Steven Wilson v. To. The. Bone.

[Lucien]

Looks like I was right! 

[King Postwhore]

I remember when the Raven cover was announced and most people were pretty disappointed and frustrated over a pretty meh album cover (I didn't care for it myself), but my initial feelings towards to this one is better. It's something different.

Really?  I've been thinking about getting it as a tattoo.

Love the new cover.  Can't wait for the album, the tour........

[The Letter M]

Looks like I was right! 

And it turns out to be the longest track on the album! 

-Marc.

[Xanthul]

I thought maybe Regret #9 had something to do with Repentance by DT, but SW's line in that song is Regret/Apology/Whatever #8.

BTW nice cover.

[Sacul]

I remember when the Raven cover was announced and most people were pretty disappointed and frustrated over a pretty meh album cover (I didn't care for it myself), but my initial feelings towards to this one is better. It's something different.

Really? I think it was and still is awesome. It fits the mood of the albums nicely.

[Zantera]

I own the limited edition of Raven, and I think some of the artwork inside of the booklet is incredible. But the album cover itself, I would probably put among SW's weaker covers. Maybe even my least favorite SW cover in the last 10 years. (Counting all albums by all projects)

[Evermind]

I liked both Grace and Raven covers; Insurgentes' cover was a huge miss for me. The new one kind of makes sense considering the concept, but I'm not too fond of it.

[Zantera]

I love the Insurgentes cover, and the cover for the DVD (which was also called Insurgentes right?). I love that abstract Lasse Hoile stuff. As much as I appreciated the visual stuff for Raven (the great pictures in the book), I did miss Lasse Hoile. I think his work really adds another layer of awesomeness to it.

[Xanthul]

Alright, you're begging for it, it's just that no one wants to be "that guy". I'll do it.

COVER RANKS

1. Insurgentes
2. The Raven
3. Grace
4. Masturbation

Even though I said "nice cover" at first, I'm starting to think that the cover for this album works great as an standalone image, but maybe not so much as a cover. I can't explain it, it's just that I can't see that picture in a CD case or LP. Maybe when I actually hold it in my hands it'll feel different.

[Ben_Jamin]

Haha his facebook of the new album. UK & rest of the world, us & canada. Apparently the us and canada aren't the rest of the world.

[SystematicThought]

Home Invasion sounds interesting. I wonder if it's actually about a home invasion a la Raider II

[TioJorge]

NOIIIICE! Beautiful cover, awesome track titles and a badass length. I love badass lengths.


Can. Not. Wait.


(I'm gonna be doing this shit for a while, just FYI)

[The King in Crimson]

This cover is pretty fucking cool and I'm liking the track lengths. Looks Insurgentes-y, which is good, cause I loved Insurgentes.

Really, really looking forward to this album.

[XB0BX]

Steven Wilson is great but arrogant as hell. I'll be honest, his hatred of DT makes me hate him

[Sacul]

Well, it's like, his opinion.

[TioJorge]

lol

Too many shits given.

[Nick]

Steven Wilson is great but arrogant as hell. I'll be honest, his hatred of DT makes me hate him

When has he ever shown any hatred of Dream Theater? Whenever they are brought up, for reasons that often escape me, his response is usually along the lines of it not being his cup of tea. Who the hell cares?

[Dark Castle]

Steven Wilson is great but arrogant as hell. I'll be honest, his hatred of DT makes me hate him

When has he ever shown any hatred of Dream Theater? Whenever they are brought up, for reasons that often escape me, his response is usually along the lines of it not being his cup of tea. Who the hell cares?

IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT I LIKE, YOU CAN GO FRIG OFF BECAUSE I HAVE TO HATE YOU NOW.

[bout to crash]

 

I love how some people are masturbating over the track lengths like they actually mean something. I think the cover looks cool. I'm not reading anything into the tracks, just excited for whatever the fuck it is. Really I just want to know when the fuck he's coming to the US.

[Dark Castle]

Well, I'd rather have more songs with some short and a few long rather than 5 long songs. Personal preference, unless we're talking doom metal, then you can FRIG OFF with short songs.

[TioJorge]

Jackie, some people are really shallow and love long penises.



Tracks. Long tracks.


But it really just comes down to more to love, quite honestly, with myself anyway. To relate to something recently that has me a little disappointed, Thomas Giles' new album Modern Noise is absolutely amazing, I think. But I cannot help but feel a bit let down when it ends so abruptly (46 minutes). It's probably what little of the prog addict that's left in me being spoiled, but I always think "Man, I would LOVE it if this album lasted a bit longer"; whether that means a couple more tracks or each track itself being a bit lengthier (my personal preference). Either way, I'm just excited to have a lot of music to listen to even though I'm not sure whether I'll like it or not. Is that such a bad thing? Now, if it ends up that I hate this album, then sure, I'll eat my words and cede. I just don't see that happening with the man's track record for my own tastes and especially with recent endeavors. They mean something...if I end up liking the music. I'm going to err on the side of optimism and say I probably will.

