The Juice Box: Reviews & Other Junk

gotjuice · 11-21-2009, 04:51 PM

So, I've been here over a year. I've perfected lurking down to an art form, and over the past year as I've read through journals, countdowns, reviews, etc., I've lost count of the number of great music discoveries that I owe to this forum. That being said, this journal represents not just an attempt to possibly give something back, but also an attempt to give myself a kick in the ass and post more.

I'm not really sure what direction this journal will necessarily take, hence the title. I really didn't want to limit myself and incorporate only a single genre or purpose. I've got some albums lined up to review and some other ideas I'm kicking around, we'll see what happens

That's all for now. I hope anybody reading this finds it somewhat enjoyable

I should have the first entry up soon.

jackhammer · 11-21-2009, 05:03 PM

Approved, now crack on with it.

gotjuice · 11-21-2009, 08:28 PM

Isis
Panopticon
8.6/10
Post-metal

Isis was formed in 1997. The band went through a few lineup changes and produced two EPs before finally releasing their first LP, Celestial, in 2000. Celestial is a very powerful album, very much a legacy of Isis’s roots in sludge and doom-metal. The album is full of monstrous, sludgy riffs, jagged guitar feedback, Aaron Turner’s coarse growling, and other incomprehensible noise, but under this sonic assault is the foundation for Isis’s future progression. The intentional shift in dynamics, the crescendos, the thematic concepts continued throughout the album, laid the groundwork for Isis’s future as an avant-garde, post-metal band.

These post-metal seeds came to fruition in Isis’s second and generally most-revered album, Oceanic, the album considered by both fans and the band members themselves to be Isis’s turning point. The band kept the trademark growls and riffs from Celestial, but used periods of ambiance to help accentuate the changing dynamics. This ambiance came in the form of clean guitar, clean vocals from Turner, and even female vocals by Maria Christopher. The end result was an album that solidified the post-metal genre, and gave inspiration to a wave of bands that would follow in its footsteps (Pelican, Cult of Luna, Russian Circles). Oceanic was also a concept album, with a loose storyline about a man who falls in love but then later commits suicide (by drowning) after finding out his lover was involved in an incestuous relationship with her brother. The album was incredibly well-received, and was and still is considered a landmark album in the post-metal genre. Pitchfork’s usual over-the-top review described Oceanic as “caterwauls offset by meditation,” and Allmusic describes it as “a masterfully complex symphony of majestic noise and melody, an all-consuming trip into the earth and mind that defies genre and, often, description -- simply put, a triumph.”

However, Isis, in my estimation at least, did not reach their apex until two years after Oceanic, when they released their magnum opus and third LP, Panopticon. As with their previous two full-lengths, Panopticon has a running theme. The term “panopticon” references a prison design popularized in the eighteenth century, where a central viewing area enables guards to view prisoner movement without the prisoners knowing if they’re currently being watched. The album’s cover art, a satellite photo, illustrates a modern application.

Sonically, Panopticon takes its predecessor Oceanic, trims the fat off, and tightens up the rest to create a jaw-droppingly good record. Even though both albums are about the same length, Oceanic to me still slightly overstays its welcome, whereas Panopticon never once feels like it drags on. The entire album has an ever darker feel than Oceanic, with the cleaner, ambient sections being very brooding and gloomy, and the crescendos bitter and bleak. There is also continuity: whereas Oceanic had the two-minute untitled interlude, Panopticon flows together without interruption. In my mind this is a good thing, because for most atmospheric music such as post-rock/post-metal, the best albums are the ones that are able to cohesively combine tracks so that there is minimal interruption for the listener.

I’ve always envisioned Isis’s music like tectonic plates, slowly and methodically moving toward each other until they collide (and mess up the state of California). On their previous albums, these collisions were raw and discordant, which I believe was their aim. However, the high points on their previous albums could often distract from the softer, more ambient moments. On Panopticon, however, the climaxes fit right together with the soft moments, working in perfect harmony, highlighting each other while still allowing the listener to appreciate both. Truly, this album is a perfect example of a band perfecting their sound, honing it down to laser-like precision. And what a treat it is to be able to hear.

