Author Topic: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums v.2: v.2 - v. The top ten  (Read 46625 times)

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Offline mikemangioy

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Speechless
« Reply #105 on: April 13, 2015, 07:40:18 AM »

# 32: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon
1973 - Progressive Rock - UK

Time for one classy classic. And it’s not just a “prog” classic, it’s a music classic. This album’s cover is instantly recognized by anyone, and that can’t be a bad thing. Because this album ,this band, is possibly up there with best bands of history. And you come to realize that when you look at PF’s discohraphy, which towards the end (starting from this very record) has one of, if not the best succession of records ever.

Dark Side Of The Moon is the manifestation of human beings done in a single ten-track cd. In this album we touch a lot of aspects of the life of any individual, and it’s actually its strong point – anyone can relate to these lyrics. Put it with awesome, relaxing and dreamy music, and it’s done. You have a masterpiece.
In particular, the flow of this album is incredibly good. The songs start from where the previous ended, and the effect is that you’re actually hearing one standalone piece of music. And in my opinion, that’s the best way to make the concept of “albums” clear. It’s not about one song, it’s about every note, the packaging, the lyrics – about the experience. And, being the first album of its kind that I’ve listened in my life, I feel that it has taught me these things.

DSOTM starts out with an intro called Speak To Me. It consist of an intensity build-up  based on an heartbeat, and samples, forshadowing the rest of the record. The first actual song is Breathe. It’s a very calm opening piece, with soothing vocals. I interpret the lyrics as someone being born, so the beginning of life. Next is the most out-of-place song in the album, even though it fits extremely well, On The Run. This is three and a half minutes of a synth pattern. It’s very frantic and anxious sounding, and that feeling is helped by a number of samples being thrown in. This represents fear, and how frantic can one’s life be. After this, there’s my favorite piece in the album, and possibly one of my favorite songs of all times, Time. It has a jazzy mood, and masterful lyrics, about how time passes and doesn’t care about us at all. The guitar solo is truly something to be stunned from. David Gilmour ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know what else to say about this song because words aren’t enough. Just shivers. And after time passes, we die, you know? And that’s the message of The Great Gig In The Sky. An emotional ballad with an awesome vocal solo and no lyrics at all. In fact the only actual words we hear in this track are just samples of interviews, about being arfraid of dying. This is one that makes me think a lot. So, after TGGITS, side one of the album is over. This side was actually about the cycle of life, from the beginning of life, to death. The second side is more about ideological things and philosophy, starting with Money, a 7/4 piece about the evil power of cash. This one is very bluesy and features a great instrumental section, with a sax solo. Soon the volume lowers for Us And Them. This is a ballad about war and hatred. Think about it, how many ballads are there about this topic? That’s quite an unique thing. Anyways, Us and Them is the calmest piece in the whole record, not considering the chorus, which is an explosions of epic choirs and intensity that send shivers down my spine each time I listen to it. Any Colour You Like is the last instrumental in the album. Even though I can clearly see the message of each piece in the record, this one still remains a mystery to me. Maybe, looking at the title, it may be about choices in life. I still am not convinced though. So, this piece is half a synth nightmare and half a funky guitar solo. A cool moment. Thus begins the last part of the album, which consists of: Brain Damage, a piece which sounds like a faster version of Us And Them, with calm verses and emotional and a choir-y chorus. This also feels like the title-track, because in the chorus it says “I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon”. This song deals with madness, and as we know, it’s a close topic to Pink Floyd, since Syd Barrett went mad some years before. Eventually, we transition in the last track, Eclipse. This is epic music. Like, really really epic. It’s about the whole experience, it sums up the whole thing with amazing choirs and lyrics, and the album closes with the same heartbeat that it began with, along with the sentence “There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, it is all dark”. One of the most powerful endings to an album.

Once again, I’m pretty speechless about all of this. It’s a record that everybody should hear at least once in their life. It’s that good.


Favorites: Every song.

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Offline Sacul

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Speechless
« Reply #106 on: April 13, 2015, 10:23:20 AM »
 :heart :hefdaddy

Offline mikemangioy

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Speechless
« Reply #107 on: April 13, 2015, 01:56:23 PM »
It's funny how the response suddenly decreases once I put out that Green Day record :rollin


# 31: Muse - The Resistance
2009 - Symphonic/Hard/Electronic/Prog Rock - UK
To continue with the controversy, here is my favorite Muse record. I think there is a logical explanation why this is my favorite one: it’s their proggiest. Infact in The Resistence, Muse explored their huge sound, with a largely symphonic and spacey atmosphere. And it just suits them so well. It’s kinda cool, at first this one was my least favorite. Then when I bought it (it was cheap), listening through it once more, I was blown away like never before. This album also continues with the use of electronic elements, even though it’s less so, while also being really accessible and catchy all around.
 
