Author Topic: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Only once in a lifetime (#1)  (Read 30603 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline bl5150

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 9132
  • Gender: Male
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. John, what's the problem? (#24)
« Reply #210 on: December 14, 2018, 06:26:49 AM »
Elinoire is god tier for me, so there's that.  It was #1 in my Top 50v2 - which held the same premise as this top 50 ... only albums introduced to me by/through DTF.  Thanks to Nick for the recc'n to Flaming Row.

My problem with this album is that the story is even more cryptic than Elinoire, and that many of the singers play multiple characters, AND in a few instances, a single character is voiced by different singer.  So it's like... Maggie... which character is she singing now?  Or... why is it Kiri singing the role of Piper now?  (I'm just making those examples up, because I forget the specific instances where these things occurred).

Regardless, Aim L-45 is brilliant, as is Pictures.

As for the lack of parts 2 and 3... I believe it has to do with a falling out between Martin Kiri (perhaps also connected to Martin and Melanie's relationship??).  I think there was something between Martin and Kiri, and that fell apart.  Since they were the guts of FR, no Kiri means no FR.  I believe she was the primary lyricist too.

My name is in the liner notes on that album if memory serves correct and the CD is still around somewhere not even opened yet  ::)

What for?  Just for being a badass?

Pretty much.  :)






I think I did a pre-purchase a fair way out from release or something so was sort of like a "pledger."
"I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle." - DLR

www.theguitardojo.com.au

Online Evermind

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 16232
  • Gender: Male
Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. And we drift far away in our dreams (#23)
« Reply #211 on: December 14, 2018, 07:18:21 AM »
Pretty much.  :)

I think I did a pre-purchase a fair way out from release or something so was sort of like a "pledger."

As I said in the writeup, the first couple of people (I think 100? Don't remember) to pre-order/pledge got their names in. Chad is in there too.

Good to know about Flaming Row row :neverusethis: Never saw this info before, thanks guys.



#23
Shadows of the Dying Sun
Insomnium
Genre: melodic death metal
2014
Recommended to me by: Luoto


Growls might not have been my thing just a few years ago, but now that I’m increasingly tolerant to them, Insomnium climbed my ladder of favourite discoveries on DTF as quickly as the leopard with an ill throat, roaring all the way up. How’s that for a metaphor? Seriously though, what Insomnium does that positively distinguishes them from the countless death metal bands out there is that they nail “melodic” part. Bear with me, because the sentence after the next one is going to sound stupid. Ready? Not only the actual melodic—read “acoustic” and clean vocals—parts are melodic, somehow even the freaking growls are melodic! A lot of bands I’ve heard are only doing noise over the mic, sticking to two or three notes puking incomprehensible syllables along with their throats, glands, guts and whatnot. Insomnium, for a change, is nothing like that. Off top of my head, I can sing some of their choruses in clean vocals and they still sound good. There are melodies beneath the growls, not only in the instrumentation, and this is what draws me to them, or at least that’s one of the reasons.

Their growls also have pronounced rhythms. This is also wonderful, and sometimes they do a rhythm in accordance to the music supporting it, and sometimes they do it in a dissonant way, at least to my ears, and the way they weave two aspects of one art, the music and the vocals into one, was—and honestly is—mindblowing to me. From this album alone, I can probably hum you at least one melody from each song and fingerdrum (is that a word?) you one rhythm from each song. Melodic death metal has never been so memorable—or, at least, if it was, this band is one of the best examples of it.

Luoto once played me something from Insomnium in plug.dj, and I loved it a lot. Now, I have to say that while this list has those whooping fifty entries, not a lot of those albums led me to purchase the whole discography outright, or at least aim to do it. Some of those bands, like Trail of Murder or Echoes, have only one albums, so you could technically say I purchased the whole discography, but you get what I mean. What did I feature up there? Devin Townsend? Nope. Ne Obliviscaris? No. The Dear Hunter? Well, yes, but I still don’t have the full thing, thanks Train. Katatonia? Nah.

