*Currently Listening to Pagan's Mind - Enigmatic Mission*
After the previous post, I decided the best thing to do is to create an archive of my favourite artists and albums and uptate it as I go along so readers will get a quick insight into my favourite music and find new great bands fast.
My Favourite Bands/Artists
No order
1. Symphony X
2. Dream Theater
3. Andromeda
4. Children of Bodom
5. Nile
6. Joe Satriani
7. Steve Vai
8. Scenery Channel
9. Pantera
10. Pagan's Mind
My Favourite Albums
No order
1. Symphony X - Divine Wings of Tragedy
2. Andromeda - 2=1
3. Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper
4. Dream Theater - Metropolis pt.2
5. Joe Satriani - Surfing With the Alien
6. Pagan's Mind - Enigmatic:Calling
7. Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked
8. Scenery Channel - Premier
9. Children of Bodom - Hatebreeder
10. Annihilator - Alice in Hell
My Favourite Songs
No order
1. Symphony X - The Accolade
2. Andromeda - 2=1
3. Children of Bodom - Kissing the Shadows
4. Pagan's Mind - The Celestine Prophesy
5. Joe Satriani - Crushing Day
6. Pantera - Cemetary Gates
7. Symphony X - Candlelight Fantasia
8. Eric Johnson - Cliffs of Dover
9. Steve Vai - For the Love of God
10. Andromeda - Chameleon Carnival
Some bands to check out:
Pagan's Mind: You probably won't have heard of these guys unless
you live in Norway or follow Prog metal
closely. The album Enigmatic:Calling seems to dominate my cd player
currently. A perfect fusion of prog/power metal with fantastic
guitarwork and a very interesting sound. Quite a spacey feel to it.
Vocals may take a few listens to get used to,
but hey at least it's not Cynic (see later)
(No offence to Cynic fans,
they play great music, I just don't get the robot vocals).
Andromeda: You probably won't have hear of these guys unless you live in finland or follow Prog metal very closely. One of the best Prog acts i've ever heard. Very creative use of time signatures and blistering guitars. Production isn't fantastic though, feels quite raw (maybe that's what they were going for? Don't know). I would recommend 2=1 or Extension of the Wish as albums to buy.
Things I don't get:
Pain of Salvation: I hear so much good things about this band, but every song I listen to contains extensive rapping or is just bad. I don't know if I just got unlucky, could someone recommend a song or album to listen to for the uninitiated? I hear Remedy Lane is supposed to be their magnum opus?
Cynic: So I hear about this band. Prog/death metal, very techincal, great music so I think, I'll look them up. The guitars start up, drums kick in and it's all going very well. Then I hear the vocals. Wtf? Sounds like a robot being hit by a car. Can someone explain it to me? Are all the songs like that? If so why? Do you get used to it after a while?
Metalcore/Nu Metal: I won't even bother getting started.
Thanks in advance for any help on the above issues. Comment on the blog or contact me at Enter_COFB@hotmail.co.uk.
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Chapter I: The journey so far
*Currently listening to: Dream Theater - The Ministry of Lost Souls*
So, What is this Blog about? Why was it written? Should I bother reading on?
This blog is basically a way for me to pass time, pass on my knowledge about the world of metal and pass judgement on musical gems and incoherent excuses for the music I love. This is about how I came upon the delight that is metal music, my discovering of new bands, new ideas, new meanings and a new outlook on music as a whole.
Should you bother reading on? If you want to discover new metal bands, obscure or well known, and share my journey through the sea of rubbish to find the forgotten treasures that lie, waiting to be discovered,
then yes, you should read on.
My travels started with a band which garnered a lot of attention throughout it's life. System of a Down. Don't worry, that isn't the kind of "metal" which I will be talking about.
Before then I listened to things like The Beatles,
The Who, Dire Straits and the like. I despised bands such as them at the time, thinking they were just creating "noise". System opened my eyes to heavier music, showing me that it can be enjoyable and have more meaning than just music for the sake of music.
Things moved quickly past that point, a friend recommended www.pandora.com to me. A now unfortunately defunct website in which you typed in your favourite bands and artists and it compared the musical devices which they use to a massive database of other bands and artists and played you whole songs based on this. Pandora took me another rung up the ladder at my discovery of it and I found myself getting into Trivium. Although I do not like that type of metal anymore, it was still an important step towards my goal of musical enlightenment; they introduced me to shred guitar. It was at this point I took up the instrument as a serious hobby. I've been playing five years now and have gotten quite good, but that's a different story.
After spending a few months exploring other metalcore bands, I came across a band which to this day remain one of my all time favourites. Children of Bodom. I heard "Everytime I Die" on Pandora and immediately bought "Follow the Reaper". What an album. The complex guitar work coupled with inspiring keyboards and
astonishing melodies. They were everything I had come to love in music.
After another few months I had bought all of their albums and was an avid fan. At this point I decided it was time for another new band to enter my life, so I looked around on the net, read reviews by like-minded listeners, went on guitar forums and eventually I came across Pantera. I bought "The Great Southern Trendkill", shortly followed by "Cowboys From Hell" and their other albums. My new favourite band.
