What I listened to on summer vacation
First, TONIGHT in Chicago:
Second, for well over a month, I had a malware issue that prevented me from using my computer for anything useful. Now that the tricky bastard has been eliminated, I'd swear that's what kept me from posting, except for the fact that I've also been super busy doin' stuff. All I have to report is that I am now fairly well-versed in replacing sink drains and that "Piranha 3D" is a million times better than anyone could have expected. Yes, Alexandre Aja has finally made a movie I can get 100% behind, a self-aware but genuine drive-in flick packed with idiotic plotting, ridiculous characters, gratuitous nudity and a brilliantly gruesome climax that seriously gets away with a lot of brutal carnage for a wide-release post-conversion 3D horror flick. Curiously, the plot is more similar to the awesome monster movie stupidity of "Jaws 2" than to Joe Dante's original "Piranha."
So, if anyone's scouring the web for a quote to put in the Blu-ray promotional material, Soulreaper of entartetekunst.blogspot.com says: "'Piranha 3D' is the most fun I had at the movies all summer! You'll stand up and cheer!"
Third, you're right, I still haven't finished writing about my top ten albums for 2009. However, I've stocked the player with something from the 41st through 60th new musical releases I've heard during 2010. There is more metal than last time, but the metal tunes in this batch are more "accessible" than usual, since it seems like every power metal band that still interests me has put something out recently. Besides, some of them are acoustic versions. You'll also find a few non-LP tracks. I don't know if they'll be up for long, as I've already got 20 more to follow this batch, but I actually felt like writing a bit about these, so here we go. Hope you're enjoying the onset of autumn as much as I am.
1. Twilight - "The Cryptic Ascension" (Monument to Time End, Southern Lord): Once a supergroup comprised of the hippest American one-man black metal bands, Twilight finally returns to reclaim its name from that Burger King vampire fad. The group's second album sees founders from Nachtmystium, Leviathan and Krieg joined by members of Isis, Minsk and The Atlas Moth, with the results as expected, a dense studio-fuckery fusion of black metal's and psych-doom's most hypnotic aspects.
2. Grand Magus - "At Midnight They'll Get Wise" (Hammer of the North, Roadrunner): With album number five, hooky riffs, strong vocals and pagan lyrical themes continue to be their trade, but the Swedes have moved closer to classic heavy metal territory, all but burying their doom roots in an avalanche of swinging axes. It's nice to see this underrated act moving to a well-funded label, even if they will likely be lost among Roadrunner's more commercial priorities.
3. Kele - "Rise" (The Boxer, Wichita/Polydor): Bloc Party vocalist/guitarist Kele Okereke indulges his love of dance music on his first solo album, a floor-shaking set which at times is a little too club-oriented to really float my boat. There's still enough creativity within to win a rock guy like me over, and some of the tracks (like this one) sound like a logical extension of the recent bass-heavy material from Kele's main band.
4. Nevermore - "The Obsidian Conspiracy" (The Obsidian Conspiracy, Century Media): After five years, a couple of solo albums and a live disc, Seattle's finest downtuned prog-thrash vets offer their long-awaited seventh album, which most seem to feel is well-crafted but dispiritingly short on surprises. I won't argue with that sentiment... I could once easily say that Nevermore was my favorite American metal band, but while it's got it's dependably badass moments, I'm really not blasted out of my chair this time.
5. Broken Social Scene - "Forced to Love" (Forgiveness Rock Record, Arts & Crafts): The first proper BSS album in five years finds the current Canadian collective joyously bestowing another addictive indie pop classic, swells of voices and instruments bursting with warmth and swaddled in bright, expansive layers. Record gets better with every listen, and its frazzled but majestic songwriting is stronger overall than on the great self-titled album.
6. Entrails - "Breath of Blood" (Tales from the Morgue, F.D.A. Rekotz): For some, the prospect of a disc of old-school Swedish death metal tunes written in the early '90s but not properly recorded and released until now would not seem desirable. For the discerning, the vintage Stockholm guitar tone and rollicking, subtly melodic nastiness of Entrails' debut is pure nostalgic bliss.