But when I’ve heard Insomnium and checked out both this record and Winter’s Gate, that was when I knew I want the whole band’s catalogue to gather dust on my shelves. Sadly, not everything was available, but I made a decent effort to grab what was on their official shop site, along with the all-over print Shadows of the Dying Sun t-shirt, which was only in XXL, and I only wear it at home (and I also wore it at Myrkur concert because I didn’t have any other t-shirt for the occasion) because it looks like a sack on me. The different in sizes between Europe and Russia is as idiotic as it gets.

I’m already at 500+ words and I haven’t even mentioned how the lyrics from the verses in Ephemeral sound like “I’ll go and drink my stout” in Russian instead of “Fight only with yourself”. Oh well!

Favourite songs: While We Sleep (YouTube, Spotify), Black Heart Rebellion (YouTube, Spotify), Ephemeral (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Online TAC

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 74082
  • Gender: Male
  • Arthritic Metal Horns
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. John, what's the problem? (#24)
« Reply #212 on: December 14, 2018, 07:20:15 AM »
Geez, I WON Evermind's Roulette, and I haven't made the "Recommendations List". :lol
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Online Evermind

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 16232
  • Gender: Male
Geez, I WON Evermind's Roulette, and I haven't made the "Recommendations List". :lol

...I actually think you haven't, yeah. Looking at the remaining list, I don't think any of it is your stuff. :lol In fact I forgot about Kiske's solo album, it would've probably made the list.

I'm not as big fan of power metal as I was before, and your stuff was mostly power metal I think. I do enjoy a lot of the stuff you sent though, Enbound, Dead Lord, UFO, Hibria (:biggrin:) just to name a few. And I still have to check out that female-fronted Helloween-like band you sent me, I forgot the name. Forgotten Skies? Broken Wings? Forgotten Hopes?
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline jingle.boy

  • I'm so ronery; so sad and ronery
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 44555
  • Gender: Male
  • DTF's resident deceased dictator
And I still have to check out that female-fronted Helloween-like band you sent me, I forgot the name. Forgotten Skies? Broken Wings? Forgotten Hopes?

Forget About It??
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Bolsters

  • Lost Boy
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5487
  • Gender: Male
  • What a hell of a day to embrace disorder
I've heard some Insomnium but I don't think it was this album.

Online Kwyjibo

  • Worse troll than Blabbermouth
  • Posts: 5998
  • Gender: Male
INSOMNIUM  :metal :metal :metal :metal

A band I also discovered because of DTF and what a great discovery that was.  :metal :metal :metal :metal

But (as always  ;D) I have another favorite: Winter's Gate is just a little bit better than Shadows, but only a little bit.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Online TAC

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 74082
  • Gender: Male
  • Arthritic Metal Horns
I'm not as big fan of power metal as I was before,

No, it doesn't seem that way.

would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Crow

  • Holy Guide of the 4/10
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 26734
  • Gender: Female
  • tdjghjjkhliòujoàupougjyufkuyrkuyt
we've ruined evermind  :metal
is anything i recommended on this list, anyways

Online Evermind

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 16232
  • Gender: Male
Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #219 on: December 14, 2018, 01:09:18 PM »
we've ruined evermind  :metal
is anything i recommended on this list, anyways

I mean, Bodies of Water was close.

I'm not as big fan of power metal as I was before,

No, it doesn't seem that way.



Not so fast...

I'm so tired after this whole week and the alarm is already set at 4.45 A.M. next morning, fuck me. But enough whining, have a long overdue power metal update now.



#22
Last of Us
Arion
Genre: power fucking metal
2014
Recommended to me by: Big Hath / Bolsters


Progressive metal, progressive rock, stupid singer-songwriter stuff, the ghastly black and then death metal albums, growls everywhere, bleak and dark music with no hope… what the fuck, Evermind, some of you are bound to ask me. Thing is, my tastes shifted over the last three years, and some of you are going to have a difficult time in my roulette, I suppose. However, you know one good thing about power metal? If you do it really well, if you manage to capture that elusive spark that’s so difficult to find—that Sonata Arctica found on Ecliptica, that Helloween laid the foundation for on Keepers, that Kai Hansen kept channeling with Gamma Ray, that Kamelot caught so well on Karma, I can go on but you get the gist of it—it never gets old. You just need to somehow do it right.

