Author Topic: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #1: I'm Not Sorry For That At All  (Read 30660 times)

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Offline Zantera

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #45: Welcome to Sky Valley in Sin
« Reply #140 on: May 23, 2016, 10:12:55 AM »
Probably their best album. Their last 3 have gone in a declining order quality-wise and the last one was unfortunately somewhat of a jumbled mess.

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #45: Welcome to Sky Valley in Sin
« Reply #141 on: May 23, 2016, 10:27:21 AM »
I disagree with every part of your post  :tup

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #45: Welcome to Sky Valley in Sin
« Reply #142 on: May 23, 2016, 10:29:11 AM »
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #45: Welcome to Sky Valley in Sin
« Reply #143 on: May 23, 2016, 10:30:34 AM »
I think my problem with the band in general is that they are enjoyable when you are listening to them, but not that memorable afterwards. I've sunk 5-10 listens into each of the albums and from the top of my head I couldn't really start humming any of the riffs or songs or anything. But the first album definitely has the most memorable parts/songs.

The lighter production really helped giving Valley of Smoke a great sound. I think giving Devy the reins on their most recent album was a colossal mistake. The quality in the songs themselves was on par with earlier albums, but the "wall of sound" production made it more annoying to sit through.

Great band but nothing amazing.

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #44: Songs About Guitars And Stuff
« Reply #144 on: May 23, 2016, 08:23:41 PM »
#44: Muse - Origin of Symmetry



After being disappointed by their latest effort, I remembered that I'd never actually checked out Muse's first two albums, and since Origin of Symmetry tended to get heaped with praise, and along with the fact that it's quite cheap to get these days, I figured I might as well check it out, couldn't possibly be worse than their recent albums.

And, no, it definitely isn't, it's probably their second best behind Absolution in all honesty. The first half of the album, especially, up through Citizen Erased is really quite good. The back half of the album really lets the front half down though, the album basically runs out of momentum at that point, the high energy of songs like New Born, Bliss, Hyper Music, and Plug In Baby or the heavily-textured journeys of Space Dementia and Citizen Erased give way to underwritten tracks like Micro Cuts, Screenager, or Megalomania, and the cover of Feeling Good by I don't even care is just completely out of place here, though oddly prophetic of their work on The Resistance or The 2nd Law; the better parts of those albums, at least.

And the songs that are good, there isn't a lot to say about. They're good in a straightforward way. New Born, Bliss, Hyper Music, Plug In Baby, they all have cool basslines to them. Bliss, Hyper Music, Plug In baby, Citizen Erased, great riffs. Bliss, Plug In Baby, Citizen Erased, heck, even Darkshines, great choruses. Space Dementia, Citizen Erased, strong atmospheric moments.

Especially here, Bellamy is a great singer. And an even better keyboard player, as tracks like Bliss and Space Dementia show off quite well. The sound of this album actually holds up really well despite being nearly 15 years old, a lot of it still sounds rather modern. The few gripes would be the awful phaser effect at the end of Citizen Erased and the bass tone on Darkshines. Neither of these are really huge problems though.

The songs that don't work as well, it's not really for any specific reason. Micro Cuts just isn't very compelling, but it's "fine". Screenager is kind of interesting but lacks dynamics and the song name is kind of awful. Feeling Good is a cover, something I'm never a fan of to begin with, and feels really out of place on the album, even if it's fine on its own. Megalomania feels like a track that treads water until the swell of its chorus, and doesn't have much to offer in general.

I just don't have much to say about this album. It's really something to be taken at face value; a lot of good songs, a few more not-so-good songs, nothing outright bad, and pretty solid as a whole, if not especially memorable. I don't think it deserves the praise it deserves but I can't say it's a bad album in any regards either.

Favorite Tracks: Citizen Erased, Space Dementia, Plug In Baby, Bliss
Least Favorite Tracks: Megalomania, Feeling Good

7/10

DTF Addendum: This isn't low because it's bad or anything since the first half is really quite great, just that we're at the point where everything is pretty good overall really, which I think is pretty great. But yeah, shame about the back half of this album.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #44: Songs About Guitars And Stuff
« Reply #145 on: May 23, 2016, 09:55:24 PM »
I appreciate that you are honest about your ratings and that average is six so don't give everything super high marksto everything, even when I don't agree with you.

But ESPECIALLY when I do agree with you (The Gentle Storm)
     

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #44: Songs About Guitars And Stuff
« Reply #146 on: May 24, 2016, 01:50:09 AM »
Muse? more like Mehse

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #44: Songs About Guitars And Stuff
« Reply #147 on: May 24, 2016, 04:15:33 AM »
Origin of Symmetry is good, but I still prefer Resistance and Absolution to it. Just has too many songs I find more meh than good.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #43: Is it a Moth or a Bee?
« Reply #148 on: May 24, 2016, 09:36:17 AM »
#43: Lesoir - Luctor et Emergo



Weird thing about this one. When I initially listened to it, I enjoyed it quite a bit. There's a mix of heaviness and atmosphere throughout and both are done decently well, probably the atmosphere moreso than the heaviness. But the more I listened to it, the less I liked it. I think the main problem is that a lot of the tracks are kind of samey, even if everything is fairly solid on its own.

Of the 12 tracks on the album over half could be grouped into a similar category; Battle, Going Home, Hold on to Fascination, Single-Eyed, In Reverse, My Perfect Self, Deliberate, and Flawless Chemistry all have a lot of the same, done in slightly different ways but not especially so. And it's fine for a band to stick to a core sound if they can do it well, but when so much of your album is the same mix of atmosphere, heavy choruses, soaring female vocals, and tight bass grooves, a lot of the songs can really feel like they lose their identity.

And let me state, for the record, that I don't think there are any bad songs here, and the elements of each track tend to work pretty well. I pretty universally like the bass on this album, the tone is nice and thick, it's mixed loud enough to be audible the majority of the time without ever overpowering the rest of the mix either, and the grooves the bass plays are always good.

