I've been on a real TOOL kick lately. I hadn't listened to them in a long time and had forgotten how great they were (are?). "Lateralus" is a masterpiece for the ages, IMO. I love how they mix metal with progressive and turn it into something that's almost spiritual in nature. At least that's how I hear it. TOOL are probably a bit more mainstream than what others here are posting, but I was really excited back in 2001 to hear such amazing creativity coming from a band that appealed to a newer generation of metal fans as well as older hard rock/metal listeners.
A Google search of this forum's threads only yielded 4 results for this album, so I'll take a shot at reviewing it: Only Living Witness--Prone Mortal Form (1993, Century Media Records) Jonah Jenkins: Vocals Craig Silverman: Guitar Chris Crowley: Bass Eric Stevenson: Drums Tracks: 1. Prone Mortal Form (5:17) 2. Root (3:17) 3. Voice Of Disrepair (4:54) 4. Silo (1:38) 5. VTA (2:01) 6. Slug (4:03) 7. Twitching Tongues (3:39) 8. Nineveh (4:35) 9. Darkly... (1:39) 10. December (4:45) When I've enjoyed an entire hard rock or heavy metal album, I notice a driving or catchy riff on nearly every track. Prone Mortal Form, which I purchased with some other metal albums recently, has quality riffs throughout 8 of its 10 tracks. The overall sound has elements of metal, but I would describe it as heavy rock: I was thinking of 70s hard rock, Helmet, and Soundgarden while listening to these songs. Onto the tracks: "Prone Mortal Form": the title track was a midtempo number with a metal-type riff and strongly sung vocals by Jenkins. The lyrics were inscrutable to me (example: "If I champion misfortune, is it just/just an extension of/dismantling a pale facade/my disdain for convention"), but the music's momentum caught my attention. When there were solos in a song, they were short and flowed with the main riff. After hearing this song, I hoped the other ones would have equally good guitar riffs. "Root": the riff where I thought of Soundgarden; it's a 90s take on 70s hard rock. Very catchy guitar flowed to a short solo 2 minutes into the song. The thought after two tracks: can they keep up this quality? "Voice Of Disrepair": a more uptempo track began with a relatively generic riff that could have been from any number of early 90s bands. At the 1:55 mark, however, the guitar shifted to a riff reminiscent of the opening track and bulldozed its way to the finish. Three for three in quality riffs. "Silo" and "Darkly...": these two tracks featured acoustic guitar and lovely single line melodies instead of riffs. These interludes reminded me of "Laguna Sunrise" from Black Sabbath's Vol. 4: instrumental respites before resuming action. "VTA": the most uptempo track on the album had a similar feel to "Voice Of Disrepair." It began with a generic riff; halfway through the song it transitioned to a slower, heavier guitar sound. The finish redeemed this short, 2 minute track. "Slug": my favorite track on this album featured a slower, midtempo riff like "Root." The bridge riff at 1:42 helped make this track the heaviest feeling on the album, yet retained a catchiness that was present through most of the album. "Slug" captured the Best Riff title for its consistent quality throughout the track. ---video for "Slug"--- "Twitching Tongues": Only Living Witness began as hardcore punk band, and some of the guitar parts in this song reveal that heritage. The riffs here had me recalling parts of Helmet's Meantime album. This song was a better uptempo track than either "Voice Of Disrepair" or "VTA." "Nineveh": the template established in "Voice Of Disrepair" and "VTA" appeared again in this song. The second half riff derived its power from the contrast with the beginning riff. "December": a "Children Of The Grave"-style drumbeat opened this track, followed by a chugging midtempo riff representative of the whole album. The downtempo shift to the outro riff capped off an excellent album. Upon hearing the last track, I reminisced about 1993: my neighbors that year loved playing Ministry's "Stigmata" and Helmet's "Unsung" nearly every day. I wish I knew about this album back then: it would have complemented those songs perfectly, and I would have played it as often as my neighbors' favorites. Rating: ***1/2 out of **** stars
I don't see why not. Just leave politics out of it. And now for something completely different, here's Bill Steer (of Carcass) with BABYMETAL.
Nice review! A question..... I liked the song & the riffing but - was there a guitar solo? I didn't notice one. A heavy rock song without a guitar solo is like pizza without cheese
I thought about reviewing this one myself. Nice job with the review! Maybe we'll introduce some of Jonah Jenkins's other projects at some point.
Burzum is cool with me, but, yeah, let's stick to the music and not focus on Vikerness's views on things.
I've been really digging the two albums from The Wretched End lately. Much more accessible than Zyklon, though I'm pretty much a sucker for anything "Emperor" related...