After a while, I ended up on Pandora again and found myself listening to heavier bands. I started to appreciate death metal with it's mindblowing pace and insane guitarwork. Bands I got into include Cryptopsy, Death and Morbid Angel. Not long after my ascent into the realm of death metal I happened upon Nile, the Egyptian influenced tech-death band that was slowly building a huge fanbase in America and leaking over into Europe. They were so different from all the other death metal bands out there, so innovative and imaginative. I immediately purchased "In the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka" and "Black Seeds of Vengence".
Like any metal guitarist, I started to research instrumental bands and artists and, like any metal guitarist, I found myself listening the the likes of Satriani, Vai and Eric Johnson. I proceeded to tick off "Surfing with the Alien" and "Passion and Warfare" off of my list. Still two of my favourite albums.
The months following that brought about the best discovery that I ever came upon. Progressive metal.
I began to obsess over Dream Theater, I started to
become fanatic about Symphony X, I initiated my delve into
the prog metal underground,uncovering bands such as
Andromeda, Scenery Channel and Threshold.
The rest - as they say - is history. My favourite band at present is Symphony X, I continue to
be amazed by how Andromeda aren't world famous
and every now and again I revisit my collection and maybe do something like write a blog about it.
In the following chapters, expect me to describe my encounters with other bands and help you to achieve musical happiness as well as me.
Thanks for spending the time to read this entry, if you wish to contact me about anything I have discussed, or just fancy a chat, please email or IM me at enter_COFB@hotmail.co.uk.
So, What is this Blog about? Why was it written? Should I bother reading on?
This blog is basically a way for me to pass time, pass on my knowledge about the world of metal and pass judgement on musical gems and incoherent excuses for the music I love. This is about how I came upon the delight that is metal music, my discovering of new bands, new ideas, new meanings and a new outlook on music as a whole.
Should you bother reading on? If you want to discover new metal bands, obscure or well known, and share my journey through the sea of rubbish to find the forgotten treasures that lie, waiting to be discovered,
then yes, you should read on.
My travels started with a band which garnered a lot of attention throughout it's life. System of a Down. Don't worry, that isn't the kind of "metal" which I will be talking about.
Before then I listened to things like The Beatles,
The Who, Dire Straits and the like. I despised bands such as them at the time, thinking they were just creating "noise". System opened my eyes to heavier music, showing me that it can be enjoyable and have more meaning than just music for the sake of music.
Things moved quickly past that point, a friend recommended www.pandora.com to me. A now unfortunately defunct website in which you typed in your favourite bands and artists and it compared the musical devices which they use to a massive database of other bands and artists and played you whole songs based on this. Pandora took me another rung up the ladder at my discovery of it and I found myself getting into Trivium. Although I do not like that type of metal anymore, it was still an important step towards my goal of musical enlightenment; they introduced me to shred guitar. It was at this point I took up the instrument as a serious hobby. I've been playing five years now and have gotten quite good, but that's a different story.
After spending a few months exploring other metalcore bands, I came across a band which to this day remain one of my all time favourites. Children of Bodom. I heard "Everytime I Die" on Pandora and immediately bought "Follow the Reaper". What an album. The complex guitar work coupled with inspiring keyboards and
astonishing melodies. They were everything I had come to love in music.
After another few months I had bought all of their albums and was an avid fan. At this point I decided it was time for another new band to enter my life, so I looked around on the net, read reviews by like-minded listeners, went on guitar forums and eventually I came across Pantera. I bought "The Great Southern Trendkill", shortly followed by "Cowboys From Hell" and their other albums. My new favourite band.
After a while, I ended up on Pandora again and found myself listening to heavier bands. I started to appreciate death metal with it's mindblowing pace and insane guitarwork. Bands I got into include Cryptopsy, Death and Morbid Angel. Not long after my ascent into the realm of death metal I happened upon Nile, the Egyptian influenced tech-death band that was slowly building a huge fanbase in America and leaking over into Europe. They were so different from all the other death metal bands out there, so innovative and imaginative. I immediately purchased "In the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka" and "Black Seeds of Vengence".
Like any metal guitarist, I started to research instrumental bands and artists and, like any metal guitarist, I found myself listening the the likes of Satriani, Vai and Eric Johnson. I proceeded to tick off "Surfing with the Alien" and "Passion and Warfare" off of my list. Still two of my favourite albums.
The months following that brought about the best discovery that I ever came upon. Progressive metal.
I began to obsess over Dream Theater, I started to
become fanatic about Symphony X, I initiated my delve into
the prog metal underground,uncovering bands such as
Andromeda, Scenery Channel and Threshold.
The rest - as they say - is history. My favourite band at present is Symphony X, I continue to
be amazed by how Andromeda aren't world famous
and every now and again I revisit my collection and maybe do something like write a blog about it.
In the following chapters, expect me to describe my encounters with other bands and help you to achieve musical happiness as well as me.
Thanks for spending the time to read this entry, if you wish to contact me about anything I have discussed, or just fancy a chat, please email or IM me at enter_COFB@hotmail.co.uk.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)