The dynamics of this album are generally pretty strong, too. There's a lot of nice quieter moments, a lot of explosive choruses, and whenever a song wants to do a build it does it well. Some of the nicest quiet moments are the intro to Going Home and the entirety of Room For One More, some of the most somber moments of the entire album, as well asthe first half of (A Lady Named) Bright, which has a really uneasy and tense vibe to it, with an oddly bright chorus for contrast. It's a notable track for its unique tone alone.

The heavy riffs in general tend to be pretty solid if not particularly unique, and a number of them back strong choruses; Going Home has probably my favorite chorus, though the last chorus of Battle with the backing vocals comes close, and the vocals are notably strong on the chorus of Single-Eyed, but really, few are weak here; Hold on to Fascination is probably my least favorite track on the whole album because of its lack of dynamics throughout, making the verse and chorus pretty indistinguishable from each other. Even aside from the choruses there are still a number of killer riffs; there's two breaks in In Reverse that have a ton of groove to them, and the heavy riffs that kick (A Lady Named) Bright and My Perfect Self into gear are both pretty cool. Deliberate ends with a notably heavy and crushing riff that I also dig quite a bit.

But if you want to look at the moments where this album really shines, it's in the tracks centered around their builds. Press Play From Start, in particular, is just one long buildup throughout, and the atmosphere of this track is fantastic. It starts out fairly dark and soft, building until a brighter break, only for darker tones to creep in, and just when it feels like it's about to explode, the song cuts back a little only to start a more propulsive build, leading to probably the best climax of the album as the mantra of "Crawling back into the womb..." repeats over and over on top of itself. It's... pretty intense. The other standout track on this album is the title track, Luctor Et Emergo, which is... very strange, in the context of this album. It starts out with a delay-heavy guitar line and a thick bassline, with a flute improvising on top, and eventually a sample starts playing. The track doesn't really evolve much beyond gaining intensity, content to stick with its same elements throughout. But the swell of the synths and the increasing pressure of the drums creeps up slowly, giving the song a really intense atmosphere by the end. It's... really hard to describe, but I absolute adore this track and it's practically a must-listen. Flawless Chemistry is the album closer and puts a lot of focus on building up, its chorus in particular, and it does its job pretty well, though I don't find it as strong as the previous two tracks.

If I had to really criticize one weak spot, it'd be the vocals. I don't think the lead vocalist has much personality and while she's somewhat impressive technically, there's not a lot of emotional depth to her vocals either, they sound kind of dry. I think they suit the music pretty well, but definitely feel they could be improved to make for a more compelling experience.

I actually had a lot more praise and a lot less criticism for this album that I was expecting, really, maybe putting some time between it and coming back later allowed me to appreciate each song for what it was, but I still feel that a lot of the tracks aren't especially relistenable, you'll get a decent number of spins out of this but I did grow bored of it fairly quickly, though the best two songs at least stuck in my mind after I'd set this aside, they're pretty great tracks. With not a lot of standouts, though, and a bit monotonous of a general sound, I can't really call this a great album, but it's definitely pretty good, check it out if you're interested in vaguely proggy female-fronted alternative metal.

Favorite Tracks: Luctor Et Emergo, Press Play From Start, Going Home, (A Lady Named) Bright
Least Favorite Tracks: Hold On To Fascination, In Reverse

7/10

DTF Addendum: I probably overrated Battle a bit in my roulette, even using the old scoring standard, since the rest of that round was... admittedly pretty weak. Not that it's a bad song are anything, but just a pretty good one, nothing great. I'd like this album more if it felt a little less monotonous, I guess.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #43: Is it a Moth or a Bee?
« Reply #149 on: May 24, 2016, 09:46:23 AM »
It's a moth.
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Squ
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #43: Is it a Moth or a Bee?
« Reply #150 on: May 24, 2016, 09:47:02 AM »
thank you, elite

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #43: Is it a Moth or a Bee?
« Reply #151 on: May 24, 2016, 09:48:22 AM »
Only heard Battle and I didn't really like it, so I guess I have horrible taste.

That's a good looking moth though
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #42: No Farewell to Arms
« Reply #152 on: May 24, 2016, 08:55:14 PM »
#42: Serdce - Timelessness



It's weird to say it but this was probably one of the most "normal" prog metal albums I got in 2015. I mean, yeah, "normal" for prog metal is pretty weird by "normal" standards, but if you've listened to any modern prog metal you probably already have an idea of what this sounds like. Is that a bad thing? No, not really. I think they still put their own unique spin on it, even if there's a good bit of Dream Theater and Cynic worship going on here.

There's a few weak spots to point out right off the bat; First, the vocals. They're not bad, but neither the cleans or harsh vocals are particularly impressive, they're mostly just "there". Second, the bass tone. Considering how high the bass presence is on this album, it's a shame it's accompanied by that tone; it feels just too watery and rubbery, it lacks any real power. Third, you can easily notice the song structures on this album are often quite similar. Quiet intro, some vocal bits, a long instrumental section in the middle, a reprise of the intro somewhere near the end. It gets a bit predictable, but the songs don't end up all sounding the same, just using a similar structure, so it's not a huge issue.

The album does have some flavor of its own; there's a lot of what I -think- is xylophone and saxophone throughout; the solo during the first half of Into Shambhala, the intro of Samadhi, the heavy moments of Loss of Feelings, a bit in the middle of The Sixth Sense, the opening solo of Newborn, and a lot of moments on Magic Rain, probably some smaller moments I missed too. There's also the music box intro of Omens, and a pretty strong strings presence throughout, though I'm fairly certain they're synthstrings, but they sound fine enough.

It's not an overwhelmingly heavy album, either, despite technically being death metal; I'd say the ratio of clean singing to growls is 2:1, and the balance between softer music and metal is probably 50/50. I'm really pretty okay with this, though, it means the music is nicely dynamic, and they never rest on any one mood too long so as to get tedious. The softest full track on the album, Loss of Feelings, still has some energy in the middle and even a moment of heaviness, it's not just purely a laidback ballad track. On the flipside, even the heaviest tracks, The Sixth Sense and Quasar, have their quieter moments as well.

