Now Playing Thread

[The Butterfly Man]

Hey Tom, have you noticed that the sun is shining today ? - and it's Spring and the ladies are scantier clad ? - and there's some full moon or somethin .....

OK OK OK  

I don't really dare to ask you again, but........... Nah just kidding, just tell me what you think when you are ready to do so. But please do it soon.

Must be the longest album title in existence  

On my SL it's just: No  

Be careful, the 'No' on your shoppinglist may keep you from buying it after all! I'm actually a bit surprised that album is on your shoppinglist to be honest. I wouldn't think that Mew is something you'd like. Oh well, proggies are complicated people...

NP  Nostradamus

Now Tom, what was this .....  

I have no idea...

NP: Mew - Frengers

Tom

[Nicky007]

I don't really dare to ask you again, but........... Nah just kidding, just tell me what you think when you are ready to do so. But please do it soon.

NP  BTBAM  on  MySpace

Actually, I realise that I have to listen to these guys a lot more before I can make a reasonable statement about'm. (I'm one of the - unfortunately - few people who really make an effort to get properly into a group. Drives me utter nuts when people make statements after - barely - one run. Some idiots think they can ff thru some of my fave music and make oh so clever (blanket, clichéd) statements, only revealing their total ignorance and arrogance)  

Man, superficial people !

Must drive you mad too, Tom, huh ?

OK, back to BTBAM:  On the one side, there's lotta growl and dissonance; on the other side there's lotta melody, groovy guitar runs, imaginative drumming, and stuff. I have to get those two sides to converge a bit more. Get back to ya then, Tommy  

Be careful, the 'No' on your shoppinglist may keep you from buying it after all!

Yes, no    I mean, yes ... no, I mean    I'm beginnin to sound like a woman, man    - Cap, when have I used up my macho quota ?  

Must'v used up all my quotas by now, but Cap's a nice guy  

I wouldn't think that Mew is something you'd like.

Well, the thing is that Mew are big in Denmark, and lotta knowledgable people make statements about'm. I'm pretty sure now that I'l like'm - how much will remain to be seen .....

Oh well, proggies are complicated people...

Talk with Ms 007 about that  


NP  BTBAM still

I'm surprised to hear so much melody. Promising !

Now I can even hear some PT in'm  

Guess the time has come when I gotta note their albums on my SL. Thanx, Tom  


Played:

Michael Romeo:  The Dark Chapter

An early statement (1994) from one of the greatest rock guitarists. Same year as the first, self-titled, SyX album.

I'd say, get the SyX albums first, but if you love this group, like I do, then Michael's fine, very classically weighted, album is a must. The main beef I have is the drums: He programmed them himself, and they are pretty tinny. But guys, lotta amazing guitar playing, and lovely, synthesizer supported, moods  


Communic:  Conspiracy

This group is slowly growing with me  

Fine Norwegian progmetal group. The associations I get are Nevermore and Wuthering Heights, and in fact they often are compared with Nevermore. More accessible singing (Tom   ), but less dense, sinister instrumentation (well, Jeff certainly is special ).

But these are only associations, and Communic definitely are an original group, and their albums are musthaves for progmetal fans  

Lyrics about the "dark side of life"    

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

NP  BTBAM  on  MySpace  (3. run)

Here and there, some stellar passages   contrasted with growly growl  

I guess like Scar Symmetry. I wonder if I'l ever actually enjoy BTBAM's gg parts  

Tom, what do you say ?

But definitely one of the most exciting groups on the progmetal scene  

Nicky.

[Teunis]

Today:
John Watts - It Has To Be
Gazpacho - Tick Tock
Knight Area - Realm of Shadows
Abarax - Blue Room

[Nicky007]

Played:

A7:  Sieze The Day  (on City Of Evil, several plays)

I have this song coursing thru my blood these days.

Guys, A7 are top-league  


Mew  on  MySpace

Nice. I'm sure I'l return to their music once in a while. I'm told that it grows  


Shadows Fall:  The War Within

Now this is a group that one has to work a lot with. Very harsh and growly. Intelligent and original, interesting lyrics too  

Nicky.

[maddox]

Played:

A7:  Sieze The Day  (on City Of Evil, several plays)

I have this song coursing thru my blood these days.

Guys, A7 are top-league  


Mew  on  MySpace

Nice. I'm sure I'l return to their music once in a while. I'm told that it grows  


Shadows Fall:  The War Within

Now this is a group that one has to work a lot with. Very harsh and growly. Intelligent and original, interesting lyrics too  

Nicky.

Just a quick remark regarding A7:

I've saw a few youtube-films of them and I must admit: not bad, not bad at all.
They look like punks and the music is somewhat NU-metalish with prog/metal influences but I do like it.

There's hope for me after all! 

[Teunis]

IQ - The Seventh House 

[aswas]

Mix Day today

Pallas   Cross and the Crucible

Arena  Live and Life

IQ        Ever

IQ        Frequency

Pink Floyd          Dark Side of the Moon-Still blows me away

Pink Floyd          Wish You Were Here

[Teunis]

Frost* - Experiments In Mass Appeal

[The Butterfly Man]

NP  BTBAM  on  MySpace  (3. run)

Here and there, some stellar passages  contrasted with growly growl  

I guess like Scar Symmetry. I wonder if I'l ever actually enjoy BTBAM's gg parts  

Tom, what do you say ?

I'd say you give it some time. A first I was put off by the growls, then I discovered the beautiful soaring melodic sections that were sounding even better in contrast with the 'ugly' parts. Over time I learned to deal with the growls and nowadays I don't mind them at all. I think I can say that I really like 'em now. They are an essential part of BTBAM's unique sound.

Mew  on  MySpace

Nice. I'm sure I'l return to their music once in a while. I'm told that it grows  

Good to hear, and yes, it does!

Shadows Fall:  The War Within

Now this is a group that one has to work a lot with. Very harsh and growly. Intelligent and original, interesting lyrics too  

Interesting, I'll look them up on MySpace later today!

NP: Anathema - A Natural Disaster

I went to see them live last friday and they were great. They played a lot of songs from their upcoming album 'We're Here Because We're Here'. I noticed the new songs were more uplifting and less melancholic - mind you, I meant uplifting in the Anahema-way of course... Looking forward to the new album!

Tom

[Nicky007]

There's hope for me after all!  

Yeah, I always believed that you were more than just Mad  

Pink Floyd          Dark Side of the Moon-Still blows me away

Pink Floyd          Wish You Were Here

Me too  

In fact both do !

Interesting, I'll look them up on MySpace later today!

Yeah, but do the Priest links first, Tom, before all that's forgotten. I actually spent a looong time finding those very special songs  

Remember, you'r a grownup man now; you have yer woman to love and respect, and yer cat to feed and buy wallpaper for; you can't just follow your whims  

NP: Anathema - A Natural Disaster

I went to see them live last friday and they were great. They played a lot of songs from their upcoming album We're Here Because We're Here.

Did Lee Douglas sing ?  She has such a wonderful voice  


Played:

Amorphis:  Skyforger

This is an amazing album  

I'v had it on repeat for several days now.

In the vein of Anathema (apropos) and Paradise Lost, with a tinge of Finnish grandeur (but not the vodka-and-knife type)  

Intriguing lyrics too, lotta Kalevala-type stuff  

And Amorphis are going straight to my pantheon  

Never thought that I'd be sooo taken by a Finnish group, but now it happened.

Thanx again, Tom.


Anubis Gate:  The Detached

Another pantheon group, and another great album, first run.

The lyrics are rather mysterious, about some special people who don't age .....


Neville Brothers:  Yellow Moon

Greenie and Aswas will probably know these guys.

Five brothers who'v grown up in New Orleans. They sing amazingly.

Aaron is a big hunk, you'd think that he'd do a sonorous basso, but instead he has such a delicate gossamer voice that sails directly into yer heart. Man  

Nicky.

[Teunis]

Asia - Omega

[aswas]

yup I do Nicky. Not sure what will be on agenda to listen to  I know

Pink Floyd was so awesome last night

Pink Floyd   Momentary Lapse of Reason

Pink Floyd   The Division Bell

IQ Are you Sitting Comfortably

Symphony x  V

Spocks Beard V

[Bupie]

IQ Are you Sitting Comfortably

A favorite of mine, as you may have noticed 

NP Blind Guardian : Somewhere Far Beyond

Wow, warning, masterpiece !!! Even if your metal shelf is very narrow, this one should find a place between Rust In Peace and Images & Words.

[Nicky007]

Mutiny Within  on  MySpace  


Played:


BTBAM:  Colors

I'm workin with it  


Amorphis:  Skyforger

Like sailing thru the sky  

The title song is absolutely marvellous  


Megadeth:  Rust In Peace  (on repeat)  

This one was long in waiting. Let's see .....

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

Robin Beck  on  MySpace  

Surprised ?  

I'd never heard about this lady before. How about you guys ?

Well, my friend Goran Panic in Gütersloh aka Sleepytown    is just putting his finishing touches on the third Assignment studio album, Inside Of The Machine  

He somehow got Robin Beck to sing the mistress character. So that's why I'm checkin up on her. She sings with lotta expression altho her songs are rather regular.

Goran also got Mats Leven and Bernie Versailles in the mix  

Here you can read about Assignment and their new album:  assignment-music.com

Here you can hear some samples:  myspace.com/assignmentmusic

And here you can hear some of Goran's fave songs by other bands and artists:  myspace.com/panicgoran

The first song is Pain of Salvation's incredibly wonderful Second Love (on Remedy Lane, on repeat here, for sure; you get directly into it by clicking the above link)  


Btw Goran is an Arena fan and member of the Room (my device) altho he is very very sleepy here zzzzzzz  


It's simply beyond me that PoS are still so unknown, even in Sweden. (That's why Daniel decided to perform at the Grand Pricks, to see if there just might be a few people with more advanced musical tastes who werent yet familiar with PoS.) If someone with the necessary power would take songs like Second Love and Enter Rain and hammer them thru the radio and tv like they do with all those dumbass songs (Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake), man, all of a sudden people would be listening to catchy quality songs instead  

But I'm just dreamin. What a pitiful state mainstream music is in today  

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

Gojira  on  MySpace  

Definitely one of the most exciting French bands (based in Bayonne).