7. Ween - "DC Won't Do You No Good" (The Right Track: Tunes to TargetCancer, righttracktunes.org): Released as a download for the benefit of an organization seeking treatment for rare cancers, this, like any random Ween song, is not representative of their astoundingly diverse career. It's pretty "normal" in Ween terms, a melancholy, somewhat countryish classic rock tune for which Neil Young seems a likely inspiration.
8. Blind Guardian - "War of the Thrones (acoustic version)" (A Voice in the Dark, Nuclear Blast): Hot damn, tamale! I couldn't wait for my second-favorite band on the planet's new album, so I mail-ordered the three-track single and spun it for days. The a-side is excellent and the cover tune is awright, but the acoustic rendering of this folky medieval ballad is worth the price of admission, more intimate and powerful than the gussied-up, piano-fied album version. At some point, I will very likely need to gush about the brilliance that is At the Edge of Time. Until then, just know that the last 1:15 of this song has had me prancing around the kitchen like a jackass for months.
9. Charred Walls of the Damned - "Creating Our Machine" (Charred Walls of the Damned, Metal Blade): Drum hero Richard Christy teamed up with several other veterans of the revolving door that is Iced Earth for a disc that is at heart very similar to that band's blend of power and thrash metal, jolted with modern-day energy. The performances are flawless and unflagging, yet the mix is lousy and the songwriting only occasionally matches the level of musical talent assembled. I'll bet they slay live.
10. Big Boi - "You Ain't No DJ (feat. Yelawolf)" (Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son of Chico Dusty, Def Jam): As we patiently await a new OutKast album, half of the Atlanta duo has delivered a fun, funky set of summer jams elevated by his signature confident personality and rapid-fire wordplay. Jive Records wouldn't let André 3000 rap on the disc (the obviously-several-years-old tracks he recorded are circulating on the Webs), but he produced a few tracks such as this. The album Big ultimately delivered is great enough to forgive any backstage meddling.
11. Fleshgod Apocalypse - "Thru Our Scars" (Mafia, Willowtip): A young Italian entry in the over-the-top death metal sweepstakes those crazy kids are holding these days, the clumsily-named Fleshgod Apocalypse tout a pronounced symphonic influence on top of fast, wild, technical aggression. Far from a generic gore-and-Satan outfit, their recent EP is lyrically concerned with (and dedicated to the victims of) organized crime, and includes an outrageously caffeinated cover of At the Gates' era-defining "Blinded By Fear."
12. Rage - "Hunter and Prey" (Strings to a Web, Nuclear Blast/Sonic Unyon): This is the 19th studio album by German metal mainstays Rage, and I'll bet you've never heard one of them. Well, I've heard 'em all, and this one is somewhere in the middle, most reminding me of the kitchen-sink hodgepodge of pounding metal groove, melodic Eurorock, poet-shirt symphonic frills and occasionally brilliant overkill of 2001's Welcome to the Other Side, but not as fresh.
13. The Coral - "Roving Jewel" (Butterfly House, Deltasonic): Having long abandoned the catch-all psychedelic craziness of their brilliant debut, the Brits offer an impressively consistent sixth platter of incense-and-patchouli-scented pop. Despite having lost longtime guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones, the overall moodiness is in line with their last couple of releases, while the songs themselves are more focused and memorable.
14. Lantlôs - "Coma" (.neon, Prophecy): More artsy stuff this year from Alcest mastermind Neige, a Frenchman who along with German cohort Herbst offers a more cohesive slate of shoegaze black metal than was recently presented by his main meal ticket. Lantlôs' second disc is one of the strongest entries yet in this quickly growing realm of gossamer misery and is bound to become a genre benchmark.
15. The Apples in Stereo - "It's All Right" (Travellers in Space and Time, Yep Roc): The long-running pop specialists have obviously grown out of their '60s fixation, as their seventh album sounds more like the funky '70s, ELO-style. Imagine my surprise... I saw 'em a coupla years ago, but hadn't heard 'em for a few albums, and if it weren't for Robert Schneider's unmistakably twee little-kid vocals, I would never have guessed some of the dancier tracks here were the Apples.
