MicShazam

I forgot to add a song by the current iteration of The Agonist to the above post. Screw the Alissa White-Gluz years of this band, but their newest two albums with Vicky Psarakis on board have been very convincing and those two albums have been instrumental in getting me to realize that I'm sort of over old-school metal.

The Agonist - The Moment

MicShazam

I'm still not checking out much new music. The last few weeks, I've been all about coming back to stuff that I've been a fan of for a while. I've got so many CD's and so much music on my hard drive that deserves more attention. I find that my appreciation of music deepens when I'm intimately familiar with it, so it's really rather counter productive to focus all my energy on listening to new things. It's a question of balance.

So, what I'm going to do now is post a bunch of tracks that I've been enjoying coming back to. Some of this is from my CD collection, some of this is from my folders filled with odds and ends.

Elvenstorm - Legions of Steel

Some power/heavy metal band that I know very little about. I've never managed to find one of their CD's, but I have a few tracks on my PC that I ripped from Youtube some years back. It's hard to explain why I like it, because at the face of it, it's almost identical to a whole lot of similar metal that I easily dismiss as being uninteresting. I just like the vibe of this band for some reason.

Sharron Kraus - Brigid

Genre whiplash!
I never got around to checking out Sharron Kraus any closer, but I've known a few of her tracks for years and have them on my HD. This one is drop dead gorgeous. If low key 60's/70's folk is your thing, you absolutely need to give this one a close, concentrated listen.
Actually, her music is quite new. This track is from a 2008 album, but holy hell does it sound convincingly of another time. Didn't have much luck finding this album on CD, but I haven't tried again in recent years.

Ani Difranco - Icarus

I got into Ani DeFranco just a bit earlier this year and I've got to say that I used to underestimate her quite a bit. This song is from Evolve - an album that has impressed me very, very much. One of the best albums that I've discovered so far in 2018. I love the use of horns on this album and all of the instruments and voices just sound amazing. Top quality music.

Dir En Grey - Obscure (live at Download festival 2013)

This band has been a constant fixture of my music listening since I discovered them back in 2011. Recently, I've been looking for good live versions of their tracks and there's something about the energy and sound of this one that I really like. I also like how the singer drops the silly costumes for this festival. He should make it a habit.

Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion

Been listening to my Lady Gaga albums as well and I've got to say that I think she's great. So many great hooks and a killer voice. This song encompasses everything I like about her music.

EDIT: Originally, I had posted Lady Gaga's song Venus, but then I realized I'd posted it in another context one page back... Perfect Illusion is another great track, so I'm going with that one instead.

MicShazam

I was thinking of whether or not I would bother doing something big, like reviewing every single Tori Amos album. I feel like I ought to do something to put my favorite artists under a spotlight.

For now, I'll just throw some videos around:

Oysters (Live on 89.3 The Current)

From the 2014 album, Unrepentant Geraldines.

Reindeer King

From her 2017 album, Native Invader.
An excellent album, btw.

Winter (From "Live At Montreux 91/92")

This is an excellent live album, well worth getting if you are interested in her 90's output.

Star Whisperer

From her 2011 album, Night of Hunters. One of my all time favorite albums.

Give

From Abnormally Attracted to Sin.

The Beekeeper

One of my favorite tracks of hers. It's from the album of the same name. The album took me a while to appreciate, but I think it's good. She never really did a bad album.

Digital Ghost

From the album American Doll Posse. The album is good, despite the intimidating 23 song tracklist.

MicShazam

Some all new music!

Dress the Dead - Promises & Kisses

This band has no album out yet, but they've got my attention.

Hieroglyphic Being ‎– The Red Notes
From the album "The Red Notes".

Experimental techno. Actually, parts of it sounds a helluva lot like the soundtrack for the Playstation 1 game Aien Trilogy, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I feel instantly at home in the sound of this stuff, even though I almost never listen to electronic music.

Phonte - So Help Me God
From the album "No New is Good News".

I basically NEVER recommend any rap music. This might well be the first and last time. I know nothing about this genre, but thought this sounded pretty good.

Tracey Horn - Sister
From the album "Record".

The album is supposed to be quite varied, so I might check it out. Not entirely sure what I think of just this one track, but it seems quite rich and expressive on first listen. Seems like one of those songs where it isn't really anything original, but does a style really well.

Holly Miranda - "Exquisite"
From the album "Mutual Horse".