I’m going to avoid a track-by-track review because I really believe this album needs to be heard (like most post-rock/metal) in its entirety to be truly appreciated. However, I have linked some Youtube vids to give an idea for those who may have never heard this band or this album before. I highly, highly recommend this album, it’s one that I keep coming back to over and over and over again because it literally never becomes stale, and I always find something new I can appreciate with every listen.

Dieselboy · 11-21-2009, 10:56 PM

Isis is a band that I'd heard of occasionally but never actually checked out at all. After reading this though, and listening to the 1st link, I think I'm gonna get right on that.

Schizotypic · 11-22-2009, 04:50 AM

Rad to see someone else on this forum that posts like half as much as most members. I'm more of a reader then a writer on the boards, myself. Sad to say I haven't seen you around though. =( A good start on your Journal, I have a few ISIS albums myself, though maybe after reading that I'll actually give a few of them a spin.

gotjuice · 11-22-2009, 03:21 PM

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention too, links are available for any of the stuff I'm posting in here. Just PM me or post here and I'll be happy to up it.

gotjuice · 11-23-2009, 02:23 PM

Juice's Top Ten of 2009

I’m going to dedicate the next several entries to a countdown of what I believe are the top ten albums released this past year. Hopefully it’ll be a combination of some obvious choices and a few that you might have overlooked or not gotten around to yet. Obviously the list isn’t all-inclusive, I’ve been incredibly lazy this year and haven’t always kept up to date on new releases. However, I think that I’ve compiled a solid countdown.

Before I start the list off with #10, however, I’m going to take a look at a few albums that I would have predicted to be in the top ten at the beginning of the year, but for whatever reasons were disappointments. Shame, shame, shame on these bands

The 2009 Hall of Shame

Dream Theater
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
6.3/10

Okay, so I probably wouldn’t have predicted this album to make my top ten list. Actually, if Dream Theater hadn’t created Images & Words, one of my all, all, all time favorite albums, I most likely would have given up on them years ago. After the release of the weird but appreciable Metropolis II in 1999, these guys have gone largely downhill. Octavarium had its moments, but Systematic Chaos was garbage. However, because I listen to Images & Words at least once a month, every time Labrie & Co. announce a new album, I seem to develop a musical Alzheimer’s. Black Clouds & Silver Linings is slightly better than Systematic Chaos, but that’s sort of like winning the tallest dwarf award. It’s bloated and pretentious even by DT standards, and the band doesn’t really cover any new ground.

The Decemberists
The Hazards of Love
6.6/10

When I heard the words “rock opera” mentioned in connection with this album before it was released, I knew it would either be an absolutely brilliant album or else a disappointment. Sadly, it’s the latter. In all actuality it’s not a bad album, it just (for me at least) grows stale about halfway through and is difficult to digest in one sitting. As someone who thought Picaresque was a solid album and that The Crane Wife was one of the best releases of 2006, this one fell short.

Porcupine Tree
The Incident
6.8/10

I wanted to like this album. I really did. I was psyched when I heard Steven Wilson announce that the new release would be two discs, with the one being a nearly hour-long thematic concept album. But come on, Steve. You cannot release exceptional gems like In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet, and then try to pass this off as belonging in the conversation with those, or anywhere near the conversation for that matter. I don’t get it, I really don’t. From the band blatantly ripping themselves off (the title track sounds like a bad remix of Sleep Together) to the cringe-worthy lyrics (I’m drawing the line! I’m drawing the line!) to the completely disjointed nature of the first disc that ruins any flow the album might have by inserting garbage filler tracks after every song that actually works, I’m not even sure where to focus my criticism. I’ll just leave it at that I guess. I really thought that the album was a joke the first time I heard the leak. Biggest disappointment of ’09 for me.

music_phantom13 · 11-25-2009, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotjuice

[B][SIZE="6"]

