Rick's Discoveries Volume XXV
Posted 08/09/2012 09:41AM by Rick Gebhardt as Rick's Discoveries
Want to know what the key to true happiness is? New music. So here's some stuff to check out. Go. Be happy.
Sinew - Pilots of a New Sky
Progressive alternative rock has been a genre with some stellar bands cropping up in the last few years, as well as seeing stalwarts releasing superb efforts of their own. Sinew, on their sophomore effort, channel some of the best there is in the genre. They would fit right at home between listening to Porcupine Tree, Karnivool, Oceansize, and Junius. And if you even think about questioning Sinew's prog cred, just listen to the 13+ minute epic "The Descent to the Heart of Mount Sadhana."
Oddland - The Treachery of Senses
I'm surprised that there haven't been more progressive metal bands that try to marry some of the currently trendy metal styles (ie: djent, tech-death, etc.) with more classically accepted prog metal stylings (read: sounding like Dream Theater). Oddland take a stab at doing the new meets old sound by planting themselves firmly in the traditional prog metal realm while adding some slightly mechanical, TesseracT-ish guitar tones, some Opeth-like melodic sections, and even the occasional Leprous-like non-metal musical diversion. But don't be fooled by the name-dropping of those bands; Oddland is still very much a traditional prog metal band… they're just trying to evolve the sound a bit, and it definitely works!
3 Pill Morning - Black Tie Love Affair
Radio-rock is not usually my forte. There are some decent bands in the genre, but it feels like for every 10 Years I find there are about a hundred versions of Shinedown I have to wade through. 3 Pill Morning are one of the few decent bands to rise above the usual radio-rock fare. They have 10 Years' pacing, the occasional Chevelle tonality, and the chorus creating ability of Thousand Foot Krutch. This leads to an instantly listenable album, even if it's been done before.
Headspace - I Am Anonymous
Headspace is probably best described as a proggy prog rock band with some heavy prog metal influences. Yeah, if you haven't guessed, the name of the game here is… prog. You've got lengthy tracks, solos, multiple movements within songs, hints of pretentiousness… it's all here. So if you enjoy bands like Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Ayreon, or Fates Warning you should feel right at home listening to I Am Anonymous. It'll satiate any prog lover's appetite.
Endevor - 296 Above Parallels
How do I classify this album? It's definitely leans in a post-hardcore direction, but it's also filled with some pretty meaty riffs throughout… not a song (other than the intro) clocks in under 5 minutes… there are pieces of sludge metal influence to be found… but there's also some Junius-esque prog rock elements. And then you have the well placed piano and keyboards throughout. It's like you tossed together Hands, TesseracT, Emarosa, Junius, and Caspian into a salad bowl, tossed heavily, and had it for dinner… the ingredients are very diverse, but the combination simply can't be beat.
Bend the Sky - Origins
Australia, you are simply the country for good music nowadays. Bend the Sky will wow you with their mastery of symphonic & progressive styled instrumental metal. The key to a good symphonic metal album (in my mind) is well placed, accentuating, appropriate keyboard usage while the key to progressive metal is fluid movements throughout songs and a strong sense of being able to create necessarily complicated soundscapes. Bend the Sky does both of these things supremely well. It's like you mixed Dream Theater, Katatonia, TesseracT, and Within Temptation together, but kept vocals out of the mix. It's lovely.
Mutiny on the Bounty - Trials
It's pretty much a given that we'll never get old Minus the Bear back. That doesn't mean their influence can't still be felt in other bands, such as Mutiny on the Bounty. Whereas MtB have changed their focus to hone in on catchy songwriting, MotB feel solely focused on showing how technical they can be in the math/indie/post-hardcore realm. This isn't a bad thing at all, but it can leave you exhausted at times as you try to digest everything the band is doing. Thankfully, they toss in a few breaks, allowing you to catch your breath for the next intricate salvo of guitar and bass noodlery.
