Projector - First Reaction

[Zephyrus]

A couple months ago I made a thread here regarding The Mind's I and what to expect from it. At this point I must say it is a terrific album which sets itself apart from other releases. Truly outstanding.
In that same thread I asked where to go from there, whether to get Projector or Skydancer/Of Chaos.... I was weary of getting Projector because my impression was that it was a weak album, what with all the clean vocals and less aggression.

Well, a couple days ago I finally bought Projector and in the car tonight I gave it a go. I was amazed, the guitar work was not like other albums, but still crushing and full of melody. The drums sounded great with the atmospheric snare. Stanne's growls were top-notch.

And then the cleans. About a year ago I sampled the album and heard the cleans, and was turned off by the "sad cowboy moans" that I seemed to be hearing. Listening to the album as a whole today, the vocals sounded fresher and fit well when accompanied by a wall of sound and a chilling atmosphere. The vocals are no longer depressing but more inspiring.

As for the aggression factor, my expectations were exceeded by many killer songs to supply my need for speed, while the slower, softer parts were well-executed and full of emotion.

Note that this was my reaction upon first listen, so I expect future rewards from repeated listens to this DT masterpiece.

Skydancer/Of Chaos... is the next potential acquisition of mine and hopefully I will soon purchase this as the final component to my DT collection. I'll be seeing them live on March 23rd in Worcester, MA, and I would love to hear a couple Projector songs during that evening.

 

[GONE Ridin' Hood]

Hey Zephyrus great to see ye around here!

I'm glad ye liked the Projector album, and I totally agree with you, it's really awesome!

One of the facts that i like the most of Projector is that it lets people who don't like death-style vocals get into DT, and since they'll usually like it, they'll dig the other albums . This is what happened with pretty Mrs.Gigi .

 

[stardrowned]

I didn't really like Projector back then, I hated it actually. And I don't like the clean vocals either. But now, I'm giving it some listens and some songs are awesome! The only song I liked from Projector was On Your Time, now I like a few more like Freecard and ThereIn. But Projector is certainly not my favorite dt album...

- well... that's just my opinion.

 

[Matse]

Since I don't care about aggresion Projector is probably my favorite album. I'm usually more into the heavier death metal, but I love every single second of the Projector album. My favorite songs are "to a bitter halt" and "nether novas". What I like most on the album is the mixture of all the different styles.

 

[ForgottenTears]

I loved projector. pure musical vanguard.
It's not my favourite one, but it is awesome...

 

[marduk1507]

@Zephyrus: you are a true example to all who want to embark in buying/listening to new stuff from DT. I really like the way you described your thoughts and feelings on the album, and how you managed to get over your previous antipathies towards (no more teasing rahvin ) the clean vocals. With Skydancer youre in for another fantastic voyage, so enjoy it to the fullest. And I would really like to know what would/do you think about Damage Done and Character.

 

[Kovenant84]

I'm gonna have to go back and listen to projector some more. I took another listen (after a year or two away from it) this morning, and now I remember why I loved Nether Novas so much.

~kov.

 

[InsArtTure]

The first DT song I heard back then was Free Card. It was the first of DT at all. I loved it. It was a part of a compilation without a name so I didnt know it was this band's.

An year later I got the DT discography and was amazed to hear THIS song be theirs.

Anyway, I've been in love with Projector long before I knew the band exists.

 

[Zephyrus]

And I would really like to know what would/do you think about Damage Done and Character.

Character and Damage Done were the first two DT albums I ever owned, and I still love them. I find myself listening to Character more often than DD songs, so the new album should be at least a satisfying experience.

 

[stardrowned]

dt can do much better than Character. Damage Done is my favorite for sure though.

 

[marduk1507]

Character and Damage Done were the first two DT albums I ever owned, and I still love them. I find myself listening to Character more often than DD songs, so the new album should be at least a satisfying experience.

