Isbjørn

Don't care much about the music in Minecraft, when I play I usually put on Manowar or something similar and live out the lyrics by slaying poseurs (that's a modified version of Dokucraft Dark):

__________________

Key

I have finally found a copy of an album that I have been searching for. No websites ever had it available for streaming, or they just never had it regardless, and I didn't want to go into the trouble of finding a downloadable copy. Anyway, what i'm talking about is...



Harmony are a christian progressive/power metal band, and this album is one of the first christian prog albums I ever heard, it wasn't too far behind Theocracy's Mirror of Souls in terms of when I listened to them. This is one of those albums that just stuck with me though, and to finally give it another listen after all this time really just feels amazing. It still has the pure prog sound that I came to love in this genre in the start.

Not a whole lot to say, but i'm just happy to have found an album that was near impossible to find before. Kudos to whoever decided to upload this to Grooveshark, otherwise I don't think I would've found it otherwise without going deep.

And yes, this does also act as a recommendation for anyone reading to check this album out. It really packs a punch and adds a bit of individuality to what seems to be an ever growing popular genre.

Moss

I love those first 2 Plant solo albums. Especially pictures at eleven. He had an amazing guitar player named Robbie Blunt with that great clean Stratocaster sound for those albums. Check out Far Post which was added after the original release:


Far Post - Robert Plant - YouTube

Key

Continuing with the whole Christian Progressive Rock theme, I want to post another band I have come to enjoy again after not listening for a while. I present to you...

AUDIOVISION


Think of them as your traditional christian prog band with heavier riffs and a beautiful vocalist. I'm talking nobody other than Christian Liljegren. Some would know him from his work with Narnia. He adds his own unique vocals to an already fantastic choreography through each album.

As I said with Harmony, Audiovision is yet another band worth listening to. Either album (The Calling or Focus) are both great introduction albums since there's only two of them.

Key

Let's take a trip into my mind this evening and discuss certain things.

First off, I would like to discuss a few things I received for Christmas that I am so excited about, one of those things being this:



I'm not a huge fan of puzzles, but I keep looking at it and I haven't even opened it yet. Part of me doesn't want to, but part of me wants to open it, complete it, then frame it to showcase my success at doing something I don't do so often. When the moment strikes, i'll end up completing the puzzle, perhaps tonight, I don't really know, but you'll know when it's done as I won't be able to keep myself from posting about it.

Another thing I got that is seriously one of the coolest things ever is...



As well as the puzzle, this one is still in it's box. I don't think i'll ever open it as it just looks cool in the box. This is really one of the coolest things i've gotten as a gift because it showcases to the best extent my love for Star Wars. It even talks and says phrases and such.

Anyway, maybe i'll post more things I've gotten. Not going to lie, I got a whole bunch of cool Star Wars related gifts this year, and I couldn't be happier since I'm easily one of the biggest Star Wars nerds in my family, and they know it.

Key

As it's been mentioned multiple times in this journal, I can't lie when I say that I find a lot of the music at work to be very catchy. So catchy that it ends up being stuck in my head for days on end. Today, is one of those days where it seems to be stuck in my head...



I can't help but sing along with "Do we only live to die, Or is it that our hearts are magnetized, And our worlds collide for a reason"

Call it cheesy, call it corny. I love it for the fact that it's catchy and it makes the day go by quicker especially if it's a slow day at work.

Key

I really need to see a live show soon. It's been way too long. In fact, I think the last concert I went to was Sparks and that was close to a year ago now. Before that, I honestly can't remember what it was beforehand. I know there are a few bands I would love to see if the opportunity showed itself.

Opeth for one seem like they would put on a fantastic show, and i'm pretty much only saying this based on the video i'm currently watching:



I mean, it just sounds amazing. The whole band just sounds on top of their game. And this isn't the only live footage i've seen of the band, I've seen others and they all sounds outstanding. The minute I have the chance to even attempt to buy tickets to an Opeth show, i'm taking it.

Another one would naturally be Porcupine Tree, but I know they aren't really touring right now, what with Steven Wilson keeping himself busy with whatever he's doing these days. I do however know that like Opeth, they sound freaking fantastic live. It may just be the settings I have on my computer, or maybe the DVD is trying to fool me, but I own the Arriving Somewhere But Not Here DVD, and it's fantastic.



I know i've mentioned that I think this is one of the best songs ever written and performed, and once I saw the live footage, that opinion was just that much stronger. It's performed so fluently, so perfectly, and Wilson just sounds amazing as usual. Really hoping that i'll at least get to see this song performed live before I die if nothing else, though staying for a whole concert would be great too. Don't know if that will happen anytime soon, or if they are even considering touring anymore, but hey, I can stay hopeful. I mean, I saw Tool in concert after spending 3 or 4 hours on the phone to buy tickets, so anything is possible.