And the problem is, a lot of bands nowadays can’t do it right. You can probably count the amount of power metal albums that really got me excited in the last few years by your fingers on your two hands provided you’re not an amputee of some sort—speaking of, Oceansize is not on this list—and they’re all on this list I think. When I hear an amazing power metal album, I latch on it and I will probably listen the hell out of it… which is exactly what happened with this Arion album even though I kept quiet about it, hoping to use it in roulettes. I’ll send it in Puppies’ if I manage to get past the EP round, I guess, he seems tolerant to this kind of stuff.

Now, what is it this album does so well? I have no fucking idea! All the vocal melodies are incredible and fresh, the songs don’t feel overstuffed with double bass, and after that I have no clue, but this album sounds like everything I want in power metal. Catchy songs? It has them. Ballads? You’re My Melody does a great job on that. The singer sounds great both in the lower and the higher register, and with the falsetto on Shadows, and holy shit those melodies are either just so well thought out or either completely spontaneous, but, well, see. You know how some of the vocal lines on the prog albums turn into a completely unexpected direction, and after like twenty listens you get used to it? Is it because the turn was so good and made so much sense, or is it just because you’re used to it now and that’s how you expect this song to go? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Arion, at least with this album—I haven’t checked their latest yet—does the exact opposite. Every note in the vocal lines is what you would expect, and more, it’s what you would want from a power metal song. As the singer quietly goes through a verse or a chorus, there’s a moment I think “oh, this could really use the high note scream now”, and lo and behold, he does it right where I want it. While perhaps this record isn’t for you if you’re not a fan of power metal, I urge everyone who ever liked a power metal song to dig into this one, and you’ll be rewarded with a full hour of excellence. Except if you plan to run a roulette soon, in which case you’ll be getting a taste of this fantastic record down the road.

Favourite songs: Out of the Ashes (YouTube, Spotify), Shadows (YouTube, Spotify), You’re My Melody (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Crow

  • Holy Guide of the 4/10
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 26734
  • Gender: Female
  • tdjghjjkhliòujoàupougjyufkuyrkuyt
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #220 on: December 14, 2018, 01:20:05 PM »
arion as a band name has always just sounded like a bootleg ayreon to me
no comment on the album itself

Offline jingle.boy

  • I'm so ronery; so sad and ronery
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 44555
  • Gender: Male
  • DTF's resident deceased dictator
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #221 on: December 14, 2018, 01:41:26 PM »
Great GREAT album.  I had been planning to use this with Kattelox - so it might be a race to do so for this upcoming round!  I never would have thought this would land in the 9 1/2 wheelhouse with Puppies, so kudos to you for that.

Life is Beautiful (this year's release) ... rather disappointing, imo.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Online King Puppies and the Acid Guppies

  • AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11632
  • Gender: Male
  • AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #222 on: December 14, 2018, 06:26:29 PM »
That Arion album is definitely incredible. :hefdaddy
aka Puppies_On_Acid
My last.fm | My Rate Your Music Page
Quote from: Podaar
King's Photoshop powers are akin to a three year old cutting faces out of photographs with the edge of a dull spoon and pasting them in place with garden shovel full of Gorilla Glue.
Quote from: TAC, definitely not King
Thes sng is are sounds rally nece an I lyke tha sungar

Online TAC

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 74082
  • Gender: Male
  • Arthritic Metal Horns
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #223 on: December 14, 2018, 06:29:30 PM »
Listening to the Wolverine now. It's OK. Will hit the Arion next.

Arion is a click above generic. Can't believe it's getting such a big circle jerk.
Burn Your Ship and Watching You Fall are really the only things that stood out.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2018, 06:59:37 PM by TAC »
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline jingle.boy

  • I'm so ronery; so sad and ronery
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 44555
  • Gender: Male
  • DTF's resident deceased dictator
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #224 on: December 14, 2018, 07:05:01 PM »
Says the guy who gets a raging music hard-on from Theocracy.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Online TAC

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 74082
  • Gender: Male
  • Arthritic Metal Horns
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #225 on: December 14, 2018, 07:18:29 PM »
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Bolsters

  • Lost Boy
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5487
  • Gender: Male
  • What a hell of a day to embrace disorder
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #226 on: December 14, 2018, 07:39:32 PM »
Life is Beautiful (this year's release) ... rather disappointing, imo.
Definitely. :sad:

Offline wolfking

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 46256
  • Gender: Male
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #227 on: December 14, 2018, 08:15:13 PM »
That Insomnium album is really good.  Great band.  I prefer One for Sorrow over it though.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Online TAC

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 74082
  • Gender: Male
  • Arthritic Metal Horns
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #228 on: December 14, 2018, 08:15:40 PM »
Gonna hit that one tomorrow.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline mike099

  • Posts: 1426
  • Gender: Male
  • do or do not; there is no try
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. A portrait of years of decline (#22)
« Reply #229 on: December 15, 2018, 05:58:10 AM »
I had heard of Riverside but did not check them out until now.  The album you featured here is really good and quite an easy listen.  So sorry to hear about the guitar player - too young.

I only own the winters gate from insomnium but will need to check the rest of the catalog.
Quote from: Flying BIZKIT

Yeah, I hate when I visit the local circus and all they fucking play is Haken.

Online Evermind

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 16232
  • Gender: Male
Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There is no future for us (#21)
« Reply #230 on: December 15, 2018, 10:46:47 AM »
Life is Beautiful (this year's release) ... rather disappointing, imo.
Definitely. :sad:

I'll skip it then.

Probably one update today as I was at work, but possibly three updates tomorrow.



#21
Orvam: A Song for Home
Need
Genre: progressive metal
2014
Recommended to me by: lonestar


Finally here’s another band I saw live. Looking back my list, the latest update with the band I saw in person was Amorphis at #29, which is somewhat ridiculous, considering how well-known a few bands from the latest updates are, and how I apparently love their albums, but hey, that’s one of the many reasons why living in Russia sucks. Not that I saw Need in Russia, too.

Let’s get obvious stuff out of the way before I tell you this captivating tale of love and betrayal seeing them play in person: Need is a Greek band that does awesome progressive metal music. RJ introduced me to then via Lady Obscure, with this very album, and their latest, called Hegaiamas: A Song for Freedom is almost as delightful as this one. With a somewhat darker edge than your usual prog metal, this band is apparently rising in popularity ever slowly since Orvam, playing at ProgPower and touring Europe. Alright, back to the story.

I spoke a few times of how I saw them supporting Evergrey on their tour in support for The Storm Within in Siegburg, Germany, mostly in the Evergrey thread I think, but the truth is, well, first off, I was planning a vacation in Germany anyway, so it was kind of lucky to me to catch that tour, but second, I went as much for Need as for Evergrey. That was a perfect situation when you love both the opener and the headliner of the gig. The club was actually very small, there was maybe space for two hundred people, and Siegburg itself isn’t very huge town. I think it was in the basement of some nightclub or restaurant, but I don’t remember it too well—I remember the person who checked our tickets was in disbelief seeing where we came from (I think the country was listed on the ticket), saying “wow, you travelled a long way for this”.

I didn’t have Evergrey t-shirt, but I had one Need t-shirt as I bought the Orvam bundle from bandcamp, so I was sporting it, of course; first thing I see entering the venue are two merch stands for the band, and the guy at Need merch stand grinning at me and complimenting my t-shirt. I ended up getting another Need t-shirt, so now I have two and the Siamese God CD (their album before Orvam). I wanted to buy their ProgPower DVD, but the guy gave it to me for free, then asked if I already had a pick with the band’s name on it, gave me that, then gave me a bunch of stickers and told me to promote the band. Everyone go listen to Need.

Well, needless to say, my evening was already pretty great, and there were just a few minutes before Need was supposed to start playing, so I quickly grabbed some beers from an unassuming guy at the bar—I was amazed that he poured it into thick beer glasses and I was allowed to take them with me into the crowd, which is a huge no in my country—and when I say the crowd, I mean ten people that are standing there. No fighting for front row, nothing, just a few people standing randomly there as the guys from Need got on stage and began playing.

The setlist was mostly from Hegaiamas with one song from Orvam, and people began trickling in during the first two songs, but not too many, perhaps a whooping thirty people overall. None of them seemed to know this band, as I was the only one to expect the rocking moments, mouthing the words along. Well, so the gig was great, now it’s a half an hour wait for Evergrey, and I see there’s not a lot of people in the crowd, so I leave my spot and go back to the bar to get another beer.

