Ice Nine Kills "Safe Is Just A Shadow"

was dissappointed (as any fan would be) when they switched vocals. but after hearing what this guy can do on their new album and seeing them live, im more than happy :) check it ooout. has that post-hardcore vibe i guess.

Lol

Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
http://www.culturebully.com/wp-conte...e-an-eagle.jpg

Holy. Don't get me started on that album. Its truly a gem.

So there I was, trying to donate some time to doing something worthwhile when I thought I'd have a quick youtube spree, which entailed listening to Robert Wyatt's awesometastic version of Shipbuilding. Apart from that song, all I knew of Wyatt was that he seemed like a pretty down to earth and genuine kinda guy judging by his contributions to a documentary I saw about the Canterbury scene a year or two ago.

Anyway, I thought I'd go about fixing that by getting this and Old Rottenhat (which I'm yet to listen to). Needless to say, I'm really impressed by what I've heard. It's one of those albums that labels don't really do any just to, but having jazzy rhythms and quirky proggy time signatures held together by a voice as remarkable as Wyatt's makes for quite the listening experience.


And as for this, I've had a month, only decided to give a first listen about an hour and a half ago, and I've already got through it end-to-end twice. Maybe I like it so much as I don't really know my way around a lot of older Swans material (yet), but I think this might just about end up being my pick for album of the year. Pretty seamless stuff when all's said and done. Oh, and the last verse of the whole album is one of the best song endings I've ever heard.

i think that album should be called Angels Of Light (w/Norman Westberg)

it's not that its a band album....its actually one of the best this year....but when the announcement that "Swans Were NOT Dead" came out last year....and that this was not to be a reunion but rather a continuation from where Swans left (Soundtracks For The Blind)....i practically shat myself.....this album is not that.....and left me very disappointed in that vein....still an amazing album....but light years away from what i consider to be Swans greatest achievement....

http://www.mindovermetal.org/blog/wp...ic-300x270.jpg

The Ocean - Anthropocentric (2010)

It's not often a band can release two albums in the same year and them both being brilliant, but The Ocean (sometimes known as The Ocean Collective) have yet again proved that they are no normal band. Just 7 months after the release of their last album, Heliocentric the band is back and continuing with the tradition of focusing heavily on history and religion. The term 'Anthropocentric' meaning that mankind is the centre of the universe, acts as a great counter point to 'Heliocentric' which of course is the belief that the sun is the centre of the universe. Lyrically (from what I've been able to gather) the album focuses more so on the criticizing the Church and their viewpoint that mankind is the be all end all of everything. I've actually ordered the album from the label so I can read the lyrics because this is an album that I want to dissect further and get into the true meaning behind it. Yet despite their criticism on religion (Christianity in particular) they are at least open to the possibility of something more, the final lyrics on the album even state "Is there something there beyond the world we know?"

Musically it's far heavier than Heliocentric which focused a bit more on experimentation. That said the band does a wonderful job at blending heavy and melodic to a product that is very inoffensive to non-metal fans. The songs flow into each other so well on my first listen I thought it was all one song with multiple parts. Still there's enough variation to quell any thoughts that the album is incredibly linear, following the same boring formula that plagues so many of the metalcore band's songs. Vocalist Loïc Rossettis German accent can ring a little thick, even during his guttural vocal sections which can distract a little bit from the experience, my mom compared his vocal style to Animal from The Muppets.

In any case if you like post-metal, sludge metal, or progressive metal with intelligent well thought out lyrics that transcend beyond the "religion is the lamezorz" style so many bands settle with than you might want to check out Anthropocentric and the rest of The Ocean's discography.

Yeah, it's not quite up to scratch with Soundtracks For the Blind in my opinion either. Soundtracks is probably the biggest headfuck of an album I've ever heard, so this one had something to live up to.

Still love the new one to pieces all the same. As it stands, Swans have just nipped in ahead of Beach House, Grinderman and the Fall as far as the album of year goes.

A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms

I don't like those vocals a huge amount but it still sounds good enough to give it a decent listen ;)