MicShazam

I'm not sure how big a single post can be, so I chose to cut it here and make it a two parter. So...

Uroboros (2008)

Another one of the band's finest albums. It is eclectic, ambitious, challenging , memorable and chuck full of feeling, atmosphere and musicality.
Several songs stand out as some of my all time favorites, but Toguro would be my pick if I had to only choose one song to keep from the album.
A thing to note about this album is that two distinctly different sounding production jobs exist on CD. The original 2008 release is my favorite by far. The clattering drums, booming bass and raw mixing job is hard to get used to, but damn is it magical when it finally clicks.
A remastered version of the album leaves it sounding a lot more conventional and pretty. By no means bad. It actually sounds great, but I much prefer the more unique sounding original version. If you listen to this album and you immediately think "what the hell is up with the production?!", the you're listening to the original 2008 version without a doubt.
10/10 - Just amazing. Every time I listen to this album, I hear something new. There's no other album quite like it.

Dum Spiro Spero (2011)

Oh boy did this album blow my mind! This was my first album of theirs and I was just immediately sold. For a long, long time I considered it the best metal album ever made. It still might be. It's certainly an album that still impresses me whenever I listen to the whole thing. Doing exactly that is pretty challenging, since this album is long, frantic, complex, abrasive and frankly a bit weird. I'm a sucker for Kyo's vocals on this record. He spans god knows how many vocals styles, octaves and moods and I'm thoroughly impressed. Did I mention he's my number one favorite vocalist of all time? Well, he is, and this album is big part of the reason why. Listen to the song Diabolos, then to the song Vanitas. Mike Patton go home (I still love Patton, of course, so relax).
Not even sure what else to say about this. It's quite a journey, but not an album you can really digest in your first sitting. The songs are sort of structurally odd and will probably feel all over the place until you've heard most of them a few times.
10/10 - Simply impressive. One of the very best the band has made.

The Unraveling (2013)

A collection of B-sides and re-recordings of older tracks. What's really interesting about the re-recordings segment of the album is how the old songs have all been re-interpreted to conform to the current musical style of the band, lending them all an air of darkness and musical sophistication that they didn't quite have before. Some of them are better than the originals, all of them are interesting. Together with the generally newer and quite good b-sides, this disc ends up feeling like a very cohesive album, rather than the somewhat scattershot collection of tracks it really is. It basically feels like a legit album in it's own right and I think of it as such, which is why I've included it on this list. Note that the track listing varies quite a bit depending on what region it's from. The EU version (the one I have) seems to contain the most complete set of tracks.
9/10 - Just forget that it's a bunch of re-recordings. It's much more essential than it would seem like.

Arche (2014)

As if I havent't gushed enough about this band already. This album might just be their crowning achievement as far as my opinion is concerned. Kyo's vocals take the center stage this time around and that proves to be a very good thing. I don't know what training regimen he's gone through, but he's basically gained an entire octave of vocal range and a few new singing voices. He's also more on point than ever in terms of nailing notes and vibrato. The album makes great use of his vocals with an impressive array of excellent vocal melodies spread out across the whole album. There's also plenty of aggressive moments on the album, plus a bunch of interestingly idiosyncratic tracks that sound like basically no other band on this earth. Rinkaku is a great example of this. If there's any other band out there that sounds remotely like this, I'd love to hear about them!
I just love this album like few other albums. I've played it countless times over the last few years. More than all other Dir En Grey albums put together, probably. What can I say; fantastic musicianship, vocals, arrangements and production.
10/10 - Listening to all 14 tracks in one go can be intimidating, but I've always just taken very long albums in two sittings, so I don't actually consider that a noteworthy knock against this or any album. It's just a fantastic album and I'm worried that no matter what they do next, it will take me a while not to feel disappointed about it, considering it has to follow this one.

MicShazam

I don't buy nearly as many metal albums as I used to, but I did get a couple a few days ago. Trying to keep up with music in 2017, they're quite newly released.

Kobra and the Lotus - Prevail I


Released: May 12, 2017
Country: Canada
Genre: Heavy Metal
Chronology: This is their 4th full length album since their first in 2009.

