YTSEJAM Digest 4959
Today's Topics:
1) Meshuggah/Off to Soulfly!
by Kurt Hampton <eernewe1@gnofn.org>
2) Pink Floyd
by Joe DeAngelo <jdeangelo@home.com>
3) Re: YTSEJAM digest 4958
by jason braswell <funkbreath@hotmail.com>
4) Meshuggah; Spiral Architect's new guitarist
by Younis Hilal <yhilal@cds.caltech.edu>
5) Re: Pink Floyd
by Alan Estrada <alan_estrada@bigfoot.com>
6) LTE2 is an incredible achievment
by "Robert O'Doherty" <rodoherty@seagull.nl>
7) Hand Farm/Nathan Mall show quick review
by "Gary Lauzon" <mrprog@dreamtheater.zzn.com>
8) QP with cheese / multi-level scamdinavians
by Jens Johansson <jens@panix.com>
9) Re: Subject: Shameless Plug for one of my Favorite Bands
by "Steve Lehrfeld" <DREG@hutman.com>
10) Mullmuzzler on MusicSojourn
by "Mike Patrick" <mvpatrick@home.com>
11) LTE 2, FINALLY
by Andrew Coutermarsh <a_couter@oz.plymouth.edu>
12) Testament: Gathering / meshuggah
by John Parks <jpyyz@yahoo.com>
13) Platypus news
by John Parks <jpyyz@yahoo.com>
14) RMOVE FROM YTSEJAM digest
by lhportnoy@altavista.net
15) Awesome cd player program (Windows)
by "Carlo D'Angelo" <helstar@earthlink.net>
16) Full of Sugar
by drkhoe@gms.gmsnet.com (Dr. Mosh)
17)
by Bill Blanchard <wildbill2112@hotmail.com>
18) Question for Italian jammers
by CyberDuke <duskob@mol.com.mk>
19) Schtuph (pronounced "stuff")
by "Gallop, Neil" <nga@software-ag.de>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 01:13:25 -0500 (CDT)
From: Kurt Hampton <eernewe1@gnofn.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <ytsejam@ax.com>
Subject: Meshuggah/Off to Soulfly!
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.95.990705010953.9260A-100000@sparkie.gnofn.org>
Hey all,
I bought Contradictions, Collapse and None by Meshuggah and it rocks. I
see what you mean about multirythmic. They are very tight, and yet, VERY
HEAVY. I got it at Wherehouse music (WHERE RIGHT NOW YOU CAN TRADE ANY 5
FULL LENGTH CD"S for one NEW one) which is a sweet deal. I got rid of
Slaughter, Soul Asylum among others.
Anyway, the New Orleans concert series continues tomorrow with Soulfly.
They are Max C.'s new band (formally of Sepultura) they CD is pretty good.
Kurt
NP:that Meshuggah album I just got.
******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~******
@----'--,--- ******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****** "I remember Now"
"Rodney King, what the hell is that supposed to mean? He's that guy."
Airheads
************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 02:29:43 -0400
From: Joe DeAngelo <jdeangelo@home.com>
To: YTSEJAM <ytsejam@ax.com>
Subject: Pink Floyd
Message-ID: <378050D7.8C6CFDEC@home.com>
Yuval Regev said:
> On the Pink Floyd issue: I also don't like them much. My friend gave me Thw
> Wall and Dark Side of The Moon, and after two listens, I still don't like
> it (and don't think I will, although I promised to give it another chance.)
> It's just a bit boring.
Well, I think Floyd isn't a "two-listen" type band. They do take quite
a while to get into. I personally used to HATE the fuckers, and thought
they sucked bigtime. After ALOT of listens, they're in my top 5 or so
bands.
I'm also severely pissed that a few of my friends invited me to go see
them live a few years ago ('94 or '95 maybe??), and I declined, saying I
thought PF blew. :(
Dammit I'm a stupid-ass!