Back to power trios. In all my years of music addiction, this is my favorite "holy crap who is this friggin' band!!!!" discovery out of nowhere - Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, from Denmark. There are three songwriters/singers/guitarists that I feel are musical geniuses in the rock world - Pete Townshend (Who needs no introduction, pun intended), Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), and Tim Christensen of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy. Tim has some kind of unearthly ability to write catchy melody lines that he both sings and plays on guitar - in his solos too - sometimes playing/singing at the same time - also he employs a lot of changing of keys mid-song (a Pete Townshend influence perhaps, although Tim is a total Beatles freak btw). Over the years D.M.L. has become something of an obsession for me. I cannot get enough of them. BUT THEY ONLY EVER RELEASED TWO STUDIO ALBUMS. So I've had to make do with those two, their three live albums, multiple "best ofs", demos, and collecting unreleased live shows. So I'm gonna ramble a little here....like when do I ever do that? They were big in their native Denmark winning multiple "Danish grammies" at the time of their first album (1994), and became a sensation in Japan after being given airplay over there. I believe that if they had been British, American, or just had been promoted/toured in the UK & USA, they could have been as big as bands like Rush, Pearl Jam, U2, etc. But then again, I believe that King's X should have been as big as those bands too but they never really took off, so take that with a grain of salt. The main core of their appeal to me is the songwriting of Tim Christensen (also the singer and guitarist). This guy can write songs with melodic hooks like nobody's business - and when Tim's songs are put through the blender of heavy influence from bassist Martin and drummer Søren, you (or I at least) have hard rock heaven. And although I do not pay attention to lyrics much, the fact that English is Tim's second language, some of his lyrics are kind of strange obscure lines that are almost mystically impenetrable. Don't ask me what most of his songs are about, I haven't a clue - what the hell is a "Barbedwired Baby" let alone a what does a BB dream about (Barbedwired Baby's Dream)? What is the significance of "67 Seas" and how do they fit in somebody's eyes (67 Seas in Your Eyes)? And strangely the word "garden" appears in several of his songs (how many songs reference gardens that you've ever heard?). The first album - Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (1994). Tim Christensen – guitar, vocals Martin Nielsen – bass Søren Friis – drums 1. Waterline Intro 2. Waterline 3. Barbedwired Baby's Dream 4. Love Is a Loser's Game 5. Glory 6. 67 Seas in Your Eyes 7. Silverflame 8. Love Me a Little 9. Mother Nature's Recipe 10. ...And So Did I 11. Wishing Well 12. Hidden War 13. For God's Sake 14. Too Close to Stab Japanese bonus track: 15. Hurry Hurry This album is kind of raw sounding (but very well produced) when compared with their next record. It is kind of an early Pearl Jammish type of sound & vibe. Personal favorite songs are below (but the whole album is great). I have to call special attention to Glory and Silverflame. If you only check out two of these songs make it these. Glory is the one that first caught my ear with the incredible repeating riff echoing the melody and the jaw dropping short guitar solo. And Silverflame....wow...what more can I say but this is the Danish "Stairway to Heaven". I love this song to death. I believe that Tim was a TEENAGER when he wrote these songs! Unbelievable. Silverflame Opening track Waterline Intro + Waterline (backwards guitar & all) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmmY8aeiHQU Glory (One guitar, one bass and a drummer - that's really all it takes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH6Gvtpiirw That guitar solo (around 2:40) is to die for. Short but amazing. The beautiful Love is a Loser's Game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh0jC04LGxk 67 Seas in Your Eyes with wah pedal guitar freakout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6MvWj8Xy-8 Hidden War; another beautiful song, with mystical lyrics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UquHPSlQlVQ To be continued - I have to talk about the 2nd album as well, which I like even more than the first one.
Soma by Windhand Asechiah Bogdan: Guitar Dorthia Cottrell: Vocals Parker Chandler: Bass Ryan Wolfe: Drums Garrett Morris: Guitar Heavy Stoner /Doom/ Metal/ Sludge band from Richmond VA. because most of the Virginia doom crew's oeuvre maintains a pulse just above flat lining, they constructed a mournful yowl they can call their own. Their secret weapon – other than heaping servings of feedback – is frontwoman Dorthia Cottrell, whose vocals sound as if she's singing them from another realm. This is some heavy plodding music I mean they are not going to break any speed laws. But there not supposed to. This is there sophomore effort on Relapse Records.