I've known this band for a few years and found myself very impressed by their previous full length album, High Priestess. A small covers EP filled out the gap between that and the newest album and it was allright, if not essential.

This album feels a lot more slick and radio friendly than the previous album, which was heavy metal to the bone. Prevail I throws around quite a few power chords, focuses on vocal hooks more than riffs and at times even calls to mind some old Lacuna Coil.

You might think I'm about to call the album a disappointment, but that's not the case at all. If anything, Prevail I comes off as a very, very strong album after just a handful listens. Kobra Paige's voice is powerful and beautiful and she handles a healthy bunch of great hooks with flying colors.
Another thing I really like about this album is the simple, but creative guitar solos. They sound fresh and full of personality. Musically, the album is rather subordinated to the vocals though. This is no bad thing, but don't expect the drums or the bass guitar playing to be much more than "fitting".

As a collection of 12 catchy songs, all of which are rather accessible in nature, this is one hell of an enjoyable album. I'm finding myself humming the vocal hooks while cooking dinner - which is something very few metal albums manage to do for me.

For an example of what's so great about Kobra Paige's singing, check out the song Victim. They're all winners though. Just be warned that the music video for the song You Don't Know is rather corny.

Might very well turn out to be one of my favorite albums of 2017.
Very recommended - on the pretext that you actually enjoy basic heavy metal and vocal dominated metal.


Arch Enemy - Will to Power


Released: May 12, 2017
Country: Sweden, USA, Canada
Genre: Melodic death metal (that's starting to sound like power metal)
Chronology: This is their 11th full length album since their first in 1996.

I've been a fan of this band for many years. I'm sure they don't need any introduction among most people who listen to metal. Slightly against the general opinion on the band, I think they were pretty boring back in the Johan Liiva years. I like all albums from the Angela Gossow years more or less and the previous (and first) with Alissa White-Gluz on the microphone was allright.

I've seen all sorts of reactions to their newest album, Will to Power. Some think the band is completely played out and that Alissa ruined the band. Many complaints about Jeff Loomis not having enough to do, the lyrics being corny, alissa not being Liiva or Gossow... Video ratings suggest that most people like what they hear, so maybe it's actually a lot more well liked than a quick glance at the various seedy comment sections of the internet might suggest.

I've been spinning the disc many times over the last couple days and I've reached a verdict: Very, very fun to listen to. Possibly the best album the band ever did. Big words.

There's precious little left here that feels like death metal. Someone, somewhere said that the band is starting to feel more like power metal, what with the big, anthemic leads and the generally more colorful, softer guitar playing. I like this version of the band. It's been there for many years, but it is indeed the case that this album is more melodic and less extreme than any previous album.

I can't complain. Will to Power is simply stuffed with fun riffs, guitar leads and there's a general feeling that the songs flow really well. The production is overly clean and compressed, but it does sound fairly good. There's even some detail in the drums and the bass if you care to listen for it.

Alissa screams and shouts and does - as a first with this band - a scant few moments of cleanly sung vocals. She's not my favorite vocalist in the world by any means, but she does a good job of keeping up with the energy level of the music and providing a bit of expressive variety.

You already know what you think of this band. For what it's worth, I think this album is one of their most consistently catchy and entertaining albums yet. Perhaps the best, side by side with Khaos Legions.

MicShazam

Tori Amos - Native Invader (singer/songwriter)(2017)


I'm sure this wasn't on anyone elses list of albums to look out for in 2017, but for me, the release of this album was a highly anticipated event. There's only a couple artists I expect so much from, that the many months long wait is excruciating.

Now I'm finally listening to this album on my stereo and I'm trying to figure out what I think about it. First thing that springs to mind is that musically, it's most directly comparable to the two older albums of her's American Doll Posse and Abnormally Attracted to Sin. I'm only 1 time through the album, so I don't actually have any idea how good it is yet. There were some clear highlights for sure, not least the opening track Reindeer King.
I'm going to have to listen to this one a lot more over the coming days, but I can say that I quite like the variety of sounds these songs employ. The album isn't going to please anyone who thinks she lost her appeal back in the 90's, because this is very much a 2000's Tori Amos album in style and sound. As far as I know, she's well over 50 years old, but her voice is still as strong and appealing as ever. Her singing is chilly - ice cold in fact, and some people hate that. Some would find it shrill, but I find her voice to be uniquely appealing.