--- Joe DeAngelo jdeangelo@home.com ICQ # 1872723 -------------------------------------------- "Our worlds collide, now in disguise You'll feel the Wrath Divine Tears of woe fall from the sky..." - Symphony X, "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" ---------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 23:23:13 PDT From: jason braswell <funkbreath@hotmail.com> To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: Re: YTSEJAM digest 4958 Message-ID: <19990705062314.51025.qmail@hotmail.com>
>From: "Matt Molite" <ytsejam11@dreamtheater.zzn.com> >To: ytsejam@ax.com >Subject: Re: YTSEJAM digest 4957 >Message-ID: <199907041928340@ytsejam11.dreamtheater.zzn.com> > > ><<I feel sorry for you because your missing out on a great experience. Just >like I feel sorry that >I will never get to climb mount everest or for poor people who will never >get to eat chocolate. >Its not a matter of you being inferior but your just missing out on >something really cool.>> > >all again just a matter of opinion. Perhaps heights scare the shit out of >me and climbing mt Everest would be a living nightmare. Something cool for >you may just not do it for someone else. If I played DT for someone and it >didnt amaze them, like it does you or I, I would just say "well, its not >his/her thing" You listen to what you listen to because you like it. >Someone else might think what you listen to is complete shit. And you know >what? Neither of you are right or wrong, because music, like any artform, >is opinionated. I feel sorry for people who think that they're getting >some sort of secret high listening to a certain band or genre and feel >sorry for people who dont listen to the same thing because they're missing >out on something "cool" even though that "cool" thing may just not turn the >particular person on. >Then again, thats just my opinion.
I can't say that I agree with what you're saying here, but I don't care to debate it. I do, however, find it interesting that your email signature states, through the words of another, of course, that MTV is essentially garbage. Now, I can't imagine why anyone would say that unless he/she thought the music on MTV was actually, really, genuinely shit. It just seems that if you're going to go around saying the above, you should change your sig.
jason
_______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 00:10:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Younis Hilal <yhilal@cds.caltech.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: Meshuggah; Spiral Architect's new guitarist Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.96.990704233418.15124A-100000@crane.cds.caltech.edu>
On Sun, 4 Jul 1999 ytsejam@ax.com wrote:
> From: Kurt Hampton <eernewe1@gnofn.org> > > for) to quote my friend Paul "they sound like a keyboard solo from DT) > what and ass. Anyway, i think I will have to pick up an album or two now. Do it. Be careful about what you buy though, hehe. Chaosphere isn't what I'd recommend to start with. I'd recommend something like None or Destroy Erase Improve.
> ------------------------------ > From: Ivan Baardgaard <ivan@2mtv.no> > > I understand they've finished recordings, but the record company won't > release it until this autumn. By the way, rumors have it they're looking Yeah, Sept. 15, according to http://www.lasercd.com/ > for a new 2'nd guitarist... He's been found. Asgeir (SA drummer) posted thusly on the Scream WWW board (this is dated 6/15/99): "Regarding Spiral Architect - we've just got a new guitarist and his name is Andreas Jonsson. We'll start rehearsing 'full force' in the middle of July. Releaseconcert will be someplace in Oslo sometime in September.
- Asgeir" http://www.scream.no/wwwboard/messages/6473.html
Anybody ever heard of this Jonsson guy, btw? (yeah, that's right, I'm starving for info about this band. so what, goddammit? hehe)
Man, I live in a boring neighborhood. It's 12:17 a.m. and I've heard two fireworks go off all day. Judging by the faintness of the noise, I guess they were set off several miles away too. Next year, I think I'll go get myself a cannon, wheel it into the street, and fire that thing off a few times. Just so people don't forget what day it is, hehe.
Younis Hilal------------------------yhilal@cds.caltech.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 03:36:23 -0500 From: Alan Estrada <alan_estrada@bigfoot.com> To: ytsejam@ax.com Cc: Multiple recipients of list <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: Re: Pink Floyd Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19990705033623.007d8d90@umav04.udem.edu.mx>
I also hated them, I had the wall movie and animals on tape, but I just heard them twice when I was like 10 years or something...just when the summer started mauricio lended me the wall, pulse and animals on CD....I tried to listen to animals and was kind of hard, then I tried with pulse and it was ok, then I discovered the second CD of the wall, which I think is the best of the set... I started listening to it everyday, continiusly....I started to like it a lot...then it was pulse, I started diggin the songs there...and now those 2 are some favorite albums, which I still have to buy cause I returned the CDs to Mauricio now....
---
Alan Estrada Adler, ICQ #9267174 Monterrey, Mexico --------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 12:20:50 +0100 From: "Robert O'Doherty" <rodoherty@seagull.nl> To: "Ytsejam (E-mail)" <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: LTE2 is an incredible achievment Message-ID: <000001bec6d8$adad3d80$03632a0a@rob.seagull.ie>
.. Got LTE2 yesterday from CDNOW. I'm listening to WtWB for the first time right now and it's a staggering achievment. I've only heard Acid Rain and Biaxident and WtWB so far and it makes me feel so f%^&in insignificant.
