The Focusing Blur opinions

[The Nomad]

I don't like the fact that it's already out on the net, it will end in the long run that no promos will be sent around to mags and sites...

Have you thought to send promos of samples out? Can't get the full flavor of the album, but you'll know where all of the full copies are...

Vintersorg -- Till Fjälls -- Jökeln
/* random quote */
"Forever shall the wolf in me
Desire the sheep in you"
-Nightwish "Beauty & the Beast"

 

[lord_storm]

Well i simply must add something to this interesting mp3 discussion. Actually i first heard Vintersorg's voice when my cousin was listening to Otyg and... it was to wierd for me. Then my friend borrowed me a cd (Ödemarkens Son)... It was (and is) awesome, so i bought a tape... but still i could not listen to my tape on my computer and cd player. so i've downloaded mp3s and recorded it as an CD audio. The same was with Otyg: i have both tapes and all discography (this 2 albums and demos which i was trying to buy and but was not able, and the one that was not Released, Galdersaang) on MP3. I listen to it in my MP3/CD Player. And finally yes, i have already downloaded Focusing. I am willing to buy it, in fact i decided that before downloading. I just could not wait to get it earlier. As long as Focusing is not released -- it cannot be called "stealing". It will be stealing when the album is out. But when it will be, true fans will buy CDs. And those that are not fans of Vintersorg would not buy it anyway... I really think that MP3s are great for promotion. And not just samples - i can honestly tell you that EVERYTHING can be found on the net - but musicians still live. Because fans will be buying the cds no matter what. That is my opinion.

And comming back to "original" discussion - i think Focusing Blur is very "weird". But after listening to it a couple of times i must say it is a good album. Experimental. Better than Visions (i do not like Visions to tell you the truth). Still my favorite is Odemarkens and Till Fjälls. Maybe because i love folk & languages of Scandinavia so much... I hope Mr V apart from doing "progressive" stuff, will be sometimes doing this "regressive" thing as to record a track or two more simmiliar to Till Fjälls time...
And hope that all side-projects of mr V will be soon out (Fission, Havayoth, Borknagar)... But i am changing the topic.

 

[Grim_Reaper]

The discussion of mp3s will live until different formats will be available,i think (i mean that many companies now prefer to distribute music via mp3s paysites, so maybe it's a sign of the death of CD format...).
Mr.V, i'm tryin to arouse people's interest in discussin the album rather than discussin the problem of mp3s by asking u questions, but you seem not to notice them...

 

[TB666]

The album is ok.
My favorite albums are still Till Fjälls and Ödemarkens son.
There is too much Acturus in TFB.

 

[corrado]

I discovered most of my favourite bands by downloading some tracks of them and I bought the CDs afterwards (or at least made some friends buying them, hehehe). Downloading music is essential to get into new music just because you can´t buy good stuff in record stores here, so you have to order it, and unfortunately the number of good concerts is very small.

But, i must commit, there is one band i discovered by going to a concert: VINTERSORG, hehehe. What a concert! And I decided to go there at the last minute, just because i was bored! So, Mr. V., just one conclusion: GO ON TOUR, FOR FUCK´s SAKE!

 

[Vintersorg]

The discussion of mp3s will live until different formats will be available,i think (i mean that many companies now prefer to distribute music via mp3s paysites, so maybe it's a sign of the death of CD format...).
Mr.V, i'm tryin to arouse people's interest in discussin the album rather than discussin the problem of mp3s by asking u questions, but you seem not to notice them...

I try to answer the questions I get.....

 

[Ensomt hjerte]

i would really like to hear sth from the new Album.... :/
i think this "medley-review" isn´t good to make a opinion of the new release for myself...
but.. i can wait
and to this stupied discussion of mp3z... if u like a band or a musician - go buy their cds... they´ll don´t get much of it.. but more than nothing.. and that´s the only way to go on...
but to use downloading mp3z to get an overview over a band or an album is a good thing ... i don´t know if i ever had the chance to know Vintersorg´s work, if there weren´t filesharing to show me Ödemarkens Son
Now i got all CDs... ( i love it to have it all - CD + Booklet + Cover-design - definitly the music is the most important thing on a new release but to have all parts together is the way i like it )
it´s also great to get used to many underground stuff which u can´t buy in ur own country...

------------------
Paul A. M. Dirac - Godfather of Antimatter

 

[Grim_Reaper]

I try to answer the questions I get.....

Really, Mr.V, It's cool that u find time to participate in our silly discussions, not many musicians do as much as u do for the fans

"Mr.V, you've told us to focus on the blur... well, i thought that the idea of the album's title is that the blur is focusing itself. Could you, please, tell us a bit about the concept of the title&the idea of the whole album, though?" - that's what i asked. it'll be cool if u explain us the title for better understanding of the whole concept

 

[Final_Vision]

After listening to tracks 2,3, and 4, one thing has been brought to my mind: will we ever hear the deep vocals of pre Visions days? I notice Mr. V going for a lot of the higher register vocals now, with some really odd vocal lines. I just wonder if, as a question to Mr. V, if you have moved on from the older vocals, or if you just feel they don't fit the material these days, but would not object to doing them again.

From the few songs i've heard, I think theres some cool ideas but I have a feeling this will be the same as Visions to me: an alright album, but not completely my taste.

