Love or Hate?

Trollheart · 12-30-2015, 08:59 PM

Title: The Downward Spiral
Artiste: Nine Inch Nails
Genre: Industrial Rock
Familiarity: Have heard of them, but nothing by them
Recommended by: TechnicLePanther

Expectations: Industrial is not a word I like to really hear connected with music: always gives me the impression it's going to be cold, metallic, hard, soulless. But I really don't know. This is TLP's third attempt at this rec, after first suggesting a double album with 45 tracks, and then one I had already done, so I had better make sure I do a good job on it!

1. Mr. Self Destruct: Starts with just a drum, nothing else, just one drum which goes on for about thirty seconds, getting faster until the rest of the band joins in and the song takes off. Kind of what I expected; raw vocals, sharp guitar, edges of punk or some sort of metal in there. Not mad about this at all. Big surprise, huh? Suddenly stops in the middle for a really soft and gentle guitar passage, but this ain't my first rodeo guys: you're not fooling me! Yep, there it goes back to the original beat. Meh. And a lot of pointless feedback to pad it out to the end.
2. Piggy: This will no doubt be a tender love balla --- huh? It's actually laidback, soft, at least for now. Think it might stay like this? Do I ****? Hmm, well what do you know? Maybe I have a nephew who's a monkey! It remained that way all through. That was pretty okay really.
3. Heresy: Now it's like some eighties new wave band, changing to a kind of metal feel as it goes. Not too bad though I have to admit. Much better than the opener. Cool guitar riffs. Vocal is actually quite good.
4. March of the pigs: Fast and frenetic but somehow fun. I tell you, so far, the opener aside, I'm enjoying this a lot more than I had expected to. That piano part was unexpected.
5. Closer: Really like the slow techno percussion here (I guess you'd say industrial, but it's pretty cool); vocals are great and it really swaggers along. Am I getting into this music? Is that what's happening?
6. Ruiner: This has a really good groove to it. Haven't heard anything I've loved yet, but getting closer. Great work on the guitar there, and a nasty little bassline. The synth powering in near the end is very effective. **** it, I'm going Green on this one!
7. The becoming: The mad sounds, screams, mechanical stuff works really well here, even though it sounds a bit of a mess, it adds to the feel of the song.
8. I do not want this: Kind of funky guitar here, reminds me of what little I've heard from RHCP. Great drumming, like the whispered vocal, then the sudden explosion of rage. Another Green.
9. Big man with a gun: This is short and somewhat frenetic, with a great jumping synthline. Like it.
10. A warm place: This on the other hand is very ambient, at least at the beginning. Yeah, stays that way. Really lovely. Getting a few Greens now.
11. Eraser: Almost an Indian feel to this. Think it's all instrumental. Oh wait, some vocals just came in in a really, really abrupt change. Yeah, kind of ruined it. No Green for you, my son!
12. Reptile: Good restrained, sort of ticking start, then it kicks up on heavy percussion, and strides along really powerfully with an aggressive vocal and snarling guitar.
13. The downward spiral: Again starting low-key with some loops (?) and soft guitar, turns a bit mad and kind of expressionist later on. It's okay. I don't think I can Green it though.
14. Hurt: Dark and ominous, suits the title. Good closer. Interesting ending. Liked that.

End result: Enjoyed that a whole lot more than I had expected I would. Didn't like every track, but there was nothing on it I really hated and it quite surprised me to be honest.

So, Love or Hate? On balance, I think I'd have to give it a Love.

TechnicLePanther · 12-31-2015, 09:55 AM

Thought you might enjoy it. Check out this cover of Hurt by Johnny Cash:

Also, definitely take a look into their other work if you enjoyed this one so much. While this is often their most respected work, it's not even their best album IMO. For me, that luxury goes to The Fragile, the double album I accidentally recced you.

**Frownland** · 12-31-2015, 09:56 AM

Of course TH likes industrial-lite.

TechnicLePanther · 12-31-2015, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Of course TH likes industrial-lite.

Shut the **** up.

**Frownland** · 12-31-2015, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

Shut the **** up.

