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Album title: Piano Portraits Artist: Rick Wakeman Genre: Classical/Instrumental Nationality: English Release date: January 13 Position in Discography: Well over ninetieth; I ain't countin' them all! Fear Factor: Nonexistent Familiar with this artist? Oh yes Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Yes Check out more from this artist? Yes Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes This won't take much writing. There can be few people who, even if they hate him, are unaware of who Rick Wakeman is, either from his time with progressive rock giants Yes or through his own solo albums, which, as related above, will soon hit the one hundred mark. Impressive stuff. This is something anyone who loves piano music can enjoy: a collection of rock standards, classical tunes and songs that either mean a lot to the man or on which he once played. I was going to say that The Beatles' “Help” was an odd and incongruous choice, as the rest of the songs are all pretty much slow ones, but he does a nice laidback version of it. “Stairway to Heaven” follows, then “Life on Mars”, “I'm Not In Love” ... you get the picture. Sprinkled in among these rock and pop standards are classical tunes such as Debussy's “Clair de Lune”, Faure's “Berceuse” and Tchaikovsky's “Swan Lake”, as well as the likes of “Amazing Grace” and “I Vow to Thee, My Country”. Naturally, there's a Yes song in there (“Wondrous Stories”) and basically if you like rock or classical music and can't relax and enjoy this, as I think Batty said, kill yourself, because this kind of thing transcends, or should, likes and dislikes, and translates to pure enjoyment and losing yourself in the moment. Let it wash over you and take you places you probably have been before, but in a whole new way. http://www.trollheart.com/speed10.jpg Expectation Index: 0 |
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Album title: Product of Isolation Artist: Sean Danielsen Genre: Alt-Rock Nationality: American Release date: January 13 Position in Discography: Debut Fear Factor: Low Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? A little Check out more from this artist? I'll be keeping a close eye on him, and may see what the bands he played with are like too. Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Sure Don't know this guy, don't know either of the bands he was (may still be) with, so this will be something entirely new to me. Let's see what we have. Well I really like the laidback style of the first track, reminds me of folk but without the annoying whine that seems to often accompany that. Also reminds me of Antimatter in a way. Second track is faster but still really good. Ok so far I love everything on this; it alternates between fast rockish numbers that have real energy and slower, moodier soundscapes that really highlight this guy's voice, which I have to say is a pleasure to listen to. This might be the first contender for my AOTY. No, I don't care about the rest of you; this is my thread. **** off. :) “Back to sleep” and “Tennessee” are particular highlights. Love this album. Actually, you know what? If you like Sufjan this may very well be for you. Yeah, it's that good. http://www.trollheart.com/speed10.jpg Expectation Index: 0 http://www.trollheart.com/aotyth.jpg |
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Album title: Machine Messiah Artist: Sepultura Genre: Heavy Metal/Death Metal/Thrash Metal Nationality: Brazilian Release date: January 13 Position in Discography: Fourteenth Fear Factor: Low Familiar with this artist? I've heard the odd album but I know of their reputation Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Somewhat; not as much as I'd like Check out more from this artist? Yes Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes I think it's safe to say this album kills. Kind of sounds like the sort of thing Slayer wish they had progressed to doing: the addition of weirdly classical guitars, horns and even a mini-Moog add to rather than dilute the sound here, and the album never loses its innate heaviness, but there's a lot more going on than blind, brutal thrash or death metal. Slightly more cerebral, perhaps: the thinking man or woman's metal album? Still blows your balls off, but with a certain finesse that many metal bands find it hard to integrate into their music. The instrumental “Iceberg Dances” is a perfect example of this, while tracks like “I Am the Enemy” and “Silent Violence” just go heads-down all-out metal, the kind of thing that no doubt Sepultura fans are used to, and expect. But there's no doubting that the band are evolving into something new here, while at the same time accomplishing the hard-to-manage trick of retaining all that makes them what they are. http://www.trollheart.com/speed9.jpg Expectation Index: 1 |
Have you ever listening to Sepultura's best albums? I feel like you haven't.
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Album title: Rennen Artist: SOHN Genre: Electronic/R&B/Ambient (it says here) Nationality: English Release date: January 13 Position in Discography: Second Fear Factor: Indeterminate Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No; it's a bit of a mixed genre bag really Check out more from this artist? Probably not Check out more from this genre or subgenre? I guess I have to say I didn't expect this. The genre tags do mention R&B, and there's a deal of that here for sure, but they also say electronic (which again I can see) but ambient? No, I don't hear that anywhere, at least so far, and I'm halfway through the album. Speaking of being halfway through, I'm not that impressed. It's not that it's bad, it's just .... not interesting. Not feeling it. To be fair, the title track and the following one “Falling” are better than what's gone previously, but I'm still not being really drawn in any way into this. I'll be happy when it's over. I don't hate it, I just have no real interest in it. It does improve more towards the end, to be fair. Maybe a few more listens? If only I had the time. Or perhaps not. Edit: **** it. I posted before the album had completed and it got really a lot better then, so I'm updating the rating. http://www.trollheart.com/speed7.jpg Expectation Index: n/a |
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Album title: New World Alphabet Artist: USS: Ubiquitous Synergy System Genre: Alt-Rock/Electronic/Drum'n'Bass Nationality: Canadian Release date: January 13 Position in Discography: Second Fear Factor: Low Familiar with this artist? No Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Yes/No/No Check out more from this artist? Maybe... Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes Says alt-rock but sounds almost hip-hop when it starts; might be Autotune at work here, not too sure. Nice powerful beat anyway. Pretty elaborate name for a band: no wonder they use the acronym, though in fairness it makes them sound like a navy destroyer or something out of Star Trek! :laughing: Yeah but it's annoying how they seem to be trying to be a hip-hop band without actually, you know, playing hip-hop. It's not until “California Medication” that they settle down and start playing what I'd consider proper rock, or maybe pop/rock, but without the yo yo and the scratching and heavier beats endemic to a lot of hip-hop (he said, as if he knew anything about it, but listen to the first three tracks and see if you don't agree that they're trying their best to be a hip-hop band) and “Alien” is pretty good too. Maybe they've stopped ****ing around now. Kind of a little more in the poppy electronic idea for the next track, but I'm still growing to like this album a lot more since the first three tracks. The score may be higher than I had originally intended or anticipated. Ah, sigh: back we go to the rap and pseudo-hip-hop, though not fully to be fair. Pity they hadn't just given that up as a bad job, now I have to re-readjust my rating. God damn it. This is one very confusing album to rate. There, that'll do. http://www.trollheart.com/speed7.jpg Expectation Index: 1 |
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