I noted earlier that the vocals aren't great here, but that's just a minor complain in the end, as well, since the instrumental presence of this album is pretty clearly the focus. A lot of these songs have long instrumental breaks - Last Faith has three different ones, and notable all distinct; first a proggy technical section, a laid-back guitar solo, and a more technical, shreddy guitar solo. That's simplifying the three sections a lot, to be fair, but they all are pretty different.

One thing the proggier sections of this album do well is remain cohesive; it's not just a mishmash of unrelated ideas with no transition between them, nor is it sticking to doing the same "proggy" thing for a while before switching to something else; there's a flow to the sections, where they'll explore one theme for a while but add enough variation to it where it doesn't get stale, and gradually shift in the direction of another idea. Sure, there are brief musical tangents, but those tend to be interspersed in the middle of larger musical ideas as brief one-off interruptions. I won't say every transition is perfect as there are a few that don't work out so well; Omens, with how long its instrumental break is, has one or two off the top of my head, but it makes up for it by having all of its ideas work out well enough that the rough transitions don't bother me so much.

I will say for certain that I feel this album is a bit on the long and drawn-out side of things. Quasar in particular feels especially redundant, but there's a lot of small places this album could've been trimmed down to make it a more engaging experience; the band does have a pretty strict sound even with each track's individual mood, and some of the moments in the later tracks can tend to blur together.

There's a few nitpicks I have, as well; the abrupt end of Into Shambhala kills the building mood a bit too quickly in my opinion, some of the synth tones aren't great (especially the beginning of Unique Path and Quasar), and the fade-out ending to the album isn't the most inspired, but it's not an awful ending either.

On the flipside, there's a lot of musical moments I feel the need to highlight, mostly because I wrote a ton of them down and haven't had a chance to point them out. Samadhi has this salsa-esque bit in its instrumental, rotating out with a cool riff under some noodly guitar, and its outro is a crushing heavy reprise of the intro xylophone line. Omes has a kind of messy chorus that works way better than it should, a brief little jazzy bass bit in the instrumental as well as a very ragtime and classical-feeling paino soon after. Last Faith has easily the best chorus on the album, and there's a chuggy riff with descending chromatic flourishes in the middle of the song that I really dig. The weirdly slidey solo of Loss of Feelings is interesting if nothing else, but I think it works out alright, gives it a smooth feel. The opening riff of The Sixth Sense is very power-metally but pretty strong and pretty memorable. Unique Path is a weirdly cohesive song for the album and I like how it opts to build on the mood from its intro throughout most of the entire song. Magic Rain has a really strong feeling of finality to it, an intense and frantic mood in the heavier moments contrasted by the various softer moments.

I'll also leave a comment that applies to most of this album; I think the band is pretty capable of creating a strong mood with their music, moreso than they are writing really memorable or unique riffs, melodies, etc. This is especially true of the instrumental sections, where it barely feels like it matters what exactly is being played, just that the way it sounds registers as the proper mood easily and it's technically pleasing enough to remain interesting.

I don't feel any of this music particularly strongly, there's not many moments here I'm ever too interested in revisiting, but as a whole the album is pretty enjoyable to listen to, apart from its length. Is it groundbreaking? No. Is it unique? Nah. But am I glad I got it? Yeah, I'd say so. It's an oddly weightless album considering its technical nature, but I think that might be why I like it; though it also means I'll never have any strong dedication to it. I don't feel this is a particularly cohesive review since I'm still not sure I've completely processed this album, but take it as you will and at the very least check this out if you want some pretty solid prog metal; it's available for free download, so you might as well give it a spin if you're curious.

Favorite Tracks: Last Faith, Magic Rain, Samadhi
Least Favorite Track: Quasar

7/10

DTF Addendum: This is just the kind of album I enjoy on a base level, kind of mindless prog metal that's all pretty solid, nothing really mindblowing or even especially memorable, but, I like this.

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #41: Math
« Reply #153 on: May 25, 2016, 01:06:23 AM »
#41: Mew - +-
#8 for 2015



This is a fine album. It's a decently enjoyable listen. But... hmm. I don't know, it just feels a little... empty. With 6 years between this and their last album, you'd expect them to bring their A-game on every track, which I don't quite think we get here. There's a number of really good songs, and some others that are just decent-to-good, with one or two tracks that could be completely ignored.

I also wouldn't say it's that much of an album-album, it's more in line with Frengers where every song stands on its own more than the track order being that important. Aside from the first track and the last two, you could shuffle the rest of the album and get pretty much the same level of cohesiveness. I wouldn't say that's necessarily a bad thing though, it works just fine on Frengers, more just an observation.

I think the biggest factor is that a lot of this music is rather straightforward, even more so than Frengers. Aside from the more experimental Clinging to a Bad Dream and Rows, every track here is pretty poppy, with a few songs bringing smaller twists to them but not a lot. And there's nothing wrong with straightforward music, as long as it's well written - which it tends to be here. There's a lot of good choruses on this album - Clinging to a Bad Dream and Water Slides probably have the best ones of the album - but at the same time, these two are probably songs most memorable only for their choruses, while not doing a whole lot for me outside of them.

There's also a few tracks with a high level of energy running through them - Witness and My Complications most notably. I think it works better for the former as the song is shorter, and there's more texture than in the latter, but both are fine enough songs, neither great nor anywhere close to bad.

The songs that bring the most unique flavor to them tend to be the standouts here, though. Satellites struck me immediately as a great track when it was released ahead of time, and I'd stand by that - a nice build in the intro and the "my own electricity" bit is great both times it appears. As well, the shift between the more relaxed triplet feel and the more energetic rest of the song keeps it interesting throughout its runtime.

Making Friends has a nice groove throughout, the guitar line on the verses has a funk vibe to it, but the layers of texture that are Mew's trademark makes it something unique on its own. Rows is notable for being the band's longest track to date, but beyond that it's also stunningly gorgeous, with a nice long build in the first half and a heavily atmospheric climax in the second half. What does that remind me of? Hmm... But, then the last few minutes shift gears entirely and bring the track to a more energetic close. It's a great and gorgeous ride from beginning to end.

