Posts tagged music
Top Albums of 2009
Dec 23rd
Traditionally, this is the time of year where I pick my favorite musical releases of the past 365 days (366 on leap years). This year will be no exception. And…man was this year a gigantic change from last year. Whereas 2008 was kinda slow for music, 2009 was a flood, especially the second half of the year. Quality release after Quality release just kept right on coming.
So without further delay, lets get right into it:
#1 – Transatlantic – The Whirlwind
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
My number 1 this year is one of my most anticipated albums of all time, which is a followup to my absolute favorite album of all time (Bridge Across Forever). After spending most of the decade on hiatus after Neal Morse turned his energies to writing christian inspired music full time, The members of Transatlantic got back together and came right out swinging again with The Whirlwind.
It’s not nearly as good as Bridge Across Forever, and the sound has progressed from what it used to be, but honestly so have the members of the band. The lyrics, too, have evolved, from being simply spiritual to actually having some religious overtones. I don’t find that distracting enough to count it as a knock on the wonderfuly constructed musical content of this album.
The best parts are when the guys just seem to jam. There isn’t a band out there that has the writing chemistry that this guys do. the 77 minute title track feels cohesive, with themes introduced in the Overture coming back again and again through the song.
Transatlantic is back in busniess and I’m immensely excited to be seeing them live in April.
#2 – Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
If you asked me at the beginning of the year whether the upcoming Dream Theater album was going to be making my top list this year, I would have been doubtful after 2007’s Systematic Chaos fell (very) flat. After it was released though…wow. I was taken totally by surprise, often randomly saying to Wassy things like “Man, I can’t believe the new DT album is so good!”. It was my surefire number 1 until Transatlantic came out.
What we have here is a continuation of the sound of Systematic Chaos but with the missing elements of the Dream Theater sound and, more importantly, song structure added back in. John Petrucci owns this album with his solos, especially The Best Of Times. And Jordan Ruddess, prone to overplaying, reins himself in and plays for the song, not to see how many notes he can squeeze into a bar of music.
That’s not to say the album isn’t technical. It is. But it’s renewed focus on song structure and melody are what makes it work 1000x better than Systematic Chaos did. The only song that falls flat for me is Wither, which just sounds like a dated power-ballad. The Piano version is much better.
I want to specifically mention The Best Of Times which is a song written by Mike Portnoy as a tribute to his father who has recently passed away. Just hearing it for the first time gave me chills (and I even teared up towards the end). The epic guitar solo is one of the best solos I’ve ever heard. Ever. There’s so much emotion and feeling that was poured into the song and it really shows.
#3 – Muse – The Resistance
Muse - The Resistance
This album was a sleeper for me. Released the same day as the latest Porcupine Tree release, I expected it to get passed by as I spent most of my time with The Incident. However…that’s not how it turned out at all.
I loved it on first listen, and every listen after that caused it to grown on me even more. I find it very interesting that Muse is a mainstream band, and yet their sound (especially on this album) has so many progressive rock elements to it. They’re geniuses. They’ve managed to trick the mainstream into listening to prog!
Muse wears their influences on their sleeves on The Resistance, inspired by bands such as U2 and Queen. But instead of a straight up copying of their influences sound, they take it and add to it something that’s uniquely Muse. The United States of Eurasia is clearly Queen inspired, but it’s also very Muse like.
Also they’re not afraid to throw even classical influences into the mix, including the likes of Chopin. Not to mention the Exogenisis Symphony that closes the album. The entire thing feels like it’s Muse sticking it to the entirety of mainstream music, and they’re being embraced for it.
#4 – Long Distance Calling – Avoid The Light
Long Distance Calling - Avoid The Light
This album was also a bit of a surprise for me. I’m not normally one for purely instrumental music as I feel a lot of the time the song structure isn’t interesting enough to really differentiate one song from another. But on a tip from the members of Mike Portnoy.com forums, I went and checked this band out.
What I found was quality instrumental progressive rock, with definite song structure and pacing. They understand how to build a song up from the beginning to a climax and make it interesting. Furthermore, the drumming is really good, probably my favorite part of the album.
It’s not entirely instrumental though, as there’s one song with lyrics which is also enjoyable. The vocalist sounds a lot like the guy from Katatonia, actually.
My only complaint is that it’s a very short album, but I’ll take quality over quantity any day. If you’re a fan of instrumental rock, you own it to yourself to check out these guys.
#5 – Redemption – Snowfall on Judgement Day
Redemption - Snowfall on Judgment Day
Redemption was one of my discoveries from 2007 after seeing them open for Dream Theater in Buffalo, NY. I’ve had my eye on them since. These guys are a progressive metal band fronted by Fate’s Warning’s Ray Alder, backed up by a quality group of players. I really like Ray’s vocals on these releases as I think this type of music fits his style more than Fate’s Warning.
Anyway, this particular release is nothing really new or pushing the boundaries of the genre or even their previous releases. What it is, though, is a rock solid progressive metal album in a genre full of dream theater wanna-be’s who are very much not putting out interesting or quality music. Redemption clearly is influenced by the giants in the Prog Metal field, but they put their own spin on it and make it their own. This album also features some excellent lyrics, another thing that’s hard to find in the Prog Metal genre.
Throw in a track featuring a Duet with James LaBrie of Dream Theater and you’ve got a great album. Don’t mistake me when I say it’s nothing new. It’s still quality material.
Other Releases
- Porcupine Tree – The Incident
A solid, if disappointing release from PT. It clicked after seeing it live, but I need to be in a certain frame of mind to really listen to it. - Epica – Design Your Universe
A little too reliant on the growling, but this is one of Epica’s strongest releases Musically yet. - 3 – Revisions
A collection of redone and re-recorded songs from 3’s past, this release is good, but not great. The new version of The Game is a bit dissapointing, but I’m really happy with the rest of the songs. - Jordan Ruddess – Notes on A Dream
Jordan records his own piano versions of several Dream Theater songs. I like his focus on the songs that pre-dated his joining the band. His versions of Another Day and Hollow Years are stellar. I love having this on in the background. - OSI – Blood
The weakest of the OSI releases. Just didn’t grab me like the other ones, but it’s got some good songs too it. I think they tried to be a little TOO heavy and that’s not where OSI shines. The best parts are the more ambient songs like Terminal and Radiologue. - Umphrey’s McGee – Mantis
Part prog, part jam band release. This group was one of my new discoveries this year. Very nice for when I’m in the right mood. Some songs lose me a bit, but the first half of the album is very good. - Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition
An album that’s a lot less dark than their previous efforts. Some good stuff here, but it doesn’t quite capture the magic of Second Life Syndrome. Feels a little too short too. - Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Night Castle
The instrumental parts are awesome. The lyrical songs are terribly, terribly generic. Lots of filler here. Somebody needs to make a TSO lyric generator. It’d be pretty easy. Just throw in lots of children, dreams and people singing “on this night” - Scale The Summit – Carving Desert Canyons
This one is good in small doses, but all of their songs sound very similar after a while.
Honorable Mention
Bigelf – Cheat The Gallows was an album that was released last year, but one which I discovered this year. Take The Beatles, Pink Floyd and a liberal dose of evil and throw them in a blender and you get Bigelf. Really cool retro sounding music with a modern twist. Go see them live for full effect…the studio recordings just don’t capture them adequately.
Transatlantic. Live. Wooo!
Dec 16th
The day I had been dreading/looking forward to has arrived. Transatlantic tour dates have been announced! I knew they would play New York City but I was worried that would be the only north east location they were going to be playing since it’s a fairly expensive trip there.
But they’re playing the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia too! Located just south of the historical district (like, within walking distance of everything). The show is on a Saturday (April 24th 2010), so I can get down there and get back without losing any time at work.
Now I just need to work out the small details, like figuring out the parking situation and where I’m going to shack up for the night…
I’m so glad I’m able to go to this show. This tour with this group of guys has a really good chance of never happening again, ever. Although I hope that’s not the case.
Caught In The Whirlwind
Nov 2nd
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
As I mentioned, my most anticipated musical release of the year has arrived in my hands as of last week. And since then I’ve had the time to dig in and digest it a bit, so now it’s time to review.
If you’ve missed all of my previous postings on Transatlantic, let me describe the group a bit. They’re a progressive rock super group consisting of Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater on drums, Neal Morse ( Ex-Spock’s Beard) on keyboards and most of the vocals, Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings on guitar and the rest of the vocals and Pete Trewavas from Marillion on bass. Their music is in the classic era progressive rock sound, like from the 70s when prog was starting to really pick up steam. But it’s very modern as well. They’re influenced greatly by early Genesis, Yes, and The Beatles among others.
So after an 8 year gap between albums, does Transatlantic still have it? My answer is: Yes! As soon as I started listening to the album for the first time I got a grin on my face that didn’t go away for quite a while. The overall sound is a bit different, but the guys are in different places musically now than they were 8 years ago so a shift is to be expected. The writing chemstry is still in place and that’s what really counts.
The album is basically one giant 77 minute song. And as opposed to the most recent album in my collection that tried this approach (Porcupine Tree’s – The Incident), The Whirlwind succeeds in making it feel like a single piece instead of songs strung together with some transition bits thrown in. Recurring lyrics and musical themes weave through the piece and tie everything together.
The fact that all 4 of them were excited to be back together and producing music shines through clearly in the playing and musical composition. Of special note are Pete Trewavas’s bass lines in this album. He’s always been an exceptional bass player, but he’s outdone himself on this release. I don’t usually sit there and listen to the bass specifically in a song, but here I often find myself mesmerized.
My only complaint with the album revolves around the lyrics. While generally really good, Neal Morse’s dive into overtly Christian/religious music after he left Spock’s Beard has left it’s mark here as well. In a few spots, I find the lyrics to be slightly uncomfortably preachy and what was once spiritual overtones that were subtle in the past albums became much more distinct here. It doesn’t detract much from the album for me, but it’s there and it’s something I could really have done without.
The production and mix are perfect. No loudness war crap everything sounds amazing. Even Mike and Pete’s vocals which can be shaky at times are really impressive here.
Is it better than Bridge Across Forever? Well…no. But Bridge Across Forever is, as far as I’m concerned absolutely perfect in every way. Be that as it may, Transatlantic is back and The Whirlwind is a worthy addition to their musical legacy. This is probably my #1 album of the year, in a year with some incredible albums.
On The Edge
Oct 23rd
It just hit me that I’m anywhere from a few short hours to a few short days away from holding in my hands my most anticipated musical release of the year, Transatlantic new album, The Whirlwind.
Hopping into the way back machine here, to September 2002. At this point, I was already on my way with the Progressive Rock/Metal conversion and I was eagerly branching out from Dream Theater into other bands such as Spock’s Beard and Symphony X. I was going through and checking out some of the side projects that the bands were involved in and came across Transatlantic’s album Bridge Across Forever. I instantly fell in love.
Transatlantic is a Progressive Rock super group, featuring Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, Neal Morse from (at the time) Spock’s Beard, Roine Stolte from The Flower Kings and Pete Trewavas from Marillion. Their music is hard to explain. It’s very complex progressive rock, with heavy beatles influences (not surprising since all 4 members are HUGE beatles fans), with bits of Spock’s Beard and The Flower Kings and Marillion thrown in there for good measure too.
Bridge Across Forever quickly became one of, if not my absolute, favorite albums in the history of all times. I still spin it regularly and every note of every (long, long) song has been burned into my brain. After buying their first album, I became anxious to hear more new stuff. That wasn’t to be though.
Fast forward one month, and in October of 2002, it was announced that Neal Morse had become a Born Again Christian and was, at the direction of God, quitting both Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic to focus on more religiously influenced music. Spock’s Beard continued onward, although changed signifigantly as Neal was the driving force in their music. I’d go so far as to put him up in the list of Musical Geniuses along with Steven Wilson. Transatlantic, however, couldn’t continue without him. He was just too big a part of the band and the guys felt it would be weird to continue without his input. I had just discovered Transatlantic, and just like that…it was no more.
As the years went on, I continued listening to the roughly 2 hours of music that they produced. For the past couple years there’s been some rumblings of a potential Transatlantic reunion but I wasn’t holding my breath. Last year, 3 of the 4 members of Transatlantic played together at a prog festival, sparking more rumors of a reunion. Then, in April 2009, Pete Trewavas was spotted in an airport in Montreal headed to Nashville (where Neal Morse lives) and the rumors started flying even more.
Then the album was announced for real. Almost 8 years after their last release and 7 since I had known about them, Transatlantic was back together and recording a new album. And people who preordered the album have started getting it in the mail today.
So needless to say, I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for my copy to arrive. Soooooon!!!
The Incident Revisited
Oct 2nd
The Incident
Well it’s a couple weeks since the release of Porcupine Tree’s new album, The Incident and I’m going to revisit and revise my opinion of it.
I’ve had a chance to spin it a couple more times, as well as hearing it live and seeing the video show. There’s also been some stuff happening recently that’s thrown me into an entirely different state of mind than I was in last week.
As a result of all this, The Incident (the 55 minute long title track) has finally clicked for me. I’ve wrapped my head around it and I totally get the vibe that it’s trying to give off now. It’s not the best thing they’ve ever written, but it’s not the disappointment it once was. I’m quite enjoying it.
Of course, it clicked just in time for a new group of albums to drop next week. The biggest one I’m looking forward to now is Redemption’s Snowfall on Judgment Day.
Two Days In Philly
Sep 28th
I have returned from my weekend trip to Philadelphia. As mentioned earlier, my friends and I had been planning on heading south to see Porcupine Tree in concert at the Electric Factory in downtown Philadelphia.
Philadelpha
There was a slight hitch in plans though, as Jay who got hit with a stomach bug earlier in the week was still feeling horrible Saturday morning, so Wassy and I were on our own for the trip.
Things started off uneventfully. We decided not to take the Pennsylvania turnpike down because of the potential for horrible construction, but we hit our fair share on the way anyway. One section of road was closed for about 4 miles with people who seemed to let random amounts of cars through the one available lane. And then as soon as we hit pennsylvania, it was construction galore. The runner up to most annoying construction zone was through Quakertown where they had a major road reconstruction project going on. It was slow going for us, but the other land was totally stopped for miles. We decided at that point to take the Turnpike back and avoid the horribleness.
The most annoying though was about a mile away from the hotel. They had set up cones closing off (for reasons totally unknown) the left lanes of a 4 lane (2 in each direction with a turning lane) road. This caused the last mile of our drive to the hotel to take roughly 10-15 minutes. And then as soon as we got into the hotel, they took the cones down! Jerks!
After that began the search for dinner. We had planned on hitting one of the Olive Gardens in the area, but we had some difficulty with this plan. The first one as plotted by my GPS didn’t exist. The second one existed but was totally full with no parking anywhere in the parking lot. The third one was also totally full with no parking, so we settled on Papa Johns pizza.
Then we made our way out to the venue. I had to game the GPS a bit to prevent it from making us drive straight through downtown Philly. And thankfully, Wassy and Jay had just gone on a trip down there for a wedding and knew about the evilness that is the Roosevelt Boulevard. If you are unaware of this road, I will direct you to this visual aid. Take a normal road with 6 lanes in each direction and then split it into 4 roads with 3 lanes each. In between each of the roads going the same direction, add some little merge lanes so you can go between the sections. If you need to turn right you need to be in the outside set of roads. If you need to turn left you need to be on the inside set. And if you’re in the wrong set of roads and you miss the merge lane to get you to the right set, you’re in trouble. So thankfully, Wassy was around to make sure I was on the correct road as the GPS doesn’t understand this setup at all.
We got to the venue without too much trouble, aside from having to park way the heck away in the event parking lot. Parking was only $10 though…I was thinking it would be more. The venue was pretty cool. Looked like something to come out of Guitar Hero actually. It’s a converted Electric Factory (hence the name of the venue) with some animations of machinery on the wall and 2 full bars on the upper and lower right hand side of the room as you face the stage. Pretty cool vibe, but it’s unfun being packed in like sardines on the floor.
The show itself was pretty cool. We watched King’s X and the first half of Porcupine Tree’s set from the back of the floor and then after we got tired of getting crushed by people trying to squeeze into places where they can’t possibly fit, we moved upstairs and listened to the rest of the show from the bar while watching on the video screens they had set up. PT’s second set was really cool and had a lot of treats, including Strip The Soul into .3. They had some sound issues in the second set, but nothing too bad. Trains in the encore was also really cool with everyone clapping in time and singing along. Overall, I wouldn’t mind going back there to see a show, as long as I didn’t mind not actually seeing the band all the time.
The drive back was abysmal. It was raining…at night…on unfamiliar roads…unfamiliar 4 lane highways…with lots of traffic. We somehow managed to make it back to the hotel ok though, and after Wassy scared the crap out of me (She was sitting over by the window after I came out of the bathroom into the dark room. I thought she was in bed, but she wasn’t. Once I got over to my bed she said quietly “It’s awfully dark in here…” and it freaked me the heck out).
The next morning I got up before her and went down to the hotel lobby to plan our route to the Philadelphia Museum Of Art. Wassy wanted to go to complete a couple of school requirements, as well as to look around at their collection. So I figured out the best way to get there and wandered back up where I was informed that the roads in the area of the museum were going to be closed due to a charity run/walk. Daaaaaahhh!!!!!
Philadelpha Museum Of Art
I managed to find an alternate route and we left expecting horrible traffic in our future, but we were able to make it to the museum parking garage without any problems at all. The first thing we did was walk around to the front of the museum where the famous steps are that Rocky ran up in the movie.
Being a tourist, I had to grab a picture of the stairs since I was right there…but I declined to do the whole “Run up the steps and celebrate once you reach the top thing”. Much too tourist-y for me. Plus there’s an awful lot of steps and it was very slippery out.
Thankfully, not 30 seconds after we arrived at the steps we were graced by the presence of not one, but two individuals making the famous run. Or trying to. One of the guys had to stop to catch his breath halfway through. But the first guy made it, allowing me to snap this picture:
He’s the guy in the middle with his arms raised. The guy on the right hand side is also running up. You can click on it and see the original size in Flickr for a better view. Every single time we looked out a window at the front of the museum, there were people making the run up.
French Cloister
The museum itself was REALLY cool. This was my first time there and I didn’t realize that they had more archetectual installations than actual art. Entire columns from old temples and churches (even the entire front of a church). They also had a bunch of recreated rooms, like a chinese study and an old kitchen. The coolest two was a French Cloister (pictured above) and a Japanese tea house sitting in a garden.
Celestial Woman
One of the coolest things though was the HUGE collection of Indian art and artifacts. The exhibition that Wassy used for her assignment was particularly cool. Ragas and Rajas: Musical Imagery of Courtly India. You can read more about it there but I’ll briefly summarize. It’s an exhibition of works that went hand in hand with the music of the court of India’s rulers. The pieces were amazing, very vivid colors and amazing detail with a style that looked a lot like it came from ancient egypt…except they were mostly painted in the 1600-1700s. And accompanying the exhibit was the music. It was extremely neat.
They also had a bunch of other artifacts from India and Nepal on display, including a Buddha statue that had about 40 hands, all giving the metal hand sign (throwing up the horns as it were). Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of a lot of stuff since I was too busy looking at it all. What I did take is in my Flickr photoset. We enjoyed the museum so much that we skipped out on going to the bakery we had planned on visiting and picking up some butter cake from.
So when we were done with the museum, we started the trip home, with a pitstop at an Olive Garden in Binghamton. This time it existed and it wasn’t busy, so we finally got our never ending pasta bowls. But we could really only eat one, so they ended pretty quickly.
But the drive back, in the Philly area was all about traffic and construction again. I-76 out of the city was packed and slow moving in places and the turnpike was also packed for quite a while. Oh yeah, the best invention of all time in highway toll roads is the EZ-Pass express lanes. No need to even go through the tollbooths or slow down. Awesome. Although speaking of EZ Pass, I’m afraid to look at my statement to see how much all of this cost me…
Once we got sufficently north of Philadelphia, the traffic thinned out and the driving was a lot easier. We started to wonder if we were going the wrong direction though because every time there was a construction zone, the way we were going, north, would be clear but the way south was backed up for miles with cars trying to make the merges. Strange.
Despite the heavy rain at night making it nearly impossible for me to see much in the way of lane markers on the roads and the guy who thought he would just make a left hand turn in front of me across my path of travel at an intersection that would have caused a pretty nasty accident had I not seen him, we arrive back at the apartment around 8pm. Just in time to unpack and get settled in for sleeping.
It was a fun trip, although I’m sad that Jay wasn’t able to come with us. I really want to go back to check out the rest of the art museum as we only had time to view about half of the main building. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it back down there again soonish.
Random Happenings
Sep 18th
I’ve got a few things to report about since my last update.
First of all, I think I’ve finally settled on a basic color scheme/design for my mom’s quilting/craft website. I’m still tweaking it at the moment and I’m trying to decide if it looks too…web 2.0-y for the craft content. But I finally found something I liked well enough to take it out of the initial planning stages. Going to see if I can get some more work in on it during my lunch here.
It’s a good thing that’s getting finalized too since one of the first projects in the Digital Typography course that I’m taking is to do a business card/letterhead/envelope for something, so I figure I can work her up some stationary while I’m at it. The course is coming along quite well. We’ve finally started working on the computer and with InDesign which I’m finding pretty cool. I’m learning some stuff and generally enjoying myself which is a pretty good sign. I’m not regretting the decision to go back to school.
On a totally different note, I got a little bored yesterday and continued my blog transfer. I’ve got everything that I’ve posted on Vox from when I signed up through November 2006. Once I get out of 2006 the months will speed up as I settled into more relaxed posting style.
Lastly, on a product review front: The new Muse album has REALLY grown on me since I posted my initial review. The weaker songs clicked and it’s become one of my favorite albums of the year. Which only serves to diminish the Porcupine Tree album more…Oh well. I’ve also been enjoying Scribblenauts. But I’ll save that for a separate post when I get a minute to do a proper review.
The Incident
Sep 16th
Porcupine Tree - The Incident
I mentioned yesterday that I’d be picking up the new Porcupine Tree album on my way home from work and pick it up I did.
As per usual, I’ve had a chance to spin it a couple times and…my feelings on this album are complicated right now. But first a description.
It’s a 2 disc album, CD 1 is entirely taken up by one long 55 minute song called The Incident. The second disc contains 4 separate songs. It’s definitely a move away from the heavier direction Porcupine Tree had been taking over the past several albums into more of the space-y, pink floyd aspects of their sounds. Steven Wilson isn’t one to be told what to do, as this album is proof of.
Now for my feelings. I like the album and it’s a solid effort. It just…right now feels like there’s something missing from it. I can’t pin down what exactly, but I’m having a hard time really connecting to it as much as I have past PT albums. There’s a lot of cool individual parts to it but I haven’t gotten a feel yet as to how these bits connect to each other.
When I was listening to it last night, I came to the realization that I think I’d like the album a lot better if it wasn’t associated with Porcupine Tree. Because there’s an expectation there that puts the bar so high for quality… If any other band came up with this album, I’d feel differently about it. It’s kinda a weird feeling.
So it’s definitely not my favorite PT album. But it’s a good effort and it feels like it’s a grower. I’m going to spend some quality time listening to it and trying to figure it out over the next few days and we’ll see if my opinion changes. Some reviews I’ve seen say that it takes 4-5 listens to really “click”
The Music Explosion Begins!
Sep 15th
Muse - The Resistance
The section of the year which I’ve been looking forward to/dreading the most has arrived. From now until the end of October there’s a parade of new music that I’m looking to buy. I’m going to be a very poor individual indeed.
First up this week, was Muse’s new Album, the Resistance. I’ve spun it a few times so I think I can make a coherent mini review.
Muse continues their arc from the more guitar driven songs of Absolution into the invasion of synths and more electronic elements in Black Holes and Revelations to the much more synth driven The Resistance. It’s a very solid album with a couple of dissapointing spots in it which hold it back.
The opening track Uprising firmly establishes it as as Muse album. It’s a straight ahead rocker with lots of energy and it’s something that Muse is very good at. There’s some analog synth action to be had on this track which sets up the tone of the album to follow. The same vibe seems to flow forwards into the second track Resistance, but the chorus is something that’s pretty different for Muse. This song has a bit of a U2 feel to it at times.
These two songs pave the way for my least favorite song on the album, Undisclosed Desires. There’s no guitar at all and it’s very…pop-y. It’s the weakest track to me. I don’t hate it, but I have a hard time getting into it. That may change as time goes on.
However, the album makes up for it with United States of Eurasia next. There’s some epic piano work on this one. The song structure reminds me very much of Queen. By far my favorite track of the album so far. Guiding light returns back to the heavy synth style and I think it’s quite cool. I think I need some time for this song to really click with me, but it’s promising.
Unnatural Selection is another more guitar driven rocker with some very strange and proggy sections and then there’s MK Ultra which switches back to a heavier synth sound while keeping up a higher energy level.
I Belong To You is a strange song. Some very nice piano throughout breaking in the middle to insert a piece of music by a french composer (Saint Saens) and after a short reprise of the main theme, it heads into the final 3 tracks of the album: the Exogenisis Symphony.
The symphony is really cool. Very beautiful and atmospheric and very different from anything Muse has ever done before. It retains a few signature Muse stylings of course, but it’s a sign of a band that doesn’t want to get pigeon-holed into a certain style after achieving some success with it.
Very solid album and it grows on me with each listen. One other thing I wanted to mention was that the bass work on this album is very nice. Muse has always had interesting bass lines, but these are out of the park good.
Next up, I’ll be picking the new Porcupine Tree album up on my way home from work (and scribblenauts for the DS…couldn’t resist that). I should have some thoughts on Porcupine Tree tomorrow. I’m a bit apprehensive because that album has gotten some mixed reviews.
[Plinky] Memories And Music
Aug 19th
What three songs remind you of a specific time in your life?
Amazon is being fruity right now, so I’ll put the pictures in later. But here’s the answer
The New Math by OSI
This OSI album will forever remind me of Scuba Diving. That’s a little odd considering the fact that the album doesn’t have the slightest thing to do with scuba diving. But I was taking a scuba course at the local college when it came out and I remember sitting in my car listening to it, waiting for class time.
This song reminds me of a fish purchasing trip with my friend Wassy. I had just gotten Fear of a Blank Planet (the album this song is on) and was playing it in the car while we were driving around. Later she said “That music you were listening to sounded really cool. What was that?”
That sent her on a musical journey into Progressive Rock and Metal and all of my favorite bands, which was cool because finally I had somebody to talk to about this stuff and go to concerts with.
Fatal Tragedy by Dream Theater
Speaking of musical journeys…this song was my introduction to Dream Theater and Progressive Metal. I heard it as a random pick on the old internet radio station Echo. Echo was a station that learned your musical preferences and played songs you might like along those lines…one of the first ones that did that. It also randomly played a song that was outside your likes and dislikes occasionally, to potentially broaden your horizons.
Well, the random pick was Dream Theater and I really enjoyed it a lot. It took a year or two for me to really check it out further. But once I did, I got Scenes From a Memory and I was hooked. My journey into Prog Rock began.
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