16. Masterplan - "Far From the End of the World" (Time to Be King, AFM): Former Helloween guitarist Roland Grapow welcomes back vocalist Jørn Lande, the Norwegian Dio, after one surprisingly solid Masterplan album without him. Also returning is the increased AOR slant that characterized the band's material just before Lande left, assuring a mature, prog-lite approach to hard rock/power metal that doesn't pack the punch of their debut.
17. Helloween - "Eagle Fly Free" (Unarmed, Sony/The End): The German metal vets celebrated their 25th anniversary by re-recording some songs from their catalog in various easy listening styles, from jangle pop to big band to a symphonic medley. The predictable track listing is both obvious and arbitrary, but this diehards-only release successfully makes the argument that beautiful songs, like this once-speedy classic, remain beautiful regardless of genre, even if the infamously poor English of the lyrics is made easier to hear.
18. The Cool Kids - "Strawberry Girl" (Tacklebox, C.A.K.E.): Another summer has gone by without the supposed debut LP When Fish Ride Bicycles, but it did come with another free digital mixape from the Cool Kids. The Chicago indie rap icons don't have as much of that retro '80s rap vibe as they used to, but Chuck Inglish has evolved into a creative producer who still crafts excellent beats, even when woven into an electro setting like this.
19. Equilibrium - "Aus Ferner Zeit" (Rekreatur, Nuclear Blast): The German symphonic folk metal outfit, riding the crest of the genre's commercial peak and their frankly excellent previous album, have weathered lineup changes to turn in a similar but lesser album. Even if the depth of real-sounding folk instruments is now supplanted by fakey Ensiferum-y keyboards, I liked Sagas so much, I just can't dislike the cut-rate blockbuster cheese and unabashed fun of Rekreatur.
20. Danzig - "Left Hand Rise Above" (Deth Red Sabaoth, The End): I saved the biggest shocker for last, the product of someone evidently sitting Glenn Danzig down and explaining why everyone used to like his music. Aside from the muffled production, Sabaoth's mix of desolate, bluesy doom metal and slightly experimental gothisms reminds me most of the grossly underated 4th Danzig album.
Second, for well over a month, I had a malware issue that prevented me from using my computer for anything useful. Now that the tricky bastard has been eliminated, I'd swear that's what kept me from posting, except for the fact that I've also been super busy doin' stuff. All I have to report is that I am now fairly well-versed in replacing sink drains and that "Piranha 3D" is a million times better than anyone could have expected. Yes, Alexandre Aja has finally made a movie I can get 100% behind, a self-aware but genuine drive-in flick packed with idiotic plotting, ridiculous characters, gratuitous nudity and a brilliantly gruesome climax that seriously gets away with a lot of brutal carnage for a wide-release post-conversion 3D horror flick. Curiously, the plot is more similar to the awesome monster movie stupidity of "Jaws 2" than to Joe Dante's original "Piranha."
So, if anyone's scouring the web for a quote to put in the Blu-ray promotional material, Soulreaper of entartetekunst.blogspot.com says: "'Piranha 3D' is the most fun I had at the movies all summer! You'll stand up and cheer!"
Third, you're right, I still haven't finished writing about my top ten albums for 2009. However, I've stocked the player with something from the 41st through 60th new musical releases I've heard during 2010. There is more metal than last time, but the metal tunes in this batch are more "accessible" than usual, since it seems like every power metal band that still interests me has put something out recently. Besides, some of them are acoustic versions. You'll also find a few non-LP tracks. I don't know if they'll be up for long, as I've already got 20 more to follow this batch, but I actually felt like writing a bit about these, so here we go. Hope you're enjoying the onset of autumn as much as I am.
1. Twilight - "The Cryptic Ascension" (Monument to Time End, Southern Lord): Once a supergroup comprised of the hippest American one-man black metal bands, Twilight finally returns to reclaim its name from that Burger King vampire fad. The group's second album sees founders from Nachtmystium, Leviathan and Krieg joined by members of Isis, Minsk and The Atlas Moth, with the results as expected, a dense studio-fuckery fusion of black metal's and psych-doom's most hypnotic aspects.
