Need music recommendations | 1 year challenge

[L.B.D.D]

close 2 u..

[noname219]

Fitting signature.

[L.B.D.D]

cummin 4 u

[noname219]

Day Seventy-Three - February 11th, 2014
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Full Frontal by Analog Rebellion (recommended by Crazyjayde)

1. Nothing Is Wrong
2. Learned My Lesson
3. Use Your Big Words (Demo 3)
4. Holy Atmosphere
5. Turtle Creek
6. American Hell (Rainbow Beast)
7. Fuck Off
8. Father Abraham
9. Hagia Sophia
10. Accomplice
11. This Is My Fault
12. Bumper Sticker Patriotism
13. Slime

Now that a few things in my life has settled down and that a lot of people here has started similar projects, I think the timing is right to start again writing more reviews. As you know already, I'm not aiming anymore that 1 review/day incentive but if I can find a steady flow in my delivery, I think I will be able to go through the project.

Anyway, "first" album to listen to is Full Frontal by Analog Rebellion, an album I have already listened to once before. I know how Crazyjayde talked to me how much you liked his music. For me, I really can't find what's unique or memorable. It's not bad by any means, but there's very few elements (none?) I can't find anywhere else. It made me think of a ton of other different bands (Arctic Monkeys, late-Queen of the Stone Age, late-Black Keys, etc.) but nothing of Analog Rebellion.

There are a couple moment here and there that it made me say : "hey, I liked this part, it's pretty good, I should listen to this more !". But at the same time, I don't feel engaged and I have a hard time making any connection with his music. Plus, the last 4 filler songs are clearly inferior (too downbeat) to the first 9, which leaved a crap taste in my ears.

Sorry man, I don't feel it.

My rating : ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Besides : FUCK FUCK FUCK MY S KEY ON MY LAPTOP HAS BROKEN IT DRIVES MY SO FUCKING MAD.
Edit : Yep, my computer is dying. I might lose everything on my hard drive. Shit.

[Crazyjayde]

I mean, even I don't find it as memorable than his previous effort, given how inconsistent this one is. I'll be honest, the last four tracks are garbage.

Hope your PC goes better. :S

Edit: Father Abraham is a great fucking track tho

[noname219]

Yep, the four bolded songs are nice.

And no, my laptop won't recover from my mistakes. (-_-) I just hope I can recover my data.

[noname219]

Day Seventy-Four - February 12th, 2014
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Hypermagic Mountain by Lightning Bolt (recommended by rayword45)

1. 2 Morro Morro Land
2. Captain Caveman
3. Birdy
4. Riff Wraiths
5. Mega Ghost
6. Magic Mountain
7. Dead Cowboy
8. Bizarro Zarro Land
9. Mohawk Windmill
10. BizarroBike
11. Infinity Farm
12. No Rest for the Obsessed

A hard hitting album filled with raw energy. High on intensity from start to finish. Kinda reminds me of a less shittier and more insane version of Iceage or early And You Will Know Us. While I'm not a fan of noise rock at all, this might be one of the most interesting and chaotic album from that genre. The math rock structures, groove metal riffs and punk rock elements add a nice touch. The vocals are so heavily processed that in the end, only add another layer of noise. Unidirectional in energy and a bit nonsensical, but the highs are solid. Btw, the guitar on Bizarro Zarro Land is crazy and the album ends on a weird note. Thanks for the headache.

My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

[noname219]

Day Seventy-Five - February 13th, 2014
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Murder the Mountains by Red Fang (recommended by trumaestro)

1. Malverde
2. Wires
3. Hank Is Dead
4. Dirt Wizard
5. Throw Up
6. Painted Parade
7. Number Thirteen
8. Into the Eye
9. The Undertow
10. Human Herd

Like a slightly softer version of Mastodon, less sludgy, less progressive and a bit more psychedelic and doomy. One of the vocalists sounds a lot like Lee Dorrian from Cathedral while the other sounds like John Garcia from Kyuss (see Throw Up for an example).
I remember seeing the (very good) music video for Wires (link) and thought to myself I should check these guys. They have a good sound, are competent and I dig stoner rock a lot. So, that suits my taste pretty much. From an outside ear, it would sound pretty generic and straightforward.

First half is 8 stars, second half is 7 stars. I'm more leaning on a low 8 stars.

My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆

[noname219]

Day Seventy-Six - February 14th, 2014 (Happy valentine's day! lol)
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Intrusion by UndaCova (recommended by EzExZeRo7497)

1. Intro
2. Resolution
3. Induction
4. Suppressed
5. Human Nature (Bionic Return)
6. Kaebin Yield - Polymorph (UndaCova Remix)
7. Sciarex
8. Intrusion
9. Clutter (Atomhead's Flippercast Intermezzo)
10. Fernando
11. Daarom
12. Intrusion (Neurocore Remix)
13. Daarom (Imminent Remix)

He has an attractive complexity, strong dissonant textures. Some very good underlying ambient sounds that I think should be more prominent. I was hoping to hear recurring moods and maybe, more relieving moments of quietness. But that's my issue with flashcore in general, and to an extent IDM. Every millisecond it's evolving and blasting new noise artifacts. And at such speeds, it's hard to discern any pattern that could convince me to return to this genre of music. Still, if I need something chaotic, frenetic and hard hitting but at the same time manageable, I know where to look.
Bonus points on Fernando, completely unexpected beginning and fun experimentation.

