Trollheart Listens to Every Album on Wiki's List for 2017

Trollheart · 03-09-2018, 12:03 PM

Album title: Apex
Artist: Unleash the Archers
Genre: Power Metal
Nationality: Canadian
Release date: June 2
Position in Discography: Fourth
Estimated Rating:

Have I heard of this artist? No
Average RYM Score: 3.44
Must have done something right today! Two metal albums in a row! This one is more on the Power Metal side of things, which is fine with me. Don't think I've heard a Canadian PM band yet, though it's always possible I may have done. I like what I hear so far anyway. She's got a strong voice, though I would say opening with a seven-minute-plus track might be pushing it slightly. “Cleanse the Bloodlines” is very impressive, dramatic and sweepingly epic, on the other hand, “Ten Thousand Against One” seems to go on forever and gets real boring real quick. Yeah, pretty run-of-the-mill Power Metal album; nothing to get excited about.

Check out more from this artist? Probably not
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

Trollheart · 03-10-2018, 10:39 AM

Album title: Condolences
Artist: Wednesday 13
Genre: Punk/Heavy Metal/Goth Rock
Nationality: American
Release date: June 2
Position in Discography: Seventh
Estimated Rating:

Have I heard of this artist? No
Average RYM Score: 2.79
I guess this is the kind of thing Batty would call “goofy”, kind of like Alice Cooper doing Diablo Swing Orchestra, with a side order of Theater des Vampires. In other words, goth rock/metal that's hard not to laugh at, even if the music is basically decent. “Blood Sick” is just so catchy you can't help singing along - “And there's no way you're getting out alive..” Class. Not quite, but definitely has something. The shredding on “You Breathe, I Kill” (though it kind of seems to come out of nowhere and vanish as quickly) is pretty cool, but there is no way you can take this music seriously. I don't think you're meant to. I hope you're not. You can't be, can you? Listen to the lyric (as such) to the hilarious (I hope!) “Cruel to You” - “I just want to hurt you/Beat you black and blue/ I just want to be so cruel to you.” Uh, yeah. It's also a damn catchy song.

As is “Lonesome Road to Hell”, one of the real standouts to be honest. Really rocks along and it's just infectious. The title track then has a sort of Doom Metal feel to it, very dark and grinding, sombre and ominous, and yeah, pretty good too. Though it's a little (a lot) comical in ways, this is decent enough music and I think I'm more interested than I thought I would be at the start.
Check out more from this artist? You know, I just might
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

Trollheart · 03-10-2018, 01:01 PM

Album title: London 03.06.17
Artist: Aphex Twin/AFX
Genre: Techo/Dance/Electronic
Nationality: English
Release date: June 3
Position in Discography: Twenty-fourth EP; Thirty-third overall
Estimated Rating:

Have I heard of this artist? Yes
Have I heard anything by this artist? Yes
Average RYM Score: 3.31
I'm no fan of techno, nor particularly of Aphex Twin, so this may be a hard sell. Apparently this EP was released at the London Field Day Festival directly after he played his set, and not officially released through his own website until July. Well, this may be great to dance to (although some of it, I wonder) but it's not much to listen to, not for me. “Em2500 M253X” is a nice sort of piano piece, nicely laid back, but it's very much the exception. Mostly this is kind of hard electronic/experimental/glitch (?) music that doesn't appeal to me in any way. I do however have to laugh at the ignorance of a comment like this on Discogs: "IMHO His music is better than Mozart and Beethoven combined!!"

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Maybe

Actual Rating:

**Frownland** · 03-10-2018, 01:19 PM

Idk about combined but I certainly think that he's more inventive than both of them.

Trollheart · 03-10-2018, 01:37 PM

Album title: 35 Boys 5 Concepts
Artist: Produce 101 Contestants/Various Artists
Genre: K-pop
Nationality: Korean
Release date: June 4
Position in Discography: n/a
Estimated Rating:

Have I heard of this artist? No
Average RYM Score: N/A
Only once, I believe, since I began this has any album ever received a rating of one. Never before have I anticipated such a rating. But when I read what this was about, I could not expect it to even inch above that lowest possible score. Worse, it would appear (if such a thing is possible) than The X-Factor, Produce 101 allows the public to choose eleven boys from over a hundred to become a band. Yeah: the public know all about that sort of thing, don't they? This can only be garbage. And it is. At least it's only five tracks. Seems to be (despite the explanation above) five different bands. Ah **** it, I don't care. Next!