2. Grand Magus - "At Midnight They'll Get Wise" (Hammer of the North, Roadrunner): With album number five, hooky riffs, strong vocals and pagan lyrical themes continue to be their trade, but the Swedes have moved closer to classic heavy metal territory, all but burying their doom roots in an avalanche of swinging axes. It's nice to see this underrated act moving to a well-funded label, even if they will likely be lost among Roadrunner's more commercial priorities.
3. Kele - "Rise" (The Boxer, Wichita/Polydor): Bloc Party vocalist/guitarist Kele Okereke indulges his love of dance music on his first solo album, a floor-shaking set which at times is a little too club-oriented to really float my boat. There's still enough creativity within to win a rock guy like me over, and some of the tracks (like this one) sound like a logical extension of the recent bass-heavy material from Kele's main band.
4. Nevermore - "The Obsidian Conspiracy" (The Obsidian Conspiracy, Century Media): After five years, a couple of solo albums and a live disc, Seattle's finest downtuned prog-thrash vets offer their long-awaited seventh album, which most seem to feel is well-crafted but dispiritingly short on surprises. I won't argue with that sentiment... I could once easily say that Nevermore was my favorite American metal band, but while it's got it's dependably badass moments, I'm really not blasted out of my chair this time.
5. Broken Social Scene - "Forced to Love" (Forgiveness Rock Record, Arts & Crafts): The first proper BSS album in five years finds the current Canadian collective joyously bestowing another addictive indie pop classic, swells of voices and instruments bursting with warmth and swaddled in bright, expansive layers. Record gets better with every listen, and its frazzled but majestic songwriting is stronger overall than on the great self-titled album.
6. Entrails - "Breath of Blood" (Tales from the Morgue, F.D.A. Rekotz): For some, the prospect of a disc of old-school Swedish death metal tunes written in the early '90s but not properly recorded and released until now would not seem desirable. For the discerning, the vintage Stockholm guitar tone and rollicking, subtly melodic nastiness of Entrails' debut is pure nostalgic bliss.
7. Ween - "DC Won't Do You No Good" (The Right Track: Tunes to TargetCancer, righttracktunes.org): Released as a download for the benefit of an organization seeking treatment for rare cancers, this, like any random Ween song, is not representative of their astoundingly diverse career. It's pretty "normal" in Ween terms, a melancholy, somewhat countryish classic rock tune for which Neil Young seems a likely inspiration.
8. Blind Guardian - "War of the Thrones (acoustic version)" (A Voice in the Dark, Nuclear Blast): Hot damn, tamale! I couldn't wait for my second-favorite band on the planet's new album, so I mail-ordered the three-track single and spun it for days. The a-side is excellent and the cover tune is awright, but the acoustic rendering of this folky medieval ballad is worth the price of admission, more intimate and powerful than the gussied-up, piano-fied album version. At some point, I will very likely need to gush about the brilliance that is At the Edge of Time. Until then, just know that the last 1:15 of this song has had me prancing around the kitchen like a jackass for months.
9. Charred Walls of the Damned - "Creating Our Machine" (Charred Walls of the Damned, Metal Blade): Drum hero Richard Christy teamed up with several other veterans of the revolving door that is Iced Earth for a disc that is at heart very similar to that band's blend of power and thrash metal, jolted with modern-day energy. The performances are flawless and unflagging, yet the mix is lousy and the songwriting only occasionally matches the level of musical talent assembled. I'll bet they slay live.
10. Big Boi - "You Ain't No DJ (feat. Yelawolf)" (Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son of Chico Dusty, Def Jam): As we patiently await a new OutKast album, half of the Atlanta duo has delivered a fun, funky set of summer jams elevated by his signature confident personality and rapid-fire wordplay. Jive Records wouldn't let André 3000 rap on the disc (the obviously-several-years-old tracks he recorded are circulating on the Webs), but he produced a few tracks such as this. The album Big ultimately delivered is great enough to forgive any backstage meddling.