Violet - The Brightside
I'll admit right away that at times Violet try to stretch themselves a little too far, but I'd rather see a band pushing themselves than playing it safe. On The Brightside you'll no doubt pick up some Dance Gavin Dance influences, most notably in the combination of the clean vocals (which are very Johnny Craig-lite) and harsh vocals (which are slightly better than Jon Mess). There are some musical flourishes that are very DGD-ish as well, but you also have some more standard post-hardcore approaches to be found. I think these guys can really take off if they iron out some of their vocal issues (both vocalists really try to stretch their ranges too far).
BT - If the Stars Are Eternal so Are You and I
With all of my recent infatuations with dubstep and related styles of electronic music, I've sometimes forgotten about some of the artists that originally got me into electronic music. BT was one of those artists. He's slowly evolved throughout his career from doing more straight forward trance to soundtracks to ambient. With this album I think BT is at his strongest, creating sprawling audible landscapes, texturing his ambient style with some glitch and mellow dubstep elements. He demonstrates here he knows how to craft fully realized compositions that completely utilize their run times (4 of the 7 tracks on this album are 11 minutes long or longer). Epic ambience has never been a term I thought I'd use until I heard this album.
Lorn - Ask the Dust
As soon as you flip this album on, you'll instantly feel way cooler than you actually are. It'll feel like the world is moving in slow motion while you smugly take everything in; you're above it all and you know it. This album feels custom-crafted for slo-mo cinematic scenes. There's a deep low end that anchors everything, while pieces of downtempo dubstep litter the IDM landscape created. There's even a faint trip-hop vibe to some songs. Just go listen to this already and bask in your newfound awesomeness.
Comments
Columbus, OH
Rick's Discoveries: the Nick Senior edition. Pretty much everything on this list is something I have and like or something I need to check out.
Currently Listening To:
Lo!- Monstrorum Historia
HeavyArms- Burning Crowds
Shining- One One One
Fishers, Indiana
oh god oh god DGD band must listen
Top Albums: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 || Tumblr | Twitter
Fishers, Indiana
holy shit they basically are DGD.
Top Albums: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 || Tumblr | Twitter
Minnesota
Everything I do, I do it for you.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Minnesota
Pretty much... but a slightly rougher around the edges version of DGD. I'll take it, though.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Reno, NV
New music does indeed make me happy. I might have to check that Sinew album, heard some of the others, haven't heard some of the others. Sinew may be the only new one I check out of this batch.
Top Weekly Artists Last.fm
El Paso, TX
Sinew is pretty good but the vocals don't really do it for me. Endevor, Bend The Sky and Mutiny On The Bounty are awesome though.
London, UK
I was really impressed with how Sinew reinvented themselves from their debut, when they were an (admittedly enjoyable) Tool, Fair To Midland, Perfect Circle clone. Also Oddland is one of my favourites of the year, one of those albums I just am always happy to listen to.
Currently listening to:
Jolly - The Audio Guide To Happiness (Part 2)
Leprous - Coal
Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Is The Killer
Amorphis - Circle
Hope For The Dying - Aletheia
Best Of 2012 - Best Of 2013
Milwaukee, WI
Lorn's release is one of my faves this year. He sounds unique in his genre and never, ever stoops to bro-step. For people who want something a bit darker with their electronic music, that's it.
I kinda wonder aloud if you've seen my reviews on RYM for this and Milo was the other one, I think. They both popped up on your discovery lists shortly after I wrote reviews. I'm not whining there, I'd just be happy to know that someone out there listens to me. I'd chalk it up to coincidence, however.
Baton Rouge
Good pick with that BT, Rick. If the Stars Are Eternal... is my style of electronic music. And that cover art is magnificent.
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Minnesota
I follow a bunch of people on RYM, and will often check out stuff people review. So if you reviewed them, it might have been you that sparked my checking them out!
Find me EVERYWHERE:
