#kingcrimson — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #kingcrimson, aggregated by home.social.
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Hitching A Ride With Starpup
A crystal ball reading helping to show me the path.
No incense for sale, no oils being used for relaxation; I’m hitching a ride with Starpup for some cosmic guidance of how stars really shine through the clouds of darkness.
The first thing to do is get my head out of the atmosphere of Uranus. There comes a point on the path where I have to pull back, looking past the haze to examine the true trajectory and results of my choices.
There are certain questions that only I can answer, by searching the grey matter inside and seeking the altered answers I understand. By re-grouping in the quietness of isolation, Starpup tells me the solution is lying somewhere in the woven threads of inner peace and the only way to define those answers is to quietly explore the universe between my ears.
In the end, clarity and light might be achieved. I chose this unexplored new road because, although I don’t know what awaits me on the other side, Starpup sees in his crystal ball that I’ll be better off for travelling on it.
By answering my own questions rather than constantly seeking validation or direction from other space travelers, I will either emerge with gifts that were cultivated over the time spent in solitude or face the failure of broken dreams. This period of sacred reflection will but one more passage in my fantastic life’s journey.
Listening to my heart slowly keeping beat to the melody of life, I will ride the waves of stardust across the inner galaxy of confusion searching for clarity and faith where decisions become as clear as the milky way on a cloudless night, Until then my mindful journey’s will weave sparingly across these pages of peace, Ernie Dawg.
The Tarot card for today was picked at random and is as follows:
Wheel of Fortune
YES
This card represents fate and destiny, forces shaping my journey. Change is always in motion. Why? Because while the wheel turns, wisdom stays steady. The Sphinx at the top? Mastery. The serpent descending? Release.
Wait for the moment of movement, alignment, and divine timing. Stay open , stay grounded and stay alert. Trust the bigger picture. This card is my sign that life is always in motion and that what feels random now might make perfect sense later. Stay flexible, follow the momentum, and don’t resist the shift just because it’s unpopular.
If things feel uncertain or unstable, know that you’re not stuck, you’re just in transition. This is a great time to evaluate what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’re ready to embrace when the next door opens. Bark, Bark.
The reading is now over so carefully make your way off the Starpup Spaceship and reach for the stars.
Peace and LoveS1726 ©https://www.peaceful-threads.com
#AI #Challenges #Cosmos #crystallBall #decisions #fortuneTelling #journey #KingCrimson #life #spaceship #Starpup #stars #Tarot -
Hitching A Ride With Starpup
A crystal ball reading helping to show me the path.
No incense for sale, no oils being used for relaxation; I’m hitching a ride with Starpup for some cosmic guidance of how stars really shine through the clouds of darkness.
The first thing to do is get my head out of the atmosphere of Uranus. There comes a point on the path where I have to pull back, looking past the haze to examine the true trajectory and results of my choices.
There are certain questions that only I can answer, by searching the grey matter inside and seeking the altered answers I understand. By re-grouping in the quietness of isolation, Starpup tells me the solution is lying somewhere in the woven threads of inner peace and the only way to define those answers is to quietly explore the universe between my ears.
In the end, clarity and light might be achieved. I chose this unexplored new road because, although I don’t know what awaits me on the other side, Starpup sees in his crystal ball that I’ll be better off for travelling on it.
By answering my own questions rather than constantly seeking validation or direction from other space travelers, I will either emerge with gifts that were cultivated over the time spent in solitude or face the failure of broken dreams. This period of sacred reflection will but one more passage in my fantastic life’s journey.
Listening to my heart slowly keeping beat to the melody of life, I will ride the waves of stardust across the inner galaxy of confusion searching for clarity and faith where decisions become as clear as the milky way on a cloudless night, Until then my mindful journey’s will weave sparingly across these pages of peace, Ernie Dawg.
The Tarot card for today was picked at random and is as follows:
Wheel of Fortune
YES
This card represents fate and destiny, forces shaping my journey. Change is always in motion. Why? Because while the wheel turns, wisdom stays steady. The Sphinx at the top? Mastery. The serpent descending? Release.
Wait for the moment of movement, alignment, and divine timing. Stay open , stay grounded and stay alert. Trust the bigger picture. This card is my sign that life is always in motion and that what feels random now might make perfect sense later. Stay flexible, follow the momentum, and don’t resist the shift just because it’s unpopular.
If things feel uncertain or unstable, know that you’re not stuck, you’re just in transition. This is a great time to evaluate what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’re ready to embrace when the next door opens. Bark, Bark.
The reading is now over so carefully make your way off the Starpup Spaceship and reach for the stars.
Peace and LoveS1726 ©https://www.peaceful-threads.com
#AI #Challenges #Cosmos #crystallBall #decisions #fortuneTelling #journey #KingCrimson #life #spaceship #Starpup #stars #Tarot -
Hitching A Ride With Starpup
A crystal ball reading helping to show me the path.
No incense for sale, no oils being used for relaxation; I’m hitching a ride with Starpup for some cosmic guidance of how stars really shine through the clouds of darkness.
The first thing to do is get my head out of the atmosphere of Uranus. There comes a point on the path where I have to pull back, looking past the haze to examine the true trajectory and results of my choices.
There are certain questions that only I can answer, by searching the grey matter inside and seeking the altered answers I understand. By re-grouping in the quietness of isolation, Starpup tells me the solution is lying somewhere in the woven threads of inner peace and the only way to define those answers is to quietly explore the universe between my ears.
In the end, clarity and light might be achieved. I chose this unexplored new road because, although I don’t know what awaits me on the other side, Starpup sees in his crystal ball that I’ll be better off for travelling on it.
By answering my own questions rather than constantly seeking validation or direction from other space travelers, I will either emerge with gifts that were cultivated over the time spent in solitude or face the failure of broken dreams. This period of sacred reflection will but one more passage in my fantastic life’s journey.
Listening to my heart slowly keeping beat to the melody of life, I will ride the waves of stardust across the inner galaxy of confusion searching for clarity and faith where decisions become as clear as the milky way on a cloudless night, Until then my mindful journey’s will weave sparingly across these pages of peace, Ernie Dawg.
The Tarot card for today was picked at random and is as follows:
Wheel of Fortune
YES
This card represents fate and destiny, forces shaping my journey. Change is always in motion. Why? Because while the wheel turns, wisdom stays steady. The Sphinx at the top? Mastery. The serpent descending? Release.
Wait for the moment of movement, alignment, and divine timing. Stay open , stay grounded and stay alert. Trust the bigger picture. This card is my sign that life is always in motion and that what feels random now might make perfect sense later. Stay flexible, follow the momentum, and don’t resist the shift just because it’s unpopular.
If things feel uncertain or unstable, know that you’re not stuck, you’re just in transition. This is a great time to evaluate what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’re ready to embrace when the next door opens. Bark, Bark.
The reading is now over so carefully make your way off the Starpup Spaceship and reach for the stars.
Peace and LoveS1726 ©https://www.peaceful-threads.com
#AI #Challenges #Cosmos #crystallBall #decisions #fortuneTelling #journey #KingCrimson #life #spaceship #Starpup #stars #Tarot -
Hitching A Ride With Starpup
A crystal ball reading helping to show me the path.
No incense for sale, no oils being used for relaxation; I’m hitching a ride with Starpup for some cosmic guidance of how stars really shine through the clouds of darkness.
The first thing to do is get my head out of the atmosphere of Uranus. There comes a point on the path where I have to pull back, looking past the haze to examine the true trajectory and results of my choices.
There are certain questions that only I can answer, by searching the grey matter inside and seeking the altered answers I understand. By re-grouping in the quietness of isolation, Starpup tells me the solution is lying somewhere in the woven threads of inner peace and the only way to define those answers is to quietly explore the universe between my ears.
In the end, clarity and light might be achieved. I chose this unexplored new road because, although I don’t know what awaits me on the other side, Starpup sees in his crystal ball that I’ll be better off for travelling on it.
By answering my own questions rather than constantly seeking validation or direction from other space travelers, I will either emerge with gifts that were cultivated over the time spent in solitude or face the failure of broken dreams. This period of sacred reflection will but one more passage in my fantastic life’s journey.
Listening to my heart slowly keeping beat to the melody of life, I will ride the waves of stardust across the inner galaxy of confusion searching for clarity and faith where decisions become as clear as the milky way on a cloudless night, Until then my mindful journey’s will weave sparingly across these pages of peace, Ernie Dawg.
The Tarot card for today was picked at random and is as follows:
Wheel of Fortune
YES
This card represents fate and destiny, forces shaping my journey. Change is always in motion. Why? Because while the wheel turns, wisdom stays steady. The Sphinx at the top? Mastery. The serpent descending? Release.
Wait for the moment of movement, alignment, and divine timing. Stay open , stay grounded and stay alert. Trust the bigger picture. This card is my sign that life is always in motion and that what feels random now might make perfect sense later. Stay flexible, follow the momentum, and don’t resist the shift just because it’s unpopular.
If things feel uncertain or unstable, know that you’re not stuck, you’re just in transition. This is a great time to evaluate what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’re ready to embrace when the next door opens. Bark, Bark.
The reading is now over so carefully make your way off the Starpup Spaceship and reach for the stars.
Peace and LoveS1726 ©https://www.peaceful-threads.com
#AI #Challenges #Cosmos #crystallBall #decisions #fortuneTelling #journey #KingCrimson #life #spaceship #Starpup #stars #Tarot -
Hitching A Ride With Starpup
A crystal ball reading helping to show me the path.
No incense for sale, no oils being used for relaxation; I’m hitching a ride with Starpup for some cosmic guidance of how stars really shine through the clouds of darkness.
The first thing to do is get my head out of the atmosphere of Uranus. There comes a point on the path where I have to pull back, looking past the haze to examine the true trajectory and results of my choices.
There are certain questions that only I can answer, by searching the grey matter inside and seeking the altered answers I understand. By re-grouping in the quietness of isolation, Starpup tells me the solution is lying somewhere in the woven threads of inner peace and the only way to define those answers is to quietly explore the universe between my ears.