We see the commercial-ness especially with the opening track, Uprising. This is a classic 6/8 groovy tune, with the *clap – clap clap* kind of rhythm. It’s one of the very few cases in which the opening tune is also my least favorite, but still, it’s fun and a Muse classic. And the live version includes one of the heaviest riffs. The title-track, Resistance, is not a ballad, even though it’s very dramatic like those kind of songs, and bleeds emotion from the start through the ending, including one of my favorite outros in Muse’s discography. Shivers. Matt’s voice, man. Following is one of the most unique Muse songs, Undisclosed Desires. This is an electronic piece of music with a nice funky influence, especially in the chorus. I love the musical textures in this song and the overall composition – the music video is also really cool. United States Of Eurasia is an operatic, symphonic, big-sounding tune. I always have a good time when I listen to it, thanks also to the sudden Queen-ish choir explosions. That’s an amazing moment for an amazing song. Guiding Light is a melodic pop tune, à la Invincible, from the previous album. It really reminds me of that one. It features a catchy drum rhythm, which sounds also massive with all those effects on it. Not one of my favorites, but you should check it out, still. Unnatural Selection opens the heavy one-two punch of this one and the next track. This song reminds me of New Born, structur-wise. It starts quietly with an organ, and then it explodes into a groovy riff. The track suddenly quiets down in the middle part, with a slow blues groove and ethereal vocals. I love these little parts in the album, we also find one like it at the end of United States Of Eurasia. A lovely little piano solo, named Collateral Damage. There’s one later in the album, but after the next heavy tune. MK Ultra provides us with speed and headbanging-worthy moments. I love the sound of this track,  I listen to it very often. I Belong To You brings back the funk influences from Undisclosed Desires and expands them into a fun track, with quite a poetic interlude, Ma Coer S’Ouvre à Ta Voix. The contrast is really well done. What follows next is Muse’s biggest song, ever. Or at least, ‘til now. Exogenesis is a three-part symphony that I’m so glad they did. It’s a really nice experiment, and  considering this band is really popular, bringing something so big in the mainstream is something to be admired for. The first part, Overture, is quite dramatic. After a nice orchestra intro, we get the usual Muse/Devin Townsend arpeggiated riff, with some falsetto. Complaint: why are the drums electronic here? Everything would’ve sounded much much more powerful if they were real. Any song ever would sound more powerful with acoustic drums, what the hell. Cross-Pollination is the second part. This time everything is guided by a grand piano. We hear lyrics about re-populating human kind through space. Someone’s been listening to Ayreon :neverusethis: The third part is called Redemption, and it reminds me A LOT of a precise classical piece, but I don’t know which one. I think it’s Chopin or something. Please help. Anyways, this part is quite epic sounding, with a nice build up towards the middle, and a quiet finale. Overall, I think that Exogenesis is a nice experiment, but it feels a little pretentious. And I don’t listen to it that often. But when I do it grabs me and it puts me into SPACE

So, The Resistance for me, is awesome. For others, not quite so. But I really don’t care. It’s great experimentation through a genre for me nearly unknown, and it does its job amazingly.

Favorites: Resistance, Undisclosed Desires, United States Of Eurasia, MK Ultra
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Offline Crow

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nah.

Offline Sacul

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I like some Muse, but never heard this one :P .

Offline Scorpion

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Aside from Undisclosed Desires and Unnatural Selection, I rarely come back to this. Nothing that really excites me, quite frankly.

The Second Law was like light years better.
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
Hey, the length is fine :azn: Thanks!

Offline Zydar

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Pink Floyd :heart
Zydar is my new hero.  I just laughed so hard I nearly shat.

Offline ThatOneGuy2112

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Don't care too much for Muse's recent material. We'll see how Drones turns out.

Dark Side of the Moon is fantastic. :heart

Offline mikemangioy

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Double post for you fellas


#30: Rush - Clockwork Angels
2012 - Progressive Hard Rock - Canada

Aaaaaaand Rush. Such a pleasant word. RRRUSHHH. Who in the world doesn’t like Rush? Well, I know some of you don’t. You bastards :lol – This band doesn’t need any kind of introduction, everybody knows them, but I’ll begin to say that they are possibly one of the most influencial bands alive. Each guy plays its instrument masterfully, bringing the band to be also one of the most admired out there. They just celebrated 40 years of carreer, and that they have 19 fucking albums, which none I feel are too bad. That’s quite a point. And you know what’s another great point of Rush being one of the best bands alive? The fact that after almost 40 years they put out an album that renewed their sound. Further. Their nineteenth album is their best since 1985’s Power Windows. Of course, I’m talking about Clockwork Angels.

The strange thing about Rush is that they’ve never really done a concept album. Yes, they had thematics going on a couple of records, but no story-based concepts. Until Clockwork Angels came out, and they decided to go completely steampunk. Why? I don’t know, but the steampunk style is one of the coolest things out there in my opinion. The wackiness, the union between old and modern, hell, the vapor. THE GLINT OF IRON WHEEEEEEEELS THE BODIES SPIN IN A CLOCKWOOORK DAAANCE . This album’s lyrics and music translates so well that style that I almost wanna make a cosplay based on it. Even the tour was so in the concept that there were wacky machines on stage! I’m so stoked by it. Anyways, musically I’ve said that this album unites the past and the future of the band, making you feel at home but also bringing something entirely new to the table. Let’s dive in this sea of machines and top hats!

Caravan opens the album with a bang. This song is a blast. The riff is simple but so heavy and groovy, the chorus is wonderfully melodic and the instrumental section is one of my favorites overall by Rush. One of their stronger openers. BU2B is even heavier. I think that if it weren’t for Stick It Out, this might be Rush’s heaviest tune. I love the structure of the verses, there’s some kind of poetic technique in it, but I can’t honestly remember the name. This is a great track, although not amongst my favorites. Clockwork Angels is an epic tune. Like, this legitimately sounds epic. The word “epic” is often misused, but here? Nope. Epic. It sounds like worship music, and it is, actually. And the lyrics… Jesus Christ. No words for this song. The Anarchist continues the heavy idea of the album with some actual fun music. Guys, I feel this is one of the most fun records that I’ve ever listened to. It’s such a blast. Anyways, The Anarchist features oriental atmospheres (dat solo) and strings, which give a unique touch of drama to the song. Also, great lyrics, as always. Damn, Neil. And now comes my favorite, Carnies. This is the representation of the whole damn record: heavy, fun and interesting melodies. Quirky steampunk imagery in the lyrics, and will to discover the world. Amazing live version. THE CHORUS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE RUSH CHORUS EVER GOOD GOD IT’S THAT GOOD- ok enough. I just love this track so much. Easily in my top ten Rush songs. Halo Effect is a ballad. Rush is not exactly a ballad band, even though some of their best songs are their more melodic ones (Bravado); infact this one is pretty much ok, nothing really special. I love the acoustic guitars, though, Alex has a great acoustic sound. Seven Cities Of Gold. This song = bass. Geddy’s my favorite bass player, no wonder why. This song infact features quite the groove with amazing bass lines and a great chorus. The Wreckers has a powerful message (always pay attention and always be weary), and it’s more of a melodic thing, Bravado-style. I really enjoy this one, I think it’s one of the best ones. Back to the heaviness with Headlong Flight. This track feels like a song from the first two albums, mixed with the rock sound of the band’s 90’s production, and a little bit of prog from the 70’s. A bit of everything, but still sounds fresh. Also a blast. After a brief return of BU2B, in BU2B2 (a darker and sadder version of the predecessor), there’s Wish Them Well a song that has some personal value to it, even though it’s actually not in my favorites. It’s a great tune though, if you need really catchy stuff. It has a real Presto/Roll The Bones mood goin’. The album closes with The Garden, which is a song that I don’t think the band ever did before, stylistically speaking. It’s a beautiful ballad featuring touching strings and a powerful vocal melody and lyrics, when the character looks back at his life, in his death bed. I think that this is Rush’s most touching song and most understandable one. Shivers everywhere, a great end.