I thought I'd muse on this band a bit if people don't mind. I found about Only Living Witness about 15 years ago from, if I remember correctly, a Century Media compilation. I used to order from Century Media a lot and I'd get these Identity comps and Only Living Witness was one maybe two of them. I liked getting these comps because I could usually find out about a band or two that had a sound I liked, but I wasn't aware of. This was before the days of the internet being huge and everything at your fingertips, pretty much. So, yeah, I liked the songs on the comps and wound buying their two albums (they have another one called Innocents). I've dug the band ever since. Sadly, their drummer, Eric Stevenson, who was kind of the main guy of this band, died sometime back, but that's not why the band cratered, I don't think. It was just a matter of them splintering and doing other things. Jonah Jenkins has a pretty impressive resume with bands he's been in. Off the top of my head, he's done Milligram, Raw Radar War, and, I'm forgetting what else ... maybe something with Karma to Burn? I can't remember, but there's other stuff. I met him once at an Emissions at the Monolith show in Youngstown, OH in 2004 and while he was nice, he seemed very intense at the same time. I guess that kind of figures in terms of the music he's done. Anyway, that's my little story about Only Living Witness. Great band.
I like Windhand more in theory than in actuality. What I mean by that is I don't listen to them much. That's, unfortunately, the case for me and a lot of music I own. I'm not bragging but more stating a sad fact and, perhaps, a revealing problem with myself: I'm somewhat of a music packrat. I acquire tons of CDs and vinyl and never listen to it or if I do, it's a cursory listen to something and into the racks it goes. Someone on here once asked the percentage of what you listen to in your collection, and thinking about it, for me, it's probably only about maybe about 5%? Maybe a bit more. I've got a rack of roughly 1,000 or more albums I own that I've never listened to. There are thousands more than I've only listened to once or twice. The truth of the matter is I have the stuff I know I like and I tend to return to that stuff instead of venturing out and listening to the unknown. I guess it's a safety thing or something. Okay, that was waaay too blog like, so I'll shut up now and we can return to the rock!
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy - Rotator (1996) 1. Thorn In My Pride 2. Run 3. Rotator 4. 11:07 PM 5. Back-Bone-Beat 6. When the River Runs Dry 7. Break 8. I Like Surprises 9. Riff Sang 10. Take It or Leave It 11. Find My Way 12. Two of You 13. Rise and Fall 14. Outro Japanese bonus track 15. Pain Before My Eyes Tim Christensen – guitar, vocals Martin Nielsen – bass Søren Friis – drums After the big success of their first album in Denmark and Japan, Dizzy released a short live album in 1995 for the Japan fans, named after a lyric in the song Glory, calling it One guitar, one bass and a drummer, that's really all it takes — Live in Japan. That album concluded with a new song that surfaced on the next album (Back-Bone Beat). So then it was back to the studio to record their second album. Of which there is an interesting back story, as touched on in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotator_(album) ........ "EMI-Medley head of A&R and producer Nick Foss had made an agreement with lead singer and guitarist Tim Christensen that if their debut album Dizzy Mizz Lizzy won gold (equal to 40,000 copies at that time), the next would be recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, which it did in 2 months' time, and would continue to win 5× platinum. As a result, Rotator was recorded in the same studios The Beatles had recorded in, which was Christensen's boyhood dream." ........ As I understand it, the word "Rotator" for the song & album title was a nod to the Beatles "Revolver" (Tim's musical heroes). Tim was in awe of recording at Abbey Road where The Beatles also recorded, but his enthusiasm for this, and all things Beatles, was not shared by Martin & Søren, which led to disappointment for Tim, and arguments within the band, and seeds were sown for the subsequent later break up of the group. So, with a bigger budget, Abbey Road Studios at their disposal, this album is "better" produced than the first one, and most of the songs have heavier parts than the first record (but paradoxically almost all have softer parts as well). The album starts off with the sound of needle scratching grooves on a LP, to give that rotator (or revolver) vibe. If there is a formula at work in most of the song constructs, it's first introduce the song with a repeating melodic riff, then shift to a more metallic assault, then go back to the melodic grooves, and proceed back & forth, or vice versa. A lot of light & shade even within the same songs. When I first heard this album I was disappointed in it in comparison to the first one, but after a few listens the melodic grooves won me over & now it's my favorite DML opus. This album has the most different (IE: wimpy) song they've done - "Rise and Fall". No bass, no drums, just a melodic thing, drowned in mellotron. I like the song as it is but if the whole album was like this I'd fall asleep. The sound of this song always perplexed me, figured there had to be some story behind this, why is it so