Sometimes a track having more unique flavor can backfire though, which brings me back to Clinging to a Bad Dream. This song frustrates me, since there's moments of brilliance (primarily the chorus) but the track is so... confused. I don't like the intro at all, and the rhythm-screwiness of the track doesn't work very effectively, making it end up sounding like a mess overall.

That's also not to say that the songs that aren't especially unique can't be good, though. Take The Night Believer for example, which features a fantastic guest spot by Kimbra, and Bjerre's vocals are pretty on point throughout too, probably my favorite vocal performance of the album. This could've been a huge pop hit, honestly, shame that it wasn't. And Cross the River on Your Own, which is a straightforward but absolutely gorgeous closer, a very relaxing 3/4 triplet feel throughout and another great vocal perfomance, plus the piano work throughout is very lovely. There's no other words to describe it than beautiful and its synonyms, honestly.

Even as I lavish praise onto the album's better tracks, I'm still quite aware of its shortcomings - the better tracks here, while good, don't match up to the best of Frengers for me, and its not as consistent of an album as And the Glass Handed Kites is either. On top of that... it's really nothing new for the band, the most "experimental" tracks here aren't as out there as stuff on Glass, and there's much less of the progressive rock elements as there were on their previous releases, and more of the dream pop sound. While I'd still recommend it to fans of the band, it's not in the same league as their previous work and not the greatest of albums on its own, either. Decent to good, but pretty far from great.

Favorite Tracks: Rows, Cross the River on Your Own, Satellites, Making Friends, The Night Believer
Least Favorite Track: Clinging to a Bad Dream, Interview the Girls

7/10

DTF Addendum: This one's gonna read a little weird, because I wrote it to be about a 6 on my current scale, but then I kinda mulled it over and it rose a lot in my mind, and ended up where it is. So that's a story.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2016, 10:28:15 AM by Parama »

Offline Zantera

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #41: Math
« Reply #154 on: May 25, 2016, 02:03:43 AM »
Good album but yeah, maybe the weakest out of the last 4. And the Glass Handed Kites and No More Stories continue to be the best they have put out.

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #41: Math
« Reply #155 on: May 25, 2016, 02:28:01 AM »
If that Serdce album is one of your most normal prog metal albums I look forward to the rest of the list :lol seriously this album has some of the most non-sensical wank sections, they ruin every song with it. Well, every song except Magic Rain, automatically making it my favorite. I think 7/10 is pretty generous for this one
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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #40: As the Bird Spirals
« Reply #156 on: May 25, 2016, 09:08:31 AM »
#40: Burst - Lazarus Bird



I've been putting this one off. I actually moved it up on my to-do list to put it off, and since the last review I did I've been dreading sitting down and doing this one after. Ooh boy. This album is hard to talk about. On a song-by-song basis, none of these tracks are especially good. The album as a whole is somehow better than any one song, though. The album is also damn consistent; it'd be hard to pick out any one track above the others, or weaker than the others. It's just rolling at a steady pace from beginning to end.

If I had to highlight one song for candidates of "best" and "worst" I'd give those to Cripple God and Nineteenhundred respectively. The former has a ton of great guitar riffs throughout and some of the prettiest moments on the album to contrast, plus a guitar theme at the end that feels like something straight out of a cowboy western. Nineteenhundred's only real weakness is its last three or so minutes, starting with an awkward guitar line, but mostly those wailing saxophones and a lack of any sort of movement. The rare moment where sax in metal actually works against a song, yep.

The structure of the album, too, is basically as good as it gets. 8 tracks, just shy of an hour. No tracks break 10 minutes, either. It's the perfect album length, the perfect track length. And each song feels like it's in its right place, the flow of the album is quite strong. On top of that, each song definitely has a unique feel to it, no track feels like the band on autopilot doing the same thing they've done before. There's a ton of creativity on display.

I guess my fault with this album, then, is... a lack of power. There is just very little power behind any of this music, little emotional presence in any manner. Sure, the heavy parts are kinda heavy, and the pretty parts are kinda pretty, but I don't connect with them in any real way. On the other hand, the variety of the album combined with how technically pleasing it is still keeps it an enjoyable listen, but the lack of power is probably what's responsible for its lack of staying power. There's a moment or two in every song I remember, but even those are fairly innocuous moments.

I think the biggest problem here are the vocals. The harsh vocals can go from serviceable at best to laughable at worst (most notably the 4/4 bit in the middle of We Are Dust which is almost cringeworthy). The cleans are generally fine though, maybe a bit lacking in any emotional presence but they sound nice enough. The vocals aren't generally a major factor on this album regardless, there's probably more music on the album with no vocals than there is with vocals.

The other general thing I don't like about this album is one of the particular guitar tones that gets used fairly regularly. It's drenched in wah pedal and rather thick sound, it almost feels like it's mocking the listener in a weird way. I dunno. It's not omnipresent on the album or anything and I kind of zone it out after a while, but it bugs me nonetheless.

I could highlight any number of moments on the album that stick out in a positive way, and comparatively few in a negative way; I've already touched on the worst offenders at this point and there's nothing else that comes close. As far as stronger moments go, per track:

I Hold Vertigo. The pretty post-rock interludes, the haunting, Ulver-esque bit in the middle, the full-band synchronization hits in the middle and at the end.
I Exterminate the I. Really cool intro rhythms and a 5/8 guitar riff weaved into a lot of the track. A bass groove with some psychedelic guitar lines on top. A weird break in the middle with clapping and Spanish-sounding guitar.
We Are Dust. The entirety of the first few minutes are quite pleasant, as is the first heavy bit. The triplet synchronization bits in the middle and at the end, and a strong guitar line at around 5:50.
Momentum. The long build and the payoff, really the track in its entirety; but it doesn't stand well on its own.
Cripple God. Already touched on this one. Just consistently good.
Nineteenhundred. Really everything but the last few minutes, the frantic proggy guitar lines, the groove of the middle of the song, all cool stuff.
(We Watched) The Silver Rain. The main themes. They're fantastic, especially when they sort of merge together near the middle and end. There's also some intense heavier bits in the middle and at the end.
City Cloaked. Simple but elegant. The prettier 5/4 theme, the excellent 4/4 main riff, and the relaxed 4 minutes of hypnotic cooldown at the end.