In the end, clarity and light might be achieved. I chose this unexplored new road because, although I don’t know what awaits me on the other side, Starpup sees in his crystal ball that I’ll be better off for travelling on it.
By answering my own questions rather than constantly seeking validation or direction from other space travelers, I will either emerge with gifts that were cultivated over the time spent in solitude or face the failure of broken dreams. This period of sacred reflection will but one more passage in my fantastic life’s journey.
Listening to my heart slowly keeping beat to the melody of life, I will ride the waves of stardust across the inner galaxy of confusion searching for clarity and faith where decisions become as clear as the milky way on a cloudless night, Until then my mindful journey’s will weave sparingly across these pages of peace, Ernie Dawg.
The Tarot card for today was picked at random and is as follows:
Wheel of Fortune
YES
This card represents fate and destiny, forces shaping my journey. Change is always in motion. Why? Because while the wheel turns, wisdom stays steady. The Sphinx at the top? Mastery. The serpent descending? Release.
Wait for the moment of movement, alignment, and divine timing. Stay open , stay grounded and stay alert. Trust the bigger picture. This card is my sign that life is always in motion and that what feels random now might make perfect sense later. Stay flexible, follow the momentum, and don’t resist the shift just because it’s unpopular.
If things feel uncertain or unstable, know that you’re not stuck, you’re just in transition. This is a great time to evaluate what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’re ready to embrace when the next door opens. Bark, Bark.
The reading is now over so carefully make your way off the Starpup Spaceship and reach for the stars.
Peace and LoveS1726 ©https://www.peaceful-threads.com
#AI #Challenges #Cosmos #crystallBall #decisions #fortuneTelling #journey #KingCrimson #life #spaceship #Starpup #stars #Tarot -
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King Crimson
The Court of the Crimson King
(Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield, 1969)
Performed by Asia; Tokyo, 2007.I wait outside the pilgrims’ door
With insufficient schemes
The Black Queen chants the funeral march
The cracked brass bell will ring
To summon back the Fire Witch
To the court of the Crimson King
...
The Yellow Jester does not play
But gently pulls the strings
And smiles as the puppets dance
In the court of the Crimson King<https://youtu.be/Z9eFKPQxXXw>
Lead guitar, Steve Howe.
Lead vocals and bass guitar, John Wetton.
Keyboards, Geoff Downes.
Drums, Carl Palmer. -
King Crimson
The Court of the Crimson King
(Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield, 1969)
Performed by Asia; Tokyo, 2007.I wait outside the pilgrims’ door
With insufficient schemes
The Black Queen chants the funeral march
The cracked brass bell will ring
To summon back the Fire Witch
To the court of the Crimson King
...
The Yellow Jester does not play
But gently pulls the strings
And smiles as the puppets dance
In the court of the Crimson King<https://youtu.be/Z9eFKPQxXXw>
Lead guitar, Steve Howe.
Lead vocals and bass guitar, John Wetton.
Keyboards, Geoff Downes.
Drums, Carl Palmer. -
King Crimson
The Court of the Crimson King
(Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield, 1969)
Performed by Asia; Tokyo, 2007.I wait outside the pilgrims’ door
With insufficient schemes
The Black Queen chants the funeral march
The cracked brass bell will ring
To summon back the Fire Witch
To the court of the Crimson King
...
The Yellow Jester does not play
But gently pulls the strings
And smiles as the puppets dance
In the court of the Crimson King<https://youtu.be/Z9eFKPQxXXw>
Lead guitar, Steve Howe.
Lead vocals and bass guitar, John Wetton.
Keyboards, Geoff Downes.
Drums, Carl Palmer. -
King Crimson
The Court of the Crimson King
(Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield, 1969)
Performed by Asia; Tokyo, 2007.I wait outside the pilgrims’ door
With insufficient schemes
The Black Queen chants the funeral march
The cracked brass bell will ring
To summon back the Fire Witch
To the court of the Crimson King
...
The Yellow Jester does not play
But gently pulls the strings
And smiles as the puppets dance
In the court of the Crimson King<https://youtu.be/Z9eFKPQxXXw>
Lead guitar, Steve Howe.
Lead vocals and bass guitar, John Wetton.
Keyboards, Geoff Downes.
Drums, Carl Palmer. -
King Crimson
The Court of the Crimson King
(Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield, 1969)
Performed by Asia; Tokyo, 2007.I wait outside the pilgrims’ door
With insufficient schemes
The Black Queen chants the funeral march
The cracked brass bell will ring
To summon back the Fire Witch
To the court of the Crimson King
...
The Yellow Jester does not play
But gently pulls the strings
And smiles as the puppets dance
In the court of the Crimson King<https://youtu.be/Z9eFKPQxXXw>
Lead guitar, Steve Howe.
Lead vocals and bass guitar, John Wetton.
Keyboards, Geoff Downes.
Drums, Carl Palmer. -
Stuck in the Filter: October 2024’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
Never fear, the blog’s penchant for deep lateness punctuality persists! It is likely the new year already by the time you see this post, but we’re taking a step back. Way back, into October. I was deep in the shit then, and therefore couldn’t do anything blog-related. And yet, my minions, those very laborers for whom I provide absolutely no compensation whatsoever, toiled dutifully in the metallic dinge that is our Filter. Unforgiving though those environs undoubtedly are, they scraped and scoured until, at long last, small shards of precious ore glimmered to the surface.
These glimmers are the same which you witness before you. Some are big, some are small. Some are short, some are tall. But all are worthy. Behold!
Kenstrosity’s Belated Bombardments
Cosmic Putrefaction // Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains [October 4th, 2024 – Profound Lore Records]
I was originally slated to take over reviewing duties for Cosmic Putrefaction this year, as Thus Spoke had a prior commitment and needed a buddy to step in. Unfortunately, I was rendered useless by a force of nature for a while, so I had to let go of several items of interest. But I couldn’t let 2024 go by without saying something! Entitled Emeral Fires atop the Farewell Mountains, Cosmic Putrefaction’s fourth represents one of the smoothest, most ethereal interpretations of weird, dissonant death metal. The classic Cosmic Putrefaction riffsets under an auroric sky remain, as evidenced by ripping examples “[Entering the Vortex Temporum] – Pre-mortem Phosphenes” and “Swirling Madness, Supernal Ordeal,” but there lurks within a monstrous technical death metal creature who rabidly chases the atmospheric spirits of olde (“I Should Great the Inexorable Darkness,” “Eudaemonist Withdrawal”). While in lesser hands these distinct aesthetics would undoubtedly clash on a dissonant platform such as this, Cosmic Putrefaction’s particular application of sound and style coalesces in devastating beauty and relentless purpose (“Hallways Engraved in Aether,” “Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains”). Were it not for some instances wherein, for the first time ever, Cosmic Putrefaction threatens to self-plagiarize their own material (“Eudaemonist Withdrawal”), I would likely consider Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains for year-end list status.
Feral // To Usurp the Thrones [October 18th, 2024 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Another one of my charges that I unfortunately had to put down against my will, Swedish death metal fiends Feral’s fourth salvo To Usurp the Thrones deserves a spotlight here. Where Flesh for Funerals Eternal impressed me as my introduction to the band and, arguably, my introduction to modern buzzsaw Swedeath, To Usurp the Thrones impresses me as a singularly vicious record in the style. Faster, meaner, more varied, and longer than its predecessor, Thrones offers the punk-tinged, thrashy death riffs you know and love, with bluesy touches reminiscent of Entombed’s Wolverine Blues adding a bit of drunken swagger to the affair (“Vile Malediction,” “Phantoms of Iniquity,” “Into the Ashes of History”). Absolute rippers like “To Drain the World of Light,” “Deformed Mentality,” “Decimated,” and “Soaked in Blood” live up to the band’s moniker, rabid and relentless in their assault. In many ways, Thrones evokes the same bloodsoaked sense of fun that Helslave’s From the Sulphur Depths conjured, but it’s angrier, more unhinged (“Spirits Without Rest,” “Stripped of Flesh”). Consequently, Thrones stands out as one of the more fun records of its ilk to come out this year. Don’t miss it!
Sun Worship // Upon the Hills of Divination [October 31st, 2024 – Vendetta Records]
Back in 2020, our dear Roquentin offered some damn fine words of praise for Germany’s Sun Worship and their third blackened blade, Emanations of Desolation. It’s been six years since that record dropped, and Upon the Hills of Divination picks up right where Emanations left off. That is to say, absolutely slimy, post-metal-tinged riffs bolstered by dense layers of warm tremolos and mid-frequency roars. Opener “Within the Machine” offers a concrete encapsulation of what to expect: bits and pieces of Hulder, Gaerea, and Vorga melding together into a compelling concoction of hypnotic black metal. Using the long form to their utmost advantage, Sun Worship craft immersive soundscapes liable to scald the flesh just as quickly as they seduce the senses, leaving me as a brainwashed minion doing a twisted mystic’s bidding unconditionally (“Serpent Nebula,” “Covenant”). Yet, there roils a sense of urgency in these songs, despite many of them occupying a mid-paced cadence, which unveils a bleeding heart willingly wrenched from Sun Worship’s body (“Fractal Entity,” the title track, and “Stormbringer”). This is what sets it apart from its contemporaries, and what makes it worthy of mention. Why it’s gotten so little attention escapes me. It is with the intent of rectifying that condition that I pen this woefully insufficient segment.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Duty Free Rifftrocity
Extorted // Cognitive Dissonance [October 16th, 2024 – Self Release]
You don’t need to read this review to know that the Kiwis of Extorted plays pit-whipping death/thrash. Though not adorned with other obvious symbols, like Vietnam War paraphernalia or crushed beer cans, the Ed Repka-penned brain-ripped head figure screams “no thoughts only riff” all the same. With snares set to pow and crashes set to kshhh, Cognitive Dissonance finds low resistance to accelerating early Death-indebted refrains. Vocalist Joel Clark even plays as a dead ringer for pre-Human Schuldiner or Van Drunen (Asphyx, ex-Pestilence) as the torture in many lines grows (on “Infected” and “Ghastly Creatures” in particular). And in a continued tour of Van Drunen-associated sounds, Extorted’s ability to find a push-and-pull cadence that twists the fury of thrash with the cutting drag of death hits that hard-to-nail early Pestilence pocket with studied flair (“Deception,” “Limits of Reality”). Though a considerable amount of the Extorted identity rests in ideas borrowed and reinterpreted, a modern tonal canvas gives Cognitive Dissonance’s rhythms a punchy and balanced low-end weight that doesn’t always present itself in the world of old. Couple that with hooks that reach far beyond the limits of pure homage (“Transformation of Dreams,” “Violence”), and it’s easy to plow through the thirty minutes of tasteful harmonies, bending solos, and spit-stained lamentations that Extorted offers with their powerful debut.