This was definitely one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me. I loved The Decemberists right up to this album. They go through all sorts of styles, and some of the songs really do disgust me. Like, "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing." Were they trying to do some sort of heavy metal thing? They failed miserably, they're a baroque pop band and that is easily what they do best. I miss the sea shanties, good storytelling and so on of their Castaways and Cutouts and The Crane Wife. I think they just tried to hard to do a whole mess of styles for each character or something, when they as a band really can't pull it off. Obviously I didn't enjoy this album quite as much as you

Oh and that Isis album? Their best. I love it.

gotjuice · 12-04-2009, 01:02 AM

Wow I've been a lazy bastard for the past week...blame the holidays. Anyways, here's the beginning of the Top 10 of 2009:

#10

Muse
The Resistance
7.3/10

I’ll admit I was somewhat…concerned…about this album prior to its release. Can you blame me? Muse produced Absolution, one of the finest albums to be released this decade, and then followed that up with Black Holes & Revelations, which, although good, was definitely a step back. Several songs still blend together even to this day for me, where it seems like Bellamy & Co. just ran out of ideas. Even the great moments on Black Holes were a hint that the band was moving further and further away from their sound on Absolution and further into electronic experimentation with their music.

So forgive me. When Bellamy announced that the new album was called The Resistance, that the first song released was called United States of Eurasia, that he was experimenting with a symphonic arrangement that would take up a chunk of the album…yes, I was a little skeptical. And yet, even with all that (yes, even with United States of…oh hey Queen, didn’t see you there), I actually like this album. Yes, it does have its flaws. Yes, there are points when I want to scream at the band to play their damn instruments more. There are parts where I don’t know what the hell they were thinking (Guiding Light, I’m looking at you). But…there are gems here. Undisclosed Desires, even without a drummer or a guitarist, is surprisingly good. The Exogenesis trio of songs are also great, I just wish Bellamy had devoted more than 12 minutes to them. Bellamy’s vocals throughout the album are great as always.

Overall I still do have several issues with this album, but I’m going to sneak it in at #10 here because it is still growing on me with each listen.

zeppy111 · 12-04-2009, 02:45 AM

Some really cool posts in this journal already, especially Isis. I agree with the review the whole way through, no matter how many times I listen to it there will always be something fresh jumping out of the speakers to intrigue the listener.

Might check out that Muse album, sounds decent

11-21-2009, 04:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
gotjuice Rose City til I die! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 366	The Juice Box: Reviews & Other Junk So, I've been here over a year. I've perfected lurking down to an art form, and over the past year as I've read through journals, countdowns, reviews, etc., I've lost count of the number of great music discoveries that I owe to this forum. That being said, this journal represents not just an attempt to possibly give something back, but also an attempt to give myself a kick in the ass and post more. I'm not really sure what direction this journal will necessarily take, hence the title. I really didn't want to limit myself and incorporate only a single genre or purpose. I've got some albums lined up to review and some other ideas I'm kicking around, we'll see what happens That's all for now. I hope anybody reading this finds it somewhat enjoyable I should have the first entry up soon. __________________ I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders...

11-21-2009, 05:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Approved, now crack on with it. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