My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

[noname219]

Day Seventy-Seven - February 15th, 2014
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Pokémon X & Pokémon Y Super Music Collection by GAME FREAK (recommended by Nick Skyline)

Not gonna write the complete tracklisting, but you can see it here.

I have already talked in another review that I don't really like releases of video game soundtracks for multiple reasons. One of them particularly, is that they are intended to be heard in a video game environment. Listening the music on its own denatures the way it is supposed to be played. For me, something feels off everytime I'm listening to an OST.

I can get over the fact that this compilation has over 200 songs. That's alright if I'm listening it from start to end. The problem is that some "songs" are only 5 seconds long and the pauses of silence between the tracks completely breaks the flow. Honestly, the melodies are really quite nice, but they don't have time to build something worth of value. This album feels like a playlist : I'm thinking someone just threw the tracks at random and pressed shuffle. There is no structure.

Sometimes, there's an electronic track that pops up, sometimes there's a rumba-summer-coco-crazy-bongo tune but most of the time, it's orchestral. The sad part, it's not a real orchestra but programmed instruments. The strings, piano and percussions could get away with it. The brass instruments and guitars ? Nah. The whole mix sounds really thin and weak in comparison to a real orchestra. It wants to be epic, it wants to be bombastic, but it cannot reach that grandeur that makes orchestras so interesting. Nintendo could have hired an orchestra with a conductor and everything. Instead, they went the easy way and it leaves me disappointed.

Un pet dans un verre d'eau.

My rating : ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

[Zageron]

Hmm, I understand your argument against video game soundtracks. Though I would only be inclined to agree with games that release soundscapes, such as Pokemon tends to do, where every single song and sound event is released. These are bulky and "are intended to be heard in a video game environment". But soundtracks like DK Jams, the Final Fantasy collections, Anodyne, ... okay the completed portion of my video game music collection has 11.7k songs in it (incomplete at least 17k) so that should explain itself.

You should give a smaller and more specialized video game album a try. I wont counter your review of Pkmn X/Y though, I didn't like the soundtrack either.

Edit:
Here are a few links to try...
http://lifeformed.bandcamp.com/album/fastfall
http://seagaia.bandcamp.com/album/anodyne

[noname219]

I almost mention that they are some I really liked (the Silent Hills, Fallout, Katamari Damacy), but I feel the music on those extend far outside the realm of video games. It's hard to describe but those can stand on their own.

Also, when the music is played along the video game, I can figure that the music is fitting and way more enjoyable. If it was playing Pokemon X or Y while listening to the album, I would probably give it a 6.

edit : thanks for the links, I like them both
edit2 : fastfall is really good ^^

[Zageron]

Yes. Fastfall, Dustforce soundtrack, is quite "mainstream" and a very popular video game soundtrack.

Anodyne on the other hand is very out there and you have you listen to it carefully to appreciate it. I'd suggest Fields, Windmill, and Cliffs for the best tracks.

[noname219]

First listens on ambient albums are always a bit harder but they can be rewarding in the future.

Day Seventy-Eight - February 16th, 2014
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Heretic Pride by The Mountain Goats (recommended by XCV)

1. Sax Rohmer #1
2. San Bernardino
3. Heretic Pride
4. Autoclave
5. New Zion
6. So Desperate
7. In the Craters on the Moon
8. Lovecraft in Brooklyn
9. Tianchi Lake
10. How to Embrace a Swamp Creature
11. Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident
12. Sept 15 1983
13. Michael Myers Resplendent

First thing that striked me is the singer. His voice is a cross between Weird Al Yankovic and Laura Jane Grace/Tom Gabel from Against Me (on the self-titled song for example). Maybe with the instrumentation added, I could also make references to Neutral Milk Hotel or Okkervil River. It has that same naive but honest songwriting. The arrangements are very pleasant and natural, see the violins on In the Craters on the Moon. In the end, while it's not groundbreaking by any means, I enjoyed most of it. Also, the song titles.

They seem to have a pretty consistent and lengthy discography, I'll try another of their albums.

My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

[rayword45]

Huh, I don't think of Mountain Goats lyrics as very naive but honest, more poetic since there are a lot of characters (in fact, Heretic Pride wasn't very autobiographical at all IIRC, all the songs were about monsters). All Hail West Texas is a bit closer to that type of songwriting though.

And your thoughts on Hypermagic Mountain are... Exactly what I expected. No complaints or arguments here!

AND BY THE WAY PEOPLE I'M DOING THIS SHIT TOO RECOMMEND ME SOME FUCKING ALBUMS http://www.flashflashrevolution.com/...d.php?t=137263

[Nick Skyline]

You still doing this?