Clockwork Angels is truly something to look at. This album proves what kind of monsters are these three canadians. I have little to no words.

Favorites: Caravan, Clockwork Angels, The Anarchist, Carnies, Headlong Flight, The Garden
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Offline Evermind

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I'm not a big fan of Rush, but I kind of like some of their albums. This is not one of them. :biggrin:
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

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# 29: Rammstein - Reise, Reise
2004 - Alternative Metal - Germany

Time for one of the strangest bands in the whole discography. This is an entry that may really upset some people but please/satisfy others (sup Scorpion). Rammstein always fascinated me for the fact that they are one of the most known groups in metal, but they sing in german. Since I’ve been listening to them, I regretted choosing Spanish as a language to study in school. But, it’s ok, since my daily german lessons are the songs from this group!

These 5 fine folks here, produce some of the most hard hitting, pounding, and (strange to say) catchy music around. The first albums focused more on a disco-type of approach, providing a prominent kick drum and amazing riffs. But simple. The vocals are quite the interest here: Till Lindemann’s voice is so fucking deep. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone that could go so low with its voice. Infact, he can manipulate that fact to sound both menacing and sinister, but also poetic and romantic. While of course, singing in german. Rammstein have really matured from the cheesy/strange/fun stuff from their first two albums. The band now is definitely more aware of their situation, and started writing some serious metal material, while of course maintaining the uniqueness of the band. This album in particular is very dramatic in tone, it has all sorts of movie-like choirs and huge huge hooks. But still, catchy hooks. But huge. You got my point :lol

The riffs are very meaty and headbanging worthy. There are some really heavy moments spread throughout the album, but there’s also room for melody and experimentation, just how I like my albums in general. Although this is sang in german, but still. Talking about that, even the lyrics are a bit more mature than the first ones. Other than some fictional stories, we see love, hate and even globalization as topics in this album. I think this is the only Rammstein record totally sex-free actually. Anyways, let’s take a look at the songs featured in Reise Reise:

Everything starts with this strange intro, which is actually pretty disturbing. It’s an actual recording of a plane that’s about to crash, and looking at the recent Germanwings events, everything is much more disturbing. I’ll be in a plane like that in less then a year, and that crash didn’t quite help my unborn fear of flight. Anyways, the intro lasts 40 seconds or so, then it’s time for Reise Reise, the song. This piece is incredibly dramatic and opens the album really well. It has a huge keyboard sound with electric guitars buzzing around it, and once in a while a really heavy riff. The lyrics are about some mariner’s epic journey, which ends up badly from what I understand. I love the chorus, it’s so anthemic and glorious. Mein Teil kicks the heaviness up a notch, as we hear about cannibalism events going on. These lyrics are actually based on a true story, don’t read it up if you don’t want to throw up. It’s quite bad. Anyways, once again the song has this catchy-epic vibe and an aggressive edge that makes it memorable. Dalai Lama is slightly slower, more groovy and melodic than the other two songs. I think this is my least favorite on the album, but it’s a cool listen nonetheless, not your typical Rammstein song. Keine Lust is the song that got me into Rammstein. I knew Waidmanns Heil and Du Hast, but this was it. Its historic music video and breakdown makes this one one of the funnest song in the album, and the one I come back to very often. Los is an experiment. It features what would be a heavy riff, but done on acoustic guitar. And everything stays in this very low dynamic, unless you listen to the live version (highly recommended), in which everything explodes in an extended jam session. This song is groovy as hell, and it’s a nice change of tone confronted with the other tunes. Amerika is the most known song from this album, and one of the most known by this band. It’s another one of those epic dramatic tunes, but this time with cheesy humorous English lyrics. It’s a critique towards globalization and such, and it couldn’t really be done better. The chorus is a bit annoying though, I have to say; as always the music video is great. Did Rammstein ever did a bad video? Oh wait, they did. Moskau has more of a pop vibe, and features Russian chorists, that actually remind me of K-Pop and stuff. Very strange song for Rammstein, but hey it’s Rammstein, anything can happen. After this song the best part of the record starts. Morgenstern has one of the most memorable Rammstein riffs out there. I mean, what’s better than 00. 3030. 00. 30300300. ? It will haunt your head until it explodes. I love the vocal pattern in this song, and the chorus brings back the epic dramatic vibes once again. This next track is my favorite, and I think the best one in the album. Stein Um Stein. It’s like Das Alte Leid grew up and became more mature. The atmosphere in this song is so dark, and the lyrics help it too. They talk about a man trapping a man inside some kind of wall, and letting him die in there. Here Till’s vocals are so fucking amazing. He explodes in the chorus and at times he screams like a beast. You rarely hear him doing this, but when he does it, everything is much more scary and creepy, especially the last one. Jesus, that’s really disturbing, with those lyrics too. Ohne Dich is a ballad,  I feel it’s not the band’s best, but it’s close to that. It features strings, which are always welcome in any song, really. It’s really melodic, and once again, dramatic and epic. It actually reminds me of the first track, really. The last track, Amour, is another strange Rammstein song. This one has again low dynamics in the verses, to explode in a deep-vocals chorus. It’s different from the rest of the album, but it closes it greatly, although I would’ve had Ohne Dich has the last song. The outro is fairly heavy though, and it ends with a fun vocal rap-ish thing.

