JiggleMonster

That intro is was what I like. Then the rest of the song happened..and I was disappointed.

I'm very keen of poppy guitar riffs (especially metal driven), but once I heard the overall direction, I couldn't continue.

Key

JiggleMonster

chutup

Blank.

Time to review the next album. Samsara Blues Experiments' Long Distance Trip from 2010 (Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, Jam Band, Heavy Psych, Raga Rock)



This album has the Stoner Rock tag on RYM which means this could end up being a personal favorite of mine. Or something I think takes the genre in a negative direction. Let's see shall we.

Singata (Mystic Queen) - Album starts off with some Indian style instrumentals and moves into regular stoner riffing. Really good chill stuff. This seems to have a lot of heavy bass. And some vocals come in. Nothing super creative. Seems like their vocalist is a bit self conscious about his vocals and is trying to hide his difficiencies behind the music. Which is a negative for me. I like the vocals to be up front so I can sing along. More Indian instrumentals as the track winds down. I think that's the Raga Rock in the genre tags.

Army of Ignorance - Track starts with guitar ripping through. Really enjoying this so far. It's just some stoner rock to melt your face with.

For the Lost Souls - Slow moving psychedelia. The riffing slowly moves back into some stoner rock. Vocals come in and we have the same issue I brought up earlier. Seems the vocals were short lived.

Center of the Sun - starts soft, but it's slowly building up. Vocals seem to have a much more prominent spot on the album.

Wheel of Life - We start with some acoustic guitar. Seems to be a track of acoustic. We get some waves come in and play as the acoustic guitar phases out.

Double Freedom - Last track and its twenty-two minutes long... I feel like when a track passes the fifteen minutes it's just a track of wankery. Let's see if this follows suit. We have some vocals over easy listening psychedelia. And now it goes into the Raga Rock. And explodes for some heaviness back to the easy listening. If it's twenty-two minutes of this, I'm OK with it. That was awesome. Here towards the end we get offered a vocal performance with what sounds like Jim Morrison stopped by the studio to do some lines.

Final thoughts: I like the album. I'd say the biggest issue I have with the album is the vocals being hidden. It doesn't really offer anything new to the genre though. This is just doing what Colour Haze did with Siena Root's Indian personality. Overall it's a great album that is quite a satisfying listen.

☆☆☆☆

Favorite Track - Army of Ignorance

Blank.

Let's do a review from Ki's new project Cats with Hats' album Songs for the Living (Electronic, Experimental).



It's no secret that I am a fan of Ki's music. But I'm yet to hear anything from this project. So lets see.

Candles - Oh, we have an Orchestral piece. Definitely experimental. Not like Psychephilia or #####. This is very haunting. It's moved into more of an upbeat feel.

Look Up - Well, I'm not sure what's happening. It's interesting.

Evasive - Soft slow music. Very ambient unlike the last two tracks. Very surreal sounding. I dig this a lot. Some haunting piano in the background. Is that a train? Has the journey only begun? I have to admit, this song just inspired an idea in me. This song might be Ki's best work so far.

Proceed with Caution - As this album progresses I feel like Ki is trying to tell us a story with music. Using the tonal shifts to tell us the emotion we should be feeling.

These songs are surreal and just beautifully constructed.

A Formal Dance - Starts with a Harmonica playing as move into what sounds like a distorted piano riff. This song slowly builds into an increasingly chaotic and angry song.

Final thoughts: Ki seems to take traditional song writing and deconstructs it. This album feels almost conceptual and beyond itself. There seems like a story being told to you in the madness. I'm probably over analyzing this but fuck it.

Key

Thanks brother man. The Cats With Hats project has been one of the most fun projects I've ever done. You pretty much analyzed it the way I'd expect. Glad you seem to enjoy it though.

Blank.

Today's review is Keveltrak's Keveltrak (2010) (Hardcore Punk, Black Metal, Crust Punk)



I think batty recced this awhile back. (Please confirm bat. I don't feel like searching through this to find out who suggested this.)

Ultevid: And we start this off with some straight up punk to rip your soul out. Awesome! I'm detecting some black metal in here. But my general distaste for black metal doessn't make me dislike it.

Mjød: More ripping riffs! Yes!

Fossegrim: Not as awesome as the last two tracks, but definitely is enjoyable. Track is getting more enjoyable as it progresses.

Blodtørst: More badass hardcore punk. I love it.

I LOVE IT, MAGGLE!

Offernatt: I'm headbanging so hard that I might give myself whiplash again.

Sjøhyenar - Havets Herrer: Man, that bass is so powerful. This is pretty awesome!

Sultans of Satans: I'm running out of ways to say I love it.... I spoke too soon. Was that the chorus? They had a singing part and it was awful... there it is again! Stop.