Check out more from this artist? n/a
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? No

Actual Rating:

Trollheart · 03-10-2018, 05:47 PM

Album title: Sunrise
Artist: Day6
Genre: K-pop
Nationality: Korean
Release date: June 7
Position in Discography: Debut
Estimated Rating:

Have I heard of this artist? No
Average RYM Score: 2.91
Ah, hell with it: I just don't seem to be able to get away from that K-pop, do I? These guys have the audacity to claim they're a “rock band” (Wiki at least qualifies that as more “pop rock”, but still) and I feel I may be laughing at such a thing. God help me, but there are fourteen tracks on this! A bailout may be in order. Well, to be fair, it's not quite as bad as I had feared. There is much more of the pop rock here than the K-pop. In fact, I'm picking out tracks. “Man in a Movie” is very catchy indeed, as is “Letting Go” and the power ballad “I Would”. I mean, it's kind of like listening to the bastard children of Bon Jovi and Westlife, with all the horror that entails, but it's still far and away the best K-pop album I've listened to in a while. Really not half bad at all. Quite surprised.
Check out more from this artist? Ah, no: I'm not that interested.
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Nyet

Actual Rating:

The Batlord · 03-10-2018, 06:06 PM

I remember hearing a Wednesday 13 track on a Metal Hammer magazine comp years ago and it rocked my ****. I guess I'll have to go look for that album.

Oh here's that song. Still heavy as ****.

josht23musiclover · 03-10-2018, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Idk about combined but I certainly think that he's more inventive than both of them.

Woah. Now I don't know any of Aphex Twin's music so this is definitely a ringing endorsement, but I must say that I find this very hard to believe. Like, historically/contextually speaking...Beethoven is considered to be one of the truly epochal innovators in music: maybe THE epochal innovator. Less inventive? Mozart has been astonishing the most erudite musicians and critics for the last 200+ years for his inventiveness.

But hey, as hard as I find this to believe, I'd better get listening! What do you recommend as his best work?

**Frownland** · 03-10-2018, 06:52 PM

Drukqs is his best but a big part of his genius is how dynamic his discography is. He turned techno and electronic music as a whole on its head and never stopped trying to flip it again.

Plus I find Beethoven to be immensely overrated. Bach would be a different story.

josht23musiclover · 03-11-2018, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Drukqs is his best but a big part of his genius is how dynamic his discography is. He turned techno and electronic music as a whole on its head and never stopped trying to flip it again.

Plus I find Beethoven to be immensely overrated. Bach would be a different story.

Cool thanks for the recommendation!

Ooo I can't come close to agreeing with that (in fact I'd argue it's an irrational viewpoint to have for 99.9% or so of us, but that's just an example I think of us seeing the world differently). I am interested though in why you think he is overrated?