different from every other DML song (no bass, no drums, no heavy guitar) and learned that there is. Tim basically refused to let anyone else in the band "touch" this song, and put it on the record as is, foreshadowing the kind of music he would go on to make in his solo career (nowhere near as heavy as DML). Some songs worth checking out to get a taste of this album: Two of You My favorite Dizzy song. Also my favorite song to use when demoing my stereo to friends or shopping for new gear, especially speakers. The ear splitting guitar freakout ending is pretty intense. Listening to this on youtube over PC speakers does not begin to do it justice. It needs a good stereo and enough volume to melt your ears (and your neighbors'). A live version of this song from Aarhus 1996 is pretty cool, with song fragments like The End by the Doors & Enrico Morricone's The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlw9F5U9PQ0 When the Rivers Run Dry One of my favorites from the album. Great drumming from Søren, infectious hard riff coupled with beautiful softer part leading into tear-your-head-off-power-chording and wah-wah guitar solo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4RQMY1hpUQ Run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7pB7LFNHU8 Back-Bone Beat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPnCLSb5UOw 11:07 PM Probably not heavy enough for you guys but I love this song. Tim's song for John Lennon, the title/time being when Lennon was shot. Beautiful melody. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZ2-p6UoKM Riff Sang This one is kind of a reverse formula, starts with the heavy riff, then goes to the more melodic part, before going back to the heavy riff etc etc. Culminates in another brain melting guitar assault like Two of You. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuaYg7y6EqY Take It or Leave It Another "in your garden" lyric song like I mentioned when talking about the first album earlier in the thread (what is it about Danes and gardens?). Beautiful melodies with an infectious chorus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJAovvlEfLI Find My Way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0lHEE4ryhM Sadly for me (probably their biggest fan in all of the USA), the band did some touring, took some time off, then split up. Tim went on to a solo career and has released about 7 or 8 albums. None of these are heavy/hard enough to keep them in my player for very long though, as I am primarily a hard rock fan. He remains a great songwriter, but (IMO) misses the heavy rock vibe that Martin and Søren brought to his songs with Dizzy. If I remember right his first couple albums have a horrible mellotron droning over and ruining almost every song, and the drummer on the early stuff just....well he doesn't cut it for me. However I remember there even being a thread on this very forum talking about him - he does have some fans here to my surprise - however those folks don't even like the harder stuff (DML!). I think his latest band is the best backup one he's had post-Dizzy (called Tim Christensen and The Damn Crystals). That album with them is OK and it was re-released with a live disc that includes a cover of Dizzy's "Rotator". I've been able to track down that full show on the 'net and they also cover a few other Dizzy songs. Still not DML enough for me though. But the Dizzy story doesn't end here. In 2009/2010 DML reunited, EMI released a boxset with a few rarities (not enough - there remain many Rotator demos in the vaults amongst other things that I was hoping would get released but unfortunately were not), the band toured in Europe and Japan, released a live album/DVD plus a documentary about their career. When I learned DML had reunited I wanted to go to Denmark (or even Japan) to catch at least 2-3 weeks worth of gigs (yes I am crazy) but couldn't swing it. The live CD+DVD set is the next thing to being there though. Unfortunately after that tour Tim had had enough and moved back to his solo career. I'm hoping one day he will get the DML bug again (or need the ca$h infusion that DML can bring). In the meantime he makes lighter musical fare, including a recent release which is a live recreation of Paul McCartney's Ram album in its entirety, along with other McCartney & Beatles song. Blech (sorry but I am not a Beatles fan). Silverflame live from the 2010 DVD - Tim still plays that solo note for note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-4NF8J3MzY If there are any other DML fans up here please drop me a line, especially if you are in Denmark or Japan & have seen them live. I'd love to hear more about them & talk all things DML.
Tool are a good band that get slagged a lot because they became so popular. I have to admit I checked out with them after Lateralus. I just found that album really boring and couldn't get into it which is weird because I loved AEnima and, before that, Undertow and the EP. Just something about Lateralus required more patience than I had, I guess? I don't know, but it's another one of those albums I probably didn't give a fair chance. Maybe I'll pull it out and listen to it again.
That's funny you mention that. I'm in the same boat. I'm always buying and when it comes to what shall I listen to it becomes a big decision. I look at all that music and just can't pick something I just bought. Weird but I did listen to Windhand twice which is good for me.