This album feels really cohesive and overall a great one to pop in once in a while, with all those memorable tunes about memorable topics and such. But there's better Rammstein stuff out there.

Favorites: Reise Reise, Mein Teil, Keine Lust, Morgenstern, Stein Um Stein
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Offline Evermind

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Look, I've ruined your double post. :lol
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline mikemangioy

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Look, I've ruined your double post. :lol

Of course, being russian, you do that with two albums with a red album cover, and two artists that begin with R, and a song that's called "Moskau".

You've been planning everything from the start. You sneaky sneaky person.
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Offline Sacul

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I'm not a big fan of Rush, but I kind of like some of their albums. This is not one of them. :biggrin:
Hey, finally something we both agree on :o .


I never gave Rammstein a fair listen, but they seem to be right up my alley, so I'll have to check them soon. I only know their gigs are epic as hell :metal .

PD: Que hay de malo con el español? :sadpanda:

Offline mikemangioy

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #119 on: April 15, 2015, 09:58:02 AM »
PD: Que hay de malo con el español? :sadpanda:

Nothing really, it's pretty cool, but I wish I could hablar alemàn, man.

---

So guys, I have an announcement. Since I'll be on a school trip for the next three days and I'll be super busy on sunday, expect no updates, or maybe just one, until next week. Sorry for that, but life is life!  :metal


#28: Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
2011 - Jazz influenced prog/hard rock/pop - UK

You know, I’ve literally been just sitting like a dumb idiot, staring at the blank Word page for four minutes. I have no idea how to describe what Steven does. Well, let’s start with the fact that: Steven Wilson is an English singer-songwriter. He’s been the frontman of various projects, namely Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, Storm Corrosion, Bass Communion, and various others. Throughout the years Steven created and produced a lot, A LOT of music, with lots of experimentation and a grand variety of musical inspiration. Well, in 2008 he decides to go solo, releasing his first album “Insurgentes”. That album didn’t quite hit me since Steve decided to go on a post-rock/drone direction, and that’s actually not my cup of tea. After a couple of years he decides to put out another solo record, named Grace For Drowning. It’s a double album and this one practically resumes EVERY SINGLE THING this man did for the past 20 and plus years. And given that it’s like 12 genres, and this album has one heck of a flow, standing ovation to Steven Wilson, right now.

Although this is a sum-up of his influences, there is still a new element being brought in the record: jazz. Yes, throughout the album there are these jazzy keyboard moments, along with flutes, saxophones, clarinets and all sorts of drumming shenanigans (which are so tasty) that give this record a unique vibe. So, as I’ve said, this is a double album. Part 1 being called “Deform To Form A Star”, which has more of a pop vibe (although it has a couple of strange and dark songs) and the second one is “Like Dust I’ve Cleared From My Eye”, featuring the dark and creepy atmospheres of Steven’s songwriting.

Volume 1 starts out with the title-track instrumental Grace For Drowning. It has a sunny vibe, although with a touch of melanchonia, and a great piano track by none other than mister Jordan Rudess. Sectarian, another instrumental, touches creepy and at the same time solemn atmospheres, that actually remind me of Opeth. It has also a lot of dynamics, going from really low to noise explosions of the loud kind. Really cool track. Deform To Form A Star unites poppy atmospheres with the jazz influence that I’ve talked about, and the result is one of the best SW ballads ever. Soaring melodies, beautiful lyrics about imperfection and overall just loveliness. It makes you smile, believe it or not. And the outro is gorgeous. No Part Of Me has an electronic vibe, which arks back to Insurgentes. Maybe it’s for that, but it’s my least favorite :lol although admittedly, the second half features a cool riff. Postcard is totally a throwback to Lightbulb Sun. It has the same kind of poppy vibe, but still with that touch of sadness, especially when you look at the lyrics. I like how the song builds and builds and each stanza is more epic than the other. Raider Prelude is a look at the creepy ambient type of music that Steven gave us in Bass Communion. It’s meant to be a prelude to a track in disc 2, but more of that later. A thing about this song is that the album takes a creepy and dark turn after this track, and it will be like this until the last song. Infact, Remainder The Black Dog is one of the strangest, darkest and overall pretty eerie songs that Steve wrote in his solo carreer, and in general I think. It’s a jazz/metal/avant-garde/dafuq/vegetarian thing, and it breathes life. It’s actually quite wicked and it goes through various phases. It’s also nearly instrumental, it only has one verse at the beginning, then Steven decides “fuck vocals” and proceedes to play this strange piece just with instruments. Actually, on guitars is mr. Steve Hackett. Heck Steve, you know how to choose your session musicians. So, really interesting and weird. Recommended song. Disc 2 opens with Belle De Jour, yet another instrumental track, this time completely done on acoustic guitar. It has this spacey atmosphere, and it reminds me of some Super Mario Galaxy 2 soundtrack, namely the song that plays in the Cosmic Cove Galaxy. Out of nowhere videogame reference for ya :rollin Index is one of Steve’s most famous solo tracks, it’s an industrial creepy song about a “collector” (I think he’s talking about bodies). While the lyrics remind me of In Absentia, the actual music does not. I love the drum glitches in this track; one thing: this song’s live version is miles ahead than the one in the record. Just check it out. Track One is the little sister of Remainder The Black Dog, since it’s also a strange and sinister song. It starts out acoustic then it abruptly transitions into a noise/drone kind of part à la Insurgentes, to end with a peaceful piano/acoustic guitar outro. And at the end you’re there asking yourself “Wat”. The music video of this song scared the shit out of me. I won’t say more, it’s just an incentive to make you go and watch it  :P We finally came to this point: Raider II. This is a 20 minute long epic which sums up the album amazingly. It’s also one of Steven’s finest compositions, in my opinion, and one where his various styles intertwine against one another, but still maintaining a great flow. Overall though, the feel is “creepiness”, and if there’s a song that can translate fear, it’s this one. Such pathos. Watch the live version. DO IT. Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye brings back the poppish atmospheres of the first disc, serving like a light at the end of a deep dark tunnel which started back at Raider Prelude. A great ambient outro closes this mammoth of an album greatly.