11-21-2009, 08:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
gotjuice Rose City til I die! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 366	Isis Panopticon 8.6/10 Post-metal Isis was formed in 1997. The band went through a few lineup changes and produced two EPs before finally releasing their first LP, Celestial, in 2000. Celestial is a very powerful album, very much a legacy of Isis’s roots in sludge and doom-metal. The album is full of monstrous, sludgy riffs, jagged guitar feedback, Aaron Turner’s coarse growling, and other incomprehensible noise, but under this sonic assault is the foundation for Isis’s future progression. The intentional shift in dynamics, the crescendos, the thematic concepts continued throughout the album, laid the groundwork for Isis’s future as an avant-garde, post-metal band. These post-metal seeds came to fruition in Isis’s second and generally most-revered album, Oceanic, the album considered by both fans and the band members themselves to be Isis’s turning point. The band kept the trademark growls and riffs from Celestial, but used periods of ambiance to help accentuate the changing dynamics. This ambiance came in the form of clean guitar, clean vocals from Turner, and even female vocals by Maria Christopher. The end result was an album that solidified the post-metal genre, and gave inspiration to a wave of bands that would follow in its footsteps (Pelican, Cult of Luna, Russian Circles). Oceanic was also a concept album, with a loose storyline about a man who falls in love but then later commits suicide (by drowning) after finding out his lover was involved in an incestuous relationship with her brother. The album was incredibly well-received, and was and still is considered a landmark album in the post-metal genre. Pitchfork’s usual over-the-top review described Oceanic as “caterwauls offset by meditation,” and Allmusic describes it as “a masterfully complex symphony of majestic noise and melody, an all-consuming trip into the earth and mind that defies genre and, often, description -- simply put, a triumph.” However, Isis, in my estimation at least, did not reach their apex until two years after Oceanic, when they released their magnum opus and third LP, Panopticon. As with their previous two full-lengths, Panopticon has a running theme. The term “panopticon” references a prison design popularized in the eighteenth century, where a central viewing area enables guards to view prisoner movement without the prisoners knowing if they’re currently being watched. The album’s cover art, a satellite photo, illustrates a modern application. Sonically, Panopticon takes its predecessor Oceanic, trims the fat off, and tightens up the rest to create a jaw-droppingly good record. Even though both albums are about the same length, Oceanic to me still slightly overstays its welcome, whereas Panopticon never once feels like it drags on. The entire album has an ever darker feel than Oceanic, with the cleaner, ambient sections being very brooding and gloomy, and the crescendos bitter and bleak. There is also continuity: whereas Oceanic had the two-minute untitled interlude, Panopticon flows together without interruption. In my mind this is a good thing, because for most atmospheric music such as post-rock/post-metal, the best albums are the ones that are able to cohesively combine tracks so that there is minimal interruption for the listener. I’ve always envisioned Isis’s music like tectonic plates, slowly and methodically moving toward each other until they collide (and mess up the state of California). On their previous albums, these collisions were raw and discordant, which I believe was their aim. However, the high points on their previous albums could often distract from the softer, more ambient moments. On Panopticon, however, the climaxes fit right together with the soft moments, working in perfect harmony, highlighting each other while still allowing the listener to appreciate both. Truly, this album is a perfect example of a band perfecting their sound, honing it down to laser-like precision. And what a treat it is to be able to hear. I’m going to avoid a track-by-track review because I really believe this album needs to be heard (like most post-rock/metal) in its entirety to be truly appreciated. However, I have linked some Youtube vids to give an idea for those who may have never heard this band or this album before. I highly, highly recommend this album, it’s one that I keep coming back to over and over and over again because it literally never becomes stale, and I always find something new I can appreciate with every listen. __________________ I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders...

11-22-2009, 03:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
gotjuice Rose City til I die! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 366	Thanks guys. I forgot to mention too, links are available for any of the stuff I'm posting in here. Just PM me or post here and I'll be happy to up it. __________________ I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders...

