Now Playing Thread

[Manatee]

NP: Devin Townsend - Physicist

for medicinal purposes.

[Nicky007]

... for medicinal purposes.

Right, Greenie, I also always say that my prog is my medicine.

Five years ago I spent some time in a psychiatric ward (now don't laugh, guys, I was really a mess), and they were giving me all sorts of psychopharmic medicine, they even suggested ECT, which I fortunately resisted. But iac a month after I got out of hospital, I was off all medicine too.

Guess how I did it ?

.....

Right, guys, we all know what prog can do 


NP  DT:  Black Clouds

Ooo, that sure's good medicine 

I think I'l supplement it with some cool liquid medicine (a Blue Chimay) 

If there's anything I'd like to take with me into the afterlife, it's the magic Master JP does on his guitar, man 

Both albums are recommended, although d_letion is a bit more heavy so that probably suits your taste just a tad more

Thanks for the recom, Tom. I'l definitely follow up on it 

If you like Three, you should definitely check this album out!

Tom, I sure do and will 

Nicky.

[Steve Jones]

Van der Graaf Generator - Real Time

[Iggy]

Doomsday Afternoon - Phideaux

Very impressed after the first few plays.

[Steve Jones]

Just: Robert Plant - Pictures at Eleven
Now: John Martyn - The Church With One Bell

[Steve Jones]

Jethro Tull - A

[maddox]

Amaran's Plight ~ Voice In The Light

[Iggy]

Amaran's Plight ~ Voice In The Light

Nice choice I played that in the car on the way home from work today.

NP No 7 -  Phideaux

[Steve Jones]

Druid - Fluid Druid

[keyboardistmatt]

WHIMWISE - "Lies"

[Manatee]

JP: Blind Ego - Mirror
NP: Pearl Jam - Vitalogy

[Steve Jones]

The Flower Kings - Adam and Eve

[PH]

I'm listening to some songs of Nightwish.
My brother (who wasn't into music up until just two months ago or so) made me a compilation of his favourite Nightwish songs.
He bought six albums already...

Anyway, he wants me to listen to these songs and based on that, give him some recommendations for some more cool bands.
(I'm slowly getting there gyys! He will soon step into the wonderful land of Prog!)

I already lent him my copy of Stream Of Passion's "Embrace The Storm", which he liked quite a bit, he said.
Already lent him Threshold's "Hypothetical", which wasn't really doing anything for him...

So I'm going to ask you, which bands/albums/songs will fit into his (at the moment very small) frame of liking?
These are the songs he sent me:
- Stargazers
- Wish I Had An Angel
- Amaranth
- Dead To The World
- Moondance
- Gethsemane
- Wanderlust
- Nemo
- Sleeping Sun
- Bye Bye Beautiful
- The Riddler
- Over The Hills And Far Away
- Wishmaster
- Walking In The Air

[Nicky007]

So I'm going to ask you, which bands/albums/songs will fit into his (at the moment very small) frame of liking?

Well, don't ask me, Paxi, I do everything possible to keep Nightwish outta my Lebensraum. Saloon metal 

Strange, somehow Finnish and Italian metal just don't do it for me 

However, I'v decided to try out Sonata Arctica's Unia. Supposed to be some of the best Finnish metal 


JP  Jeff Loomis: Zero Order Phase 

Here, guys, especially Tom, is Ashir Daniel's (Schaumburg, IL) review of ZOP on Amazon.com (guess this one needs a bit more pr in the Room, my boldfaces):

"Amazing - really - just too good

April 4, 2009

Okay, first of all - I am a guitar player for over 18 years. Raised on Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc. Here comes this guy who I never heard of, playing a Schecter (I never touch em - sworn Ibanez devotee) and just tearing down everything in his way. Okay, not just speed, he has clarity and tone. You can hear every note, he enunciates very clearly even at the speed of light. As far as metal guitarists go I don't think anyone can touch him - nobody. And this disturbs me at times because of the Satriani & Vai influences, but damn... Jeff Loomis is just that good. People have said that Chris Broderick (Megadeth) and Jeff Loomis are the new Jason Becker & Marty Friedman. Yes, I would agree, but come on, Miles of machines, I don't think even Malmsteen could touch that one. Amazing! This whole album is amazing - just wish it were longer/more songs. Jeff Loomis is definitely one of my favorites now, due to this album."


