The Pros And Cons Of Being A Music Geek

Male, 15, Italy My favorite albums, bands, songs - whatever I enjoy, honestly

[doyouevenprog-blog]

My Reviews #2 - Opeth “Blackwater Park” (2001)

You know, Opeth have been one of those bands with which I used the more “A little of each” approach, meaning that I only listened to a couple of songs from all the records. This was  also because they took a relatively long time to grow on me completely, and so I didn’t listen to the actual records until December – that’s when I’ve explored this band a little more. 

Blackwater Park has always been acclaimed as one of the best Progressive Metal albums of all times, and while it is surely a classic, I can’t say that I completely agree with that statement. We’ll see why in some minutes.

So, this album was “painfully conceived” (as the booklet says) at Fredman Studios, in Sweden, and was mostly written (as all Opeth records) by the band’s frontman, Mikael Åkerfeldt. In terms of production, with this album some kind of relationship begins between the band and another immense immense musician, Steven Wilson. Since this album he’s worked on every Opeth release and eventually he and Mikael formed a duo, and made the album “Storm Corrosion”, which is ambient/proggy-folk, very weird, but still stellar.

In this album Opeth’s pre-keyboards sound is at its complete evolution: the songs are long, featuring mostly intricate and stream-of-consciousness-styled structures, which may be a bit overwhelming on the first listens: infact there are just a few recurring parts in the songs and so it’s prog in every sense of the word: even the songs progress, they evolve, in the words of Mikael, they feel like a journey.

The riffs are creative, complex but yet catchy and interesting, and they’re capable of creating a beautiful, haunting atmosphere, painting a really beautiful picture of (this is at least what they remind me of) forests, autumn, fog and other stuff like that. That’s amazing, few bands can really do that, and Opeth is one of them for sure. Also, the transitions between heavy and soft (and viceversa) are flawless, they feel very natural even though we’re talking about two completely different dynamics. With SW at production, you should expect the best, and indeed it is an awesome sounding album, especially the acoustic guitars and the drums, good God, that snare sound. The lyrics (which are also penned by Akerfeldt) are quite complex too, and I don’t always understand them, but still, they’re very beautiful and they help the atmosphere and the pathos.

The band performance is also stunning, Martin Mendez on bass does a really cool and clever job creating bass lines that play with the guitar parts, not necessarily following them, and Lopez surprises us once in a while with some fast double bass parts. Mikael is capable of using his melodic voice and growl at their best in this album, and I really love both sides of his voice, he’s a top 5 vocalist of mine. Wow.

So, this album opens up with The Leper Affinity, which hits you in the face with a pounding 6/8 riff (very recurring time signature in Opeth) after the creepy organ buildup. This song opens the album really well, and it’s an amazing showcase of the band’s heavier sound. All the riffs are great, and they’re really fun to play – it also flows very well, 10 minutes fly by in the blink of an eye, and all of the sudden you find yourself in the beautiful piano outro, which closes the song with a melanchonic touch. Bleak is next, and it may possibly be my favorite; this song is much more melodic than the previous track, but it’s still heavy, especially during the finale. There are two things about this song that make me enjoy it so much: one is a section I call “Steven Chorus” in which Steven Wilson makes a vocal appearance, and it’s just a gorgeous melody. The other section is the acoustic transition… I’ve got no words for that, it’s just pure eargasm material. The album goes on with Harvest, a nice ballad which makes a good breathing space between other epic and heavy pieces. I really love the vocal lines in this one, although it’s not my favorite Opeth ballad. After that The Drapery Falls starts, and here the record begins to sound a little repetitive, but more of that later. This song is bipolar: the first half is in a power-ballad style, with a beautiful chorus, the second part is heavier and features growls. One highlight of this piece is the 5/8 riff after the first growl section. Good heavens, that’s really sick. Like really really really sick. Overall it’s a great song, but it does drag a bit, and I think that it’s because of its placement, I mean it’s basically another 6/8 ballad afer another 6/8 ballad, so yep. Next up is Dirge For November, which is my least favorite song. Now, this song represents my biggest Opeth critic: they are repetitive. Every song has that same atmosphere, but they are clever because they keep it cool throwing neat riffs at you, so yeah. This reason is why I prefer a particular album over this one, you’ll see with time. So, even though it’s really uninspired for me, Dirge For November features both a beautiful intro and outro. The Funeral Portrait is a shorter (well, 8 minutes.. but you get what I meanl) heavy song, and it has some of the coolest riffs in the album, along with top notch growls, until everything goes melodic in the last section, creating great contrast. After a great acoustic interlude, under the name of Patterns In The Ivy (such a cool title) the final track begins, and it’s a vortex of pure evil and darkness: Blackwater Park, with its lyrics about the darkest side of humanity, has growls all the way through. Each riff is a little masterpiece in this one, and everything is stopped after the first verse, when a creepy and eerie arpeggio part begins, and it’s one of the best moments in the entire album. After that the song goes heavy again and it builds and builds and builds until THE SUUUUN SETS FOR-EVAAAAAH OVER BLACKWATER PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK BOOM- nope. Acoustic outro for ya. And that closes the album masterfully.