Bríi // Camaradagem Póstuma [October 11th, 2024 – Self Release]
With Camaradagem Póstuma we enter the hazy, folky world of Caio Lemos’ unique vision of what experimental electronic music can be colored by the underpinnings of atmospheric black metal and jazz fusion. Using terraced melodies like baroque music of old and distant breakbeats like the Bong-Ra of recent yesteryears, Brazil’s Bríi represents one man’s highly specific melding that rarely occurs in this space. The guitar lines that do exist play out as textural, slow-developing passages. On tracks “Aparecidos” and “Baile Fantasma” this looping and hypnotic pattern shuffle resembles ambient Pat Metheny or King Crimson colors, the kind where finding the end of nylon pluck into a weaving, high-frequency synth patch feels not impossible but unnecessary. And on the more metallic side of things, Lemos cranks programmed blasts that carry his tortured, panning, and shrouded wails as a guide for the melodic evolution of each track, much in the same way a warping bass line would in a progressive house track. But maintaining the tempo of classic drum and bass, Camaradagem Póstuma wisps away in its atmosphere, coming back to a driving rhythm either via pummeling double kick or glitching break. Despite the hard, danceable pulse that tracks “Enlutados” and “Entre Mundos” boast, Bríi does not feel built for the kvlt klvbs of this world, leaning on a gated, lo-fi aesthetic that makes for an ideal drift away on closed cans, much like the equally idiosyncratic Wist album from earlier this year. And similarly, Camaradagem Póstuma sits in an outsider world of enjoyment. But if any of this sounds like your jam, prepare to get addicted to Bríi.
Thus Spoke’s Rotten Remnants
Livløs // The Crescent King [October 4th, 2024 – Noctum Productions]
Livløs are one of those bands that deserves far more recognition than they receive. With LP three, The Crescent King, they might finally see it. Their punchy intriguing infusion of Swedish and US melodic death metal—though the band themselves hail from Denmark—has a pleasing melancholia and satisfying bite. Here in particular, there’s more than a passing resemblance to Hath, to Cognizance, and to In Mourning. Stomping grooves (“Maelstrom,” “Usurpers”) slide in between blitzes of tripping gallops, and electrifying fretwork (“Orbit Weaver,” “Scourge of the Stars”). Mournful, compelling melodies woven into this technical tapestry—some highlights being the title track, “Harvest,” and “Endless Majesty”—turn already good melodeath into great melodeath; melodeath that’s majestic and powerful, without ever feeling overblown. With its relentless, groovy dynamism, the crisp, spacious production seals the deal for total immersion. If this is your first time hearing about Livløs, you’re in for a treat.
Sordide // Ainsi finit le jour [October 25th, 2024 – Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions]
And So Ends the Day, whilst another begins where I rediscover Sordide. I know not how I forgot their existence despite the impression that 2021’s Les Idées Blanches made upon me, yet all I could recall was the disturbingly simple, melty art.1 Ainsi Finit le Jour arrives with a hefty dose (53 minutes no less) of punky, dissonant black metal that’s even rawer and more pissed-off than their usual fare. “Des feux plus forts,” “La poesie du caniveau,” and the title track stand out as the most vicious, near-first-wave cuts the trio have ever laid down, with manic, group wails, and chaotic, jangling percussion. But as is so often the case with Sordide, perhaps the truest brutality comes in the slower discordant crawls of “Sous Vivre,” “Tout est a la mort,” and the particularly unsettling “La beauté du desastre,” whose creeping, half-tuneful teasing and turns to eerie spaciousness get right under your skin. It is arguably a little too long for its own good, given its intensity, but its impressiveness does mean that, this time, Sordide won’t be forgotten.
Dear Hollow’s Droll Hashals
Annihilist // Reform [October 18th, 2024 – Self Release]
What Melbourne’s Annihilist does with flamboyant flare and reckless abandon is blur the lines of its core stylistic choices. One moment it’s chugging away like a deathcore band, the next it’s dripping away with a groove metal swagger, ope, now it’s on its way to Hot Topic. All we know is that all its members attack with a chameleonic intensity and otherworldly technicality that’s hard to pin down. An insane level of technicality is the thread that courses throughout the entirety of this debut, recalling Within the Ruins or The Human Abstract in its stuttering rhythms and flailing arpeggios. From catchy leads and punishing rhythms (“The Upsend,” “Guillotine”), bouncy breakdowns, clean choruses, and wild gang vocals (“Blood”), djenty guitar seizures (“Virus,” “Better Off”) to full-on groove (“N.M.E.,” “The Host”), the likes of Lamb of God, early Architects, Born of Osiris, and Children of Bodom are conjured. Lyrics of hardcore punk’s signature anarchy and societal distrust collide with an instrumental palette of melodeath and the more technical kin of metalcore and deathcore, groove metal, and hardcore. As such, the album is complicated, episodic, and unpredictable, with only its wild technicality connecting its fragmented bits – keeping Reform from achieving the greatness that the band is so capable of. As it stands, though, Annihilist offers an insanely fun, everchanging, and unhinged roller coaster of -core proportions – a roller -corester, if you will.
Under Alekhines Gun
Theurgy // Emanations of Unconscious Luminescence [October 17th, 2024 – New Standard Elite]
In a year where slam and brutal death have already had an atypically high-quality output, international outfit Theurgy have come with an RKO out of nowhere to shatter whatever remains of your cerebral cortex. Channeling the flamboyancy of old Analepsy with the snare abuse and neanderthalic glee of Epicardiectomy, Emanations of Unconscious Luminescence wastes no time severing vertebrae and reducing eardrums to paste. Don’t mistake this for a brainless, caveman assault, however. Peppered between the hammiest of hammers are tech flourishes pulled straight from Dingir era Rings of Saturn, adding an unexpected technical edge to the blunt force trauma. The production manages to pair these two disparaging elements with lethal efficiency. Is it the techiest slam album, or the wettest, greasiest tech album? Did I mention there’s a super moldy cover of Devourment‘s “Molesting the Decapitated”? It slots right into the albums flow without feeling like a tacked-on bonus track, highlighting Theurgy’s commitment to the homicidal odes of brutality. Throw in a vocal performance that makes Angel Ochoa (Abominable Putridity) sound like Anders Fridén (In Flames), and you’re left with one last lethal assault to round out the year. Dive in and give your luminescence something to cry about.
GardensTale’s Great Glacier
Ghosts of Glaciers // Eternal [October 25th, 2024 – Translation Loss Records]
Ghosts of Glaciers’s last release, The Greatest Burden, was a masterclass of post-metal flow and has become a mainstay in my instrumental metal collection since my review in 2019. Dropping in tandem with several other high-profile releases, though, I could not give its follow-up the kind of attention it deserves. And make no mistake, it absolutely deserves that attention. The opening duo, “The Vast Expanse” and “Sunken Chamber,” measure up fully to The Greatest Burden, though it takes a few spins for that to become clear. Both use repetitive patterns more than before, but closer listens reveal how subtle variations and evolution of each cycle build gradual tension, so the release becomes all the more satisfying. I’m a little more ambivalent on the back half of Eternal, though. “Leviathan” packs a bigger punch than more of the band’s material, it lacks the swirling and sweeping currents that pull me under and demand full and uninterrupted plays every time. Closer “Regeneratio Aeterna” is a pretty but rather demure piece that lasts a bit longer than it should have. But despite these reservations, the great material outstrips the merely good, and Eternal is a worthwhile addition to any instrumental metal collection.
#AbominablePutridity #AinsiFinitLeJour #AmericanMetal #Analepsy #Annihilist #Architects #Asphyx #AtmosphericBlackMetal #AustralianMetal #BlackMetal #BongRa #BornOfOsiris #BrazilianMetal #Bríi #BrutalDeathMetal #CamaradagemPóstuma #ChildrenOfBodom #CognitiveDissonance #Cognizance #CosmicPutrefaction #Death #DeathMetal #DeathThrash #Deathcore #Devourment #DissonantBlackMetal #DissonantDeathMetal #Electronic #EmanationsOfUnconsciousLuminescence #EmeralFiresAtopTheFarewellMountains #Entombed #Epicardiectomy #Eternal #ExperimentalMetal #Extorted #Feral #FrenchMetal #Gaerea #GermanMetal #GhostsOfGlaciers #GrooveMetal #Hardcore #HardcorePunk #Hath #Helslave #Hulder #InFlames #InMourning #InternationalMetal #ItalianMetal #KingCrimson #LambOfGod #LesActeursDeLOmbreProductions #Livløs #MelodicDeathMetal #Metalcore #NewStandardElite #NewZealandMetal #NoctumProductions #OSDM #PatMetheny #Pestilence #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #ProfoundLoreRecords #Reform #RingsOfSaturn #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #Slam #Sordide #SunWorship #SwedishMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheCrescentKing #TheHumanAbstract #Theurgy #ThrashMetal #ToUsurpTheThrones #TranscendingObscurityRecords #TranslationLossRecords #UponTheHillsOfDivination #VendettaRecords #VertebraAtlantis #Vorga #Wist #WithinTheRuins
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Stuck in the Filter: October 2024’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
Never fear, the blog’s penchant for deep lateness punctuality persists! It is likely the new year already by the time you see this post, but we’re taking a step back. Way back, into October. I was deep in the shit then, and therefore couldn’t do anything blog-related. And yet, my minions, those very laborers for whom I provide absolutely no compensation whatsoever, toiled dutifully in the metallic dinge that is our Filter. Unforgiving though those environs undoubtedly are, they scraped and scoured until, at long last, small shards of precious ore glimmered to the surface.