Congratulations to the guys - I hope the CD gets the commercial recognition that it truly deserves.
Rob.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 10:01:44 -0400 From: "Gary Lauzon" <mrprog@dreamtheater.zzn.com> To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: Hand Farm/Nathan Mall show quick review Message-ID: <199907050658571@mrprog.dreamtheater.zzn.com>
Hello Jammers!
Saturday was a good day in terms of music (well espicially the latter part. For the first part of the day it was Edgefest, kind of like a grunge festival, I went with my gf. It was amusing to check bands out like Matthew Good Band, Silverchair, Edwin etc... I missed Big Wreck and Moist but I saw both bands before. Reason why I missed it is cause we had to rush to get to the prog concert in time. Scott McGill's hand farm was playing when we got there. I had never heard any music from them before but I was more then amazed. Chris Eike is now a part of this band, (formerly of Finneus Gauge and so was Scott of course. Vic Stevens on drums was also phemominal, don't remember seeing such a good drum solo so close like that, there was only like 40 ppl. Ottawa (Canada) is not a big place for prog music.
In the intermission, I met with the band, it was great, got my cd autographed and talked with the boys. Chris said he is trying to get something going with Jordan Rudess, some sort of side project, I think he mentioned something with Mike Portnoy as well, I'm not sure if this would only be for fun. I also met the Nathan Mahl singer/keyboardist Guy LeBlanc, very nice guy. This band was awesome, I can't believe they are from my hometown and I just discovered them recently, I suggest their latest cd to anyone on here, A clever use of shadows, no wonder it's #1 on this prog site I saw (Galactic Radio I think). I also heard Nathan Mahl made a good impression at NearFest.
Now I'm looking fwd to Iron Maiden. First show in Montreal!!!! 8 days and counting!!!! I'll post a review and a set list of the show if some of you are interested, I'll make sure to write SPOILERS!! so no worries.
Cheers!
Mr. ProG
Get FREE dreamtheater.zzn.com email at http://www.dreamtheater.net/ ___________________________________________________________ Get your own Web-based E-mail Service at http://www.zzn.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 10:23:31 -0400 From: Jens Johansson <jens@panix.com> To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: QP with cheese / multi-level scamdinavians Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19990705102331.00711f8c@popserver.panix.com>
On 17:52 1999/07/04 -0700, you wrote:
[Rogerio Brito] > > > aggresivare hade vi t=E4nkt." > > I've no idea what's wrong with my email client.. sigh. > That's not a problem with your MUA. It's a problem with the mailing > list software that removes any header reference to MIME
That's how I understood it as well. So I tried to disable quoted-printable by deselecting a little button marked QP. But fucking Eudora encodes as quoted-printable anyway!! (Maybe it's pretending to second-guess, me because of the mere presence of a high-bit character.)
> BTW, I don't know why people like digests so much. You loose > many things with them. For instance (but not restricted to), > the ability to filter e-mails in a safe manner.
I'm in bounce mode as well to all lists I'm subbed to, precisely for that reason.
[re meshuggah] > Are all these comments applicable to "Destroy, Erase, > Improve"? It must then be a fine record, huh? Or are you > talking about the band in general?
Well, I haven't actually heard "DEI", but I get the impression that Chaosphere is a bit more avant-garde. It appears with that one they're moving away a bit from "tonal" music (it's essentially non-harmonic and non-melodic -- I count maybe one or two normal chords on the whole record!)
["sK@RRe" <skarre@2.sbbs.se>] > > ...Nice to find music that works on many levels! > Care to elaborate that comment?
WEll, it was in response to someone going to a gig and making a comment like "I thought it sounded like standard fare metal", which I thought was interesting: for this person all these other nice, twisted structures in the music were flawlessly hidden, and it sounded like normal metal (albeit with good guitar solos.) IOW a message that can be decoded two ways, sort of like "Amiable together" is also "Am I able to get her".