Key

Let's all just take a moment real quick and enjoy what might be the cutest most adorable thing I have ever found on the internet. So cute, that I just had to have an avatar to display it:



I'm pretty sure Googling "kurt cobain with a kitty" was the greatest search I have done in a long time. These are literally the greatest pictures I have found in a while and I am going to keep them on my computer so that I can never lose them. Ever.

Key

5 Reasons Why 2013 Was A Good Year In Music (in no particular order)

#1: Avenged Sevenfold released Hail To The King which may have brought many old fans back into the fan base with how beautifully crafted the album is. Not hating on any of the earlier albums *cough* Nightmare *cough*, but hey, I'm ok with admitting that a band I like has had a few ups and downs *cough* Nightmare *cough*. Ok ok, Nightmare wasn't THAT bad, but as a whole, there were maybe 2 or 3 songs that I really liked. Hail To The King has only 1 song that I don't like. Do the math.

#2: New release after new release after new release. It seems 2013 was a good year for everybody and their mother to release an album that would appeal to everybody. Bands like Franz Ferdinand, Alice In Chains, and we can't forget Black Sabbath. We heard new material from bands we thought would never release something new. Unfortunately, we did have a few albums by the older names that weren't so great *cough* Deep Purple *cough*.

#3: Although we didn't get to hear yet another album by the wonderful Mr. Devin Townsend, we did receive news that we would be getting a new album out of him in 2014, cleverly and appropriately titled "Casualties of Cool". I mean...c'mon! The man is a freaking genius when it comes to his craft, it's only appropriate for him to boost his ego with album titles such as that. Though, not so much a music album, we did however receive a live DVD titled The Retinal Circus, which from what i've seen on Youtube, it is a must have. I mean, just look at this performance:



Could you ask for a better performance? And let's also take a look at the cover of this wonderful masterpiece:



You couldn't ask for more from the man.

#4: pg.lost (surprise surprise) release a little clip on their Facebook page talking about a new album. This was in November of 2013 so it qualifies, shut up. Not only is it exciting to hear about a new album, it's also cool that they decided to tease their fans with a small bit of a new song. I'm going to be watching news from them like a hawk as it couldn't be more obvious that they are my favorite band. can't seem to remember if i've ever mentioned them here *sarcasm*

#5: It wouldn't be an appropriate list without mentioning the live shows that came through the area (and I missed all of them). We had bands like Killswitch Engage, I'm pretty sure Black Sabbath came through, and even Alice Cooper made an appearance at a casino. Yes, a casino. Unfortunately, with the lack of money and time, I wasn't able to really get back into the live show scene, though seeing Sparks was pretty magical. And LiL was able to meet them and get a picture with them which is pretty cool considering they are her heroes. 2014 will be a better year for me in terms of live shows as i'm making more than enough money to afford it.

Key

5 Reasons (albums) why 2013 wasn't a good year in music (in no particular order)

#1: Bullet For My Valentine released Temper Temper, and it made me think about the fact that they really just need to stop. I've written an angry review about this album already in my journal, but every time I see the album mentioned, it pisses me off. They teased us with one song before it's release and it sounded fantastic (as fantastic as BFMV can sound I guess) and I was super excited to hear the rest only to leave me feeling disappointed and possibly violated with it's atrociousness.

#2: Bring Me The Horizon also released an album titled Sempiternal. Unlike Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon actually seemed like they put some effort into this one, of course again, that's not really saying much. I don't feel bad about admitting it but I do like this band, a lot. But when it comes to releasing an album that sounds like THEM, their recent release is so far from it. Everything about this album is so cliche and safe that it may as well be a clusterfuck of cover tracks from songs we hear on the radio.

#3: Sigur Ros released Kveikur, only one year after they released Valtari. Some would say it was a good idea for them to release two albums within a year of each other, however I am not one of those people. I've also mentioned this in my journal before, so I won't go into much detail. At the same time, I can't complain knowing that they are fully active in making music, but i'm hoping next time they don't try to be different for the sake of being different. Valtari was a beautifully done masterpiece, whereas Kveikur sounded like a bunch of basement recordings and songs they left out of Valtari.

#4: Asking Alexandria released From Death To Destiny. Again, this is a band that gets a lot of hate but I do like them. However, this album is not a good way to go about their career as it seems they did the same thing Bring Me The Horizon did. Taking everything about what people want to hear these days and combined it with the type of music they are known for, mashed it together and made an album out of it. Playing it safe is not the way to go sometimes. Make something Asking Alexandria would make next time.

#5: Deep Purple decided to release an album cleverly titled Now What?!, i'm assuming that was to convince people that they don't know what to do next with their career. Unfortunately, they also made that obvious with the album itself. It's not so much that it's bad, but it's not even close to what Deep Purple should sound like. It's like they took the fame they got when they first started and used it to their advantage to get sales out of an album that really isn't worth more than one listen. I've listened to it more than once, but I cannot seem to push myself to get through it one more time to even try to enjoy it. Hopefully next time they put more effort into sounding like themselves again instead of trying to appeal to their fans.