Pretentious Music for Pretentious Musicians

[boothten]

[size=1]Lately, I find myself listening to [b]Between The Buried And Me[/b] a lot. I'm sure they need no introduction, and if you do need one then for shame! Here's one anyway, just in case you're one of the few unlucky ones: they're insanely good. On their CD, "Alaska," the guitarists do their part in making ears melt and eyes.. bubble, I suppose, haha. They have crazy solos, especially in their song "Selkies: The Endless Obsession." If I'm not mistaken, it's a 7 minute song with [i]at least[/i] the last three of those 7 minutes being a really good guitar solo. They guitarist is crazy good at sweeping, I can't think of who their lead is, but he's crazy good at everything guitar related, lol. Both guitarists are, but anyway. They have breakdowns aplenty, all of which are really nice and not always the cliche slow tempo breakdowns typically done by bands of the hardcore/metalcore/-core genres. The drummer I think is one of the best out there, hands down. Not only is he a jazz drummer, which I find to be awesome, but I'm seriously considering the idea that he may be a robot with at least 4 arms and maybe like an extra leg or two. He's incredibly technical, and the technicality of the drums and the guitars makes for an incredibly good combination. Not to mention how good the vocals of Thomas are, it's just a really good band. If you take nothing else away from what I've typed, take a listen to "Autodidact" on their CD "Alaska." Be prepared for a mind-blowing finale. Not even joking around, the ending to that song has to be the single greatest breakdown I have EVER heard.

I'm done for now, but I'll be back with another band. And if anyone feels I've made a mistake with what I've typed, feel free to correct me on it, if it is correct that is.
=][/size]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]I can help you out with following BTBAM's members, haha. They're local so I'm kind of sick of hearing about them.

Tommy Rogers did vocals with From Here On, well, him and another guy.
Paul Waggoner (I think that's your lead guitarist) was in a really amazing band called Prayer for Cleansing.
and Blake Richardson plays drums in Glass Casket, also, he played for Advent.

The first two bands have albums on Tribunal Records, and Glass Casket and Advent have MySpaces, they'd be the ones based in North Carolina, in case there's a million Advents.[/font][/size]

[Jakehammaren]

Alright, [B]Agalloch[/B] is by far the most awesome band that's been mentioned thus far. That [B]Strike the Choir[/B] band was downright generic, and we can't have that on this thread. Keep going guys, there has been some cool stuff in these posts.

[boothten]

[quote name='Goodbye, Face'][font=arial][size=1]I can help you out with following BTBAM's members, haha. They're local so I'm kind of sick of hearing about them.

Tommy Rogers did vocals with From Here On, well, him and another guy.
Paul Waggoner (I think that's your lead guitarist) was in a really amazing band called Prayer for Cleansing.
and Blake Richardson plays drums in Glass Casket, also, he played for Advent.

The first two bands have albums on Tribunal Records, and Glass Casket and Advent have MySpaces, they'd be the ones based in North Carolina, in case there's a million Advents.[/font][/size][/QUOTE]

[size=1]Yeah, both the guitarist and the drummer are in Glass Casket, which is also an insane Progressive Metalcore band. I knew Tommy played in another band, but I couldn't remember the name for the life of me.

What genre is Prayer For Cleansing? I've heard of them, but never taken the time to actually check them out on MySpace or anything.

Has anyone here heard of Gojira?
I recently just found out about them through a friend on another forums board and, while a little hesitant at first, decided to check them out. What I discovered seriously blew me away. They're a really heavy Death/Trash Metal band from France, who have some -core influences (which I really like, haha, nothing like a nice breakdown). Anyone interested should check out their MySpace and listen to the song "The Heaviest Matter," cause it's insane. It's up there on the "heaviest songs I've ever heard" list. It was fantastic, and I really loved the beginning. That nice breakdown near the beginning of the song was just incredible. It wasn't a cliche breakdown, which would be really slow and whatever, but it has a nice tempo to it and I liked it. I could see a fat mosh pit opening up, it was nice.

So, has anyone heard of them?[/size]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]Prayer for Cleansing is metalcore, but it's a LOT different from most. They do a really good job of sound really... sinister. They definitely have a more metal edge than most metalcore bands.

Actually, they sound like Killwhitneydead would if they took themselves seriously.[/font][/size]

[0ber0n the Neko]

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]To [B]Oberon[/B]: Well, the whole reason I ended up listening to [B]dredg [/B]was because I was looking for a band that was similar to [B]Coheed[/B], and if you listen to[B] El Cielo [/B]and then listen to [B]The Second Stage Turbine Blade [/B]by Coheed, there's a ton of similarities in my opinion. While I do agree that [B]TMV [/B]and dredg don't necessarily sound alike, they still have enough similarities for comparison, I think. Both are a great, unique experience, though.[/color][/quote]

Yeah, but people have said the same thing about Coheed and Tool for, like, ages. I have listened to both "el cielo" and "The Second Stage Turbine", and while there is a degree of similarity, it's mostly because Coheed tries to sound like every "underground" (I say this knowing full well that neither dredg nor Tool are underground) prog rock band.

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy']To [B]Jake[/B]: I've not lisened to much [B]Blind Guardian[/B], mostly because I have a hard time listening to folk metal bands that aren't [B]Ensiferum [/B]because I always feel like [i]'I could be listening to Ensiferum right now...'[/i][/QUOTE]

Oh, god... Jake is going to have a trollgasm.

To put whatever he is about to say lightly...

Blind Guardian isn't a folk band. Technically, neither is Ensiferum, but Viking Metal is, I suppose, a breed of folk.

[Jakehammaren]

GAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Blind Guardian isn't folk metal! It's power metal, plain and simple.

And Blind Guardian is far from "textbook power metal" - and that is exactly why I enjoy their music. Most power metal gets on my nerves very easily, but Blind Guardian's incredibly complex song structures and composition really set them apart. Their music (at least in their prime ["Imaginations From the Other Side" through "A Night at the Opera"]) is entirely based on rennaisance music, which makes for a very unique listening experience. There are countless moments across those albums that are straight-up brilliant on a technical level, and there is no denying that it's impossible not to sing along with their prolific anthemic choruses. Anyone who doesn't like power metal should pick up a copy of either "Nightfall in Middle Earth" or "A Night at the Opera" and re-evaluate their opinion.

As far as Ensiferum is concerned, it's tough to say... To me, it sounds like power metal with a very, VERY distinct concentration on folk/Viking styling.

As for whoever was asking about the almighty, ineffible [B]AGALLOCH[/B]...

You're going to hear a lot of differing opinions on their three albums. They have developed and changed their sound for every single release. I am of the opinion that their latest masterpiece, "Ashes Against the Grain", is their magnum opus. I feel that the songwriting is most focused on this album, and I really like the fact that the post-rock influence gets a lot of attention as far as the proper songs are concerned. There is a very consistent atmosphere throughout, and every single song (not counting the final track, which is just white-noise and static) is a perfectly-crafted work of art. You can tell that every single note on this album was carefully placed to achieve the perfect effect. The entire thing is truly breathtaking.

Many will argue that "The Mantle" is their best - this seems to be the most popular opinion, and for a long time, I was part of this camp. "The Mantle" is absolutely, positively brilliant and epic in it's own right. It has a far more 'woodsy' feel to it, as it is more organic overall. I really love the layering of classical guitar over distortion that happens at various points throughout the disc, the lyrics are pure poetry, and the instrumental interludes are absolutely engrossing.

"Pale Folklore", Agalloch's first foray into genius, is my least favorite album of the three (but I still love almost every moment of it). My main complaint about this disc is that it seems very unfocused at times. The transitions are a bit abrupt or unseemly at various points, and some of the songs don't flow together as well as they'd like to. But again, Agalloch's incredible, omniprecent atmosphere cloaks every single note on the disc, and all of the songs are beautiful and captivating in their own right.

But whatever you do, be sure to pick up at least one of Agalloch's albums. They are, without a doubt, one of the most unique, interesting, and straight-up awe-inspiring bands around. Highly, highly reccommended. No, that's not strong enough. Here, this should sum it up:

[U]Agalloch is f***ing [I]mandatory[/I].[/U]

[0ber0n the Neko]

To Jake:

I'm sure you already knew this, but I'm of the "The Mantle" camp. It's mostly because I have a very strong emotional attatchment to the songs, and they all have that sweeping, "leaf-falling-in-the-wind" type song structure.

I have to agree, "Ashes Against The Grain" is, perhaps, their most focused album. It's well done, has its heavy moments, and still manages to shine. "Not Unlike The Waves", "Limbs", and "Our Fortress Is Burning II - Bloodbirds" all manage to convey a sense of sublime, amber emptiness that makes me absolutely adore this album.

"Pale Folklore" is probably the reason why I feel bad about saying "The Mantle" is my favorite album. It's just proof that ALL of their material is solid, artistic, and worthy of a careful, studied listen.

Also, I must agree. Agalloch is mandatory.

However, Blind Guardian still sucks. There's nothing pretentious about them. Maybe you should listen to some Meshuggah?:p

[Aberinkula]

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Ugh. It's still hard to decide, but I think I have an idea of what to get. Maybe someone should strangle [B]Agalloch [/B]and force them to make one huge album with everything. Urm, compilation album I should say. I'm getting some more money this week, so I'll take a trip to FYE and see if they have [B]Agalloch [/B]in stock. [spoiler]Bastards better have some, or I'll beat em.[/spoiler]

God, if only I was a pretentious musician... eh, as long as a song has a story in the lyrics, good instramentals, and catchy vocals, I'm game. (Unless it's rap. I've been really hateful against rap lately. And country bugs me, except for Carrie Underwood.. <3)[/COLOR]

[Jakehammaren]

[quote name='0ber0n the Neko']
However, Blind Guardian still sucks. There's nothing pretentious about them. Maybe you should listen to some Meshuggah?:p[/QUOTE]

No.

So Premonition, which Agalloch album do you think you're going get?

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]Prem should get [B]Ashes Against the Grain[/B]. My decree. The other too are too far-out for him to wrap his mind around yet.

As for OberOn's opinion that [B]Coheed [/B]'tries to sound like very other underground prog-rock band'... no. I don't understand why two bands can't be similar without one 'trying to be the other'. Especially since [B]dredg[/B], coheed, and TMV all came about around the same time, all three have a different sound on each of their albums, and share enough similarities that if you like one, you should try out the others.

It sounds to me like you just like dredg more than Coheed and therefor try to degrade them or just think of them lesser. Personally, I like Coheed about the same as dredg, if not more, and I think they deserve credit for what they do and shouldn't be treated like some little rip-off band.

Also, I just picked up El Cielo, which is pretty damn cool so far. Lot of surprises on there which is nice.[/COLOR]

[Aberinkula]

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Well Jake, I intend to get [B]Pale Folklore.[/B] It's best to start at the bottom and work your way to the top. So I'll start from the first album, and if I enjoy it (which by the way everyone's talking I will) I'll buy the next two in the order they were realesed. But, if the store is out of [B]Pale Folklore[/B], I'll have to get what I can find. I also intend to buy a [B]Coheed and Cambria [/B]album as well. I heard [B]The Suffering[/B], and it sounds really good so I'll see about that. But I still need to find [B]Saturate [/B]from [B]Breaking Benjamin[/B], or maybe the second [B]Disturbed[/B] album.

Ugh... I need a lot more money. >_> But I should have enough to buy two albums. If not, it's [B]Agalloch[/B].[/COLOR]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]IV is seriously Coheed's worst album, but then again, if you can actually stand/like "The Suffering," I guess you'll love it. Please, do us all a favor and get The Second Stage Turbine Blade instead. One of the best albums I've ever heard, ever. Every album of theirs since has been a major disappointment.[/font][/size]

[2010DigitalBoy]

[quote name='Goodbye, Face'][font=arial][size=1]IV is seriously Coheed's worst album, but then again, if you can actually stand/like "The Suffering," I guess you'll love it. Please, do us all a favor and get The Second Stage Turbine Blade instead. One of the best albums I've ever heard, ever. Every album of theirs since has been a major disappointment.[/font][/size][/QUOTE]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]I agree that [B]IV [/B]is their worst album cuz it's to damn poppy. It simultaneously is their most concentrated and yet most sell-out release.

[B]The Second Stage Turbine Blade [/B]is probably among my top 5 albums of all time, and I can say good things about [B]In Keeping Secrets [/B]as well. IKSOSE: 3 is mostly good, there's only 2 or 3 tracks that I can't stand...

IV isn't necessarily a bad album, ti's just that too much of it sounds the same and some of it is simply uninteresting. There are maybe 5 songs that I think are geat, and the rest is total [i]meh[/i].

They just released a new song on their myspace that is pretty good, but it seems like the new release might be a lot like IV. The song is sort of the style of Ten Speed.

As for [B]Agalloch[/B], don't expect to find them. At all. I had to go to a local retailer that has almost everything to get [B]The Mantle [/B]and [B]Ashes against the Grain[/B], and I never found [B]Pale Folklore [/B]in any store. I ended up buying it off of [B]Amazon[/B].com... (I even paid 30 bucks total to have it shipped overnight :p)[/COLOR]

[Jakehammaren]

[quote name='Premonition'][COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]Well Jake, I intend to get [B]Pale Folklore.[/B] It's best to start at the bottom and work your way to the top. So I'll start from the first album, and if I enjoy it (which by the way everyone's talking I will) I'll buy the next two in the order they were realesed. But, if the store is out of [B]Pale Folklore[/B], I'll have to get what I can find. I also intend to buy a [B]Coheed and Cambria [/B]album as well. I heard [B]The Suffering[/B], and it sounds really good so I'll see about that. But I still need to find [B]Saturate [/B]from [B]Breaking Benjamin[/B], or maybe the second [B]Disturbed[/B] album.