So, overall, this is an awesome record, but can be repetitive, and kinda tiring to listen to. Still, it’s a progressive masterpiece, and one that you need to check out if you didn’t. Also, multiple listens required.

Favorite tracks: The Leper Affinity, Bleak, Blackwater Park

[doyouevenprog-blog]

It took a while, but I'm finally starting to like Between The Buried And Me. Also, dat 666 views.

[027meters]

[petewentz-]

Visit Original Link

[fearliath-blog]

PRESS PLAY AND WATCH THE GIF

I WAS EXPECTING SOME REALLY CREEPY MUSIC AND THEN THIS HAPPENED. I cant breathe. I can’t stop laughing.

[cryingismylatestfashion]

IF YOU SEE THIS SAVE IT SOMEHOW BECAUSE  IT WONT SHOW UP FOR ANOTHER 12465436 YEARS

[doyouevenprog-blog]

My Reviews #1 - MUSE “Black Holes And Revelations” (2006)

My first review here in the unholy lands of Tumblr is dedicated to a british band that just recently announced their upcoming 7th record, along with the song Psycho. Let’s say I wanted to celebrate by writing all these words. Indeed, let’s take a look at Muse’s fourth album, Black Holes And Revelations.

Usually the most praised albums by the fanbase are the first three records, but I’m in the vast minority, because I really prefer the latter three (I hope four, with Drones coming out soon), I think mostly because I grew up with ‘em: so yeah, I actually remember when this one came out, I was 7, and this one of the very few bands that I’ve been following for ten years.

BH&R was recorded in various studios in New York, France, Italy and England – and I have to say, the production suffers a bit in this one. It’s not that bad, but I wish it was more clean, and that the primary instruments were more upfront.

So, this album showcases some strange Muse experiments, some of these sounds are  only used in this record: we have a more prominent use of synths, and some strong latin/Spanish influences – I would love to hear ‘em again someday. As always, the three guys are top notch and pretty distinguable, Matt’s voice shines through, and has some of the best performance ever, Chris rocks his bass as always, and Dominic really shines in this one, showcasing his abilities like never before. One thing that this album lacks are riffs. Sure, there are a couple, but there’s never a WOAH riff, like there’s always been in every Muse album. I guess that’s part of experimenting, a thing that I’m grateful they do, because they’re really successful, and kind of bring prog to the masses.

The album opens with Take A Bow, strange choice for an opener, but still, works ok. This song is how you do a build-up properly, since it’s based off of a synth pattern that repeats itself, and Matt sings lines about corruption and V-For-Vendetta kind of stuff. It’s really emotional and gives me goosebumps every time, especially the very last note. It’s sadly underrated though, unlike the next track, which is sadly overrated: Starlight. Now, don’t get me wrong, this song is alright, I appreciate the way it’s dynamic with melodic verses and stronger choruses, but I wish people (and the band) would focus on objectively better songs, rather than a catchy tune about being loved. Not that it’s a bad song, again. Another commercial success, but a lot better in my book, is Supermassive Black Hole. I’ve known this song for about ten years, I listen to it every single day, no joke, and it still doesn’t bore me. That’s how you pass the test of time, ladies and djents. This song features Matt’s falsetto throughout, and it really fits the song. I just wish that it was a full heavy composition, without the strange drums, but with a proper rhythm – imagine it, it would break our necks! Map Of The Problematique is one of my least favorites, it’s bland, repetitive and flat, it doesn’t really grow in any sense. The lyrics, though are great: "And no one think we are to blame, why can’t we see that when we bleed we bleed the same”, along with a great vocal line. I just wish that  the music was more dynamic and creative.