03-09-2018, 12:03 PM	#2061 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Album title: Apex Artist: Unleash the Archers Genre: Power Metal Nationality: Canadian Release date: June 2 Position in Discography: Fourth Estimated Rating: Have I heard of this artist? No Average RYM Score: 3.44 Must have done something right today! Two metal albums in a row! This one is more on the Power Metal side of things, which is fine with me. Don't think I've heard a Canadian PM band yet, though it's always possible I may have done. I like what I hear so far anyway. She's got a strong voice, though I would say opening with a seven-minute-plus track might be pushing it slightly. “Cleanse the Bloodlines” is very impressive, dramatic and sweepingly epic, on the other hand, “Ten Thousand Against One” seems to go on forever and gets real boring real quick. Yeah, pretty run-of-the-mill Power Metal album; nothing to get excited about. Check out more from this artist? Probably not Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-10-2018, 10:39 AM	#2062 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Album title: Condolences Artist: Wednesday 13 Genre: Punk/Heavy Metal/Goth Rock Nationality: American Release date: June 2 Position in Discography: Seventh Estimated Rating: Have I heard of this artist? No Average RYM Score: 2.79 I guess this is the kind of thing Batty would call “goofy”, kind of like Alice Cooper doing Diablo Swing Orchestra, with a side order of Theater des Vampires. In other words, goth rock/metal that's hard not to laugh at, even if the music is basically decent. “Blood Sick” is just so catchy you can't help singing along - “And there's no way you're getting out alive..” Class. Not quite, but definitely has something. The shredding on “You Breathe, I Kill” (though it kind of seems to come out of nowhere and vanish as quickly) is pretty cool, but there is no way you can take this music seriously. I don't think you're meant to. I hope you're not. You can't be, can you? Listen to the lyric (as such) to the hilarious (I hope!) “Cruel to You” - “I just want to hurt you/Beat you black and blue/ I just want to be so cruel to you.” Uh, yeah. It's also a damn catchy song. As is “Lonesome Road to Hell”, one of the real standouts to be honest. Really rocks along and it's just infectious. The title track then has a sort of Doom Metal feel to it, very dark and grinding, sombre and ominous, and yeah, pretty good too. Though it's a little (a lot) comical in ways, this is decent enough music and I think I'm more interested than I thought I would be at the start. Check out more from this artist? You know, I just might Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-10-2018, 01:01 PM	#2063 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Album title: London 03.06.17 Artist: Aphex Twin/AFX Genre: Techo/Dance/Electronic Nationality: English Release date: June 3 Position in Discography: Twenty-fourth EP; Thirty-third overall Estimated Rating: Have I heard of this artist? Yes Have I heard anything by this artist? Yes Average RYM Score: 3.31 I'm no fan of techno, nor particularly of Aphex Twin, so this may be a hard sell. Apparently this EP was released at the London Field Day Festival directly after he played his set, and not officially released through his own website until July. Well, this may be great to dance to (although some of it, I wonder) but it's not much to listen to, not for me. “Em2500 M253X” is a nice sort of piano piece, nicely laid back, but it's very much the exception. Mostly this is kind of hard electronic/experimental/glitch (?) music that doesn't appeal to me in any way. I do however have to laugh at the ignorance of a comment like this on Discogs: "IMHO His music is better than Mozart and Beethoven combined!!" Check out more from this artist? No Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Maybe Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-10-2018, 01:19 PM	#2064 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Idk about combined but I certainly think that he's more inventive than both of them. __________________ 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

03-10-2018, 01:37 PM	#2065 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Album title: 35 Boys 5 Concepts Artist: Produce 101 Contestants/Various Artists Genre: K-pop Nationality: Korean Release date: June 4 Position in Discography: n/a Estimated Rating: Have I heard of this artist? No Average RYM Score: N/A Only once, I believe, since I began this has any album ever received a rating of one. Never before have I anticipated such a rating. But when I read what this was about, I could not expect it to even inch above that lowest possible score. Worse, it would appear (if such a thing is possible) than The X-Factor, Produce 101 allows the public to choose eleven boys from over a hundred to become a band. Yeah: the public know all about that sort of thing, don't they? This can only be garbage. And it is. At least it's only five tracks. Seems to be (despite the explanation above) five different bands. Ah ** it, I don't care. Next! Check out more from this artist? n/a Check out more from this genre or subgenre? No Actual Rating:** __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-10-2018, 05:47 PM	#2066 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Album title: Sunrise Artist: Day6 Genre: K-pop Nationality: Korean Release date: June 7 Position in Discography: Debut Estimated Rating: Have I heard of this artist? No Average RYM Score: 2.91 Ah, hell with it: I just don't seem to be able to get away from that K-pop, do I? These guys have the audacity to claim they're a “rock band” (Wiki at least qualifies that as more “pop rock”, but still) and I feel I may be laughing at such a thing. God help me, but there are fourteen tracks on this! A bailout may be in order. Well, to be fair, it's not quite as bad as I had feared. There is much more of the pop rock here than the K-pop. In fact, I'm picking out tracks. “Man in a Movie” is very catchy indeed, as is “Letting Go” and the power ballad “I Would”. I mean, it's kind of like listening to the bastard children of Bon Jovi and Westlife, with all the horror that entails, but it's still far and away the best K-pop album I've listened to in a while. Really not half bad at all. Quite surprised. Check out more from this artist? Ah, no: I'm not that interested. Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Nyet Actual Rating: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-10-2018, 06:52 PM	#2069 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Drukqs is his best but a big part of his genius is how dynamic his discography is. He turned techno and electronic music as a whole on its head and never stopped trying to flip it again. Plus I find Beethoven to be immensely overrated. Bach would be a different story. __________________ 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