If so, I'd like the following albums...

* Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
* Otakuspeedvibe
* Dark Side
* Both Princess Ghibli Albums

...to be replaced by the following:

* X Japan - Art of Life
* Pathfinder - Fifth Element
* Within Temptation - Hydra
* ...and any two Monstercat albums of your choice.

[noname219]

I haven't dropped this yet. I won't have time until early July for another review.

Meanwhile, I've made a couple of playlists, 100 songs per music genre. I plan to make more when I have free time. So far, there's Breakcore and Sludge Metal.
Planning to make one for Post-Rock next.

[noname219]

I decided this week to change a few things. The reviews will be a selection of notes I'm taking while listening to the album, no structure, just points of idea. No more ranking in the first page. In fact the very first post might not get updated anymore. The random selection is now pure random, someone could get two or even three albums reviewed in a week. I already had 500 albums on my wishlist to listen to, some albums were picked by me before starting the project. Most importantly : I'm not taking recommendations anymore. I have 731 albums to listen to at the moment. Oh and, they are now weekly listening logs.

With that said, here's the listens for this week :

Colors by Between the Buried and Me (recommended by trumaestro)
A few years ago, I was just starting to like Protest the Hero so I tried to find bands that made the same type of progressive metalcore music. I remember I kinda liked the instrumentation but wasn't really accustomed to the growls. Took me a few more tries to really appreciate the album. Now, I consider this a definite listen for any metalhead. Technical, maybe a bit wanky but very good musicianship nonetheless.
Best song : Ants of the Sky (White Walls a close second)
My rating : ★★★★★★★★★☆ (9)

Pale Ravine by Deaf Center (recommended by choof)
Yes. I was really anticipating this album, because I knew how well it was rated and I was curious about it. Melancholic, beautiful, peaceful. Has a slow pacing. It was a relaxing listen but not boring at all. Always found that ambient and classical fit well with one another. I think their combination make some of the best background music. Some piano moods are really similar to Just Another Ordinary Day by Patrick Watson.
Best song : White Lake
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

Saturday Night Wrist by Deftones
Vocals seems a bit weaker than their previous LP. It breaks more easily, and the singer is too often out of breath. Some uncalled screams. I really like the harder songs (Rapture, Rats Rats Rats). They're unpredictable in a good way. But the album lacks a good direction or maybe a strong identity like White Pony had. Still, if you want some Deftones with a more experimental vibe, this one is alright.
Best song : Rapture
My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7)

April Rain by Delain (recommended by rushyrulz)
Weird song progressions. The songwriting is too straightforward. I found it derivative, it looks like a clone of Within Temptation. The female singer has a good clean voice, she's by far the highlight of the CD. I just find that there's better female symphonic metal music out there. Maybe even in their own discography.
Best song : April Rain
My rating : ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (6)

Calculating Infinity by The Dillinger Escape Plan
Short, ecstatic, relentless album with structure changes, every so often, a lot cacophonic. And it... after all. Nothing compares to the. Sound : all around. Like spreading. Fire? Yes!
Best song : 4th Grade Dropout
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

Train of Thought by Dream Theater
Dream Theater's response to the increasing popularity of alt metal/nu metal bands of the start of the millenium. Sounds like a recipe for disaster but it's not as bad as I was anticipating. As most of their albums, it's a spectacular demonstration of muscianship but it's too exhaustive in the long run. A bit more grittier than their other albums. Note to self : I'm still not used to LaBrie's voice.
Best song : In the Name of God
My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7)

Solace by Fires Were Shot (recommended by GammaBlaster)
Slow moving. Songs fade in and out. It's ambient. Can be cathartic and beautiful at times. Nothing too remarkable. Very dreamy, sometimes spacey or minimalistic (Ocean M31 - that one leads nowhere and the 19 minute timestamp makes it unrewarding).
Best song : Subslumber
My rating : ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7)

Raw Power by Iggy and The Stooges
Very noisy album with great hooks. I can feel some Doors influences in the delivery and energy. Short and to the point. Iggy Pop expressive vocals are fitting but not for everyone. Has a strong A side and weaker B side.
Best song : Search and Destroy
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

Reload by Metallica
Boring and dull overall. Metallica decided they couldn't care less about making noteworthy songs at this point, which is quite sad considering they could have done so much better than this. They completely lost all the energy they had in the 80s. Found a new hate for Hetfield's voice.
Best song : Fuel
My rating : ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ (5)

The Way Home by THYX (recommended by DarkProdigy)
It feels intimate. Good melodies but I'm feeling this could be better with female vocals. Some kind of futurepop album that feels like a trance album with ambient sonorities.
Best song : I don't know, maybe a second listen could help, but My Own Little World was good. Maybe Black Hole
My rating : ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (8)

[rayword45]

I'm not recommending it, but do you plan to or have you already listened to Syro?

[noname219]

I put it on my wishlist two days ago.