Screenshotting this and forwarding it to Reznor. Hopefully he'll listen this time.

Trollheart · 12-31-2015, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

Shut the **** up.

x2

**Frownland** · 12-31-2015, 01:04 PM

It's ok TH, we already know legitimate industrial music is not for you from your Throbbing Gristle review.

Trollheart · 12-31-2015, 01:08 PM

Title: Far Side Virtual
Artiste: James Ferraro
Genre: Experimental/Vaporwave
Familiarity: Zero
Recommended by: Machine

Expectations: Hmm. Don't know really. Could be ambient sounds, could be discordant wails throughout. Might be like a Frownland record. Might, on the other hand, be good. Going in completely blind here. Titles are pretty damn weird for a start.

1. Linden dollars: Pleasant enough piano-led melody with some warbly, samply synths and congalike drums. Quite uptempo.
2. Global lunch: Bright synth, uptempo again, good percussion. Probably could do without the synthesised voice though. Like how the synth gets horny (ooer!). Enjoyable so far.
3. Dubai dream tone: Very pleasant, more laidback than the previous two.
4. Sim: Gorgeous little piano tones in this. Again, the voiceover is annoying though. The kind of big-city theme is good. I like this. Sax is lovely, even if only used sparingly.
5. Bags: The soft, atmospheric choral synth this comes in on is really nice, sort of a vaguely eastern feel to it. Nice little peppy horns, though again used only in moderation add to the Chinese/ Japanese aura. There's either a lot of use of the sound effect for Skype, or someone is calling me... More voices. Could really do without them. Nice finger-clicking. Darker synth is nice, balanced out by a lighter one.
6. PIXARnia and the future of Norman Rockwell: Going up the scale to open a song? That's kind of interesting. Nice cartoony sounds to reflect, I assume, the Pixar in the title. A little repetitive though. First one I haven't been that mad about.
7. Palm trees, WI-FI and dream sushi: Too many voiceovers. Music takes second place to them, which is not good. Don't like this one at all.
8. Fro yo and cellular bits: This one's very oriental, with percussion mostly leading it. Some nice piano and orchestral synth now. Not bad, but I have a sour taste in my mouth from the last few tracks and it's gonna take more than this to get rid of it.
9. Google poeises: What does that even mean? Sort of a dreamy synth with boppier, tinnier ones and what sounds like tape running backwards. Hmm. I Googled that word and just got references to this song. Clever I guess. Something like an accordion going now. A little messy for my tastes.
10. Starbucks, Dr. Seussism and while your mac is sleeping: Nice organ tune with piano, interesting percussion, but I'm still waiting for it to get back to the level of the opening tracks. This doesn't do it.
11. Adventures in green foot printing: This might. Nice bright uptempo piano with samply synths bopping along well. Not too much in the messing-with-voices-or-sound-effects area. Like this.
12. Dream on: Yes, yes, this is much better. Love the melody in this; kind of rips off many eighties AOR bands like REO. Repetitive, but in a good way.
13. Earth minutes: Like the slower, ambient pace of this. Really nice. Becomes something of an amalgam of Yes and Vangelis near the end, neither of which is bad.
14. Tomorrow's baby of the year: Yes, yes, we're back on track now. Another upbeat, boppy synthy number with again hints of Vangelis in there.
15. Condo pets: This one ain't so good though. Lot of effects, ambient sound, loops... a piece that really goes nowhere. Reminds me of that guy The Caretaker, and not in a good way at all.
16. Solar panel smile: This however is a nice little ambient piece. That is, until someone hits like a tubular bell or something and more voices come in, though they seem not to last, and the tune goes on, which is nice.

End result: Probably the most enjoyable experimental album I've listened to to date. There is a point where it gets a little too adventurous and I lose interest, but then it recovers well after that. All in all, the music is really nice and well produced. Enjoyed listening to it.

So, Love or Hate? No hesitation giving this one a Love.

Trollheart · 12-31-2015, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

It's ok TH, we already know legitimate industrial music is not for you from your Throbbing Gristle review.

I believe I already noted that in the preface to the review.
Thanks for sorting my avatar by the way (I assume it was you). Sorry for all the messing. Appreciate your patience.