I can list out all of these moments, but I wouldn't say any of them hit me especially strongly, at the end of the day. Yes, they're all good moments, but I don't know if there's a truly "great" moment on this album, much less a large amount of them. Every song has a few particularly memorable moments, but I only remember them for a short while after listening to the album, then I move on to having something else stuck in my head.

I don't know. At the end of the day my thoughts on this album are still a jumbled mess. This one never really "clicked" for me despite the number of listens I gave it, and I can't make it "click" if it's just not going to quite hit the sweet spots I'm looking for. At the same time... hard for me to call it a bad album since regardless of my gripes with it I enjoy this album every time I listen to it, very few weak moments and a lot of quality music to be found here. There's only the one spot on the album that I find boring in any capacity, the rest keeps me engaged all the way through.

Maybe it's just me, maybe it's that this album was written for a different audience than me. Maybe I'll come back to this later and it'll really click, but I kind of doubt it. As it stands I'm going to leave it as-is: A good album, but definitely not a great one.

Favorite Tracks: Cripple God
Least Favorite Track: Nineteenhundred

7/10

DTF Addendum: The best album that I don't like as much as I should.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #39: Rainbow in the Dark
« Reply #157 on: May 25, 2016, 07:37:31 PM »
#39: CHON - Grow
#7 for 2015



This is the exception to the rule. Technical music that can emote, what a wild concept. Really, I get more from this as "mood music" than I do any sort of display of technicality; not that it's insufficient in either regard. It's also on the short side, practically an EP, but I think that for the kind of music that's on here, ~34 minutes is fine.

It's also kinda samey-sounding, though; aside from the two vocal tracks and the two shorter tracks, it's hard to remember which track is which. There's a good mix of noodly guitar lines, pretty guitar melodies, nice chord progressions, generally pretty technical drumming, and a fair number of solid basslines.

But it's a good sound, and it's good mood music. It's very peaceful and bright, the guitar tone is basically perfect for the sound they're going for, and the fact that the playing isn't inhumanely perfect makes it emote more on its own.

The two vocal tracks stand out by default for the not-especially-great but plenty emotive vocals, especially Can't Wait, which is just a great little song; really nice main melody, a nice variety for its runtime, and the vocals add some emotional depth. Echo is nice too, rather atmospheric and it has a pretty solid guitar line towards its middle and end.

I think my least favorite moments are the songs that veer a bit too hard towards technical playing; Splash is probably the most show-offy track of the bunch and feels a bit lifeless in comparison to the rest, and Knot is a bit messy, more like a collection of shorter ideas stitched together than a cohesive track, but at the end of the day they're still both nice songs. The only real disappointment is the closer, But, which mostly just feels a bit anticlimactic and empty, but again, far from a bad track.

There's really not a lot to say about this album, though, it's got a good core sound that I find rather enjoyable, it's the rare case of (mostly) instrumental technical music that stays engaging and feels alive. It's easy to listen to and brief enough to not get tiresome. Just really solid all-around.

Favorite Tracks: Can't Wait, Story, Perfect Pillow, Echo
Least Favorite Tracks: But, Splash

7.25/10

DTF Addendum: Considering how short this album is I'd definitely consider checking it out if it songs interesting, I think it's really pretty solid on the whole, maybe a bit samey but eehhhh.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2016, 10:28:26 AM by Parama »

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #39: Rainbow in the Dark
« Reply #158 on: May 25, 2016, 07:43:47 PM »
I sampled a few songs from it and felt pretty boring and technical, didn't find much emotion behind it. Tastes  :corn

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #39: Rainbow in the Dark
« Reply #159 on: May 25, 2016, 07:51:16 PM »
yeah, and you liked EGO so  :corn

also i never commented before but i tried listening to No More Stories like twice and couldn't get into it at alllllll

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #39: Rainbow in the Dark
« Reply #160 on: May 25, 2016, 08:00:02 PM »
yeah, and you liked EGO so  :corn
I'm just a sucker for David's style, maybe that explains it  :lol

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #39: Rainbow in the Dark
« Reply #161 on: May 26, 2016, 12:46:12 AM »
Yeah it's a great album. I like how short it is and out of everything I have, this is one of my favorite "relaxing" records, awesome how they can turn the technicality into such relaxing vibes. :corn

I sampled a few songs from it and felt pretty boring and technical, didn't find much emotion behind it. Tastes  :corn
yeah, and you liked EGO so  :corn
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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #38: The Shaman's Trance
« Reply #162 on: May 26, 2016, 01:02:45 AM »
#38: Negură Bunget - OM



Above all else, I can definitely say this album is... interesting. Unique. Absolutely worth checking out. That being said... hmm. I enjoy this, but it's not quite there, not quite as good as it could've been. It's still a damn solid album, don't get me wrong, but I never got to feeling particularly strongly about it.

The album does do a lot quite well. For one, the atmosphere. It's pretty consistently great. There's something about the production on this album that's just washed-out enough so that it doesn't destroy the sound quality but still allows a lot of the instrumental elements to blend together and sound really full and huge. It's very rare for this album to sound empty, even in its quietest moments. From the three ambient tracks, to the driving folk interlude of Norilor, and all throughout the heavy and occasionally softer moments of the metal tracks, there's just a strong level of atmosphere on every track. Special mention goes to Ţesarul De Lumini, probably one of the best atmospheric black metal tracks I've heard.

There's also a ton of progressive touches to this album; lots of shifting tempos, lots of complex, constantly moving song structures, but thankfully no overindulgent instrumentation or pointless wacky instrumental breaks. It's very well-grounded. Cunoaşterea Tăcută is probably the highlight in this regard, going through lots of phases, a lot of thicker atmospheres, a number of changes between a 4/4 and 3/4 mood, a clean break that builds into a heavier break further on, as well as a folky break driven by xylophone and flute. Special mention goes out to the riff at around the 2 minute mark that's repeated at the very end, which I just really dig.