Nekroskop: We're off to a good start. We get some more overt black metal influences. This **** is ripping.

Liktorn: That's a killer intro. Goes into a more melodic riff. I'd be ok with singing over that. The song is building tension for a decent payoff. Ok, shit just got interesting. Damn good song.

Ordsmedar Av Rang: Ripping!

Utrydd Dei Svake: it's ripping pretty well, but I'm hearing some singing parts that aren't very good. I dig overall.

Final thoughts - This album was awesome. It was full of badass riffs that never ceased! I hope in future albums the band kills the singing.

☆☆☆☆1/2

Now if you'll excuse me, Wrestling Toyonuni 2017 is up and I'd like to watch it.

Oh, and stay tuned for me discussing and deconstructing the Holy Gift by Tool in the next couple of days. Yes, it's as pretentious as it sounds.

The Batlord

Was probably either me or Qwerty. Don't know. But at least you have SOME good taste.

__________________

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

ya totally kick ass album

__________________
Music Blog / RYM / Last.fm / Qwertyy's Journal of Music Reviews and Other Assorted Ramblings

Blank.

Today I'm not doing a review. instead I'm going to dissect and discuss an album. I'm not going to do an album I've never heard, I'm going to discuss an album I've probably listened to a hundred times if not more yet I've never once heard it before.

How could I have heard this album yet never have heard it? Well, let's get into the nitty gritty details shall we?

The title track of the album Lateralus has quite a unique characteristic. The song's main riff is played in 9 - 8 - 7 which corresponds with the thirteenth number in the fibbonaci sequence.

The lyrics for the verses are also performed in the Fibbonaci sequence.

1+1=2
** 1+2=3
***** 2+3=5
******** 3+5=8
*********** 5+8=13

While the fibbonaci sequence continues to go on forever the lyrics instead go back down the the spiral.

If you're still confused about the fibbonaci sequence, here's a video that explains it.



Someone else using this information claimed that lateralus as an album was purposefully given to the public out of order. This order he proposed is called The Holy Gift



Supposedly this track listing is the correct track listing. And listening to it this way will reveal what the album is about.

So, I've heard Lateralus more times then I care to count. But I'm yet to hear The Holy Gift.

So, is The Holy Gift real?

It's hard to say. The truth is that Tool is totally pretentious enough to present you with an album out of order then hide the correct track listing in one of the songs.

One issue is that the band said tracks ten, eleven, and twelve are one song that got split into three songs. The Holy Gift splits these tracks up.

The other claim about The Holy Gift is that this version of the* album flows better. So does it? I have to admit that I feel like it flowed better.

Now to answer the big question. Did I learn upon listening to this the deeper meaning. Frankly, whatever the meaning is, if it's even there, it's still hidden behind so much symbolism and imagery that you'd have to decipher all the albums lyrics to learn it. And I'm way to lazy to do that.

The Holy Gift is a unique concept, but really doesn't do much. It seems to me that a group of Tool fans took a song with some cool properties and over-analyzed it.

Which kind-of brings me back to the song lateralus. Specifically some lyrics from it.

The Holy Gift does exactly this. It's over-thinking and over-analyzing something. It's creating that separation* from your body and mind. The question becomes now, is it a positive or a negative to do so? The song almost says it's bad with:

Fuck, has my life really gotten so dull that I'm analyzing Tool lyrics.

I guess, what I'm asking is if The Holy Gift is a negative? Is it bad? It forces you to think and reach out towards more understanding. But is analyzing a song this much a good thing? I mean there are so many things that you could do with that time... but I'm being guilty of all these things that I'm saying are bad.

The band always says, they don't want to tell you what the song is about, they want you to draw your own conclusions. To experience their music, to find your own meanings and definitions in it. To stretch your mind beyond your own capabilities. To be like the fibbonaci sequence, always expanding, reaching out into the unknown.

So, in a sense The Holy Gift is exactly that, reaching out and going beyond the information presented to you, walking into the unknown. It forces you to ponder questions and learn new things.

I guess my biggest issue with the Holy Gift is the name. It puts Tool on a pedestal as some great philosophers that are beyond their time. I'd put Tool on a pedestal for a lot of things but not for being great philosophers. I mean what ideologies do they present us with? To always be out of your comfort zone and try new things? Yeah that's some brilliant **** right there (in case the Hemet heads think I'm being serious, that's sarcasm).

What do you think of the Holy Gift?

If anyone actually wants to read more of these let me know. Recommend an album with some interesting details to it and I'll look into discussing it. I'll try to do one of these a month (if anyone cares. It's a lot of work to do for nothing).