These glimmers are the same which you witness before you. Some are big, some are small. Some are short, some are tall. But all are worthy. Behold!
Kenstrosity’s Belated Bombardments
Cosmic Putrefaction // Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains [October 4th, 2024 – Profound Lore Records]
I was originally slated to take over reviewing duties for Cosmic Putrefaction this year, as Thus Spoke had a prior commitment and needed a buddy to step in. Unfortunately, I was rendered useless by a force of nature for a while, so I had to let go of several items of interest. But I couldn’t let 2024 go by without saying something! Entitled Emeral Fires atop the Farewell Mountains, Cosmic Putrefaction’s fourth represents one of the smoothest, most ethereal interpretations of weird, dissonant death metal. The classic Cosmic Putrefaction riffsets under an auroric sky remain, as evidenced by ripping examples “[Entering the Vortex Temporum] – Pre-mortem Phosphenes” and “Swirling Madness, Supernal Ordeal,” but there lurks within a monstrous technical death metal creature who rabidly chases the atmospheric spirits of olde (“I Should Great the Inexorable Darkness,” “Eudaemonist Withdrawal”). While in lesser hands these distinct aesthetics would undoubtedly clash on a dissonant platform such as this, Cosmic Putrefaction’s particular application of sound and style coalesces in devastating beauty and relentless purpose (“Hallways Engraved in Aether,” “Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains”). Were it not for some instances wherein, for the first time ever, Cosmic Putrefaction threatens to self-plagiarize their own material (“Eudaemonist Withdrawal”), I would likely consider Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains for year-end list status.
Feral // To Usurp the Thrones [October 18th, 2024 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Another one of my charges that I unfortunately had to put down against my will, Swedish death metal fiends Feral’s fourth salvo To Usurp the Thrones deserves a spotlight here. Where Flesh for Funerals Eternal impressed me as my introduction to the band and, arguably, my introduction to modern buzzsaw Swedeath, To Usurp the Thrones impresses me as a singularly vicious record in the style. Faster, meaner, more varied, and longer than its predecessor, Thrones offers the punk-tinged, thrashy death riffs you know and love, with bluesy touches reminiscent of Entombed’s Wolverine Blues adding a bit of drunken swagger to the affair (“Vile Malediction,” “Phantoms of Iniquity,” “Into the Ashes of History”). Absolute rippers like “To Drain the World of Light,” “Deformed Mentality,” “Decimated,” and “Soaked in Blood” live up to the band’s moniker, rabid and relentless in their assault. In many ways, Thrones evokes the same bloodsoaked sense of fun that Helslave’s From the Sulphur Depths conjured, but it’s angrier, more unhinged (“Spirits Without Rest,” “Stripped of Flesh”). Consequently, Thrones stands out as one of the more fun records of its ilk to come out this year. Don’t miss it!
Sun Worship // Upon the Hills of Divination [October 31st, 2024 – Vendetta Records]
Back in 2020, our dear Roquentin offered some damn fine words of praise for Germany’s Sun Worship and their third blackened blade, Emanations of Desolation. It’s been six years since that record dropped, and Upon the Hills of Divination picks up right where Emanations left off. That is to say, absolutely slimy, post-metal-tinged riffs bolstered by dense layers of warm tremolos and mid-frequency roars. Opener “Within the Machine” offers a concrete encapsulation of what to expect: bits and pieces of Hulder, Gaerea, and Vorga melding together into a compelling concoction of hypnotic black metal. Using the long form to their utmost advantage, Sun Worship craft immersive soundscapes liable to scald the flesh just as quickly as they seduce the senses, leaving me as a brainwashed minion doing a twisted mystic’s bidding unconditionally (“Serpent Nebula,” “Covenant”). Yet, there roils a sense of urgency in these songs, despite many of them occupying a mid-paced cadence, which unveils a bleeding heart willingly wrenched from Sun Worship’s body (“Fractal Entity,” the title track, and “Stormbringer”). This is what sets it apart from its contemporaries, and what makes it worthy of mention. Why it’s gotten so little attention escapes me. It is with the intent of rectifying that condition that I pen this woefully insufficient segment.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Duty Free Rifftrocity
Extorted // Cognitive Dissonance [October 16th, 2024 – Self Release]
You don’t need to read this review to know that the Kiwis of Extorted plays pit-whipping death/thrash. Though not adorned with other obvious symbols, like Vietnam War paraphernalia or crushed beer cans, the Ed Repka-penned brain-ripped head figure screams “no thoughts only riff” all the same. With snares set to pow and crashes set to kshhh, Cognitive Dissonance finds low resistance to accelerating early Death-indebted refrains. Vocalist Joel Clark even plays as a dead ringer for pre-Human Schuldiner or Van Drunen (Asphyx, ex-Pestilence) as the torture in many lines grows (on “Infected” and “Ghastly Creatures” in particular). And in a continued tour of Van Drunen-associated sounds, Extorted’s ability to find a push-and-pull cadence that twists the fury of thrash with the cutting drag of death hits that hard-to-nail early Pestilence pocket with studied flair (“Deception,” “Limits of Reality”). Though a considerable amount of the Extorted identity rests in ideas borrowed and reinterpreted, a modern tonal canvas gives Cognitive Dissonance’s rhythms a punchy and balanced low-end weight that doesn’t always present itself in the world of old. Couple that with hooks that reach far beyond the limits of pure homage (“Transformation of Dreams,” “Violence”), and it’s easy to plow through the thirty minutes of tasteful harmonies, bending solos, and spit-stained lamentations that Extorted offers with their powerful debut.
Bríi // Camaradagem Póstuma [October 11th, 2024 – Self Release]
With Camaradagem Póstuma we enter the hazy, folky world of Caio Lemos’ unique vision of what experimental electronic music can be colored by the underpinnings of atmospheric black metal and jazz fusion. Using terraced melodies like baroque music of old and distant breakbeats like the Bong-Ra of recent yesteryears, Brazil’s Bríi represents one man’s highly specific melding that rarely occurs in this space. The guitar lines that do exist play out as textural, slow-developing passages. On tracks “Aparecidos” and “Baile Fantasma” this looping and hypnotic pattern shuffle resembles ambient Pat Metheny or King Crimson colors, the kind where finding the end of nylon pluck into a weaving, high-frequency synth patch feels not impossible but unnecessary. And on the more metallic side of things, Lemos cranks programmed blasts that carry his tortured, panning, and shrouded wails as a guide for the melodic evolution of each track, much in the same way a warping bass line would in a progressive house track. But maintaining the tempo of classic drum and bass, Camaradagem Póstuma wisps away in its atmosphere, coming back to a driving rhythm either via pummeling double kick or glitching break. Despite the hard, danceable pulse that tracks “Enlutados” and “Entre Mundos” boast, Bríi does not feel built for the kvlt klvbs of this world, leaning on a gated, lo-fi aesthetic that makes for an ideal drift away on closed cans, much like the equally idiosyncratic Wist album from earlier this year. And similarly, Camaradagem Póstuma sits in an outsider world of enjoyment. But if any of this sounds like your jam, prepare to get addicted to Bríi.
Thus Spoke’s Rotten Remnants
Livløs // The Crescent King [October 4th, 2024 – Noctum Productions]
Livløs are one of those bands that deserves far more recognition than they receive. With LP three, The Crescent King, they might finally see it. Their punchy intriguing infusion of Swedish and US melodic death metal—though the band themselves hail from Denmark—has a pleasing melancholia and satisfying bite. Here in particular, there’s more than a passing resemblance to Hath, to Cognizance, and to In Mourning. Stomping grooves (“Maelstrom,” “Usurpers”) slide in between blitzes of tripping gallops, and electrifying fretwork (“Orbit Weaver,” “Scourge of the Stars”). Mournful, compelling melodies woven into this technical tapestry—some highlights being the title track, “Harvest,” and “Endless Majesty”—turn already good melodeath into great melodeath; melodeath that’s majestic and powerful, without ever feeling overblown. With its relentless, groovy dynamism, the crisp, spacious production seals the deal for total immersion. If this is your first time hearing about Livløs, you’re in for a treat.
Sordide // Ainsi finit le jour [October 25th, 2024 – Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions]
And So Ends the Day, whilst another begins where I rediscover Sordide. I know not how I forgot their existence despite the impression that 2021’s Les Idées Blanches made upon me, yet all I could recall was the disturbingly simple, melty art.1 Ainsi Finit le Jour arrives with a hefty dose (53 minutes no less) of punky, dissonant black metal that’s even rawer and more pissed-off than their usual fare. “Des feux plus forts,” “La poesie du caniveau,” and the title track stand out as the most vicious, near-first-wave cuts the trio have ever laid down, with manic, group wails, and chaotic, jangling percussion. But as is so often the case with Sordide, perhaps the truest brutality comes in the slower discordant crawls of “Sous Vivre,” “Tout est a la mort,” and the particularly unsettling “La beauté du desastre,” whose creeping, half-tuneful teasing and turns to eerie spaciousness get right under your skin. It is arguably a little too long for its own good, given its intensity, but its impressiveness does mean that, this time, Sordide won’t be forgotten.