The rest of the metal tracks all have these elements running throughout them, but on a few of the tracks they end up sounding maybe a bit samey or get lost in the shuffle. Înarborat, Dedesuptul, and De Piatră all fit into the same mold, and each has a variety of heavier moments mixed with some softer ones, but with how heavy and intense a lot of the songs are they do end up a little "plain" in my mind.

One of the more striking elements of this album is the Romanian Folk scattered throughout; sometimes it's given front stage, like in the dark and intense movie-soundtrack-esque Norilor and the oddly playful Hora Soarelui, which eventually takes its folk elements and fuses them with the metal of the album to create a great last climax for the album. Other tracks feature moments of folk, like Cunoaşterea Tăcută and the beginning of Înarborat, and there's some folk infused into the ambient bits as well; Primul Om has some chanting in its earlier moments and a twinkling sound in its back half, and Al Doilea Om has some pounding drums as well as a bit of the horn in its atmosphere (not exactly sure what kind of horn though).

When it comes to things I dislike... hmm. There aren't a lot, honestly. I dislike the whispered/growled vocals of the opener, Ceasuri Rele, I think the atmosphere they were going for there would've been just find without them. And this is the tiniest of tiny gripes, but the very start of the clean-plucked break in Cunoaşterea Tăcută adds an extra half-beat that feels like an error more than anything else. Other than that... there's no real negative aspects, the worst the album does aside from that is maybe drag on a bit too long with a few tracks that don't particularly stand out but are solid enough on their own.

This album on the whole is quite strong though and while I can't fully get behind it, it's definitely a worthwhile listen and I'm glad to have gotten it. I think I may respect it more than I actually like it, but I still like it a lot; there's a dark, oppressive atmosphere throughout, generally interesting songwriting, and lots of disparate elements blended together rather seamlessly to make a wholly unique experience.

Favorite Tracks: Cunoaşterea Tăcută, Ţesarul de Lumini, Norilor, Hora Soarelui
Least Favorite Tracks: Ceasuri Rele, De Piatră

7.25/10

DTF Addendum: This is another of those really highly rater albums that doesn't quite do it for me, but I enjoy this a lot more than maudlin of the Well, definitely. For someone more into black metal than I this is probably the most amazing thing, and there's plenty of moments here that are great but yeah. This may be a few spots too low thinking about it now, but if so only a feeeew. List ain't perfect, whatever.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #38: The Shaman's Trance
« Reply #163 on: May 26, 2016, 02:09:30 AM »
Many of these picks are definitely 2prog4me

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #37: Spaghetticore and Meatballs
« Reply #164 on: May 26, 2016, 09:21:34 AM »
#37: Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No.



The first thing you're likely to hear about this album is "lol it's so wacky". Which. It's not, really. There's moments of wackiness but they're not that prevalent. More than anything, it's chaotic. Kind of obnoxiously so; there's only one track on the entire album that takes a more laid-back approach while the rest are pretty intense all the way through. It's kind of an exhausting listen, and occasionally a kind of samey one, a few of the tracks don't stand out on their own so well.

The wackiest moments of the album tend to be quite tasteful even if they're completely out of the blue, it's surprising how un-gimmicky they feel; they're not just using other styles, they're doing them quite well. There's the breakcore bit at the end of Destroy Create Transform Sublimate, which is completely random, sure, but because of the buildup to it works so well. I actually like the buildup more than the payoff, even, that dark atmosphere of the horns and strings, with a frantic drum solo cutting through and building tension until the electronic stuff comes in in full... it's a really neat moment. Purania has a break in the middle that sounds straight out of a Between the Buried and Me song, but they build off it well enough to justify it, and the transition in and out of that section is surprisingly smooth for how abrupt it is. G.O.D. has a twangy feel throughout and especially the moment at the start of the second verse which practically makes me want to get up and squaredance. Before, After and All Around has a break that feels like bluegrass of all things. And the final track is just a wonderful thrill ride of a song, punctuated by the heavy Spanish influence; there's a guitar line that pops up through the first half a few times, before kicking in to a full salsa groove, complete with horns, that then turns into almost a polka-like verse sans actual polka instrumentation. So yeah. The weirdness of this album is actually generally really well integrated into the whole mix.

So where does the problem lie? Well, for one: The vocals. Specifically, the harsh vocals. They are... not very good. I don't like either the higher screeches or the lower ones that sound like the vocalist is vomiting. My least favorite of these would have to be on My Green Neighbor, but they're really pretty consistently mediocre. They're not prevalent enough to bring the whole thing down that much, at least, but they do bother me.

The other thing is that some of these songs... don't stand out. Every song here is fairly competently written but a lot of them don't have great riffs or any real unique flavor to them. Hosts, Rifles & Coke is probably the biggest offender here, the most identity it has is having a triplet groove, sometimes. Before, After and All Around isn't far behind, aside from its chorus and the aforementioned bluegrass bit, there's not a lot here. I still think the songs are solid enough on their own but when you have an album this intense it's really best to not waste time with just "okay" stuff.

One thing that practically every song has is a really strong chorus. They're catchy, they're punchy, and usually there's a strong riff backing them. As far as chorus catchiness goes, Before, After and All Around takes the prize, with Purania and Waterpark Bachelorette not far behind, but it's hard to point to a bad chorus on this album. My Green Neighbor would have the weakest if not for that -amazing- hook riff playing behind it which was the primary thing I remembered about the song when I first heard it, this one being the track that introduced me to the band.