This was right at the end of my vacation—I saw some of you folks at Ayreon Universe and then spent two weeks in Germany—and as I usually travel with a backpack and no other luggage, I don’t pack my razor as it’s not allowed to be brought on planes. So I’m sporting a two-week stubble now, and, this is important, all musicians from Need are bearded. By the sound of it, we’re also the only foreign people in this venue. So I ask for a beer, and I figure if it’s alright to bring the glass in the crowd, I may as well ask for the bottle so he won’t have to pour it and I won’t have to return the glass. This time it’s another guy at the bar, and when I ask him if I can have it in the bottle, he says with a thick accent:

Bar guy: You’ll have to ask the manager about this.

Me: Uh, what?

Bar guy: The manager, you have to ask the manager first.

Me:
(thinking I’ve heard something wrong) Um, what manager? (I’m such an eloquent guy)

Bar guy: Alright, you know what, wait, I’ll go and ask the boss.

At this point I’m quite dumbfounded at the whole exchange. The guy goes to the unassuming fellow on the other side of the bar which poured me the beer for the first time, points at me and they have a quick dialogue, after which he returns and says:

Bar guy: Oh shit, you’re not from the band that just played then?

And that’s how I’ve got a beer and this story.

Favourite songs: Lifeknot (YouTube, Spotify), Mother Madness (YouTube, Spotify), Orvam (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Bolsters

  • Lost Boy
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5487
  • Gender: Male
  • What a hell of a day to embrace disorder
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There is no future for us (#21)
« Reply #231 on: December 15, 2018, 09:43:13 PM »
Listening to this album now, it's good.

Offline Crow

  • Holy Guide of the 4/10
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 26734
  • Gender: Female
  • tdjghjjkhliòujoàupougjyufkuyrkuyt
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There is no future for us (#21)
« Reply #232 on: December 15, 2018, 10:37:34 PM »
i did listen to this one and their one last year a few times but, i dunno, the style just doesn't work super well for me, dunno
also i hated the speaky bit on the latest one a lot
the song i got in my roulette from these guys i remember being pretty solid tho

Offline Lethean

  • Posts: 4504
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There is no future for us (#21)
« Reply #233 on: December 16, 2018, 01:04:33 AM »
Need rules. :)  :metal :metal :metal

Offline Bolsters

  • Lost Boy
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5487
  • Gender: Male
  • What a hell of a day to embrace disorder
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There is no future for us (#21)
« Reply #234 on: December 16, 2018, 01:16:13 AM »
Listening to this album now, it's good.
Insomnium was even better.

Online Evermind

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 16232
  • Gender: Male
Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lightning splits the sky (#20/#19)
« Reply #235 on: December 16, 2018, 04:24:23 AM »
i did listen to this one and their one last year a few times but, i dunno, the style just doesn't work super well for me, dunno
also i hated the speaky bit on the latest one a lot
the song i got in my roulette from these guys i remember being pretty solid tho

Listen to the speaky bit on this one (called Hotel Oniro), you'll hate it even more. :lol

Listening to this album now, it's good.
Insomnium was even better.

:metal



#20
Weather Systems
Anathema
Genre: progressive rock
2012
Recommended to me by: Sacul or DTF band thread, don’t remember


It took me a lot of time to get into Anathema, but as it usually happens with a lot of bands, when I did, the result was quite rewarding. The problem here might be that while they have a few albums of a fantastic quality, the rest of their discography still falls flat for me; and the other problem might be the many stylistic changes in their music over the years. There are two Anathema albums that especially stuck with me, and seeing how they represent different eras of the band, and are completely unlike in almost every sense, I think it makes sense to make an exception in the one album per band rule for this band.

As I said before, Weather Systems is the ultimate spring album for me. This album exudes life, and unlike the previous numerous installments of dark progressive metal, this album—while not being overly cheerful—seems like a complete opposite entity to those. Soaring melodies mixed with acoustic instrumentation with little sections of electric guitars added here and there make the songs sound delicate yet grandiose. And all the songs here are expertly crafted, to the point where I forget about my surroundings and find myself completely taken by the music.

