Whaddya want?!

Ilistentoeverything · 12-13-2015, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

This is gonna sound really harsh.

Album: Foreign Water
Artist: George Byrne
Genre: Country Rock
Suggested by: Ilistentoeverything
Familiarity: None.

1. Foreign Water - I hear wispy indie rock. Sometimes this stuff annoys me. This seems to be pretty good though. Guitar and piano instrumentation with drums in the back. Very laid back, with a bit of country underpinnings. Vocals are good enough. A Nashville sort of thing. Beatles-like cello usage. Yeah, I could see this getting stuck in my head. Great start.

2. Goldmine - Lots of guitar. Very country feel on here. Twangy and harmonious. Loving the vocals. Some space rock noises mixed in towards the end. Weird, but great song.

3. Paralysed - Good song, but pretty generic. I hate those weird noises that show up in every country song. I don't even know how they make them. I just know I hate them. Hmm. I think this song is good, but it's regretably generic. Keep getting caught up in this guy's voice, though. Mostly bad writing, a couple magical moments, but great performance.

4. Already There - It's a simple song, but it's really well executed. Another quiet guitar and vocals track. I don't know why they put those weird backwards notes in there. They ruin the sentimentality of it. Especially during the harmonica solo, which is excellent, by the way. Yeah, I don't know who thought the backwards notes were a good idea. They're just awkward and disjointed. Everything else is perfect.

5. Everybody Hides - WHERE ARE THE WEIRD COUNTRY NOISES COMING FROM?! KILL THEM WITH FIRE! Whatever they are, this track is stuffed with them. I really don't know who likes those things. Song would be a green, but the damned country noises are insufferable.

6. Light Years - Vocals are undoubtedly the best part of these. They're the only thing keeping this one from going red. Just a generic country song that's really slow and boring.

7. Tongue Tied - Shorter than the last one. Still pretty uninteresting. And even annoying. Jesus, this is getting bad.

8. We'll Come Around - Even the vocals are wearing a bit. Lyrics are bad, music is bad, everything is so generic and glossed over. I absolutely hate this album at this point. Alright, maybe this one isn't that bad. It's the last song still in my head. Not completely though.

9. High and Wide - Kill me, please. Bad. Bad. Bad.

10. On My Mind - Another really generic and bad song. Help me.

11. Up in Ova - It's all boring, slow guitar tracks. Come on, there has to be something good to finish it off!

12. Paint It Grey - Boring, slow, generic, all of these put together... no matter how you put it, this song is still really bad. Maybe a bit better than the other ones. Yeah, I can get with this, at least.

The country noises are those awkward tones that work sort of like guitars, often coming in so that they can start on a high note, and then go a half note above that. Hopefully someone knows what I'm talking about and can explain it to me. Either way, the majority of this album is generic and formulaic, and mostly really, really forgettable. Listen to the first few songs and then stop, because after that it just feels like he crammed a bunch of bad material in to make a complete album. And that's a bad idea.

OVERALL RATING: 5/10

Haha, are you talking about the 'Pedal steel guitar'?

**Frownland** · 12-13-2015, 06:46 PM

^That was my impression.

TechnicLePanther · 12-13-2015, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilistentoeverything

Haha, are you talking about the 'Pedal steel guitar'?

Yup. The way the guy uses it in the video is actually pretty cool. Unfortunately, many artists decide they just want B-C, or whatever. Absolutely sucks.

grindy · 12-13-2015, 07:01 PM

lol

Ilistentoeverything · 12-13-2015, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

Yup. The way the guy uses it in the video is actually pretty cool. Unfortunately, many artists decide they just want B-C, or whatever. Absolutely sucks.

Yea, I get you. Anyway, are you still taking requests? If so, here's another album. It's from this really unknown band. I don't think anyone knows much about them. jeje

Linkin Park - The Hunting Party

TechnicLePanther · 12-14-2015, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilistentoeverything

Yea, I get you. Anyway, are you still taking requests? If so, here's another album. It's from this really unknown band. I don't think anyone knows much about them. jeje

Linkin Park - The Hunting Party

Nope, never heard of them. Thanks for the rec!