I've got no clue where this will end up sitting in my end-of-year-ranking, but I trust that the album will grow on me, as her albums always do.

MicShazam

October 1st, let's listen to some music!

I ****ing hate October. I always start feeling really depressed somewhere during this month and it usually lasts anywhere from two weeks to 1½ months.
I'm going to fight my traitorous brain with music. Here's a selection of tracks that I have been excited about recently:

One of the uncoolest things you can admit in here: I like Nightwish. Thus, I have been quite curious about what the recent union of former Nightwish singer Anette Olzon and Jani Liimatainen, formerly of Stratovarius would lead to. They've got a single out now and it's pretty good. Cheesy? Depends on what you feel about soaring vocal hooks and overblown pomp. I quite like it.

The Dark Element:





Many apologies to the poster who showed me this band, but I can't remember your name. You know who you are. This Spanish folk music is beyond gorgeous. At risk of being overly earnest, I will admit that this music causes a stirring in my chest and brings tears to my eyes. It reminds me just how beautiful human creations can be. We're such an ugly and messy species and at times it seems that all we do is destroy. I'm not exagerrating when I say that art like this at times is all that keeps me from wanting to turn us all into dust to stop us from being so terrible. This music reminds me that perhaps humans aren't so bad after all. Could I praise any music much higher?

Luar Na Lubre - A Miña Amiga:





Recently, I've been listening to a lot of live footage of Nightwish. Just one album ago, they changed their singer for the second time. Floor Jansen is her name and damn, she rocks. I wish they would release an album with some of their most recognizable anthems, re-recorded with Floor at the microphone. Listen to the part from 8:26 and onwards and tell me you didn't feel at least something. Whether it was goosebumps or unbearable cringe, you must have felt some emotions during that! Goosbebumps for me personally, but of course, I like Nightwish.

MicShazam

I'm not done yet! ... So here's a few other tracks that have made an impact on me recently.

Men At Work is one of those 80's bands that I have never paid much attention to. I know a couple of their hits, of course, but I never listened to them on my own time, so to speak. I decided to give them a closer listen and found out that I quite like this band! Last year I found out that I like their fellow Aussies, Midnight Oil, so maybe it's all a sign that I should explore the music scene of the Australian 80's some more.

Men at Work - Overkill





Already a big fan of Cristina Branco and Teresa Salgueiro, I'm always looking for more fadistas to dazzle me and break my heart. Reading some issues of the folk and world music magazine, I found out that I like Carla Pires. Here's one of her songs. Notice the character of her voice. I have a feeling she's going to become a big part of my life in the future. This is music for the soul.






I don't remember where I found the following, but it's pretty damn good!

Maria Simoglou - Matta Zeybegi

GroovyPanda

Really? You hate October? I'm sorry, Mic.

I love October, but maybe because where I live. Traveling gets cheaper, families are no longer on vacation so places are cheaper and trails are less crowded, the days are brisk and sunny where I am, no snow yet, and I have an excuse to make pie and bread!

But, I understand, Mic.

Hey, I love Tori Amos...thanks for sharing all your great information.

I didn't realize you were reviewing albums, too. It sure takes a lot of effort and hope you are having fun! Now, THIS (as well as Trollhearts reviews) is what I think of when someone has varied music tastes and they listen to "all kinds."

In the States where I work (Alaska--with a lot of Sarah Palin admirers), if the conversation of music arises (usually I'm the one who makes mention), I'll ask what music the person likes (some beer-gut dude between 30 -60 years old)
"Oh, all kinds. Ya.. everything... Rock... Metal... Van Halen, Beastie Boys, Metallica, Huey Lewis..."


Thanks, again, Mic!

MicShazam

I like some things about October. It's my birthday month and autumn trees are flat out gorgeous. The transition from summer to darker and colder times just tends to be hard on my state of mind for whatever reason.

What's you favorite Tori Amos album? My personal favorite is probably Night of Hunters (from 2011).

