Tuesday, 4. November 2008, 14:12:45
Selective Replay, Darkthrone
For many years Darkthrone have tried to balance the fine line between genious, corny and redundant. For once they actually manage to land on the right side of the border on a couple of tracks. The opening track is the best thing they have made in ages, there is actually a great riff and a touching vibe going on in that track. The next track is also pretty good, and the mid part even brings out a feeling from their very first album. Thereafter everything falls back into their uninspired and childish meta-elite rubbish where the song titles are far superior to the actual music.
Tuesday, 4. November 2008, 13:54:18
The Sisters of Mercy, Stay Away
This is absolutely hideous. They have lost everything that was good about their first couple of albums in favour of a tasteless production with cock rock guitars, cheesy keyboards, and helpless song writing. Immediate wipe out.
Monday, 3. November 2008, 14:29:08
Next Life, Grower
Next Life still deliver their highly original and dense mixture of metal and 80s computer music. The band has a unique sound and a signature that is instantly recognizable. This time there is more variation in the songs, a couple of tracks have vocals, synth Aaaahs, etc, and the last track slows the tempo down considerably. The production is unfortunately still a limiting factor, as the record sounds a bit too narrow and boxed in. I guess that is partly a result of the DIY attitude and the self imposed limitation of working with old and simple electronics, but I still feel a better mix would have lifted the album considerably. There is a lot going on in this music, which means a first impression can be rather chaotic. I am hoping this album will grow on me, so it'll get a few more spins.
Monday, 3. November 2008, 12:07:23
For the Nerds, Shaun Baxter
Amazing or amazingly corny album title. Quite descriptive of the music in any way - instrumental virtuos guitar music, with a heavy metal aesthetic and some jazzy elements thrown in, mostly in the form of some "out" scales and arpeggio patterns. Shaun's technique is flawless, with fluid phrasing, long runs, and a great mellow distorted Stratocaster sound that is still pretty clean. The phrasing reminds of Vai here and there, the riffing reminds of LeTekrø. The compositions range from decent heavy rockers to very outdated funk/blues to hideous swing jazz (with tapping runs on top!!!). The production is OK, doesn't sound too outdated, while most of the music unfortunately does. It's pretty mind bending that this album was released in 1993, the height of anti guitar-dom in rock history. And above all, it's pretty ballsy to stick to your guns like this. Still, not an album for repeated listening.
Monday, 3. November 2008, 11:05:02
For the Fans, Wolves in the Throne Room
The vinyl version of last year's album contains ca 20 minutes of additional material compared to the CD. The extended version of Cleansing has a much longer intro than the CD, which works really well. The other track is totally exclusive, but it is apparent why it was left out from the CD release - it lacks the good melodies and riffs, and seems to follow a certain WITTR formula. This extra material is in no way essential, but a nice addition for the fans. Will probably be given a couple more rounds.
Monday, 3. November 2008, 09:45:10
Boring, Samuel Jackson Five
Very lame post rock / instrumental progressive rock. Half hearted attempts at atmospheric music, unimaginative and lazy rhythms, stand still harmonics, school of rock modulations. Predictable and boring. The best thing about the album is I think I heard a Jazzmaster and a Mellotron in there. Immediately thrown in the garbage can.
Monday, 3. November 2008, 09:39:01
Spacemen 3, Good Shit
Minimalistic, engaging, umcompromising, edgy. Surprised by the blunt blues riff in 2:35. Very cool album, going into circulation.
WIDGETIZE