TechnicLePanther · 12-17-2015, 08:37 PM

Album: The Afterman: Ascension
Artist: Coheed and Cambria
Genre: Progressive Metal
Suggested by: The Identity Matrix
Familiarity: None. Been meaning to listen to this band for a while, though.

1. The Hollow - Dark and brooding modern classical piece, with some spoken word thrown in. I hear their entire discography is a semi-continuous saga. I'll have to look at this one, and then hopefully check out the others in sequence. Great so far, though.

2. Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute - First big and "hairy" track on this album. First opportunity to hear Claudio's voice. Not sure what to think yet, it sort of seems like an acquired taste. Very modern metal sound. Meh, I don't know what to think. Elements of prog metal have become such an integral part of modern metal that it's sometimes hard to distinguish them. Now I remember where I've heard these kind of vocals before, it's sort of a 30 Seconds to Mars kind of thing. Hmm. Not really my style of prog metal, so I can't say I really enjoyed it a ton. It's sort of generic, hopefully we get some different stuff.

3. The Afterman - What's this? Sounds like something from the Hot 100, not a prog metal band. Doesn't even sound progressive at all. Strings were a good addition to this song. Meh, too much pop influence to really do anything for me. I don't dislike it, but I don't like it either.

4. Mothers of Men - Lyrics seem to be representing specific themes in this one. I like that, at least. The music, on the other hand, is pretty revolting to me. It's just so depressingly cheesy. Can't give it more than a yellow at this point.

5. Goodnight, Fair Lady - I don't know if it's just that they're late in their career, but this band sounds more poppy than proggy. It's almost like listening to Genesis post-Duke. It's like, alright, there's certainly a hint of some prog in there, but this is really mostly a pop rock band. Really getting tired of this garbage.
6. Key Entity Extraction II: Holly Wood the Cracked - Alright, I enjoy this one quite a bit more. Better songwriting and lyricism. Still not really tickling me, but much better than the last few songs. Maybe a bit of industrial influences towards the end.

7. Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher - This song retains the mechanic squeals from the end of the last song. Lyrics in this one are a bit cringeworthy, especially the "Hang 'em up, hang 'em up now." That's not the best way to use lyrical repetition. Musically, this one is a bit more back to the, hate to say it, metalcore-like song structure. But even some metalcore songs manage better songwriting. I want to like it, but it's really hard. Bit on the keys at the end is good, though.

8. Key Entity Extraction IV: Evagria the Faithful - Welcome back to generic love song central. Where we eschew progressive themes for a love song. Blegh. All the "Ooh"s thrown in are a bit counterproductive. Given a very emotional singer, they may work well. Unfortunately, the lead of Coheed is not an emotional singer. That doesn't mean he's bad, it just means his performances don't feel honest. I really think a different singer could have saved a lot of these songs, but Claudio's Bruno Mars-like vocals do not work well with prog. If this even counts a prog.

9. Subtraction - Don't know what they could possibly take away from this album. Hopefully the title is a fake-out. Wait, excuse me? Totally different band now. Drum machine and acoustic guitars, this song is very different from the others. The vocals actually fit with the music now. Much better closer. Again, still nothing magical, but good nonetheless.

My god, is this what progressive music has become? Pop music? This album is a bit of a hit or miss. They do retain the poppy elements throughout the album, but within that there are clearly more inspired and less inspired songs. I was expecting a lot more from this album, and I'm now a bit disappointed, but even without those expectations, I believe this is merely a mediocre album. There's some good, and some bad, but what it has doesn't amount to "spectacular". Sorry, but I'm not getting much out of this.

OVERALL RATING: 5.5/10

TechnicLePanther · 12-17-2015, 08:39 PM

Note: I still want to hear the other Afterman album. Sorry if you're taken aback by my opinion, but I just feel like the overproduced songs on this album aren't what prog metal should be all about, and really aren't for me in general.

The Batlord · 12-17-2015, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

Note: I still want to hear the other Afterman album. Sorry if you're taken aback by my opinion, but I just feel like the overproduced songs on this album aren't what prog metal should be all about, and really aren't for me in general.

I thought everybody knew polish was a good thing?

The Identity Matrix · 12-18-2015, 12:30 AM

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the record. I am officially recommending the second album so you can hear it. I guess my problem is that Coheed are not prog metal, but prog rock with Pop rock elements thrown in. I like the second album more myself so give it a try.