I do like a lot of genres, but there's also a lot that I don't care for. I love this forum partially because there are people in here advocating for just about any genre you could think of. It's a great environment in that it challenges me to keep questioning my own musical boundaries. When it comes to the people I meet during my daily life, I'm blessed with a younger brother who has a great passion for music. Most other people I know, I can't expect to share anything with or learn anything from, when it comes to music.

MicShazam

There's no doubt that for me, by far the most exciting upcoming album of 2017 is this:

Vuur - In This Moment We Are Free – Cities


It's a new band formed by Anneke Van Giersbergen formerly of The Gathering. I wasn't ever a fan of her old band, but this new material is stunning. I've heard several live performances of songs from the upcoming album and I'm loving it.

They play a sort of modern sounding alternative rock/metal hybrid that's really quite hard to pin down. I love the way their album is mixed, with deep, fat bass, full sounding drums and a very evocative sound on the lead guitars. Anneke's vocals are astounding. I never even knew she was this good.



So far, they've got just one official music video out, and I've watched it countless times already.

The album is out on the 20th of October.

VUUR - "My Champion - Berlin"

MicShazam

Marillion - Marillion.com

I got an actual Marillion album on CD now, so you could say I'm getting serious about giving this band a proper chance. Why this album? Because it's the one I bumped into downtown.



So far, I really like the first three tracks on the album. After that, it's still good, but I'm not entirely sure what I feel about the album as a whole yet. I've only listened to the whole thing once. The singer is good, I like a lot of the sounds and how it sounds very 2000's, while also sounding quite 70's. There's just something about the recording quality and the artwork that is so the year 2000 that I would be in no doubt when it was from, even if it didn't say so on the back of the cover. The moodier version of this band seems to sit best with me. When they go dad rock, I'm less on board, but I do like this album so far. It's quite possible that I will get more albums with Marillion. Like any artist, I need some time to let them grow on me.

Favorite track off this disc: "Deserve".

Mor Karbasi - Daughter of the Spring



What a girly looking cover, but don't be fooled. This is quite an interesting album that takes us through a variety of singer songwriter, fado and middle eastern styled tunes. Mor Karbasi has quite a voice and she is very good at microtonal melismatic singing. I'm not usually a fan of middle eastern music and vocal styling. A lot of it sort of sounds the same to me. Like it's nearly the same melodies over and over. Mor Karbasi finds ways to keep me interested and there's this strong emotional component to her singing on this album. I need to give it more time before I know just how good it is, but my first complete listen of this album left me quite impressed. I learned about this artist in the world music magazine Froots and I've got a long list of artists from there that I still need to check out. I'm expecting to find several more worthwhile artists from this, but we will see.

MicShazam

I've been chewing on this album for a while now and thought I'd try my hand at some sort of review. I honestly feel like writing reviews is very difficult and I'm not exactly confident in my own reviewing abilities. I don't even have a feeling for what basic approach works best for me, despite the fact that I once had a music blog where I wrote quite a number of reviews and got a fair number of page visits over a few years. I stopped writing since I didn't really think my own writing was any good whenever I went back to my old pieces and read them again.

I'm not sure how I'm going to do this one. Trying to be honest and straight forward is probably a good starting point. I guess I'm just going to sort of start writing and see what happens.

Tori Amos - Native Invader(2017)

Released: September 8, 2017*
Country: USA
Genre: Contemporary singer/songwriter, adult contemporary, alternative.
Chronology: This is her 15th studio record, counting cover albums, re-recordings and the studio recording of her musical The Light Princess.

Preamble/ramble:

My own history with Tori Amos goes back quite a while and it all began with Metallica. Back in the day, I mostly listened to metal. I found out via MTV that Metallica had put out a non-album track, I Disappear, through the Missions Impossible 2 soundtrack and I had to have it. I listened to the disc a lot back then while designing levels for a terrible old DOS game called Witchaven 2. The two are permanently bound together in my mind. Most of the album was some, in hindsight, not very good alternative rock, post grunge and nu-metal. A few tracks stood out though, not least a deep-cut by Tori Amos; the non-album track Carnival. I was completely taken with the track and would often skip past other tracks I liked to get to it faster. Why I didn't actually try to find any albums with Tori back then will always be a mystery to me. Perhaps because there weren't a lot of options. Few local record stores, none of which had any of her albums. I mostly bought metal albums back then anyway. It was basically all about thrash, NWOBHM, No Doubt, Depeche Mode and Kylie Minogue for me.