Dear Hollow’s Droll Hashals
Annihilist // Reform [October 18th, 2024 – Self Release]
What Melbourne’s Annihilist does with flamboyant flare and reckless abandon is blur the lines of its core stylistic choices. One moment it’s chugging away like a deathcore band, the next it’s dripping away with a groove metal swagger, ope, now it’s on its way to Hot Topic. All we know is that all its members attack with a chameleonic intensity and otherworldly technicality that’s hard to pin down. An insane level of technicality is the thread that courses throughout the entirety of this debut, recalling Within the Ruins or The Human Abstract in its stuttering rhythms and flailing arpeggios. From catchy leads and punishing rhythms (“The Upsend,” “Guillotine”), bouncy breakdowns, clean choruses, and wild gang vocals (“Blood”), djenty guitar seizures (“Virus,” “Better Off”) to full-on groove (“N.M.E.,” “The Host”), the likes of Lamb of God, early Architects, Born of Osiris, and Children of Bodom are conjured. Lyrics of hardcore punk’s signature anarchy and societal distrust collide with an instrumental palette of melodeath and the more technical kin of metalcore and deathcore, groove metal, and hardcore. As such, the album is complicated, episodic, and unpredictable, with only its wild technicality connecting its fragmented bits – keeping Reform from achieving the greatness that the band is so capable of. As it stands, though, Annihilist offers an insanely fun, everchanging, and unhinged roller coaster of -core proportions – a roller -corester, if you will.
Under Alekhines Gun
Theurgy // Emanations of Unconscious Luminescence [October 17th, 2024 – New Standard Elite]
In a year where slam and brutal death have already had an atypically high-quality output, international outfit Theurgy have come with an RKO out of nowhere to shatter whatever remains of your cerebral cortex. Channeling the flamboyancy of old Analepsy with the snare abuse and neanderthalic glee of Epicardiectomy, Emanations of Unconscious Luminescence wastes no time severing vertebrae and reducing eardrums to paste. Don’t mistake this for a brainless, caveman assault, however. Peppered between the hammiest of hammers are tech flourishes pulled straight from Dingir era Rings of Saturn, adding an unexpected technical edge to the blunt force trauma. The production manages to pair these two disparaging elements with lethal efficiency. Is it the techiest slam album, or the wettest, greasiest tech album? Did I mention there’s a super moldy cover of Devourment‘s “Molesting the Decapitated”? It slots right into the albums flow without feeling like a tacked-on bonus track, highlighting Theurgy’s commitment to the homicidal odes of brutality. Throw in a vocal performance that makes Angel Ochoa (Abominable Putridity) sound like Anders Fridén (In Flames), and you’re left with one last lethal assault to round out the year. Dive in and give your luminescence something to cry about.
GardensTale’s Great Glacier
Ghosts of Glaciers // Eternal [October 25th, 2024 – Translation Loss Records]
Ghosts of Glaciers’s last release, The Greatest Burden, was a masterclass of post-metal flow and has become a mainstay in my instrumental metal collection since my review in 2019. Dropping in tandem with several other high-profile releases, though, I could not give its follow-up the kind of attention it deserves. And make no mistake, it absolutely deserves that attention. The opening duo, “The Vast Expanse” and “Sunken Chamber,” measure up fully to The Greatest Burden, though it takes a few spins for that to become clear. Both use repetitive patterns more than before, but closer listens reveal how subtle variations and evolution of each cycle build gradual tension, so the release becomes all the more satisfying. I’m a little more ambivalent on the back half of Eternal, though. “Leviathan” packs a bigger punch than more of the band’s material, it lacks the swirling and sweeping currents that pull me under and demand full and uninterrupted plays every time. Closer “Regeneratio Aeterna” is a pretty but rather demure piece that lasts a bit longer than it should have. But despite these reservations, the great material outstrips the merely good, and Eternal is a worthwhile addition to any instrumental metal collection.
#AbominablePutridity #AinsiFinitLeJour #AmericanMetal #Analepsy #Annihilist #Architects #Asphyx #AtmosphericBlackMetal #AustralianMetal #BlackMetal #BongRa #BornOfOsiris #BrazilianMetal #Bríi #BrutalDeathMetal #CamaradagemPóstuma #ChildrenOfBodom #CognitiveDissonance #Cognizance #CosmicPutrefaction #Death #DeathMetal #DeathThrash #Deathcore #Devourment #DissonantBlackMetal #DissonantDeathMetal #Electronic #EmanationsOfUnconsciousLuminescence #EmeralFiresAtopTheFarewellMountains #Entombed #Epicardiectomy #Eternal #ExperimentalMetal #Extorted #Feral #FrenchMetal #Gaerea #GermanMetal #GhostsOfGlaciers #GrooveMetal #Hardcore #HardcorePunk #Hath #Helslave #Hulder #InFlames #InMourning #InternationalMetal #ItalianMetal #KingCrimson #LambOfGod #LesActeursDeLOmbreProductions #Livløs #MelodicDeathMetal #Metalcore #NewStandardElite #NewZealandMetal #NoctumProductions #OSDM #PatMetheny #Pestilence #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #ProfoundLoreRecords #Reform #RingsOfSaturn #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #Slam #Sordide #SunWorship #SwedishMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheCrescentKing #TheHumanAbstract #Theurgy #ThrashMetal #ToUsurpTheThrones #TranscendingObscurityRecords #TranslationLossRecords #UponTheHillsOfDivination #VendettaRecords #VertebraAtlantis #Vorga #Wist #WithinTheRuins
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Stuck in the Filter: October 2024’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
Never fear, the blog’s penchant for deep lateness punctuality persists! It is likely the new year already by the time you see this post, but we’re taking a step back. Way back, into October. I was deep in the shit then, and therefore couldn’t do anything blog-related. And yet, my minions, those very laborers for whom I provide absolutely no compensation whatsoever, toiled dutifully in the metallic dinge that is our Filter. Unforgiving though those environs undoubtedly are, they scraped and scoured until, at long last, small shards of precious ore glimmered to the surface.
These glimmers are the same which you witness before you. Some are big, some are small. Some are short, some are tall. But all are worthy. Behold!
Kenstrosity’s Belated Bombardments
Cosmic Putrefaction // Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains [October 4th, 2024 – Profound Lore Records]
I was originally slated to take over reviewing duties for Cosmic Putrefaction this year, as Thus Spoke had a prior commitment and needed a buddy to step in. Unfortunately, I was rendered useless by a force of nature for a while, so I had to let go of several items of interest. But I couldn’t let 2024 go by without saying something! Entitled Emeral Fires atop the Farewell Mountains, Cosmic Putrefaction’s fourth represents one of the smoothest, most ethereal interpretations of weird, dissonant death metal. The classic Cosmic Putrefaction riffsets under an auroric sky remain, as evidenced by ripping examples “[Entering the Vortex Temporum] – Pre-mortem Phosphenes” and “Swirling Madness, Supernal Ordeal,” but there lurks within a monstrous technical death metal creature who rabidly chases the atmospheric spirits of olde (“I Should Great the Inexorable Darkness,” “Eudaemonist Withdrawal”). While in lesser hands these distinct aesthetics would undoubtedly clash on a dissonant platform such as this, Cosmic Putrefaction’s particular application of sound and style coalesces in devastating beauty and relentless purpose (“Hallways Engraved in Aether,” “Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains”). Were it not for some instances wherein, for the first time ever, Cosmic Putrefaction threatens to self-plagiarize their own material (“Eudaemonist Withdrawal”), I would likely consider Emerald Fires atop the Farewell Mountains for year-end list status.
Feral // To Usurp the Thrones [October 18th, 2024 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Another one of my charges that I unfortunately had to put down against my will, Swedish death metal fiends Feral’s fourth salvo To Usurp the Thrones deserves a spotlight here. Where Flesh for Funerals Eternal impressed me as my introduction to the band and, arguably, my introduction to modern buzzsaw Swedeath, To Usurp the Thrones impresses me as a singularly vicious record in the style. Faster, meaner, more varied, and longer than its predecessor, Thrones offers the punk-tinged, thrashy death riffs you know and love, with bluesy touches reminiscent of Entombed’s Wolverine Blues adding a bit of drunken swagger to the affair (“Vile Malediction,” “Phantoms of Iniquity,” “Into the Ashes of History”). Absolute rippers like “To Drain the World of Light,” “Deformed Mentality,” “Decimated,” and “Soaked in Blood” live up to the band’s moniker, rabid and relentless in their assault. In many ways, Thrones evokes the same bloodsoaked sense of fun that Helslave’s From the Sulphur Depths conjured, but it’s angrier, more unhinged (“Spirits Without Rest,” “Stripped of Flesh”). Consequently, Thrones stands out as one of the more fun records of its ilk to come out this year. Don’t miss it!
Sun Worship // Upon the Hills of Divination [October 31st, 2024 – Vendetta Records]
Back in 2020, our dear Roquentin offered some damn fine words of praise for Germany’s Sun Worship and their third blackened blade, Emanations of Desolation. It’s been six years since that record dropped, and Upon the Hills of Divination picks up right where Emanations left off. That is to say, absolutely slimy, post-metal-tinged riffs bolstered by dense layers of warm tremolos and mid-frequency roars. Opener “Within the Machine” offers a concrete encapsulation of what to expect: bits and pieces of Hulder, Gaerea, and Vorga melding together into a compelling concoction of hypnotic black metal. Using the long form to their utmost advantage, Sun Worship craft immersive soundscapes liable to scald the flesh just as quickly as they seduce the senses, leaving me as a brainwashed minion doing a twisted mystic’s bidding unconditionally (“Serpent Nebula,” “Covenant”). Yet, there roils a sense of urgency in these songs, despite many of them occupying a mid-paced cadence, which unveils a bleeding heart willingly wrenched from Sun Worship’s body (“Fractal Entity,” the title track, and “Stormbringer”). This is what sets it apart from its contemporaries, and what makes it worthy of mention. Why it’s gotten so little attention escapes me. It is with the intent of rectifying that condition that I pen this woefully insufficient segment.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Duty Free Rifftrocity
Extorted // Cognitive Dissonance [October 16th, 2024 – Self Release]
You don’t need to read this review to know that the Kiwis of Extorted plays pit-whipping death/thrash. Though not adorned with other obvious symbols, like Vietnam War paraphernalia or crushed beer cans, the Ed Repka-penned brain-ripped head figure screams “no thoughts only riff” all the same. With snares set to pow and crashes set to kshhh, Cognitive Dissonance finds low resistance to accelerating early Death-indebted refrains. Vocalist Joel Clark even plays as a dead ringer for pre-Human Schuldiner or Van Drunen (Asphyx, ex-Pestilence) as the torture in many lines grows (on “Infected” and “Ghastly Creatures” in particular). And in a continued tour of Van Drunen-associated sounds, Extorted’s ability to find a push-and-pull cadence that twists the fury of thrash with the cutting drag of death hits that hard-to-nail early Pestilence pocket with studied flair (“Deception,” “Limits of Reality”). Though a considerable amount of the Extorted identity rests in ideas borrowed and reinterpreted, a modern tonal canvas gives Cognitive Dissonance’s rhythms a punchy and balanced low-end weight that doesn’t always present itself in the world of old. Couple that with hooks that reach far beyond the limits of pure homage (“Transformation of Dreams,” “Violence”), and it’s easy to plow through the thirty minutes of tasteful harmonies, bending solos, and spit-stained lamentations that Extorted offers with their powerful debut.
