What Are You Listening to Now 7.0

[Haulover]

Cult of Luna : The Long Road North

Very good. (As expected!)

 

[Haulover]

Voivod : Target Earth


Not many meetings for the last few days, just heads-down busy-work. hence - lots of listening time

 

[Bramblethorn]

Peter Sellers and the Muppets - I've Got A Brand New Combine Harvester

 

[Haulover]

Voivod : Target Earth


Not many meetings for the last few days, just heads-down busy-work. hence - lots of listening time

I've always appreciated Voivod. I've never really enjoyed them.

That hasn't changed.

 

[Haulover]

Nad Sylvan : Spiritus Mundi

 

[Haulover]

Dream Theater : Distance Over Time

 

[Haulover]

Mostly Autumn : Graveyard Star

 

[Nylonian]

ALCEST - Protection

 

[Nylonian]

Dream Theater : Distance Over Time

I feel like we'd get along.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

Visage - Fade To Grey
Depeche Mode - People Are people
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The dark - Joan of Arc
The Beat - Mirror in The Bathroom
Duran Duran - The Reflex
Japan - Ghosts
Japan - I Second that Emotion
Japan - Life In Tokyo
Japan - The Art Of Parties
Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi
The Knack - My Sharona
Suburban Lawns - Gidget Goes To Hell
Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Martha And The Muffins - Echo Beach
Devo - Whip It
Ultravox - Vienna
The Human League - Don't You Want Me
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
Gary Numan - Cars
XTC - Making Plans For Nigel
XTC - Freedom Of Choice
Kid Creole and The Coconuts - Stool Pigeon
Kid Creole and The Coconuts - I'm A Wonderful Thing
Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy
The B-52's - Private Idaho
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Soft Cell - Torch
Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf
The Jam - Town Called Malice
The Go-Go's - Vacation
Frank & Moon-Unit Zappa - Valley Girls
The Tubes - She's A Beauty
Single Bullet Theory - keep It Tight
Kajagoogoo - Too Shy

 

[Haulover]

I feel like we'd get along.

Cool! I have a very large collection of albums, many of which are in the DT prog-metal genre.

 

[Haulover]

Subterranean Masquerade : Vagabond

 

[Haulover]

Epica : Omega


(Not B-J's favorite, I know But it's a good background listen while I'm working...)

 

[Haulover]

Coheed & Cambria : Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume One

Coheed & Cambria : The Second Stage Turbine Blade

 

[Blind_Justice]

Epica : Omega


(Not B-J's favorite, I know But it's a good background listen while I'm working...)

I couod not concentrate for all the bombast which goes off on that record. My work playlist usually is something simple and easy, like Queen or, as of late, Dire Straits.

My general issue with the last few Epica records is the same I have with Blind Guardian: They've crammed their songs so full of stuff that at some point, it just stops being fun to listen to. Three guitars, a full orchestra, singers shouting over each other and the drummer going berserk do sound spectacular, but it has to make sense!

Blind Guardian especially seem horribly afraid of writing straight songs. Even their recent "fast ones" can't stay in one tempo, time signature or key for more than a minute, almost as if to reassure themselves that they are, indeed and verily, serious and progressive.

I prefer my prog to be a bit more... is "understated" a good term? Pink Floyd, Threshold and Porcupine Tree manage to break musical conventions without nervously jumping through time and scales.

 

[Nylonian]

Cool! I have a very large collection of albums, many of which are in the DT prog-metal genre.

Are you into In Flames by any chance?

 

[Haulover]

Are you into In Flames by any chance?

I have several of their albums, but haven't spun them for years, and don't remember much. Perhaps I should re-visit them.

The albums have:
A Sense Of Purpose
Clayman
Come Clarity
Lunar Strain
Soundtrack To Your Escape
Whoracle

 

[Lady2020]

Ex's and oh's. Elle King.