Running Sarcasm detector .... scanning ... scanning ... scanning .... result negative. Level of sarcasm in this post = 0.00. Scan complete. Run again y/n?

YorkeDaddy · 12-31-2015, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

Shut the **** up.

I mean he's right though, NIN is really just an attempt to mainstream-ify industrial music

12-30-2015, 08:59 PM	#2461 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Title: The Downward Spiral Artiste: Nine Inch Nails Genre: Industrial Rock Familiarity: Have heard of them, but nothing by them Recommended by: TechnicLePanther Expectations: Industrial is not a word I like to really hear connected with music: always gives me the impression it's going to be cold, metallic, hard, soulless. But I really don't know. This is TLP's third attempt at this rec, after first suggesting a double album with 45 tracks, and then one I had already done, so I had better make sure I do a good job on it! 1. Mr. Self Destruct: Starts with just a drum, nothing else, just one drum which goes on for about thirty seconds, getting faster until the rest of the band joins in and the song takes off. Kind of what I expected; raw vocals, sharp guitar, edges of punk or some sort of metal in there. Not mad about this at all. Big surprise, huh? Suddenly stops in the middle for a really soft and gentle guitar passage, but this ain't my first rodeo guys: you're not fooling me! Yep, there it goes back to the original beat. Meh. And a lot of pointless feedback to pad it out to the end. 2. Piggy: This will no doubt be a tender love balla --- huh? It's actually laidback, soft, at least for now. Think it might stay like this? Do I **? Hmm, well what do you know? Maybe I have a nephew who's a monkey! It remained that way all through. That was pretty okay really. 3. Heresy: Now it's like some eighties new wave band, changing to a kind of metal feel as it goes. Not too bad though I have to admit. Much better than the opener. Cool guitar riffs. Vocal is actually quite good. 4. March of the pigs: Fast and frenetic but somehow fun. I tell you, so far, the opener aside, I'm enjoying this a lot more than I had expected to. That piano part was unexpected. 5. Closer: Really like the slow techno percussion here (I guess you'd say industrial, but it's pretty cool); vocals are great and it really swaggers along. Am I getting into this music? Is that what's happening? 6. Ruiner: This has a really good groove to it. Haven't heard anything I've loved yet, but getting closer. Great work on the guitar there, and a nasty little bassline. The synth powering in near the end is very effective. it, I'm going Green on this one! 7. The becoming: The mad sounds, screams, mechanical stuff works really well here, even though it sounds a bit of a mess, it adds to the feel of the song. 8. I do not want this: Kind of funky guitar here, reminds me of what little I've heard from RHCP. Great drumming, like the whispered vocal, then the sudden explosion of rage. Another Green. 9. Big man with a gun: This is short and somewhat frenetic, with a great jumping synthline. Like it. 10. A warm place: This on the other hand is very ambient, at least at the beginning. Yeah, stays that way. Really lovely. Getting a few Greens now. 11. Eraser: Almost an Indian feel to this. Think it's all instrumental. Oh wait, some vocals just came in in a really, really abrupt change. Yeah, kind of ruined it. No Green for you, my son! 12. Reptile: Good restrained, sort of ticking start, then it kicks up on heavy percussion, and strides along really powerfully with an aggressive vocal and snarling guitar. 13. The downward spiral: Again starting low-key with some loops (?) and soft guitar, turns a bit mad and kind of expressionist later on. It's okay. I don't think I can Green it though. 14. Hurt: Dark and ominous, suits the title. Good closer. Interesting ending. Liked that. End result: Enjoyed that a whole lot more than I had expected I would. Didn't like every track, but there was nothing on it I really hated and it quite surprised me to be honest. So, Love or Hate? On balance, I think I'd have to give it a Love*. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018*

12-31-2015, 09:55 AM	#2462 (permalink)
TechnicLePanther and the livin' is easy... Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New York Posts: 1,997	Thought you might enjoy it. Check out this cover of Hurt by Johnny Cash: Also, definitely take a look into their other work if you enjoyed this one so much. While this is often their most respected work, it's not even their best album IMO. For me, that luxury goes to The Fragile, the double album I accidentally recced you. __________________ Many have tried to destroy it... but... true evil never dies. It is only... REBORN *SUGGEST ME AN ALBUM* - I'm probably not going to listen to it but I will if you bother me enough.

