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What have you been listening to this week?
What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)
Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.
You can make a chart if you use last.fm:
http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/
Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.
Intestine Baalism - Banquet in the Darkness, melodeath (with an emphasis on the death) from Japan. Song structure and tone is best on this, their sophomore album; third album Ultimate Instinct is more of the same, whereas the first album Anatomy of the Beast seems more uneven with strange mixing choices.
Into Eternity - The Scattering of Ashes, melodeath (I guess?) from Canada. This was the first album with Stu Block on vocals and his range was able to elevate the band's music beyond the already fantastic Buried in Oblivion album.
Kalisia - Cybion, progressive death from France. This is a concept album about the nature of immortality, and while there are 20 tracks they flow as a single song. One issue is that each song is roughly the same length, the tempos are all basically the same, and as a result there's little to help differentiate the songs apart.
Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye, prog/avant-garde from US. This was the first album post-MotW and it still retains a lot of that same feel, despite a notable distancing from the more extreme metal parts found in MotW's first three albums. After Choirs they went into even more esoteric directions on Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue, Blue Lambency Downward, and Coyote, albums that I did not enjoy and caused me to not even try listening to the six (wow really) albums they've put out since then.
Labyrinth - Return to Heaven Denied, power from Italy. Pure power metal cheesiness with soaring vocals, shredding solos, and prominent synths.
Lacuna Coil - In a Reverie, gothic from Italy. I downloaded this off Napster in college and it was the perfect album for that time in my life. The melancholy lyrics, beauty/beast vocals, and overall tone was everything I was looking for. Their followup albums were hit or miss for me, though, in perfect alternating order.
Lahmia - Resilience, melodeath from Italy.
Lemur Voice - Insights, prog from Netherlands. Late 90s Dream Theater clone with emphasis on keyboards.
Majesties - Vast Reaches Unclaimed, melodeath from US. One of the top albums released last year.
For about a year or so, I've been working on curating my own personal playlist of metal, trying to narrow it down to only one song per album of artists I'm into. This week I've been obsessively listen to Alcest albums over and over in order to find the best songs to add to my playlist. Here's what I got! Bolded the one I'd recommend for those unfamiliar with the band, and if you don't like harsh vocals, listen to the one in cursive (and that whole album)
Les Iris from Souvenirs d'un autre monde
Percées De Lumière from Écailles de lune
Faiseurs De Mondes from Les Voyages de l'âme
Into the Waves from Shelter
Je Suis D'ailleurs from Kodama
L'île des morts from Spiritual Instinct
Love Alcest; can't wait for Les Chants de l'Aurore to be released
Is this playlist public?
Why not! Hope this link works?
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1HkQjURYq6TNWHh4jWf4Wk?si=5afa320309c04cba
Thank you!
Stumbled upon Hélène Vogelsinger, an electronic musician who uses modular synthesis to weave beautiful music. I recommend listening to her albums in its entirety. Here's a sample.
Dance Til You Stop by Ninja Sex Party
NSP just dropped a new song, and as usual they have a bit of a Weird Al Yankovic vibe.
Gimme Chocolate! by Babymetal
This one's been randomly in my head when I wake up again lately.