It's also pretty evident from just listening to the album, but these guys are really talented players. Except maybe the bassist, who may or may not exist, bass presence is kind of lacking here. But otherwise, yeah. There's a ton of impressive guitar work, from the crazy fast noodling of Destroy Create and G.O.D., to the tight guitar lines practically every track has, and even a few grooves like the break of Waterpark Bachelorette. Not to mention the random guitar flourishes throughout a lot of the tracks that only add to the chaotic mood. And the drums... dear lord, this guy is insane. I don't think he's especially talented outside of being to play a damn crazy fill or solo but I think that kind of playing fits this music well. The technicality of the playing is what gives this album its mood more than anything else.

The one thing about this mood is that it's pretty oppressive. Out of 10 tracks, 9 of them are loud and noisy with little reprieve. That just makes the one black sheep of the bunch, Where the Things Have No Colour, stand out even more, especially with its strategic placement right in the middle. Track order hardly matters on this album besides the first, middle, and last track, but each of those are nailed pretty well. And the middle track in particular, is... well, it's more laid back and heavily melodic, which makes it far different from the rest, and kind of allows me to overlook that for what it is it reeeally isn't that special. But it's still pretty solid, and I like it more by association with the rest of the album, it's a cool song.

Overall I do like this album, but it's not the kind of album you can put on for a frequent listen; it's just too intense for that, and maybe a bit too bloated. Yes, I'm calling a 50 minute album too bloated, but this album has enough music on it to easily fill 80 minutes, crammed into a much shorter period of time, that can make it quite the overwhelming listen. And since a few tracks feel vestigial, perhaps they should've been left behind. But I digress, for what's here this is a pretty solid listen and will definitely satisfy an urge for frantic, technical chaos should you be in the mood for it.

Favorite Tracks: Are You Kidding Me? No., Destroy Create Transform Sublimate, Where the Things Have No Colour
Least Favorite Tracks: Hosts, Rifles & Coke, Waterpark Bachelorette

7.25/10

DTF Addendum: Oh hey something people actually know about again. I don't really have more to add.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #37: Spaghetticore and Meatballs
« Reply #165 on: May 26, 2016, 09:33:50 AM »
Negura Bunget is nice. Destrage got boring at a certain point after having heard it too much.
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #37: Spaghetticore and Meatballs
« Reply #166 on: May 26, 2016, 09:49:37 AM »
I love how the last song has a solo that literally plays in several styles, pretty rad stuff this album. Hyped for their new one later this year.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #37: Spaghetticore and Meatballs
« Reply #167 on: May 26, 2016, 10:23:03 AM »
The title-track is awesome indeed, including the trumpets.
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #37: Spaghetticore and Meatballs
« Reply #168 on: May 26, 2016, 11:01:04 AM »
is the guitar solo in different styles? maybe bcuz I was already familiar with bumblefoot but it sounds pretty standard stuff for him, in a good way

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #37: Spaghetticore and Meatballs
« Reply #169 on: May 26, 2016, 12:06:53 PM »
I'm loving this album, this is one of my favorite albums I've checked the last half year for sure. Caters my alternative metal needs aswell as prog

Your favorite songs are pretty good, all in my top 4. Though my #1, Purania, is missing :'(
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #36: Acquiring Cancer
« Reply #170 on: May 26, 2016, 08:37:01 PM »
#36: Deafheaven - Sunbather



This is a pretty straightforward album to talk about; for an atmospheric album it's pretty rigidly structured, with a metal track followed by a lower-key interlude being the pattern of the entire album; and the album is more about a sound than it is song compositions, though it certainly has solid songwriting.

Its strength is that its chosen sound is just, really cool. Really warm and intense, enough to where it starts burning rather than just soothing, but never quite so hot that you can't take it. Yes, it's not standard black metal at all, but who really cares. This was actually the first album I got that was any kind of black metal, and I'd definitely call it a pretty solid one, though perhaps not anything that amazing.

There's just a rawness to the sound of the album that makes it work. Huge walls of guitar noise, pretty frantic drumming throughout, and harsh vocals buried just enough in the mix to blend right in. It's pretty bright at times, though a lot more melancholic at others, though it never really reaches "dark" territory. The production is just washed-out enough to create atmosphere, but not too lo-fi so as to get grating.

The album isn't just nonstop energy even during the metal songs, too, there's post-rock-ish moments in all four of the heavy tracks and generally some more laid-back though still pretty heavy metal as well. The songs all have a pretty solid flow to them, there's no real awkward transitions between segments and there's a direction to every track, even if they tend to take their time.

The three interlude tracks all have their own moods, too. Irresistible is just really pretty and serene, clean guitar and piano creating a gorgeous atmosphere. Please Remember is pretty unnerving in its first half, a pretty intense wall of noise by the middle, and a prettier, melancholic last movement. Windows is kind of dull though, just some uneasy synth and a lot of samples the whole way through, never really goes anywhere.

It's probably the most "pure" fusion of shoegaze and black metal, though, having the warmth of the former and the heaviness of the latter in much larger doses than most blackgaze bands tend to. And again, more about the sound than the actual substance here, which is fine for a primarily atmospheric album. It's really hard to say much more about the album; definitely not a flawless album, but a pretty solid one all-around, and one I enjoy listening to every time, even if I'm not crazy over it.

Favorite Tracks: Dream House, Vertigo, Irresistible
Least Favorite Tracks: Windows, Please Remember

7.25/10

DTF Addendum: I think I liked this less the more I explored other black metal and blackgaze releases, and I'm really not sure why this is considered to be the pinnacle of blackgaze by so many (hint: 3 blackgaze records above this one on my list, and more black metal beyond that as well). But I mean, it's still good, so.

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #36: Acquiring Cancer
« Reply #171 on: May 26, 2016, 10:58:46 PM »
I found this album very same-y all the way through, with little variety for my taste, and a bit boring. But yeah, Dream House and Vertigo are the best tracks here, even though that's not saying much :corn

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #36: Acquiring Cancer
« Reply #172 on: May 26, 2016, 11:31:40 PM »
I found this album very same-y all the way through, with little variety for my taste, and a bit boring. But yeah, Dream House and Vertigo are the best tracks here, even though that's not saying much :corn
you're not wrong, really, it's a pretty samey album but it nails its mood and i can enjoy it plenty

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #35: Attack on Titan
« Reply #173 on: May 27, 2016, 01:08:49 AM »
#35: East of the Wall - Redaction Artifacts



This is a strange album to consider since I'm still not quite sure how exactly I feel about it. There's a lot of the same elements that made The Apologist work so well, and some new elements brought to the table to make it distinct and unique. East of the Wall don't make the same album twice, and that's definitely true here. It's just that this album never really seems to reach the peaks of the albums before it, though it doesn't really have any lows either, it's operating on a pretty consistent, solid level throughout, but not one that I ever find myself falling in love with.