Alternative rock with some nice atmosphere to it. I really like the album artwork, although the cryptic title seems silly. The guy featured in this single track sounds oddly Bowie-like, btw.

Frownland

*perks up*

Will check out.

That's a great record. Surprised that we seem to be the only ones mentioning it so far tbh.

__________________

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

MicShazam

I've only heard that one track, but I like the general style it's going for. No idea how far it takes it on the album.

Especially weird since basically everyone else than me is more into the genre. I just stumbled across it, but figured it might be known in here already.

MicShazam

A bunch of music. This time with... no theme at all...? Ok, I'll make something up on the spot: All these will be full albums that I'd love to read full reviews of if anyone feels up to the task. You can post them in here if you please.

Not that I expect anyone to bite but... please?

Be'lakor - The Frail Tide [Full Album]

The only album from this band that I haven't heard yet. The CD has been a bit elusive, but I expect it to be good. I love this band. Pretty much the best melodic death metal band ever.

Dir en grey - Kisou (鬼葬) (FULL-LENGTH)

You probably know my stance on this band by now. I hope. This is their 3rd album and their last before a major change of musical style.

Helloween - Better Than Raw (full album)

This band is pretty corny at times (more precisely at all times), but I like them with their current singer. This album was always my favorite. Still is.

Tori Amos - From the Choirgirl Hotel (full album)

Might get you into Tori Amos. Really.
(Note that you will get better sound quality on Spotify. This upload sounds a bit squashed.)

Céu - Vagarosa (full album)

Two years ago, I bumped into the music of Céu. This set off a chain-reaction and she's basically the reason why I now like several artists from South America and have become way more interested in so called "world music".

MicShazam

Here's some songs from the albums I'm most interested in getting my hands on right now:

Jinjer - Cloud Factory

From their second album which was re-issued recently. Sounds fairly close to their third and newest album and I feel like it's more or less guaranteed that it will be right up my alley. Ordered it 15 minutes ago!

Jinjer - Waltz

From their first album. Pretty difficult to find on CD these days. Was probably mostly sold in Ukraine origininally and hasn't been re-issued. It sounds kinda rough and is less complex than their newer music, but I still think I'd like it. I just need to find an affordable copy somewhere.

Ex-Fan Des Sixties - Jane Birkin (full album) 1978

I'd like to get my hands on any Jane Birkin album I don't have, so that means pretty much all of her 60's, 70's, 80's stuff. I don't know how many albums she has exactly, but they're all kinda hard to find on CD, so I'll just get whatever I find first one day. If you don't know Jane Birkin, think Francoise Hardy, basically.

Sukekiyo されど道連れ

The third album (titled "Adoratio") from Dir En Grey singer Kyo's secondary band is pretty much impossible to find ****ing anywhere. I think I'm going to have to try and see if I can import it from Japan. Not even easy to hear online, since they keep getting uploads taken down. It's as if they're trying to keep it for themselves, the bastards.

MicShazam

Medina - Forever


Got this album today and have been listening to it a bit. I really, really dig this track:

Medina - "Boring" - Official video


When it comes to pop music, I'm heavily biased towards the more dance oriented side of things. If it's got a slightly melancholy vibe to it, it's even better.

Still don't know what I think of the whole album, so this is by no means a record review. First impression is that it's a bit flatter and less exciting sounding than her first album, but it's got the hooks.

MicShazam

I've always had a sort of moth-to-the-flame relationship with bands that are looked down upon by a lot of music nerds. I think there's something interesting about trying to elevate yourself above the instinct to dismiss something maligned and instead try to really listen to it and form your own opinion. Back when it was new, I listened to Metallica's crapfest of an album LuLu, several times, even though it's 90 minutes and frankly not very good. On some level, it was still an interesting experience, since you feel all sorts of emotions and thoughts go through your head as you try and figure out how relate to the music.

These last two evenings, I've been diving into all sorts of questionable music on Spotify, listening to lots of Limp Bizkit, Korn and other bands that don't exactly enjoy a good reputation among most people who know anything about music.

Here's a few things I learned so far.



Limp Bizkit really are crap

Listening to the track "Hot Dog" off their album Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, it was hard not to feel an impulse to turn it off immediately and go throw darts at a portrait of Fred Durst. Jesus this song is annoying. I can't for the life of me figure out why Durst is going with that annoyingly whiny vocal style so often (or at all). And the lyrics! And the album title and artwork! Oh God this is terrible. I got a few tracks into the album and then decided to listen to some songs from other albums. This disc really is one of the worst things I've ever heard/seen. No exaggeration.