This has been possibly the hardest writeup to write, because it’s such a strange record. It’s very enjoyable though and one that really translates well live.

Favorites: Secterian, Deform To Form A Star, Remainder The Black Dog, Raider II
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Offline Sacul

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #120 on: April 15, 2015, 10:57:53 AM »
Man, it took me a lot of time to appreciate this album, but now it rivals HCE as Steven's best solo record :hefdaddy . It truly is one weird, dark album.

Offline Crow

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #121 on: April 15, 2015, 11:16:54 AM »
my least favorite of the three SW solo albums I have, really feel he should've cut it down to one disc of material, it's too bloated and exhausting to listen to much

Offline Evermind

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #122 on: April 15, 2015, 12:04:52 PM »
Man, it took me a lot of time to appreciate this album, but now it rivals HCE as Steven's best solo record :hefdaddy . It truly is one weird, dark album.

Raven is the Steven's best solo record, so I don't know what you're talking about.  :P

Anyway, I like GFD. Deform to Form a Star is awesome, and Raider II is just breathtaking (especially in live rendition). Great pick.

Also, you've also mistyped "Sectarian" in your favourites section. :angel:
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #123 on: April 15, 2015, 12:59:34 PM »
I'm of the group that thinks GfD is the best Wilson solo record. Freaking fantastic album all the way through, although not one I (would) listen to often.
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #124 on: April 15, 2015, 01:07:11 PM »
Late to the party here, but The Resistance? That's barely a top 31 Muse record in my books. 1 fantastic track, 2 or 3 pretty good ones, and then a whole lotta meh. Easily my least favorite of what they've done.
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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #125 on: April 15, 2015, 03:48:38 PM »
Man, it took me a lot of time to appreciate this album, but now it rivals HCE as Steven's best solo record :hefdaddy . It truly is one weird, dark album.

Raven is the Steven's best solo record, so I don't know what you're talking about.  :P
Honestly, I love the title track from that album, and really enjoy the first two tracks, but can't get into the others for some reason :sad: .

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #126 on: April 17, 2015, 02:05:30 AM »
Hell yes Rammstein. Reise Reise is pretty neat, though not my favourite of their albums.

Also, very minor note: I don't think the lyrics of Stein um Stein specify whether its talking about a man or a woman, but that's minor.

Slightly more major note: my mother sings in the choir on Morgenstern. Awesome, or awesome? (Btw that's another song where I prefer the live version. In fact, most of Rammstein's songs are better live).
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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #127 on: April 19, 2015, 09:07:50 AM »
I'm back guys, yaaay

Posts will resume in a few hours.
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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being jazzy
« Reply #128 on: April 19, 2015, 10:10:33 AM »
Hell yeah


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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. EINZ ZWEI POLIZEI
« Reply #129 on: April 19, 2015, 01:05:26 PM »

#27: Rammstein - Herzeleid
1995 - Disco/Industrial Metal - Germany
You know, while I was making the list I thought that Reise Reise was still my favorite Rammstein record. But then I relistened to Herzeleid.

I don't know if it's the union between disco and metal, the cheesy imagery of the band, the atmospheres/riffs/melodies, but Herzeleid is now officially my favorite R+ record.

It starts with the fun but repetitive Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen. This track obsesses over one single riff and concise lyrics about sex. It’s a really fun song to see live, but otherwise it’s just a tidbit too repetitive. Dat RAMMSTEIN chorus though. Der Meister continues with an typical Rammstein riff. I really like the chorus in this one, it sounds both completely out of place and pretty fitting. Interesting track. Weißes Fleisch is one of my favorites. It starts with this synth pattern which gets faster and faster and then everything goes nuts with a disco metal assault. This song is fucking fun, especially in a live setting. It features a choreography and a dance solo by Flake and even a drum solo by Schneider. It’s one of the few times in which the band is more important than the look, in Rammstein concerts. Anyways, this song’s lyrics are actually pretty creepy and disturbing. And not because they sound like that, go read the translation  :o Moving on we have, Asche Zu Asche, one of the few straight heavy metal pieces in the record. I like the use of the palm muted pattern in the song, it gives it a nice technical feel, which fits with the “coldness” of their sound. Once again, it’s also a fun track. Seemann is the band’s first attempt at ballads, and even though it’s nice, they have done better. You see, this is a debut album, after all. And now comes one of the catchiest songs of all time: Du Riescht So Gut. This song is hell. A ringworm. An obsession. I avoid it when I can because I know that if I listen to it I’m gonna obsess about it for a long time. It’s cool because the riff has two freaking notes, but it’s so ingenious. Also, the video (I’m talking about the 98 version) is well done. And now comes my favorite piece. Das Alte Leid. This song is fairly slower than the rest of the album, but it’s really really really heavy. Like one of those “Anselmo face” songs. And “ICH WILL FICKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN” will forever remain in history in one of those funnily epic moments (much like SOAD’s Vicinity of obscenity last chorus). Heirate Mich is really groovy, and starts off with Till’s incredibly deep performance (that’s what she said), that actually scares me. Up next is Herzeleid, the title track. I really love this one. It’s another catchy piece, with that stop and go riff, and that vocal pattern. I listen to this one more than Du Riescht So Gut because it actually isn’t that obsessive as the catchiness in that one. Laichzeit is the disco-est song in the record, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one was played at any parties in discotheques and stuff. Awesome piece, once again. The album closes with the band’s declaration of superiority, Rammstein. Nah, I’m kidding, that’s RammLied. This one infact, focuses more on the origin of the band’s name: an accident in an airport. It’s another slow piece, and one that live brings up Till’s fire fists. Incredibly stunning to watch.

