Key

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!


This is going to be a pretty quick review, but I have to say...when I heard this album for the first time at it's release, I really didn't pick up on what was so great about it. I'm listening to it again tonight and that opinion has drastically gone into the opposite direction. From the minute I heard the first track, I found enjoyment, and that has continued throughout the rest of the album. I can't really say that Godspeed You! Black Emperor have seriously outdone themselves on this album because if you know anything about this band, you'd know that they have always done something that is nothing short of amazing. I mean...F♯ A♯ ∞ has to be one of the greatest post-rock albums I've ever heard, if not ever made.

The opening track Mladic really does set the tone for the rest of the album, and it certainly opens the album on a strong point which like I said, does continue throughout. Usually when I listen to a Godspeed You! Black Emperor album for the first time, I do see myself getting bored for some reason, but as this album has proven, multiple listens are necessary to get the full effect, which it has for me.


yeah, it's a 20 minute opening track, but they use every second of every minute to their advantage, and it works well.

Certainly check out this album if you haven't yet. I'm loving this so much right now.

Key

As it stands right now, I really don't have much more material to put into post-rock month, so unfortunately I am going to put an end to it tonight. I know it wasn't the entire month, but hey, I tried. It's actually the first time i've ever done a month long theme in my journal. Could've gone worse. Anyway, back to the normal ol' programming tomorrow.

Key

there are some songs where you find yourself listening to them every single day at leas 2-3 times a day, this is one of those times

Key

Honestly, there have been a lot of things in the past couple years that have really just blown my mind. Things happening in music where I just say "man, that was a match made in heaven, i'm really glad that happened." For example, when I heard a few years ago that Mikael Akerfeldt and Steven Wilson were doing a collaboration, I was struck with excitement, and of course, that excitement remained as I heard the album for the first time, and the second time, and the third time, and so on and so on. Since then, there haven't been very many other instances where i'm just caught by surprise that something like this is happening, unless you count the collab album of pg.lost and Wang Wen, which of course I do count that. This year we have something possibly even more amazing than both of those things combines, we have a collaboration between two bands that I have an enormous respect for. Franz Ferdinand of course coming first in my "fanship" have been in my life since the day they released their debut, and my love for them has never gone stale. Sparks on the other hand, I got into them much much later in their career, but loved them instantly, so much that I had no problem buying tickets to see them when they came this way. Of course to make that even better, we got to meet the Mael brothers, which was awesome. Now to finally get a chance to see these two genius bands get together is almost mind blowingly awesome. I really don't know what to expect from this or if it'll meet / exceed the expectations I have for it, but I really hope that we receive something from them that destroy any competition for best album of the year this year. Yeah, i'm being a little dramatic, but who cares.

I do want to mention something kind of funny, and i'm sure the Mael brothers knew about this seeing as I wasn't the only person that had this come to mind. Back when I was just getting into Sparks, I had a weird feeling that them and Franz Ferdinand had a bunch of similarities, more-so towards the vocals over anything else. I've always seen a lot of similarities between Alex Kapranos and Russell Mael, but that could just be me. It's certainly not a bad thing as they both pull it off really well. Upon hearing the news of a collaboration, I literally said "i ****ing knew this was going to happen, and i'm so excited that it is happening."

There have been shows recorded with Kapranos and Mael singing together, but it's nothing 'official', although if the album sounds anywhere near as good as this does, then we've certainly got something to really be excited about...



This is going to be such a great mark in music history, and I honestly cannot believe it's really happening.

Key

Yep. We're going to put Megadeth, one of the big 4 up to the podium to finally decide whether or not they are worth the hype they receive. I'm not entirely sure if i'm planning to do the rest of the big 4 for a "worth the hype?" but it's certainly possible. Anyway, let's get right down to things.

First off, I have had absolutely no idea up until this point what the verdict would be on this band. There's so much to take into consideration and that's what makes it the most difficult. First off, we have Dave Mustaine, the "jellyfish hair" man:



Dave Mustaine is amazing at everything he does. He can shred on the guitar, he has an amazing sense of what it means to be a performer on stage, and his vocals fit the thrash metal scene perfectly. People also know him as being one of the most right wing individual you'd ever meet, but that's his own personal issue and that doesn't really change my opinion on him as a musician.

Megadeth as a band have certainly had their ups and down, with 14 studio albums to their name, you can't really blame them. What I mean by that is...they've certainly had their fair share of terrible singles, and albums, but to even the play field, they've also had some fantastic albums and singles, and DVD (live in Argentina to name one). They've been around for a while so a few mistakes here and there is completely understandable, especially when history has shown that they can rise above it and still make some amazing music.