 

[Haulover]

Cryptic Vision : Moments of Clarity

 

[Haulover]

I couod not concentrate for all the bombast which goes off on that record. My work playlist usually is something simple and easy, like Queen or, as of late, Dire Straits.

My general issue with the last few Epica records is the same I have with Blind Guardian: They've crammed their songs so full of stuff that at some point, it just stops being fun to listen to. Three guitars, a full orchestra, singers shouting over each other and the drummer going berserk do sound spectacular, but it has to make sense!

Blind Guardian especially seem horribly afraid of writing straight songs. Even their recent "fast ones" can't stay in one tempo, time signature or key for more than a minute, almost as if to reassure themselves that they are, indeed and verily, serious and progressive.

I prefer my prog to be a bit more... is "understated" a good term? Pink Floyd, Threshold and Porcupine Tree manage to break musical conventions without nervously jumping through time and scales.

I understand, and recall that we've had this conversation before - in the context of Epica, Nightwish, some of the Therion albums, and others.

In certain listening situations (such as background while I'm working) I don't mind the "bombast", though for more serious listening, I agree with a more structured sound.

Incidentally, based on your comments (above), I'll be curious if you share my opinion on the latest Marillion. It isn't as "bombastic" as the recent Epica (et al) releases, but it seems to me they're going in the same general direction - more pomp, lush wall-of-sounds, less "pure", IMO.

 

[Blind_Justice]

I understand, and recall that we've had this conversation before - in the context of Epica, Nightwish, some of the Therion albums, and others.

In certain listening situations (such as background while I'm working) I don't mind the "bombast", though for more serious listening, I agree with a more structured sound.

Incidentally, based on your comments (above), I'll be curious if you share my opinion on the latest Marillion. It isn't as "bombastic" as the recent Epica (et al) releases, but it seems to me they're going in the same general direction - more pomp, lush wall-of-sounds, less "pure", IMO.

I haven't spun the new one often enough to fully form an opinion, but the few casual listens I gave it left me with a positive net result. Granted, the last Marillion I fully absorbed (instead of just taste-testing) was "Afraid Of Sunlight" and compared to that, I appreciate the move to fuller arrangements. Remember, besides the whole Fish era, my fave Marillion album is "Holidays In Eden", so I'm sliiiiightly biased.

As for Epica or Therion, I think its a matter of how the ingredients are mixed in. I fell in love with Epica when they were a death metal band mixing in orchestral bits into their music. Now they are an orchestra band with guitars and growls. Same with Nightwish. I've been with them since "Angels Fall First" and over the years, they moved the ratio of melodic metal vs. soundtrack music to the point where Emppu isn't even allowed to play guitar solos anymore. I don't mind soundtracky stuff, but nowadays buying a Nightwish album is like opening a bottle of Coke and getting vanilla syrup instead.

Or said differently: Express your musical desires all you want, but maybe use another project name for the result. Everybody will grab theirtorches and pitchforks if Metallica were to release a country album, but no one probably gave a damn if Kirk Hammet and the Barn Boys would do that.

 

[Blind_Justice]

I have several of their albums, but haven't spun them for years, and don't remember much. Perhaps I should re-visit them.

The albums have:
A Sense Of Purpose
Clayman
Come Clarity
Lunar Strain
Soundtrack To Your Escape
Whoracle

You're missing their best one, The Jester Race. IMHO, of course. Whoracle and Colony are pretty good too.

 

[Haulover]

You're missing their best one, The Jester Race. IMHO, of course. Whoracle and Colony are pretty good too.

I'll see if I can find that. I just-now spun 'Soundtrack To Your Escape". Seemed to be a cross between ProgMetal and extreme metal (i.e. with growls), and the pace ranges from restless to frantic

Pretty good, though, and I need to spend more time with them.

 

[Haulover]

Inkabb Holnap : Tomorrow Instead


Funky, almost jazzy instrumental. I hate jazz, but love this album - it's melodic, upbeat, and fun. Definitely worth a listen.

 

[Haulover]

In Flames : The Jester Race