the best album I've heard in at least five years.
Prospekt/Colourless Sunrise - When I first grabbed this I was thinking it was decent, but samey. It felt like every song had the same down tuned, djentish riffs and the vocal melodies were too alike. It got put on the shelf. I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago and I was blown away with all the nuances and details I began to hear. I guess the best comparison would be mixing Symphony X with Tesseract. Awesome stuff.
Psycrence/Frail Deception - Bought this on a whim after experiencing a youtube lyric video. Wow, this is slick. Production is stellar and the overall package is pro quality. My first thought was they sounded like a heavier, djenty Cloudscape. The singer has an odd tonality to his voice, but often sounds like Mike Andersson at times.
Mindslave/Secular Indulgence - This came out of nowhere and floored me. This Argentinian band has a wide variety of influences on this album, mostly 70's prog rock. They also mix in some mellow vocal lines much like Alias Eye and some heavier guitar licks. The singer is really, really smooth with a pleasant tenor. The album seems a bit on the short side but it's all quality prog rock.
Marc Atkinson/Light and Shade - I dare you to find another acoustic artist on this planet with a more emotive and expressive delivery. You feel every note and word of his songs. This is just beautiful music that touches the soul. I couldn't listent to this on an extended basis, but mixed into a playlist that also has headbanging, tooth grinding riffage and decscending E-flat arpeggios it's a nice break between tunes.
Cyrenic/Metaphor - Very emotive modern rock with some cool guitar licks and a much better production than previous albums. I find his lyrics to be some of the best in the industry. His voice isn't for everyone, but it works within the context of this band. The album is a bit long at 15 tracks, but they go by quick.