It wasn't until 2009 I really started exploring music via the internet and try actively to expand my horizons. If I seem like kind of a musical pleb at times, keep in mind that I'm a 36 year old that have only spent the last 8 years or so really going in depth with music.

Tori Amos was the first target. I got the album American Doll Posse and was soon completely sold. I've been a big fan ever since and in a way, most music I've discovered since has come from attempts at finding something equally melodically, emotionally and harmonically involved as I find her music to be. Much has even come directly from in various ways looking for similar artists through allmusic.com and then simply following that trail deeper and deeper. If I seem to focus rather heavily on female solo artists, blame Tori's huge influence on my tastes as far as everything non-metal is concerned.

Her discography so far has, in my eyes, been a varied and interesting mountain to climb. I can't say there's been many letdowns for me and the peaks have been many. If I started listing off Tori Amos songs that I find among my favorite music of all time, I'd be here all day. I do feel like she's been releasing a very impressive string of albums since 2007 as I find most of her major releases between then and now to be excellent. As such, I expected quite a bit from Native Invader.

The actual review:

Native Invader is a farily straight forward album as such. It's a varied bunch of songs that stick pretty closely to the kind of thing most fans want from her. No classical detours in the vein of her 2011 album Night of Hunters. No messing around with holiday themes (Midwinter Graces (2009)), re-recordings of her older songs (Gold Dust (2012)) or audacious musical projects without much in the way of vocals from Tori Herself (The Light Princess (2013)) - just an album of "normal" songs.
As such, it's not really far from her 2014 album, Unrepentant Geraldines.
I do feel like it shares a certain sonic common ground with a couple older albums, namely 2002's Scarlet's Walk and 2005's The Beekeeper. Those two albums had a similar warm, adult contemporary/adult alternative feeling to the instrumentation and the arrangements in general. Later albums feel like they shop around quite a bit more stylistically, touching upon everything from blues to R&B, torch songs and folk music. Native Invader is still a musically varied project, but it stays more firmly within a singer/songwriter style, with said adult contemporary/adult alternative stylings as a sort of lens which informs the production on these tracks.

I think I will try to write something about each track on the album. That seems the best way to give a sense of what there is to gain from this listening experience.

1. Reindeer King
This is a chilling, ghostly, rolling piano ballad with booming low notes from Tori's Bösendorfer piano and startlingly powerful, reverbed vocals. This is definitely a highlight in Tori's sizeable discography, so we're off to a good start.

2. Wings
This track immediately recalls the production style of those early 2000's albums I mentioned earlier and the drum beat recalls adult alternative from that time period. This is where I see those not keen on Tori Amos already jumping ship, but stay with me and I might change you mind.
During the first chorus, some rather interesting details creep into the arrangement in the shape of a frail synth tone of sorts, doubling up the melody. Other details make themselves known in the background, including a subtle reverbed guitar and what sounds like steel drums. The collective effect is in my opinion a rather rich and evocative soundscape. Not least due to the dynamic way in which it ebbs, flows and changes shape depending on what part of the song we're in. Like most tracks on this album, this isn't exactly very immediate and catchy, but I find that to be a common trait of all her albums. They take a while to grow on me, but they always do.

3. Broken Arrow
We've got a wah-pedalled guitar, for what might just be the first time in Tori's entire discography. The radio friendly tone of the previous track remains and the spectre of the Scarlet's Walk album looms large over this one. I like it, but it just about represents everything that many hate about Tori's post 90's output. I like the use of a hammond organ, the subtly detailed, minimal bass and drum backing and said wah-pedal. It all comes together for a restrained, but rich arrangement. I love the subtly layered falsetto vocals in the chorus.

4. Cloud Riders
The guitars and organs sound great from the very beginning of this track. I love everything about the sombre vibe it gives off before the bridge and chorus. The song changes vibe to something more energetic, in more of a major key, then snaps right back via a vistful guitar progression with a very nice tone to it. I mentioned the organ already, but I really, really love how it subtly colors this song in the background.