12-31-2015, 09:56 AM	#2463 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Of course TH likes industrial-lite. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

12-31-2015, 01:04 PM	#2467 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	It's ok TH, we already know legitimate industrial music is not for you from your Throbbing Gristle review. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

12-31-2015, 01:08 PM	#2468 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Title: Far Side Virtual Artiste: James Ferraro Genre: Experimental/Vaporwave Familiarity: Zero Recommended by: Machine Expectations: Hmm. Don't know really. Could be ambient sounds, could be discordant wails throughout. Might be like a Frownland record. Might, on the other hand, be good. Going in completely blind here. Titles are pretty damn weird for a start. 1. Linden dollars: Pleasant enough piano-led melody with some warbly, samply synths and congalike drums. Quite uptempo. 2. Global lunch: Bright synth, uptempo again, good percussion. Probably could do without the synthesised voice though. Like how the synth gets horny (ooer!). Enjoyable so far. 3. Dubai dream tone: Very pleasant, more laidback than the previous two. 4. Sim: Gorgeous little piano tones in this. Again, the voiceover is annoying though. The kind of big-city theme is good. I like this. Sax is lovely, even if only used sparingly. 5. Bags: The soft, atmospheric choral synth this comes in on is really nice, sort of a vaguely eastern feel to it. Nice little peppy horns, though again used only in moderation add to the Chinese/ Japanese aura. There's either a lot of use of the sound effect for Skype, or someone is calling me... More voices. Could really do without them. Nice finger-clicking. Darker synth is nice, balanced out by a lighter one. 6. PIXARnia and the future of Norman Rockwell: Going up the scale to open a song? That's kind of interesting. Nice cartoony sounds to reflect, I assume, the Pixar in the title. A little repetitive though. First one I haven't been that mad about. 7. Palm trees, WI-FI and dream sushi: Too many voiceovers. Music takes second place to them, which is not good. Don't like this one at all. 8. Fro yo and cellular bits: This one's very oriental, with percussion mostly leading it. Some nice piano and orchestral synth now. Not bad, but I have a sour taste in my mouth from the last few tracks and it's gonna take more than this to get rid of it. 9. Google poeises: What does that even mean? Sort of a dreamy synth with boppier, tinnier ones and what sounds like tape running backwards. Hmm. I Googled that word and just got references to this song. Clever I guess. Something like an accordion going now. A little messy for my tastes. 10. Starbucks, Dr. Seussism and while your mac is sleeping: Nice organ tune with piano, interesting percussion, but I'm still waiting for it to get back to the level of the opening tracks. This doesn't do it. 11. Adventures in green foot printing: This might. Nice bright uptempo piano with samply synths bopping along well. Not too much in the messing-with-voices-or-sound-effects area. Like this. 12. Dream on: Yes, yes, this is much better. Love the melody in this; kind of rips off many eighties AOR bands like REO. Repetitive, but in a good way. 13. Earth minutes: Like the slower, ambient pace of this. Really nice. Becomes something of an amalgam of Yes and Vangelis near the end, neither of which is bad. 14. Tomorrow's baby of the year: Yes, yes, we're back on track now. Another upbeat, boppy synthy number with again hints of Vangelis in there. 15. Condo pets: This one ain't so good though. Lot of effects, ambient sound, loops... a piece that really goes nowhere. Reminds me of that guy The Caretaker, and not in a good way at all. 16. Solar panel smile: This however is a nice little ambient piece. That is, until someone hits like a tubular bell or something and more voices come in, though they seem not to last, and the tune goes on, which is nice. End result: Probably the most enjoyable experimental album I've listened to to date. There is a point where it gets a little too adventurous and I lose interest, but then it recovers well after that. All in all, the music is really nice and well produced. Enjoyed listening to it. So, Love or Hate? No hesitation giving this one a Love. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 12-31-2015 at 05:37 PM.