12-13-2015, 06:46 PM	#372 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	^That was my impression. __________________ 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

12-13-2015, 07:01 PM	#374 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	lol __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

12-17-2015, 08:37 PM	#377 (permalink)
TechnicLePanther and the livin' is easy... Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New York Posts: 1,997	Album: The Afterman: Ascension Artist: Coheed and Cambria Genre: Progressive Metal Suggested by: The Identity Matrix Familiarity: None. Been meaning to listen to this band for a while, though. 1. The Hollow - Dark and brooding modern classical piece, with some spoken word thrown in. I hear their entire discography is a semi-continuous saga. I'll have to look at this one, and then hopefully check out the others in sequence. Great so far, though. 2. Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute - First big and "hairy" track on this album. First opportunity to hear Claudio's voice. Not sure what to think yet, it sort of seems like an acquired taste. Very modern metal sound. Meh, I don't know what to think. Elements of prog metal have become such an integral part of modern metal that it's sometimes hard to distinguish them. Now I remember where I've heard these kind of vocals before, it's sort of a 30 Seconds to Mars kind of thing. Hmm. Not really my style of prog metal, so I can't say I really enjoyed it a ton. It's sort of generic, hopefully we get some different stuff. 3. The Afterman - What's this? Sounds like something from the Hot 100, not a prog metal band. Doesn't even sound progressive at all. Strings were a good addition to this song. Meh, too much pop influence to really do anything for me. I don't dislike it, but I don't like it either. 4. Mothers of Men - Lyrics seem to be representing specific themes in this one. I like that, at least. The music, on the other hand, is pretty revolting to me. It's just so depressingly cheesy. Can't give it more than a yellow at this point. 5. Goodnight, Fair Lady - I don't know if it's just that they're late in their career, but this band sounds more poppy than proggy. It's almost like listening to Genesis post-Duke. It's like, alright, there's certainly a hint of some prog in there, but this is really mostly a pop rock band. Really getting tired of this garbage. 6. Key Entity Extraction II: Holly Wood the Cracked - Alright, I enjoy this one quite a bit more. Better songwriting and lyricism. Still not really tickling me, but much better than the last few songs. Maybe a bit of industrial influences towards the end. 7. Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher - This song retains the mechanic squeals from the end of the last song. Lyrics in this one are a bit cringeworthy, especially the "Hang 'em up, hang 'em up now." That's not the best way to use lyrical repetition. Musically, this one is a bit more back to the, hate to say it, metalcore-like song structure. But even some metalcore songs manage better songwriting. I want to like it, but it's really hard. Bit on the keys at the end is good, though. 8. Key Entity Extraction IV: Evagria the Faithful - Welcome back to generic love song central. Where we eschew progressive themes for a love song. Blegh. All the "Ooh"s thrown in are a bit counterproductive. Given a very emotional singer, they may work well. Unfortunately, the lead of Coheed is not an emotional singer. That doesn't mean he's bad, it just means his performances don't feel honest. I really think a different singer could have saved a lot of these songs, but Claudio's Bruno Mars-like vocals do not work well with prog. If this even counts a prog. 9. Subtraction - Don't know what they could possibly take away from this album. Hopefully the title is a fake-out. Wait, excuse me? Totally different band now. Drum machine and acoustic guitars, this song is very different from the others. The vocals actually fit with the music now. Much better closer. Again, still nothing magical, but good nonetheless. My god, is this what progressive music has become? Pop music? This album is a bit of a hit or miss. They do retain the poppy elements throughout the album, but within that there are clearly more inspired and less inspired songs. I was expecting a lot more from this album, and I'm now a bit disappointed, but even without those expectations, I believe this is merely a mediocre album. There's some good, and some bad, but what it has doesn't amount to "spectacular". Sorry, but I'm not getting much out of this. OVERALL RATING: 5.5/10 __________________ 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.

12-17-2015, 08:39 PM	#378 (permalink)
TechnicLePanther and the livin' is easy... Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New York Posts: 1,997	Note: I still want to hear the other Afterman album. Sorry if you're taken aback by my opinion, but I just feel like the overproduced songs on this album aren't what prog metal should be all about, and really aren't for me in general. __________________ 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.