Bríi // Camaradagem Póstuma [October 11th, 2024 – Self Release]
With Camaradagem Póstuma we enter the hazy, folky world of Caio Lemos’ unique vision of what experimental electronic music can be colored by the underpinnings of atmospheric black metal and jazz fusion. Using terraced melodies like baroque music of old and distant breakbeats like the Bong-Ra of recent yesteryears, Brazil’s Bríi represents one man’s highly specific melding that rarely occurs in this space. The guitar lines that do exist play out as textural, slow-developing passages. On tracks “Aparecidos” and “Baile Fantasma” this looping and hypnotic pattern shuffle resembles ambient Pat Metheny or King Crimson colors, the kind where finding the end of nylon pluck into a weaving, high-frequency synth patch feels not impossible but unnecessary. And on the more metallic side of things, Lemos cranks programmed blasts that carry his tortured, panning, and shrouded wails as a guide for the melodic evolution of each track, much in the same way a warping bass line would in a progressive house track. But maintaining the tempo of classic drum and bass, Camaradagem Póstuma wisps away in its atmosphere, coming back to a driving rhythm either via pummeling double kick or glitching break. Despite the hard, danceable pulse that tracks “Enlutados” and “Entre Mundos” boast, Bríi does not feel built for the kvlt klvbs of this world, leaning on a gated, lo-fi aesthetic that makes for an ideal drift away on closed cans, much like the equally idiosyncratic Wist album from earlier this year. And similarly, Camaradagem Póstuma sits in an outsider world of enjoyment. But if any of this sounds like your jam, prepare to get addicted to Bríi.
Thus Spoke’s Rotten Remnants
Livløs // The Crescent King [October 4th, 2024 – Noctum Productions]
Livløs are one of those bands that deserves far more recognition than they receive. With LP three, The Crescent King, they might finally see it. Their punchy intriguing infusion of Swedish and US melodic death metal—though the band themselves hail from Denmark—has a pleasing melancholia and satisfying bite. Here in particular, there’s more than a passing resemblance to Hath, to Cognizance, and to In Mourning. Stomping grooves (“Maelstrom,” “Usurpers”) slide in between blitzes of tripping gallops, and electrifying fretwork (“Orbit Weaver,” “Scourge of the Stars”). Mournful, compelling melodies woven into this technical tapestry—some highlights being the title track, “Harvest,” and “Endless Majesty”—turn already good melodeath into great melodeath; melodeath that’s majestic and powerful, without ever feeling overblown. With its relentless, groovy dynamism, the crisp, spacious production seals the deal for total immersion. If this is your first time hearing about Livløs, you’re in for a treat.
Sordide // Ainsi finit le jour [October 25th, 2024 – Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions]
And So Ends the Day, whilst another begins where I rediscover Sordide. I know not how I forgot their existence despite the impression that 2021’s Les Idées Blanches made upon me, yet all I could recall was the disturbingly simple, melty art.1 Ainsi Finit le Jour arrives with a hefty dose (53 minutes no less) of punky, dissonant black metal that’s even rawer and more pissed-off than their usual fare. “Des feux plus forts,” “La poesie du caniveau,” and the title track stand out as the most vicious, near-first-wave cuts the trio have ever laid down, with manic, group wails, and chaotic, jangling percussion. But as is so often the case with Sordide, perhaps the truest brutality comes in the slower discordant crawls of “Sous Vivre,” “Tout est a la mort,” and the particularly unsettling “La beauté du desastre,” whose creeping, half-tuneful teasing and turns to eerie spaciousness get right under your skin. It is arguably a little too long for its own good, given its intensity, but its impressiveness does mean that, this time, Sordide won’t be forgotten.
Dear Hollow’s Droll Hashals
Annihilist // Reform [October 18th, 2024 – Self Release]
What Melbourne’s Annihilist does with flamboyant flare and reckless abandon is blur the lines of its core stylistic choices. One moment it’s chugging away like a deathcore band, the next it’s dripping away with a groove metal swagger, ope, now it’s on its way to Hot Topic. All we know is that all its members attack with a chameleonic intensity and otherworldly technicality that’s hard to pin down. An insane level of technicality is the thread that courses throughout the entirety of this debut, recalling Within the Ruins or The Human Abstract in its stuttering rhythms and flailing arpeggios. From catchy leads and punishing rhythms (“The Upsend,” “Guillotine”), bouncy breakdowns, clean choruses, and wild gang vocals (“Blood”), djenty guitar seizures (“Virus,” “Better Off”) to full-on groove (“N.M.E.,” “The Host”), the likes of Lamb of God, early Architects, Born of Osiris, and Children of Bodom are conjured. Lyrics of hardcore punk’s signature anarchy and societal distrust collide with an instrumental palette of melodeath and the more technical kin of metalcore and deathcore, groove metal, and hardcore. As such, the album is complicated, episodic, and unpredictable, with only its wild technicality connecting its fragmented bits – keeping Reform from achieving the greatness that the band is so capable of. As it stands, though, Annihilist offers an insanely fun, everchanging, and unhinged roller coaster of -core proportions – a roller -corester, if you will.
Under Alekhines Gun
Theurgy // Emanations of Unconscious Luminescence [October 17th, 2024 – New Standard Elite]
In a year where slam and brutal death have already had an atypically high-quality output, international outfit Theurgy have come with an RKO out of nowhere to shatter whatever remains of your cerebral cortex. Channeling the flamboyancy of old Analepsy with the snare abuse and neanderthalic glee of Epicardiectomy, Emanations of Unconscious Luminescence wastes no time severing vertebrae and reducing eardrums to paste. Don’t mistake this for a brainless, caveman assault, however. Peppered between the hammiest of hammers are tech flourishes pulled straight from Dingir era Rings of Saturn, adding an unexpected technical edge to the blunt force trauma. The production manages to pair these two disparaging elements with lethal efficiency. Is it the techiest slam album, or the wettest, greasiest tech album? Did I mention there’s a super moldy cover of Devourment‘s “Molesting the Decapitated”? It slots right into the albums flow without feeling like a tacked-on bonus track, highlighting Theurgy’s commitment to the homicidal odes of brutality. Throw in a vocal performance that makes Angel Ochoa (Abominable Putridity) sound like Anders Fridén (In Flames), and you’re left with one last lethal assault to round out the year. Dive in and give your luminescence something to cry about.
GardensTale’s Great Glacier
Ghosts of Glaciers // Eternal [October 25th, 2024 – Translation Loss Records]
Ghosts of Glaciers’s last release, The Greatest Burden, was a masterclass of post-metal flow and has become a mainstay in my instrumental metal collection since my review in 2019. Dropping in tandem with several other high-profile releases, though, I could not give its follow-up the kind of attention it deserves. And make no mistake, it absolutely deserves that attention. The opening duo, “The Vast Expanse” and “Sunken Chamber,” measure up fully to The Greatest Burden, though it takes a few spins for that to become clear. Both use repetitive patterns more than before, but closer listens reveal how subtle variations and evolution of each cycle build gradual tension, so the release becomes all the more satisfying. I’m a little more ambivalent on the back half of Eternal, though. “Leviathan” packs a bigger punch than more of the band’s material, it lacks the swirling and sweeping currents that pull me under and demand full and uninterrupted plays every time. Closer “Regeneratio Aeterna” is a pretty but rather demure piece that lasts a bit longer than it should have. But despite these reservations, the great material outstrips the merely good, and Eternal is a worthwhile addition to any instrumental metal collection.
#AbominablePutridity #AinsiFinitLeJour #AmericanMetal #Analepsy #Annihilist #Architects #Asphyx #AtmosphericBlackMetal #AustralianMetal #BlackMetal #BongRa #BornOfOsiris #BrazilianMetal #Bríi #BrutalDeathMetal #CamaradagemPóstuma #ChildrenOfBodom #CognitiveDissonance #Cognizance #CosmicPutrefaction #Death #DeathMetal #DeathThrash #Deathcore #Devourment #DissonantBlackMetal #DissonantDeathMetal #Electronic #EmanationsOfUnconsciousLuminescence #EmeralFiresAtopTheFarewellMountains #Entombed #Epicardiectomy #Eternal #ExperimentalMetal #Extorted #Feral #FrenchMetal #Gaerea #GermanMetal #GhostsOfGlaciers #GrooveMetal #Hardcore #HardcorePunk #Hath #Helslave #Hulder #InFlames #InMourning #InternationalMetal #ItalianMetal #KingCrimson #LambOfGod #LesActeursDeLOmbreProductions #Livløs #MelodicDeathMetal #Metalcore #NewStandardElite #NewZealandMetal #NoctumProductions #OSDM #PatMetheny #Pestilence #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #ProfoundLoreRecords #Reform #RingsOfSaturn #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #Slam #Sordide #SunWorship #SwedishMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheCrescentKing #TheHumanAbstract #Theurgy #ThrashMetal #ToUsurpTheThrones #TranscendingObscurityRecords #TranslationLossRecords #UponTheHillsOfDivination #VendettaRecords #VertebraAtlantis #Vorga #Wist #WithinTheRuins
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I’ve been a Prog Rock fan since I first discovered Rush in 1981. I was 10 years old and most of what Prog bands did went way over my head, but there was something about Rush that clicked with me. Not long after it was Yes. Then Pink Floyd. Then Genesis. Then King Crimson. And so on and so on.