There is a lot of discussion if We’re Here Because We’re Here is better than Weather Systems, and whether Weather Systems is a carbon copy of the former, and to each their own, but in my case, when I have to choose one of these to listen to, I always end up picking Weather Systems. There’s a certain magic about this album, magic that Anathema didn’t manage to quite capture in WHBWH or Distant Satellites, and, by the way, with another new direction taken in The Optimist, which I didn’t care about at all, Anathema is close to losing me again. I saw them live twice, and their show in support for The Optimist was one of the most boring gigs I’ve ever witnessed, in contrast to the Distant Satellites tour show, which I thought was pretty good.

We’ll see where they go from here.

Favourite songs: Untouchable, Part 1 (YouTube, Spotify), Untouchable, Part 2 (YouTube, Spotify), The Beginning and the End (YouTube, Spotify)


#19
Alternative 4
Anathema
Genre: alternative metal
1998
Recommended to me by: Sacul or DTF band thread, don’t remember


Absolutely unlike Weather Systems, this album is quite dark and has a raw feeling about it. Not in production or mix, though, those are crystal clear, but I suppose in the emotions behind the songs. There are still traces of doom metal they used to play in the early stages of the band’s development, but it takes a few steps into the alternative direction with gothic elements. I’m not exactly sure what genre this album is, to be honest.

Being finally hooked by Weather Systems, I didn’t expect to find such a gem that deep in the band’s discography. It helped that Fragile Dreams is one of the band’s hit which gets played live often, but there are a lot more to digest on this album, concise though it is. Despite all the material being close to excellent, two tracks stand out especially, and, like in that Wolverine album I wrote about before, those two are kind of like pillars that hold the whole record together, while the rest of the material is kind of like a build up to those two. Or perhaps a build down, I don’t know, as those two tracks aren’t exactly in the tension release department, as far as things go. I’m talking about Lost Control and Regret, which, along with the live version of A Natural Disaster, probably make my Top 3 Anathema songs.

It’s fascinating to see the bands evolve and change their directions over the years. Some artists constantly try to add something new to their records, try to reinvent themselves, while others have found a safe formula for their albums and continue to churn out the same style of music every two years. There’s no saying which approach is better for each person, as sometimes the new direction might be not what you expected, but also if you’re not changing things up, the music can get a little stale. Anathema clearly prefers the former approach, and while I can’t say I like all the things they’ve done and continue to do, it leads to interesting results. And it led to creation of these two albums, which I absolutely adore.

Favourite songs: Fragile Dreams (YouTube, Spotify), Lost Control (YouTube, Spotify), Regret (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline jingle.boy

  • I'm so ronery; so sad and ronery
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 44555
  • Gender: Male
  • DTF's resident deceased dictator
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lightning splits the sky (#20/#19)
« Reply #236 on: December 16, 2018, 04:59:19 AM »
Never managed to go very deep into Anathema.  I've gotten them 2x (maybe 3??) in my Roulette's, but something just doesn't gel with me and them.  I enjoyed the hell out of them on the ProgNation cruise, but I can't say I've been overwhelmed by their studio albums.

:dunno:
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Bolsters

  • Lost Boy
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5487
  • Gender: Male
  • What a hell of a day to embrace disorder
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lightning splits the sky (#20/#19)
« Reply #237 on: December 16, 2018, 05:40:43 AM »
They are very hit or miss with me. I need to revisit the older albums, but of the newer stuff WHBWH and Weather Systems are by far my favourites.

Offline Elite

  • The 'other' Rich
  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 17547
  • Gender: Male
  • also, a tin teardrop
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lightning splits the sky (#20/#19)
« Reply #238 on: December 16, 2018, 05:57:34 AM »
WHBWH is their absolute best to me, with probably A Fine Day to Exit as my second favourite.
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

Online Evermind

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 16232
  • Gender: Male
Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lost in the echoes of goodbyes (#18)
« Reply #239 on: December 16, 2018, 08:25:11 AM »
WHBWH is their absolute best to me, with probably A Fine Day to Exit as my second favourite.

I suppose it's about which album you discover first, WHBWH or WS. My first was WS, so I guess that's why I love it so much. A Fine Day to Exit does nothing to me, except Temporary is a great tune. Well, the first five minutes are.

Another update for you fine folks, probably the last one for today.



