Music Appreciation Thread

[KawaiiKyouko]

@Aristo
Yup, this is Morfeus' fun project, created by him. Certainly known for his time playing live for Mayhem, but I'd like to liken this more to his time in Limbonic Art where his synth was a masterpiece second to none. But as my friend said, "Dimension virker som ett band hvor Krister kan gjøre hva faen han vil", which translates to "Dimension seems like a band where Krister (Morfeus) can do whatever the fuck he wants." Which I feel is true, after listening to many of his unreleased tunes. In Limbonic Art he just seemed like a dog in a leash, after all. And that's why his synth parts in Dimension is so extravagant in a way.

My friend is Nasreten, or Atle Brekke, current bassist and former drummer in Dimension. He also plays in some other Black Metal bands, Kirkebrann and Visegard, though thanks to some medical issues he can't play drums anymore. I met him through our work, and we're now work partners and good friends.

And yup, Morfeus wants the band to have the type of instrumental play which was common in the original Norwegian BM scene, simple and yet effective. His focus in Dimension seems to be: "I want to make cool synth music, so I'm doing it" and after talking with him for some time I can agree to that testament.

As for me, I'm more or less sworn to that raw, haughty and rough feel in my BM, for instance Nattens Madrigal from Ulver which is my alltime favorite band. So to me, while refreshing, doesn't particularly peak my tastes. However I do love industrial metal, so it's not a bad match either.
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I'll let someone else review Horna though. I'm a bad reviewer!

[FrankenDaughter]

@KawaiiKyouko

THERE ARE NO BAD REVIEWS (There are mostly bad reviews, but you haven't been bad yet from what I've seen, so...)

@Aristo

Oh god, Finnish metal. We're doing this right now I guess.

That's part of why I prefer this thread actually. If something is challenging to listen to and I still want to post, I'm going to listen to the whole thing. And I'm glad, because that means I got to sit through this story.

I am reminded, sitting here, of a lot of the things I started listening to after I binged all of Rooks'n Kings' video content. There's even the possibility that I've heard this as the melody marches on. I'm taken back to my childhood, playing Hexxen. I'm transported to very old webcomics with dark thoughts in. There is something deeply nostalgic in the work being done here that speaks to my sensebilities as a storyteller. The distortions and grit of the sound speak to dream states and tapestries of violence. The harpy screech of the vocalist struggling to be heard over the din and at other times being given just enough reprieve to screech through clearly... there is such a large story in this that I've listened to it twice so far to see if I can nail anything down.

This is, if nothing else, too big for one narrative. I am impeded by my inability to understand Finnish, but I can't imagine that there's just one story being told. The audience is trampling through a gray canyon, the torrential weather of guitar riffs and droning snares driving them forth and the wretched shrieking of a banshee rooting them to the ground in moments of brief, paralyzing terror. The final calls send them on into the blasted badlands beyond, no less harsh, but free of the banshee that guards the deep crevasse they have braved.

It is metal as fuck, in short. Jesus. Gonna have to listen to more in the rare times I am want to listen to metal.

I'm dead for a bit.
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Most wholesome use of the word Fuck, bar none.

[Burning Kitty]

youtube.com/user/miracleofsound/videos

[AlteredTundra]

@FrankenDaughter

Well shit, that was quite the adventure. To think the phrases "fuck me" and "make me cum come again" could actually be tied into something loving takes a brilliant songwriter. Such obscene phrases aren't typically weaved so organically into such a tender, vanilla fluff-fluff meaning. And taking that aside, the arrangement is so chill and mellow. I honestly can't say much else about this song because what I have said pretty much sums up my thoughts about it.

A great song. The length really didn't bother me at all. To be quite honest, I didn't even notice the length because I was finding myself having a glorious time enjoying this song.

I know you don't believe in numbered grades. And that's totally cool, but I like to assign them because it's something I enjoy. So, with that being said, I give this song a solid 9/10.

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This song has easily won a place in my heart after I listened to it a few times. Honestly, I'm in love with the "New Retro Wave" channel on Youtube. I found this particular one through it(among others, of course).

[Mortalya]

@Altered Tundra The song and video are very juxtaposed in tone. I closed my eyes a couple times and the song seemed sad, but when paired with the video the whole piece seemed tongue and cheek. I do applaud the animation, such tedious hours are required to make this as smooth as it is. I'm not the biggest fan of music without the benefit of instruments, but it is very clear the artist of this knows their way around their craft.

7/10

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I apologize if the next person doesn't have a taste for this kind of music. I implore you, see it to the end. It's best when played loudly!

[TheMadAsshatter]

First impression; this is definitely not English. Second impression, this sounds like something from a Disney movie like The Jungle Book or The Lion King or something. I actually kinda like it. Not something I'd listen to habitually, but would be a great song for a movie soundtrack. 7.5/10

Gonna mix it up a little with something a bit more soulful.

[Heat]

@TheMadAsshatter I'll rate an 9/10. It's groovy and deeply soulful. I was bobbing my head to it. I'm digging the bassline and instruments overall. The singer's voice is smooth.

[SleepingSilence]

7/10 Perfectly solid, albeit a little short song. I just listened to the more recent album track by this band, I found it to be better/more unique, maybe a bit more cheesy. (The Doomed) I should try listening to their album in full, but I have a century long list of albums I've yet to listen to...

Another example of this. The chanting in the chorus makes it instantly cheesy and awesome.

[Heat]

@SleepingSilence 5/10. It's alright, kinda bland but also kinda catchy. Also didn't realize right away that was Chris Jericho, surprised he's a good singer.

[AlteredTundra]

@Heat I see you're still on your Black Queen binge?

Anyway, good song. Beat is pretty sweet and everything else that followed flowed well in the song in all the right ways. I kind of get a The Cure vibe from this certain track - well, vocal-wise, that is. Aside from that, I really enjoyed this track. This whole project is so unorthodox but I can't say I'm not loving it(Because I am).

7/10

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[SleepingSilence]

@Heat Oops. Just realized I forget to use mentions. Been a while. xP

@Altered Tundra 7/10 I can always enjoy another female fronted rock band.

Wasn't sure what to put here, I chose one that wasn't really as interesting as other ideas. But I didn't want a low rating because of the genre again. *crossed fingers* Hope you like electronica. :P

[Goliah]

@SleepingSilence

7/10. Interesting but not really grabbing me. About 54 seconds in it starts to get catchy but apart from the chorus it just doesn't seem to be my thing. It\s very atmospheric and calming, but I don't typically listen to calming, atmospheric music unless I'm in a specific mood.

[SleepingSilence]

@Goliah Fair enough, it's really only an okay song with a slightly interesting video. There's far better music in this style, I just was trying to think of recent music and it was late, so didn't have many options in mind.

6.5/10 Bleeps in songs, drive me nuts unless it's done with comedic effect. The vocalist just kind of yells. (and isn't Mewithoutyou.) so impressive lyrics aren't there to make up for it...nor is it emotionally strong. (which is odd since it's suppose to be about sexual assault?) The instrumental was good enough, warmed up on me at the end and a solo always helps. I have a feeling maybe their other songs may be better? Just listened to another song to check out their discography. And Chaos Never Fails To Appeal is more enjoyable song. Focuses on more catchiness/fun something the bands vocalist/lyrical quality seems better suited at doing.

Everyone's a critic, here's something with emotional yelling. ;3 A rare hardcore vocalist that does his genre good. IMO. (If you like this song, just listen to the whole album. It's quite enjoyable.)

[Heat]

@SleepingSilence 5/10.

Wasn't huge on the kinda rambling, raving vocal style. Not really my style, I dig some hardcore punk but not really this.

[SleepingSilence]

@Heat That genre was more hardcore, without the punk. :P

6/10 That song was definitely a punk/talking style voice. I appreciate when a band can have a good time. I hate music video interruptions and sound effects that disrupt the song, but it wasn't that bad. Decent listen.

Maybe I can convince someone else to give this guy's who never listened their album's a try. So I won't be alone. But this progressive rock done right.

[FrankenDaughter]

@SleepingSilence

Phew. Flashbacks to jogging down the Riverwalk with my stepskip in time with the beats, looking like a mobile seizure.

Mars Volta has a special place in heart as my most disappointing concert experience of all time. For a band so taken with exquisite studio work, they puty on a terrible live show, something I discovered when asking around was not an isolated experience. It's a personal gripe I will always remember that leaves me very cautious about attending live shows of any band that works so hard on their production.

Setting that aside, this is actually one of my favorite songs by TMV. It has parts that are truly a joy, and it has one of the most irritating outros out of any of their songs. It presents a lot of everything that is good and bad about the state of prog rock in the past 20 years. It is in many ways a perfect song to sample the genre at its time.

Fuck TMV though. 7/10.
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Moving on:

Been doing a lot of recovering recently and found out that El Radio sounds like a completely different fucking album after you've suffered serious abuse. I still don't get why Dirty Night Clowns gets all the hype; the following song in particular, as well as Over And Over, are much nicer gems, I feel.

[SleepingSilence]

@FrankenDaughter Aw, that's a bit of a bummer to hear. Just started listening to them, very late to party on a lot of bands of this nature. I still would like to go through more of Pink Floyd and other bands I feel I'd enjoy but just haven't sat down to listen to full albums of there's yet. But nice to hear about personal stories. I rarely have the ability to go to concerts, but that's something I would always enjoy to do.

7.5/10 I enjoyed it, sort of went back and forth between maybe a little slow and emotional. If you prefer this style, you should try listening to something like Damien Rice or Freighted Rabbit. (if you haven't already heard of them.)

I also just listened Dirty Night Clowns to see if his material all sounded the same, but it made me interested to maybe give the album a try. Certainly different. Reminds me more of Regina Spektor. I appreciate variety when I can find it. And maybe more people can participate in this forum so I wouldn't be the only one going back and forth. Ha ha.

I posted enough actual intellectual rock and emotional music. Now how about some really stupid pop. Because sometimes, you need a smile. And this a song that puts a smile on my face, ironically or not. I'm not sure. :P

[Kassarock]

@SleepingSilence

Ha! Good to see that Poppy is still doing stuff, I hadn't heard anything from her in a while. The lyrics were really funny in this, but I didn't like the song as much as some of her earlier stuff such as Lowlife. I don't know about this turn towards more comedic material. I always thought of Poppy as a kind of weird art project about hollywood conspiracy theories, but I suppose the weirdness and the mystique couldn't be kept up indefinitely. I remember the original creepy feel of some her videos, especially the ones of the robot interviewing her, absolutely blew my mind when I first saw them. Anyway was still good and I'm glad she's still about.

Right then, time for some Maximum the Hormone.

[SleepingSilence]

@Kassarock
Ah, Maximum the Hormone. A band, I couldn't imagine the average person enjoying. But I'm not one of those people. 8/10
(No part is bad/boring, but around 2:20, is where the song basically connects for me and becomes a pretty good song.)

Album's solid.

[FrankenDaughter]

@SleepingSilence

Metal is easily one of the genres on most picky about. it's difficult for me to explain all of why that is. I once had a friend in the late auts that would send me three or so songs a week; new metal from all across the globe. And for every aong I liked, there were four that just wound up being a chore to listen to.

Beyond Oblivion is definitely in that vein for me. It is a best good for some dark revelry, but the genre as a whole is difficult for me because I generally want to paint the things that feel negative in a calm, upward spiral. Kimya Dawson, Sufjan Stevens and the like. There is metal out there that I love, but it very often borrows lyrically and even structurally from punk, where it isn't just punk with metal elements (The Distillers, for example).

Rated nope. Sat through the whole thing and just grew sullen over time.
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Girlpool is my jam, from the sometimes flat/dissonant vocals to the working class disgruntlement.