Soldier’s Poem is one of the few ‘strange experiments’ in the album, this one is practically a bluesy ballad, Dom uses brushes, and there’s a strong Queen influence. I don’t really dig it, but I appreciate its presence on the record; what follows is one of my favorite ballads by these guys, Invincible. This is how you do love songs, you start with a low dynamic and gradually grow and grow until the last chorus is the most epic thing you’ll ever hear – they’ve used this technique even in Madness, and that’s what saves that song from being an ordinary pop song. So, yes, very cool track, with a very cool music video too. Up next is the heavy track, Assassin: it’s no secret that I like the heavier side of this band, and this song is no exception – with an incredible chorus and great great drum performance by Dominic (DAT drum fill before the heaviness ensues :OOO). Again, sadly underrated, like Exo-Politics, a catchy tune about believing in aliens and stuff. It features a cool pulsating rhythm in 4/4, a great chorus and yeah, cheesy lyrics, but what the hell, it’s so groovy that I forgive the lyrics. Following with the underrated tracks City Of Delusion, a synth-ish bassline (reminds me of Darkshines from Origin Of Symmetry) and latin influences, with trumpets, strings and stuff. The latin stuff goes on with Hoodoo, a strong song, with great feel and a dramatic sound. Peculiar song for Muse, I wish they’d play this live more, because the HAARP version is stunning. And there it is, one of my absolute favorites, and probably one of many people’s absolute favorites, Knights Of Cydonia, a 2-parts country-infused galloping tune. It sets a really good vibe, and it’s heavy enough to headbang to, especially the second section (the crowd usually goes nuts during this), and this could open the album really well actually, I’d swap It with Take A Bow, which could close it well also.

So, overall, this album is full of nostalgia for me, it’s not Muse’s best work objectively, but I still enjoy it a lot and there are great tunes all over. I’ll wait impatiently for Drones, but until then…

 YOUR AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASS BELONGS TO MEEEE NOOOOWOWOW

[doyouevenprog-blog]

I am a creep man Even though I know ayreon very well and know some songs from the rest of the guys down there.

[haidaspicciare]

Miles Teller, "Whiplash" (Damien Chazelle, 2014).

[doyouevenprog-blog]

[triforce-princess]

(x)

[musedotmuofficial]

We are delighted to announce the Psycho UK Tour and the release of the new album Drones on 8 June 2015!

For more details, please click here.

UPDATE: Please note our tech team is working on the server issues.

[thecommonchick]

school is an endless cycle of “i just need to make it through this week” every week.

[internetcultleader]

i literally constantly have fear that im playing my music too loud in headphones and everyone can hear it and theyre all secretly judging my music taste

[hyper-muse-music]

Possible ‘Drones’ album artwork

for those of you who haven’t seen this, this is the banner which shows up on iTunes (for users registered in Belarus). there is also a captioned version that has been showing up that says “pre-order album + get song now”. i’ll still go with my ‘asume it’s not true until i have it in my hand’ policy but i thought you would be interested in this since it’s either a) really happening now, or b) a banner which was planned to go up later this week  and have mistakenly been put up now. either way it’s damn exciting.

[doyouevenprog-blog]

CHOO CHOO ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN

[just--space]

The Black Eye Galaxy

[doyouevenprog-blog]

Now listening to Black Holes And Revelations by Muse. Still a classic after 9 years.

[doyouevenprog-blog]

You know, these guys just came to my country, and I've missed the show. Again.

[doyouevenprog-blog]

Great Birdman art by youtuber Boban Pesov. What a movie.

[doyouevenprog-blog]

Dave says " ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ "