tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33873781204483925242024-02-22T08:11:30.572-08:00Music for the MonolithicSomebodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04939759933746915790noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387378120448392524.post-31329019799142528302009-06-15T15:48:00.001-07:002009-06-15T16:10:03.506-07:00EbonyLake - On the Eve of the Grimly Inventive<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi96GcIx74QQGCE36L9yE8Ym8jfj1E5IpX9Y9Mke_sw3Y2glm3JO7vWP6KaXfuXxj3myliTe8iDnlMfJGXfvtXm73HUNZEfhm5XKXGJV2jA3Yt0V_jTlLgq43w2PP0BEwqF3n1lA-hsLw/s1600-h/ebonylake.jpg"><img style="text-align: justify;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi96GcIx74QQGCE36L9yE8Ym8jfj1E5IpX9Y9Mke_sw3Y2glm3JO7vWP6KaXfuXxj3myliTe8iDnlMfJGXfvtXm73HUNZEfhm5XKXGJV2jA3Yt0V_jTlLgq43w2PP0BEwqF3n1lA-hsLw/s200/ebonylake.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347690432817330658" /></a><i><div style="text-align: justify;">Cacophonous Records, 1999</div></i><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. The Author of the Burning Flock</div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">2. The Wanderings of Ophelia Through the Untamed Countryside</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">3. On the Eve of the Grimly Inventive</div><div style="text-align: justify;">4. Within Deepest Red (The Opening Of...)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">5. An Autumn to Cripple Children</div><div style="text-align: justify;">6. A Voice in the Piano</div><div style="text-align: justify;">7. The Music and Woe Between Horse Thieves</div></span></i></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Being experimental in Black Metal can be a dangerous thing: it balances in the delicate position of being too underground for fans of experimental music whilst being too experimental for fans of the underground. How many experimental gems might have been lost in the shadow of more mundane bands like Marduk and Immortal? At least one: this one!</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div></span></i><div style="text-align: justify;">EbonyLake's first (and so far only) album <i>On the Eve of the Grimly Inventive</i> was released by the now defunct Cacophanous Records, more famous for giving Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir amongst others their kickstart in the metal world. It is Black Metal played with all the fury, tempo shifts and technicality more common to mathcore, whilst being submerged in "Victorian Horror" atmospheres evoked through ghostly female wails, beautiful and sometimes discordant piano passages, and brilliantly conceived lyrics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sounding quite unlike any other Black Metal album I've heard, this is reminiscent of something like The End's <i>Within Dividia</i>, and much to its advantage. I am surprised that this has gone almost entirely beneath the radar in the ten years since its release but them's the breaks eh? That it still sounds fresh is a testament to its unique nature - compare, for example, Carpathian Forest's <i>Black Shining Leather</i> or the aforementioned Immortal's <i>At the Heart of Winter</i>, both of which were released in the same year and both of which sound dated to my ears, due in part to the amount of imitations that have followed in their wake.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But there is good news for fans of the band, though I am sure most fans will already knows this. Mass Firth, after taking a prolonged detour through Death Metal band Nailed, has ressurrected EbonyLake with the claim to be carrying on "<a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=466252101&blogId=484152499">from where </a><i><a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=466252101&blogId=484152499">On The Eve Of The Grimly Inventive </a></i><a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=466252101&blogId=484152499">had taken us.</a>" There is a great sounding demo from the new album available on the Myspace page. Go check them out now!</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Recommended if:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You want your Black Metal with a dose of insanity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Similar:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The End - Within Dividia, A Forest of Stars</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Myspace: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><a href="http://www.myspace.com/ebonylakeofficialuk">http://www.myspace.com/ebonylakeofficialuk</a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Last.fm: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Ebonylake">http://www.last.fm/music/Ebonylake</a></span></b></div>Somebodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04939759933746915790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387378120448392524.post-67467367255094260282009-06-12T06:58:00.000-07:002009-06-12T07:27:29.845-07:00Dont Look Back - Brighter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbltxSKwQDzPsYH1vJFZri4MFBZQUWOWtDkR6Ppa9cG_zi-eQeKlmj3d7AAD8M8MsMHrMfZjwqQUL_eiFpaUss4e8YaIYxesI2UzUFikdQkLQ_cVuK5tJagdzCgC6rgz5m98NUPwF7_0/s1600-h/folder.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbltxSKwQDzPsYH1vJFZri4MFBZQUWOWtDkR6Ppa9cG_zi-eQeKlmj3d7AAD8M8MsMHrMfZjwqQUL_eiFpaUss4e8YaIYxesI2UzUFikdQkLQ_cVuK5tJagdzCgC6rgz5m98NUPwF7_0/s400/folder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346443878619406082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Noise Digger, 2005</span><br /><br />1. Six Feet Under The Ground<br />2. Remove All Trace<br />3. Joyrider<br />4. Nothing Just Happens<br />5. Farewell To The Bright Side<br />6. All Day Long<br />7. Dark Mobson<br />8. 1887 / D.I.Y.A.<br />9. Kids Got Shadows In Their Eyes<br />10. Ask The Dust<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When I first heard Brighter by southeastern Frenchmen, Dont Look Back I thought to myself "not another Indie band". It lasted about 2 minutes in my headphones before I put something else on - probably The Pax Cecilia or Khelvin since I couldn't stop listening to these two bands at that time.<br /><br />To discard Dont Look Back as 'just another Indie band' is slightly acceptable (upon first hearing only) given the opening track to Brighter, <span style="font-style: italic;">Six Feet Under The Ground</span> is a very drum-driven indie rock track. As catchy as this opener is, the sonic depths of this album aren't truly revealed until further along the aural journey.<br /><br />In my opinion, the use of post rock motifs and progressions as a soundtrack to vocal samples is an exquisite marriage; Maybeshewill, for example, being notorious for this. It's of no surprise then that, for this reason, my two favourite tracks on Brighter are <span style="font-style: italic;">Nothing Just Happens</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Dark Mobson</span>. The incessant and often impassioned ramblings by preachers of our Saviour-Apparent make <span style="font-style: italic;">Nothing Just Happens</span> a wonder to listen to. <span style="font-style: italic;">Dark Mobson</span> introduced me to the poetry of Allen Ginsburg and although I've decided I don't like it, the excerpt - and recital itself by the two readers - of Kaddish in this track is nothing short of brilliant.<br /><br />Dont Look Back escorts you along an entertaining journey through progressive waves of interesting yet delightfully pleasant post-rock with Brighter. I feel <span style="font-style: italic;">Kids Got Shadows In Their Eyes</span> should be stationed at the end of the line - being another great, yet more melancholic 'Indie' track like <span style="font-style: italic;">Six Feet Under The Ground</span> - but this isn't the case. There's nothing sub-par about <span style="font-style: italic;">Ask The Dusk</span>, but its placement as the last track makes it seem less memorable as a part of the album as a whole.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recommended if:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">You're fed up with all your other post-rock albums.<br /></span></span><div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Similar:</span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Souvaris, Maybeshewill</span><br /></b><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Homepage:</span> <a href="http://www.dontlookbackmusic.com/">www.dontlookbackmusic.com/</a> (French)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Myspace:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/dontlookbackmusic">www.myspace.com/dontlookbackmusic</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Last.fm: </span><a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Dont+Look+Back">www.last.fm/music/Dont+Look+Back</a>J. Arcadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06642025802508266586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387378120448392524.post-22246345079533061432009-06-09T12:03:00.000-07:002009-06-15T16:00:02.963-07:00Fight Bite - Emerald Eyes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3g2FhC_q1nQm7zwvLRkrFu3-HNA7uHPv7oKEAYHsKv21m-5AYLGKF4xoST0gesv75z6opeaMDRUPWm0JUMe1BlqVNPHu114kq6GYDh5RcjxiQuLBflBi9RNa0tUloxAOgJRTdgB4B1Jw/s1600-h/emeraldeyes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3g2FhC_q1nQm7zwvLRkrFu3-HNA7uHPv7oKEAYHsKv21m-5AYLGKF4xoST0gesv75z6opeaMDRUPWm0JUMe1BlqVNPHu114kq6GYDh5RcjxiQuLBflBi9RNa0tUloxAOgJRTdgB4B1Jw/s200/emeraldeyes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345417177592224370" border="0" /></a><i>Self-released, 2008</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">1. The Accident</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">2. Never Let Go</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">3. Swiss Ex Lover</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">4. Widow's Peak</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">5. Emerald Eyes</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">6. Age of Faith</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">7. Small Wonder</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">8. Dorothea</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">9. Strings</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">10. Spring Rain<br /></span></i><div><br /></div><div>Reading around, other reviews of this album have used adjectives like "haunting", "eerie" and "dreamy" to describe this album. Whilst they are not far wrong, as this album is indeed drenched with reverb and hazy production, I believe it misses out the key element which pervades this album and pulls those other elements together: nostalgia. From purposely lo-fi effects, through 80s organ synth, to the female vocals that are reminiscent of the early days of French pop, this album brings the past into the present and with it come those haunted, dreamlike feelings.<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />In <a href="http://www.musicisart.ws/atj-interview-fight-bite/">an interview</a> band member Leanne says she hopes listeners 'find the music to be beautiful and sad'. I agree that the music is exactly this and yet it is a reaction that's, if one thinks about it, quite illogical. How can an experience be both beautiful and sad when they are almost polar opposites? Yet it's not hard to think of numerous other works which also provoke this combination of emotions: Aranofsky's movie <i>The Fountain</i>, Jesu's album <i>Conqueror</i> or Millais' painting <i>Ophelia</i> for example. So what is it about all of these that allows for conflicting emotions to exist in harmony? My guess is that the simplest answer is the most likely: they are all objective. By being experience-by-proxy, art - and this album - allows its audience to mix and match any combination of emotions that could not normally coexist if your experience a first hand situation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Why have I written a short psychoanalysis of the album? Because I believe the album's power lies in its appeal to emotion in very primal ways. Nostalgia functions through the distancing between memory and present, much as this album's ability to glue beauty to sadness functions through it's medium as music, as experience-by-proxy. Even the song's lyrics reflect this with its tales of old, old loves and heartbreaking memories. But this is not cold, calculated, surgical attempt at evoking emotion; like all the greatest emotional albums this feels like a shoot first, ask questions later outpouring of creativity that succeeds through it's simplicity in approach (despite some songs <a href="http://porchofthemystics.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/fight-bite-on-the-porch/">apparently having 35 tracks</a>!).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Recommended if:</b></div><div>You're an old romantic at heart, love late nights and drink red wine.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Similar:</b></div><div>Cocteau Twins - Victorialand</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Myspace</b> - <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ilyushindove">http://www.myspace.com/ilyushindove</a></div><div><b>Last.fm</b> - <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Fight+Bite">http://www.last.fm/music/Fight+Bite</a></div></div></div>Somebodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04939759933746915790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387378120448392524.post-19630411085622196782009-06-05T05:28:00.000-07:002009-06-15T15:59:52.227-07:00Kodiak - Kodiak<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzqjtO1raMdnI_Oq4B5dy1hCYZqPhriFxrHLyq6oC8HEwFaRccXvbyc94kgYJNF_Q2kSCnk9XQiGtqX9DT1eoZWtpSHUqolba_htJg8HYnPSzQEbQMvP-lsKDxz3pDNaxc3pR5NwXI_s/s1600-h/folder.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzqjtO1raMdnI_Oq4B5dy1hCYZqPhriFxrHLyq6oC8HEwFaRccXvbyc94kgYJNF_Q2kSCnk9XQiGtqX9DT1eoZWtpSHUqolba_htJg8HYnPSzQEbQMvP-lsKDxz3pDNaxc3pR5NwXI_s/s400/folder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343819840010742354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Denovali, 2009</span><br /><br />1. Beginning<br />2. End<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the crushing debut release from three-piece German act Kodiak. It features only 2 tracks yet spans just shy of 40 minutes; opening with such a melancholic cello intro (courtesy of Emelie Molin from Audrey) leading into some of the most vast, downtempo sludge/doom ever.<br /><br />The mournful lilt of Emelie's cello conjures images and emotions of the passing and procession of royalty, or the embarking of a lonely but glorious expedition, deep into the snow-laden valleys, from the eyes of the wives whom were left behind. If this were a film then the coming of the guitars would herald a shift in scene where we now all but helpless in watching the long, slow struggle and turmoil of our protagonists as they dredge onwards.<br /><br />Kodiak put a lot of focus on brillliant structural progression, just at a very lethargic pace. The first half, <span style="font-style: italic;">Beginning</span>, may start with sorrowful strings but its 18 minutes builds into thick, destructive doom.<br /><br />Although maybe not brimming with as much epic as Hyatari, I'd easily classify Kodiak's self titled debut as the most emotion-rich drone I've heard; which is quite an achievement considering it's no more than just deep guitars and drums.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recommended if:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Becoming tearful over the glory of dredging guitars makes you feel whole.<br /></span></span><div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Similar:</span></div><span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Earth, Khanate, Hyatari</span><br /></b><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Homepage:</span> <a href="http://www.denovali.com/kodiak/">www.denovali.com/kodiak</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Myspace:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/kodiakdoom">www.myspace.com/kodiakdoom</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Last.fm:</span> <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Kodiak">www.last.fm/music/Kodiak</a>J. Arcadiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06642025802508266586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387378120448392524.post-18851376475717129382009-06-04T07:52:00.000-07:002009-06-15T15:59:43.930-07:00Hyatari - The Light Carriers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifB76Tm_dOzZaz5DDLhkqO_pZ1lxwud_DryE0u8BbPdNZo7PBvKdFc9rzwwvNXVyrkSqRyroO85XGaELam9aTZLDFbtZLQqkJS2DAv3k22cWT4lgVTolzOlvoeZbDfI6WHcejAHuDWup8/s1600-h/thelightcarriers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifB76Tm_dOzZaz5DDLhkqO_pZ1lxwud_DryE0u8BbPdNZo7PBvKdFc9rzwwvNXVyrkSqRyroO85XGaELam9aTZLDFbtZLQqkJS2DAv3k22cWT4lgVTolzOlvoeZbDfI6WHcejAHuDWup8/s200/thelightcarriers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343497078085701410" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Codebreaker, 2005</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. Sheet of Flames</div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Freeform for the Disenfranchised</div><div style="text-align: left;">3. The Light Carriers</div><div style="text-align: left;">4. Fourth Realm</div><div style="text-align: left;">5. 14,000,000,000 Years Ago</div><div style="text-align: left;">6. Harvesting Sod</div><div style="text-align: left;">7. Collapse</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hyatari - whose name is slang for peyote - are a way-above average drone band out of West Virginia, USA. Eschewing the aimless wandering of many drone bands, these guys have a purpose and a goal with their Godflesh-influenced industrial droning: to rattle the bones of the universe until they turn to dust. Just look at those titles! "Sheet of Flames", "14,000,000,000 Years Ago", "Collapse" - you don't get more bloody epic than that!</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first edition of the album was self-released and comprised a single tracks sans titles, but the wider release on Codebreaker has been cut into seven songs; each track marker is in an entirely logical place, but nonetheless the album surges onward without pause in a monolithic 45 minute slab that will smash your face in before pounding the Earth to a bloody pulp.<br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I'd like to draw attention to the use of dynamics on this album which is, in my opinion, simply brilliant: there are moments when the bass suddenly drops out and leaves a most beautiful feeling of freefalling, and the barely-audible samples buried deep between mountainous guitars really fuck with your mind.<br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recommended if:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">You've ever wanted to know what the death of the universe would be like but were too scared to go there.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Similar:</span></div><div><span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Nobody. Seriously.</span><br /></b><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Homepage:</span> <a href="http://www.hyatari.com/">www.hyatari.com</a> (not working as of 04/06/2009)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Myspace:</span> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/hyatari">www.myspace.com/hyatari</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Last.fm:</span> <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Hyatari">www.last.fm/music/Hyatari</a><br /></div></div>Somebodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04939759933746915790noreply@blogger.com0