5. Up The Creek
This is the one song that really deviates from how I described the musical contents of this album in the beginning. It's got an electronic beat and guest vocal's from Tori's daughter. It's got fake, keyboard played strings and some synth lines. There's some nice details in this arrangement too if you are patient and listen carefully. I love it when it explodes into a piano solo. This track took me a while to fully appreciate, but I feel like it's a success.

6. Breakaway
A low key piano ballad. I suppose this is the sort of thing a lot of Tori Amos fans are clamoring for her to go back to. It's a good song and her piano arrangements are always on point. There's a very evocative melodic piano theme and a sensitive, lamenting vocal melody - beautiful music all around, but I will say that I'm happy there's so much more to her that this sort of thing. One of my favorite things about her is her versatility as an artist.

7. Wildwood
Another track with beautiful guitar sound. I just love this song honestly. Tori's vocals are truly in chills-down-your-spine territory on this track. I like the use of hand drums along with a drum kit. Listen carefully and you will realize there's quite a few components to this arrangement. A great track that I'm looking forward to every time I listen to this album.

8. Chocolate Song
Ok so this one is admittedly a bit daft. The lyrics, at least. Musically, it's mostly just how it seems to shift between the chorus and the verse sort of jarringly that sets me off. Like with all the track on this album, there's some details to it if you pay attention. It's not bad, but clearly the low point of the album.

9. Bang
I'm not sure this is in 3/4, but it does seem to have that waltzing rhythm to it. There's a sort of ascending melodic arrangement to it that for much of the song is underscored closely by extended lead guitar notes. Some drum details help lend a somewhat portentous feel to this track. An interlude scales things back to something much quieter before the track builds even further in intensity. The guitar near the end almost sounds like something Brian May could have played.

10. Climb
This piano led song feels like it stylistically owes something to old, traditional American songs. The chorus feels more modern and ends rather beautifully. The arrangement is ever so slightly backed and expanded by subtle acoustic guitar and a tambourine. Definitely a track that took a while to grow on me, but I see great appeal in it now.

11. Bats
Strongly recalls Tori's early 2000's style. The hand drums, the guitar work, the tempo setting piano arrangement and smooth adult alternative feel all make me think of tracks from that time. I love how her vocal melody weaves itself around a repeating musical arrangement during the chorus.

12. Benjamin
Seems to be a song about corporate greed as far as I can tell. Some of the instrumentation curiously reminds me of old Kate Bush - way back around her first three records - and there's a key change late in the song that at first seemed jarring to me, but now seems exciting and clever. One of the things I love the most about Tori Amos is her abilities as a songwriter from a musical perspective. I'm always quite impressed by the fluidly structured songs that never fail to have multifaceted, fully developed melodies. There's a lot of evident thoughtfulness behind her songs and this song exhibits this quality very clearly. This being one of the main attractions of her music, it does admittedly mean that most of it is far from immediately catchy. It's less about isolated moments (hooks) and more about the development of melodies over time.

13. Mary's Eyes
Similarly to how the album started, we get another rolling piano ballad with very pretty, sombre vocals. I love how the feel of the melody changes quite a bit as we move from verse to bridge to chorus. In the background, I notice a few details that are unique to this track. This has been a theme of this album all the way through this album, then; that almost every track has some details/instrumenation mixed in that is unique compared to all the other tracks. This sonic diversity is a major strength of the album in my opinion.

I feel like Native Invader is a very, very strong album overall. It's 62 minutes long and quite a mouthful to find one's way through at first, but I feel like I'm getting a lot out of it now that I know it more in depth. It's always hard to place an album in a discography so large, but I feel like it surely must belong in the upper half of the Tori Amos discography. Maybe even close to the top. But I do not want to be to quick to say something like that, as I know from experience that keeping a full overview of this many long and detailed albums in your head at once is difficult. My feelings about her albums change as the wind blows, so all that I can say for sure is that I think Native Invader is very good and very interesting once you move below the surface of it.

9/10

*Since Trollheart hated the last Tori Amos album I saw him suffer through, I'm not sure it will go down well when Native Invader comes up in his 2017 albums review thread. It's very far down the list, but here's me hoping it gets a fair shake when time comes!