 

[Anima Lagopus]

I have only heard "Prologue Dialogue - The Reason" and The Essence", it's amazing. Seems even better than "Visions from a spiral generator". I'm really looking foward to hear the rest of The blur. 17 feb. is gonna be a big day!
Congratulations with the new album Mr. V.

 

[Vintersorg]

After listening to tracks 2,3, and 4, one thing has been brought to my mind: will we ever hear the deep vocals of pre Visions days? I notice Mr. V going for a lot of the higher register vocals now, with some really odd vocal lines. I just wonder if, as a question to Mr. V, if you have moved on from the older vocals, or if you just feel they don't fit the material these days, but would not object to doing them again.

From the few songs i've heard, I think theres some cool ideas but I have a feeling this will be the same as Visions to me: an alright album, but not completely my taste.

Well, the vocals have to fit in with the rest of the music...I'm just trying to sync it all together, and then it becomes the way it does...

mr V

 

[Alteredmindeath]

I like surprises, i am going to wait for The Focusing Blur to come out and then buy it then listen to it while im staring at the front art while smoking a fat green one. It's only wise to support artist with finacial support so it can support there music,what do you think makes touring possible MONEY!!!!!!!

 

[Final_Vision]

Well, the vocals have to fit in with the rest of the music...I'm just trying to sync it all together, and then it becomes the way it does...

mr V

so its not totally out of the question to hear some of those amazing pre-Vision clean vocals again?

I'm just curious if this is the way you've adjusted your clean singing or if we may indeed hear some good ol' viking bellows again

 

[IanDork107]

It wasn't leaked out online by a reviewer/zine. Newsgroups are the ones to blame.

 

[mll666]

although I loved Visions From The Spiral Generator, I have to say that The Focusing Blur took a step further into some more varied and mellow parts, which made the album sound way better in my opinion. It is obvious from the music that Mr. V is more attached to the mellow material rather than the fast riffs and screams... The combination of both works very well anyways but the more mellow parts are the ones that get me goose bumps! The switch of mood in the middle of songs works also very well. The use of mood switching allows me to always look forward to certain parts in songs.
An important element in Vintersorg now is the addition of Steve DiGiorgio on the last two albums. I really dunno how the album would have sounded without the fretless sound and the odd creative bass lines. Without it, I don't think the last two albums would have been that special to me.
The mixing of the music is very well done. There's always an instrument doing crazy things in the songs, and the instrument would always be brought higher in the mix on those parts. I believe the bass had an essential role to play here. The bass lines just added another sound to the songs. Sometimes I would think they changed a whole part into a new one.
Some guitar parts are very impressive on this album and I think they definitely top the previous effort. For example, the first 2 riffs in "A sphere in a sphere": The first one with the guitar solo playing over it, and the riff right after (1:03) show some kinda mood switching and they take you from a world to another. Then the climax of the song hits when the time of the chorus comes "From Molecules to giant stars...". This is one of my favorite songs on the album.
The same can be said about "A Microscopical Macrocosm". The opening fretless sounding lines were there to promise you that you will encounter some killer parts on the rest of the song. and It's true, between the chorus, you would listen to some wonderful compositions. Another amazing song on the album.
"Blindsight Complexity": A lot of mood changes on this one. The main part of the song is the top of it all. "Reading pictures through the aura's energy,...." is what this song is all about.
"Dark Matter Mystery"? First song i heard off the record... the start did not impress me much at the beginning. yet when the chorus kicks in, that's when the song starts! The riff played on the begnning when the narrator plays is also very special! the sound of the guitar strings can definitely strike a nerve!
"Curtains": probably my favorite off the record. A lot of sudden mood switching this time.(1:46 would be a perfect example). A very special part of this song is at 2:24 when Mr. DiGiorgio does some odd magic. Stuff like that just adds so much to a song.
"Epilogue Metalogue": a very nice end to the album, very mellow, gives an impression that the next album will be full of those kinda songs, which is great. The whole song features some very nice bass lines too...

I dunno, i seem to be talking too much about the bass on this album. I think it was the most essential part on this record along with the vocals. They both fit so much with the music.

This album has been my chill for 5 days now! been playing it non-stop...

Congrats! can't really wait til the next one is out!

 

[Vintersorg]

Good to hear that you like it. I guess it's a lot to explore, so it will probabaly take a while to digest it.


mr V

 

[His Divine Shadow]

I'm really looking foward to buying this CD. In my experience the best albums are the ones that take a few listens to really get into. All of my favorites were like that. To me that usually means the music is more complex and interesting, and ultimately more satisfying.

As far as downloading, I only do it on very rare occasions. Usually just samples or one song. I confess, part of the reason is my computer is too slow and I don't want to wait around downloading songs all day long. But even if I did, I still would buy the CDs.

However, I have had a lot of luck just reading desciptions of the music and getting recommendations from other people. Even without downloading music, I very rarely buy anything I don't like. Of course it helps to read all the message boards, reviews, etc. That's how I found Vintersorg's music (this messageboard and written descriptions). Maybe I'm still an old-fashioned person Too behind-the-times to download!

 

[Djöfull]

(insert review)

cool review thanx for the info

 

[Bob Göran]

One thing I want to know is... How much do you get for a sold album? Just out of curiousity.

Btw. The album is awesome, definately something I'll buy. Keep up the good work...

 

[Anima Lagopus]

Mr V, do you use Cubase when you compose music?