Monstrosity - Imperial Doom (1992) 01 Imperial Doom 02 Definitive Inquisition 03 Ceremonial Void 04 Immense Malignancy 05 Vicious Mental Thirst 06 Burden of Evil 07 Horror Infinity 08 Final Cremation 09 Darkest Dream Monstrosity are probably best known these days for being the spawning ground of vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, who went on to replace Chris Barnes in the death metal juggernaut, Cannibal Corpse. Sort of an footnote in the history of Floridian Death Metal. Nevertheless, a recent revisit of this album has revealed that this outing has aged as well as, or maybe even better than, those of some of their more famous peers. Imperial Doom is a slab of technical Death Metal that is more visceral than intellectual, and in this case I mean that as a complement. There aren't too many insanely catchy moments here, but there is a nicely churning flow that will carve itself into your neural pathways over time. Fisher is a rock solid vocalist right off the bat -- he sounds better than ever here, honestly. On skins is Lee Harrison, who acquits himself well, with tight blasts roiling within the typical slightly muffled Morrisound production. Jason Gobel and Jon Rubin are the riffmeisters; as I mentioned before, no instant classics, really, but the album is extremely consistent as a piece, one 35-minute grind laced with tasty fretwork that sounds great (kudos to Jim Morris on this point). With an ace Dan Seagrave cover to match the gnarly musical content, the album performed well enough both critically and commercially, but a dreaded "royalty dispute" cropped up and the band soon left their label (Nuclear Blast) and fell off the map for a few years. Bottom line: While Imperial Doom may not approach the über-classic status of a Blessed are the Sick or a Cause of Death it is a highly enjoyable Death Metal disc that rewards repeated listens.
Nevermore Dead Heart In A Dead World (2000) 1."Narcosynthesis" 5:31 2."We Disintegrate" 5:11 3."Inside Four Walls" 4:39 4."Evolution 169" 5:51 5."The River Dragon Has Come" 5:05 6."The Heart Collector" 5:55 7."Engines of Hate" 4:42 8."The Sound of Silence" 5:13 9."Insignificant" 4:56 10."Believe in Nothing" 4:21 11."Dead Heart, in a Dead World" 5:06 Warrel Dane Vocals Jeff Loomis all Guitars Jim Sheppard Bass Van Williams Drums To start the new century Nevermore put out one of the best Progressive Thrash albums of the new decade Dead Heart In A Dead World. It is a Metal masterpiece and one heavy album. Jeff Loomis is a monster guitar player Warrel Dane is the great vocalist and front man. Van Williams is a great drummer but Jim Sheppard is one of the most killer bass players in any genre truly a huge talent. Every song on Dead Heart In A Dead World is top notch and as heavy as they come. Nevermore even does a heavy cover of Simon & Garfunkel's " The Sound Of Silence." I still spin this one regularly it is a awesome album. I was lucky to see Nevermore play Dead Heart In A Dead World live with Opeth as the opener. That night Nevermore got the best of a young Opeth! As far as I know Nevermore is broken up but Jeff Loomis is now in Megadeth and working on a new album with Dave Mustaine. It will take Jeff and Dave all they have to come up with a album like Dead Heart In A Dead World.
Thanks, guys, this thread just took a turn a bit more in my direction. Very good albums both, especially Imperial Doom, which does belong with all the contemporary death metal classics.
The lack of solos was about the only negative on the album: "Slug" didn't have a solo. Whenever I did notice a guitar solo, like on the title track, it was short and indistinguishable from the flow of the song. I'm guessing the band's hardcore punk roots were an influence on the lack of solos.
I like old school stuff. Ted Nugent. Van Halen. Judas Priest. Aerosmith. AC/DC. I grew up on this stuff. Deep Purple. Marillion.
Yeah, a lot of post-hardcore influenced stuff doesn't have guitar solos or, if they do, like Helmet, for instance, it's like this crazy free jazz noise stuff that Page Hamilton pulled off from being influenced by John Zorn or Glenn Branca or the like.
Me too. My never-ending quest is finding NEW bands (new to me at least) that carry on making music in that tradition (old school metal or hard rock, songs with great melodies, good singing, guitar heroes). I've found a lot, happy to say.
You have some worthy bands on that list. But Marillion is not metal they are a Neo Progressive rock band.
Quite a bit of their material has some cheesy keys on it, but that's part of their charm. Here's a great track of their's...
Here is a band from Norway called High Priest of Saturn. Merethe Heggset who is the driving force of the band taking on the dual duties of vocalist and bassist, Andreas Hagen handling the drums and one half of the axework with Martin Sivertsen taking care of the other half and guest musician Ole Kristian Malmedal running has ethereal fingers over the organ. They are in the Stoner/Doom vein. I don't know to much about them but I sure like what I hear. Check out the clip really digging this! High Priest of Saturn by High Priest of Saturn ( 2013 Svart Records ) 1. The Protean Towers 2. Kraken Mare 3. Crawling King Snake 4. On Mayda Insula