[RoeDent]

It's probably what little of the prog addict that's left in me being spoiled, but I always think "Man, I would LOVE it if this album lasted a bit longer"; whether that means a couple more tracks or each track itself being a bit lengthier (my personal preference).

I say this about all Blackfield albums.

And the track lengths very much mean something! Longer tracks = More developed music, perhaps in multiple sections. Music that has room to breathe.

[Zantera]

I don't think any of the Blackfield songs would have benefited from being longer though, and they are great as they are. Making a short song longer just for the sake of it will only harm the overall quality of it. There's nothing worse than a band making long songs for the sake of being long, and showing some restraints is a good sign.

[hefdaddy42]

Steven Wilson is great but arrogant as hell. I'll be honest, his hatred of DT makes me hate him

Godammit

[bout to crash]

I don't think any of the Blackfield songs would have benefited from being longer though, and they are great as they are. Making a short song longer just for the sake of it will only harm the overall quality of it. There's nothing worse than a band making long songs for the sake of being long, and showing some restraints is a good sign.

EXACTLY. People who criticize Blackfield for that don't understand what Blackfield is about and should probably stick to constant wankery.

edit: I shouldn't have to say this amongst adults who know better, but quantity=/=quality.

[BlackInk]

People who criticize Blackfield for that don't understand what Blackfield is about and should probably stick to constant wankery.

So, "people who don't view this band in the exact same way I do are wrong in their musical opinion"?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Anti-prog snobbery is just as annoying as prog snobbery. Some people like long songs. Some don't. Who cares.

[The Letter M]

People who criticize Blackfield for that don't understand what Blackfield is about and should probably stick to constant wankery.

So, "people who don't view this band in the exact same way I do are wrong in their musical opinion"?

Not necessarily. I think Blackfield was done to make the songs they made, which was quite different for SW. He hadn't made too many songs like that before with PT, so this was an outlet for him to explore that with someone else.

It's like comparing a screwdriver and a wrench. They're both made to do different things, and complaining that you can't tighten a screw with a wrench is like being upset that Blackfield doesn't have sprawling epics over 10 minutes. If you look at all of SW's various bands and projects, they're all different from each other, and they all serve different purposes and explore different musical ground while still having some of that signature SW sound. Granted, I'm only familiar with PT, No-Man, Blackfield, and his solo stuff, but to my ears, each of those are different from each other, at least just as much different as they are the same, if not more so.

-Marc.

[TioJorge]

Well, I never said long songs are objectively better, just that if I like the music and it's on the shorter end, it's natural for me to want more. Unless I missed something, no one has said quantity over quality either; certainly not me. If Wilson creates amazing music that has a bit of both, all the better. I mean, I rarely listen to epics anymore and there's a reason for that, they tend to meander and I lose interest; but there is in fact a sweet spot, for me anyway. I'm also pretty sure Wilson isn't making long songs just for the sake of being long, that isn't his style and I think that's apparent. Again though, if there's a good mixture of longER songs with some short and sweet, I am absolutely all for that. Basically what DC said earlier.

I'm not sure why some peeps are acting like this is some controversial topic or that people are screaming LONG SONGS OR DEATH. 

[Zantera]

I don't think there's any anti-prog snobbery here tbh. Some songs are better suited for being long than others, depending on the genre. Blackfield's emotional music works perfect for the format it has. The kind of music SW made on Raven works well with the +10 minute format. It's not so much about a song being good or bad because it's long, but in this case I don't really see the fit at all. Blackfield is all about the emotions and very little about the music, and I don't see how they could fill out a 3 minute pop song into a 9 minute proggy number without it seeming out of place.

[RoeDent]

I don't think any of the Blackfield songs would have benefited from being longer though, and they are great as they are. Making a short song longer just for the sake of it will only harm the overall quality of it. There's nothing worse than a band making long songs for the sake of being long, and showing some restraints is a good sign.

EXACTLY. People who criticize Blackfield for that don't understand what Blackfield is about and should probably stick to constant wankery.

edit: I shouldn't have to say this amongst adults who know better, but quantity=/=quality.

Sorry to go all chaossystem on you, but I just WISH they were a LITTLE bit longer, that's all. I'm not after 10-minute-plus songs all the way; I can go to other bands for that. Something more around the 5-6 minute range, like the extended version of the song Blackfield, with the long instrumental coda. No "wankery" (as you so eloquently put it) there. Just great atmospheric music.

[rumborak]

Steven Wilson is great but arrogant as hell. I'll be honest, his hatred of DT makes me hate him

Godammit

XBOX's hatred of SW hating DT makes me hate XBOX.

[JayOctavarium]

Which in turn makes him hate you...

[Nick]

We hate in circles... woooaaahhhh

[JayOctavarium]

We hate in circles... woooaaahhhh

No wait a minute man...


(non of that Shmedley bullshit...)