The 1980’s though, were a pretty dark time for Prog. First we had Asia, which included members of Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, releasing their very commercial, radio friendly, MTV orientated first record which blew away the album and singles charts in 1982. Then a year later we had Yes releasing 90125 in similar financially friendly fashion. Genesis had descended into a hellish pop music abyss by then as well (though there was still good in them if you were able to look past the chart topping crap), and while it would take a few years for them to catch up, even Pink Floyd released a pretty radio friendly record. Rush and King Crimson both morphed into an 80’s sound without really caving into the pop music world, at least not to my ears. I get the impression that Robert Fripp was trying to bend pop music to his own personal will (if anyone could have done it, it was him) while Rush just kept making Rush sounding records that happened to embrace 80’s technology (arguably to their detriment, but also maybe arguably to their benefit).
In other words, prog rock in the 70’s was awesome. Prog rock in the 80’s was… less awesome (though still better than almost anything else… except for some specific Genesis songs [looking at you, Illegal Alien and Invisible Touch]).
But there was one question that I never asked myself, or anyone else for that matter… did I miss anyone? Were there any other bands that I should have been listening to that I wasn’t?
Apparently the answer is yes, yes there was.
Marillion.
Well, there were probably 20-30 bands that I should have listened to but never did (Gentle Giant and Camel come to mind, but not Jethro Tull. Fuck Jethro Tull. I can’t stand that friggin’ band), but I don’t know why Marillion never came up. I think it might be as simple as they were not very big in the United States. They apparently were huge in the UK for a little while at least, and I was actually paying attention to the industry as a whole at that time (their biggest record came out in 1985, the same year as Power Windows by Rush, which I bought the minute it hit the record store shelves). Was that the only reason I never listened to them?
I have been aware of them for ages, of course. Was I aware of them before the internet? If it really was a regional (US vs UK) thing that kept me from them, then the internet would have been what put them on my radar. Recently they have been showing up in a bunch of places online where I happened to have been looking. A few months ago I made a note to check them out on a streaming service somewhere. I don’t recall what made me want to do that, but it was something. I didn’t do it until this past weekend though. Their guitar player was a guest on That Pedal Show and I figured I should at least listen to their biggest record, Misplaced Childhood, before I watched it. I did. I liked it. I thought the record had a sort of 70’s Genesis vibe to it. It was very 80’s, but not in a bad way (and me calling something “very 80’s” is usually meant as a negative).
I thought they dated back to the early 70’s like all of the more important prog bands but no, their first album was in 1982 or 83 (according to the two minutes I spent digging around wikipedia). I think if I had known about them at that time I probably would have gone completely off the deep end for them. They would have been a legit prog band that wasn’t devolving into a commercial/pop shadow of their former selves the way most of the prog acts from the 70s did. I knew they had two singers and that the changing of singers sort of mark different eras of the band, but I didn’t realize the first singer left as quickly as he did (after the forth album).
Yesterday I googled “list of best albums by Marillion” and found one random site that ranked them from worst to best. I listened to the 4-5 “best” albums on the list during the work day and liked most of what I heard, though I have to admit I wasn’t listening all that closely because, ya know, work.
I guess the point of this post is to get myself to accept that while I am a total prog rock snob, there are still a lot of things I don’t know about. Maybe it’s time to start taking advantage of streaming music services (ick) and start digging into the catalogs of some of those bands. Just not Jethro Tull or Dream Theater. I fucking hate both of those bands.
https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/07/23/i-missed-them-completely/
#70SRock #80SRock #artRock #englishProgRock #englishProgressiveRock #englishRock #fandom #geekRock #genesis #KingCrimson #marillion #Music #musicFan #nerdRock #PinkFloyd #progRock #progRockMusic #progressiveRock #progressiveRockMusic #rockHistory #rockMusic #Rush #Yes
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I’ve been a Prog Rock fan since I first discovered Rush in 1981. I was 10 years old and most of what Prog bands did went way over my head, but there was something about Rush that clicked with me. Not long after it was Yes. Then Pink Floyd. Then Genesis. Then King Crimson. And so on and so on.
The 1980’s though, were a pretty dark time for Prog. First we had Asia, which included members of Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, releasing their very commercial, radio friendly, MTV orientated first record which blew away the album and singles charts in 1982. Then a year later we had Yes releasing 90125 in similar financially friendly fashion. Genesis had descended into a hellish pop music abyss by then as well (though there was still good in them if you were able to look past the chart topping crap), and while it would take a few years for them to catch up, even Pink Floyd released a pretty radio friendly record. Rush and King Crimson both morphed into an 80’s sound without really caving into the pop music world, at least not to my ears. I get the impression that Robert Fripp was trying to bend pop music to his own personal will (if anyone could have done it, it was him) while Rush just kept making Rush sounding records that happened to embrace 80’s technology (arguably to their detriment, but also maybe arguably to their benefit).
In other words, prog rock in the 70’s was awesome. Prog rock in the 80’s was… less awesome (though still better than almost anything else… except for some specific Genesis songs [looking at you, Illegal Alien and Invisible Touch]).
But there was one question that I never asked myself, or anyone else for that matter… did I miss anyone? Were there any other bands that I should have been listening to that I wasn’t?
Apparently the answer is yes, yes there was.
Marillion.
Well, there were probably 20-30 bands that I should have listened to but never did (Gentle Giant and Camel come to mind, but not Jethro Tull. Fuck Jethro Tull. I can’t stand that friggin’ band), but I don’t know why Marillion never came up. I think it might be as simple as they were not very big in the United States. They apparently were huge in the UK for a little while at least, and I was actually paying attention to the industry as a whole at that time (their biggest record came out in 1985, the same year as Power Windows by Rush, which I bought the minute it hit the record store shelves). Was that the only reason I never listened to them?
I have been aware of them for ages, of course. Was I aware of them before the internet? If it really was a regional (US vs UK) thing that kept me from them, then the internet would have been what put them on my radar. Recently they have been showing up in a bunch of places online where I happened to have been looking. A few months ago I made a note to check them out on a streaming service somewhere. I don’t recall what made me want to do that, but it was something. I didn’t do it until this past weekend though. Their guitar player was a guest on That Pedal Show and I figured I should at least listen to their biggest record, Misplaced Childhood, before I watched it. I did. I liked it. I thought the record had a sort of 70’s Genesis vibe to it. It was very 80’s, but not in a bad way (and me calling something “very 80’s” is usually meant as a negative).
I thought they dated back to the early 70’s like all of the more important prog bands but no, their first album was in 1982 or 83 (according to the two minutes I spent digging around wikipedia). I think if I had known about them at that time I probably would have gone completely off the deep end for them. They would have been a legit prog band that wasn’t devolving into a commercial/pop shadow of their former selves the way most of the prog acts from the 70s did. I knew they had two singers and that the changing of singers sort of mark different eras of the band, but I didn’t realize the first singer left as quickly as he did (after the forth album).
Yesterday I googled “list of best albums by Marillion” and found one random site that ranked them from worst to best. I listened to the 4-5 “best” albums on the list during the work day and liked most of what I heard, though I have to admit I wasn’t listening all that closely because, ya know, work.
I guess the point of this post is to get myself to accept that while I am a total prog rock snob, there are still a lot of things I don’t know about. Maybe it’s time to start taking advantage of streaming music services (ick) and start digging into the catalogs of some of those bands. Just not Jethro Tull or Dream Theater. I fucking hate both of those bands.
https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/07/23/i-missed-them-completely/
#70SRock #80SRock #artRock #englishProgRock #englishProgressiveRock #englishRock #fandom #geekRock #genesis #KingCrimson #marillion #Music #musicFan #nerdRock #PinkFloyd #progRock #progRockMusic #progressiveRock #progressiveRockMusic #rockHistory #rockMusic #Rush #Yes
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I’ve been a Prog Rock fan since I first discovered Rush in 1981. I was 10 years old and most of what Prog bands did went way over my head, but there was something about Rush that clicked with me. Not long after it was Yes. Then Pink Floyd. Then Genesis. Then King Crimson. And so on and so on.
The 1980’s though, were a pretty dark time for Prog. First we had Asia, which included members of Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, releasing their very commercial, radio friendly, MTV orientated first record which blew away the album and singles charts in 1982. Then a year later we had Yes releasing 90125 in similar financially friendly fashion. Genesis had descended into a hellish pop music abyss by then as well (though there was still good in them if you were able to look past the chart topping crap), and while it would take a few years for them to catch up, even Pink Floyd released a pretty radio friendly record. Rush and King Crimson both morphed into an 80’s sound without really caving into the pop music world, at least not to my ears. I get the impression that Robert Fripp was trying to bend pop music to his own personal will (if anyone could have done it, it was him) while Rush just kept making Rush sounding records that happened to embrace 80’s technology (arguably to their detriment, but also maybe arguably to their benefit).
In other words, prog rock in the 70’s was awesome. Prog rock in the 80’s was… less awesome (though still better than almost anything else… except for some specific Genesis songs [looking at you, Illegal Alien and Invisible Touch]).
But there was one question that I never asked myself, or anyone else for that matter… did I miss anyone? Were there any other bands that I should have been listening to that I wasn’t?
Apparently the answer is yes, yes there was.
Marillion.
Well, there were probably 20-30 bands that I should have listened to but never did (Gentle Giant and Camel come to mind, but not Jethro Tull. Fuck Jethro Tull. I can’t stand that friggin’ band), but I don’t know why Marillion never came up. I think it might be as simple as they were not very big in the United States. They apparently were huge in the UK for a little while at least, and I was actually paying attention to the industry as a whole at that time (their biggest record came out in 1985, the same year as Power Windows by Rush, which I bought the minute it hit the record store shelves). Was that the only reason I never listened to them?