--- Jens. (offline) <jens@panix.com> (http://www.panix.com/~jens/)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 11:26:44 -0400 From: "Steve Lehrfeld" <DREG@hutman.com> To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: Re: Subject: Shameless Plug for one of my Favorite Bands Message-ID: <1280933783-20377333@hutman.com>
]From: "Dave Leon" <masterpsy@networktel.net> > > Hey! > For everyone that dosent have Clockworks lates album, SurfaceTension, > order it now! Its really, really, fucking good. > Seriously though, my ytse-friends, this album is some serious progressive > metal from some seriously incredible musicians. Sean Malone (from Cynic) has > a Chapman Stick solo on one of the tunes as well! Do your mind and your > ears a favor and check it out! > > --- > > I agree, Clockwork-Surface Tension is incredible. I can't seem to get it > out of my cd changer. IMO, one of the best cds of this year. > > -Dr. Dave
They also have a limited edition EP available, called "Search" - 4 songs not on any other album. I have 5, count 'em 5, copies left. when they're gone, that's it for me, and i don't know where else you can still get them. they are each $10 shipped. if you are interested in getting one, drop me an email, or go to my web-site listed below and order online. c-ya,
-steve
============================================== DREG Records - New & Improved Progressive Rock http://www.hutman.com/dreg/
* Sanity * Clockwork * Equinox * Facade * * A Tribute to Kansas and more! * ==============================================
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 11:40:30 -0400 From: "Mike Patrick" <mvpatrick@home.com> To: <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: Mullmuzzler on MusicSojourn Message-ID: <000101bec6fc$b67a9e20$6da20418@CT466024-A.nblvil1.in.home.com>
Wow. 'His Voice' really rocks - further proof that songs don't have to be 6+ minutes to kick some ass. Matt Guillory is insane.
It doesn't sound as if this project has fallen very far from the DT tree, but that's a hard call to make after just one song. And not that anyone would complain, right?
Mike
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 15:05:16 -0400 (EDT) From: Andrew Coutermarsh <a_couter@oz.plymouth.edu> To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: LTE 2, FINALLY Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.10.9907051500420.9985-100000@oz.plymouth.edu>
I finally got home and was able to pick up my copy of LTE2 which has been collecting dust on my parents' countertop. I can just say WOW. I love Biaxident, and though I haven't had the time to listen to everything yet, WtWB just knocks my ass off the chair. I can hear what somebody said about this being the new Dream Theater - it seems like it could definitely hold a new style for the upcoming album.
Just thought I'd comment and let everybody who was anxiously holding their breath with me (yeah, right) that I finally got it.
And a quick shout-out: It's my birthday today, and I happen to know that it's a couple of other jammers' birthdays as well, so happy birthday to me and to you others!
/me's best birthday present was that HE got to meet Uma Thurman yesterday - yes, UMA THURMAN. There IS a God, and He smiles on me.
/me can't wait until he gets to meet Gwyneth Paltrow :)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 13:40:42 -0700 (PDT) From: John Parks <jpyyz@yahoo.com> To: ytsejam dream theater <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: Testament: Gathering / meshuggah Message-ID: <19990705204042.29382.rocketmail@web120.yahoomail.com>
Well I went out and purchased Gathering, the new Testament album. This is my first Testament album and one of the main reasons I got it was because of Dave Lombardo. Man this disk is killer. Very heavy stuff. Are the other releases by Testament this heavy? If so I guess I might just have to pick those up too.
Meshuggah, what can you say? They astound me every time I listen to them. Has enyone heard Fredrik Thorndendals solo album, Sol Niger Within? Its crazy!! I can't for those guys to make another trip back to the States.
later all
NP: Pantera-Far Beyond Driven
=== John Parks jpyyz@yahoo.com
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein- _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 19:59:50 -0700 (PDT) From: John Parks <jpyyz@yahoo.com> To: ytsejam dream theater <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: Platypus news Message-ID: <19990706025950.16583.rocketmail@web115.yahoomail.com>
I was just checking on the Kings X homepage and came across some news concerning the new Platypus album. Check it out at http://www.compassnet.com/grump/latest.htm
later all
=== John Parks jpyyz@yahoo.com
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein- _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 23:42:08 -0400 (EDT) From: lhportnoy@altavista.net To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: RMOVE FROM YTSEJAM digest Message-ID: <9907052342082Q.05794@weba7.iname.net>
remove : lhportnoy@altavista.net
---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 00:00:08 -0400 From: "Carlo D'Angelo" <helstar@earthlink.net> To: BG Mailing List <blind-guardian@onelist.com> Subject: Awesome cd player program (Windows) Message-ID: <37817F47.46241279@earthlink.net>
Hello people,
Some of you asked me to send this so here it is....