So Herzeleid is freaking fun and addictive, catchy and strange. I like those kinds of albums.

Favorites: Weißes Fleisch, Du Riescht So Gut, Das Alte Leid, Herzeleid
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#26: Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit
2012 - Progressive Metal - Germany

You know, playing and composing prog metal is risky. You either end up playing awesome, creative and admirable stuff, or you create something pretty bland, with no life, repetitive, heard  before. While of course there are bands out there that are “copycats”, that doesn’t mean that a strong influence cannot bring a gem. Infact, Beyond The Bridge did this. These guys play prog metal in its purest form, drawing a lot of influences from DT, Ayreon and other bands of the genre. While they really do sound like them, at the same time, the music is so enjoyable that it doesn’t sound too repetitive and already heard. And to do that with a debut album? Wow, guys, this is talent. I also understand all the inspiration, since it’s a debut album (remember how WDADU was Rush on steroids?), I think this band will eventually find their own sound. But if they stick to this one, I wouldn’t be bothered too much since it’s amazing!

Beyond The Bridge are german, they are one of the most numerous bands that I know about: 7 people. 1 guitar, 1 bass, 1 drums, 2 keyboards, 2 vocalists. And, unlike in other bands such as Slipknot, where I feel that the band could’ve easily be the same without all those people, Beyond The Bridge wouldn’t. Yes, because the keyboards are layered to make great effects, sometimes even glitchy stuff that I adore. And the two vocalists, man. Herbie and Dilenya. Two incredibly different voices, but they sound so well together. Herbie reminds me strongly of Jorn Lande, whilst Dilenya has more of a soul/blues influence to her tone. The guys make some incredible melodies and vocal interchanges that make the album memorable. Also, all the other guys are awesome. Props to the songwriting, which I feel Is very close to what I would do/play in songs like these, and so I really feel a connection in this sense.

The Old Man And The Spirit is also a concept album, dealing with a man, at the end of his life, struggling with a decision imposed by a spirit of the underworld. This man has always wanted to know the meaning of life, all the unanswered questions and such. So he calls out to this spirit, which says that he can  have that, but she has to erase all his memories in order to do it. So yeah, pretty cool story line, and one that can relate to some people, we all make questions once in a while.

The record opens with The Call, a heavy mid-tempo piece, with stunning vocals from Herbie. I love the “IIII TRY TO SEEE BUT II AM BLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND”. Another cool part is the build up with the poem, I always get chills in the “Why was I even born” part. The Apparition is longer, proggier, but so enjoyable. Here we hear Dilenya for the first time, and it’s a joy. This song is very enjoyable and features a lot of ideas that will eventually be reprised throughout the record. Triumph Of Irreality (cool title) is the instrumental song. It features a lot of hammer-on stuff on the guitar and honestly, I feel it’s my least favorite one, because it’s ok, but falls a bit flat. On we go with two sweet pieces, The Spring Of It All and World Of Wonders. This is as poppy as the album gets, and the two ballads have a very nice joyous hook, and I come back to them fairly often. So, yep, this closes the “first act” of the record. The second’s act intro is The Primal Demand. This is just some samples of some poems from before, bathed in ambient until everything explodes towards the end with a fucking brutal riff, that eventually transitions into Doorway To Salvation. This is my favorite piece in the whole record and when I listened to it for the first time I was on the edge of my seat. What an adventurous song, heavy, ballsy, but melodic and with a strong message and a hell of a difficult drum track! The Struggle is a hell of a fun track, both vocally, with all those intertwining lines between Herbie and Dilenya, and instrumentally with a really greats section at the end of the track. The album closes with a trio of tracks that bring to the album dramatic soundscapes: The Difference Is Human, Where The Earth And Sky Meet and All A Man Can Do. All these tracks are huge, send shiver and are an awesome way to close this album.
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Awesome album. Hearing it live in its near entirety (Where the Earth and Sky Meet and The Difference Is Human switched, no Primal Demand or All a Man Can Do) was one of my favourite concert experiences.
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Fuck yeah :metal

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Love this album. Wonder what will they come up with for the second one.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

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#25: Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence
2012 - Progressive Death Metal - North Carolina, USA
And here it is, the album I was talking about back in The Great Misdirect writeup. The Parallax II is what got me into BTBAM thanks to its incredible songwriting ability to take you on a hell of a journey with each piece, while also sounding very cohesive and flowing. And when you also have a huge storyline like that, and also an amazingly stunning performance DVD, you just fall in love with everything, and that’s what happened with me.

This album unites the technical death metal elements of Colors with the progressive soundscapes of Great Misdirect. It really feels that those two albums had a child, and that child is Future Sequence. There's really a perfect marriage between untouchable, scary technical chaos and purest forms of melody in this record. Each second of it doesn’t sound wasted, it’s all meticulously studied, and it takes a lot of listens to digest. But when it clicks, oh man, it never leaves you. I’ve known this record for a couple of months now, and I can’t seem to stop listening to it; maybe it’s a spontaneous thing that my mind does, challenging itself with trying to fully comprehend everything in the disc, maybe it’s just me that wants to jam on some BTBAM, I don’t know. The fact is that this album is really addicting, and I listen to it at least up until half, once every two days, or even everyday. Hell yeah.