I can hardly disagree:  Imo Master JP and Jeff Loomis are the best guitarists around today. And strangely, DT and Nevermore are my fave groups. Now how can that be 


NP  Skyfire://spectral

We have some great metal groups in Skåne (the southernmost region of Sweden) too:  A.C.T, Andromeda, and Skyfire 

How to describe Skyfire:  Well, that's pretty hard, as they'r really very original. The first thing you notice is the thrash and growl, but then you realise that there are some very unusual things goin on, like lively sprightly keyboards, and a lot of playfulness in general, creating a strange contrast between the dark lyrics (e.g. "Through time and space, day and night, the darkness grows stronger, suffocates the life") and music, sorta like a danse macabre (hi again, Bupsie).

I'd say that they'r somewhere in the range of Scar Symmetry, altho less heavy, and Andromeda.

And interestingly, the great Johan Reinholdz from Andromeda is guitarist on the forthcoming Skyfire album Esoteric, scheduled for Sept 14.

Sure am curious 

Nicky.

[Manatee]

NP: Demians - Building an Empire

So I'm going to ask you, which bands/albums/songs will fit into his (at the moment very small) frame of liking?

Obviously a tricky question since so far he likes one band (ok, sort of 2) and a rather unusual band at that.  I don't know Stream of Passion, so that doesn't help me.  I'm going to make one fairly obscure recommendation that I think might have some of the qualities he'd like: the German goth/symphonic metal band Xandria.  They're fairly melodic, dramatic, have nice female vocals, and they're not overwhelmingly heavy as metalish stuff goes.  I've heard several songs from the album Kill the Sun and a few from India.  Now that I think about it, if he likes Nightwish, then Within Temptation and After Forever also seem like logical things to try.  Perhaps also Edenbridge.  Actually, Sonata Arctica, which Nicky just mentioned, might suit him also, assuming male vocals are ok with him.  I haven't heard Unia, but I've heard some of the earlier stuff, and I think they're a fairly good bet for someone who likes the above.

Additional idea: This is just a hunch, but you might have him try one of the less challenging but still excellent Genesis albums -- I'm thinking of Duke in particular.

[PH]

Well, don't ask me, Paxi, I do everything possible to keep Nightwish outta my Lebensraum. Saloon metal 

Thanks Nicky...

Obviously a tricky question since so far he likes one band (ok, sort of 2) and a rather unusual band at that.  I don't know Stream of Passion, so that doesn't help me.  I'm going to make one fairly obscure recommendation that I think might have some of the qualities he'd like: the German goth/symphonic metal band Xandria.  They're fairly melodic, dramatic, have nice female vocals, and they're not overwhelmingly heavy as metalish stuff goes.  I've heard several songs from the album Kill the Sun and a few from India.  Now that I think about it, if he likes Nightwish, then Within Temptation and After Forever also seem like logical things to try.  Perhaps also Edenbridge.  Actually, Sonata Arctica, which Nicky just mentioned, might suit him also, assuming male vocals are ok with him.  I haven't heard Unia, but I've heard some of the earlier stuff, and I think they're a fairly good bet for someone who likes the above.

Additional idea: This is just a hunch, but you might have him try one of the less challenging but still excellent Genesis albums -- I'm thinking of Duke in particular.

Yeah thanks!
Indeed I've been thinking of Within Temptation indeed. I also lend him my copy of Edenbridge's "MyEarthDream" (I thought he would really like it, but instead he told me that it does nothing for him...)

Xandria is on my note now, thanks!
After Forever is indeed another band that he should like. Thanks for that.
Sonata Arctica, good idea.

