What are you listening to?

[tuonelan]

Coming to LA in Feb.: Amon Amarth, Enslaved, Skeletonwitch.

Oh, HELLS yes! :Smokin:

 

[papajohnny]

^

I envy you.
What's that about Hegg being in some Viking film or something? Filmed in South Africa.


As for the thread:




I'm in love with this band. One of the original Finnish thrash bands, but I don't know anything else about them, but maybe I've mentioned them already.
If someone would shed some light on them, I'd really appreciate it.

There aren't even lyrics online, but this guy knows how to bark.

 

[Tiiti]

Wolfheart - Winterborn.
Pure awesomeness.
Listen to it again and again. And once more.

 

[xptrinity]

Orphaned Land, again. I figured it'd be good fun, so I got a ticket.
But I gotta catch up with Monster Magnet's new album, which, I am told is available somewhere for streaming... Guess will catch up with it in the weekend.

 

[xptrinity]

Klone Orphaned Land were pretty good, but Klone blew my mind. Those Frenchies are gonna get far, mark my words... And I'm trying to figure out who those vocals remind me of.
BTW, it turned out Kobi Farhi's great parents on both sides are Bulgarian Jews, so he has some pretty decent phrases in Bulgarian. I guess that if we hadn't saved our Jews from Hitler, there wouldn't have been Orphaned Land now.

 

[tuonelan]

I always though of Klone as being kind of like Tool with Gavin Rossdale on vocals.

Awesome band.

 

[xptrinity]

Yep, the Tool part was obvious, but you're damned right about Gavin Rossdale. I was certain it's an American band, but couldn't quite figure out which one, as I only had a very brief infatuation with Bush - Gavin Rossdale in particular, and a long time ago
Anyway, everyone last night seemed to be very positively impressed with Klone. There were maybe three people in the rather small crowd who knew them beforehand, but there was a rush to the merch stand after their set. And I have only heard them yesterday afternoon, but was intrigued enough to rush to the gig straight from work, instead of going later for Orphaned Land only.
I was standing with a prominent Sofia shrink, know in his free time as "The Motorhead", who was repeating "Those guys are good!", bobbing his head.

 

[Luoto]

Not album of the year material by a long shot, but Alter Bridge got some killer stuff on Fortress. Refreshing to hear an alternative rock/metal band take some Opeth influence in.

 

[papajohnny]

Sweet song.

 

[Eurynome]

The whole new Viikate album is quite nice - no surprises on it, but I like it. Would be weird after all if Viikate tried to sound like anything else. (Maybe I'm stating this because I'm frustrated by trying hard to get into the new Ihsahn album and instead feel more and more put off by it. The first few songs are the quality stuff I expected, but the second half... I trust there's a purpose to it, but to a simple listener like myself it sounds like experimenting for the sake of being experimental while not really getting anywhere. Far from the "wow" effect Enslaved's brand of experimentalism had on me a year ago. Makes me kinda hope next year's Emperor reunion will get Mr I. back on track.)

 

[Luoto]

For me the last two Viikate albums have been just OK, and not on par with what the preceeding four are. Tervaskanto is one of the better songs on that record.

Been listening to Resign Due, the sophomore album from the Finnish prog metal band Constantine. They sort of did an "Elegy" and evolved into a more modern sound with virtually no loss of quality in songwriting, which is a feat for pretty much any band. Vocals sound a little strained at times, but often it's compensated by a major plus. Streaming on Soundcloud at least until the official release on Monday.

 

[tuonelan]

(Maybe I'm stating this because I'm frustrated by trying hard to get into the new Ihsahn album and instead feel more and more put off by it. The first few songs are the quality stuff I expected, but the second half... I trust there's a purpose to it, but to a simple listener like myself it sounds like experimenting for the sake of being experimental while not really getting anywhere. Far from the "wow" effect Enslaved's brand of experimentalism had on me a year ago. Makes me kinda hope next year's Emperor reunion will get Mr I. back on track.)

That's the way I feel about the last few Ihsahn releases as well...pretty much since angL. He's been exploring a type of progressive metal that takes talent to compose, but that feels to me like it lacks a unifying structure or feel. Your example of Enslaved's last few is spot on there. I'm especially thinking of something like Night Sight off of Axioma Ethica Odini:



The buildup from the 70s Prog opening as Grutle's shriek slips in underneath Herbrand's clean vocals before the whole thing breaks loose and opens up at the 1:56 mark is breathtaking.

Not that everything has to work together and build for a song to be effective. Meshuggah's more experimental stuff comes to mind here where chaos *is* the unifying feature, but stuff like I and Catch Thirty-three cover a lot less stylistic ground than Ihsahn's more eclectic compositions and that bare bones Djent sound helps hold the chaos together.

I'm not ever one to say that a musician or band has lost the plot. Ihsahn seems pleased with his latest releases and they have found an appreciative audience, so who am I to say he should be doing differently? I just know that his work is drifting farther away from the sort of progressive metal that I find compelling. I'm sure there are plenty of Ihsahn or Dream Theater fans who would think that Enslaved song was too slow or boring or retro or un-technical to please them.

It takes all kinds.

At least they are not listening to prepackaged commercial autotune pop shit.

 

[xptrinity]

That's the way I feel about the last few Ihsahn releases as well...pretty much since angL.

After was pretty good too, imho. But the next one I didn't get. And wasn't even aware that there is a new one. Not sure I'm gonna check it out.
Much respect to Ihsahn, of course, but I think that in the past few years he indulges in pointless musical wanking, which only he enjoys and/or understands. And the hardcore fans, but since I don't count myself among them, I'm not going to bother.

 

[Eurynome]

AngL was a mixed bag, but After is somewhere in my Top 5 for 2010. I also liked most of Eremita, the only passage I found somewhat annoying was the drawn-out middle part of "The Grave". Unfortunately much of the new album continues exactly into that direction. Sure, Ihsahn is free to do as he pleases and much of the irony contained in my post above was directed at myself - if I favor Viikate sticking to their mold (agreeing with Blizk, though, that the new one is not their best) over Ihsahn's experiments, does that make me a boring old fart? But then again, my own fresh-eared, adventurous teenage self reacted no differently whatsoever when first (and ever after) listening to "Chushingura" and "A Small Package Of Value [etc.]" by my then-favorite band Jefferson Airplane. (In their case, part of the blame could be laid on Stan Owsley and Albert Hoffmann, which I don't assume in Ihsahn's case.) Avant-garde is as valid an art form as any, but personally, I'm a sucker for a good composition and a recognizable melody. If Iwant random noise, I open the window.

NP - Fire Meets Ice by Ereb Altor. Very Bathory-like, but that's no bad thing at all in my book.

 

[xptrinity]

Joe Bonamassa. I love blues and have been vaguely aware of his existence (Black Country Communion with Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian), but they played him on the radio today and I flipped out. Tangra, both as an FM and internet radio, is the institution solely responsible for the formation of my musical taste.

 

[xptrinity]

 

[Karhu]

Sweet song.

LOVE it! LOL So the Quentin T influence spreading?

I'm gonna watch that again and spread the word.

(I like goofy weird shit if yew don't know)

 

[Karhu]

It takes all kinds.

At least they are not listening to prepackaged commercial autotune pop shit.

 

[Karhu]

Lots of songs about "rivers" last few years. I flow with it.

 

[Eurynome]

LOVE it! LOL So the Quentin T influence spreading?

I'm gonna watch that again and spread the word.

(I like goofy weird shit if yew don't know)

BTW the drink offered at the end of the video will be in stores soon, Inferno already tested it.