For me personally however, as time goes on, and Megadeth hint at more new albums to come in the near future, I kind of grow tired of following the news as it seems ever since Endgame in 2009, it feels like work to try to get through a Megadeth album fully. I'm not saying they've lost their touch, millions of fans out there would say they are in their prime, but for me, I just feel like every time they release something, I feel a sense of emptiness as I finish a new album of theirs. I mean, to be honest, when Super Collider was released back in 2013, I think I got through half the album before I said "yeah, i can't do this right now," and I actually haven't gone back to listen to the full thing. Nothing on that album really stood out to me. When it comes down to albums in general though, I am a man who loves a good listen of Rust In Peace / Youthanasia / Peace Sells...but Who's Buying? but maybe that's just because I grew up listening to the early Megadeth due to my dad being a huge fan of theirs back then. I don't know, it's a pretty ****ty feeling to have with their new material as I know they are pretty good.

So...the moment you've probably been waiting for. What is the verdict? Well, as I said before, this one wasn't anywhere near as easy as the last couple ones I have done on this type of deal, and perhaps I didn't do this as well as I could have, but...the verdict is...



I have to go with this one, don't I? How can I not? Megadeth have and will always hold a special place in my heart, even if they are starting to show more weaknesses than strength. I have often found myself going back to their earlier work and finding new and exciting things about them that I never heard before. Plus, they're just a great band. When I first heard about them, I just went through their catalog and 95% of the time I was enjoying myself. Now, to sort of end things on a positive note, I want to post one of my all time favorite live videos, from their Live In Argentina DVD:

Frownland

How many times have you heard people saying that Megadeth is in their peak? That's just baffling to me because while they're not at their lowest point, they're certainly nowhere near the level they were at with Peace Sells or Rust in Peace.

I honestly didn't listen to the new record after being so disappointed by Endgame and United Abominations.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

Key

I wasn't so much pointing out how often people say they are in their prime. I was more pointing fingers at the millions of fans that love to defend Megadeth no matter how bad an album is. There are those people who will always say "man, this album is the best one they've done yet".

United Abominations for me has 2 tracks that I like, and that's about it.

Key

Nightwish - Live To Tell The Tale


So here's something I've always been curious about. What makes a band put certain songs as "bonus tracks?" Seriously, I've wondered about this ever since I first heard Nightwish's Once album a long while back. As an album, it's pretty damn good and still holds a good place in my collection, but there is one song that has always stuck out to me, which is posted above: "Live To Tell The Tale". To some people, they have never even heard this song as it being a bonus track doesn't make it too easy to find for those not aware of it's existence, although my memory isn't as good as it was back then, I do believe this song was actually featured on the Once album as the final track. Anyway, i'm getting off track. I've heard some people say that they've listened to the Once album and have never heard this track. That's more towards the point I was trying to get to. To someone who isn't even aware of it's existence, this song doesn't show up in their queue or anywhere, which bags the question, "what made it not as accessible as the other tracks?" This track alone is easily one of the best songs on the entire album, there are even a few tracks I would take off the album and replace them with this one to give it it's own appropriate place on the album instead of being a bonus track. It does deserve it's own place on the album, and I do think it was probably a bad play on Nightwish's part to put this track as a bonus track. However, on the other side of things, maybe it's a bit of a "gift" if you're into looking for bonus tracks for albums you've come to enjoy. Maybe Nightwish knew exactly what they were doing when they made this song a bonus track, so that for people who are willing to look for it, will be surprised to know of it's existence, and come to enjoy the album even more. If that's the case, bravo Nightwish.

Key

The collaboration we've all been waiting for...at least for me (part II)

Franz Ferdinand and Sparks (FFS) have been teasing their fans for months now about how this project is going to sound, and we officially have our very first taste of what to expect from the upcoming album. A release date has even been set for June 9th of this year. They've set up preorders for a Double LP or a CD for when the album is released, and you're damn right i'm going to be all over both of those. It's kind of funny that they decided to wait until April 1st to release the first single to give us a taste of the album, but man...this album is going to be amazing:



It's definitely got more of Sparks' influence on it, but i'm sure there will be equal influences from both sides on the rest of the album. Before I forget, they've also released an official track list for the album:

01. Johnny Delusional
02. Call Girl
03. Dictator’s Son
04. Little Guy From The Suburbs
05. Police Encounters
06. Save Me From Myself
07. So Desu Ne
08. The Man Without A Tan
09. Things I Won’t Get
10. The Power Couple
11. Collaborations Don’t Work
12. Piss Off
13. So Many Bridges
14. King Of The Song
15. Look At Me
16. A Violent Death

I cannot wait!

Powerstars

Listened to and loved Franz's first record, though I've never heard of Sparks. Kinda liking that single though, might check out the album when it drops.

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