One big problem I have with this album is the production, and especially, the mixing. For starters, the vocals are, without fail, mixed too low. Both the cleans and the harsh vocals get pretty well buried during the heavier moments of the album. It doesn't help that the new harsh vocalist isn't especially good; there are a lot less growls here than the previous two albums, to be fair, and I get the sense they were kind of aware of the lacking harsh vocals on this album, but the mixing of the clean vocals suffers alongside it, though the cleans still sound pretty good. A lot of the guitars get mixed poorly too; there's a lot of subtle noodly guitar work that gets just a bit too buried in the mix; while I wouldn't want all of it at the front, there's moments where the guitar should be driving some climactic lead but it feels instead like I'm listening to it from the other side of a wall. Even some of the heavier guitars feel a bit thin; the album doesn't pull off heaviness as well as the previous albums, for sure. There's not enough punch to the guitars to really work. Thankfully, the bass and drums both sound pretty good throughout, and the bass is mixed at just the right level, but on the whole it does feel like a bit of a botched production job.

The other problem I'd dissect here is that this album is just pretty lacking when it comes to catchy hooks, anthemic riffs, or addictive grooves. While the album has a fair number of moments that are solidly memorable, nothing really hits me as strongly as large chunks of The Apologist and a lot of the better moments of Ressentiment. There's very little in the stretch of Abriters Meet to Excessive Convulsive that does much for me at all, though it all sounds "fine". And while Noir Filter is a pretty solid closer, it feels like it could've been tightened up, some of the lesser moments cut out to let the stronger ones shine more.

There's a lot of neat experimentation here that I think works out pretty well though, a lot of small moments that are pretty notably different from the previous album. There's an almost poppy sound to the quieter moments of The Fractal Canopy, there's the somber and slightly folky acoustic The Methuselah Tree, A Negligible Senescence is the only time between any East of the Wall release I've heard that has any kind of thematic reprise going on and it pulls it off well, and Readaction Artifacts is a strange, spacey interlude leading up to the final track.

Even when not being as adventurous, there's still a distinctly different sound to this album. There definitely seems to be a stronger focused on higher-pitched melodies rather than sludgy heaviness; for one, there's more guitar solos than ever before, and most of them have a weird shreddy quality to them that makes them work pretty well as texture, though I particularly like the solo at the end of Noir Filter. There's also some fast-paced melodic guitar moments; Obfuscator Dye is heavily built around a manic guitar line, and Arbiters Meet has a few sections in its middle in 5/4. In contrast, the heavy, sludgy moments are definitely rarer; the start and end of I'm Always Fighting Drago are pretty nice and heavy, and there's a cool riff playing under the noodly guitar of Obfuscator Dye. The intro of Noir Filter is also wonderfully heavy, a very doomy feel to it. That's... really about it, as far as the most memorable heavy moments go.

I could comment on all the little cool drum moments throughout the album, as there are definitely a lot, but I'm not sure what good that would do; suffice to say that I definitely feel the bass and drums on this album haven't lost their edge, for sure. Just go listen to the wonderful bass melodies at 1:55 of I'm Always Fighting Drago, the jagged grooves of The Fractal Canopy as well as the bright bassline at 6:55, the unsettling bass during the softer moments of Third-Person Camera, the chuggy and jagged groove at 2:25 of A Negligible Senescence, or the really pleasant atmosphere at 5:20 of Noir Filter, and dare say it doesn't sound great. As far as the drums go, pretty much any heavy and intense moment on the album is going to have some excellent drumming accompanying it. There's a number of cool quieter moments, too; drums accompanying the bass at 1:55 of I'm Always Fighting Drago, another nice moment accompanying the drums at 2:15 of The Fractal Canopy, the awesome groove at the start of Third-Person Camera, some booming drums that contrast the mood nicely at 4:35 of Noir Filter, as well as a break at 6:05 for some driving, tom-heavy drumming. These are just a small number of all the great moments here, though, I definitely find my attention being drawn to the bass and drums as often if not more often than the guitar work here.

At the end of the day, this is definitely still a pretty solid album, but perhaps one that's missing the power or passion that previous albums had; it feels like the band sat down and wrote some of the most technical stuff in the band's history but forgot to write their emotions into it as strongly. The two longer tracks work better than the rest of the album because they feel a lot moodier and more engaging; whereas the rest sounds pretty pleasant and some degree of technically satisfying, but ultimately ends up blending together a bit too much and leaving me colder than I'd like.

But. It's still an East of the Wall album. Would I recommend it? Yeah, if you've heard their previous two albums and are still craving more. And I can definitely commend them for not just rewriting The Apologist, as much as I wouldn't mind another album in a similar style. I'm hoping the direction they take after this album turns back towards the heavier side of things and a bit less towards the technical screwery that overwhelms a bit too much of this album, but it's still worth checking out nonetheless.

Favorite Tracks: The Fractal Canopy, Noir Filter, I'm Always Fighting Drago, Obfuscator Dye
Least Favorite Tracks: Arbiters Meet, Excessive Convulsive

7.5/10

DTF Addendum: After this we're exactly halfway through the list! How about that. Feels like just yesterday, except for the fact that I wrote some of these three months ago. Also, the first 7.5 in a streak of many. I basically can't help but compare this to The Apologist for obvious reasons but it stands on its own well enough, though the middle is a bit meh.

Offline Zantera

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Re: Parama's 2015 Retrospective List: #35: Attack on Titan
« Reply #174 on: May 27, 2016, 01:56:07 AM »
Sunbather is way too low