I have been aware of them for ages, of course. Was I aware of them before the internet? If it really was a regional (US vs UK) thing that kept me from them, then the internet would have been what put them on my radar. Recently they have been showing up in a bunch of places online where I happened to have been looking. A few months ago I made a note to check them out on a streaming service somewhere. I don’t recall what made me want to do that, but it was something. I didn’t do it until this past weekend though. Their guitar player was a guest on That Pedal Show and I figured I should at least listen to their biggest record, Misplaced Childhood, before I watched it. I did. I liked it. I thought the record had a sort of 70’s Genesis vibe to it. It was very 80’s, but not in a bad way (and me calling something “very 80’s” is usually meant as a negative).
I thought they dated back to the early 70’s like all of the more important prog bands but no, their first album was in 1982 or 83 (according to the two minutes I spent digging around wikipedia). I think if I had known about them at that time I probably would have gone completely off the deep end for them. They would have been a legit prog band that wasn’t devolving into a commercial/pop shadow of their former selves the way most of the prog acts from the 70s did. I knew they had two singers and that the changing of singers sort of mark different eras of the band, but I didn’t realize the first singer left as quickly as he did (after the forth album).
Yesterday I googled “list of best albums by Marillion” and found one random site that ranked them from worst to best. I listened to the 4-5 “best” albums on the list during the work day and liked most of what I heard, though I have to admit I wasn’t listening all that closely because, ya know, work.
I guess the point of this post is to get myself to accept that while I am a total prog rock snob, there are still a lot of things I don’t know about. Maybe it’s time to start taking advantage of streaming music services (ick) and start digging into the catalogs of some of those bands. Just not Jethro Tull or Dream Theater. I fucking hate both of those bands.
https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/07/23/i-missed-them-completely/
#70SRock #80SRock #artRock #englishProgRock #englishProgressiveRock #englishRock #fandom #geekRock #genesis #KingCrimson #marillion #Music #musicFan #nerdRock #PinkFloyd #progRock #progRockMusic #progressiveRock #progressiveRockMusic #rockHistory #rockMusic #Rush #Yes
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I’ve been a Prog Rock fan since I first discovered Rush in 1981. I was 10 years old and most of what Prog bands did went way over my head, but there was something about Rush that clicked with me. Not long after it was Yes. Then Pink Floyd. Then Genesis. Then King Crimson. And so on and so on.
The 1980’s though, were a pretty dark time for Prog. First we had Asia, which included members of Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, releasing their very commercial, radio friendly, MTV orientated first record which blew away the album and singles charts in 1982. Then a year later we had Yes releasing 90125 in similar financially friendly fashion. Genesis had descended into a hellish pop music abyss by then as well (though there was still good in them if you were able to look past the chart topping crap), and while it would take a few years for them to catch up, even Pink Floyd released a pretty radio friendly record. Rush and King Crimson both morphed into an 80’s sound without really caving into the pop music world, at least not to my ears. I get the impression that Robert Fripp was trying to bend pop music to his own personal will (if anyone could have done it, it was him) while Rush just kept making Rush sounding records that happened to embrace 80’s technology (arguably to their detriment, but also maybe arguably to their benefit).
In other words, prog rock in the 70’s was awesome. Prog rock in the 80’s was… less awesome (though still better than almost anything else… except for some specific Genesis songs [looking at you, Illegal Alien and Invisible Touch]).
But there was one question that I never asked myself, or anyone else for that matter… did I miss anyone? Were there any other bands that I should have been listening to that I wasn’t?
Apparently the answer is yes, yes there was.
Marillion.
Well, there were probably 20-30 bands that I should have listened to but never did (Gentle Giant and Camel come to mind, but not Jethro Tull. Fuck Jethro Tull. I can’t stand that friggin’ band), but I don’t know why Marillion never came up. I think it might be as simple as they were not very big in the United States. They apparently were huge in the UK for a little while at least, and I was actually paying attention to the industry as a whole at that time (their biggest record came out in 1985, the same year as Power Windows by Rush, which I bought the minute it hit the record store shelves). Was that the only reason I never listened to them?
I have been aware of them for ages, of course. Was I aware of them before the internet? If it really was a regional (US vs UK) thing that kept me from them, then the internet would have been what put them on my radar. Recently they have been showing up in a bunch of places online where I happened to have been looking. A few months ago I made a note to check them out on a streaming service somewhere. I don’t recall what made me want to do that, but it was something. I didn’t do it until this past weekend though. Their guitar player was a guest on That Pedal Show and I figured I should at least listen to their biggest record, Misplaced Childhood, before I watched it. I did. I liked it. I thought the record had a sort of 70’s Genesis vibe to it. It was very 80’s, but not in a bad way (and me calling something “very 80’s” is usually meant as a negative).
I thought they dated back to the early 70’s like all of the more important prog bands but no, their first album was in 1982 or 83 (according to the two minutes I spent digging around wikipedia). I think if I had known about them at that time I probably would have gone completely off the deep end for them. They would have been a legit prog band that wasn’t devolving into a commercial/pop shadow of their former selves the way most of the prog acts from the 70s did. I knew they had two singers and that the changing of singers sort of mark different eras of the band, but I didn’t realize the first singer left as quickly as he did (after the forth album).
Yesterday I googled “list of best albums by Marillion” and found one random site that ranked them from worst to best. I listened to the 4-5 “best” albums on the list during the work day and liked most of what I heard, though I have to admit I wasn’t listening all that closely because, ya know, work.
I guess the point of this post is to get myself to accept that while I am a total prog rock snob, there are still a lot of things I don’t know about. Maybe it’s time to start taking advantage of streaming music services (ick) and start digging into the catalogs of some of those bands. Just not Jethro Tull or Dream Theater. I fucking hate both of those bands.
https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/07/23/i-missed-them-completely/
#70SRock #80SRock #artRock #englishProgRock #englishProgressiveRock #englishRock #fandom #geekRock #genesis #KingCrimson #marillion #Music #musicFan #nerdRock #PinkFloyd #progRock #progRockMusic #progressiveRock #progressiveRockMusic #Rock #rockHistory #rockMusic #Rush #Yes
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I’ve been a Prog Rock fan since I first discovered Rush in 1981. I was 10 years old and most of what Prog bands did went way over my head, but there was something about Rush that clicked with me. Not long after it was Yes. Then Pink Floyd. Then Genesis. Then King Crimson. And so on and so on.
The 1980’s though, were a pretty dark time for Prog. First we had Asia, which included members of Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, releasing their very commercial, radio friendly, MTV orientated first record which blew away the album and singles charts in 1982. Then a year later we had Yes releasing 90125 in similar financially friendly fashion. Genesis had descended into a hellish pop music abyss by then as well (though there was still good in them if you were able to look past the chart topping crap), and while it would take a few years for them to catch up, even Pink Floyd released a pretty radio friendly record. Rush and King Crimson both morphed into an 80’s sound without really caving into the pop music world, at least not to my ears. I get the impression that Robert Fripp was trying to bend pop music to his own personal will (if anyone could have done it, it was him) while Rush just kept making Rush sounding records that happened to embrace 80’s technology (arguably to their detriment, but also maybe arguably to their benefit).
In other words, prog rock in the 70’s was awesome. Prog rock in the 80’s was… less awesome (though still better than almost anything else… except for some specific Genesis songs [looking at you, Illegal Alien and Invisible Touch]).
But there was one question that I never asked myself, or anyone else for that matter… did I miss anyone? Were there any other bands that I should have been listening to that I wasn’t?
Apparently the answer is yes, yes there was.
Marillion.
Well, there were probably 20-30 bands that I should have listened to but never did (Gentle Giant and Camel come to mind, but not Jethro Tull. Fuck Jethro Tull. I can’t stand that friggin’ band), but I don’t know why Marillion never came up. I think it might be as simple as they were not very big in the United States. They apparently were huge in the UK for a little while at least, and I was actually paying attention to the industry as a whole at that time (their biggest record came out in 1985, the same year as Power Windows by Rush, which I bought the minute it hit the record store shelves). Was that the only reason I never listened to them?
I have been aware of them for ages, of course. Was I aware of them before the internet? If it really was a regional (US vs UK) thing that kept me from them, then the internet would have been what put them on my radar. Recently they have been showing up in a bunch of places online where I happened to have been looking. A few months ago I made a note to check them out on a streaming service somewhere. I don’t recall what made me want to do that, but it was something. I didn’t do it until this past weekend though. Their guitar player was a guest on That Pedal Show and I figured I should at least listen to their biggest record, Misplaced Childhood, before I watched it. I did. I liked it. I thought the record had a sort of 70’s Genesis vibe to it. It was very 80’s, but not in a bad way (and me calling something “very 80’s” is usually meant as a negative).
I thought they dated back to the early 70’s like all of the more important prog bands but no, their first album was in 1982 or 83 (according to the two minutes I spent digging around wikipedia). I think if I had known about them at that time I probably would have gone completely off the deep end for them. They would have been a legit prog band that wasn’t devolving into a commercial/pop shadow of their former selves the way most of the prog acts from the 70s did. I knew they had two singers and that the changing of singers sort of mark different eras of the band, but I didn’t realize the first singer left as quickly as he did (after the forth album).
Yesterday I googled “list of best albums by Marillion” and found one random site that ranked them from worst to best. I listened to the 4-5 “best” albums on the list during the work day and liked most of what I heard, though I have to admit I wasn’t listening all that closely because, ya know, work.
I guess the point of this post is to get myself to accept that while I am a total prog rock snob, there are still a lot of things I don’t know about. Maybe it’s time to start taking advantage of streaming music services (ick) and start digging into the catalogs of some of those bands. Just not Jethro Tull or Dream Theater. I fucking hate both of those bands.
https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/07/23/i-missed-them-completely/
#70SRock #80SRock #artRock #englishProgRock #englishProgressiveRock #englishRock #fandom #geekRock #genesis #KingCrimson #marillion #Music #musicFan #nerdRock #PinkFloyd #progRock #progRockMusic #progressiveRock #progressiveRockMusic #rockHistory #rockMusic #Rush #Yes