It's a small (429K) kick-ass cd player program that is a million times better than the standard player that comes with Windows. If you mainly listen to your cd's through your computer (like me..since its easier)......than you'll love this.
It's called "Quintessential CD"...whats so cool is that when you're connected to the internet and you pop in a disc, the program connects to a worldwide "cd listing" database, and displays ALL the info of your disc (Band, Album, Track, Length, etc....) within SECONDS! In the rare case where the disc is not listed you can list it yourself for the rest of the world.
I recommend keeping it "always on top", in "shade mode", in upper left hand corner (for quick access and minimal interference). Here's the URL:
http://quinnware.com/qcd/news.html
enjoy, Carlo (Fates)
NP: STIGMATA IV "Solum Mente Infirmis..."
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 22:03:02 -0700 From: drkhoe@gms.gmsnet.com (Dr. Mosh) To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: Full of Sugar Message-ID: <199907060503.WAA00643@gms.gmsnet.com>
Meshuggah is insane... Chaosphere is a serious assault on sanity, I still have a hard time listening to it... but it is highly technical.
Spiral Architect... hard to describe.. not your typical melodic progmetal, they kinda remind me of Psychotic Waltz... they got that edge.
As for heavy... Zero Signal off of Fear Factory's Demanufacture is my latest fave..
-The Doc
-- *#&*@#@*(#@#*@(#!@*#(!@#(&!#(@!*#@((#@$(#@(($@#($(#@$@#($@#(*$@(*$*(#(#(##(#(# computersarefasterthanhumans - devastatetoinnovate - hyperspacialparallelcomp\ drkhoe@gmsnet.com = http://progmetal.gmsnet.com = internetcyberwetwaregamedev+ s*o#o$n@@c*o!m^e)s@@t>h<e@@|d~i+g-i%t%a.l@@<M><E><S><S><I><A><H> gaMECoReTeKN0
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 22:41:20 PDT From: Bill Blanchard <wildbill2112@hotmail.com> To: ytsejam@ax.com Cc: bostonjam@dreamt.org Message-ID: <19990706054120.92422.qmail@hotmail.com>
Hey, A question for all the Rush fans, is the TNMS totally defunct? I haven't received a digest in well over a month and the web page has not been updated at all. Anyone know what's up? Sorry for wasting your time.
*Bill goes back into lurker mode* "Wild" Bill
_______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 01:20:42 +0200 From: CyberDuke <duskob@mol.com.mk> To: "ytsejam@ax.com" <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: Question for Italian jammers Message-ID: <37813DCA.17F310D8@mol.com.mk>
3 days ago I attended a concert of TOLO MARTON in Skopje. This guy is awesome! Who is he, he played any famous local Italian band? I hard he's been around since the 70s. This year this dude won 1-st prize of some kind of Voodoo Chile Contest held every year in USA by the dad of Hendrix. And he surely ripps Hendrix style very good. He has very unorthodox technique, with some very cool chops and tricks. It was real fun to WATCH him play. It was one of the best performance I ever saw! And now I want more! :) -- CyberDuke ________________________________________
"Lisa, get away from that jazzer!" - Simpsons ________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1999 14:19:21 +0200 From: "Gallop, Neil" <nga@software-ag.de> To: "'ytsejam@ax.com'" <ytsejam@ax.com> Subject: Schtuph (pronounced "stuff") Message-ID: <005355AD0596D211B4F30000F81B0D32B85AFB@daemsg01.software-ag.de>
Hi all
I know, I know, I've been promising you some reviews for weeks now, and I still haven't posted any. It all has to do with something called work - I'm drowning in it at the moment. I have, however, managed to get a few finished, and they will be at the end of this post. To slightly misquote somebody, work is the curse of the drinking class.
OK, for all of you who fall into the subset "Pink Floyd fans", go an have a listen to Anathema's last album "Judgement". For me, this is better than anything that Pink Floyd have done since Dark Side Of The Moon - you won't be disappointed.