And about your additional idea: that's where I want him to be! Would be really cool if he will open up and give Genesis a try, but for now, I doubt it very much.
He thinks it's too soft. (He sounds a bit like Nicky sometimes.)
I have to get him there slowly, he's more metal head orientated for now.

I'm going to try Dream Theater and Ayreon. That's a possibility.

Keep the recommendations coming people!

[Manatee]

NP: Devin Townsend - Infinity

Supposedly he was having some psychological difficulties while he made this album.  Somehow that seems appropriate about now.   

[PH]

Now Playing:
Taproban - Posidonian Fields

Very interesting music!
Anyone familiar with them?
I've read somewhere that they sound like ELP and Genesis (of course...), but I think they also sound a bit like Porcupine Tree in the lighter bits. I think because of the vocals.
All Taproban fans please raise your hand.


PS: Talking about Porcupine Tree, I think that my brother could like that...

[Manatee]

I haven't heard Taproban.   Do they have have sample songs on MySpace or somewhere?

Re: Porcupine Tree, they're great, of course -- I'd have thought they'd be a bit subtle and complex for someone just starting off with music, but perhaps I don't have a good idea of what draws your brother to music so far.  Maybe he digs complexity.  I just listened to In Absentia last night and was enjoying it so much, I didn't notice when it ended and ran into Nil Recurring, so I listened to that too.   

[maddox]

Blue Murder ~ s/t

[Steve Jones]

I haven't heard Taproban

Me neither.  "Osama Bin Laden on glockenspiel" ?

Just: Emerson Lake & Palmer - Emerson Lake & Palmer
Now: Manning - Ragged Curtain

[Iggy]

Lightdark - Nosound

[Steve Jones]

Just: Spock's Beard - Snow (This really is jolly splendid)
Now: Sieges Even - Playgrounds

[Nicky007]

Thanks Nicky...

Yar soooo welcome, Paxi 

Naytwish is one of my triggers, just like Michael Jackoff is one'o Greenie's 

He thinks it's too soft.

Try some Vi*a, Paxi 

I'm going to try Dream Theater ...

If you do DT, Paxi, then I suggest you take some of the tight pieces without extensive excursions. Novices to DT usually lose interest during the lengthy instrumental passages, unless they'r instrumentalists themselves 


Played:

The Arcane Order:  In the Wake of Collisions

Groundbreaking, and I guess mindbreaking for most 


Andromeda:  Extension of the Wish  &  Extension of the Wish - Final Extension

The first Extension can now be regarded as a demo. The Final Extension has all the songs of the first, and as far as I can judge, the instrumental part is unaltered.

Two things have been improved in the process:  Altho both singers are good, without being great, Lawrence Mackrory on the first version is classified as "session vocalist" - never heard that designation before; it's a bit weird, as the vocals usually are an important part of a rock album. Unfortunately he is mixed so far back that it's hard to determine the words and one loses most of his expression.

The second change is that there are two extra tracks on the final version. This is particularly interesting since there is a lot of filler on the album, and the last two songs are really good.

So the final extension is the one to get imo, unless one is a big Andromeda fan like me, and if I remember correctly, Mad.

The first two tracks and seventh are fabulous, youthful vital metal with a lotta great guitar riffs (Tom!) by Johan Reinholdz. Sadly, in-between track 2 & 7, most of the stuff doesnt really go anywhere. The last two tracks are, altho rather regular metal, of the highest quality.

The lyrics are surprisingly good, considering that Johan, who wrote them, was only about twenty at the time, and from Höör    - sorta like Brookings, SD, where my Dad comes from, except in Sweden.

Johan is the rising star we should keep an eye on. Next revelation will be Skyfire's forthcoming Esoteric 

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

I haven't heard Taproban.   Do they have have sample songs on MySpace or somewhere?

The name titillates, doesnt it ?

Checked up:  Italian band, very keyboard oriented. Find'm on MySpace:  http://www.myspace.com/taproban

No further comments from here 

Nicky.