11. Fleshgod Apocalypse - "Thru Our Scars" (Mafia, Willowtip): A young Italian entry in the over-the-top death metal sweepstakes those crazy kids are holding these days, the clumsily-named Fleshgod Apocalypse tout a pronounced symphonic influence on top of fast, wild, technical aggression. Far from a generic gore-and-Satan outfit, their recent EP is lyrically concerned with (and dedicated to the victims of) organized crime, and includes an outrageously caffeinated cover of At the Gates' era-defining "Blinded By Fear."
12. Rage - "Hunter and Prey" (Strings to a Web, Nuclear Blast/Sonic Unyon): This is the 19th studio album by German metal mainstays Rage, and I'll bet you've never heard one of them. Well, I've heard 'em all, and this one is somewhere in the middle, most reminding me of the kitchen-sink hodgepodge of pounding metal groove, melodic Eurorock, poet-shirt symphonic frills and occasionally brilliant overkill of 2001's Welcome to the Other Side, but not as fresh.
13. The Coral - "Roving Jewel" (Butterfly House, Deltasonic): Having long abandoned the catch-all psychedelic craziness of their brilliant debut, the Brits offer an impressively consistent sixth platter of incense-and-patchouli-scented pop. Despite having lost longtime guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones, the overall moodiness is in line with their last couple of releases, while the songs themselves are more focused and memorable.
14. Lantlôs - "Coma" (.neon, Prophecy): More artsy stuff this year from Alcest mastermind Neige, a Frenchman who along with German cohort Herbst offers a more cohesive slate of shoegaze black metal than was recently presented by his main meal ticket. Lantlôs' second disc is one of the strongest entries yet in this quickly growing realm of gossamer misery and is bound to become a genre benchmark.
15. The Apples in Stereo - "It's All Right" (Travellers in Space and Time, Yep Roc): The long-running pop specialists have obviously grown out of their '60s fixation, as their seventh album sounds more like the funky '70s, ELO-style. Imagine my surprise... I saw 'em a coupla years ago, but hadn't heard 'em for a few albums, and if it weren't for Robert Schneider's unmistakably twee little-kid vocals, I would never have guessed some of the dancier tracks here were the Apples.
16. Masterplan - "Far From the End of the World" (Time to Be King, AFM): Former Helloween guitarist Roland Grapow welcomes back vocalist Jørn Lande, the Norwegian Dio, after one surprisingly solid Masterplan album without him. Also returning is the increased AOR slant that characterized the band's material just before Lande left, assuring a mature, prog-lite approach to hard rock/power metal that doesn't pack the punch of their debut.
17. Helloween - "Eagle Fly Free" (Unarmed, Sony/The End): The German metal vets celebrated their 25th anniversary by re-recording some songs from their catalog in various easy listening styles, from jangle pop to big band to a symphonic medley. The predictable track listing is both obvious and arbitrary, but this diehards-only release successfully makes the argument that beautiful songs, like this once-speedy classic, remain beautiful regardless of genre, even if the infamously poor English of the lyrics is made easier to hear.
18. The Cool Kids - "Strawberry Girl" (Tacklebox, C.A.K.E.): Another summer has gone by without the supposed debut LP When Fish Ride Bicycles, but it did come with another free digital mixape from the Cool Kids. The Chicago indie rap icons don't have as much of that retro '80s rap vibe as they used to, but Chuck Inglish has evolved into a creative producer who still crafts excellent beats, even when woven into an electro setting like this.
19. Equilibrium - "Aus Ferner Zeit" (Rekreatur, Nuclear Blast): The German symphonic folk metal outfit, riding the crest of the genre's commercial peak and their frankly excellent previous album, have weathered lineup changes to turn in a similar but lesser album. Even if the depth of real-sounding folk instruments is now supplanted by fakey Ensiferum-y keyboards, I liked Sagas so much, I just can't dislike the cut-rate blockbuster cheese and unabashed fun of Rekreatur.
20. Danzig - "Left Hand Rise Above" (Deth Red Sabaoth, The End): I saved the biggest shocker for last, the product of someone evidently sitting Glenn Danzig down and explaining why everyone used to like his music. Aside from the muffled production, Sabaoth's mix of desolate, bluesy doom metal and slightly experimental gothisms reminds me most of the grossly underated 4th Danzig album.
posted by SoulReaper at 9:42 AM
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