Preaching in Al's footsteps, part 1. If you can afford it, do yourself a big favour and buy some mid-range stereo components - you will not regret it. I recently picked up some nice stuff from Luxman, which was going for about DM 5000 here in Germany (about US $ 2600). I hooked the new stuff up to my Canton SC-L speakers, set the pre-amp to direct and was given a glimpse of heaven. The music took on a new depth, had a new clarity, I was hearing details I'd never heard before. In some cases, it was like hearing the albums for the first time. The power amp and the speakers have far much more power than I'll ever need, but I get excellent results and more than enough volume when everything is just ticking over without any component having to strain. I know some of you people are still at school, college, university or whatever, but make getting a good stereo one of your priorities - much better than wasting all that cash on a new car or a wedding ring.
Review time. Only a few now, but I'll try and get the others out soon.
BONGZILLA - Stash
The title says it all. This album wasn't just inspired by Mary Jane, this album IS Mary Jane. A kind of stoner/country metal with heavy hippy influences. Big riffs, grinding themes, and enough bass to loosen the most constipated bowels, this is not an album for people who are looking for fancy playing and great musicianship. This is also the first album of its kind that I've heard that uses almost black metal-like vocals - a very interesting mixture. A nice cover of Black Sabbath's "Under The Sun" is included as homage to the other possible source of inspiration. A scratch-and-sniff version of the inlay would have been cool! 8/10
LAKE OF TEARS - Forever Autumn
This Swedish band have always reminded me of something in between Cemetary and pre-Wildhoney Tiamat (but a little softer). This latest offering confirms my opinion. Once again, the charismatic and very pleasant voice of Daniel Brennare is the focus of attention. His voice has some very rare qualities, he never has to strain or shout, and I can often imagine him singing Gaelic folk songs. The songs are dark but not gloomy, often melancholy and atmospheric, which is underlined excellently by the tasteful use of cello, flute and accordian. Their last album "A Crimson Cosmos" was a bit of a disappointment, but these new songs have restored my faith in these guys, and I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing the new songs live (they are a great live band and always have lots of time for a chat and a beer). 9/10
KARMA TO BURN - Wild Wonderful Purgatory
Normally I associate West Virginia with that awful song by John Denver. This changed a couple of years ago when Karma To Burn released their first album, Then, their record company forced them to have a singer they didn't want. Nothing against the guy, but he was about as superfluous as a condom in a convent, which this album proves wonderfully. Just bass, drums and guitar and whole lot of fun. Good solid rock with metal, stoner and southern influences. This music is about drinking, smoking, partying. Full in your face, this music commands your attention and says "fuck you" if you don't like it. Some excellent riffs, somewhat unusual structures and some unexpected twists make this an all-round great album that I can't fault. Mr. Portnoy, if you're looking for balls and chunk, then look no further. Why did I mention West Virgina at the start of this review? Simple - this is where Karma To Burn come from. 10/10
LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT - 2
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't too happy about the first album by these guys, and the initial "reviews" I read about this one ("kicks major ass!") didn't really give me any idea of what to expect this time. I was positively surprised by what I heard. Everything has a more coherent feel about it, the music fits together better, the work load is more clearly divided, and each member knows what he has to do (and what not to do). The first track "Acid Rain" grabs you firmly by the balls (or whatever it is ladies get grabbed by) and gives them a damned good squeeze - OK, it hurts, but it's fun. Some very sick, heavy and chunky stuff. Mike Portnoy's drumming on this is some of the best I've heard. Sure, there's lots of wanking going on, but at least these guys have got the boners required for a good wankfest, and they can come up with the goods instead of coming air. "Biaxident" is much more laid back, with some very nice theme developments. By now I was convinced, and also happy to hear that the fusion elements of the last album had gone. "914" is simply funky. "Another Dimension" has one of the best intros that I've heard since I first heard "Metropolis" - nice dark undertones before the rest of the track chugs along. And now comes the major highlight: "When The Waters Break". Pass me the Kleenex. This track has everything and really shows just how good all of the musicians involved really are. "Chewbacca" was the low spot of the album in my ears: I feel the boys lost it a couple of times. "Liquid Dreams" features some nice work by all members, and "Hourglass" is a quiet, relaxing and fitting conclusion to this album. All other side-project albums that have involved members of Dream Theater get pissed on from a great height. Without "Chewbacca" this would have been perfect but the following ain't bad either - 9/10
stay safe and happy listening Neil Gallop (nga@software-ag.de) Currently playing: BLIND PASSENGERS - Bastard
------------------------------
End of YTSEJAM Digest 4959 **************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Apr 01 2004 - 19:07:25 EST