Bups, what do you make of'm ?  

How well known are they in France ?


From their MySpace:  "It has always been hard to put a tag on GOJIRA, one of France's most extreme bands the country's musical pallet has ever known. But then again, the band has never really sought out such a tag, instead letting the music do the talking, preferring introspection and intelligence over preconceived notions and preexisting tags. Ever since the 1996 formation in town of Bayonne in the southwest of France, GOJIRA has been an ever-evolving experiment in extreme metal ultimately built upon a worldly, ever-conscious outlook with roots firmly-planted both in the hippie movement and an environmentally-conscious, new age mentality. This time, with The Way of All Flesh, GOJIRA harnesses a spiritual consciousness as well, but still culminates in a sound wholly heavy."

OK, "death", "extreme", and "thrash", now don't cower, guys, they arent really that death, extreme and thrash, I'd say more experimental metal, in fact very original 

Give'm a try 

myspace.com/gojira

Nicky.

[Teunis]

Arena - Pepper's Ghost 

Long time ago that I played this album, but it is  .

[Bupie]

Gojira  on  MySpace  

Definitely one of the most exciting French bands (based in Bayonne).

Bups, what do you make of'm ?  

How well known are they in France ?

They are one of the two "new" French metal bands -the other being Adagio- so they have a certain reputation and they get a lot of rave critics but the "death" label made me suspicious. Honestly, I haven't heard a single note of their music 

But good news, Nicky, I plan to invest in Nostradamus ... since it can be found at a very low price on the web 

NP Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera
Hum, this one is very special, with multi-layered vocals, a lot of choirs and arrangments so you need to go past the first listen to get the real substance of the songs ...

[Nicky007]

They are one of the two "new" French metal bands -the other being Adagio- so they have a certain reputation and they get a lot of rave critics but the "death" label made me suspicious. Honestly, I haven't heard a single note of their music  

Never heard of Adagio  

Gojira are well known in the metal community.

So, Bups, how about listening to'm at MySpace ?

Don't be turned off by the "death" label. Gojira are a lot more melodic than e.g. Nile or The Haunted  

But good news, Nicky, I plan to invest in Nostradamus ... since it can be found at a very low price on the web  

Bups

I'm sure you'l enjoy it. I'd think that every real proggie should, after a few listens iac

I presume that your purchase won't include the impressive cd-booklet with illustrations by Mark Wilkinson (who also did the early Marillion album graphics), but if you really go for Nostra, you could consider getting the double-cd. I'v seen it in stores for half price.

So tell me what you make of it after you

go past the first listen to get the real substance of the songs.

Nicky.

[Teunis]

Asia - Omega

Mmmmm, ordinary AOR. Nothing more, nothing less. I've made better investments in my life, anybody interested?  .

[Bupie]

Never heard of Adagio  

Some infos and reviews can be found on this site : http://www.metal-archives.com/ where I often find smart and well written reviews.

I presume that your purchase won't include the impressive cd-booklet with illustrations by Mark Wilkinson (who also did the early Marillion album graphics), but if you really go for Nostra, you could consider getting the double-cd. I'v seen it in stores for half price.

You presume wrong : I will go for the booklet edition since you can easily find used copies for less than 10 €. And I didn't even know that there is a single CD version  But first let me finish with my Blind Guardian period that should last a few more weeks 

NP Blind Guardian : Tales From The Twilight World, including the mighty Welcome To Dying 

[Nicky007]

Some infos and reviews can be found on this site : http://www.metal-archives.com/ where I often find smart and well written reviews.

Thanx, Bups  

I'l check up on Adagio.

You presume wrong : I will go for the booklet edition since you can easily find used copies for less than 10 €.

OK, now I get it: You'r actually buying the official double-cd, just used (probably in excellent shape).

You just confused me cuz ya wrote "since it can be found at a very low price on the web". I thought you were talking about iTunes or somethin.

I didn't even know that there is a single CD version  

There isnt !  Not official iac.

Guess this time I confused you. Well, touché  

But first let me finish with my Blind Guardian period that should last a few more weeks  

NO !




Played:

David Bowie:  Outside

It's pretty tough to get thru. About "art crime" (carving up humans, attaching various things to their parts, making some sorta "art" outta all this, trust Bowie   ), and there's a lotta wailing and moaning and eerie instrumentation ... but at track 15 you get a cool macho segue and then at 16 the marvellous I'm Deranged  


Judas Priest:  Conquest  (on Nostra, on repeat)

This is probably one of the last pieces on Nostra that one heeds, but it turns out to be special too, cause there's a thudding bass that goes all over the place 

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

Mmmmm, ordinary AOR. Nothing more, nothing less. I've made better investments in my life, anybody interested?  .

Teunis, have you ever considered the possibility of listening to something that you enjoy ?  

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

Adagio  on  MySpace  

myspace.com/adagioofficial

Very symphonic and melodic  


Here's Gojira btw:  myspace.com/gojira

Enjoy !

See, Bups, I'm actually doin somethin for French culture 

Nicky.