11-23-2009, 02:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
gotjuice Rose City til I die! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 366	Juice's Top Ten of 2009 I’m going to dedicate the next several entries to a countdown of what I believe are the top ten albums released this past year. Hopefully it’ll be a combination of some obvious choices and a few that you might have overlooked or not gotten around to yet. Obviously the list isn’t all-inclusive, I’ve been incredibly lazy this year and haven’t always kept up to date on new releases. However, I think that I’ve compiled a solid countdown. Before I start the list off with #10, however, I’m going to take a look at a few albums that I would have predicted to be in the top ten at the beginning of the year, but for whatever reasons were disappointments. Shame, shame, shame on these bands The 2009 Hall of Shame Dream Theater Black Clouds & Silver Linings 6.3/10 Okay, so I probably wouldn’t have predicted this album to make my top ten list. Actually, if Dream Theater hadn’t created Images & Words, one of my all, all, all time favorite albums, I most likely would have given up on them years ago. After the release of the weird but appreciable Metropolis II in 1999, these guys have gone largely downhill. Octavarium had its moments, but Systematic Chaos was garbage. However, because I listen to Images & Words at least once a month, every time Labrie & Co. announce a new album, I seem to develop a musical Alzheimer’s. Black Clouds & Silver Linings is slightly better than Systematic Chaos, but that’s sort of like winning the tallest dwarf award. It’s bloated and pretentious even by DT standards, and the band doesn’t really cover any new ground. The Decemberists The Hazards of Love 6.6/10 When I heard the words “rock opera” mentioned in connection with this album before it was released, I knew it would either be an absolutely brilliant album or else a disappointment. Sadly, it’s the latter. In all actuality it’s not a bad album, it just (for me at least) grows stale about halfway through and is difficult to digest in one sitting. As someone who thought Picaresque was a solid album and that The Crane Wife was one of the best releases of 2006, this one fell short. Porcupine Tree The Incident 6.8/10 I wanted to like this album. I really did. I was psyched when I heard Steven Wilson announce that the new release would be two discs, with the one being a nearly hour-long thematic concept album. But come on, Steve. You cannot release exceptional gems like In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet, and then try to pass this off as belonging in the conversation with those, or anywhere near the conversation for that matter. I don’t get it, I really don’t. From the band blatantly ripping themselves off (the title track sounds like a bad remix of Sleep Together) to the cringe-worthy lyrics (I’m drawing the line! I’m drawing the line!) to the completely disjointed nature of the first disc that ruins any flow the album might have by inserting garbage filler tracks after every song that actually works, I’m not even sure where to focus my criticism. I’ll just leave it at that I guess. I really thought that the album was a joke the first time I heard the leak. Biggest disappointment of ’09 for me. __________________ I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders...

11-21-2009, 10:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dieselboy Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 608	Isis is a band that I'd heard of occasionally but never actually checked out at all. After reading this though, and listening to the 1st link, I think I'm gonna get right on that.

11-22-2009, 04:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
Schizotypic Souls of Sound Sailors Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mojave Posts: 759	Rad to see someone else on this forum that posts like half as much as most members. I'm more of a reader then a writer on the boards, myself. Sad to say I haven't seen you around though. =( A good start on your Journal, I have a few ISIS albums myself, though maybe after reading that I'll actually give a few of them a spin.

12-04-2009, 01:02 AM	#9 (permalink)
gotjuice Rose City til I die! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 366	Wow I've been a lazy bastard for the past week...blame the holidays. Anyways, here's the beginning of the Top 10 of 2009: #10 Muse The Resistance 7.3/10 I’ll admit I was somewhat…concerned…about this album prior to its release. Can you blame me? Muse produced Absolution, one of the finest albums to be released this decade, and then followed that up with Black Holes & Revelations, which, although good, was definitely a step back. Several songs still blend together even to this day for me, where it seems like Bellamy & Co. just ran out of ideas. Even the great moments on Black Holes were a hint that the band was moving further and further away from their sound on Absolution and further into electronic experimentation with their music. So forgive me. When Bellamy announced that the new album was called The Resistance, that the first song released was called United States of Eurasia, that he was experimenting with a symphonic arrangement that would take up a chunk of the album…yes, I was a little skeptical. And yet, even with all that (yes, even with United States of…oh hey Queen, didn’t see you there), I actually like this album. Yes, it does have its flaws. Yes, there are points when I want to scream at the band to play their damn instruments more. There are parts where I don’t know what the hell they were thinking (Guiding Light, I’m looking at you). But…there are gems here. Undisclosed Desires, even without a drummer or a guitarist, is surprisingly good. The Exogenesis trio of songs are also great, I just wish Bellamy had devoted more than 12 minutes to them. Bellamy’s vocals throughout the album are great as always. Overall I still do have several issues with this album, but I’m going to sneak it in at #10 here because it is still growing on me with each listen. __________________ I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders...

12-04-2009, 02:45 AM	#10 (permalink)
zeppy111 16, so? Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: South Africa Posts: 630	Some really cool posts in this journal already, especially Isis. I agree with the review the whole way through, no matter how many times I listen to it there will always be something fresh jumping out of the speakers to intrigue the listener. Might check out that Muse album, sounds decent __________________ My Blog (album of the day): http://musicfromthesouth.blogspot.com