So, this is actually a concept album about two characters, which are worlds away from each other, but have a deep spiritual connection: Prospect 1 and Prospect 2. The story of these two actually reaches far back into the band’s discography, specifically in three songs: Prequel To The Sequel, from Colors, which describe somewhat of an apocalypse (maybe it’s a prophecy) that happens upon Prospect 2‘s planet, Lost Perfection, from The Silent Circus, in which the apocalypse actually takes place, also because of Prospect 2 himself, and in Swim To The Moon, where we first hear about Prospect 1, and his will to die drowned in the sea. Now, in the first installment of The Parallax series (Hypersleep Dialogues), we find out that these two are connected spiritually, and have the purpose to be some kind of Gods, and decide whether the humans can continue to live or not. Reasons, unknown. At least until now.

The album starts with Goodbye To Everything, a spacey and moving acoustic introduction, that actually takes place at the end of the story. So, we already know that everything ends badly for humans and our two Prospects. After this awesome introduction, the album kicks in at full progginess with Astral Body. This is one of my favorite intros in any song, and I really love the way the vocals kick in. Also, that opening lick is groovy as fuck. This song continuously shifts from sound to sound, beginning with melodic death metal, then through Arabic, death metal once again, to end up with an epic melodic outro, which transistions directly into my favorite track, Lay Your Ghosts To Rest. This is the perfect fusion between melody and sonic destruction, like I’ve said in general about the albums. Yes, because the verses are fucking brutal, especially the “Precaution documents” one, whilst the chorus is gorgeous, melodic and sends shivers down my spine. Also, I’m a big fan of “THE END STARTS NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW”. A powerful breakdown. Lyrically these two songs are pretty much about the same thing, Prospect 2 is feeling guilty about what happened to his planet, so he cuts away pieces of his body (this is presumably a metaphor about memories and stuff), only to leave new material, so that he can move on. He moves on in the sense that he arrives to Earth to meet Prospect 1, and those are the events narrated in the third track (after a short transitional piece, Autumn), Extremophile Elite. This track showcases in its ten minutes of length, the technical abilities of the band. Jesus, it’s really an assault of time signatures and chaos, but it flows so freaking well. I could name fifteen moments in this song worthy of mention, from the incredibly heavy second verse, to the Specular Reflection reprise, to the unexpected orchestral breakdown. Now, that part is really amazing. Fast riffing, blast beats, that eventually transition into an Opeth-styled dissonant 6/8 riff. This does really “Send bliss throughout me”. The album takes a bit of a break with the next two tracks, Parallax and The Black Box. The first one is a short 1-minute ambient piece, with spoken words about the two Prospects’ cosmic relationship. The second one starts out as a simple piano ballad that suddenly becomes an arpeggiated epic build-up to the next track. The Black Box is where the driving forces behind the whole operation are revealed. Well, not exactly, but there’s the reveal that there are some actual driving forces behind it all. This track is really epic, but it’s short and serves as somewhat of an intro to the next piece, Telos. This is the heaviest piece in the entire album, featuring some hard hitting death metal soundscapes, interrupted in the middle by some Steven Wilson-influenced atmospheres. This track is one of the best in the album, the structure is amazing. The build up from the calm melodic part to the second part of the mass destruction, is really well done, and it sends shivers. It really sounds like the world is ending. In Telos there are two storylines: the first one is Prospect 2 wanting to end humanity, but Prospect 1 does not agree, so the two separate from each other. Prospect 2 wants to do that because he found out that the letter he wrote to his wife before leaving for his journey, was never delivered. Infact, we also take a look at the point of view of Prospect 2’s wife, who is really upset that her husband left with no explanation, so she commits suicide. Great storytelling right there. Props to Tommy. Bloom takes us back to Swim To The Moon, chronologically speaking. We find out that after Prospect 1 passes out in the sea at the end of that song, he is abducted by some kind of sea creatures that experiment on him. Now, this track is fucking hilarious. Not only it has a surf rock section, but it also features the line “Bebop skippity tippity tap those toes” which is sung in growl. Other fun facts are the quirky vocal effects and the accordion. I feel like this album really needed a bit of humour, since that’s always been a part of BTBAM songwriting, but in here it would be absent, if it weren’t for this song. Melting City is kind of an encounter of the technicality in Extremophile Elite and the melodicness of Lay Your Ghosts To Rest. I feel it’s my least favorite, but it’s a great listen, especially thanks to the great chorus “Faceless In A Sea Of Space” and the “I must let her know” section. Major chills during that one. In this song we find out what actually happened to Prospect 2’s letter, and why it was never delivered. It seems that an individual, named “The Black Mask”, broke into P2’s house and stole the letter before the wife even noticed it. He was meant to destroy it, but he instead kept it, and read it, developing a strong feeling of remorse. Once he went back to give it to her, he actually witnessed the fire in which the wife took her life. Pretty sad point of the story, but not as epic as the conclusive long piece, Silent Flight Parliament. In this dramatic long tune, we find out that it was all fault of The Night Owls, the same creatures described in Fossil Genera, back in The Great Misdirect. Infact, it’s all just a game to eliminate humans, in order for them to grow. Musically, the first bit features some throwbacks to both Astral Body and Lay Your Ghosts To Rest, and since I always love this kind of stuff, it’s nice to hear it. Towards the end everything gets more melodic with the creepily disturbing “Like it’s their last…and it is” verse. Infact, Prospect 2 is pretty pissed off about everything, and he breaks into P1’s house, and he kills both him and himself, and P1’s wife. He also presumably ends all sorts of life with some kind of weapon that The Night Owls provided him with, but it’s still all speculation. The climax of the album is a joy to the ears, providing a great apocalyptic finale with “Jet propulsion disengage, dancing towards our future, A future of nothing”. Chills, man. I always picture the Prospect 2 laughing histerically whilist Prospect 1 is shitting himself, just a second before everything explodes. And the thing is, the two are  meant to look alike, so imagine: you wake up to see a laughing man, ending human life, laughing, and he looks like you. That’s terrifying. So yep, definitely a great climax to a big storyline. Everything actually ends with Goodbye To Everything Reprise, just a brief guitar solo and the line “Goodbye to Everything” that end the album the way it begins, with some astral ambient sounds and acoustic guitars. Stunning.