#18
The Art of Navigating by the Stars
Sieges Even
Genre: progressive rock
2005
Recommended to me by: Dr. DTVT


With all the love progressive and death metal has been getting in this thread so far, I think it’s only fair to switch the focus to another side of music I’ve been in love with lately: progressive rock. I listed Weather Systems as progressive rock, but in truth I don’t consider that album to be a progressive rock one. You know, I always associate progressive rock with long epics and intricate song structures—Mystery was a good example of what I would consider a fine fit for the genre. But you don’t have to always write a long-ass epic for your progressive rock album to be amazing, as Sieges Even proved with The Art of Navigating by the Stars.

Authentic, captivating, this album is one of a kind. Nothing else I’ve heard from this band came close to it, even though Paramount was pretty good. I remember that Mason mentioned to me that Subsignal was close to Sieges Even sound-wise, and then reinforced that, sending both bands in my roulette, which is how I discovered them both. Well, Subsignal is also pretty neat progressive rock band, and yet it fails to deliver on the same level this record does. The main similarity is that ringing acoustic guitar sound, which, as far as I know, is usually viewed either as a positive or a negative aspect of the band’s sound. This record, while staying consistent with its sound, still explores a wide range of emotions, jumping between exciting and forlorn moods easily, expressing wonder at the vastness of the sky and sea above and below. The album is also separated in two parts, in my opinion, with the acoustic Spanish-influenced guitar break in Blue Wide Open being the bridge between the two parts.

I think it’s a concept album, but this is one of those rare cases where I don’t care to learn what the actual story entails, and instead invent my own story and circumstances for each song. This record makes me think of flying serenely on some kind of zeppelin airship or hot air balloon during summer days a couple of years after the airships were invented, being one of the first persons on Earth to enjoy the breeze and the excellent aerial views below, to feel the exultation of being able to fly, to travel through the skies. That’s the general picture that the album is painting for me, and it’s an inspiring one. If anyone actually knows what this album is about, feel free to tell it in the thread, I’m curious.

Favourite songs: The Lonely View of Condors (YouTube, Spotify), Unbreakable (YouTube, Spotify), Blue Wide Open (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Online Kwyjibo

  • Worse troll than Blabbermouth
  • Posts: 5998
  • Gender: Male
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lost in the echoes of goodbyes (#18)
« Reply #240 on: December 16, 2018, 08:29:37 AM »
I tried to get into Anathema but nothing I heard really clicked with me. I even bought Weather Systems, it's "nice" but not something I return to often.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline Crow

  • Holy Guide of the 4/10
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 26734
  • Gender: Female
  • tdjghjjkhliòujoàupougjyufkuyrkuyt
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lost in the echoes of goodbyes (#18)
« Reply #241 on: December 16, 2018, 09:12:33 AM »
yeah We're Here is the best anathema album imo but weather systems is good too

Online King Puppies and the Acid Guppies

  • AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!
  • DTF.org Member
  • *
  • Posts: 11632
  • Gender: Male
  • AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lost in the echoes of goodbyes (#18)
« Reply #242 on: December 16, 2018, 11:08:50 AM »
There's 3 masterpieces in a row  :hefdaddy
aka Puppies_On_Acid
My last.fm | My Rate Your Music Page
Quote from: Podaar
King's Photoshop powers are akin to a three year old cutting faces out of photographs with the edge of a dull spoon and pasting them in place with garden shovel full of Gorilla Glue.
Quote from: TAC, definitely not King
Thes sng is are sounds rally nece an I lyke tha sungar

Offline wolfking

  • DTF.org Alumni
  • ****
  • Posts: 46256
  • Gender: Male
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lost in the echoes of goodbyes (#18)
« Reply #243 on: December 16, 2018, 09:27:19 PM »
I don't think I've heard a single Anathema song.

That Sieges Even album is beautiful.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Offline senecadawg2

  • Posts: 7394
  • Gender: Male
Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Lost in the echoes of goodbyes (#18)
« Reply #244 on: December 17, 2018, 05:11:19 AM »
Don't listen to as much Anathema as I used to, but they're definitely still one of my favorite bands, and those two albums are among the best. Also, since I missed it earlier, NEED  :tup :tup
Quote from: black_floyd
Oh seneca, how you've warmed my heart this evening.