Oh, ok, them being your first two albums from DT changes the whole perspective, so I understand that you love these albums. I started with Skydancer back in oh I cant remember, so my view of the last two releases is different.

 

[Anthony3]

Projector is awesome. They should play more songs from it live.

 

[Heavy Metal Haiku]

Nice to see this album continue to build a following. Projector continues to grow on me after owning it three years. Being drawn to the more experimental side of any band, I chose it as my 2nd album after DD. I immediately fell in love with FreeCard, UndoControl intrigued me with the female vocals, and Dobermann caught my ear with opening major key guitar melody (major keys being rare in DT), but the rest took more time.

Especially the clean vocals took some getting used to, not so much because they're "sad cowboy monas" -- being a fan of country, folk, blues, and Americana, I have no problem with crooning--but because I don't feel he has that strong or effective a singing voice, often sounding self-conscious or forced, though in some parts they sound rich and natural enough to work in context. Anyway, I would describe his cleans as more Goth than cowboy. Or shall we say "Goth cowboy." Maybe my misgivings have more to do with my anti-goth tastes than his talent.

Overall, Projector is the DT record I can most easily listen to all the way through in one sitting, due to the variety in vocals, riffs, tempos, keys, and instrumentation. Each song is unique, filling a role in the arc of the record. This is one of their most creative periods, as many of the musical ideas strike me as particularly fresh and original. The production values are topnotch too.
Actually, instead of talking about it, I need to listen to it right now...

 

[brownden]

Its funny that this thread came up when it did because i just picked up projector and wow its quite different from their other albums, but in a good way. the singing took a little getting used to but i think it's a pretty solid album, one of their better ones for sure.

 

[hibernal_dream]

Projector is for me the one DT album that never gets old. It really manages to stand the test of time without getting boring, and it's obvious the songs are really well thought out. The diversity helps too

 

[IntoPhagist]

Overall its one of my least Favorite Dt albums and i can't stand the singing, i think he has an awesome voice as shown on Haven/Fiction but he is def to Low sounding on Porjector gives me the Douce Chills when i listen! : / but It does have some kick ass tunes on it and has grown on me in the last couple years. If i had to rate all the albums it would go like this -

Skydancer - 7.5/10
Gallery - 10/10
Minds I - 8.5/10
Projector - 6.5/10 (still love it, i mean it is DT just i think this is how i would rate it) still above avg. just nothing to exciting for my ears.
Haven - 9.5/10
Damage Done - 9.5/10
Character - 7/10
Fiction 8/10

 

[Silence:.::]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa best DT album ever!!!!
I fuckin' love it!
When I first heard it, it was strange, but damn good.
The clean vocal singing is beautiful..
Offcourse die hard death metal fans don't except anything if it doesn't have Growl growl growl!!!!
So emotional, best lyrics ever!!!!

 

[rfe]

Haven - 9.5/10
Damage Done - 9.5/10
Character - 7/10

Something's wrong with this picture.

The first time I heard Projector was about a year after Exposures came out, and I heard ThereIn and Sun Fired Blanks. Pretty damn cool, I must say. In any case, what prevented me from experiencing Projector soon after was the reportings of how much it sucked, fuck DT, etc. So, I bought Character, then sought after their other albums.

Then, a few months later, I have all the albums (except the Mind's I), and now i'm interested in checking out Projector. I download it and I get a bit immersed in it. It's very experimental, much like Celtic Frost's Monotheist. For the more agressive songs, I definetly got a Galleryic vibe from them, especially Free Card and the Sun Fired Blanks. I also really liked Undo Control. All the other songs were good, but Dobermann sucked ass.

It was a great album nevertheless, very ballsy album by them too. Gotta like that in a world of monotone bands.

 

[fos]

agree with the topic opener
more of an arty album but i still love it to death....
really couldnt pick A Favourite album

 

[xenophobe]

I actually prefer most pre Damage Done DT to the newer stuff. It's less commercial and definitely is more unique than other bands out there...