Then I try and give some random selections from their 2011 album Gold Cobra a try. This was published well after everyone had stopped caring about the band and I don't think I've ever heard anything from it. Let's see if they've grown as a band.
Hmm... allright, so Durst has toned down his annoying vocal style a lot, but the lyrics are terrible as ever and there's just nothing really going on. It's basic "jump da **** up and down" nu-metal riffing with a surprising amount of mainstream rap influence (think 50 Cent, or something in that vein). People usually defend the band by saying Wes Borland is an underrated guitarist, but I didn't notice anything interesting on any of these songs.

I took a quick look at The Unquestionable Truth Part 1 as well - since it's the album that apologists often say is less dopey, more interesting. And it's sorta true, but I doubt this will convert any "haters". I caught a few brief moments with some nice riffing going on, but Durst is insufferable as always.

From now on, when I say that Limp Bizkit sucks, I know that I'm not just parroting what other people are saying or operating on habit alone. It's confirmed now: Terrible band.



Korn are harmless and dull

This was the first band I dove into and I expected to hate it. Instead what happened was that I would end up clicking from album to album, frantically searching for a song that wasn't just a variation on their usual schtick and wasn't boring.

Some of their albums are more boring (The Paradigm Shift), some of them less boring (III: Remember Who You Are), some of them somewhat annoying (Follow the Leader), but the difference frankly isn't huge.

Some of their production choices are neat and I do like how some of their better material sounds really beefy and sort of atmospheric, but I found myself a bit surprised by just how unadventurous the band is. There's a real dearth of fun riffs and Jonathan Davis - while a singer with some expressive range - tends to run through his bag of tricks very fast on every album, so he ends up feeling very one note.

I don't think Korn is a terrible band. I just think they've spent their entire career underachieving.



Butcher Babies

This is one of the more divisive and ridiculed bands in modern metal, so I thought it would be fun to take a trip past their albums as well. The two singers are both former porn stars, I think, and the visual image of the band is pretty damn corny. They also have some terrible songs here and there (Monster's ball), but I was surprised to find that the band isn't always that bad. The two singers are capable and there's some occasionally fun riffing that mixes together varying styles of modern metal, like metalcore, death core, nu-metal and melodic death metal.

Conceptually, they're such an easy band to dismiss and make fun of, but I've heard so much worse metal. Just the fact that they fairly often manage some good, catchy riffs and even the occasional catchy vocal hook places them leagues above both Limp Bizkit and Korn.

I wouldn't call myself a new born fan of this band, but I can't hate on this. They get enough of that already. I don't think they're bad, really. They've just got a terrible visual image and a stupid band name.



In This Moment
Among the sort of modern metal fans that don't listen to all sorts of esoterica,
In This Moment is actually fairly popular, but they catch a good amount of sneering from the more "learned" music nerds as well as from old-school metalheads (you know the type). The band sounds like someone threw Marilyn Manson, Korn and Lady Gaga in a blender, so it's no wonder they rub people with "good tastes" the wrong way.

The thing with this band is that they used to irritate me quite a bit. I've bumped into their music videos whenever they've put out a new album and always found them terrible. This is really the main reason why I wanted to give them a chance again: Because I knew it would be difficult to be neutral while listening. I really do think this sort of exercise is constructive, but you can call it a waste of time if you will.

After listening to half of the album Black Widow, I can conclude that this band is a bit too over the top, quite over produced and that the singer is layering on the vocal affectations to the point of silliness. Still... I... don't quite hate it? I almost like it. The chorus to "Big Bad Wolf" sounds like Guano Apes, and I like that band. After about half of this album, I think I'm actually somewhat on board with it. I turned it off and ordered it for cheap on Amazon. Gonna take a chance and see what I think of the whole thing after a few full listens.

Is this band ridiculous? Probably very - but then, so is a lot of well loved metal. Remember how I compared In This Moment to Lady Gaga?
Some songs really bring the pop hooks and I'm a sucker for a good hook. The song "Dirty Pretty" is a prime example of this band in full on Lady Gaga mode.

I'm gonna post that one and let that be it for now:

In This Moment - "Dirty Pretty" (Official Audio)