Wow, that came out pretty long. Well, yes, there is really a lot to talk about this album. It’s surely a fucking awesome discovery, and I think it will grow further on me, maybe next time it will be higher.

Favorites: EVERYTHING
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this one never clicked with me to be honest, I tried and tried but could never get too into it, it's not bad or anything but I'll take Colors or TGM over this. Hell, I'd take Parallax 1 over this.

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Why the hell haven't I dug deeper into their discography? I'm just familiar with Colors  :lol.

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being lonely
« Reply #137 on: April 21, 2015, 05:58:39 AM »
Why the hell haven't I dug deeper into their discography? I'm just familiar with Colors  :lol.

You really should.


#24: Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
2015 - Progressive/Pop/Electronic Rock - UK

Is it too early for this? I don’t know, but I just wanted to praise it for what it is. And what is it, actually? Well, it’s Steven latest solo album, but it’s also currently AOY for me, and for a lot of people, and, it’s a nice breath of fresh air. Steven was getting into the same idea (prog/jazz) for two albums in a row, and that’s not him. Infact this time he decided to go on a different route, both lyrically and musically.

Hand Cannot Erase is a journey into Steven’s  lighter and more melanchonic side, and because of that, this album is much much easier to get into than the other three solo records of his. The songs are melodic, feature catchy melodies and hooks, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not enough space for proggy shenanigans! Infact this album has tons of them, beginning from the fact that it’s a full blown concept album, the first time that Steve decides to do this. HCE talks about a woman who goes to live in a big city, and she isolates herself from the rest of the world until one day she disappears. There’s a lot going on in the story though, and for further analysis you may need to go read this. This subject is very touching and relatable, because being an album that talks about loneliness and stuff like that, it’s one universal topic. So, I’ve praised Steven enough in these write-ups, but I never did praise his other musicians: on here we have what I call the “SW Elite”: Marco Minneman, Guthrie Govan, Adam Holzman and Nick Beggs (occasionally also Theo Travis). If Steve’s solo albums were from a band, I wouldn’t even notice. The musicianship between these guys is incredible, their skills too. But more of that later.

The album opens with a piano intro, First Regret; this helps to set the mood pretty well, and when it transits into 3 Years Older, you feel ready for one hell of a journey. 3YO is a very dynamic song alternating sweet/ballad-sounding verses to sudden heavy explosions and hard rock riffing. I really like the vocal melody and the lyrics in this one. We have then the title-track, Hand Cannot Erase. This is a pure pop song in 9/4. It’s catchy all the way through and has lyrics about love, of course, but with a twist that makes them interasting. All in all it’s probably one of Steve’s happiest pieces ever, and I always have a good time when I listen to it. Following is Perfect Life, a journey into ambient/electronic music. This track features a diary entry from the protagonist, and it builds and builds in intensity and emotionally too, until at the end you’re there sitting in pure awe and ecstasy. Shivers everytime. Like the next song, Routine, my favorite of the album. This is an apparent piano ballad that shifts and morphs in various dynamics until at the end it explodes into an emotional chorus, sung by Ninet Tayeb, the guest vocalist in this album. The explosion moment especially hits me, like the outro, which I think is one of the best outros that Steven has ever composed. With those lyrics. Yummy. Home Invasion is like 5 genres into 5 minutes: it starts off with djenty riffing, then it goes through a jazz/fusion instrumental part, then it transitions to funky (the verses) and pop (choruses). Another fun track, that I listen to often because it’s such a blast. Regret #9 is an instrumental track that is directly related to Home Invasion. This instrumental tune is basically 2 solos, but man, they are quite the solos. Guthrie, I fucking love you after what you did here. Eargasm material. Transience is pretty short, and it’s just an acoustic/vocals thing. The vocal melodies in this one are very lovely, especially the last ones. The album goes back to a melanchonic mood with Ancestral. This song starts out as a simple dark/electronic tune, but then in the second half more and more layers of heaviness are constructed until everything gets faster and faster and faster, and that’s when all hell breaks lose. Happy Returns is pure Porcupine Tree material, it reminds me a lot of Lazarus or some song from Lightbulb Sun. The lyrics are fairly great, like “the years pass just like trains, I wave but they don’t slow down”. This song is a great epilogue to that monster of Ancestral, and does a nice job bringing back everything to a happier state.

So, HCE is freaking great. I wasn’t blown away at first listen, but each time I listen to it now I get blown away. Steven can’t really go wrong.

Favorites: EVERY SONG BITCH
« Last Edit: April 21, 2015, 07:05:58 AM by mikemangioy »
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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being lonely
« Reply #138 on: April 21, 2015, 06:07:51 AM »
Eh, I like HCE (first half of Ancestral and whole Happy Returns are amazing), but if I rank the albums released this year, HCE would be at the 3rd or even 4th place.

Also, I don't see a point of having "Favourites" section in your writeups if you just use that lazy "everything" approach. Maybe that's just me though. ;)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

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Re: MikeMangioy's top 50 albums...AGAIN?! (v2 list) - v. Stevie being lonely
« Reply #139 on: April 21, 2015, 10:48:21 AM »
Yeah, honestly, I hate to say this, but this one hasn't aged well for me thus far. It still has time to come back around, but right now I'd rank it third out of three new albums I've heard this year (1. Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful, 2. Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi) . Could still change, but that's where it sits right now.
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