Ugh... I need a lot more money. >_> But I should have enough to buy two albums. If not, it's [B]Agalloch[/B].[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Alright, but if you don't enjoy Pale Folklore, don't stop there. As I said, they've gotten better and better with each release.

[Justin]

Oh, but Meshuggah=metal.

By the way, I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you. My internet has been off. I'm sending you some lyrics tonight or tomorrow night.

I have one thing to say here: Has anyone noticed the prolific amount of metal(ish) bands that have put out new albums this year?

Just a few-

3 inches of Blood(amazing)
the Black Dahlia Murder(amazing from what they have online)
Through the Eyes of the Dead(the music pretty much rips tBDM, and the vocals are a bit out of place)
Throwdown- Pantera raped Throwdown, and there was a child. It's called Venom and Tears.
the Red Chord- yessuh.
Job For a Cowboy- Ah, yes. The infamous Myspace pillager. Chief among false metal and Lord of Scenesters. All that is totally true...on the last record. Genesis is totally solid for fans of true, brutal death metal.
As I Lay Dying- They tried, and they failed. Half the album is a good effort at real, thrashy goodness. The other half...I'm not sure what the hell it is. But it's ******.
Nile- Hails yeah.
Behemoth- *spooge* I'll be back after I clean up...

....
...
..
.

Ozzy- What? Ozzy? Yes. Ozzy.

Aight. I've had enough.

-Justin

[Jakehammaren]

Haha! I take it the key part of that intro sentence was:

metal[B][I]ish[/I][/B].

[Justin]

Yeah. I'm trying to tell you...that new As I Lay Dying...son, that is [i]exactly[/i] what metal oughtta sound like.

I'm still put-off about your feelings towards Meshuggah. I mean, c'mon. Who doesn't like to feel like they're wading in a cesspool of re-rejected Lamb of God riffs and used Six Feet Under guitar strings? Geez...

On another note, one more something-metal band with a new record this year: Iced Earth. I'm just gonna keep adding to this list.

Oh, yeah...Dethklok. This one's important.

-Justin

[2010DigitalBoy]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]Kam, buddy, the sign on the door read 'pretentious'. Pretty much anything that can be easily compared to 2 or more bands should not be mentioned here. [/COLOR]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]I saw this live the other day and I was just blown away:

[url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=8fUJxOS0BGw[/url]

It's the middle part of three, if you want to see more. I think the video is pretty self-explanatory. They're Invisible, I think they're pretty new, and they play some ridiculously weird music that I can't even explain. They play a lot more instruments than what's shown in any of the videos.[/font][/size]

[Claire]

[quote name='Goodbye, Face'][font=arial][size=1]I saw this live the other day and I was just blown away:

[url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=8fUJxOS0BGw[/url]

It's the middle part of three, if you want to see more. I think the video is pretty self-explanatory. They're Invisible, I think they're pretty new, and they play some ridiculously weird music that I can't even explain. They play a lot more instruments than what's shown in any of the videos.[/font][/size][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Arial"]O_O

That's freaking amazing. I'm in love.

...and I'm speechless.[/FONT]

[Lethargy]

[quote name='Goodbye, Face][FONT=arial][SIZE=1][URL]http://youtube.com/watch?v=8fUJxOS0BGw[/URL][/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkGreen][B]Exceptional[/B].

However, I suggest that the lead guy on the mic replace his "[B]white boy[/B]" dancing with a [B]guitar[/B]. It'd make the song better.


Or possibly an [B]accordion[/B].


Actually, he could pretty much replace it with [B]anything[/B] and it'd be better.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]Well, in most cases, that guy is the bassist. The guy in the red who is playing the cello is usually the guitar player, but he plays other stuff too. When I saw them, he traded off with the drummer for two songs.[/font][/size]

[Lethargy]

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=darkgreen]It's been a week since the last post so...[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]


[SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=darkgreen][B]There is no such thing as "[U]Progressive Rock[/U]" anymore.[/B][/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]


[SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=darkgreen]Discuss.[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[Jakehammaren]

[quote name='Lethargy'][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=darkgreen]It's been a week since the last post so...[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]


[SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=darkgreen][B]There is no such thing as "[U]Progressive Rock[/U]" anymore.[/B][/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]


[SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=darkgreen]Discuss.[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

There's not much to discuss. That statement is simply false.